Chapter 19
Li Rong packed the wooden box into his bag. Xue Heng was already waiting outside Chang'an with the coachman, having rented a separate horse. He went downstairs and joined Su Si in the crowd as they exited the city. Only a half-moon of the setting sun remained in the sky, and the crimson clouds faded, giving way to the approaching dusk.
"I've been waiting for a long time." Li Rong left the city walls and saw Xue Heng waiting under a roadside tree with his horse. He bowed before continuing to look at him. "No problem, Ziqu gave me just enough time to get used to the horse." Xue Heng smiled, grasping the reins between his fingers and climbing onto the horse. The brown-red horse raised its head and neighed for a moment before heading back down the road.
Li Rong unpacked his belongings and placed them in the carriage before taking his seat. Su Si and his son sat together, while the driver hurried on behind Xue Heng. Even now, the bustling sounds of Chang'an could still be heard, and the north wind blew the curtains, occasionally bringing a chill. He closed his eyes lightly and watched the carriage gradually drift away.
The prosperity and peace of Chang'an would later be remembered as scenes of a prosperous era, mingled with the classics he had read in the past, lingering in his mind. After half a decade of traveling and studying, he had finally found his path, but he also knew that the unpredictable could never be fully understood. The unanswered questions lay largely in the various places he had traveled. Perhaps, when he revisited these places years later, he would be able to focus less on the past and more on the present.
The silver moon, hidden by clouds, still appeared as round as it did in Chang'an. They slowly made their way through the night, the mountains of the north leaving behind them. Li Rong and Su Si both closed their eyes, drifting off to an uneasy sleep accompanied by the clatter of horse hooves. Xue Heng, always on horseback, rode ahead of them, his blue robe blending into the vast night, as if he were about to descend into a mountain forest, never to care for the world again.
As they neared Shu, the constant flow of merchants and travelers was far less pronounced than in Chang'an. Roadside teahouses stood, offering a place for travelers to rest and enjoy a cup of simple tea. Li Rong sat at the table, waiting for the coachman and Xue Heng to finish feeding the horses. He sipped the tea, which was barely hot water, enough to quench his thirst, but upon closer inspection, it lacked any flavor.
Roosters crowed at sunrise, the last glimpse of the year. They had skirted the rolling hills and reached Shu, though the Shu County seat was still some distance away. The path was rugged, so they walked the remaining few miles. Li Rong loosened the strings of his cloak. Winter in Shu was somewhat similar to Luzhou's. It didn't snow like in the north, but it was still a bit colder than in the south. Xue Heng, leading his horse, followed beside them, his face lightly sweating under his cloak. The horse would be left at the city's post station for rest.
"Shu is indeed difficult to enter. It's winter now. I'm afraid Ziqu and I won't be able to explore the area west of Jiange this year." He smiled and sighed softly, a hint of regret but no resentment. "You're right, but at least since I'm traveling here with you, it's not a regret at all," Li Rong replied softly, and the sound of horse hooves clattered in his ears.
"I've been following Ziquji's advice. Shu is a land of mountains and treacherous terrain, easy to defend but difficult to attack. It's a natural advantage. Seeing it today, I'm convinced it's true." The city gates had just opened in the morning, and traffic was sparse. Xue Heng took advantage of the situation and led the horses inside with them. Without a driver to guide them, ordinary people would have gotten lost on the winding roads. "The previous dynasty was full of chaos. Today, I'll be able to see with you what Shu County is like today."
Fog permeated the city, and the lights were only faintly scattered on both sides of the long street. Su Si first glanced at the nearest inn to stay, while Xue Heng went to return the horse. "Please wait for me for a moment, Ziqu. I will accompany you for a few days. You can drive me as you please." Li Rong watched Xue Heng walk away with his horse, shook his head and laughed, then booked a room to freshen up.
The door opened and closed, and Li Ronghe closed his eyes and dozed off for a few hours to relieve his fatigue. When he woke up again, it was not yet sunset. He fastened his cloak again. In his half-dream state, he heard a noise next to him. He thought it was Xue Heng who woke up first.
"Is Zhuozhi here?" He tapped lightly on the half-closed door. "Since Ziqu is awake, why not take a stroll down the street?" Xue Heng had already packed his things when he opened the door. Li Rong smiled faintly and nodded. "I'm being lazy today, so I'll let Zhuozhi show me the customs of Shu."
The long street was bustling with people, though not as crowded as elsewhere. The occasional bustle gave them a glimpse of Shu County. The mountaintops in the distance were buried in clouds, and the sliver of white that peeked through was unclear whether it was snow or the edge of the sky. Xue Heng preferred to stop and look at the local wonders. Children, mostly carrying bamboo toys, ran by the street, laughing and playing.
Li Rongjing listened to Xue Heng's conversation with the vendor, laughing as he listened to rumors from the previous dynasty, strange stories from the countryside, and the deeds of former Shu officials. The vendor's slow, accented recounting of these stories, a mix of amusement and hardship, paid copper coins for some seemingly useless items, and stuffed them all into Xue Heng's mouth.
Xue Heng also smiled and took the rabbits, putting them in his bag. A crowd occasionally gathered around the stall. Li Rong followed Xue Heng in from the side and got a clearer look. It was a merchant from Chang'an, bringing a few pairs of snow-white rabbits in straw cages, and shouting high prices, waiting for the young men and women of wealthy families to buy them.
Xue Heng naturally squatted down to chat with the vendor, casually breaking off some grass to feed the caged white rabbit. Li Rong stood aside and watched carefully. Although he had seen it in Chang'an, he always moved around with the crowds and never got a close look. The white rabbit chewed the hay, and occasionally its long ears were bent over by the woven cage. He looked into its red eyes and found them somewhat naive.
"Zi Qu, come and try it too?" Xue Heng slipped a few copper coins into the vendor's pocket and shared a small ball of hay with Li Rong. Li Rong imitated Xue Heng's example, taking the hay between his fingers and passing it to the white rabbit's mouth, watching it devour it with satisfaction. Then, looking closely at the white rabbit, he felt a sense of novelty. It was rare for him to be so happy. Even after feeding the hay to the end, he still felt a little unsatisfied.
However, some people in the crowd followed their lead and paid copper coins to feed the remaining white rabbits. In the hustle and bustle, they inevitably bumped into Li Rong. Xue Heng helped him over and then stood aside, removing the half-piece of hay stuck to his waist. "I'm glad to see Ziqu come here so leisurely. I think my arrangements today have been successful."
Li Rong smiled and replied, continuing to stroll along the long street with Xue Heng. The newly built city hadn't yet accrued much dust. Jagged, jagged boulders formed the city walls, their incense still swaying in the wind. The Shu people seemed relatively new, their manners still tinged with foreign customs, and their Mandarin spoken with a local accent, but they were also generally simple and hospitable.
After a few days, they had traveled extensively through Shu County. Li Rong, having heard stories of Jiange, knew that going into the mountains for the winter was too dangerous, so he gave up. He poured himself a full cup of tea and drank it. He had already told Su Si to arrange with the driver to leave the city at midnight, first to Fengjie, and then change carriages to Jingzhou, not far from Luzhou. Traveling day and night, perhaps they could still make it home in time to celebrate the Lantern Festival with A Niang and the others.
Li Rong entered the adjacent room, where Xue Heng was also sitting at a table, writing or drawing something. "Let me guess, Ziqu came here tonight to prepare for his journey?" Li Rong was about to speak when he was beaten to the punch.
It actually alleviated some of the sadness of parting. "Zhuozhi is smart and is planning to leave for home tonight. Traveling too long will inevitably cause people to worry about you," Li Rong explained in detail. "Where will Zhuozhi go?"
Xue Heng paused and dipped the brush into clean water to clean the ink. "I'll be going back to Linyi for my coming-of-age ceremony in the spring. It'll be a good time to send Mr. Ziqu his last works."
Li Rong bowed and thanked him, but his thoughts were disrupted by Xue Heng, so he continued, "Then Ziqu will wait for Zhuozhi's letter at home." Xue Heng laughed heartily, "As long as Ziqu doesn't worry about separation, it's fine. Can Ziqu find the right path?"
Li Rong poured himself some warm tea, took a sip, and the slightly bitter aftertaste made him clear his mind. "If he could govern a county, he would be worthy of heaven, but he is certainly not as good as me." Xue Heng said, "Zi Qu is lucky to have such ambition. Today, I will use tea instead of wine. I wish you a bright moon and a fresh breeze, and all your wishes will come true."
The two men stood up, clinked their glasses, smiled at each other, and drank together. "May my humble self be as we were yesterday, like a white crane soaring through the clouds, carefree and at ease in the world." Xue Heng, however, remained silent for a rare moment. He looked at Li Rong, then continued to smile and drink another cup of tea. "We will not express our separation, but only promise to exchange letters in the spring, so that we will never forget each other."
Li Rong wrote down the name of his shop and the place where Xue Heng would be staying after his coronation. He stood up and bowed again, saying goodbye. "The mountains are high and the road is long. Take care, my dear." Xue Heng said the same thing, and hurriedly walked Li Rong out of the room. Seeing Li Rong look back, he smiled and bowed again as if to say goodbye. "Take care, Ziqu too."
Li Rong returned to his room and opened the street-facing window, letting the cold wind in. "I say goodbye to you today, and I don't know when we'll see each other again." He sat at his desk, carefully jotting down the place names he'd just heard. When he picked up his pen again, he didn't know what to write. He shook his head lightly, half laughing, half sighing, and finally got up to pack his bags.
Only a few lights were lit in Shu County at night, barely enough to illuminate the path ahead. Li Rong extinguished the candle in his room, but Xue Heng's room was still brightly lit when he went downstairs. He glanced past the closed door, said "take care" again in his heart, and then boarded the carriage, jolting eastward from Shu County, embarking on his journey home.
Li Rong pulled his cloak tighter as Su Si and the driver chatted in front. He watched the cold wind rustle through the curtains, occasionally catching glimpses of lights in Shu. He was leaving behind the towering mountains, the peaceful city of Chang'an, and the close friends he had met on this journey.
He closed his eyes, as if only yesterday he had been in the rain, lost in his own panic and bewilderment. Xue Zhuozhi approached, step by step, holding an umbrella. His white clothes were picturesque, and even the muddy treads didn't diminish his elegance. They sat and discussed philosophy, played hands at night, and traveled together for months, becoming close friends.
Tonight, Li Rong found it hard to sleep. He thought about his first encounter with Xue Heng, then about seeing him gallop through the woods, listening to the horse's neigh as he watched him depart. Mountains covered in snow, the moon dim, Zhuozhi will surely achieve his wish, conquering the world without fuss, in accordance with the laws of nature. Thinking of this, Li Rong swallowed a sigh, his brows curved as he slowly drifted off to sleep. In his dreams, he saw a swaying horse's tail, a white rabbit with folded ears grazing, and Xue Zhuozhi, brightly lit but unrecognizable. Peaceful, he was gifted with another deep dream in the middle of the night.
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