After resting for just under an hour, Yi Shuyuan followed the paper mill workers into the mountains' Bamboo Grove.
Vast stretches of bamboo covered this part of the mountains, far outnumbering the other trees. Venturing deeper meant entering a sea of bamboo.
The Chen family explained many details to Yi Shuyuan, including how to select bamboo, how to cut it, and where to start so it would be easier to haul out.
Yi Shuyuan listened, but clearly might not follow their instructions. Once he entered the bamboo sea, his awareness had already begun spreading outward.
To Yi Shuyuan, the entire bamboo sea seemed to come alive. The waves stirred by branches and leaves swaying in the wind seemed to be its voice.
The Chen family had already begun selecting bamboo, while Yi Shuyuan wandered a little farther away.
The others simply assumed Mr. Yi had come for a spring outing and said nothing more.
After all, although Yi Shuyuan carried a billhook, he looked so Wen Zhi and refined that they could hardly ask him to chop down such large bamboo.
Yi Shuyuan closed his eyes and listened to the rustling waves of the bamboo sea and the sounds of swaying stalks, while also sensing the flow of spiritual energy through the mountains.
Birdcalls sounded intermittently in the wind, as though every voice of nature had its own place to return to.
This way!
Yi Shuyuan opened his eyes and walked deeper into the Bamboo Grove.
"Mr. Yi, don't go too far! This Bamboo Grove is enormous. Don't lose your way."
Old Man Chen's voice came from behind him. Yi Shuyuan called back from afar and continued walking.
Before long, however, Chen Pingye followed him, worried that he would have trouble explaining himself if anything happened to Yi Shuyuan.
"Mr.