Liu Erlong unfolded the letter addressed to Tang San, her fingertips still trembling slightly. The wind at Jialing Pass drifted gently by, carrying the soft rustle of turning paper and reddening the eyes of everyone present. She took a deep breath, forcing down the sob in her throat, and began to read word by word.
"Little San, by the time you unfold this letter, the wind and sand of Jiayu Pass should have already faded my footprints—I'm going to chase after Zhi Nian. Just like back then, when you held Xiao Wu's hand and chased butterflies along the ridges of Sacred Soul Village, this time, it's my turn to chase after the person I've been waiting for."
Tang San stood where he was, tears welling in his blue-gold eyes. Memories surged over him like a tide. It was as if he could once again see that little girl who had fallen into a mud pit, her cloth dress smeared with filth as she clutched half a jade pendant and cried her heart out, while he held up a wooden stick and shouted in his childish voice, "Don't bully her!" The sunlight of those days, the sweet fragrance of wheat cakes, and the dependence in that little girl's eyes were all so vivid, as though they had happened only yesterday.
Xiao Wu gripped his hand tightly as tears slid soundlessly down her cheeks. She remembered what Lin Zhixia had told her—how Tang San had secretly saved money to buy her candied hawthorns and asked Zhixia to hide them for him. She remembered that at Shrek, after every battle, Tang San would always check first to see whether she had been hurt—Zhixia had seen and remembered all those little signs of care hidden in their everyday lives.
"Do you remember the year