When Bai Yu and his two companions returned to Mountain-Venerating Village from the trial grounds, there were already quite a few people standing at the village entrance.
After the Ancient Wind Chime, the news had already spread throughout the village. No one directed or organized anything; people came out on their own, standing quietly by the roadside, on the stone steps, and at the gates of their courtyards.
When they saw Bai Yu walking back from the direction of the canyon, someone called out her name first, and then the others followed suit. It wasn't a unified shout, but rather a series of cheerful voices rising and falling.
Bai Yu walked at the front, her steps still a little unsteady, but the complete golden tattoo on her left arm was clearly visible in the sunlight. She paused for a moment, as if she hadn't expected anyone to be waiting for her there.
Shi Yan followed behind her without making a sound. Bai Rong walked at the very back, her pace neither fast nor slow, watching the crowd gather around her, neither moving forward nor backward.
The priest stood at the entrance to the altar chamber, not approaching. When he saw Bai Yu walk closer, he simply nodded and said, "Congratulations."
Bai Yu stood in front of him and nodded. "Thank you."
The priest glanced at the complete golden markings on her left arm and said, "A great battle today, get some rest..."
Bai Yu said, "Okay."
The villagers surrounded her and talked for a while. Some laughed, some wiped away tears, and some held her hand and looked again and again at the gold thread on her arm. Bai Yu responded to them all, and this time her smile was not perfunctory, but a genuine smile.
Shi Yan stood on the periphery of the crowd, not too close. Bai Rong stood a little further away, leaning against the wall, the mountain-like lines on his arms lying quietly against his skin, without any undulation.
He looked at the people surrounding Bai Yu and suddenly realized that he had been waiting for this scene for many years—he had always thought he would be the one standing in the middle, but now he was standing by the wall and found that it didn't look so bad.
That night, Bai Yu went to bed early. She was so tired that she barely turned over after lying down, and her breathing quickly became even.
Bai Rong sat on the stone steps in his courtyard, neither holding a bowl nor drinking water, just sitting. The night breeze swept through the village, carrying the scent of grass and trees. He looked down at the dark mountain patterns on his arm, which clung quietly to his skin in the moonlight, without moving.
He didn't know how long he had been sitting there. So long that he almost thought the night was going to pass like this.
Then he felt the mountain-shaped markings on his arm move slightly.
It wasn't him moving it. The mark itself was moving, as if responding to something. He looked up and saw a person standing at the gate of the courtyard—it was Bai Yu.
Bai Yu, wearing a light jacket, stood at the courtyard gate, as if she had just come from home. She saw Bai Rong sitting on the stone steps, but she wasn't surprised. She simply walked over and sat down next to him.
Bai Rong glanced at her. "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"I can't sleep," Bai Yu said, her voice softer than during the day. "I feel something calling to me."
Bai Rong didn't speak. He looked down and saw that the mountain pattern on his arm was glowing faintly—it was no longer dark, but had a very faint golden halo.
Then he understood.
"It's the Mountain God," Bai Rong said. "It's calling to you."
Bai Yu didn't answer, but she stood up and looked towards the altar in the center of the village. Bai Rong also stood up. The two of them walked one after the other through the quiet village and arrived at the entrance of the altar.
The door was open. There were no lights inside, but the Ancient Wind Chime on the stone platform was glowing—not from the light, but from its own light, a warm golden glow flowing over its copper-green surface.
Bai Yu went inside and stood in front of the stone platform. Bai Rong stopped outside the door.
He didn't go in. He knew this moment didn't belong to him.
Bai Yu stood in front of the Ancient Wind Chime and waited quietly for a while. Then, the golden light slowly rose from the Ancient Wind Chime, like a wisp of extremely faint smoke, and condensed into a blurry outline in front of her—the face was not visible, but she could feel it looking at her.
Bai Yu didn't know what to call it. She didn't speak, she just stood there.
The silhouette made no sound, but she heard a voice in her mind—not as if it came from her ears, but as if it rose from a deeper place.
"You've taken the first step. The journey continues. I'll tell you where to go next."
Bai Yu paused for a moment, then said, "I will do everything in my power to see this through to the end."
The outline swayed slightly, as if nodding, before the golden light slowly dissipated and sank back into the Ancient Wind Chime.
The Wind Chime on the stone platform were restored to their original state, their copper-green color resting quietly, as if they had already completed what they were supposed to do tonight.
Bai Yu stood in front of the stone platform for a long time, then turned and walked out.
Bai Rong was still standing outside the door. When he saw her come out, he didn't ask, "What did the Mountain God say?" He saw the calm expression on Little Baiyu's face, but also a fierce determination to rush forward regardless of everything.
Bai Yu walked up to him, as if she wanted to say something, but her gaze stopped when it fell on Bai Rong's arm.
Bai Rong looked down and saw that the dark mountain-shaped markings on his arm were glowing—a faint golden light, very light, as if it had just begun to seep in.
He paused for a moment, stunned.
Then he heard a voice—not from the Ancient Wind Chime chimes, but rising from the depths of his own imprint, deeper and slower than Bai Yu's voice.
"Congratulations! You've protected what you were supposed to protect and passed the test I gave you. From today onward, you are the Guardian. There's still a long road ahead, so keep striving."
Bai Rong stood motionless at the entrance of the altar chamber. He looked down at the mountain-shaped markings on his arm; the golden light was slowly seeping into the dark lines, like water seeping into a crack in the stone.
He suddenly realized that all those days sitting by the village watching the smoke rise from the chimneys, those moments hesitating by the stream whether to cross or not, and those roads he had walked again and again in his dreams—were not in vain.
Bai Yu looked at the light on his arm but didn't ask. She smiled, as if she were happy for him too.
The two stood outside the altar, neither speaking. The night wind blew in from the village, carrying the scent of grass, trees, and earth, just as it had when they first returned.
The next morning, Bai Yu stood under the tree in her yard and looked up at the treetop.
Bai Rong walked over from the neighboring courtyard. The pale golden light on her arm had faded, but the mark looked deeper than before, as if something had settled inside.
Shi Yan came out of the house, his bundle already packed on his back. He saw the complete golden patterns on Bai Yu's arm, then glanced at the faintly glowing mountain patterns on Bai Rong's arm. He said nothing, simply lifted his bundle slightly, and stood at the gate of the courtyard to wait.
Bai Yu glanced back one last time in the direction of Mountain-Venerating Village. Smoke rose from the village chimneys, scattered here and there in the morning light.
She said, "Let's go."
As the three of them exited the village and passed through the fog, Bai Rong walked in front, his steps more steady than before. Bai Yu followed behind him, and Shi Yan brought up the rear, the three of them a few steps apart, moving at a leisurely pace.
As Bai Yu emerged from the fog, she glanced back. The fog slowly closed in behind her, and the outline of the village disappeared into the gray-white mist.
She turned back and continued walking.
(I was busy until very late today, and I just finished writing this.)