The mountain wind keened like a ghost crying in the night.
Song You returned to the safe spot and sat down.
This place was about four chi wide. Going by Song You's personal sense of scale, one chi in Great Yan was roughly equivalent to thirty centimeters in his previous life. The width here was about that of a bunk bed in a boarding school, and the height was similar—in any case, he could not stand up.
On one side was a stone wall; on the other, a sheer cliff.
The lantern containing Rosy Cloud Light sat on the ground, illuminating a small area of this path carved into the cliffside. Even in such a cramped place, it lent the surroundings a measure of warmth.
Three Flower Cat was running back and forth, sniffing here and smelling there. Every so often, it would walk to the edge of the cliff, stick its head out to look left and right, and fall into deep thought.
It was clear that, after arriving somewhere unfamiliar, it felt somewhat uneasy. In the end, it seemed to decide that the most familiar thing in this place was the person beside it. Furrowing its brow, it looked up at Song You several times. After inching closer and closer with cautious little tests, it finally curled up beside him.
Song You had long since closed his eyes and begun meditating in stillness.
Mountains and rivers possessed spirits. Mountains had mountain spirits, waters had water spirits, and every mountain had its own spirit. All of them were different and required careful comprehension.
The keening mountain wind beside his ears, the awe of the people below, the famous poems and masterpieces left here by countless men of letters over a thousand years, every stroke carved into the sheer cliff by people centuries ago to safeguard their peace, every person who had passed through, and even those who had slipped and fallen from here—all were part of the mountain spirit's essence.
The spiritual energy of the mountains was carried here by the wind, gathering in this place.
Three Flower Cat had initially curled up beside Song You out of timidity, but now it seemed to have found something even more comfortable and edged a little closer to him.
The night grew deeper and deeper. The stars and moon emerged one after another, and the temperature fell bit by bit. Three Flower Cat could not help moving closer and closer to Song You. In the end, it simply pressed against him as it slept, feeling the warmth flowing from his body and a refreshing comfort that soothed its heart.
The Rosy Cloud Light in the lantern remained bright.
If anyone happened to be traveling by night below and looked up, they might notice this unusual pinpoint of light among the cliffs a thousand feet above.
Around midnight, Song You opened his eyes.
He raised his hand, and a wisp of spiritual power floated above it. It resembled a streak of flowing light, pale yellow with a slight tinge of green. It consisted of an inner and outer layer: the inner layer was a highly condensed thread of light, while the outer layer was transparent as air and loose as smoke.
This was what he had gained at this stage.
The method Song You cultivated was the Four Seasons Cycle Method. Its cultivation was connected to the changing seasons and the turning of the solar terms, so the spiritual power it produced often carried the attributes of the season.
Its effects were precisely the opposite of his master's Five Elements Method. It could prolong life, but was not good at strengthening the body. At the same time, every strand of its spiritual power came with its own wondrous use, though it lacked the considerable destructive power naturally possessed by spiritual power cultivated through methods such as the Yin-Yang Method.
And the spiritual power of this world looked like this--
A spiritual core in the middle, spiritual energy on the outside. Only spiritual energy was consumable; the spiritual core was the source and could not be expended. After the spiritual energy was used up, the spiritual core would gradually nurture new spiritual energy through the passage of time and meditative recuperation. Meditation and cultivation could both increase spiritual power and temper the spiritual core. One only needed to find a balance between the two.
"Whew..."
Song You exhaled a long breath and casually scattered the wisp of spiritual power into the mountains. Only the yellow-glowing spiritual core remained, thin as a strand, before burrowing back into his body.
He turned his head slightly and saw a little cat pressed against him.
Song You stared at it without moving.
A cat's body temperature was higher than a human's. It was difficult to say whether Three Flower Cat was borrowing his warmth or he was borrowing Three Flower Cat's. In any case, it was sleeping snugly against him now, allowing him to experience the long-lost feeling of being relied upon and trusted. Seeing it sleep so soundly, seemingly without a care in the world, made his own heart feel much more settled.
He truly could not bear to move. He might as well sleep like this tonight.
During the latter half of the night, mountain demons occasionally made faint disturbances, but none came to trouble Song You. Places rarely visited by humans often became paradises for spirits and monsters, but without the endless stream of people passing through, the demons and ghosts that harmed others would also vanish without a trace.
Though he woke countless times from the cold, it was still a quiet night for Song You.
The next morning.
Mist filled the mountains, but all of it lay beneath the cliffs.
Song You sat with his back against the cliff wall, eating breakfast while watching Three Flower Cat play by batting stones around with its paws.
Today's meal was better than the ones he had eaten over the past few days.
Yesterday, after all, he had passed through a checkpoint. That place had been quite lively, so Song You had bought some steamed buns, choosing only meat fillings—some filled with pork and others with eggs. Though he was past the age of growing, he still could not do without meat.
Three Flower Cat was playing when it suddenly seemed to discover something. It ran to the edge of the cliff, poked its head out to look, then turned back and said to Song You:
"It turned red!"
"What?"
"It was green yesterday!"
"What?"
"The trees!"
"Hmm..."
Song You followed its gaze.
Sure enough, all the leaves on the trees that had originally grown on the cliff had turned red overnight, as though late autumn had already arrived. Against the pale stone walls and the rolling white mist below, the red leaves on the precipice made the scenery look much more exquisite.
Song You did not seem surprised. He only looked at the view.
"Today is the Start of Autumn."
"The Start of Autumn?"
"It means autumn has arrived."
"The cold season."
"More or less..." Song You broke open a new steamed bun. "Does Three Flower Lady eat steamed buns with filling? It's meat."
"Hmm?"
Three Flower Cat turned around and stared at him.
Its right paw batted a pebble to the left. Its left paw had originally intended to stop it, but failed to do so in time, and the stone fell off the cliff, leaving it stunned for a moment.
"It fell!"
"Do you eat meat filling?"
"You hadn't woken up this morning, so Three Flower Lady went over there and caught a little bird to eat." Three Flower Cat sounded somewhat regretful. "What a pity I only caught one."
"Very good."
This was a very undemanding cat.
Song You quickly finished the steamed bun, got to his feet, and bent over as he said, "It's very cold up here. Let's go down the mountain."
"Three Flower Lady thinks it's cold too."
"Let's go."
Song You proceeded bent at the waist while Three Flower Cat crawled beneath his feet, looking up at him as it went.
"It's so cold here, and the path is hard to walk. Why don't you walk below?"
Song You smiled but said nothing.
The mountain mist had yet to disperse. On one side, ghosts and gods were carved into the cliff; on the other was a chasm ten thousand zhang deep, with only white clouds visible and no bottom in sight.
Someone had inscribed a poem on the stone wall beside them:
I do not regret the nine deaths in the southern wilderness; this wondrous journey crowns all my life.
It was still early. The morning light was golden, and through the mist stretched mountains and rivers for ten thousand li, with little bridges, flowing streams, and villages appearing and disappearing. Such a primitive mountain-village landscape was hard to find in later generations. Amid such beautiful scenery, he could almost forget that he was in a backward place.
Song You heard vendors calling and hawking their wares in the distance and knew that he and Three Flower Lady were rather lucky: they had come across the market town serving the villages in this area.
A village market like this generally opened only once every few days, or even once every ten days to half a month.
After arriving at such a lively place, Three Flower Cat inevitably became somewhat reserved. It was no longer as lively as it had been, leaping about on the mountain path. Instead, it stayed pressed tightly against Song You's feet, making him constantly worry that he might step on its paws or tail.
Unfortunately, they had arrived somewhat late, and the market was already close to dispersing. Though some vendors were reluctant to return home, Song You still could not find anyone selling fish.
When he heard the same cry again, it meant that they had made a full circuit and returned to where they started.
"Daoist, what are you looking for?"
Three Flower Cat raised its head and stared at Song You.
"I told you, I'm not a Daoist."
"Then what are you?"
"It's complicated." Song You thought for a moment before explaining, "I only grew up in a Daoist temple. Although I practice magic and read Daoist scriptures, I neither follow Daoist doctrine nor worship Daoist deities. Even my master could at most be considered a fake Daoist."
"I don't understand."
Three Flower Cat was utterly sincere.
"In other words, we're simply cultivators who occupy a Daoist temple and wear Daoist robes," Song You said.
"Why occupy someone else's Daoist temple?"
"We built it ourselves. Our ancestors built it and passed it down." Song You helplessly explained, "The purpose was to enjoy the preferential treatment the imperial court gave to religion. Some of our lazy forebears could also use it to live the life they wanted."
"I still don't understand."
"Then call me whatever you like."
"Okay, Daoist."
"Let's go..."
Song You spoke helplessly and regretfully.
Just as he was about to leave, he turned around. The sunlight approaching noon had just dispersed the mist, revealing rows of willow trees along a distant riverbank. Beneath one willow, an old man in a bamboo hat sat beside the river, holding a fishing rod and lifting it from the water.
"Three Flower Lady, please wait here for me."
Song You passed through the willows along the river. He soon reached the old fisherman's side and bowed respectfully. "Good day, Elder. May I ask whether you sell your catch?"
"The fish I catch are all small ones, meant for my own meals. You should buy some at the market, sir."
"I recently formed a bond with a flower cat and agreed to accompany it for part of the journey, but I have yet to give it a betrothal gift, which weighs on my conscience. Today, while passing through this place, I wanted to buy two small fish as its betrothal gift, but even after searching the entire market just now, I could not find any." Song You spoke respectfully. "So I have no choice but to ask for your help, Elder."
"In that case, what harm would there be in giving you two?"
"How could I accept a gift from you? I should pay the market price for them!"
"I would rather give them to you."
"Then thank you, Elder."
Song You did not dare refuse any further. Since the old man had given him fish, he ought to give the old man a full-hearted pleasure in return.
Before long--
Song You carried two small fish back through the willows. Three Flower Cat was sitting upright there waiting for him, a cicada dangling from its mouth—it had just caught it.
When it saw him approach, it lowered its head and spat the cicada onto the ground. "Daoist, I just caught a cicada. Do you want to eat it?"
"Thank you, but no."
Song You was unusually solemn as well. While declining, he bent down and offered it the small fish, his manner earnest. "Three Flower Lady, I wish to form a bond with you. This is my betrothal gift. Though the gift is humble, it carries my sincerity and the traditions of Great Yan. Please enjoy it."
Three Flower Cat lowered its head to look at the fish, then raised it to look at him.
"I don't know what a betrothal gift is."
Song You straightened and explained gently:
"When an ordinary household wants to raise a cat, it gives a gift to the kitten's mother, the cat's former owner, or the kitten itself. It means inviting the cat to come to one's home and help catch mice. The cat has worked hard, so this is its payment and reward."
"I understand."
"Please enjoy it."
"If I eat your fish, will I be your cat?"
"No," Song You said. "Three Flower Lady is still her own cat. Three Flower Lady will always belong only to herself. It's just that, for part of the road ahead, we will travel side by side, accompanying and supporting each other. In some places, we will have to rely on Three Flower Lady's help, or on Three Flower Lady's tolerance. So I am giving Three Flower Lady some food in advance as a gift."
"Like the offerings I used to eat."
"Something like that."
"..."
Three Flower Cat stared at him, deep in thought.
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