The man laughed. "Boy, you've got no manners. When a senior asks you something, you answer. Understand?"
But Pei Ye had no need to answer him now. Their boat had already passed, and the three young men beside him all gave him rather admiring looks.
Zhao Bao sounded a little frustrated. "If my old man were here, he'd call me a coward again... but those heroes really do look formidable-do they all have true qi?"
"About half of them." Their little boat had just entered the great ship's shadow and come to a stop when a clear voice suddenly sounded outside it. They turned to look. Someone who looked like a boy sat on the bow of the neighboring boat, with medium-length hair and cloth wrapped around both hands and forearms. Both feet dangled in the cold water, and a little fishing rod an arm's length long rested in one hand.
For a moment, Pei Ye could barely tell whether she was male or female. Only after staring at her calves for a while did he realize she was probably a girl.
"Are you with the Green Reed Gang? Why's your boat so roomy? Take me aboard too."
Pei Ye looked over. Her boat really did have a full nine people crammed aboard. Without waiting for permission, however, she sprang lightly across. Standing on the bow, she tugged down her loose trouser legs to cover her legs and feet, then crouched there with her knees together. She looked them over and cupped her fists. "I'm Xiao Qi. Thank you for taking me in, heroes!"
The fishing rod was still clamped between her knees.
Pei Ye said, "How can you catch anything here? All the fish have been scared away."
The girl gave him a baffled look for a while, then