The setting sun stretched the shadow of the Stilt House long across the ground.
Dinner at the guesthouse was simple farmhouse fare: stir-fried mountain greens, cured pork with bamboo shoots, and sticky rice. The dishes were plain, but their fresh, sweet flavors were unlike anything she could find in the city.
Jiang Shu ate until she was thoroughly satisfied.
After dinner, she carried a little bamboo stool outside and sat on the stone steps by the guesthouse entrance.
There were few streetlights in the village. Only the warm yellow glow spilling from the windows of the houses and the last traces of color in the sky lit the way.
A crowd of children, big and small, chased one another around the open space in front of the houses. Their bright laughter and shouts echoed through the valley, full of pure, unalloyed joy.
Chin in hand, Jiang Shu watched them quietly, taking in the warmth and bustle of a life so different from the one she had known.
Uncle Luo came strolling over with a large enamel mug, rich tea fragrance wafting from it.
He was clearly at leisure after dinner, too. Seeing Jiang Shu sitting there, he naturally took a seat on a large rock beside her and began to chat.
“Miss Jiang, can you get used to the food here?”
“Look at those little monkeys! They never sit still, not for a minute!”
“The weather looks fine, but it’ll probably turn chilly tonight. You’ll want to sleep under a quilt…”
Jiang Shu didn’t find his chatter annoying. If anything, the idle conversation, like background noise, made the air around her feel warmer and more relaxed.
Every so often, she nodded or smiled and murmured, “Mm,” or “It’s fine.” Most of the time, she simply listened in silence.
Uncle Luo took a sip of his strong tea, then seemed to remember something and changed the subject. “By the way, Miss Jiang, there’s an event in the village tomorrow night!”
Jiang Shu turned her head, a faintly questioning look on her face.
“A song-and-dance show!” Uncle Luo said, his face lighting up. “It’ll be at Drum Tower Square, right in the middle of the village! It’s lively as can be! Everyone from the village goes. We sing and dance, and form a circle—if tourists know the songs or dances, they can join in too!”
As he spoke, he gave Jiang Shu an encouraging look. “You’re so pretty, Miss Jiang. Put on one of our outfits and dance up there, and you’ll be the brightest one of all!”
At that, Jiang Shu recoiled as if she’d been scalded and hurriedly waved her hands, an apologetic smile on her face. “No, no, Uncle Luo. I don’t have that kind of talent. Singing and dancing in front of so many people…”
She shook her head. “I’ll just watch. Watching is more than enough.”
She didn’t think she was anywhere near outgoing enough to show off her talents in an unfamiliar place, in front of a crowd of strangers.
Just imagining it made her toes curl with embarrassment.
Seeing how firm she was, Uncle Luo didn’t press her. He chuckled. “Watching is good, too! The songs and dances in our village are nothing like those performances elsewhere. They’ve got a real charm to them!”
Jiang Shu smiled and nodded, then turned her gaze back to the children at play and the green mountains in the distance, gradually shrouded in dusk. Still, she found herself genuinely looking forward to the event tomorrow night.
Since she was here, of course she had to go see it.
If she couldn’t join in, being a happy spectator and soaking up all that lively, exuberant energy sounded pretty good, too.
The mountain breeze was especially crisp in the early morning, carrying the scent of dew that had gathered overnight. It flowed in through the open window and stirred the plain gauze curtains.
Jiang Shu woke amid the natural quiet, feeling almost dazed.
She’d expected that sleeping in an unfamiliar place would be difficult, but she hadn’t dreamed at all. She’d slept deeply, almost losing consciousness the moment her head hit the pillow, and had woken naturally only when daylight came through the window lattice.
Barefoot, she walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and pushed it open.
Morning mist, like soft white gauze, clung to the mountainside. The layered terraces and stilt houses in the distance gradually came into view in the first light, like an ink painting slowly unfurling.
She drew a deep breath of air rich with negative ions. It felt as though the stale air in her chest had been washed away, and her mood lightened and brightened of its own accord.
Her stomach gave a timely growl.
She changed into something comfortable and went downstairs, her feet tapping on the wooden steps.
Breakfast was served in a small side room at the guesthouse. A few solid-wood tables had been set with plain rice porridge and side dishes, along with freshly steamed corn and sweet potatoes. Their aroma filled the room.
She was holding a bowl of rice porridge and picking up a piece of crisp pickled bamboo shoot when a burst of noisy commotion came from the guesthouse entrance, mixed with the rumble of suitcase wheels over the stone path and the excited chatter of young people.
Jiang Shu turned to look.
Five or six people had crowded into the modest reception area. They were all in their early twenties, wearing hiking jackets or sportswear and carrying backpacks. Their faces showed both the fatigue of travel and the excitement of looking around at a new place.
The young man at the front wore black-rimmed glasses. He looked mild-mannered and fair, with a calm air about him.
The tour guide was busy helping everyone check in. Once they were settled, he happily announced, “We’re really lucky with our timing! There’s a traditional song-and-dance performance in Yunjiang Miao Village tonight, right at Drum Tower Square in the center of the village. Everyone can go watch, and if you know the songs or dances, you can join in too. It’s a rare opportunity!”
The young people let out a flurry of quiet cheers and chatter, clearly excited.
Jiang Shu looked away and went back to her porridge, but the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
It seemed Drum Tower Square would be even livelier tonight than she’d imagined.
As a quiet observer, perhaps she’d get to see a few more things she hadn’t expected.
Jiang Shu’s plan for the day was to visit a locally famous tree!
The route to the “Magpie Tree” turned out to be more challenging than she’d expected.
Uncle Luo was an old hand. He moved lightly, like a mountain goat, and Jiang Shu had no trouble keeping up with him through the first stretch.
By eight or nine in the morning, the sun was already growing harsh, drawing the fresh scents of soil and rice shoots into the air.
Terraced fields spread along the slopes like enormous green steps. Sunlight glimmered on the water in the paddies.
Now and then, locals working in the fields would straighten up and glance at them from a distance.
But soon, the path ahead became a bumpy dirt track, followed by a steep slope that required both hands and feet to climb.
The air grew increasingly hot and humid. The trees crowded closer overhead, and the chirping of unfamiliar birds above them only made the forest feel deeper and more secluded.
Jiang Shu’s breathing grew heavier. Fine beads of sweat appeared at her temples, and the back of her clothes grew damp, clinging to her skin.
She had to stop often, bracing herself against a rough tree trunk or a jutting rock to catch her breath and take a drink of water.
Uncle Luo stopped a short distance ahead to wait for her, his cheerful smile unchanged. “Tired, Miss Jiang? We’re almost there! You can only see the Magpie Tree up there, but it’ll be worth it!”
Jiang Shu nodded, unable to speak. She only raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her face.
She looked up. Through the interlacing branches, she could make out what seemed to be a relatively flat, open area farther up, with a shape unlike the surrounding trees faintly visible.
The final climb took them almost straight through the undergrowth, and branches kept catching on her clothes.
At last, she followed Uncle Luo onto the relatively level platform. A powerful gust of mountain wind suddenly swept over them, whisking away the heat and sticky discomfort clinging to her and bringing an overwhelming sense of cool relief.
“Look! That’s the Magpie Tree!” Uncle Luo said proudly, pointing.
Jiang Shu followed the direction of his finger and, for a moment, forgot to breathe.
Before her stood an ancient banyan tree, vast beyond anything she could have imagined. Its gnarled roots, like the claws and fangs of dragons, sank deep into the rock and soil. Some of the roots exposed aboveground were enormous.
Its canopy spread like a giant umbrella, blocking out the sky and casting a broad swath of shade.
Countless aerial roots hung from its branches; some had already taken root in the soil again, creating the remarkable sight of a forest formed by a single tree.
Most astonishing of all, its branches were densely covered with countless red strips of cloth, small silver ornaments, and dried offerings. They whipped and clattered in the mountain wind, making a continuous series of delicate tinkling sounds and the sharp flapping of fabric.
Against the deep green of the forest and the tree’s gray-brown trunk, the red stood out brilliantly, imbued with a kind of primal, powerful faith in life.
The mountain wind roared, whipping Jiang Shu’s clothes and tossing her hair into disarray.
Standing there, she felt as if she could reach out and touch the drifting clouds. The exhaustion of the climb vanished, leaving only a deep reverence for the power of nature and the marks left by time.