By the time Su Mo returned to the Painted Pleasure Boat, it was the latter half of the night. The little girl was slumped over the table, having fallen asleep at some point.
Unfinished food covered the table.
Su Mo shook his head at the sight and sighed. "Silly child..."
He took off his rain cape and bamboo hat, hung them on a pillar, and walked over to the little girl. Gently gathering her small body into his arms, Su Mo carried her toward the bedroom.
"Young master..." The little girl woke and murmured softly as she saw Su Mo holding her and gently lowering her onto the bed.
"Why didn't you come back to the room to sleep?" Su Mo stroked her head and asked gently.
The little girl gave a sleepy murmur. "I wanted to wait until you came back before sleeping."
Su Mo lay down with her in his arms, holding her close as he whispered, "Go to sleep. Your young master's back!"
"Mm..." The little girl answered, wrapped her arms tightly around Su Mo, and sank back into sleep.
Su Mo held her, gently patting her back as he gazed through the boat's window into the darkness outside.
I was only going to take a look...
I was just going to take a look...
Su Mo closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep.
The rain kept falling, swelling the river and soaking people's hearts...
"Young master, how long is this rain going to last?" Holding a game piece, the little girl looked out at the unending rain, feeling rather restless.
"Probably..." Su Mo glanced at the sky outside the window. "A few more days!"
The little girl placed her piece and sighed mournfully, imitating an adult. "With all this rain, we can only stay on the boat... All I can do is play with you..."
Unable to decide where to place his piece, Su Mo simply swept the pieces into a jumble across the board. "I'm done!"
...He was a terrible sport.
The little girl immediately pouted in displeasure.
It wasn't that Su Mo was worse at the game than she was. Rather, the little girl played terribly and liked taking back her moves. Su Mo had to accommodate her while pretending they were evenly matched, all to trick her into continuing to play with him.
It had always been like this... Only today, he had lost the inclination.
"More of your hair turned white last night, young master!" the little girl said. While tying up his hair earlier, she had noticed two more strands had turned white.
Su Mo shook his head and said nothing, merely sighing.
The rain mirrored people's hearts, watering the gloom that had accumulated within them, making something inside surge with nowhere to spill.
Drip... Drip...
Water dripping from the cabin's eaves kept striking the bow, scattering blossoms of rain.
A figure in a flowing dress boarded the bow beneath an umbrella...
"Luo Yin has come to request a painting. Would this be a convenient time?"
A maid held the umbrella for Luo Yin, yet the hem of her dress had still gotten wet.
Hearing that enchanting, somewhat familiar voice from inside the cabin, Su Mo immediately went to open the door.
Luo Yin wore a white dress again today, her beauty fresh and untouched by worldly dust. Her expression was composed, serene, and detached.
Looking at Luo Yin's beauty, enough to topple cities and kingdoms, Su Mo bowed slightly with his hands clasped. "Greetings, Fairy Luo."
As Luo Yin looked at Su Mo's delicate, youthful face, she could not help sighing inwardly, though she did not know what had stirred her melancholy.
Seeing Luo Yin's exquisite beauty up close, Su Mo slipped into a brief daze. She was the most beautiful woman he had seen in either of his lives. More remarkable still was the profound quiet of her bearing, which irresistibly soothed the heart.
"Aren't you going to invite us inside?" Luo Yin smiled faintly. "This isn't quite how one should treat guests."
Su Mo came back to his senses and smiled awkwardly, stepping aside. "Forgive my discourtesy. Please come in, Fairy Luo!"
Luo Yin glided into the cabin and saw paintings and calligraphy hanging throughout. Though it was a boat cabin, it had all the air of a scholarly residence.
The fragrance of ink filled the room...
The maid beside her silently marveled at the sight.
The little girl stared with wide eyes, curiously examining Luo Yin and the maid who had come to visit.
The fairy sister is so beautiful... the little girl could not help thinking.
"When did the moon first appear? Wine cup in hand, I ask the azure sky. I wonder, in the Heavenly Palace, what year is it tonight? I long to ride the wind home, yet fear the Jade Towers, where the heights are too cold to bear. I dance and play with my clear shadow-how could it compare to life among mortals?" Luo Yin walked up to a piece of calligraphy and could not help reading the words aloud.
"Wonderful verse, wonderful! Though this is only half a lyric, it is enough to make the young generation of this age bow their heads," Luo Yin said slowly.
Luo Yin turned back, her eyes bright as she looked at Su Mo. "Is there a second half?"
Su Mo nodded and slowly began...
"It rounds the vermilion pavilion, hangs low beside carved windows, and shines upon the sleepless.
It should bear no resentment, so why is it always full at parting?"
Su Mo's voice was quiet, yet it startled the whole boat into ripples...
"People have sorrow and joy, partings and reunions; the moon has shadow and light, fullness and waning. Such things have never known perfection.
May we live long, sharing the moon's beauty though a thousand miles apart."
The maid who had accompanied Luo Yin was already dumbstruck. At last, she understood why her mistress had braved the rain to come to this little pleasure boat.
A leading talent among the young scholars of their age lived aboard this tiny Painted Pleasure Boat.
The little girl ran to Su Mo's side, took hold of his fingers, and gazed up at him in a daze.
"May we live long, sharing the moon's beauty though a thousand miles apart..." Luo Yin murmured to herself.
"Your talent is unrivaled in this age, young master!" Luo Yin's expression grew more complicated, her serene detachment already gone.
Su Mo shook his head and answered truthfully, "I didn't write this lyric. It was written by a predecessor from my homeland."
Luo Yin smiled, assuming he was merely being modest.
If a predecessor truly had written it, why hadn't it spread through the world long ago?
"Would you care to play a game with me, Young Master Su?" Luo Yin glanced at the disordered board beside them and suddenly asked.
For a moment, Su Mo could not fathom Luo Yin's intentions. She had said she was here to request a painting, yet now she wanted to play a game... Still, she was a guest, and he happened to need a favor from her, so he said, "Then rather than stand on ceremony, I'll gladly oblige."
Su Mo and Luo Yin sat facing each other, and the little girl helped put the board in order.
"Little girl, bring some tea!" Su Mo instructed her.
The little girl turned to brew the tea.
Standing beside them, the maid gazed keenly at Su Mo and Luo Yin seated opposite each other, as though she were looking at a golden boy and a jade maiden.
What a pity Young Master Su is a mere mortal... The maid sighed softly.
"Please go first, Young Master Su!" Luo Yin said.
Su Mo did not stand on ceremony. He picked up a piece and placed it.
"Just call me Jing Yan, Fairy Luo!" Su Mo said.
Luo Yin placed a piece. "Then I'll call you Jing Yan, and you needn't keep calling me Fairy Luo."
"The paths of immortals and mortals are divided. That gulf cannot be crossed!" Su Mo shook his head and placed his piece.
"What makes a mortal? What makes an immortal?" Luo Yin asked, raising her hand to place a piece.
"Mortals have ordinary bones and flesh, and their lives last no more than a hundred years. They rise to work at sunrise and rest at sunset. All they seek is freedom from worry over food and clothing, a peaceful home, and contentment in their work.
Immortals possess the bearing of transcendents and bones steeped in the Dao, with long spans of life. They stand aloof above the world, untouched by the smoke of mortal hearths," Su Mo said as he placed a piece.
The little girl brought the tea, poured a cup each for Su Mo and Luo Yin, and then quietly watched from the side.
Luo Yin lifted her tea and took a small sip.
"Why put immortals on such a pedestal? These so-called immortals are merely mortals who have cultivated and entered the Dao. With the world as it is, where are there any true immortals?" Luo Yin gently shook her head and sighed, picking up a piece and placing it on the board.
"What does it mean to enter the Dao?" Su Mo asked, watching the shifting game on the board.
"Some follow the shadows of their predecessors and tread in their footsteps, naturally entering the Dao. A small handful comprehend their own Dao, pursuing the ultimate truths of heaven and earth through their understanding of it," Luo Yin said softly. "And entering the Dao is merely the foundation of cultivation. You call those who enter the Dao immortals, but that is wrong!"
"Then what would a true immortal be like?" Su Mo raised his head.
"I don't know!" Luo Yin shook her head. "That is what all cultivators of the Dao seek. I am merely someone who has entered the Dao. How could I know?"
Su Mo lowered his head and said respectfully, "I am grateful for your instruction."
"What plans do you have after the Spring Examination? Will you enter the court as an official? With your talent, Jing Yan, I imagine that would pose no difficulty," Luo Yin asked.
"I don't know. I'll take things one step at a time." Su Mo lowered his eyes.
"Have you never thought about entering the Dao and cultivating, Jing Yan?" Luo Yin suddenly asked, her thoughts unreadable.
Su Mo raised his hand and examined this utterly ordinary body, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "The paths of immortals and mortals are divided. It is easier said than done."
"Is there anything you seek in this life?" Luo Yin looked into Su Mo's eyes, hoping to find something different within them.
Su Mo thought for a while, considering many things. He thought of this world's turmoil, of the people's suffering, of immortals standing far above them, of the world's heartlessness...
"Only... to be an idle cloud, a wandering crane, free and content," Su Mo said.
Luo Yin gazed intently at Su Mo.
"Yet your eyes plainly hold the people, and your heart bears the weight of all living souls..."
Su Mo froze at her words, his heart shaken.
"Why not... do something?"
Su Mo came back to himself. There was nowhere left on the board for him to place a piece...
"I've lost..."
"Thank you for your hospitality, Jing Yan. I'll take my leave now." Luo Yin rose.
She came when she pleased and left when she pleased... Aside from saying she had come to request a painting upon arriving, she had never mentioned it again.
Su Mo rose, took down the half-finished "Prelude to Water Melody" from the wall, and offered it to Luo Yin. "Please accept this half of the lyric, Fairy Luo. I actually have a favor to ask."
"Please, go ahead!" Luo Yin truly liked that half of the lyric. It was a pity there was only half.
Su Mo beckoned the little girl over. "I need to go out and attend to something, but with this relentless rain and the rising river, the Painted Pleasure Boat really isn't safe. I'd like my younger sister to return with you to the Riverboat Pavilion and stay for a day, Fairy Luo. I'll pick her up when I return tomorrow."
He called the little girl his younger sister.
Luo Yin turned to look at the little girl, an interested expression appearing on her face, and nodded in agreement.
The little girl gazed up at Su Mo with worry in her eyes. She knew there were things he wanted to do. She had always known... But all she could do was keep him from worrying about her.
"Big brother!" the little girl called.
Smiling, Su Mo stroked her head and tousled her hair.
The little girl took a small white stone from around her neck, pulled Su Mo down into a crouch, and hung it around his neck.
She had always worn that little stone. She did not know where it came from, only that it felt very important to her.
Now, however, she had someone more important to her... May this little stone be a peace charm that could help her protect her big brother.
Luo Yin took the little girl off the boat and headed toward the Riverboat Pavilion.
Once they reached the street, Luo Yin turned back and looked at the little painted boat swaying in the wind and rain. She sighed. "A storm is coming..."
"But... hasn't it been raining all along?"
The maid did not understand!
Before you continue