"This old fellow certainly gets news quickly!"
Seeing the young Daoist novice come to fetch him, Xing Yan wasted no time. Muttering to himself, he followed Jingyun toward the back of Horseshoe Mountain. Meanwhile, Qiong Rong and Xueyi were inside entertaining the children, happily bustling about, so he left them to it for now.
Horseshoe Mountain no longer looked like the bare, lonely little hill it had once been. Walking through this blessed abode of immortals that had risen so suddenly, he saw the quiet mountain path beneath his feet twist and wind into the distant mountain mists, seemingly without end. On the right lay a ravine with a murmuring stream; on the left, towering rocks and crags stood in hard, angular masses, leaning over the path as though about to pounce upon anyone passing.
Although it was now deep winter, the ravine to Xing Yan's right remained lush with verdant plants. Tiny mountain birds hopped among the interlacing vines and branches, chirping from time to time. Beneath the trellis of vines came the burble of water, presumably a spring flowing through the ravine below. Among the jagged rock faces beside him grew clumps of Ribbon Grass with long, supple stems and leaves. As he passed, blades beaded with cold mountain dew occasionally brushed his face, leaving a cool, ticklish sensation.
Walking along the mountain path and taking in this flourishing scene, Xing Yan could not help praising blessed Horseshoe Mountain to Jingyun. It truly fulfilled the saying, "The mountains know no seasons; in blessed lands, spring endures."
Thus they walked on, passing in and out of the white mountain clouds several times, until Xing Yan and Jingyun finally reached the rear mountain where the old Daoist Qinghe had arranged to meet him. Upon arriving at Reflection Cliff, Jingyun bowed