Chapter 609: The Hometown That Cannot Be Returned To

In a guest room of the Yang family estate...

The young master, as the host, sat at the head seat, with Lady Chai seated beside him. The Daoist, having come from afar, was the guest, and sat with the cat at the guest’s side. Both host and guest treated each other with mutual respect, especially the young master, whose manner bordered on deferential.

Outside, the servants wandered back and forth, their eyes wide with curiosity.

“Lady Chai, how did you come to be here?” Song You set down his teacup, speaking in the tone of an old acquaintance making small talk.

“I don’t know myself...” Lady Chai’s tone carried a hint of sorrow, perhaps because she felt this Daoist before her was the only person in this world who had shared in her early life. So upon seeing him in this unfamiliar place, even if they had only known each other for a few days, and hadn’t seen one another for ten years, she still felt an unusual warmth and closeness.

Especially since the Daoist remained so gentle, so calm, as if nothing had changed, not even his appearance. That made him feel all the more familiar.

“Back then, Grandfather went out to plow the fields and didn’t return for a long time. We didn’t know what had happened and were worried, so we went out to look for him. Our fields were close to the lakeside, and I was afraid something might’ve happened to him near the water. So I searched through the reeds by the lake. I looked for a long time and still couldn’t find him. In the end, I accidentally fell into the water. When I climbed back out... I was already here.”

“I see...”

Song You had once studied the spiritual resonance within the painting and had discussed its mysteries with Sir Dou.

The world within the painting was a reflection of the real one, an actual representation of this land. While Master Dou’s painting skills were divine, in truth, he was also a cultivator, with a deep and singular path of cultivation. Though his family’s art had been passed down for a thousand years without ever manifesting overt spiritual power or technique, with Master Dou’s generation, a genius emerged. His talent rivaled that of the greatest experts in any field, including those who walked the path of true spiritual cultivation.

His gift had finally transformed that long line of heritage, allowing it to touch upon the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. Thus, he acquired abilities akin to those of powerful cultivators. Even so, Master Dou still could not create a world from nothing, and the incomplete world within the painting remained tethered to the external world for its existence.

And the world it relied upon was precisely this Heaven and Earth.

There was a subtle link between the painted world and the real one. Normally, people inside the painting could not exit. But under rare circumstances, someone might be able to leave.

Sir Dou had once explained this profound mystery.

Time inside the painting was frozen at dusk. But in the real world, time continued flowing. If the real world also happened to be at dusk, and if it aligned with the moment the painting was originally completed, then the two realms could potentially connect. And if, at that precise moment, someone happened to be near the edge of the painted world and was walking outward, they might just step through.

Lady Chai must have been one such case. Fate was mysterious... but also cruel.

“And when did that happen?” Song You asked further.

“Seven or eight years ago, I think?” Lady Chai replied, turning to look at her husband. “Has it been seven or eight years?”

“Eight years,” her husband answered promptly. He had been sipping tea, but now quickly set down his cup and replied to Song You with great respect.

“Eight years...”

So it seemed that no more than two years after he had left, Lady Chai had made it out as well.

Song You gave a slight shake of the head, then asked again, “Back then, did you get to eat any of the peaches sent from the mountain temple?”

“I did. They were very sweet. Later, we planted the peach pits at the front door, and they sprouted. But before the peach tree could grow big enough to blossom and bear fruit, I ended up here.”

Lady Chai's tone still carried sadness. “After that, the peach tree that you painted on the temple wall bore fruit twice more. Each time, the Daoists on the mountain couldn't finish eating them all, and they shared some with us. I wonder how Father and Grandfather are doing now...”

Her husband sat beside her silently, listening, his expression subtle and hard to read.

He had heard her tell the story many times before, how a Daoist had painted a peach tree on the wall of a temple, and the painting had become real. He had believed it, and yet hadn’t dared to fully believe it. It sounded real, and yet also so fantastical, like some distant immortal’s tale. But now, watching Lady Chai speak with this Daoist, both of them so natural and sincere, he couldn’t help but feel that it truly was real and even more mysterious.

Lady Chai couldn’t hold back the urgency in her heart as she asked, “And why are you here?”

“I’m but a wandering Daoist,” Song You replied calmly. “I travel the lands freely. I came to Yunzhou recently. Ten years ago, I passed through a place just like this. I was struck by the scenery and filled with a deep sense of nostalgia. So I thought I’d return, and stay for a while.”

He paused slightly before continuing, “While on the way, I heard the stories about you, so I became even more eager to visit. I arrived yesterday, asked the innkeeper last night about your whereabouts, and came to call today.”

“Then how did you end up in our place back then? And how did you get out? Have you returned there in these years?”

The questions came one after another, revealing the longing and urgency in her heart.

“Back then, it was a matter of fate,” Song You replied patiently. “I can’t speak much about the details. As for how I left... I possess some cultivation and ability, and had my own means.”

He added gently, “I haven’t returned in these ten years, so I don’t know how your parents or grandfather are doing now. Some people say that the place we came from is a world within a painting or an immortal’s cave dwelling. Is that true?”

“That I cannot say.”

“Then... Do you have a way to return?”

Lady Chai looked at him without blinking, eyes glistening with tears and filled with sorrow and yearning for her family and homeland.

“...” Song You looked at her closely, then glanced at her husband, who was quietly sipping tea and hadn’t said a word. He sighed softly, then finally spoke, “Back then, I was grateful for your family's hospitality, and have never forgotten it. I do indeed know of a way to return. But it’s not simple, it’s rather troublesome. If you truly wish to go back, once I’ve traveled to the southern part of Yunzhou, I can take you with me. It would be my way of repaying your family's kindness from ten years ago.”

He pursed his lips slightly and added, “But it would involve traveling several thousand li, and it must remain a secret from others. And once you return... it would be very difficult to come back out again.”

At that, Lady Chai fell silent.

The distance of several thousand li was already a daunting journey, and it was enough to shake her resolve to go. But even then, with a heart full of longing, she might still have wanted to return for a glimpse.

However, those few words “

very difficult to come back out again

” were enough to make her fall completely silent.

Because what she had wanted... was only to go back and see. But it had already been eight years.

All the confusion, fear, and helplessness from back then had stayed in the past. The present was the present. She had grown used to the passing seasons, the turning days and nights, the changing weather of this new world.

She was already married, and she even had children.

Lady Chai turned and looked at her husband, but no words came. She simply began to weep softly, covering her face to wipe away the tears.

The Daoist was also silent for a while, gently stroking the fur on the cat beside him.

The cat turned to look at him, then turned back to look at Lady Chai. It was sensitive to the sorrow in her heart, and to the silent, tangled emotions within each of them.

“Then let’s do this,” the Daoist finally spoke again.

“Lady Chai, you once showed me great hospitality. If, after several more years, you still long to return for a visit, then seven years from now, please go to Hidden Dragon Temple on Yin-Yang Mountain in Lingquan County, Zhuo Commandery, Yizhou. At that time, I can take you back to see it once more, so long as nothing is said of how one enters or leaves.”

“Yizhou...” Lady Chai murmured to herself.

The Yang family was a local merchant household, and their cloth goods were often sold far afield, mostly passing through Yizhou. Naturally, she knew the way there; it was two to three thousand li from here, and the trade routes were not easy.

Though sorrow still lingered in her heart, she nonetheless thanked the Daoist.

Song You said no more. The affairs of the world were hard to predict. The most remarkable thing about time was that no one knew where it would push you.

The stories in Zhao Commandery’s Xianning about “outsiders” were curious. Their mystery lay in the fact that no one knew where these people had come from, in the world they spoke of, in how they could recognize the mountains and lakes but not the villages or villagers they once knew. They wanted to return but could not. That was what fascinated people, drawing the attention of many scholars who came to seek them out and write of them.

Yet in the end, when many years later, a hard-won opportunity to return finally arose, they realized they could no longer go back. Wasn’t that even more poignant?

Only after a long while did Lady Chai regain her composure. She chatted with Song You about old times, and also about life now in Xianning.

In the painted world, there were countless villages nestled at the foot of the mountains and by the lakes. Here, too, there were many similar villages. The scenery resembled that of her homeland, but the names and the villagers were all different. On Mount Cang in Xianning stood a cluster of temples as well, but not Daoist ones; instead, it was a Buddhist monastery, which later became a nunnery.

The similarities stirred nostalgia, and the differences brought sorrow. They chatted until mid-morning, and only then did Song You take his leave.

“We’re staying just up ahead, at the Yongchun Inn near the main street. If you or your husband have any need, feel free to visit us. We’ll be here through the winter.”

“Take care, Daoist Master.” Lady Chai hadn’t yet dried her tears, but she rose and bowed respectfully.

“Safe travels, sir.” Her husband also stood quickly and bowed.

Song You naturally returned the gesture.

This gentleman was the young master of the Yang family, appearing to be around thirty. He carried a scholarly air, and he was said to be studying for the imperial exams. At this age, he was no longer considered young among common folk, but among scholars seeking official titles, he wasn't particularly old either. When he had taken Lady Chai as a concubine, he had likely just been in his early twenties.

In this era, concubines had a low status, and the higher the husband's social standing, the more marginalized the concubine would usually be. Though the Yang family were merchants, they ran a large business. Still, it was clear from his manner that this young master had never treated Lady Chai with disdain, which showed he could be considered a gentleman.

And so, Song You treated him with equal respect.

“I prefer a quiet life. Please don’t spread word of my visit. If anyone asks, just say I’m a wandering Daoist you once encountered long ago.”

“Understood.”

The couple escorted him to the door.

Song You asked them not to see him any farther, and then slowly strolled back along the narrow alleyway.

From behind the courtyard walls beside him came the soft rustling of cloth being shaken out. The cat still trotted along behind him with its quick, sprightly little steps, tilting its head up to watch him closely. Then it spoke, “You seem a bit down too...”

“Just feeling a little sentimental,” he replied.

“Sentimental!”

“Yes...”

“

Sentimeowtal

about what?”

“...”

The Daoist stopped walking, crouched down, and picked up the cat that had paused beside him. Holding her gently, he said, “Because I, too, have a hometown I can no longer return to.”

But then, thinking it over more carefully...

Who doesn't?