I stood at the bow of the boat, watching the water in the hull stir up huge waves. When the river wind blew towards the moisture and fishy smell of the water, I soon dyed my cheeks and bun wet.

Such a cool temperature also made my body and thoughts cool down.

Pei Yuanxiu, who had been holding me in his arms, felt me ​​trembling for a moment, looked down at me, and said softly: "What's wrong? Is it cold? Let's go back to the cabin and stop standing here to have a breath."

I shook my head and reached out to grab his sleeve: "Yuan Xiu..."

"Um?"

"This ship, let them move forward with all their might."

Pei Yuanxiu was stunned for a moment: "What?"

"You can drive as fast as you can, try to drive as fast as possible, and the faster the better!"

Pei Yuanxiu looked at me and suddenly said, "You want to--"

I nodded.

"Last night, Li'er was still in the mansion. They only took Li'er away in the middle of the night. They had to leave the mansion and board the boat. No matter what, it would take some time. And - now it's not peaceful in Jiujiang. They must be on the water route when they come and go. We will do our best to catch up with them!"

Pei Yuanxiu glanced at me deeply, nodded and said, "Okay, I'll give orders immediately."

After saying that, he waved his hand and the attendants standing on both sides of the deck immediately came forward. Pei Yuanxiu said, "Send the order and let the boatman do his best to sail."

"yes."

Those people took the order and soon, they felt the hull tremble, and the degree of speed was significantly faster, and the wind rushing towards them became more and more bitter. He turned around and saw me standing at the bow of the boat, holding the handrail with one hand, the corners of his eyes were slightly red, and he almost stared at the vast river surface in front of him. At this moment, I really wish I could have a pair of wings, ride the wind and waves, and go to my daughter!

I don’t want to lose her, I can’t lose her!

He walked to me and reached out to bring me into his arms. His body, which was already a little cold in the wind, was brought into his warm arms for a moment. He looked down at me and said softly: "Don't be anxious, no matter whether I can catch up or not, I will bring Li'er back."

"..." Looking at his gentle eyes, I nodded gently: "Yeah."

|

In the following time, time flies, just like the towering green mountains on both sides you see while sailing, constantly being thrown behind us.

But every day, I would stand at the bow of the boat and look at the scenery like this.

At this time, Pei Yuanxiu would stand behind me, without saying anything, just accompany me silently. Sometimes when I stand for a day, he would stand for me for a day until the sun sets, the red clouds in the sky and the river surface dyed red by the sunlight blend into one, as if there was a sea of ​​fire under my feet, and I was in a trance as if I was in the flames.

At this time, he would gently stroke my shoulder and said softly: "Go back and rest."

I looked back at him and looked ahead.

In the vast waters, there is still only a brilliant ray of sunset reflected by the setting sun. It has been almost a month since we sailed with all our strength, but we still haven't caught up. According to my memory, we should soon enter Xichuan.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but frown.

Although I also know that if Yan Qingchen abducted Li'er, he would definitely bring her back to Xichuan as quickly as possible. Even if we work so hard, we may not be able to catch up. But it is one thing, but facing such a powerless reality is another.

Feeling my decadence, Pei Yuanxiu held my shoulders with both hands and said softly: "Don't torture yourself too much. If you can't catch up now, you can't catch up. No matter what, we will take Li'er back, and it's only a matter of time."

I looked at him and said nothing, but I felt that the stone pressing on my heart became heavier.

After a while, he nodded gently.

When I returned to the cabin, the food was ready and it was very delicate. But I was not in the mood now. I simply ate half a bowl of rice with soup. After Pei Yuanxiu's persuasion, I barely ate another snack. The sky gradually darkened. It was pitch dark. Only the mountains on both sides showed some blurry outlines under the dark sky. I couldn't see anything else, so I could only go back to the cabin to rest.

The surroundings were very quiet, and only the sound of water was heard outside.

I leaned against the bed, looking at the dark night outside and listening to the rushing sound of water. At this time, Pei Yuanxiu pushed the door and walked in, as usual, holding a bowl of warm soup.

"You've eaten too little today, drink some soup so you won't get hungry at night."

These days, he has been like this every day. The soup he brought in himself was unable to refuse, so I could only accept it and drink it. When the maid came in and packed the dishes, washed them, and then went to bed to rest.

As soon as I lay down, I felt a warm feeling behind me.

Like every night, he would come up and hold me.

Since Li's disappearance, although he and I were sleeping on the same bed at night, we never had sex again. He knew that I was not in that mood, so he just hugged me to fall asleep. Every night, I could feel his chest pressing against my back, and the powerful heartbeat could calm my disordered mood and slowly close my eyes in his breath.

That morning, I was still in a chaotic dream. Suddenly, a loud noise from afar woke me up.

I suddenly opened my eyes, not very clear, but the sound was continuous. Although it was not deafening, there was a dull feeling as if it was coming from the depths of the clouds, which made the mountains, rivers and the earth tremble slightly.

After being confused for a while, I vaguely felt that it was not the mountains, rivers and earth trembling.

It's the boat, the boat under me is trembling.

Just when I was a little confused, the hatch door was opened. Pei Yuanxiu walked in from outside. When he saw me sitting in the quilt, he immediately walked over: "You are awake."

"Yeah." I nodded, feeling that he was still carrying some water vapor on his body, as if he had just returned from the deck, so I asked, "What's the sound? Is it thundering?"

“It’s not thunder, the weather is good.”

"That--"

"It's the Sanjiang Dam, which is draining the flood."

"flood discharge?"

I have heard that because Xichuan is always short of water, the imperial court invested in the construction of such an unprecedentedly large project at the intersection of the Sanjiang River, the most dangerous intersection of the Yangtze River through the lower reaches of Xichuan, for water storage. Although I don’t understand why the imperial court invested in the construction of a dam that was beneficial to Shu, after the appearance of this dam, it did greatly alleviate the drought in Shu.

At the beginning of each year, Sanjiang Dam will also release several flood discharges, releasing excess water storage to welcome the upcoming rainy season and the rising water level of the glaciers in the distance.

It turns out that today is the day for flood discharge.

I hurriedly got up, washed up briefly, and walked out of the hatch.

Before I could reach the deck, I felt a strong wind blowing in, my clothes were blown up, and the loud noise became clearer and clearer, as if the thunder of spring was shaking, making people's body and mind tremble.

I walked onto the deck.

Immediately, a sharp wind blew over, with tiny water droplets in the wind, which quickly dyed my cheeks and forehead wet. Only then did I see that the boat had turned into a not-so-wide river channel. The towering mountains in front of me blocked the broad vision before, and the majestic posture of the Sanjiang Dam could no longer be seen. I hurried to the stern of the boat and looked up. I could only faintly hear the loud noise that seemed to be a dragon roaring, and the mist that had been filled with a long time.

The morning light shines on the other end of the mountains and rivers, reflecting a huge seven-color rainbow spanning the sky.

I raised my head, looked at the huge rainbow, felt the cold water in the air, and took a deep breath.

Pei Yuanxiu stood behind me and then walked up at this time: "Do you want to see the Sanjiang Dam?"

"Um."

"Why? It's just a dam."

“…”

I held the handrail and watched quietly. As the hull shifted, the towering valley in front of me slowly replaced the rippling waves in my sight. I turned around and saw that he was still watching the scenery in front of me, and smiled faintly: "It's nothing, I just want to see the scenery."

He glanced at me.

At this time, I walked forward again and looked at the river channel in front of me. It was not very wide, and the water was very smooth. There were many small fishing boats around, which were obviously already civilian river channels. Behind the canyons on both sides, you could faintly see the smoke rising in cooking, and you could also hear the horn with a special charm.

And I sighed softly.

After all, I couldn't catch up.

This is already the area of ​​Shu.

It seems that it is impossible to avoid it, meet him.

Pei Yuanxiu has been with me all the time. At this time, when I saw my eyes darkening, he said softly: "Don't worry, you don't have to, I'm here."

“…”

"If we have a boat for a while, we will have to go ashore and walk 6th. Let's go back and have something to eat first."

“…”

I nodded silently and followed him into the cabin.

This is our last meal on the boat. The dishes are still as delicate as before, with a full range of colors, fragrance and taste. He is still very interested. He specially made some spicy cold dishes. If I usually had a big appetite, but now I really don’t have any appetite. Pei Yuanxiu persuaded me for a long time, and I barely drank half a bowl of shredded chicken porridge and ate some side dishes.

As soon as I put down the bowls and chopsticks, I heard shouts coming from outside. The boat slowed down a lot, but the hull was shaking a little violently. As the noise outside became louder and louder, the hull suddenly shook.

I sat on the chair and almost staggered. Pei Yuanxiu almost immediately reached out and held me in his arms.

After a while, two servants came in outside and half knelt at the door: "Young Master, Madam, we're at the port."

I was still trapped in Pei Yuanxiu's arms, and raised my head, and he also looked down at me. When he exchanged his eyes, he felt his breathing sink.

Xichuan, we are here!

I will finally set foot on this land that has been away from for more than ten years.

For a moment, I felt a mixed feeling, and I felt a bitter taste on the tip of my tongue, which made me frown slightly.
Chapter completed!