Chapter 116: Sharing the Same Boat

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The person standing proudly at the bow of the boat was none other than the beautiful young woman Kou Peihan.

Counting this occasion, this was the fourth time Zhou Zhi had encountered Kou Peihan. The last had been more than half a year ago, when Zhou Zhi had led a group of ruffians to Xin Village to rescue his father, Zhou Tie.

Yet throughout those six months, Kou Peihan’s voice, features, and smile had often appeared in Zhou Zhi’s mind, impossible to banish. After learning from Fan Jin that Kou Peihan came from an eminent family, Zhou Zhi had actually tried again and again to forget such a beautiful woman.

He knew perfectly well that, as a poor country boy, there was no use in harboring thoughts of a daughter from a distinguished household. Yet the harder he tried to forget her, the clearer her image became in his mind.

Today, Kou Peihan wore white robes and held a folding fan in her hand. She was still dressed as a man, with delicate, handsome features and the same heroic air at the corners of her eyes and brows. Zhou Zhi could also see clearly, however, that her expression seemed somewhat distracted. Her mood was evidently poor.

Doing his best to calm himself, Zhou Zhi smiled and cupped his hands toward her.

“So it is Young Master Kou. I trust you have been well since we last met?”

Zhou Zhi and Kou Peihan had crossed paths several times, and he had certainly left an impression on her. Thus, when she suddenly saw him, she was slightly stunned, and her gloomy mood eased somewhat.

Zhou Zhi did not expose her identity as a woman, which pleased Kou Peihan to some degree. Forcing a smile, she said, “Zhou Zhi. Heh.”

Then she looked him up and down.

The previous times she had seen him, Zhou Zhi had been dressed in filthy clothes, looking every inch the impoverished farmer. But today, his tall, slightly lean figure was clad in a brand-new blue cotton gown. He had tidied himself up impeccably and now looked exactly like a scholar.

Kou Peihan thought secretly that Zhou Zhi had changed tremendously. In less than a year, he had gone from a poor country boy to a man of learning. It was truly astonishing.

After thinking this over briefly, she asked curiously, “Zhou Zhi, where are you going?”

“I am on my way to Qingdu County to pay a visit to the venerable Master Qu,” Zhou Zhi replied without concealment.

Speaking with Kou Peihan brought him an indescribable pleasure, and so he naturally had no desire to lie.

Kou Peihan was even more surprised. “Master Qu? Could you mean Qu Renbin, the old instructor of the Qingdu County school?”

Zhou Zhi took two steps forward and smiled. “That very same old instructor Qu. Why? Do you know him as well, Young Master Kou?”

“Giggle! How could I possibly know him? I have merely heard of him,” Kou Peihan replied with a soft laugh.

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Her smile revealed a glimpse of pearly white teeth, making her even more charming. Zhou Zhi had dreamed of that laughter countless times, especially of the way her delicate brows lifted slightly, her expression seeming both smiling and not. His heart stirred uncontrollably, and he found himself staring in a daze.

Being watched so intently by a man, Kou Peihan’s face flushed faintly with embarrassment. She cast Zhou Zhi an annoyed glance, turned her face aside, and simply stopped paying him any attention.

The atmosphere between them grew awkward.

The old boatman continued rowing with all his strength, ignoring the two of them. The little boat glided steadily onward and had by then reached the middle of the river.

“Ahem, ahem!”

Zhou Zhi coughed twice despite himself. Realizing that he had just behaved improperly, he cursed himself inwardly.

What is wrong with you, Zhou Zhi? Have you never seen a beautiful woman before? True, after crossing into the Ming dynasty, this is the first beauty you have encountered who resembles Kou Peihan. But in the modern world, what kind of beauty had you never seen? How could you be so rude?

Yet what modern beauty could compare with the extraordinary Kou Peihan before him, whose loveliness contained a proud, heroic spirit?

Zhou Zhi’s heart churned like a turbulent sea.

The Buddha says that five hundred glances exchanged in a former life are needed to bring about one brief encounter in this life. He and Kou Peihan had already met four times, and today they were crossing the river in the same boat. Could this be what people called destiny?

At the same time, ripples stirred within Kou Peihan’s heart as well. Though she had a forthright temperament, she was still a woman. Sharing a boat with a man of her own age, she found it impossible to make the flush on her face fade.

Fortunately, Zhou Zhi broke the awkward silence between them and asked softly, “Young Master Kou, you are from Tang County, are you not? Where are you headed today?”

“I... I am merely wandering about,” Kou Peihan stammered. Unexpectedly, the question only made her face flush more deeply.

Though dressed as a man, she was plainly displaying the shy, delicate manner of a young woman. Her beauty consequently took on an entirely different charm.

“You seem to be in low spirits today, Young Master Kou. May I ask what has displeased you? Perhaps you could tell me,” Zhou Zhi asked sincerely, still wearing a gentle smile.

Indeed, Kou Peihan’s image had lingered in his mind for so long that seeing her so dejected today filled him with an inexplicable ache.

His question instantly brought her troubles to mind. Kou Peihan’s face still flushed, and she glanced at Zhou Zhi. At last, she fixed her gaze entirely upon him and let out a long, mournful sigh.

“It is all because of my father—and my mother as well. Almost every day, they do nothing but pressure me to find a husband and marry as soon as possible. That is why I have been so miserable and came out for a walk.”

Revealing such a private matter to a man of her own age whom she barely knew, Kou Peihan felt the moment the words left her mouth that she had spoken out of turn. But words once spoken were like water spilled from a vessel, impossible to take back. She could only sigh again in distress.

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Hearing this, Zhou Zhi’s heart tightened for no clear reason, though he maintained a composed expression and smiled.

“A man should marry when he is grown, and a woman should marry when she comes of age. I imagine you must be sixteen or seventeen by now, Miss Kou. It is probably time for you to find a suitable family and marry.”

Since Kou Peihan was no longer concealing her identity as a woman, Zhou Zhi simply began addressing her as a young lady.

Kou Peihan’s expression turned cold, and she snapped angrily, “Hmph! Even you say such things. And you call yourself a scholar? Marriage, marriage, marriage—what is so wonderful about it? I simply do not want to marry!”

Her angry pout made her even more attractive. Her face flushed, her delicate brows drew together, and her small lips pressed into a tight line. Zhou Zhi’s gaze swept quickly across her face before he hurriedly looked away, though inwardly he felt an obscure surge of delight.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Zhi said, “Well, Miss Kou naturally has her own thoughts. Perhaps you simply have not yet met someone you truly admire.”

“Hmph! Who asked you to meddle?” Kou Peihan retorted angrily.

“Heh! It is certainly beyond my place to meddle,” Zhou Zhi replied with a smile.

The two of them continued exchanging words, but they spoke far more freely this time than during their previous three encounters.

In this way, the distance between them gradually narrowed without either of them realizing it.

Unfortunately, the little boat soon reached the opposite bank, and Zhou Zhi and Kou Peihan disembarked. The boatman asked each of them for one mace of silver.

Zhou Zhi could not help frowning. “It costs one mace of silver for such a short distance? That is far too expensive. Could you charge us a little less?”

Before the boatman could answer, Kou Peihan took a small piece of broken silver from her purse and handed it over.

Zhou Zhi saw clearly that the fragment was worth three or four mace. Just as the boatman was about to give her change, Kou Peihan said, “There is no need. I am paying for that penniless fellow as well. Use whatever remains to buy yourself a jug of wine.”

With that, she cast Zhou Zhi a disdainful glance, and his heart instantly felt blocked with irritation.