A sudden torrential downpour.
Dark clouds blotted out the sky. Brilliant lightning streaked across the sea of clouds, and soybean-sized raindrops hammered the boat's canopy with a crisp, crackling patter.
Clad in a straw rain cape, Ye Jingtang braved the wind and rain on deck to lower the sail, which was on the verge of being torn apart. The twenty-foot cargo boat pitched through the waves, its very hull creaking.
Inside the cabin behind him, Hua Qingzhi, dressed as a scholarly young lady, swayed helplessly from side to side. Clinging to the doorframe to stay seated, she asked anxiously:
"Young Master Ye, the boat won't sink, will it?"
Being so round, Niao Niao was tossed back and forth, rolling around the cabin while chirping incessantly. "Chirp, chirp, chirp..."
Ye Jingtang did his best to steer, but the wind and waves were so fierce that simply maintaining their heading was difficult enough. He really could not guarantee a comfortable ride. Hearing Hua Qingzhi call, he turned back.
"Don't worry, it won't sink. This is a cloudburst. It'll pass in a quarter of an hour at most..."
Hua Qingzhi was only half convinced, but she had trouble even walking and could offer no help at a time like this. She could only gather the rolling Niao Niao into her arms and wait for the storm to subside, her heart full of bewilderment.
That morning, Ye Jingtang had taken her out for a walk, left midway to attend to something, then returned saying he would take Niao Niao to eat bear paws.
Hua Qingzhi had not understood and intended to ask when Ye Jingtang came over. To her surprise, he returned from the Golden Tent dressed as a wandering martial artist, hoisted her onto his shoulder like a man abducting an innocent maiden,