I Wish to Open My Heart to You

The old man waived Song You's tea money and gave him another hundred wen for delivering the message, saying that after it was delivered, his son would give him another two hundred wen.

A total of three hundred wen could be earned.

Message delivery was usually paid in two installments.

As for the letter, it was rolled up and placed inside a small bamboo tube. Song You casually tucked it into his saddlebag. He also agreed with the old man that he would travel leisurely, taking his time, and that he shouldn't be blamed if the delivery was late.

With that, Song You led his horse and set off once more.

Glancing back, he saw the old man still bowing and scraping, asking a group of martial artists something. It seemed the letters weren't all delivered yet.

This was normal.

In this day and age, when you asked someone to deliver a letter, you would certainly not send just one. If a letter was particularly important, you might fear it wouldn't be delivered or would be delivered late, so sending several was also normal.

"Xuzhou, Long Commandery, Lingbo County, Ganzao Lane, Chen Han..."

Song You muttered to himself.

There was no need to memorize it, as it was already written on the bamboo tube.

The address seemed easy enough to find.

However, it was still several hundred li to Xuzhou. According to the old man, Long Commandery's Lingbo County was particularly remote within Xuzhou, and the roads were difficult. No wonder so many merchants and martial artists didn't go there or accept deliveries to that area.

Fortunately, Chen Han at least lived within the county town.

In this era without map navigation, if the delivery address was remote, traveling from one province to a commandery, then to a county, and then trying to find your way within the county could be difficult. The messenger would have to patiently inquire, and once they got a direction, they would have to search along intricate small roads. Along the way, they would expend much effort, time, and take many wrong turns.

This was why a thin family letter was worth its weight in gold.

Thinking carefully, today was the fifth day of the month. Judging by previous years, the Taoist priests of Fuqing Palace were probably already on their way to Fulong Temple. If they left early, his master might have already seen his letter.

He wondered what she would think when she read it.

That old Taoist nun was lazy and loved to sleep. Without him around, she'd probably go hungry three meals a day for three days.

"Taoist priest, what are you thinking about again?"

The Three Flower Cat, who had run ahead, stopped and looked back at him.

Song You smiled and slowly followed.

The Red date horse still followed silently behind him.

They continued to traverse mountains and cross rivers, setting off at sunrise and stopping at sunset. Occasionally, when inspiration struck, they would travel day and night. On days when he felt lazy and sleepy, he would find a comfortable spot, lie down, and take a nap in the sun.

A Taoist's heart is calm, and his steps are always steady.

The horse was honest and always silent and reliable.

The Three Flower Cat was the most lively, always darting back and forth between the man and the horse. She was a person when passing through forests, a cat when walking by the river, a cat when lying down for a nap with Song You, and a person again when laughing heartily on the horse's back, urging it to run faster. She was always changing like this.

It was unclear if seven or eight days had passed.

In the distance, the green mountains were like eyebrows, with flat ridges that met the clouds, forming a distinct blue-white line. Along this gently curving ridgeline, one could see a person and a horse walking slowly in the distance. From this angle, the person and horse seemed to be walking in the sky. Their origin was unknown, and their destination was unknown. For a moment, it seemed as if only this person and horse existed between heaven and earth.

This was not the main road, but the mountaintop.

The main road was on the mountainside below.

Song You had climbed up on a whim. He hadn't found the path at first and had spent a lot of effort.

The Three Flower Cat didn't quite understand this. She felt it was fine to walk below, where there were trees to climb, insects to catch, and many bird nests in the trees. Climbing this mountain had taken a lot of effort, and it was much more barren up here than on the mountainside, with less fun and mostly grass taller than her, making it difficult to walk.

And then they would have to bother climbing down.

The Three Flower Cat had many questions, asking why frequently.

However, she was just a cat. Since she was traveling with this Taoist priest, she had no choice but to follow him.

There was no other way.

As dusk approached again, The Three Flower Cat, having transformed for a long time, had gained the ability to exhale smoke. She could exhale black smoke to obscure vision or white smoke to induce sleep, a common ability for Yao. However, by constantly following Song You, she mostly used her black smoke ability only to change clothes during transformations. Thus, she again used black smoke to transform into human form and diligently gathered a lot of firewood.

It was cold at night, so they needed a fire.

Roasting by the fire was the most comfortable.

Song You sat cross-legged, facing west, not sensing the spiritual essence of the surrounding landscape, but quietly watching the sun set.

He admired the sunset and the Rosy Cloud Light.

He didn't turn around until it was dark.

He saw that the Three Flower Lady had piled up a pile of firewood behind her. The saddlebag was placed on the dry grass. The Red date horse seemed exceptionally at ease, lying on the ground, chewing on nearby dry grass, and glancing sideways at the young girl.

The young girl squatted by the firewood pile, very close to it.

"Hoo... hoo...

"Cough! Cough!

"Hoo..."

Song You saw that she wanted to use the fire-breathing technique he had taught her, intending to make fire herself. However, despite her best efforts, she could only exhale a puff of grayish-white smoke, occasionally choking herself into a cough.

"You're almost there with your cultivation..."

Song You whispered to her, but paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. He then smiled and continued, "But it's only by a little bit. Just try a little harder with your next breath, and you'll definitely succeed."

The child looked up at him, completely believing his words. Her heart settled, and she took a deep breath, her chest puffing out.

"Hoo!"

A cluster of bright yellow flames spurted from her mouth.

However, the fire she spat out at this moment was merely mortal fire, with no other divine properties. She spat a small mouthful at the pile of firewood, only singeing it slightly. It wasn't even hot enough to burn, let alone ignite it.

"Congratulations."

Song You smiled at the child and said, "Three Flower Lady has extraordinary talent. In just a few months, she has already learned the art of spitting fire."

The child ignored him, focusing solely on spitting smoke.

Grayish-white smoke was mixed with many sparks.

After a while, she turned her head back in disappointment.

"It's not burning..."

"You're already very impressive."

"Taoist priest, how long did you study before?"

"..."

"Why aren't you talking?"

"Being able to spit fire means Three Flower Lady is already on this path. With more contemplation and practice in the future, you will succeed. Remember, when casting a spell each time, you must have absolute faith in its success."

"Then how long did you study before?"

"..."

"Taoist priest, how long did you study before?"

"Two days."

As Song You answered, he reached out and pointed.

"Puff!"

The firewood immediately burst into flames.

The child sat down on the ground with a plop, staring blankly at the fire before her, saying nothing more.

Song You, meanwhile, used the fire to roast two steamed buns. They were similar to the steamed buns of his past life, but the things called "steamed buns" here actually had fillings inside. The things he used to call "filled buns" in his past life were actually what they called "steamed buns" here. He had intended to roast some dried meat for Three Flower Lady, but she said she didn't want to eat it right now, nor did she want dried meat. She mentioned there were mice in the mountains and that she would catch fresh ones to eat when they came out at night.

This little cat ate better than he did—

It was only early spring, and the weather was still cold, but she was already not worried about food. Catching insects by the roadside, birds during the day, and mice at night were all part of her daily routine. If it weren't for the wrong season, he felt she could have managed Song You's meals as well on their journey.

After dinner, as the sky grew cold, Song You found a flat spot, used fire to clear it, and then spread out the wool felt gifted by Prefect Yu. He covered himself with a blanket and lay down.

Three Flower Lady lay down with her beloved horse.

Lying down, he opened his eyes and saw the Cosmic Stars, dense and numerous. The sky seemed unable to contain them all, so they spilled down onto the earth along the night sky.

"Three Flower Lady, please look at the sky."

"Three Flower Lady is looking at the sky."

"The sky is full of stars."

"I see them."

"Three Flower Lady, do you know? Every star in the sky is a world like ours, but some have people and some don't. Perhaps while we are looking at the stars, someone on a star is looking up in our direction."

"Are there cats where there are people?"

"Most likely."

"And where there are no people?"

"Perhaps."

Song You replied softly, his heart growing quieter.

Three Flower Lady possessed a way of thinking that transcended human experience. Whenever he said something to her, her responses or questions always struck him as wonderfully peculiar and made him feel exceptionally at ease.

Song You asked softly, "Are the stars beautiful?"

"Beautiful."

"There are many trees down the mountain, so you can't see the stars."

"You can see them here."

"That's why we climbed up here."

"Oh."

Three Flower Lady tilted her head back, gazing longingly at the stars.

She just thought the stars were so beautiful, sparkling brightly.

She couldn't help but want to reach out and catch it.

And she did reach out, waving her hands in the air before her eyes, beckoning.

If it was to climb up and watch the stars, it would be hard work, and she wouldn't be able to climb trees to catch birds, but it seemed like it would be okay.

Just then, she heard the Taoist priest's voice again:

"Three Flower Lady."

"Mm?"

As if sensing something, Three Flower Lady suddenly let go, turning her head.

She saw the Taoist priest let out a strange sigh:

"I didn't like this world before."

"Why?"

"Many reasons."

"Why?"

"Because this world is backward and primitive. There are no brightly lit cities, no convenient transportation, no exciting internet. You can't know everything happening in the world without leaving your home. You can't taste the delicacies of most regions just by staying in one city. Most of the food isn't very good either. During the day, the city stinks, full of feces everywhere, and pedestrians' clothes are mostly dirty and ragged. At night, if you don't have money for candles, it's pitch black. Even with candles, the light only illuminates a tiny, dim spot in the darkness. This world is like this, dark and dim. Besides gods, ghosts, and magic, and natural scenery, I don't know what else is exciting about it."

"It's not dark at night! We can catch mice to play with!"

"See, even sending a letter is this difficult."

"Sending a letter is just this difficult."

"It's also because this world is strange and ignorant. When I first arrived, I had no one to rely on, and the people were ignorant. Even scholars, even sages, their thoughts were trapped in this era. The vast majority of people either like to trample on others, are used to being trampled on, or both. Many times, I really didn't want to talk to them."

Song You lay there looking at the stars, but there was no arrogance on his face, only his usual calm demeanor.

This time, Three Flower Lady honestly said:

"I don't understand."

Song You just smiled upon hearing this.

This was precisely why he was telling her.

At some point, Three Flower Lady turned back into a cat and crawled over to Song You. She crawled over his body, tickling his upper body as she stepped on him, then crawled to the other side and touched his face with her little paws.

Her paws were cool and felt gritty with sand.

"Taoist priest, you're unhappy."

"Not exactly."

"Then what is it?"

"Just a bit contemplative."

"Then you said--"

"Mm?"

"Do the stars think we're beautiful too?"

"Perhaps."

Three Flower Lady was healing him.

His eyes couldn't contain the vast expanse of stars, the campfire beside him burned continuously with crackling sounds. The red date horse lay nearby, chewing grass, its chewing sounds surprisingly comforting.

The sound of the wind, the whispers, all brought peace to his heart.

His master once said that beneath his gentle and indifferent exterior lay arrogance towards the entire world.

In fact, this was unavoidable.

Song You never argued and tried his best to restrain himself.

But that was all in the past. After arriving in this world, as time and his age grew, he gradually came to understand.

Since it was destined that he couldn't go back in this life, he would try his best to integrate into this world, to open his heart, to accept this world, to broaden his horizons, and to actively look for and experience the unique beauty of this world.

If he didn't know what was exciting about it, he would go find it. If he couldn't think of anything beautiful about it, he would go see it.

Traveling down the mountain like this, through thousands of mountains and rivers, experiencing people and their affairs, he had no other hope than to make this life more exciting, more interesting, and to not let this life go to waste.

Fortunately--

He had already gained a lot just as he set out.

Thanks to the "Capricious Waste" boss for the alliance leader, bowing with chest exposed!