Chapter 2 Time to Leave the Mountain
Chapter 2 Time to Leave the Mountain “It’s getting colder now. The leaves are all gone. The ginkgo tree by the gateway is almost 60 years old now...” Clan leader White Rock has never been a sentimental person, yet he kept talking of the seasons and changes when he called his three students to the hall. Languo was the first one to speak up, “Teacher, please be frank with us, don’t be like a wordy old lady.” “You’re insulting our teacher!” Before their teacher got mad, Junzhi, who was still angry at being seen by Languo earlier, started shouting. The teacher agreed, “Yes, I’m about to talk about something important, why are you interrupting me?” Languo felt bad after being attacked by both people. She was so busy peeking at Junzhi in the bath, then had to come here to be lectured, she didn’t have time to pee! If their teacher kept making poems about the weather, she’d pee her pants. “I’m sorry, teacher, just please hurry...” “As I was saying, the weather is cooler now, the leaves are gone, the ginkgo tree by the gateway is almost 60 years old now...” Languo cried. When her tears appeared, their teacher finally moved onto the purpose of the lecture. “...so I want to send you all off the mountain.” “What? Leave the mountain?” Languo was shocked, so was Junzhi. Even the calmest of them all, their older cla.s.smate, focused on the conversation and stared at the teacher. White Rock solemnly nodded, “Yes, leave the mountain!” “Our teacher is letting us leave the mountain! We can explore the world! Hooray! Teacher, I love you!” Languo jumped up and down in excitement, ignorant of the glares from her cla.s.smates. How could she not be excited? Before she time-travelled here, supposedly the original Languo and Junzhi had not left this place at all; they didn’t even know what the outside world was like, they were missing so much! This was wonderful. She has suffered for two years, but now the teacher was letting them leave. She could now experience the world with Junzhi. “But teacher...” Of course Junzhi had questions. “Why not just tell us we were leaving? Why were you lamenting the seasons?” This was apparently a good question, which made White Rock sigh. “Isn’t it amazing that I’m letting you leave for the outside world now, in a season when the wind is howling and the birds are migrating? It’s so poetic.” “What?” Languo and Junzhi were confused. White Rock seemed really emotional. “This is truly a season for parting. There was one poem which went... One thousand miles of clouds under the sun, the northern wind carries the geese, do not worry about having no friends, there’s always someone who knows you. And another poem which goes, the soul of a traveller, the emotions of one’s kin, in the wave of a goodbye, there’s the howling of horses... Another poem... As travelers scatter at the dock, the people are melancholy, and they drift further away from each other. Oh, and another one, when we say goodbye, the dusk settles in, when Spring comes again, would you be back...”