Who Could Be First to Forgive the World

Li Baoping led her horse as she went to visit an elder from her hometown, her grandfather's chess companion. One claimed to be undefeated in chess throughout Fulu Street, while the other styled himself Taoye Lane's foremost master. Whenever they faced off, both treated it with great solemnity, as if the reputations of their respective streets were on the line. Li Baoping did not enjoy chess, so it was hard to say whether the two elders were truly skilled, but their excuses for taking back moves changed every time. They were no match for Mr. Qi.

Back then, the old man's ancestral residence had stood at the far end of Taoye Lane, not far from Fulu Street. Of course, to the little girl in the red cotton-padded jacket, nowhere in the town had seemed far away. She went to Immortal's Grave to catch crickets and katydids, huffed and puffed her way up Old Porcelain Mountain to collect shards, caught fish, shrimp, and crabs in Dragon Tail Creek, stared at the high-hung mirrors above different households' gates, and jumped up and down the steps of Qilong Alley. From far away, she could smell Peach Blossom Cake, or hear a household where a fresh nest of swallows had suddenly begun chirping especially loudly.

Every tomorrow of Li Baoping's childhood had seemed filled with endless fun things to do. Every day's itinerary was packed to the brim, so the little girl had needed to run at full speed without pause, like a turning cartwheel. Perhaps she had run too fast and left her childhood years behind in an instant. Once people grew up, childhood remained where it was. When they occasionally looked back, it was ever farther away, blurred and indistinct.

A lean old man in a high crown and broad sash emerged