The Great Fen Ferry lived up to its name — throughout all four seasons, the wind and the water roared without ceasing, the sound booming and the current surging. At flood season, anyone standing at the crossing had to fill their lungs and shout at the top of their voice just to be heard by the person beside them.
The Hunhe River reached the Great Fen Ferry at a point along its upper-middle course, where the current ran fast — not the most ideal location for a crossing. But from here the river entered Guantian Gorge: a hundred li of gorge with sheer cliffs on both sides and no better place to cross anywhere along it. Over time, the bold people of Huozhou had long grown accustomed to the thrilling and perilous experience of threading their way through the waves. The occasional outsider who expressed dismay was sure to be met with good-natured mockery in return.
So Xiao Nanhui had guessed correctly. After half a month without a departure and now with the rain stopped, the water remained turbulent — but there would certainly be a bold boatman ready to set out. Where one dared to go, others would dare to follow.
When she and Bolao arrived at the crossing, one large ferry had just left the bank and disappeared into the fog. Beside the dock there was only one small vessel left, and it already looked close to capacity. The boatman appeared to have no intention of waiting for a full load — he was moving with obvious urgency.
The two of them, seeing this, quickly led their horses forward.
“Boatman, why such haste? By the look of the sky, conditions might improve around midday — the fog is too thick right now. Won’t it be dangerous?”
The boatman kept his hands busy as he replied: “Young sir, you may not know — last night there was a robbery here at the crossing. I hear there were even deaths. The authorities haven’t arrived yet, and once they do, the boat won’t be going anywhere — everyone will have to be questioned one by one. So if you’re looking to leave, you’d better be quick about it. Delay much longer and you won’t be getting out today.”
A robbery?
Without knowing quite why, the image that flashed through Xiao Nanhui’s mind was that family of six from the inn the previous night — with their lavish spread of food — and the rugged man with the cloth band tied around his forehead.
Meanwhile Bolao had already pressed the fare into the boatman’s hands. The boatman was an easy-going sort; after weighing the situation against the vessel’s capacity, he agreed. Fortunately the two of them traveled light, and with two horses added to the equation the boat turned out to be just exactly full.
The cabin was crammed to the brim. Only when she boarded did she discover that the merchant family she had been worried about was sitting right there, safe and sound, surrounded by a considerable pile of luggage — and she relaxed. She was just about to discuss with Bolao the plans for when they reached Huozhou, when she spotted two people sitting at the bow of the boat. Who else could it be but the pair who had “seized the room by force” the night before — Master Zhongli and his companion? Her good mood dropped by half immediately.
She turned her back and did her best not to look at those two. Over on that side, the boatman untied the mooring rope from the dock post and was about to set off, when an urgent cry came from the direction of the shore.
“Wait!”
Xiao Nanhui frowned and looked back. Out of the thin mist came a flash of white, and drawing closer she recognized it — the white-clad gentleman from the neighboring table the previous night.
He appeared to have just rolled out of bed; his clothes were still those of yesterday, his hair hastily pinned with a hairpin that had allowed one strand to escape and drift loose at the back of his head. He was clutching something that appeared to be a chamber pot, and between gasping breaths kept bending over it to retch.
“Boatman, wait! I — I need to board as well.”
The boatman was an honest sort and had no intention of taking on extra passengers beyond what his conscience allowed. He stated plainly: “Young man, I’m afraid this vessel is at capacity. One more person and she may well go under.”
“No, no—” The white-clad gentleman tossed aside whatever he’d been holding, hurried forward, grabbed the mooring rope, and was already trying to squeeze onto the boat. “I had to leave a beautiful woman behind just to catch this crossing — there’s no way I’m not getting on.”
The one nearest to him was the middle-aged merchant, who immediately showed his displeasure: “There are other people on this boat, you know. If it sinks because of you, are you expecting the entire boat to go down with you?”
His wife sat beside him clutching all four daughters, the lot of them nodding in unison like a row of bobbing heads. The other passengers likewise felt this was a fair point. Yet the white-clad gentleman was unfazed, and instead shifted his gaze to the large and small pieces of luggage piled about: “This is a passenger ferry, not a cargo vessel. All these packs and cases of yours — aren’t they taking up others’ space?”
The merchant was struck where it hurt, and some embarrassment crossed his face: “This is just tea and the like — it doesn’t weigh much.” His eyes then drifted pointedly to Jixiang and Huaqiu standing at the stern, leaving his implication plain to see.
Xiao Nanhui was afraid the horses would be the ones asked to leave, and was about to say something, but the white-clad gentleman had already reached into his garment and produced a cloth bundle, which he unfurled to reveal a row of gleaming silver needles: “I’m a physician, traveling to Huozhou to treat a patient — the man is gravely ill and waiting for my golden needles to save him. Here is my proposal, brother: I’ll pay you the silver for two loads of your tea. In exchange, you free up the space beside you for me.”
The merchant remained reluctant, but other passengers began to side with the “physician”: “He’s a doctor — and tea will have to be sold sooner or later, won’t it? In weather this damp, it probably won’t keep much longer anyway. Might as well do a good deed. It may well be the merit that comes from saving someone’s life.”
In the end, the white-clad gentleman made it onto the boat — leaving two loads of tea cakes sitting on the dock for the merchant.
The last ferry pushed off from the bank. In the heavy fog over the Great Fen, there was nothing to be heard but the wind and the water.
On the rocky beach, scattered bloodstains had not yet been washed away by the river tide. The water beat against the shore, and a blood-soaked headband was pushed up onto the riverbank by the lapping waves.
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The small boat rocked and swayed as it moved toward the center of the river. A mooring rope as thick as a wrist connected the bow to the stern, stretching away into the fog that refused to lift, as though it had no end. All around, the only sounds were the churning of the water and the occasional clunk of drifting ice fragments striking the hull. Everyone on board had the sensation of being a tiny ant fallen into a stream, tossed and turned upon this single narrow vessel.
Though the rain had stopped, the temperature on the Hunhe River was far lower than on the shore. The sides of the ferry rattled and swayed, open to the wind on all sides. Ding Weixiang draped a thick fur coat over Zhongli Jing’s shoulders, then took up his position at the windward side, hugging his sword, shielding the other man from the worst of the cold.
Xiao Nanhui glanced over with a touch of envy, then looked back at Bolao, who was curled into a tight ball against her back. She pulled out a piece of flatbread and took a firm bite — and before she’d chewed more than a few times, Bolao had snatched it away, evidently having not eaten enough the previous night due to pickiness.
“As a servant, one ought to observe the proper decorum of rank. A young master’s page really ought not to be so unruly — stealing food right from the master’s hand.”
She looked up. The white-clad gentleman had slipped over to sit beside her at some point, a folding fan in hand that he fanned with great elegance. Xiao Nanhui was fairly sure she could see the hairs on his exposed wrist standing up from the cold.
Of all the things in the world Bolao despised most passionately, two stood above all others: being talked down to on the basis of status, and being remarked upon for her small stature.
This single comment had offended her on both counts at once. In an instant, both her eyes sharpened into blades and raked across him.
Xiao Nanhui quickly shifted slightly sideways to block those two fierce glares, and offered the gentleman a pleasant smile: “The gentleman makes a fair point — only, this attendant of mine grew up alongside me from childhood, and our relationship has always been something far beyond the ordinary between master and servant. Besides, being out on the road like this, there’s little room for formality. Don’t you agree?”
The white-clad gentleman nodded pleasantly: “Quite right — men of such broad-mindedness as the young sir are a rare thing these days. We should most certainly get acquainted. My name is Hao Bai. May I ask the young sir’s name?”
Hao Bai? “Hao” meaning “good” and “Bai” meaning “white”?
She took a proper look at him now. The smell of last night’s alcohol still clung to him, and his garments were fastened unevenly — yet he had somehow found the time to dust his face with such a thick coat of fragrant powder. A notable individual, in his own way.
“Yaoyi.”
Without a flicker of expression, she gave him Yaoyi’s name, and for the first time felt that those mushrooms she’d given away hadn’t been entirely wasted.
“So it is Brother Yao — delighted to meet you.” That white-clad fool’s face lit up with genuine pleasure, and he launched into his own introduction without missing a beat: “I am from Wancheng in Jizhou. My family has practiced medicine for three generations, and I also deal in elixirs from time to time. Might I ask what line of work Brother Yao’s family is in?”
She tilted her corner of the mouth: “We run entertainment houses.”
Hao Bai went still for a moment, and a suspicious flush crept up his face — visible even beneath all that powder: “Brother Yao means to say—”
“Brothels.” She found his prim and sour expression rather amusing. “What, Master Hao spent last night in such charming feminine company, and yet he’s never been to a brothel?”
Hao Bai opened and closed his mouth without finding words, and for a moment seemed as though he truly never had.
Beside her, Bolao’s spirits lifted for no apparent reason. She clapped a hand on his shoulder with exaggerated solemnity: “Brother, what kind of man has never been to a brothel? Say the word next time — I’ll personally take you to broaden your horizons.”
“I also have never been to such a place. Would the young friend be willing to bring one more?”
The moment that voice sounded, Xiao Nanhui felt her scalp prickle. She didn’t need to turn around to know who had spoken.
Bolao was also startled by the person who had spoken up so suddenly, and turned to look at whoever was sitting behind her. A river breeze passed through, lifting loose strands of hair. In that strangely bewildering moment, for just an instant, he seemed to be smiling.
Several passengers on the boat happened to be looking in this direction just then, all wearing somewhat dumbfounded expressions.