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In the early morning, a milky mist wove like silk between the trees and rocks. It was cold, with the wind carrying the fresh chill of white snow. The red leaves had long since fallen. A layer of glass-like frost had quietly covered the mountain spring.
With a creak, the dust-covered door of the Azure Oil Temple opened from within. Li Hong stepped over the threshold, taking a deep breath of the familiar mountain breeze, and looked towards the mountains opposite.
There was a narrow path leading straight to the mountain peak. Two years ago, he had crossed over from there...
Lost in thought for a while, Li Hong tugged at his bundle's strap. He did not take that path back home but instead followed the stone road down towards the Azure Oil Temple Farmstead, his figure swiftly disappearing.
Two shadows appeared at the observation point.
Ling Xiangzi, dressed in white with her hair styled high and adorned with White Reed, stood pristine and unblemished. As the mountain wind blew, her clothing remained strangely still. She frowned slightly and said, "You seem quite at ease letting him go down the mountain like this."
Spirit Stone casually twirled his yellowing beard and replied, "He is very cautious in his actions."
"But don't forget about him..." Ling Xiangzi paused, her tone alert.
Spirit Stone understood her meaning and chuckled, "It's fine. The foolish boy is a bit peculiar; he appears to have lower cultivation than he actually does, making it hard to tell what he has within him. Besides, our Farmstead is not an ordinary place. I set it up myself."
Ling Xiangzi said nothing more and gracefully turned to enter the temple.
However, Spirit Stone's expression suddenly grew serious. He looked up at the sky and murmured, "Everything depends on him now. I hope he can understand my intentions..."
With a flash of green clothing, Spirit Stone slipped into the temple. The door closed silently behind him.
Rust quickly appeared on the beast-head door knocker as layers of fallen leaves drifted in from nowhere, soon covering the steps and threshold. An old cobweb hung with dust appeared on the walls and corners. In no time, the Azure Oil Temple became an abandoned dilapidated shrine deep in the mountains, forlorn and worn as if no one had ever been there.
Li Hong was no longer just a nimble-footed hunter boy. With his spiritual energy continuously circulating through Great Circulation, his body felt as light as riding the wind. The lightly frosted white stone path and dark gray tree trunks seemed to retreat beneath him. The cold mountain wind rushed towards him; instead of feeling chilly, his face felt warm against it.
After walking for an hour, the terrain gradually lowered, and the stone path came to an end. Before him lay a gorge, surrounded by dense tall trees that blocked his view completely. The stone path transformed into a dirt road, winding through the forest. He slowed his pace as he entered the woods.
The forest was very quiet, with no birds chirping or insects buzzing. All the trees stood still, creating an unsettling silence, and the light was particularly dim.
"It's strange," he muttered to himself, slowly advancing along the dirt road. According to the Spirit Stone, he would see a farmstead once he exited the forest.
This forest was quite expansive; it took him a good while to traverse it. Suddenly, the surroundings brightened.
Before him lay a vast expanse of fields. As he looked around, he saw only short stubble from harvested wheat. The first snow had already fallen here, leaving thin patches of white ice in some areas. Some wintering birds were hopping in the seemingly endless harvested wheat fields. Li Hong noticed a scarecrow standing at the end of a field ridge. For some reason, that scarecrow looked somewhat familiar.
He lightly touched down on the stubble and sprang into the air; in just three or five leaps, Li Hong arrived beside the scarecrow.
The scarecrow was meticulously crafted, dressed in a simple gray cloth shirt and pants, with a large straw hat that obscured its face completely. It also carried a large old wicker basket on its back. At first glance, it looked very lifelike.
Li Hong touched the hat and basket, feeling a lump in his throat. This hat and this old wicker basket originally belonged to him! He remembered that the basket had been filled with dried pumpkins and other items, so heavy that it nearly tore apart; he had reinforced it with new twigs. Indeed, he found where he had woven new twigs at the top of the basket. After enduring wind and rain, these new twigs had turned grayish, almost blending in with the old ones beside them. Only he could tell them apart.
A deep sense of sorrow welled up inside him, an odd feeling of expansion filling his chest as his eyes grew increasingly warm. Li Hong stepped back a few paces to closely examine this scarecrow; the more he looked, the more it resembled him.
Someone had made this scarecrow to look like him.
"Li Hong! Is that you? Is it really you?" A sound of something heavy dropping echoed from afar.
Li Hong suddenly turned his head.
It was past noon; the sun's grayish light dimmed as someone in the distance looked at him with mixed emotions—joy and sorrow—while a large bamboo winnowing basket fell at his feet. It was his sister-in-law Wanyi.
"Sister-in-law, I'm back." Li Hong approached calmly, though his voice trembled slightly.
******
This was a large house with rooms connected by thick fabric curtains. The outermost room had a northern kang where Chuxiong's mother lived. The middle room with a southern kang was occupied by Wanyi. The innermost room was the kitchen. There was a large stove in the local style, with a small back door for cooking and heating. Exiting through the small door led to the backyard, where a neatly stacked pile of firewood reached the height of the eaves.
The house was warm, with both kangs heated to a rolling temperature. The kangs were covered with clean, thick bedding, and a new wooden trunk filled with clothes was stacked beside them. Some sewing materials were haphazardly piled on a small table. This was the scene Li Hong saw as he stepped through the front door.
Aunt and Wanyi seemed to be living quite well.
Upon seeing Li Hong, Aunt's eyes filled with tears as she laughed and cried at the same time. When she asked about Bear Kid, she learned that he was doing well on the mountain, well-fed and warmly dressed, even learning to write and acquire skills. She was so happy that she kept saying how nice it would be if he could come back together.
Li Hong knew very well that he had been permitted to descend the mountain alone by his master, who said it would be some time before his younger brother could come down to see Aunt. "Aunt, don't worry. I'll talk to my master when I return; it will definitely be allowed."
Aunt had gained many white hairs but looked quite healthy, her complexion rosy, though her clothes seemed a bit tight. She had gained weight. While Li Hong chatted with her, his gaze kept drifting toward the busy Wanyi. Since returning, Wanyi had not stopped working—killing chickens, cooking meals, and preparing tea—her slender figure flitting around the house like a flower in bloom. Even when Aunt called her over to sit down, she refused.
Aunt smiled and said, "Wanyi is just diligent; these days we've been living together, and it's all thanks to her for taking care of this old woman!"
Wanyi was tidying up the table when she heard this; she smiled at Aunt and Li Hong before lowering her head to continue her work. Li Hong clearly noticed that while Wanyi appeared to be wiping the table, her hand holding the cloth was aimlessly making circles on its surface.
Li Hong felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
As night fell in the house, Aunt's excited voice finally quieted down as she began to yawn repeatedly. Li Hong smiled as he helped her onto the kang and tucked her in with a blanket. Hearing Aunt's steady breathing, he lowered the curtain and walked into the inner room.
The fire flickered as a large pot of hot water simmered on the stove. Wanyi lifted the lid and tested the water temperature before softly asking, "It's cold outside; should we take a hot bath before sleeping?"
The dark red firelight flickered on Wanyi's face, her cheeks flushed, with a ring of tiny beads of sweat around her red lips.
Li Hong suddenly felt his mouth very dry and after a while mumbled, "Alright, let's take a bath first."
Wanyi dragged a large wooden basin from the corner, carefully wiped it clean, and tiptoed to lift the full pot of hot water. Li Hong hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed her arm, whispering, "I'll do it."
Standing close, he could smell the faint fragrance on Wanyi. It was a familiar scent, a mix of firewood and cooking aromas combined with her own subtle fragrance, vibrant and homely. For some reason, this scent reminded Li Hong of his mother and the warm, fleeting days long ago at Li Family Hollow. A wave of gentle sadness surged in his heart.
He effortlessly poured the steaming hot water into the wooden basin, the milky steam rising up. Through the steam, he saw that Wanyi's face also bore a hint of sorrow, just like his.
She said softly, "You've grown up, Li Hong. You're already a man now."
She slowly turned and walked outside. Li Hong heard her quietly say, "I'll go get you some clothes. Over these past two years, whenever I had free time, I've been making new clothes for you and Bear Kid. I've made quite a few. You've grown taller, just as I thought; the clothes should fit you perfectly."
The fabric curtain slowly drifted down. But Li Hong stood frozen. For the past two years, Wanyi had spent her long lonely nights making clothes for them. Blood rushed to his head as he dashed over and lifted the curtain.
Wanyi was holding new clothes in her hands, facing away from him, her frail shoulders slightly trembling. She was crying.
A thousand emotions surged within him as Li Hong stared blankly at that slender figure. After a long while, the curtain finally fell gently again.
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