Luo Jiuge borrowed paper and a pen and copied out the writing she could still make out on the inside of the garment.
Some parts had been rubbed blurry. She dared not fill them in from memory, so she left gaps and traced the surviving strokes beside them as well.
Only after the ink had dried did she fold the paper and put it away. She left the garment with the old man and pointed out the areas he needed to avoid once more.
When she stepped outside, a cold wind blew into her face.
She stood below the stone steps and looked west.
Snow covered the layers of mountain ridges, hiding everything beyond them. Ice suspended in midair, bronze rings sealed inside it-the old man had not sounded as though he was making those things up, but he truly could not explain exactly where they were.
If she went into the mountains with nothing but that information, she would probably get lost before she found the place.
She would have to ask Ida.
Holding Kaka securely, Luo Jiuge climbed the stone steps. Once she reached the top, she asked someone by the road for directions before finally finding Ida's home.
The wooden door stood ajar.
She knocked twice. No one answered, but a faint, steady scraping came from inside.
Luo Jiuge called out as well, and only then did the sound stop.
"Come in."
Ida sat beneath the window with an old cloth spread across her lap, holding the metal buckle she had picked up yesterday.
She had already filed the broken edge somewhat smooth.
A dismantled belt lay at her feet. Several small nails were lined up on the cloth, with a little box of parts beside them.
When she saw Luo Jiuge, Ida raised the buckle and