The Peach Blossom Spring, Part Two
Following the pre-prepared map, Kim Ji-won took the shortest route north from Qu Family Medical Clinic to Ping An Hospital.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, they discovered that the entrance was blocked by several enormous boulders. Several members of the Beggars' Sect were standing guard, having set up a warning tape at a distance to warn people of the danger of falling rocks and to stay away.
Kim Ji-won walked eastward around the mountain. The houses at the foot of the mountain were generally simpler. The sun was already beginning to set, and at this time, there were few young men and women to be seen; mostly elderly people and children.
These were energetic children, no longer content to stay in the warm house, always restless at home. The children chased and played in the streets and alleys, getting their hands and faces dirty. The old man sat on the doorstep, watching thoughtfully.
However, the old man may not have been thinking about anything; it's just that time has dried up on his face, turning it into winding furrows that make him look worried when he's not smiling. Some old men have lost all their teeth, making their lower jaws appear noticeably more prominent and closer to their facial features, making them look even more like pensive figures when sitting in front of the door.
When we reached the foot of the Hundred-Step Ladder, we found that it was also guarded.
The two beggars' guards pointed to the cracks in the stone steps and refused Kim Ji-won's idea of going up from there.
“Please go up via Xuanhua Road on the right,” they said.
The cracks on the stone steps extend downwards, not yet reaching the foot of the mountain. But some can already be seen in the distance; there are about four or five relatively wide and deep cracks. These cracks grow downwards in a winding manner, with many more tiny branches branching out from the sides.
“These tiny branches will probably become the main trunk someday,” Kim Ji-won thought. “The five cracks we see now are probably branches of the first crack.”
Kim Ji-won continued walking around the mountain, this time changing direction. She was still close to the foot of the mountain, but now she was heading north.
Upon reaching Shajing Road, the materials for the repairs of Ping'an Temple were transported up the mountain from here. Extending from Shajing Road into the city was a long, straight avenue. This road was wider and much straighter than others, stretching as far as the eye could see. The porters and craftsmen became a unique sight along this road.
On the main road, long queues of people going up and down the mountain formed, but there was no congestion. On the uphill side, the porters, with stern faces, carried stone slabs on their shoulders, their steps slow but steady. On the downhill side, whether porters or craftsmen, they carried less and walked more lightly and nimbly.
If you come in the morning, you'll probably see craftsmen and porters going up the mountain together. The craftsmen might walk more steadily then, but since they don't have much heavy load, they'll definitely be much faster than the porters.
The guards here were more friendly. They pointed north and said, "Young lady, only craftsmen are allowed to pass through here. Please go up Xuanhua Road to the north."
Kim Ji-won bought a bowl of tea at a tea stall next to Shajing Road. The tea was sweet. It is said that sand overflows from the wells along this road in the spring, hence the name Shajing Road (Sand Well Road).
After having her tea, Kim Ji-won continued north. Reaching the foot of Seonhwa Road, she finally found herself with unobstructed access.
After walking uphill for about fifteen minutes, a girl coming down from the mountain called Kim Ji-won to a stop.
The girl was dressed simply but neatly. She had an empty basket slung over her arm, as if she had just delivered something up the mountain.
"It takes half an hour to get up the mountain from here, and it gets dark very early," the girl said. "There's nowhere to stay on the mountain now. The people in charge of Ping'an Courtyard have all moved away, and no one is allowed to come in at night. There are only some young men watching over thieves."
"Only a few young men who watch over thieves live up there." The girl shook the bamboo basket on her arm. "I just brought food down."
The girl took Kim Ji-won's arm and asked, "Did you just arrive, unnie?"
Kim Ji-won nodded.
"You don't look like a local," the girl said with a smile. "Did you arrange to come to Ping An Hospital today?"
“I just arrived today,” Kim Ji-won replied, “and haven’t found the government office yet.”
"It's a good thing you didn't go up," the girl said. "You wouldn't have been able to get in anyway."
The girl raised a finger and said, "My mistress says this is what they call 'a blessing in disguise'."
The young woman led Kim Ji-won down the mountain, glanced at the sky, and asked carefully, "Have you found a place to stay?"
Kim Ji-won shook her head.
"Let's go to my young lady's residence. It's not easy to find a suitable inn these days," the girl invited warmly, pointing to a mansion at the foot of the mountain: "Look, it's not far from here."
~
The girl's name is Song Xue, and she is a native of Wuling.
Song Xue took Kim Ji-won to the government office to register, and they would have to wait two days before they could enter Ping An Yuan. Afterwards, the two of them returned together to the house she had mentioned.
It was a mansion without a plaque, with two strings of plum blossoms hanging in front of the door.
Many other girls lived in the mansion, and everyone greeted Song Xue and her companion with smiles.
The old woman carried a steaming plate of food by and called out, "Bai Xue, you're back. Time to eat."
“Coming soon,” Song Xue replied happily.
“I was born a maid and had no name. My original master called me Bai Xue.” Song Xue turned to Jin Zhiyuan and said, “Miss took pity on me and gave me her surname.”
"It's a very nice name."
Song Xue revealed a proud expression.
"Miss often says that it's not easy for young ladies out there, and they should help each other out." Song Xue led Kim Ji-won into a corridor where the roof and pillars were carved with plum blossoms, and continued:
"Every girl here has to stay here temporarily for one reason or another."
Just as Kim Ji-won was about to speak, she saw Song Seol excitedly waving towards the opposite corridor. If it weren't for the stream separating the two corridors, she probably would have climbed over the railings along the edge of the corridor and run over.
"Sister Yu, I've been looking for you," Song Xue called out affectionately. "Do you have the key to Lianxin Pavilion with you?"
Song Xue turned to Jin Zhiyuan and said, "She's our eldest sister, Song Yu. She handles many things in the mansion; she's very meticulous."
The two were completely different in physique. Song Yu was a chubby, somewhat cute girl. Song Xue was rather thin, to the point that Kim Ji-won felt worried; when they walked together, she always felt that Song Xue might suddenly faint.
But perhaps it was precisely because she was so thin that people were less wary of her, which is why she followed her around. Kim Ji-won thought to herself.
Song Yu had a large brass ring hanging from her waist. It was probably because most of the houses were now occupied, and there were very few keys left on the ring.
"I brought it with me." Song Yu smiled and took off a key, tossing it across the stream.
The key spun above the babbling brook and flew over.
Song Xue let out a startled cry, jumped up, and clasped her hands together as if in a Buddhist ritual to catch the key.
Kim Ji-won was also terrified, she couldn't tell whether she was frightened by Song Seol or by the key.
Song Yu stood on the opposite bank and burst into laughter.
Clenching her fist, Song Xue pouted and glared fiercely at Song Yu.
"Run away—run away—" Song Yu ran away happily.
Kim Ji-won reached out and tidied Song Xue's hair, smiling as she asked, "Don't you live here, Miss?"
“Miss is staying at her home on Shajing Road.” Song Xue’s face was flushed as she cleared her throat and said, “She said there are too many rooms here for her to use, so she asked us to clear out all the rooms for destitute girls to stay overnight.”
"I just walked through Shajing Road today, it's a really nice place." Kim Ji-won searched her memory of the day, but didn't seem to see any particularly grand houses there.
“Right?” Song Xue replied happily, “I also think it’s a great place, especially spacious, and it makes me feel much more open and cheerful. I love going there.”
Song Xue led Kim Ji-won through several different corridors, some carved with green bamboo, others with pine and cypress trees, and still others with monkeys and tigers. Accompanied by the sound of flowing water, the two arrived at the Lotus Heart Pavilion.
"Sister, you can stay here tonight." Song Xue handed over the key and said, "Come to the main room for dinner when you're all ready."
~
Although the appointment with the government was for two days later, Kim Ji-won still got up very early the next day and went straight up to the top of Mashou Mountain from Xuanhua Road.
Kim Ji-won climbed the last bit of the slope and finally arrived at the open space in front of the Peace House. Only then did she see that the porters had already reached the top of the mountain, and the dust they shook off from the rocks had turned half of their shoulders and arms white.
This is a magnificent open space, and in their leisure time, many Wuling people would bring their families to climb up and enjoy the panoramic view. Kim Ji-won stood at the edge of the open space, looking down at the streets where people were gradually gathering at the foot of the mountain, and began to imagine what this city-state would look like at sunset and when night fell.
I really should have come up and checked yesterday, Kim Ji-won thought to herself.
Taking a deep breath of the morning mountain air, Kim Ji-won and the porters who came up from Shajing Road walked in the same direction.
At first, there were only some scattered and very shallow marks, which Kim Ji-won didn't pay much attention to. But as she got closer to the center, the scratches on the stone slabs under her feet became more and more dense. Short, deep scratches covered the stone slabs in a dense pattern.
Kim Ji-won squatted down and touched it with her fingers; every mark was a clean and neat cut.
"Someone must have been wronged." The woman's words echoed in Kim Ji-won's ears.
On the other side of the open area, there was a charred, deep crater, probably where lightning had struck. The stone slabs had shattered into pieces the size of fingernails, pieces that the wind couldn't disperse, and people didn't want to touch them.
No one intended to deal with the deep pit, and the originally straight line of porters took a rounded turn here.
A burly man stood in front of the Ping An Courtyard. Kim Ji-won, on a whim, stepped forward and tried to negotiate with him.
"Great hero, can we go up now?" Kim Ji-won glanced at the statue on the top of Ping An Courtyard. She had never expected the statue to be so huge up close when she was at the West Gate.
"Did you bring the official documents for the pilgrimage?" Mu Xiongzhen's voice was as loud as ever.
Kim Ji-won pursed her lips, blinked, and looked at him with a pitiful expression.
Mu Xiongzhen cleared his throat and said softly, "Miss, I need to see your petition."
Kim Ji-won nodded and awkwardly pulled out a stamped piece of straw paper from her bundle and handed it over.
Seeing Mok Wong-jin carefully unfold the document, Kim Ji-won placed her hand on her forehead as if looking around, and exclaimed, "I didn't expect this statue to be so big."
“Hmm,” Mu Xiongzhen said, looking at the document, “Too big can also cause too much trouble.”
“Really?” Kim Ji-won said. “I heard that once a statue falls, it must be very difficult to put it back on its feet.”
Mu Xiongzhen sighed and said, "Yes. When it was being built, it was laid out piece by piece. Now, to lift it up as a whole, how easy is that?"
Kim Ji-won nodded in agreement, but then added confidently, "However, I heard that the master craftsman in charge of the repairs, Woong Jin, is a very meticulous person. He will definitely have a way to solve this."
The unexpected words left Mu Xiongzhen speechless with a wry smile. He looked at the young girl in front of him and asked, "Who told you that he could handle it?"
“Everyone says so.” Kim Ji-won spread her arms wide in an exaggerated gesture. She patted her calves and counted on her fingers, saying, “I’ve been to so many places in the city. From Blacksmith Road, which was blocked. To the Hundred Steps Ladder, which was broken. Shajing Road is an important repair route, and it was only with great difficulty that I finally got up from Xuanhua Road.”
“As soon as I entered the city, someone told me that Master Mu Zhen was appointed by the elders to be in charge of the repairs,” Kim Ji-won continued. “That’s amazing, I thought. Someone who is so highly regarded at such a young age must be very remarkable.”
"That's all thanks to Brother Xiang's recommendation." Mu Xiongzhen was a little embarrassed by the praise and quickly declined.
Kim Ji-won pretended not to hear clearly, walked closer and asked, "Great hero, what did you just say?"
This step startled Mu Xiongzhen; he had never examined a girl so closely before. He took a half step back and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "It's nothing."
"I really want to get to know him," Kim Ji-won said playfully. "But a hero like that must be elusive, don't you think?"
"Yes," Mu Xiongzhen covered his mouth and took a deep breath, answering almost unconsciously, "I haven't seen Xiongzhen for several days either."
At this moment, a craftsman approached the two and was about to speak when Mu Xiongzhen, feeling guilty, immediately raised his hand to stop him.
Taking the opportunity, Kim Ji-won asked, "Great hero, may I go up now?"
“Go ahead,” Mok Woong-jin quickly handed the document back to Kim Ji-won, adding, “Your timing is wrong. Remember to schedule a time next time.”
Kim Ji-won smiled brightly and said, "I understand."
After saying that, he skipped and hopped into the yard.
After running for a while, Kim Ji-won turned around again, clenched her fist and said mischievously, "Hero, if you meet Hero Woong-jin, remember to tell him that I will definitely support him."
Upon hearing this, Mok Woong-jin, who was talking quietly with the craftsman, smiled awkwardly and nodded to Kim Ji-won.
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