Though the obedient maid would say no more, Xing Yan still managed to glean a little from her. Those three thatched cottages, so at odds with the neighboring towers and terraces, were called Sunset Cottage. They had been built only ten days or so ago, presumably after the arrival of the honored guest she had mentioned.
Once he learned this, Xing Yan looked again at the vine-entwined cottages across the lake, only to find that the resemblance seemed less convincing. Did they really resemble his old thatched home a thousand miles away? He paused to consider it, and the more he thought, the more absurd the idea seemed.
As his doubts gradually faded, Xing Yan quickened his steps and followed Shijian along the lakeside embankment. Without realizing it, he began repeating the cottage's name to himself:
Sunset Cottage, Sunset Cottage...
As he repeated it, a sweet voice that had echoed in his heart countless times suddenly began lingering in his ears once more:
"What a beautiful Horseshoe Mountain at Sunset!"
That first encounter with the girl who had spoken those words had been so extraordinary to Zhang Xingyan. Nearly two years had passed, yet he still remembered clearly every word Ju Ying had said during those brief three days. Even now, he could not fully understand what a pure, enduring affection this was. He knew only that whenever he recalled their time together, his heart filled with sweetness.
With those sweet words lingering in his heart, he gazed again at the green peaks slantingly lit by sunlight beyond the misty lake. The normally easygoing youth felt his heart stir and his spirit sway. Lost in reverie, he did not fully come to his senses until Qiong Rong beside him asked about the great white bird that had just skimmed across