In the fourth year of Mingde, at the end of the first month...

Donghe County was less than a hundred li from Changjing City, but spring rain had been falling continuously for three days.

Song You had also stayed here for three days. Since descending the mountain, Song You’s favorite pastime in the cities had been listening to storytelling.

Next to the inn was a teahouse where storytellers performed. Listening to stories was a good deal—one could hear many things, true or false. For just a few wen, one could spend half the day there, chatting with the storyteller in between. This was particularly suited for Song You, whose funds were running low.

The storyteller on the stage was narrating, “In the world of martial arts, the three greatest sects with the highest skills and the most fame are, first and foremost, the Yunhe Sect from Changjing.

“In Yizhou, with its myriad martial sects, the Xishan Sect stands out as a leader. The sect is renowned for its sword and blade techniques, and is also recognized as one of the three great sects. In the northern regions, plagued by constant strife, the Changqiang Sect remains steadfast with countless disciples and is considered another of the great sects.”

The teahouse was relatively elegant, built by the river. Song You had taken a seat by the window, sipping tea and listening to the stories while gazing outside.

The rain was light and finer than hair, yet dense, creating a sandblasted effect on the originally mirror-like river surface.

The storyteller’s voice drifted in as he drank a cup of tea, and that was how he spent an entire afternoon.

About an hour later, the storyteller had finished and was collecting tips from the audience. Someone asked, “Sir, you are well-traveled and knowledgeable. Do you know of any places for leisure and entertainment in Changjing?”

The storyteller looked up, and so did Song You. They saw a group of scholars who appeared to be new arrivals in Changjing, stranded in Donghe County due to the rain.

These scholars had been generous with their tips earlier, so the storyteller did not dare to be negligent and replied, “Well, it depends on what kind of entertainment you are looking for.”

“It seems you’re indeed very knowledgeable.”

“I make a living from this…” The storyteller politely cupped his hand with his fan.

“Then we shall seek your advice.”

“Not at all, just last year when I was in Changjing, I heard there are ten wonders of the city.”

“Which ten wonders?”

Amidst the bustling crowd in the teahouse, many continued to leave, but some stopped to hear more and expand their knowledge.

Song You remained seated, not moving. There was still a sip left in his teacup.

The storyteller, with a fan in hand, continued with a storytelling flair even in casual conversation, “As for the ten wonders of Changjing, the feast at Yunchun Restaurant is one of them. It is commonly said that these dishes originated from the palace, but that's mostly a misconception. If they were truly palace recipes, the noble ladies and princesses would not need to order from Yunchun Restaurant.”

“So if noble ladies and princesses order from there, it must be quite expensive, right?”

“That depends on what you eat.”

“Oh?”

“I haven’t personally dined there. But I’ve heard that a basic meal at Yunchun Restaurant costs at least two or three taels of silver. For a better meal, you’d need to make a reservation in advance and it would cost at least a dozen taels. If you want to eat like the palace nobles and princesses, I wouldn’t know the cost.”

“Is it really that expensive?”

“It’s true. They can procure anything rare—birds from the sky, fish from the water, and creatures from the land. Whether it’s worth it depends on each person. I certainly can’t afford it; it’s all hearsay for me.”

“And what else?”

The storyteller continued, “The porcelain from Jingyao is another wonder, as well as the evening performances by Miss Wanjiang in Changjing is another. There’s also the apricot blossoms on Mount Chang outside the city, the bustling of the East, and West markets and the night market is another.

“Additionally, there’s the midnight ghost market, the efficacy of the incense at Tianhai Temple, the girls at Qinghong Courtyard in the south and Lihua Garden in the north, as well as the tea at Anle Pavilion. Finally, the housing prices in Changjing is another wonder…”

The scholar replied, “That sounds repetitive.”

“Sir, you might not be aware…”

“…” Song You left the teahouse and walked back with an umbrella. He remembered these ten wonders well, especially the last one…

During his time cultivating on Yin-Yang Mountain, he had never imagined a day when he would be troubled by housing prices.

As Song You was about to reach the inn, he saw a calico cat walking from the opposite side. The cat, naturally, wasn’t carrying an umbrella and was strolling in the rain with its fur soaked through. It seemed completely unfazed, looking left and right, occasionally glancing up at the sky as if observing the raindrops.

Suddenly, an umbrella appeared, shielding the cat from the rain.

Looking up, the cat saw that it was a Daoist priest. Upon closer inspection, it was its own Daoist companion.

“Hmm…”

The person and the cat walked into the inn together.

Back in the room, Song You took out a cloth and wrapped the cat in it, carefully wiping her down. Her head bobbed up and down as her fur fluffed up, almost making her unrecognizable from before.

The Daoist’s voice was gentle as he asked, “Where did you go, Lady Calico?”

“Just out for a stroll.”

“Why go out in the rain?”

“You went out too.”

“I borrowed an umbrella from the shopkeeper.”

“It’s just rain!”

The soft and casual tone was a familiar one. Since he’d known the cat, Song You often heard such expressions. He didn’t know what the cat thought, but he often felt a sense of ease from her words, which frequently moved him. Today was no different.

However, today he also thought of that heroine. A hundred li away was Changjing City.

Nearly two years had passed in a blur. He still remembered the promise made back then. But he wondered if she was still in Changjing.

Song You’s wiping slowed as the calico cat, ever perceptive, curiously peered at him.

“Daoist priest…”

“Hm?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“I think the rain might stop by tomorrow morning.”

“How do you know?”

“Just a guess.”

“And you say you can’t tell fortunes!”

“…” Song You shook his head inwardly and continued wiping.

***

The next morning, the rain had indeed stopped. The Daoist, along with the horse and cat, set off again. Today happened to be the first day of February.

As they traveled along the road, they soon reached the west gate. They journeyed from dawn until dusk, and as they climbed a small hill, Changjing City appeared before them.

It was an immensely tall city wall. Even though they had descended from the small hill, there was still some distance to the wall, which seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions. The rain had ceased, but the twilight was exceptionally dense. Everything in the distance, including Changjing City, was shrouded in heavy twilight and appeared dreamlike.

Song You paused to gaze at it, silent.

Although Changjing was just a waypoint on his journey and not his final destination, the two-year trek from Yidu had been significant. In these two years, he had indeed traversed countless mountains and rivers.

He had once driven away water demons at Lingbo, witnessed the Great Liujiang Gathering in Anqing with countless heroes of the

jianghu

battling, conversed with a millennium-old fairy, and encountered a peerless swordsman who slayed ghosts.

He even wandered through a marketplace of demons and ghosts in the mountains, drank with the Mountain God in the wilderness, sought immortals on Yunding Mountain, and moored at Mirror Island Lake under the starry sky, with reflections of starlight on the water and fishing lights hovering just above the horizon…

He experienced countless sunrises and sunsets, countless landscapes and human connections. The journey of the tens of thousands of li he traversed all merged into a single painting in his eyes.

A person's life was composed of all the paths they had walked, all the scenery they had seen, every person they had met, every word they had spoken, every piece of writing they had read, and every small choice they had made.

Of course, Song You also remembered his gratitude for a

jianghu

woman’s earnestness in friendship, and the agreement made to meet in Changjing.

And now he had finally arrived in the world’s most prosperous city, the center of the era, and a dream for countless people. The time had come to fulfill the promise.

From afar, he saw the city shrouded in mist. The broad city wall, while clearly visible up close with people coming and going, became indistinct in the distance.

Would the heroine be outside the city? Song You was unsure.

Thinking about it again carefully, Heroine Wu had been heading straight to Changjing back then, which wasn’t far from Xuzhou if she didn’t take a detour. Even if she traveled slowly or was delayed, she should have arrived by the spring of the second year of Mingde, at the latest by early summer. If not then, at least by late summer. Now, a year and a half had passed since the late summer of the second year of Mingde.

Song You was uncertain whether the heroine was still in Changjing, whether she was well, or whether her words at the time had been a mere whim and spoken impulsively in a moment of excitement. She might have come to Changjing, found it uninteresting after a few visits or months, then decided it was meaningless and thus gave up.

Or perhaps the wait had been too long—over a year—and she might have thought that he would not come. Or perhaps she decided that he had not sought her out even if he had come to Changjing, and thus she stopped waiting. Or maybe the cold in Changjing during this early spring was too harsh, and she simply did not want to venture out anymore.

He could not say that he longed dearly to see her. When the two first met, their acquaintance was brief and limited, so their bond was not particularly deep.

But Song You was very curious to know if there were truly people in the

jianghu

of this era who would wait for over twenty months and come to the west gate every day for a month and then every first day of the month, simply to preserve a friendship and a rare bond.

Such dedication itself was something precious.

Song You stood for a long time before finally taking a step forward. He walked down, and he walked on.

Peach blossoms dotted the path as the city wall grew closer and larger. At the city gate, people bustled about and carts and horses moved in a continuous flow. The grand capital of Great Yan was gradually revealing its majestic and prosperous side.

Next to the city gate was a notice board, similar to those outside Yidu, featuring announcements, wanted posters, and reward notices, among others.

Many people gathered around to read them.

Among them was a figure heavily wrapped up in gray-black winter clothing with frizzy, disheveled hair. She stood among the crowd, looking up at the notices with interest. But soon she lost interest and turned around, then she began to pace around the open space, waiting idly as if for a job to come.

After a while, she kicked at the small stones on the ground, inadvertently sending them toward the feet of a constable. The constable scolded her, and she quickly apologized.

Turning again, she saw a Daoist priest, a jujube-red horse, and a calico cat. They were all covered in dust, staring back at her.

Song You watched her silently, deeply moved. It was true that someone could spend two years waiting for a friend, coming every month for a bond of fate.

The woman, too, stared at him in surprise. She looked like she was keeping a distance, yet she also seemed to be in disbelief.

As a person of the

jianghu

, she soon broke into a smile and walked over with large strides. “Daoist Master! Long time no see!”

The Daoist also greeted her respectfully, “Heroine, long time no see.”

It had been two years of wind and frost since their last farewell.

The peach blossoms did not break their spring vow, and neither had an old friend failed to keep their promise. This meeting was as rare and precious as it had been back then.