Wandering the Sky
With the stove warm and candles lit, it felt as if the young man was sitting right across from me, one hand supporting his chin, the other playing with a teacup, chattering away, breaking down everything that had happened since we parted, chattering away to tell me all about it.
"Sigh, with the heavy snow and biting wind, I wonder when this letter will reach you. Will you wait until the snow stops and the water melts before you start delivering it? My dear little bird, Little Yan, you managed to brave the snow to come to my side, you'll surely be able to bring the letter back to your master, right?"
"I would like to trouble our respected master, Meng Yan, Yue Lang's best friend and master of mechanical devices, to take a moment to reply to me after reading this letter."
At the end of the letter was a drawing of a little person making a pleading expression, who bore a striking resemblance to someone.
The night outside the window had completely fallen, but there were still a few inches of light when the letter was opened. The snow had piled up thickly on the windowsill, and who knows how much time had been quietly stolen by this letter.
Meng Yan poured out the cooled water, heated up some more, and drank a cup before going to his desk, picking up a pen, and poking his face with it as he pondered.
“No good.” She picked up her pen and wrote, mimicking Yue Lang by adding a small emoticon after the sentence. It took her a good half-moment to accept that it was her own handwriting. She closed her right eye to avoid looking at it and slowly continued in the blank space below: “The little sparrow is soaked to the bone and is sitting alone by the window, freezing. It is so pitiful. I hope someone can remember their mistake and apologize to it next time they see it.”
She wrote about her busy days, her trip back to the fishing village, and even teaching everyone in the valley how to operate a mechanical kite in the letter. When she finished writing and folded the paper, she was surprised to find that she had become so talkative. Without thinking, she knew it must be because of Yue Lang's influence.
Looking out into the snow, which still presented the same scene of goose feathers, Meng Yan put away the bead he had made and placed it on the bedside table along with the letter.
She wouldn't be like some villain who deliberately summons the birds on bad weather. She would wait until the snow stopped and the little creatures could fly freely in the sky before sending out the letter she had written long ago. Although it would arrive late, it was better than hurting the birds.
.
In the dead of winter, not only was snow falling in the sky above Ping An Valley, but several people were also swimming around, with three mechanical kites circling overhead, creating a magnificent and extraordinary scene.
"Wow!"
Not to mention newly initiated disciples, even senior brothers and sisters who have been in the sect for more than ten years can't help but marvel at this scene.
"Is he handsome?"
"handsome!"
"Want to come up and play?"
"think!"
Just as the culprit that had drawn cheers from his fellow disciples was about to land, a cough was heard, and he immediately changed direction and rose back into the air.
Li the cripple appeared in the crowd, leaning on a piece of wood. Wherever he went, there was complete silence. The crowd seemed to clear a space around him, and the previous liveliness was nowhere to be seen.
"Go ahead and ask, why don't you keep asking?"
His powerful whispers echoed in everyone's ears, not just the children, but even the snowflakes seemed to slow down, trying to remain still around him.
"Master...Master, have you passed Senior Sister Yan's flight assessment? You need that written flight certificate. If you don't have it, I can't give you the wooden kite."
Finally, a warrior spoke up, and the rest of the crowd nodded in agreement, their voices like steel being forged in the air.
Li the Cripple stroked his beard, which was stiff from the cold, but his words were even colder than the weather: "Is it not okay if we don't have it?"
"No, no, no, that won't do," the junior brother replied, his teeth chattering.
"I don't remember having to take a certification exam while sitting in the rest area?" he wondered.
The disciples were even more confused, frozen in mid-air, neither going up nor down.
The crisp sound of bells broke the silence, and a finely crafted mechanical kite with each feather clearly defined appeared from afar, rescuing everyone from the wind and snow.
"Senior sister! Master wants to take advantage of your big bird to fly around a few times and breathe in some of the snow air from the sky!" The junior brothers exclaimed with relief.
Meng Yan brought a warm breeze with the snow from the horizon, which hit the faces of his brothers and sisters, making Li the Cripple's hair and beard fly back in a very elegant manner.
She stopped abruptly in a large open space beside Li the Trapped, leaned halfway out, and asked curiously, "Master? Please?"
The small wooden stick pierced the snow, making a hole. Nearby were his unsteady footprints, some deep and some shallow, scattered as he moved toward the mechanical kite.
As winter set in, Li's old ailment returned on schedule. His legs ached differently, sometimes like being pricked with needles, sometimes like being frozen. The female colleagues from the medical team kept bringing him medicine—pills of medicine, drinks, and compresses—turning his room into a small pharmacy. The female colleagues from the clothing team bought the best and warmest cotton, and several of them took turns cutting and making thick clothes for him before the first snow. The administrative team carefully selected and hammered away, eventually searching the back mountain until they found a sturdy piece of wood. They whittled and carved it into a cane to lean against his door…
Although mobility was still inconvenient, it was better than nothing, and Li the cripple always had a smile on his face, as if he wasn't the one in pain.
Seeing him stagger and falter, Meng Yan spun around while holding onto the edge, landing without even disturbing the snowflakes, and walked straight towards him without catching his breath.
"Master, hold on tight to the cane and support me."
Li Huang was momentarily stunned when Meng Yan swept him away, ran back to the mechanical kite in a few steps, and carefully placed him in the seat.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, clapping and shouting, "Senior Sister, we're relieved to have Master in your care. You two can wander around a bit longer and come back later!"
Li the Cripple could easily understand the hidden meaning in their words. He stroked his beard and said, "Keep an eye on the other people when you take them out to play. Don't let anyone get hurt when I get back."
"Yes, sir!"
.
With tears in her eyes, she waved goodbye to Meng Yan and Guai Zi Li. Once they were completely out of sight, the crowd erupted in cheers.
The junior brother, whose fire had been extinguished, shook his head and flew close to the ground, shouting to the little radish heads on the ground: "Come on, line up! If you just want to circle around in the sky, come over here. If you want to take a long stroll outside the valley, go to Senior Sister Zhao and Senior Brother Wang. Master isn't home today, so I'll take you all to have a good time!"
"Thank you, senior brother!"
A dense mass of small sesame seeds scattered out, while three large sesame seeds spread out on the ground. There were far more people than expected. The junior brother closed his eyes and swallowed.
Even if I die of exhaustion in heaven, I, your senior brother, will still fulfill your wishes!
"It's so lively!" Another mechanical kite flew in; judging from its appearance, it was a delivery kite used by the mechanical group.
In fact, there are no more than five mechanical kites in the valley. Meng Yan's can be retracted, and she carries it with her at all times, so she can borrow it from her when needed. The one shared by the mechanical group is parked on the back mountain and is often used for delivering goods and purchasing. Like Meng Yan's, it has a dedicated cargo hold, which can't hold many people, but its cargo capacity is unparalleled. The three mechanical kites built for the valley are mainly for carrying people and are equipped with mechanisms to keep them warm in winter and cool in summer. They were designed from the beginning to facilitate travel, so although they are all parked on the back mountain, these three often fly out and disappear without a trace.
The junior brother squinted and recognized the person, greeting the mechanical kite suspended in the sky: "Senior Brother Hao!"
"No?" Senior Brother Hao frowned, turned to his sister and asked in a low voice, "How did you know that?"
Now look what happened, he made a grand entrance, but his face is now covered in bruises from being scraped on the ground.
"Your good reputation has spread far and wide," the senior sister comforted her, turning her head away and laughing loudly.
Howling Senior Brother: "..."
"Hey!" He felt a pang of sadness for a moment, but then he accepted reality. "Why are you all huddled together? Aren't you afraid Master will catch you?"
The half-grown child below flashed a mouthful of white teeth: "Don't worry, Senior Brother Hao! Senior Sister Meng Yan has taken him away!"
The impact of each sentence was greater than the last. After being knocked on by his senior sister for a long time, Senior Brother Hao finally snapped out of his shock and asked numbly, "So what's going on here...?"
"Taking the kids out to play." The junior brother looked distressed and drew a circle with his finger. "But there are so many kids. I don't know how long the last few in line will have to wait."
Senior Brother Hao exclaimed "Eh!" and pointed to the three large birds at the bottom: "These kites are for carrying people. Why not just take a few with you at a time and make a few trips back and forth?"
The junior apprentice looked up in surprise: "Wasn't it only supposed to carry two people?"
Brother Hao: "If you put down more chairs, there will be more seats!"
The junior brother remained silent, bewildered, never imagining the solution would look like this.
The junior brother stammered, "Really? Is it safe? Senior Sister Yan won't confiscate my flight license, will she?"
Senior Brother Hao clicked his tongue in exasperation: "Don't even mention bringing three kids. Even if there were three of us, plus you in the driver's seat, the four of us could fly around without any problems. When we built it, we calculated it based on four adults. Besides, you're bringing kids. Just tell them to be careful not to move around."
“I knew it! With so much space in the back, I thought it was a place for drivers to lie down and rest when they got tired!” The junior brother suddenly perked up.
Senior Brother Hao waved his hand and left gracefully, thinking to himself, "Don't you dare! If Junior Sister Yan sees that the mechanical kite is empty and hanging in the sky, she'll take back all the flight certificates she just got and make everyone retake the training and exams."
.
With the mechanical kite, the children in the valley ran outside much more frequently, often bumping into acquaintances in the streets and alleys, just like ordinary children. The senior brothers and sisters outside the valley also returned much more smoothly. The day before yesterday, they had a mechanical sparrow deliver a letter, and the next day, everyone who was free squeezed together to pick them up, no longer having to travel long distances or worry about heavy snow blocking the mountain.
Before the New Year, the valley was completely restored, and Li the Blind was overjoyed. He almost choked his child while feeding the birds.
With everyone full of energy and hands, everyone was busy helping each other, and the whole valley was happy to welcome the work stoppage, except for the kitchen staff who were forced to stay at the front of the table.
"Didn't we all work together until the eve of a holiday a few years ago?" the senior colleague said listlessly, swinging his spatula.
The junior brother gave a wry smile, handed him some salt for seasoning, and said sadly, "Senior brother, times have changed."
Inside the kitchen, it was a stark contrast between hot and cold; outside, everyone was clamoring to leave the valley for some atmosphere.
"Alright, it's a rare moment of joy, go on!" Li the Cripple said kindly to the little children, then turned and stared at a group of older children, his smile fading. "Keep an eye on your junior brothers and sisters, don't stray too far from them, understand?"
"Returning to see Master!" The group of people ran off in a swarm.
Just in time for the town's temple fair, everyone rushed out with the money they had saved up throughout the year. The little guy who had no money followed closely behind his senior brothers and sisters. When he encountered a stall that he couldn't bear to leave, he would slow down and linger to take a closer look.
The cries of vendors echoed from the east street to the west alley, with stalls of all kinds stretching as far as the eye could see, and tourists thronged the area, all in high spirits.
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