Rain rustled through the night, and Chen Caozhi slept fitfully amid its patter. Dreams came crowding one after another; scenes he had and had not experienced in his past and present lives spun and flashed through them like a revolving lantern. At the fourth watch, the rain stopped, and strangely, those tangled dreams vanished along with its sound. When Chen Caozhi woke at dawn, he remembered only the tail end of a dream: Lu Weiwei lay ill in bed, as though she had caught a chill as she had that time in Wu Commandery, her flushed face incomparably lovely. His sister-in-law Ding Youwei sat beside her, while he galloped wildly on horseback, seemingly searching for some miraculous medicine for Wei Rui. Yet it also seemed that the sick woman was not Wei Rui but his sister-in-law. In any case, he was anxious; he had to find that medicine. At the moment the rain stopped, he seemed to have found it, and so had fallen peacefully asleep-
Chen Caozhi rose and washed, and Ran Sheng got up as well. The relay station steward had received instructions the night before and had prepared a pot of noodle soup early. After eating with Ran Sheng, Chen Caozhi bade Xi Chao farewell and set off ahead of him-
Xi Chao smiled. "It is only the third quarter of the Hour of the Rabbit. Zizhong, your heart is flying home like an arrow."
Xi Chao's wife, Zhou Matou, said, "After these several days of torrential rain, the rain has stopped and the clouds have scattered this morning. Surely this is a sign that Master Chen and the Lu Clan Lady have Heaven's favor and are destined to become husband and wife!"
Chen Caozhi smiled. "Thank you for your auspicious words, Sister-in-law Zhou. Brother Jiabin, I