Luzhou Moon - Chapter 118
In her memory, the only thing related to this cliff was the way Lian Junchu gracefully descended from the height when he came to this beach with her to make her happy.
Even though he harbored many wounds in his heart, he always tried to use his meager strength to make her happy, not wanting her to feel those pains because of him.
But now, the beach is desolate, the waves are lonely, and only those sword marks seem to tell her how he spent those days and nights after she left.
Gazing at the sword marks, she couldn't imagine how Lian Jun Chu had practiced his sword alone on this shore, day and night. This beach once bore the marks of her own footsteps; every time the moon rose, she would accompany Xiao Tang, who preferred to remain out in public, to sit here quietly. Now, as the moonlight blurred their figures from two to one, she couldn't fathom how he had sat here night after night, still facing the sea, watching his own lonely figure.
But he never mentioned any of these things after their reunion.
As always, he kept many things to himself, letting them accumulate deeply, not wanting anyone to know.
"I truly envy you." Danfeng's eyes were filled with tears, but her face wore a smile. "I always thought that you treated everyone the same way. I never imagined that there was someone he could never forget."
Holding back her tears, Yue Ruzheng asked, "Do you know where he went?"
Danfeng didn't answer directly, but slowly said, "There are two times each year when he leaves Seven Star Island."
Yue Ruzheng stared at her blankly and asked, "What time?"
"As the Lunar New Year approached, he only asked me to prepare some dry food for him, nothing else. He was never seen on the island on New Year's Eve."
Danfeng said, "Also, around the fifth or sixth day of the second lunar month, he will leave the island and return on his own a few days later."
Yue Ruzheng seemed to understand something. Her heart ached, and the tears she had been holding back suddenly burst forth.
"Didn't he say where he was going?" she choked out.
"He would never tell," Danfeng said dejectedly. "But I think, since you've known him for a long time, you should know, right?"
Suddenly, a scene from Nan Yandang flashed through Yue Ruzheng's mind. In the gentle breeze, he carried her on his back and ran all the way. When they rested in the peach grove, he asked her about her birthday.
He had a small wish: to spend the New Year with her next year and wait for the new year to arrive.
Ruzheng, for so many years, even during the Spring Festival, I have always been alone. I have never known what it is like to celebrate the New Year.
At that time, he spoke with hope, praying that she would stay.
Yue Ruzheng silently shed tears, then suddenly asked, "What day is it today?"
Danfeng thought for a moment and said, "December 27th."
Yue Ruzheng forced herself to calm down, took a deep breath, and said, "Thank you."
After saying that, she quickly walked towards the fishing boat.
On the shore, Wei Heng saw her walking towards him with tears streaming down her face and asked in surprise, "What happened?"
Yue Ruzheng shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm leaving now, Wei Heng."
"Where did she go? What did she tell you?" Ignoring Lian Junxin's cold stare, Wei Heng walked up to Yue Ruzheng.
Yue Ruzheng smiled as best she could and said, "Don't worry, I'm just in a hurry, so I can't delay any longer."
Wei Heng, from the province, asked, "Can you find him?"
Yue Ruzheng gazed at the vast sea in the distance and said, "I don't know either... but I still want to go find him."
"Alright, if you haven't found him in three days, come back to where we came from. I'll be waiting for you there." Wei Heng hadn't forgotten his promise to Lian Junxin, and simply told Yue Ruzheng this.
Yue Ruzheng left. The sea breeze blew across her dress, and from afar, she looked like a faint green shadow, melting into the vast ocean.
(End of Volume 6)
Volume Seven: Ruan Lang Gui
Chapter Seventy-Five
Yue Ruzheng embarked on that road again. Along the way to Nan Yandang, merchants and travelers hurrying home for the New Year passed by frequently, each laden with goods. In the rugged sections, she had to dismount and walk. Looking around, the distant mountains remained beautiful; the scenery in this area was always so serene and elegant.
She didn't know if her guess was correct, or if Lian Junchu had really returned to the place where she used to live, but apart from this place, she had no other destination to look for.
Over the years, Yue Ruzheng had thought about returning to Nan Yandang, and the image of the clear spring and peach grove had even appeared countless times in her dreams. However, she never dared to set foot on that familiar place again, fearing that the sight would trigger painful memories and add to her suffering.
Every Lunar New Year's Eve, Yinxi Xiaozhu is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations. In order not to disappoint everyone, she would happily sit with them, clinking glasses and laughing and singing.
She had always remembered that February 9th was his birthday. It was on that very night when she was nineteen that she entered a world that had previously been his alone. But since their dramatic breakup three years ago, leaving Seven Star Island, she had never consciously tried to remember that date. Every February, she seemed to be in a daze, only regaining some semblance of clarity after the month had passed.
However, he never dared to seriously consider how he would spend the familiar days after she left.
During the two days on her way to Nan Yandang, Yue Ruzheng thought about many things.
On the third day at dusk, she finally arrived at the small town at the foot of Nan Yandang Mountain. The ancient streets were paved with mottled bluestone. She slowly walked through the alleys, and the doors of the houses on both sides were already covered with bright red Spring Festival couplets. Today was the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, and every household had its doors tightly shut. From behind the doors came bursts of laughter and chatter. Some mischievous children, taking advantage of the adults' busy drinking, slipped out of their homes, carrying firecrackers and looking for a place to light them first, hoping to attract attention.
The pastry shop in town was still in the same old spot, but the owner was busy packing up, preparing to close. Yue Ruzheng still walked over as usual and stood blankly in front of the shop. The owner saw that she was neatly dressed and didn't seem like someone who couldn't afford pastries. Just as he was wondering about her, she came to her senses and, with mixed feelings, bought the last few pastries left.
The sky was growing increasingly dark, and the weather near the East Sea was now chilly, prompting her to wrap herself tighter in her clothes. Relying on her memory, she retraced her steps to the path leading into the mountains. The path was quiet and deserted. Yue Ruzheng slowed her pace, making her way deeper into the mountains.
Occasionally, a few houses dot the hillside, their interiors lit with candles. The bright yellow candlelight cast a warm glow in the twilight, reflecting the silhouettes of families and flickering on the window paper.
After walking a little further, there were no more houses along the roadside, only towering trees and clear streams flowing gently, just like always, accompanied by the wind that kept swirling in the mountain valley, echoing throughout this silent world.
As dusk deepened, the weak setting sun disappeared behind the heavy clouds. A gust of wind swept through, and fine snowflakes began to fall from the sky, landing on my face with a particularly icy chill. Unlike the snow in Huainan and Luzhou, the snow here was more like raindrops, as if the raindrops had been frozen into fragments, and then carried by the invisible wind to the mountains and fields.
Yue Ruzheng braved the cold wind and drizzling snow to make her way forward. The mountain road was long and winding. She had walked this route alone before, and she had also walked alongside the boy carrying a bamboo basket back then. But those years were so far away from her, so far away that she had almost forgotten the sweetness they once shared.
She climbed the familiar yet unfamiliar slope until she reached the top. On this side of the mountain lay the secluded valley where they had once gathered herbs together; on the other side, the peach trees had lost all their leaves. Sparse and desolate. Yue Ruzheng thought of that night when she lay on this very slope, opened her eyes, and saw the boy before her. But back then, he was as green and unripe as those unopened peach blossoms, carrying a hint of rain's chill, his heart tightly closed.
At the end of the peach grove, a corner of a small courtyard is faintly visible.