Transformation

The green shade was woven thick as brocade as Li Yan walked along the silent little stone path. The fresh air was laced with the scents unique to grass and trees, filling his nostrils.

Crisp birdsong rose and fell from near and far, echoing through the secluded valley. For a moment, Li Yan felt utterly refreshed, his heart open and his spirit at ease.

After traveling roughly ten li, Li Yan arrived before a cave dwelling built against the mountain. A dense maple forest stood before it as well, with a large open space amid the trees.

To his surprise, Li Yan found a broad square platform in that clearing, reaching up to his knees. The platform was quite unusual, its surface crisscrossed with horizontal and vertical lines.

At the center of the stone platform lay a long, thin slab resembling a couch, large enough for seven or eight people to recline upon together.

Li Yan studied it for a while but could not make out the purpose of this vast stone platform amid the maple forest. It was only much later, when he emerged from seclusion one night, that he understood its use.

At that time, a vast pale-blue platform glittering brilliantly appeared before him. After repeatedly examining it and confirming there was no danger, he stepped onto it and felt as though he had entered a dream.

The dense canopy of branches and leaves around him soared into the sky, swaying beneath the night wind, while great swathes of starlight spilled down from above.

He did not know what formation had been used upon the platform, but every intersection of those crisscrossing lines lit up one after another, like countless twinkling stars. Reflected against the starlight overhead, it was dazzling as a dream.

Li Yan finally understood why