Early the next morning, Chen Caozhi had arranged to climb Lion Mountain with Xu Miao and Liu Shangzhi. After waiting a good while without seeing Liu Shangzhi, he knew that with A Jiao clinging to him, Liu Shangzhi probably could not rise early. So he climbed Lion Mountain with Xu Miao, Ran Sheng, and Lai De, the four of them standing atop the great rock that rose like a lion's head and gazing in every direction. Flat fields and open country, waterways crisscrossing, green mountains everywhere, city walls faint in the distance-the beauty of Wu Commandery refreshed the heart and lifted the spirits.
Ran Sheng held a long, narrow wooden box. Inside lay the Keting Flute in its blue cloth sleeve, along with precious camphorwood chips to ward off insects. Since it was the turn of autumn and winter and the weather was dry, the flute also had to be protected from cracking, so a slender wooden strip wrapped in cotton cloth had been inserted into its bore. At night, the strip was dampened, wrapped in cotton, and inserted into the flute; this was called the "flute core." It kept the bore moist and prevented it from drying and cracking. After every performance, Chen Caozhi also used the flute core to wipe away all moisture from the inner wall. These were all secret maintenance methods recorded in the flute manual Huan Yi had given him, and Chen Caozhi followed them with meticulous care. He also dearly loved this Keting Flute and knew how precious it was: a vertical flute with such a wide range and such a mellow, beautiful tone was exceedingly rare.
Xu Miao also knew that Huan Yi had given him the flute and was quite envious, but his sensitivity to music was not strong. Like Liu Shangzhi,