The little valley lay hidden in the mountain's folds. The outstretched branches of the old pine at its entrance fell three inches short of touching the cliff opposite.
The ridges and rock faces remained as they had always been. Only the vegetation changed: seedlings grew into great trees, yet could not escape withering and dying, then crashing to the ground after some night of wind and rain. Black Snake slithered into the valley, scales brushing familiar rocks.
In the Medicine Field, an old man with white hair and a long beard bent over, picking out the overturned stones one by one.
The cuckoos' calls seemed to urge him on with his planting.
Xu Jin could never sit idle for a moment. There was always more work than his hands could finish, and it kept him company from spring through winter.
"Snake Brother, you're here. Go rest under the tree first. I'll show you a new medicinal herb in a moment."
With that, he shouldered his hoe and hurried toward the Medicine Field on the slope, humming a little tune.
Black Snake wound over to the old tree. Once, it had been no more than a little sapling outside the door; now it spread a canopy like an umbrella, with a stone table beneath it.
Xiao Yu landed steadily on a branch and folded her wings.
"You're early this year."
"It's too chaotic outside. The mountains are quieter. I'll go back when the Continuous Rainy Season comes."
Black Snake flicked his tongue, watching Xu Jin bend over to dig in the hillside soil.
Then they waited quietly together, listening to the cuckoos in the woods, as peacefully as they had through countless moments in the past.
Xu Jin came over carrying a rootstock with a tender shoot, carefully setting it on