On the second day of the twelfth lunar month, there was ice when they rose early. The damp ground along the banks of the Peach Grove stream had frozen hard, and every breath came out in white mist. Even the sound of the flowing stream seemed especially cold. Happily, the weather was clear, and the morning sunlight fell warm upon them.
At the end of the hour of the Hare, Chen Caozhi, Liu Shangzhi, and Ding Chunqiu went to the Xu Clan Thatched Cottage to bid Master Xu farewell, then had their carts readied for the journey home. Thinking of the months they had spent away, their hearts truly flew home like arrows.
Wei Xie, Gu Kaizhi, and Xu Miao saw them beyond the west gate. When they passed the Zhenqing Daoist Abbey, Chen Caozhi also made a special visit to bid Daoist Li farewell.
Beside the roadside pavilion outside the west gate, Gu Kaizhi said, "Zizhong, stay at Peach Grove Cottage when you come next year. I've already instructed Lao Mangtou and his son not to accept a single coin. You, Shang Zhi, and Chunqiu can all stay there. Don't come too late, or the peach blossoms will have faded, leaving you nothing but fallen red petals carpeting the ground. That would be no fun. The peach blossoms here bloom particularly early-they begin opening at the start of the second month. Zizhong, remember to paint them and show me afterward."
Wei Xie said with a smile, "Caozhi, those dried lacquer pills in the tube really do work when taken over time. My heart pain has eased greatly this past month. That is why I have the strength to return to Shouyang."
Chen Caozhi said, "Master Wei, if you keep taking them faithfully, your heart pain will surely be cured.