The firelight extinguished, and darkness returned to the mountains. The mountain wind blew, and the sound was pure and untainted.

Song You stood still, still holding his lantern. He raised it, tilted his head and blew at it again. Immediately, the lantern's light rekindled, just as before. However, after taking a step, he stopped, and thought for a moment. He shook his head, and then extinguished the lantern again. He carefully put it away, hung it on the horse's back, and proceeded slowly by the light of the stars.

The horse knew the way and led him back along the same path. Without his noticing it, the road had turned back into a mountain path. When he looked back and saw the same mountain scenery and lights as at the beginning, it meant they had already walked out.

Song You did not return to his original resting place but found another flat spot at the same place. He spread out his felt blanket again, and sat down cross-legged. He covered his legs with another blanket, and stared at the distant lights in a trance. Those evil spirits did not stay in his mind. Only the rare sights on the road and the experiences in the market were worth pondering over.

This was undoubtedly a wonderful journey. Cultivating on Yin-Yang Mountain, no matter how deep his cultivation skills were, how could he witness such wondrous things? The most wonderful part was unexpectedly the encounter with the little ghost. This encounter was pure and simple.

Song You had read many ancient texts describing such encounters, but he never found them intriguing. Now that he had personally encountered it, he realized that this fateful encounter which was pure like water was truly memorable. He thought he would find it hard to forget these short two or four hours of conversation even decades later.

“Daoist priest...”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?” The calico cat crawled over, approaching him with a face full of curiosity.

“I’m not dead.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“Just daydreaming.”

“Oh.”

“Do you know what daydreaming is, Lady Calico?”

“I often daydream.”

“Then you must be well-versed in the fundamentals.”

“Why was your fire so powerful?”

“Hmm?”

“Why was your fire so powerful?” The calico cat sat down properly in front of him, looked up, and stared at him, light flickering continuously in her eyes.

“Maybe you can do it too someday.”

“How can I do it?”

“You are a diligent cat.”

“How can I do it?”

“You must know that to become powerful at magic, it is inseparable from one's cultivation skills, mastery of this field of magic, even the timing and location, and one's mental state.”

“I don't understand.”

“The most important of these are your own cultivation skills,” Song You said softly, looking down at the calico cat at his side and meeting her gaze. “Lady Calico, you are very good at gathering firewood to make a fire, aren't you?” 𝙍𝒶ɴỌβÊș

“Yes!”

Song You continued, “Think of it like gathering firewood for a fire. The deeper your cultivation skills, the more firewood you can put on the fire, and the better the firewood will burn. If your cultivation skills are shallow, there won't be enough firewood, and it won't be good firewood either.

“To make a big fire, you will need a lot of good firewood. To have a lot of good firewood, you need to cultivate spiritual methods and improve your cultivation skills.”

“

Oh

!”

“And then there's your mastery of this field of magic, it’s like how you arrange the firewood and start the fire,” Song You continued.

“With the same amount and type of firewood, some fires burn quickly, and some slowly. Some produce large flames, while others have smaller ones. Some fires burn cleanly, while others, although appearing burnt-out, actually reveal a significant amount of unburned material left inside when poked. If you want the fire to burn well, you must practice magic diligently.”

“Oh!”

“Timing and location are self-explanatory. It's hard to make a fire on a rainy day outside. You are very smart and surely know this.”

“I do know!”

“And then there's the mental state and belief. The mental state is the most mysterious and hardest to cultivate, yet also sometimes the easiest. It's different for everyone and really hard to say. However, belief is simple,” Song You explained.

“Five Elements spells aren’t as affected by belief as earth-traversing technique, but there is still an influence. If two people have the same level of cultivation skills and mastery of this field of magic, and they compete at the same time and place, the one with ample confidence will surely win over the one who is lacking in confidence.”

“Is that all?”

“If we're just talking about ‘technique,’ that's all. However, to reach a high level, you still need to have your own understanding of different ‘Ways,’” Song You smiled. “That's even harder to explain and requires dedicated contemplation. You don't need to care about it for now, just let things take their natural course.”

“

Oh

...” The calico cat pondered for a moment, then looked up at him again. “So, how can I do it?”

“Cultivate diligently and practice a great deal.”

“I have always been doing that!”

“You have perseverance and determination. I am ashamed that I am not as good as you in that respect.” Song You said with shame.

“Then how much longer will it take?”

“It's hard to say.”

“How long?”

“The affairs of the world are hard to predict and it’s too complicated to explain.”

“Ten years?”

“Maybe.”

“What if I cultivate longer and practice more every day?”

“Then it might take twenty years.”

“Huh? Why?”

“It's complicated...”

“Oh!” The calico cat lay down, listening attentively.

The felt blanket under his body gradually warmed up. It was already midnight, and the galaxy covered the sky above his head. Without his noticing it, the lights on the distant mountainside suddenly went out. When he looked up again, the sky had started to show a hint of dawn color, with a touch of white tinged with yellow, yellow suffused with green, and green transitioning into blue.

Song You dozed off under the blanket. The calico cat curled up at his waist where it was the warmest.

***

Morning light shone from the mountain peak opposite. The cypress trees beside him blocked the light for a while, but soon the sun rose above the branches, shining directly on his face.

Song You slowly opened his eyes and carefully sat up. Despite his caution, he couldn't evade the cat's alertness, unless she didn't want to get up. Thus, before Song You could get out from under the blanket, a cat's head emerged first. She sleepily turned her head, squinting her eyes, looking left and right, and then fixed her gaze on Song You.

“Are we leaving?” The calico cat asked, assuming he was getting ready to leave. She then crawled out of the blanket, yawning and stretching. She sat down, waiting for him.

“Almost.” Song You said as he stood up. Facing the great mountain opposite, he stretched, and loosened his muscles.

It was mid-spring, and the mountains were already green. Although it wasn't early morning, a band of white mist still encircled the distant mountainsides. It was light and thin, with a pale color, not densely white or glaringly bright, but looking all the more refreshing. The green mountains appeared faintly-tinted with blue in the morning, making the scene clear and pristine.

As for the foot of the mountain where they had gone last night...There was no sign of a main road, market, lights…There was just a desolate mountain, densely-forested flat ground, and a narrow path running through the middle.

Song You smiled but said nothing.

Soon, they set off again. The horse's bell jingled, echoing through the layers upon layers of great mountains, clouds and mist. Song You walked with his bamboo staff, winding through one mountain after another. Lady Calico also transformed into her human form. Holding her small bamboo staff, she imitated Song You, tapping the ground with every step.

They didn't know how far they had walked, only that the sun gradually moved overhead, and their shadows shifted from one side to the other. It was nearly the third month of the lunar year, and the sun had become increasingly scorching.

Suddenly, Lady Calico ran past Song You with a clatter, holding her bamboo staff high in her little hand. She didn't run far before deviating from the mountain path. She rushed up a dirt slope beside the road, and looked ahead.

Then she turned back and shouted to Song You. “There's water ahead!”

“Good.” Song You thanked her and called her to come down.

Around a bend, he indeed heard the sound of water. A mountain spring trickled down from the top of the right side of the mountain, forming a small waterfall, which then turned into a small stream. There was a flat area beside it, where grass grew sparsely. Previous travelers had used stones to set up several small stoves. It was unknown how old they were or how many people had used them.

Thus they rested here and prepared lunch.

Even though it was just a brief stop, Song You took off the saddle bag from the horse. He patted it, thanked it for its hard work, and let it graze freely on the grass.

Song You pondered. There was still a catty of ham slices left from last night's purchase, the mushrooms he had bought were wrapped carefully in

musa basjoo

leaves, and even the wild fruits from the mountains remained uncrushed. Since they happened to be resting here, he would stew a pot of ham and mushroom soup, which would surely be more delicious than the dry mushroom soup from the previous night.

Having made up his mind, he began to prepare. After spending a long time outdoors, cooking in the mountain wilderness had become second nature. The Daoist moved quickly and efficiently, and the little girl also energetically gathered firewood and started the fire. Soon, cooking smoke was rising in the mountains.

At this point, the Daoist unexpectedly found himself with nothing to do. He half-laid down in the shade of a tree at the side, eating wild fruits while glancing at the little girl. “If you want to play, I can tend the fire.”

“I’ll tend the fire!”

“Then just keep it on low heat. With your skills, you surely won’t mess it up, right?”

“I won’t!”

“You do know that they’re poisonous if not fully cooked, right?”

“Cats don’t eat mushrooms!”

“What about calico cats?”

“Calico cats don’t eat them either!”

“But neither the ham nor the soup should be eaten.”

“I won’t sneak a bite!”

“Alright…” The Daoist squinted his eyes, fully enjoying the leisure of the moment while deeply contemplating the surrounding nature at that moment.

A bright spring day was truly comfortable, neither cold nor hot, with the spring breeze carrying the scent of grass and wildflowers. The great mountains were quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the occasional chime from the swaying bell on the grazing horse.

In the midst of his contentment, he couldn’t help feeling that he was privately enjoying the spring scenery of the place at that moment. Although his stomach was empty, a little cat was helping to tend the fire and simmer the soup, so he only needed to wait. Soon he would be able to taste the delicious mushroom soup. This stolen moment of leisure, for some reason, seemed even more captivating than an ordinary half-day of rest.

Gradually, the soup started to give off a rich aroma. The little girl, tending the fire, suddenly looked up and craned her neck to peer into the distance.

“Someone’s coming!”

Song You slightly opened his eyes and followed her gaze. However, the winding path was obscured by the mountain, making it impossible to see anything. After a while, he heard the faint sound of bells, a fair number of them. Soon, the sound of the bells became gradually clearer and a group of traveling merchants appeared at the end of the mountain path.

Four or five tanned adults and two teenage youths were leading horses and mules loaded with goods towards them. Song You sat up a bit straighter. This place had a clearing as well as a mountain spring. It was a resting spot for traveling merchants to begin with.

Upon seeing Song You, the merchants were somewhat surprised and cautiously sized him up. However, they did come over to draw water for drinking. Then they sat together in a circle, taking out some dry rations to share and eat.

Song You’s mushroom soup was almost ready. He got up from under the tree, and filled a bowl. He gave Lady Calico extra meat while he took mostly mushrooms and soup, eating them with a steamed bun.

The traveling merchants kept glancing at Song You. He occasionally looked back at them. Finally, their eyes met. One of the tanned merchants smiled and nodded in greeting. Song You also quickly returned the smile and nodded back.

The merchant then cupped his hands at him and asked, “Where are you coming from, and where are you heading?”

“I come from Xiangle County, and am heading to Southern Art County in Pingzhou,” Song You replied. “Where are you all coming from?”

“We came from Southern Art County, and are heading to Xiangle County.”

“What a coincidence.”

“This road mainly connects Southern Art County and Xiangle, running from Pingzhou to Xuzhou. Few people walk this road now, and those who start or end their journey midway are even rarer.” The merchant smiled. “Most people who walk this road are merchants like us traveling between Pingzhou and Xuzhou.”

“I see.”

“Have you traveled this road before?”

“It’s my first time,” Song You replied. “I’m from Yizhou. I traveled to Xuzhou and wish to go to Pingzhou.”

“First time?”

“Yes.”

The merchant seemed very surprised, scrutinizing Song You again. Then he glanced at the little girl beside him who was holding her bowl and paying no attention to other things, focused solely on eating the meat in her bowl. His brows gradually furrowed, he turned to his companions and exchanged glances with them, seemingly communicating silently.

It fell silent for a moment in the mountains. Only the two youths were puzzled, but they also sensed that something was amiss in the atmosphere.

The merchant suddenly asked, “Are you all humans or demons?”

“I am human,” Song You calmly and sincerely replied.