An unhurried, peaceful life in the mountains, far from worldly strife, easily made one forget the passage of time.
After spending nearly a year campaigning far and wide, Ye Jingtang suddenly found himself idle, back to days revolving around sleep and training. After staying a few days, he gradually grew fond of this monotonous, uncomplicated life.
Every morning at first light, he got up and went to the bamboo grove behind Jade Void Temple to train with his little martial nephew Huayang. When he grew tired of jumping across the Plum Blossom Stakes, he came down to practice his fists and feet, occasionally sparring with Huayang using wooden sticks.
Watching Huayang howl and hop around, he experienced the pleasure his adoptive father had once taken in crushing beginners.
Living on the mountain, the Empress Dowager also forgot her troubles outside. Every day, she wandered around with Shui'er, and at mealtimes, she even cooked personally and traveled more than ten li along mountain paths to bring him food. To avoid arousing suspicion, however, her pretext remained offering incense and dropping by to see him along the way.
Nights were somewhat more monotonous. Shui'er had too little fighting strength; after being put through her paces once, she dared not get frisky for several days. She also feared interfering with his daytime martial training, so whenever he returned, she had already burrowed into the Empress Dowager's room. Fortunately, his hand warmer knew how to care for him and drove Shui'er into his room every day. All told, he could still unwind once every two or three days.
At other times, Ye Jingtang meditated through the night, pondering the martial insights he had gained that day. Although the test of the nine Plum Blossom Stakes was difficult, with his mind settled on arduous daily