Moonlit Ferry

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Wang Anfeng seemed to have wind beneath his feet as he nearly sprinted down the mountain. With every step, he pushed the Shaolin Vigorous Step Technique almost to its limit. After the tempering of the battle just now, even the Nine Palaces Step had been integrated into it, making his movements increasingly exquisite. His figure flickered, almost transforming into smoke as it darted past.

At this moment, he had cast everything to the back of his mind—the reward he might receive after nine consecutive victories, that incomparably sharp Dragon Roaming Moon Gazing Sword, and even his master's threatening punishment.

He was leaving today.

If he had previously regarded Xue Thirteen as merely a young peer he had happened to meet, someone he would never see again in the Jianghu, then Xue Thirteen had now become his friend—and the first true friend of his life. When a friend was parting, how could he not go to see him off? Even if he could not send him off with music on the qin like the famous gentlemen of old, he still had to say goodbye face-to-face. Only then would their brief friendship not have been in vain.

After all, once they parted today, it would be at least three years before they could meet again.

They might even end up separated by the ends of the earth, with no chance of seeing each other.

Thinking of this, Wang Anfeng gritted his teeth again. He decided that once they met, he would give Xue Thirteen a vicious punch to express his indignation. With a low shout, his steps grew even more practiced.

"How was it?"

Back in Shaolin, Yuan Ci sat facing the middle-aged man. As he poured tea into the cups, he asked with a faint smile, "How was it?" The man frowned slightly.

"...So-so."

"Although he made many mistakes on the arena, he could still be called fierce and sharp. He was willing to give up a treasure within easy reach and accept punishment in order to see off a friend. That can be considered passing."

As he spoke, he lifted the teacup without the slightest courtesy and drained it in one gulp. Yet a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"However, don't think that this will let him evade that punishment."

"He disregarded his master's orders. That adds another charge to his offense, and his punishment will only be heavier."

The corners of Yuan Ci's lips curled slightly. Without the slightest hesitation, he sold out his own disciple and said with a smile:

"That is only right."

Wangxian County was a thousand li away. If one used top-tier Lightness Skill, one could cross the distance back and forth in no more than the time it took an incense stick to burn. But Wang Anfeng had only two legs, and he practiced the Vigorous Step Technique—the basic footwork ordinary Shaolin disciples used when carrying water up and down the mountain. Thus, he had set out around noon and rushed onward until the sun sank and dusk drew near before he barely caught sight of the ferry crossing.

His meridians and Internal force had been squeezed dry without pause. He had never imagined that he still possessed so much potential to unleash.

After letting out a soft breath, Wang Anfeng suddenly felt a little uneasy. He did not know whether Xue Thirteen was still here. But after rushing such an unknowable distance, what was there left to hesitate over? After only a moment's pause, he ran straight toward the ferry crossing, stopped an old boatman, and asked him.

"What's that? A boat? Little fellow, today's the fifteenth day of the eighth month!"

The old boatman looked at Wang Anfeng like he was an idiot and bared his teeth. "Whether boatmen or traveling merchants, who wouldn't want to eat a good meal in peace today, look at the moon, and drink a little wine? Even this old man has to go home to find his wife. You want a boat? Come early tomorrow, please. I'm off~"

Apparently eager to get home, he had already lifted a fish he had somehow caught and, carrying it in his hand, scampered past Wang Anfeng. The youth opened his mouth, then could only sigh helplessly. He stood at the ferry crossing as the sky gradually turned dusky and the rippling water gleamed with reflected gold. It was an autumn sunset worthy of admiration, yet Wang Anfeng could feel only the bleakness and desolation of autumn. His legs ached, and he sat directly on the ferry pier, letting out a long sigh.

"As expected, I didn't make it in time..."

Amid his sigh, he stared blankly at the reflection on the lake. Exhaustion made him somewhat dazed. Just then, the calm surface, smooth as a piece of fine jade, suddenly rippled, shattering the reflection of the setting sun. Wang Anfeng gave a start and looked up, only to see the bow of a boat slide out from the dense reeds. It shattered the desolation in his eyes, yet with the molten-gold sunset, the boat crossing the ferry, and the clear ripples on the lake, it created an entirely different scene.

While he was still puzzled, a clear voice began singing slowly:

"Sitting at the bow with my knees drawn up, longing to see my honored guest; the breeze stirred the waves, and I lingered in a daze, as if waking from a dream..."

Wang Anfeng was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He slapped the wooden broken bridge at the ferry crossing with his right hand and sprang up, shouting loudly:

"Brother Xue?!"

"You haven't left yet! Hahaha, it's me, Wang Anfeng!"

The person on the little boat seemed to have heard him and drifted over leisurely. Before the boat had even steadied, Wang Anfeng had already leaped aboard. The wooden boat did not sway in the slightest and remained perfectly steady. As dusk deepened, two gauze lanterns hung on either side. Amid this abrupt turn of events, Wang Anfeng was delighted. He raised his eyes and called out:

"Xue..."

His voice suddenly stopped. Wang Anfeng looked at the person opposite him, his face blank with shock. After several breaths, he abruptly turned around and jumped back onto the ferry pier as though fleeing. His steps were full of panic. A familiar, faint laugh came from behind him, yet it froze him in place, preventing him from taking another step. He slowly turned around and gritted his teeth as he stammered:

"Brother... Xue...?"

"What? You don't recognize me?"

That familiar, light laugh rang out, but the person sitting at the bow was clearly a girl of about thirteen or fourteen. She wore a goose-yellow dress and lotus-colored embroidered shoes, and her brows and eyes were clear. Wang Anfeng's heart gave a fierce jolt. Thinking he had merely been frightened senseless, he opened his mouth, but stammered:

"Y-you really are Brother Xue?!"

"Could I possibly be an impostor?"

The girl laughed. She patted her knees and rose. Beneath the hazy light of the gauze lanterns, she raised her hand and assumed the opening stance of Shaolin Fist techniques. The fist force that had been thick and unyielding in Wang Anfeng's hands, solid as a rock, was now light and graceful in hers. When she smiled, a shallow dimple appeared in her left cheek, and Wang Anfeng's heart jolted fiercely again. In an instant, he could not even stammer out another word.

The girl withdrew her stance, smoothed the long hair at her temples, and said with a beaming smile, "But I truly never thought you would come looking for me. After all, today's battle was extremely important to you."

Wang Anfeng circulated his One Zen Skill with nearly all his strength and only then managed to speak:

"But you were still—still waiting here, waiting for..."

"Yes, I thought you might come."

The girl smiled openly, but a cough came from beside her. She paused, then said helplessly, "But it's still a little late... I have to leave. You went to so much trouble to come all this way, yet we don't even have time to talk properly."

Wang Anfeng hurriedly shook his head.

"It's fine, it's fine. I only wanted to see you off, that's all. It's just that I left in such a hurry and didn't have anything good to give you..."

The girl smiled again. "That is indeed how it is. We children of the Jianghu need not shed tears at a farewell pavilion like scholars. You must practice your martial arts well. The vast Jianghu of Great Qin is waiting for you. If you diligently hone your skills and can one day fight me with all your strength, that will already be the best gift."

Wang Anfeng paused. Through the deepening darkness, he could still sense the girl's burning, expectant gaze, as though she were looking at a fine piece of jade—or an excellent opponent. It was burning and pure, without the slightest impurity. He slowly clasped his fists.

"I won't disappoint you."

The girl smiled sweetly, revealing the shallow dimple in her cheek. Wang Anfeng's heart jolted fiercely once more, but then he heard the girl say, "Then I'll be leaving. I'm giving you my little colt. Treat it well."

Wang Anfeng froze for a moment, still wondering how a little boat like this was supposed to leave Wangxian County. Suddenly, the boatman standing aboard the little craft pushed off with his pole. The boat glided smoothly across the water. The ripples dispersed, and the dusk scenery became like a tranquil lake, carrying the boat toward the horizon. A melodious qin melody drifted from the bow, and amid the surrounding stillness, he heard the girl play and sing softly:

"Tonight's revelry is spent; tomorrow night will stretch on in solitude. Beneath Phoenix Tower, by the drooping willows and slender boat—my noble one, might you come to visit?"

Her voice gradually faded away. Wang Anfeng stood blankly in place for a long while. Somehow, the horse appeared beside him and stood there as well. One man and one horse stared blankly at the sky. The silver moon rose, its pure light spilling across the ground. Wang Anfeng raised his fist and gave his heart—why it was leaping about as merrily as a village dog tonight, he could not say—a vicious punch. Then he looked at the silver moon again and let out a long sigh.

"The moonlight is beautiful..."