Gu Kaizhi and Xu Miao planned to leave Qiantang for their respective homes after the Beginning of Winter on the second day of the tenth month, then meet again next spring to travel to Jingzhou together. With their parting near, Liu Shangzhi had been staying at Chen Family Cove these past few days, and Ding Chunqiu came every few days as well. Young classmates in the full bloom of youth, they never ran out of things to discuss, while the lovely scenery around Chen Family Cove offered more than enough places to explore.
On the twenty-seventh day of the ninth month, Xu Miao wanted to visit Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery on Precious Stone Mountain. His late grandfather, Xu Chengzhi, had been a close friend of Ge Hong. Though Ge Hong had not yet returned from his distant travels to Mount Luofu, Xu Miao still wished to pay his respects at the place where the elder Ge cultivated the Way.
Chen Caozhi therefore accompanied Xu Miao, Gu Kaizhi, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu to Precious Stone Mountain. Lai De drove an ox cart carrying several large food boxes. With so many of them going, and the forty-li round trip taking more than half a day, the two Daoists left in charge of Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery would have found it difficult to cook for everyone.
Gu Kaizhi knew that Chen Caozhi had always walked both ways when visiting Chuyangtai Taoist Monastery to borrow and copy Ge Hong's books or ask him about difficult passages. This time, he, Xu Miao, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu all walked as well, saying they were taking Zizhong as their model.
Chen Caozhi laughed. "Don't start complaining that your feet hurt later."
Gu Kaizhi said, "We've been at Chen Family Cove for nearly a month, climbing mountains and