Entrusting feelings to fish and birds, a soul startled by butterfly dreams of three lives

Xing Yan and his companions walked and paused beneath the trees' dappled shade, making their way toward the emerald lake Lingyi had recommended.

On this island grown from a divine tree, even the paths were unlike those elsewhere. Branches laden with lush green leaves drooped from the towering trunk to the ground, crossing and piling over one another to lay a green passage beneath their feet, rustling ceaselessly as they walked. Above them, beneath the lofty canopy, thousands of thumb-thick vines tangled in the air into all manner of patterns, with many macaques of unusual coloring climbing and leaping among them.

These spirit macaques of the immortal islands beyond the sea were dainty in build, and most had fur as white as snow. Only occasionally along the way did they see one or two of a golden variety, covered in golden down except for rings of black fur around their eyes and mouths. They looked as though they had stayed up all night until their eyes darkened, then eaten flatbread Qiong Rong had cooked herself, getting blackened crust all around their mouths.

Admiring these strange creatures he had never seen before and listening to the pleasant chirping of birds, Xing Yan approached that secluded woodland haven almost without noticing. After crossing a massive root lying across the ground and passing through several natural corridors woven from vines, they found the rarely visited emerald lake before them.

When they emerged from the woodland path onto the lakeshore, blooming with wildflowers, Xing Yan felt a refreshing breath of moisture rush into his face, sweeping every trace of summer heat from his body!

"What clear water!"

Though he had already gained a general understanding of the island's water sources, when he stood before this emerald lake deep in the woods, Xing Yan still