Looking at the fallen leaves drifting in the wind around them, it was probably an autumn morning.
The three of them were standing in a pool of water. The pool was not large, only four or five zhang across, and oval in shape.
One side of the pool rested against a mountain wall. Two or three streams of spring water flowed slowly down from the mountaintop, polishing the rock face smooth and bright along the way.
Where the spring water passed, the roots of many vines had been washed bare, their rootlets swaying gently with the clear current flowing downward.
Lush green moss grew thickly on both sides of the stream, forming several channels of spring water running down from the mountaintop, crystal-clear and transparent.
The surface of the pool rippled faintly, washing over the many scattered stones along the shore and making them appear exceptionally bright and clear.
As the three bodies rose and fell in the water, rings of ripples spread out and crossed one another over the surface.
In the coolness of autumn, wisps of white mist coiled and drifted above the pool, hazy and lingering like several translucent white ribbons, half-concealing and enveloping the three figures.
Except for the side against the mountain wall, the edge of the pool was surrounded by thick, tangled weeds more than a person's height tall, blocking most of their view.
They could only look over the tops of the weeds and see dark bluish-green vines and shrubs spreading across the distant slopes, intertwining among red maples in layer upon layer, like the heaving backs of enormous beasts.
From both near and far, all manner of birds chirped in the valley, their calls carrying a hint of ethereal clarity.
"Did we come out from underground just like that? The exit was