The Sky Curtain gates overseen by the Confucian Temple Attendant Sage were not connected to one another. Thus, Chen Ping'an and the other two made another trip beyond the heavens, then returned to Vast Heaven and Earth through the gate above Treasure Bottle Continent.
Now that they had reached the skies above Treasure Bottle Continent, there was no need to hurry on their journey. As they headed for Chuzhou of Great Li, the three of them descended as though walking down a flight of stairs.
Looking down upon the earth and rivers of an entire continent: clouds in the blue sky, water in the bottle.
The skipping Xie Gou turned to glance at Xiao Mo and sighed. "Xiao Mo, by all rights, that outfit of yours should look terribly rustic. But on you, it is different—it looks exceedingly handsome. It truly answers a line of verse: with such a scene before one's eyes, words fail to describe it!"
Xiao Mo remained silent.
Xie Gou strode along grandly, imitating the little water monster who patrolled the mountains, her shoulders swaying back and forth. "Yellow hat, green shoes, green bamboo staff—the Sword Immortal treads across the clouds above the ridges."
Having stayed at Luopo Mountain for so long, Xie Gou had adapted to local ways and picked up quite a few habits and worldly customs.
Xiao Mo endured it, then endured some more.
Xie Gou seemed to have a fountain of literary inspiration bursting forth, impossible to hold back. "For three thousand years I sought a swordsman; the Dao tree's withered wood met spring again. Since first beholding plum blossoms, never again have I doubted."
Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "Why wasn't the opening line 'for ten thousand years'?"
Xie Gou sneered. "Could anything be better than 'three thousand years'?"
Chen