The Next Day...

  The morning's hues were even more beautiful with the rising sun and chirping birds. The calm lake, with fresh green leaves floating gently on its surface, reflected the rising sun, broken by gentle waves. Just then, a pair of swans came swimming by, caressing each other with their beaks. Both white swans were bathed in the morning's red glow.

  Gu Zong was walking on his way back, completely immersed in his joy. He was constantly making funny faces, observing the surroundings, and walking in his usual mischievous manner, as if a warmth had filled his heart. But then he heard a sound, as if someone was constantly jumping on a stone. Gu Zong's eyes widened, his ears relaxed, and his body stiffened, following the sound. As he advanced, the sound seemed to grow closer and closer. Gu Zong gripped his sword tightly and allowed his heavy breathing to circulate through his body, hoping to react in time. But as he scanned the path ahead, his eyes widened further as he saw a perfectly Stairs stone wrapped in soft grass. As he walked a little further, something suddenly appeared, causing Gu Zong's body to react in an automatic manner, jerking back and falling down. "Huh!! That... that... what was that"

  Gu Zong said to himself with his eyes wide open and mouth open, and just as Gu Zong was waiting for someone to come out, a small brown rabbit jumped and sat on the first stepping stone of Stairs, causing Gu Zong's soul to almost leave his body, he cried out loudly "Aaaa, ghost...?"

  Gu Zong said, almost trying to crawl away. He looked back, and then his eyes froze, as if his soul had sunk into utter despair. Seeing that there was a small, cuddly rabbit sitting there, Gu Zong's face fell, his eyes and lips slackened as if he were hearing his own conscience scold him, "Shame on you, it's just a tiny rabbit!"

  Gu Zong said, standing up. He cleaned his clothes and went straight towards the rabbit. But as soon as he reached the rabbit, his eyes widened again, his face became even more loose, and his sword slipped from his grip. Before him was a gorge of thousands of steps leading up to him, and he himself was standing on the first step. "What? Are these stairs?"

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  Gu Zong's lips trembled like a child having a meltdown, and he looked in the direction he had climbed for hours to reach this area. But when he looked back at the stairs, his jaw tightened, his eyes fluttering shut.

  "Hmm, really?... So there were stairs here?..."

  Gu Zong said through gritted teeth. He then picked up a stone and threw it in Wuang Shi's direction, shouting, "Hey, Wuang Shi, couldn't you tell there were stairs here?"

  Gu Zong said with a mock anger. He took a deep breath, picked up his sword, and started down the stairs, but kept glancing in Wuang Shi's direction, as if he could see Wuang Shi there.

  And there, along a dirt path adorned with beautiful flowers and soft grass, Wuang Shi trudged along, treading as quietly as a swan. His pure white robes, thin and soft as petals, fluttered in the breeze, brushing against the colorful flowers nearby. Then, beside some yellow flowers, Wuang Shi stopped, as if the wind around him had stopped. He calmly pulled the Moyu legend from his robes and opened the same folded page. His eyes fell upon some words that mentioned a sacred river. Just a short distance from where Wuang Shi stood, and judging by the thousands of peach trees lining its banks, he recognized the river mentioned in the Moyu legend, known as the River of Wishes. This river was known for its ever-blooming peach blossoms, and there was a tradition that had been observed here for centuries. Wuang Shi closed the book and held it in his hand, walking with his calm steps, passed by some huge peach trees and reached the river bank, where the trees cast cool shadows and with every light and strong breeze, peach flower petals fell on the water which was slowly flowing with the current.

  Wuang Shi looked behind him once and gave a slight smile as if his lips were thanking someone. His calm but warm eyes were constantly looking at the emptiness behind him, but his soul felt the closeness even in the distance. When Wuang Shi turned to move forward, he plucked five peach blossoms from a branch and while walking along the river bank, he dropped those blossoms into the slowly flowing river. And just silently, with a slight smile on his lips and in his eyes, he moved forward. Gu Zong had almost reached his destination. He looked toward the Zishi Temple, nestled among the quiet trees, where Yan Yu was looking at him from the roof of its main entrance. Though their eyes were out of reach, he still felt the unspoken weight of the Zishi Temple. Gu Zong's face hardened, his eyes drooping as a remembrance of his grandfather's words echoed in his mind:

  "Time will always find you, to bring you to the place where you need to be."

  These words brought back memories that had been forever buried within the walls of Fukun Xueyuan's library.