A Smile and I Depart, a Thousand Miles of Falling Flowers and Wind

The sky was a clear blue, dotted with a few cumulus clouds. The sun beat down, making one's scalp feel hot, and the cicadas' voices were much hoarser than in early summer.

Cuiyun Corridor was just ahead.

Song You strode forward, looking up.

A narrow path, only wide enough for one person, wound its way between fields and earth, leading to an official road shaded by ancient cypress trees.

The cypresses were ancient, the road ancient. They wouldn't just become history years later; even in this era, they were already thousands of years old.

This road was called Jinyang Road. It was built during the Yu Dynasty to connect Yizhou to the Guanzhong Plain. The ancients had a habit of planting trees along roadsides to mark the direction of the main path. People would see trees on either side and wouldn't take a wrong turn. It was also from the Yu Dynasty that officials began planting cypress trees along Jinyang Road. At its peak, there were hundreds of thousands of cypress trees along Jinyang Road, which, from a distance, looked like a long corridor shrouded in green clouds.

Thus, it was also called Cuiyun Corridor.

Walking a few more steps and arriving at Cuiyun Corridor, he could see it more clearly.

It was the cusp of late summer and early autumn. The ancient cypresses had a unique grayish-green hue. They had grown freely for a thousand years without pruning, their branches intertwining wildly. The lush leaves allowed only a sliver of sunlight to pass through, dappling the road with patches of light and shadow.

Below was a road paved with flagstones, uneven and not tightly fitted, with frequent gaps and hollows.

Song You stopped and looked back.

After walking for half a day, the familiar mountain and Taoist temple were long out of sight.

Song You continued to gaze, his expression serene.

After a long talk with his master yesterday, he had packed his bags this morning, bid farewell to his master and the old mynah bird at the temple, and traveled light. In half a day, he had covered forty li, finally arriving at this renowned major road.

But where should he go now?

His master hadn't told him, and he didn't know either.

"..."

After a long while, Song You withdrew his gaze.

He decided to keep moving forward.

Within a few steps, he stepped onto Cuiyun Corridor. The ground beneath his feet quickly became hard, and most of the scorching sunlight was blocked out.

Song You didn't look back again. He walked forward with determination and steadiness, paying close attention to the scenery along the roadside.

In this era, this road served a purpose no less important than modern highways, connecting Yizhou and the Guanzhong Plain. It even had horse-blocking walls, similar to modern highway guardrails, though centuries of wind and frost had left them somewhat dilapidated.

Even so, it remained a vital transportation artery of its time.

Song You carefully experienced this ancient road, immersing himself in the real scene of Cuiyun Corridor in this era.

Occasionally, the tinkling of mule bells would sound as caravans passed by. Shadows and light played beneath the cypress trees as both parties sized each other up. Sometimes, he would hear the sound of horse hooves approaching from afar, carrying a rhythm unique to this era. Official couriers, urging their horses on, would gallop past.

Sometimes, he would encounter porters.

These were the only people Song You could catch up to and overtake.

The porters of Yizhou were often small and thin, like skin and bones. Their bodies were dark, carrying loads that even strong men would find difficult to bear. Leaning on bamboo staffs, they moved forward with their heads down, having already exhausted all their strength, with no energy left to pay attention to anything around them.

Fortunately, the ancient cypresses provided shade.

No one dared to cut down these ancient cypresses.

Ever since the previous dynasty, the imperial court had enacted laws to protect the ancient cypresses. Both military and civilians were forbidden from pruning or felling them. When a provincial official left office, they had to inventory and hand over the ancient cypresses to their successor.

Legend had it that in these treacherous mountains, along the Cuiyun Corridor built by the Yu Dynasty, among the lush ancient cypresses, there were often spirits that had gained sentience after existing for too long. Some merchants traveling at night had even heard the ancient trees beside them speak.

And why not?

These trees had provided shade and shelter here for over twelve hundred years. How many people had passed by them? They must have learned to speak just by listening.

Song You truly wished he could hear them speak to him.

But alas, he did not.

This solitary journey was destined to be silent.

He walked for an unknown amount of time, counting four milestones along the roadside. This meant he had traveled another twenty li. He found the sun through the gaps in the cypress branches, and it had clearly slanted a bit towards the west.

Song You was getting a little tired.

Seeing an ancient cypress ahead, likely requiring several people to embrace, with a trunk curved just right for leaning against, and the ground beneath it clean, he assumed people often rested here.

Song You wasn't particular. He walked over and sat down.

He ate a flatbread and drank some water.

At first, his mind was still occupied with thoughts. People kept passing by, and he would look up, meeting the faces of this era, always feeling a sense of strange encounter. When he felt sleepy, Song You had no intention of fighting it. He hugged his travel bag, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

The cicada's song didn't disturb him; it merely lulled him to sleep.

During his nap, the sun slanted westward. His vision flickered between tree shadows and sunlight, a constant interplay he could sense even with his eyes closed.

When he woke up groggily, he saw a group of tiny figures leaping and playing among the branches.

Each little figure was only palm-sized, slender and beautiful, dressed in colorful clothes, both male and female, playing carefree. But when he reached out to rub his eyes and look closely, he realized they were just three or five sparrows.

"Heh..."

Song You finally smiled, gradually waking up.

He looked up at the sky again. The few cumulus clouds that had been there earlier had somehow gathered to form a large mass of cumulonimbus clouds, thick enough to block out the sunlight, casting a dark shadow from below.

The path lies ahead on the road.

It looks like it's going to rain soon--

Most cumulus clouds don't bring rain or snow; instead, they appear on sunny days and are symbols of good weather. But when they develop into cumulonimbus clouds, they can bring short, heavy downpours, and depending on temperature and air current changes, they might even evolve into more ferocious cumulonimbus clouds.

Song You didn't mind. He packed his bag and continued on his way.

Since he was traveling, whether it was sunny or rainy was all part of the experience; good or bad, it was all part of the journey.

As expected, after traveling just a few miles, the base of the cumulonimbus clouds ahead had grown increasingly dark. When Song You stopped and looked up, he saw the rain pouring down, instantly connecting the sky and the earth.

These clouds were still drifting this way.

"..."

Song You hesitated for a moment and chose to turn back.

About a mile behind him was a pavilion, with two sections, left and right. It was unclear when it was built, but though it was dilapidated now and couldn't block the wind, it could barely shelter from the rain.

By the time he reached the pavilion, the rain had also arrived.

According to the road signs he'd seen earlier, this pavilion used to have someone selling tea. However, Song You saw no tea vendor, nor anyone else. There was only a pile of dry firewood in the pavilion and traces of a fire on the ground. At the moment, he was the only one taking shelter from the rain.

Song You calmly chose a pavilion with a better roof, sat down, and began to watch the rain.

When the rain first started, it was gentle, only creating splashes on the dry ground. Water droplets mixed with dust, but in the blink of an eye, the rain intensified, and soon his ears were filled with the sound of rain beating through the leaves. Dense raindrops bloomed on the flagstones, soaking them completely, and the earth was thoroughly drenched.

The heavy smell of dust almost hit him in the face.

This corner of the world slowly became moist, and all the colors in the mountains seemed much cleaner. The sound of cicadas ceased, and only the sound of rain remained on the mountain path.

Drip, drip, patter, patter, it was calming.

About half an hour passed. The sky grew darker, but the rain showed no signs of stopping. Judging by its intensity, it was unclear how much longer it would continue. He had already wasted a lot of time on his midday rest, so even if the rain stopped now, he probably wouldn't reach the next station.

Thinking this, Song You shifted his focus from watching and listening to the rain. He turned his head to look at the pile of dry firewood in the corner and the traces of a fire on the ground.

Someone from the martial world must have stayed here overnight.

It was still two days before the start of autumn, so it wasn't cold today. Even if it was cooler in the mountains, staying here overnight wouldn't be impossible.

Song You's mind cleared, and he simply closed his eyes.

Heavy rain falls, all things grow.

The spiritual energy in the mountains also seemed to have become a bit denser.

It wasn't until nightfall that the rain lessened.

Song You got up, picked up some dry firewood, and piled it together. He then took a wooden branch in his hand.

"Wind Stops, Fire Rises."

The wind that had been blowing through the pavilion paused briefly.

Then, with a soft sound--

"Pop!"

The wooden branch in his hand ignited, burning with a cluster of orange-red flames that looked no different from ordinary fire. Song You treated it as ordinary fire. He lowered the branch and inserted it into the dry firewood. After holding it there for a moment, he slowly ignited the firewood.

"Whoosh..."

The wind picked up again, and the rain slanted in. The edges of the pavilion were already soaked.

The bonfire crackled, and its warmth spread to Song You, making him feel warm, while his face felt a little hot. He continued to sit cross-legged, staring intently at the blazing bonfire, as if something incredibly beautiful was hidden within it.

Sometimes he would think about his future travel plans.

But it was destined that he couldn't come up with any.

Ever since he arrived in this world, he had lived in the Taoist temple with his master. He had left many times, but the places he had visited were limited. Moreover, his own yearning and interest in this world were minimal. He lacked understanding and motivation, making it naturally difficult to make detailed plans.

Sometimes he would think about the past.

Certain images uncontrollably surged into his mind.

But more often than not, he thought of nothing. He just watched the bonfire burn, felt the warmth it emitted, and his mind gradually emptied. A sense of security and comfort, deeply ingrained in his genes, made his heart increasingly peaceful.

As the rain subsided, the sound of the rain also lessened. The mountain became quiet for a moment, and the most prominent sound was that of the bonfire burning in front of him.

Mountains in disarray, remnants of rain at night, a lone fire, a stranger in a foreign land.

When he thought about how far and how long he might wander alone in the future, and how many such nights there might be, a sense of loneliness welled up within him.

It was hard to bear.

After an unknown amount of time, he vaguely heard the sound of hooves.

Song You shifted his gaze from the bonfire and turned his head in the direction he had come from. A group of merchants was approaching in the rain.

The livestock were mainly horses and mules, laden with large bundles of goods. Judging by the packaging, it should be tea. There were about ten people, and they had brought two guards. This indicated that the group was likely from a relatively remote place, and this stretch of the official highway was relatively safe.

Before the people arrived, their voices could be heard.

"We can't go on. We must have passed that section. There's a pavilion ahead, let's make do there for the night."

"Maybe we should go a bit further!"

"There's nowhere to shelter from the rain up ahead."

"Someone's up there!"

"They're making a fire..."

Song You remained seated, watching the group approach.

New writer, new book, I'm a student, please take care of me!