The weather grew colder and colder, and winter arrived in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps it was because they were so close to the Azure Mountain Range. As some of the older folk said, snow from Cang Mountain was easily blown into Cangnan, so sometimes snow began falling early in Moon Province.
Of course, that explanation was certainly inaccurate, but to Yi Shuyuan's eyes, there was some truth to it.
Tall peaks naturally accumulated snow more easily, but given its geographical location, it was plainly a little unreasonable for all of Cang Mountain to be blanketed in snow and bitterly cold, even in winter.
And it was perfectly natural for the winter cold currents from Cang Mountain to enter Cangnan and have some effect on Moon Province.
The weather was cold, but not cold enough to freeze the river. A little wooden boat set out from West River Village and made its way slowly along the West River. Yi Yong'an rowed, with fishing gear aboard, while Yi Shuyuan, Stoneborn, and Yi A Bao rode along.
Boats were also a common means of travel for the people of West River Village. Naturally, their destinations were somewhat limited, since they could only follow the waterways, so most trips were toward the county town's docks.
The weather had turned chilly, but it was still far from cold enough to freeze the river. Even at the coldest time of year, usually only a small patch along the edge froze, and a couple of casual knocks would break it apart.
Riding along in the gently rocking boat was quite comfortable, but Yi Shuyuan's thoughts drifted far away, inevitably turning to the past.
The memory of falling into the water seemed like only yesterday, yet also like something from a very, very long time ago.