Ten Thousand Books, But Only One You

09 The book Snowy Mountain with a Peach Blossom Tree: Volume II

Chapter 9: The book Snowy Mountain with a Peach Blossom Tree Volume II

Instead of returning to the garden before setting out again, we headed directly to Jinghe Palace. Based on the book in its current state, Ji Kai as Mo Yue was supposedly in seclusion in his own courtyard. He had moved to a remote courtyard, far away from the activities in Jinghe Palace. We were going to the part of the book set after Bai Zhen's attempt to visit Mo Yue, where Bai Zhen found out that Mo Yue was affected with a cold poison.

The fog around the boat cleared up to reveal a calm lake with floating pieces of ice. I stuck a hand out of the window and felt a chilly breeze brush caress my hand. Why did the writer of this book love winter so much? It was perpetually winter wonderland in here.

We hopped off the boat at a jetty surrounded by many unattended wooden rafts. Other than a roadside tea stall which provided simple food and drinks for weary travellers, there were no other buildings around the lake. There were only tall winter trees and majestic rocky mountains in our surroundings. A gust of cold wind blew in our direction and we shuddered.

"You did not say that it would be so cold here," Jin Mu shot me an accusatory look. Jin Mu and I were wearing long sleeves, but we were dressed in thin summer clothes made with sheer fabric.

I wrapped my arms around my torso and sniffed pitifully. "Don't look at me like that. I had a set of thick winter clothes but I left it behind at your place when you suddenly had to leave so hastily." Fortunately, I still had my small satchel bag slung around me, otherwise I would have lost the two books and Ji Kai's "medication".

Jin Mu carefully studied the area around us. "The air feels like winter is coming to an end so the temperature has risen a little. Otherwise, we will freeze to death and meet our maker instead of Ji Kai."

I sniffed again and tottered over to the elderly woman manning the tea stall. "Granny, do you know which way it is to Jinghe Palace?"

The elderly woman placed down the black teapot in her hands and looked at me with visible confusion on her face. "Did you travel from afar? You must be shivering in those clothing. Jinghe Palace is just up this jade mountain behind."

My teeth chattering, I managed a quick thank you and hurriedly pulled Jin Mu in the direction of the jade mountain. We were still some distance away but we could make out, through a thin fog enveloping the mountain, buildings erected across the face of the mountains—a cluster of white on every peak. By the time we reached the foot of the mountain, I felt warmer from the brisk walking. But the frigid air continued to pierce my lungs each time I inhaled through my mouth.

Wordlessly, we started climbing a long flight of stairs to get the gates of Jinghe Palace. Only the sounds of our heavy footsteps and strenuous breathing could be heard. I lost count of the number of steps that we had climbed but the figure was somewhere in the hundreds and close to a thousand. We paused to take a short breather before continuing the climb again. Eventually, we staggered towards the main gate which was guarded by two disciples of Jinghe Palace.

One of them lowered his halberd and restrained us from advancing forward. "Who are you and what business do you have here?"

"Hello," I gasped for air as I leaned against the wall for support. "We're here to see Mo Yue."

"Is the young master someone you can simply refer to by name?" The disciple waved us away dismissively. "Leave, leave. The sect leader has ordered that the young master does not wish to meet any visitors."

I felt around my bag for the metal token that Ji Kai had given to me during our last encounter. Pulling it out dramatically, I brandished it proudly in front of Jin Mu and the two disciples. "Sorry, I meant that I'm here to see my shifu. I brought back a renowned doctor who can treat him."