Chapter 1: Leaving with a Smile, a Thousand Li of Falling Blossoms
Amidst the dark blue sky, a scattering of cumulus clouds drifted lazily. The sun's scorching rays left one's scalp feeling heated.
The chirping of the cicadas had grown hoarser compared to earlier in the summer.
The Jade Cloud Corridor lay ahead.
Song You lifted his head and gazed as he strode down a small, winding path that would only allow one person to pass at a time, with fields on one side and dirt on the other. It led to an official road shaded by old cypresses.
The cypresses were ancient and so was the road. Even in this era, they were already more than a thousand years old.
This road was officially called Jinyang Road. It was built during the Yu Dynasty to open up the way from Yizhou to Guanzhong Plain. During ancient times, people had the habit of planting trees on roadsides in order to clearly delineate the road. With trees visible on both sides, people would not go astray. Thus, the authorities started planting cypresses on both sides of the road.
At its peak, there were a hundred thousand trees on Jinyang Road. From afar, it looked like a long corridor enveloped by jade clouds.
Hence, it was also called the Jade Cloud Corridor.
He could see more clearly after taking a few more steps until he was in front of the Jade Cloud Corridor.
At the juncture between summer and autumn, the ancient cypresses displayed a unique greyish-green color. As no one had pruned them for a thousand years, the branches grew freely, wildly intertwined. Even sunlight had difficulty penetrating through the lush foliage and fell on the road in entrancing patches of light and darkness.
The road was paved with uneven stone slabs. Each stone slab seemed to be a different height. They were not laid tightly together and there were many gaps and potholes.
Song You stopped and looked back.
After walking for half a day, he could no longer see that familiar mountain and that familiar Daoist temple.
Still, Song You continued to gaze on serenely.
He had discussed with his master the day before and finished packing his luggage early this morning. He bid farewell to his master and the old crested myna[1] in the Daoist temple. He was traveling light, and he walked forty li[2] in half a day. Finally, he reached this famous road.
But where should he go from here?
His master hadn't told him and he didn’t know either.
Only after a long time did Song You look away.
All he could do was go forward.
Just a few more steps and he stepped onto Jade Cloud Corridor. Under his feet, the dirt was replaced by stone, and most of the blazing sunshine was also blocked.
Song You did not turn back again. He walked forward firmly and calmly, just constantly taking note of the scenery on the roadsides.
In this era, the function of this road was not less important than the highways of later generations. It connected Yizhou[3] and Guanzhong Plain and even had railings to prevent horses from accidentally leaving the road that were like the highway guardrails of later generations. It did seem a little dilapidated due to a thousand years of unrelenting winds and snow, but it was nevertheless a major road.
Song You finely appreciated the scenery of this era's Jade Cloud Corridor.
Occasionally, mule bells would jingle as a caravan passed him by. Under the intermingled light and shadow of the cypresses, the two parties would size each other up. Now and then, he could hear the sound of horse hooves approaching from a distance with a sense of rhythm unique to this age. The official postman would speed past, brandishing his whip as he spurred his horse forward.
Sometimes, he would also encounter porters.
They were the only ones that Song You could keep up with and overtake.
Yizhou’s porters were usually skinny and small as well as suntanned all over. They carried staves made of bamboo and wood, and they bore goods on their backs that would be heavy even for strong men. Going forward with lowered heads already sapped all of their strength, how would they have the spare energy to care about what was going on around them?
Fortunately, the ancient cypresses provided shade.
No one dared to cut them down, either.
From the previous dynasty, the court had officially enacted laws to protect the ancient cypresses. Both the army and civilians were forbidden from cutting them down. When the provincial official left his post, he would be required to make an inventory of the ancient cypresses and hand it over to his successor.
Rumor has it that among the lush ancient cypresses on Jade Cloud Corridor built by the Yu Dynasty in the midst of these treacherous mountains, there were a number that had become demons after living too long. There was even a merchant traveling at night who had heard the ancient trees beside him speak.
Of course…
These trees had been providing shade and shelter from the rain for more than a thousand and two hundred years. How many people had passed by? Even if the trees had merely listened to passersby, they had been doing so long enough to have learned how to speak.
Actually, Song You really wanted to hear them speak to him.
Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
This journey alone was destined to be silent.
He wasn't sure for how long he had walked, but since he had passed by four roadside mounds, he reckoned he had walked around twenty li. When he looked for the sun through the gaps between the cypresses’ foliage, it was clearly slanting a little toward the west.
Song You was somewhat tired.
He saw an ancient cypress ahead which was large enough that it would need several people’s arms to encircle. The tree trunk curved perfectly for leaning on and the ground under the tree was clean, so people must often have rested there.
Song You wasn’t fussy; he walked over and sat down.
He ate a pancake and drank some water.
At first, he was still thinking about some matters. People continually passed him by. Whenever he looked up and came face to face with someone from this era, there was always a sense of a wonderful encounter.
When he felt sleepy, he didn’t have the slightest intention to fight it. He hugged his travelling bag and fell into a deep sleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
The sound of the cicadas didn’t disturb him, it lulled him to sleep.
During his siesta, the sun slanted westward. In front of his eyes, sometimes there was light and sometimes there were tree shadows. Even with his eyes closed, he could sense the endless criss-crossing between light and shadow.
When he woke in a daze, he unexpectedly saw a group of little people jumping back and forth among the tree branches, making a constant clamor.
Every little person was palm-sized, slender and beautiful. There were both men and women. They wore gorgeous, colourful clothing, and they were playing without a care. Yet when he rubbed his eyes and looked carefully, he suddenly saw that they were actually a couple of chickadees.
“Ah…”
Song You laughed at last and gradually woke up.
Looking up at the sky again, he saw that the few cumulus clouds that had been in the sky had gathered together at some time, forming a large thick cumulus cloud. It was so thick that it obstructed the light of the heavens, so that the bottom was a dark shadow.
It was moving ahead on the road.
Unfortunately, it would probably rain later….
Most cumulus clouds did not bring rain and snow. On the contrary, when they appeared on a fine day, it was a sign of good weather. However, when they turned dense, they might bring short bursts of heavy rain. Depending on changes in the temperature and airflow, they might even develop into more violent cumulonimbus clouds.
Song You didn’t mind. He picked up his traveling bag and set off.
Since he was out traveling, it didn’t matter whether it was a fine day or raining. Everything, good or bad, was an experience.
As expected, he hadn’t walked more than a few li when the thick cumulus cloud bottom ahead became darker and darker. When he stopped and raised his head, he saw rain pour down, instantly connecting the heavens and the earth.
This cloud was still floating over this way.
Song You hesitated but decided to double back.
One li behind him was a relay station with two pavilions on the right and the left, built by an unknown dynasty. Although they were dilapidated and provided no shelter from the wind, they just barely managed to provide shelter from the rain.
When he arrived at the relay station, the rain had just arrived too.
According to the road sign he had seen earlier, this relay station originally sold tea but Song You had not seen a tea-seller or anyone else. There was only a pile of dry firewood in the pavilion and signs on the floor that there had been a fire. At present, he was the only one who had come here to avoid the rain.
Song You unhurriedly chose a pavilion that had a better roof. He sat down directly on the spot and commenced watching the rain.
When the rain first began, it was still gentle, splashing drops on the dry ground which rolled into the dust. Unexpectedly, it grew heavy in the twinkling of an eye, and for a moment, his ears were full of the sound of the rain falling through the forest, hitting the leaves. Water splashes bloomed on the stone slabs one next to the other and soaked them completely. The earth was also completely moistened.
The heavy smell of dust assaulted his senses.
Heaven and earth slowly turned humid and all the color in the mountains became much more vivid. The sound of the cicadas stopped and the road in the mountains was left with the sound of the rain.
The pitter-patter lulled one into tranquillity.
After about one hour , the sky darkened with dusk but the rain showed no signs of stopping at all. Looking at this, he had no idea how much longer the rain would continue. The siesta itself had already wasted a lot of time so even if the rain stopped now, he was probably unable to reach the next stop.
Thinking of this, Song You stopped looking and listening to the rain. He turned to look at that half-pile of dry firewood in the corner and the traces of fire on the floor.
Jianghu[4] people must have spent the night here.
It would only be Beginning of Autumn[5] in two days. That day was not cold even though it was somewhat cooler in the mountains. It was not impossible to spend the night here.
Song You calmed down and simply closed his eyes.
Heavy rain falls and everything comes to life.
The spiritual qi in the mountains also grew a little stronger.
The rain only lessened when it grew dark.
Song You got up, picked up some firewood and gathered it into a pile. He picked up a branch.
“Wind, stop! Fire, ignite!”
The wind blowing through the pavilion stopped momentarily.
A soft burst of sound followed.
Pop!
The branch in his hand burst into orange-red flames which looked no different from ordinary fire. Song You only used it as an ordinary flame. He lowered the branch and poked it into the dry firewood. He had to keep it still for a moment before the firewood slowly ignited.
Whoosh……
The wind started blowing again and the rain blew in with it. The edges of the pavilion were already soaked.
The fire crackled and the warmth reached Song You’s body. He felt warm and his face was a little hot. Yet he continued sitting cross-legged idly, staring spellbound at the burning fire as if there was something extremely interesting hidden within.
Occasionally, he would think about planning his future travels.
However, he was destined to fail.
Ever since he had arrived in this world, he had been in the Daoist temple growing up alongside his master. Although he had left many times, the places he had visited were limited. Moreover, he didn’t have much longing for and interest in this world. His understanding was inadequate and his motivation was insufficient, so it was naturally difficult to make a detailed plan.
Sometimes, he would think about the past.
Some scenes would come back to him unbidden in his mind.
More often, he didn’t think of anything. He just looked at the fire burning, felt its warmth and let his mind empty. A sense of security and comfort hidden deep in his genes made his heart increasingly tranquil.
The rain lessened and so did the sound of the rain. For a while, it became quiet in the mountains. In contrast, the sound of the fire burning in front of him became more distinct.
The foreign traveler sat by the solitary fire during the rainy night in the wild mountains.
A sense of loneliness welled up inside him when he thought about how far and how long he might travel alone in the future and how many more nights like this there might be.
Just thinking about it was unbearable.
After an unknown period of time, there was the faint clip-clopping of horse hooves.
Song You gazed away from the fire and turned to look at the direction he came from. In the night, a group of traveling merchants braved the rain as they came.
The beasts of burden were mostly horses and mules. They carried large bags of goods which seemed to be tea leaves from the packaging. There were ten or so of them and they even had an armed escort consisting of two people. It could be seen from this that this group of people must have come from far away as this official road was relatively safe.
Before the men arrived, he could already hear them talking.
“I can’t walk any more, we must have passed that stretch. There’s a pavilion in front, let’s make do and spend the night here.”
“I’m afraid we have to walk further!”
“There isn’t any shelter from the rain ahead.”
“There’s someone ahead!”
“He’s lit a fire….”
Song You stayed seated, watching that group of people walk over.
1. Chinese bird species ☜
2. Chinese mile, a traditional Chinese unit of distance. Varied over time but usually about one third of an English mile and now a standardized length of half-kilometer (500 meters or 1,640 feet or 0.311 miles). ☜
3. zhou representing a province ☜
4. Underground world of martial arts. ☜
5. 13th of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. ☜
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