The instant the first violet rays on the eastern horizon fell upon the Sunlit Haven Mountains, everything around them was reborn after last night's heavy rain.
Birds filled the treetops with dozens of different calls, like a grand ensemble of musicians. Golden snub-nosed monkeys swung through the woods, followed by bald apes whose cries sounded like laughing babies. Leaves were green as jadeite, raw stones black as dark platters, and grass, vines, thorns, flowers... everything looked as fresh as it had in the first second it appeared in this world. Back then, there had been no wind or dust, and nothing around Macondo had a name. People had to point with their fingers...
Last night's downpour had indeed washed the entire Sunlit Haven mountain range clean. Zeng Mu loved rain. To him, it was far more interesting than clear, sunny skies. Rain was a sacred encounter that purified everything and washed away filth, as well as a sight worth admiring.
The soil beneath their feet was soft. Merely resting a foot on it, without jumping, was enough to sink half of it into the ground. Unless they moved quickly, the wet earth would swallow their ankles.
The shelters were barely recognizable. Although last night's downpour had brought little wind, the frenzied pounding of soybean-sized raindrops had struck far harder than any whip. Experienced hunters had built these shelters, but they were only makeshift grass huts, without reinforcing timbers or roof supports. After hours of relentless rain, the branches picked up off the ground could hardly withstand the pressure. Almost all of them had snapped.
Yet not one of them had gotten wet. They had experienced this far too often. It was as routine as soldiers on a night march sleeping on galloping horses. They had slept lying down, one hand