"How Much Dust Lies on the Mortal Immortal Road" - Bright Clouds Lent Their Colors; Only Then Did She Understand the Body's Shackles

At a single stroke, first on the Dragon and Tiger Ranking; ten years later, arriving at Phoenix Pond.

The flowers and grasses of the jeweled grove heard the words before; Painted Streams and Mountains awaited understanding after.

-A cento

After hearing the whispered secrets of the Speech-Understanding Immortal Grass, Qiong Tong's heart surged with emotion. She wished wings would sprout beneath her ribs so she could fly straight to the mother from whom she had been "separated for so many years"!

Should I wait for Brother to come back first?

At this crucial moment, Qiong Tong hesitated briefly, then quickly thought of a splendid plan that offered the best of both worlds.

Yes, I'll draw Brother a map. When he comes back and finds Qiong Tong gone, he'll surely find me by following it!

Qiong Tong hurried to the pile of jade stones beside the wall and found a piece of chalk. She ran outside the opening at the courtyard entrance and, heedless of whether she spoiled the ancient wall's elegance, swept her hand boldly across its moss-mottled jade surface, drawing a grand and imposing map. Following the Little Grass Immortal's directions, she sketched the route she imagined in crooked chalk lines.

Once she had finished leaving her drawing, she tilted her head to admire it, praised it with a "Pretty, pretty!" and tossed aside the White Stone before skipping into the depths of the emerald woods.

Kunlun was vast, its produce rare and wondrous, its fivefold colors dazzling to the eye. On her journey to find her mother, Qiong Tong passed through countless groves of fruit trees. First came the jujube grove, where weak-branch jujubes, jade gate jujubes, azure blossom jujubes, redheart jujubes, and queen of the west jujubes filled the branches, a blaze of red wherever she looked.