Sending Off Winter Plum Blossoms

Chuyun stood outside the tent, his gaze sweeping over the people emerging from it. He sensed some were excited, some embarrassed, and some a mix of both, their eyes frequently darting down to the young girl beside them.

The girl stood next to him, not even half his height. Her clothes were clean and tidy, her eyes darting everywhere, observing the crowd of humans, the novel sights, and the sources of sound. However, her face lacked the rich expressions of a normal person. Perhaps she had only recently taken human form and hadn't yet learned to display a wide range of human emotions. When encountering something surprising, at most she would widen her eyes.

Swish.

The tent flap was pulled open, and a group of Daoists emerged.

Chuyun couldn't help but study everyone's expressions.

Leading the group was Daoist Brother Song. This Daoist Brother's expression was always the same; nothing could startle him, nor disgust him. There was nothing special about it.

However, the elders and fellow disciples behind him showed different expressions than before.

The elders' faces held a touch of awkwardness and embarrassment, while the disciples were flushed red, some muttering under their breath about "unbearable to look at" and "should have asked beforehand."

Both the Daoists and the cat were filled with curiosity.

Three Flower Lady tilted her body, stretching her neck, her eyes wide as she peeked through the opened curtain.

Chuyun walked up to Daoist Yingfeng. "Senior Brother, what is inside this tent?"

Daoist Yingfeng's face turned even redder.

"N-nothing..."

"Why the expression?"

"Don't ask."

"What is it? It's so strange! Your reaction only makes me more curious!"

Daoist Yingfeng stammered, still unable to answer.

Even though cultivators were supposed to be detached, in this era, how could one speak of such things in front of a junior sister?

Chuyun's master reprimanded, "What else could it be? Isn't it all just indecent things! Always asking, always asking! What's so interesting about it?"

"Oh..."

Chuyun couldn't help but shrink his neck.

He recalled the things inside the previous tents – the stench of dried corpses, the contorted human bodies in bizarre shapes. He still felt a bit nauseous.

Song You, however, smiled and said to Chuyun, "Dao follows nature, why cling to the superficial."

As he spoke, he noticed Three Flower Lady trying to sneak inside.

"Whoosh!"

Song You grabbed her by the back of her collar and pulled her back. He then glanced at the others and cupped his hands. "Fellow Daoists, it's getting late."

"We should be returning to Qingxiao Temple."

"Then we shall part ways here."

"May we meet again."

"May we meet again."

Even Three Flower Lady mimicked Song You, her childish voice sounding surprisingly formal as she said, "May we meet again." If her collar wasn't currently held in someone's hand, it might have seemed even more proper.

The two groups were not going in the same direction and parted ways.

Chuyun retracted his gaze, feeling a mix of regret and reluctance.

"Brother Daoist truly has strong willpower."

The middle-aged Daoist was stunned, his brow furrowed in deep thought.

After tonight's tour, Daoist Song had indeed been much more composed than them. Not just more composed than the juniors, but more composed than anyone they had known before. It hadn't seemed like much at the time, but thinking back now, it was all about his cultivation. His words, "Dao follows nature, why cling to the superficial," though seemingly directed at the younger disciples like Chuyun, were actually meant to save face for the elders.

After a long while, his brow finally unfurrowed.

"Alas..."

"Master, why do you sigh? Is there sorrow?"

"It is not sorrow, but enlightenment."

"Enlightenment of what?"

"I only feel that we have diligently studied Daoist scriptures and comprehended the laws of Dao, immersing ourselves in them day and night, yet we have forgotten the principle of Dao following nature. In the end, we had to rely on Daoist Song to enlighten us."

"How so?"

"All things in this world, the Great Dao is contained everywhere. If one looks with a discerning eye, there are gains to be found everywhere. If one limits their sight only to the scriptures, obsessing over their profound meanings while ignoring what lies beyond, and only looking at the world superficially without deep thought, isn't that falling short?"

The Daoist masters were not dull-witted. They had already gained some insight before, and with this explanation, their minds became clear. They immediately felt ashamed and bowed towards the direction Song You had departed.

This piece of guidance could help the foolish achieve more than ten years of arduous contemplation.

"So, what was inside after all?"

When Chuyun lowered his hand, he couldn't help but ask.

"Just mortal desires."

"Desires?"

Three Flower Lady didn't quite understand the word.

"It's like when Three Flower Lady is hungry, she wants to eat. When thirsty, she wants to drink. When bored, and has too much energy, she wants to run around everywhere. When she sees a mouse scurry past or a bug fly by, it's hard to resist reaching out and catching them," Song You explained patiently. "Desires are similar to these, they're perfectly normal things. If you can find a way to eliminate them, you'll be at ease. If you can't, you'll feel all sorts of discomfort, like hunger or thirst. How you deal with your desires is the greatest reflection of your cultivation."

"I don't understand."

"Then forget it."

"Is it fun in there?"

"Why do you ask?"

"You seem very happy after coming out."

"Three Flower Lady has a pair of discerning eyes."

"Is it fun in there?"

"It's the joy of accomplishment."

"What joy?"

Song You didn't answer, but stopped in his tracks.

After bidding farewell to the Daoist priests of Fuqing Palace, he found himself walking back to the liveliest part of the temple fair. Besides the jugglers, magicians, and scallion pancake vendors from earlier, there were now opera singers, stilt walkers, dragon and lion dancers, and performers doing 'beating the iron flowers'.

Molten iron at 1600 degrees Celsius was poured into a shovel-like tool, and then a bare-chested strongman struck it with force.

"Clang!"

The sky filled with flying sparks, like fireflies scattering.

Such exquisite beauty and shock were beyond even later fireworks.

Song You was momentarily stunned.

He stood still for a long time. After one tree of iron flowers bloomed and then another, he lowered his head, patted the forehead of Three Flower Lady, who was also staring with wide eyes, captivated, and said, "It's like seeing these silver flowers fall at night, feeling something and gaining something in your heart, naturally bringing joy."

"It's like stars falling down~"

"Yes."

"Will this happen again tomorrow?"

"I don't know."

"Three Flower Lady wants to see it again tomorrow!"

"Okay."

"And I want to see the monkey show!"

"Okay."

"Can you buy me some rat poison?"

"Why?"

"I'll kill all the rats and then eat them. That way, I won't have to catch them myself."

"We'll see."

The two figures, one large and one small, slowly walked away.

Returning to the courtyard, there was another pleasant surprise.

The yellow plum blossoms in the yard had bloomed.

As he pushed open the door to the courtyard, he felt a subtle fragrance wafting in the night, gently seeping into his senses. A spectral figure seemed to wander and sing beneath the tree, its voice also faint and ethereal, possessing a cold purity like the yellow plum blossoms. The two complemented each other, creating a moment of transcendent beauty rarely found in the mortal world.

Three Flower Lady's voice was delicate:

"These flowers have bloomed."

Song You looked ahead and replied softly, "Yes."

"These flowers are yellow."

"Yes."

"You painted them red."

"You still remember."

"I'm very smart."

"Yes."

"Why did you paint them red?"

"Just a casual stroke."

With that, the ghostly figure vanished.

Song You could only shake his head in regret.

All good things in the world are fleeting.

He then fetched an oil lamp to admire the flowers by night.

In fact, the winter plum blossom was the winter plum blossom of his previous life. Its original name was yellow plum, and some say that Su Dongpo and Huang Shangu, seeing its petals resembled beeswax, named it wax plum. Others say Huang Tingjian felt the petals looked as if a woman had molded them with wax by hand, so it was later renamed wax plum. Regardless, it was named so because its petals were crystal clear and translucent, resembling wax in their exquisite beauty.

It also bloomed in the twelfth lunar month, hence it was often written as "wax plum" (là méi) later on.

The wax plum and the plum blossom are not the same. Wax plums mostly bloom in the cold twelfth lunar month and are often yellow, while plum blossoms mostly bloom in spring and are often red. According to later classifications, one belongs to the Calycanthaceae family, and the other to the Rosaceae family. It is difficult for later generations to know whether the plum blossoms in ancient poems refer to wax plums or plum blossoms, and which is which. Song You had not yet met any scholars; if he were to meet one who wrote poetry, he would at least learn a line.

In truth, Song You rarely saw plum blossoms in his previous life, but he often saw wax plums and often smelled their fragrance.

The fragrance of the wax plum held profound memories for the people of his hometown in his previous life—

The gardenia in spring, the magnolia in summer, the osmanthus in autumn, and the wax plum in winter were the scents he often encountered each year. Even in the city, there was no need to worry. As soon as the season arrived, many elderly people would walk the streets with baskets or pushcarts, selling the fragrance of flowers.

The most pleasant scent was that of the wax plum.

It was a sweet fragrance, yet also a cool one. Sweeter than osmanthus, but not as cloying, it was refreshing and delightful. It was a scent from distant memories, the scent of his hometown.

Song You was truly delighted and reluctant to go inside.

He couldn't resist picking one to place on the Three Flower Lady's head. He couldn't resist picking another to bring to his nose and savor. He couldn't resist standing beneath the plum tree, holding the oil lamp, and admiring it. If only transportation and postal services weren't so inconvenient in this era, he would have broken off a branch to send to the old Taoist priest at the temple to express his longing. But since it was inconvenient, he could only leave it on the branch, unwilling to break it.

The oil lamp illuminated the wax flowers, creating a unique beauty.

As the night deepened, the courtyard grew colder. The tree full of wax flowers bloomed one by one in the chill, becoming ever more pure and beautiful.

Song You felt a deep sense of peace and did not wish to leave.

If anyone passed by outside, they too could enjoy the fragrance in the courtyard at this moment. If they were willing to stop, they could hear faint voices from within the courtyard.

"It's getting colder, Taoist priest."

"Yes."

"Why aren't you going to sleep?"

"I'm reluctant."

"Pick a branch to take back and look at."

"I'm reluctant to do that too."

"……"

"……"

"Why aren't you speaking?"

"The Three Flower Lady hasn't said anything either."

"The Three Flower Lady is watching you."

"I am looking at the flowers."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Thinking of some old friends."

"Thinking of your master?"

"How did the Three Flower Lady know?"

"I am very clever."

"Naturally."

Song You was thinking of more than just his master at this moment.

This floral fragrance, originating from the depths of his memory, naturally stirred up things from those depths. Ancient people had a tradition of sending plum blossoms to express longing, but even if Song You were to pick a plum blossom, he wouldn't know where to send it.

Fortunately, he had the Three Flower Lady for company.

She dispelled much of his loneliness.