One: Hair Robbery
It is said that the area around Wanshi Slope in Lingnan is notorious for its barren and treacherous terrain. Life was hard, and some men banded together, farming by day and turning to banditry in their spare time. They lurked along the main north-south route over Wanshi Slope, preying on passing travelers.
One afternoon, the sky was gloomy, threatening rain. Seven or eight Bandit People were gambling under a tree when their lookout suddenly rushed over with urgent news.
“Rabbits are coming! Get ready!”
Their code for wealthy targets was Piglets, the destitute were Mice, armed escorts were Yellow Dogs, those with modest spoils were Rabbits, and government soldiers were called Tigers, and so on.
“How many?”
“Not sure. They’re driving a cart.”
Hiding behind the trees, they soon heard the rumbling of wheels. A dilapidated carriage came into view, driven by a frail, pale-faced scholar in blue robes, his demeanor gentle and unassuming.
As the carriage drew near, the bandits leaped out, surrounding it and demanding the traveler hand over his valuables.
Trembling with fear, the scholar clasped his hands in supplication. “This humble traveler is passing through your esteemed territory for the first time and was unaware of your presence. I carry only a dozen taels of silver on me, which I offer to you with all sincerity. I beg you to spare my life and let me pass.”
The leader pulled aside the carriage curtain and saw no passengers inside—only a dozen or so redwood chests. He chuckled darkly.
“We’ll spare your life. Leave the cargo.”
The scholar’s face turned ashen. He shook his head frantically. “The contents of these chests are worthless. They’d be of no use to you. Please, grant me this kindness.”
The bandits ignored him. Seeing how the scholar was sweating profusely, as if the cargo was of utmost importance, they dragged him out and shoved him onto the roadside. Desperate, the scholar scrambled back, throwing himself in front of the carriage to shield the chests, refusing to let them near. But they beat him mercilessly.
Several bandits circled to the back of the carriage, pulled out two chests, and pried open the iron locks. Inside, they saw only a dark, indistinct mass, impossible to make out. Just then, a bolt of lightning split the sky, illuminating the contents—not gold or silver, but dense, tangled masses of black hair.
Hair is something everyone has—nothing unusual. But these two chests were packed full, and there were a dozen more. How many heads had this been taken from? Or worse—were there countless severed heads hidden beneath that black hair?
The Bandit People’s scalps prickled with dread. A deafening thunderclap startled the horses, which bolted in panic. Two chests tumbled from the carriage, spilling a waterfall of hair that engulfed the bandits.
A fierce wind howled, and torrential rain poured down. The men screamed and flailed, desperately trying to tear the hair from their bodies. But the strands clung like living things—sticky, tight, pressing against their clothes, their cheeks, their necks, almost burrowing into their flesh.
In moments, they resembled black apes in the downpour, their bodies draped in hair. When they breathed, strands invaded their nostrils; when they cried out, hair filled their mouths. Blinded, they stumbled one after another over the embankment, collapsing unconscious in the bushes.The scholar could not afford to delay and hurriedly ran ahead to chase after his carriage. Fortunately, the horse didn’t run far before stopping, and the rain gradually ceased as well. The scholar turned the carriage around and looked back at the two overturned boxes. Hair was scattered all over the ground, mixed with the yellow mud, creating a rather revolting sight.
Kneeling on the ground, the scholar scooped up handfuls of the mess, but it was impossible to distinguish one strand from another. His eyes filled with frustration as he shook his head repeatedly, sighing at the waste.
With great effort, he dragged the Bandit People out from the bushes beneath and peeled the hair off their faces. Checking their breathing and pulses, he confirmed that they had merely fainted and were otherwise unharmed.
“I told you it wasn’t worth anything, but you wouldn’t listen. Now all that hair is wasted for nothing.” Then it occurred to him—since they were the ones who had caused the loss, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for them to compensate him a little.
By evening, the men woke up one after another, exchanging bewildered glances, terrified out of their wits. Discovering that their hair—and everyone else’s—had mysteriously vanished, leaving them all bald, they concluded they had encountered a demon. At least only their hair had been shaved off, not their heads. From then on, they settled down to farm honestly, never daring to venture up the mountain to cause trouble again.
Yet, they still habitually waved their hands in the air as if swatting something away or rubbed their faces and bodies incessantly. It was as though countless invisible strands of hair still floated around them, clinging to their skin.
II. Letting Go
This scholar was named Lu Liang-sheng. Where was he taking these dozen or so boxes of hair in his carriage? To explain this, we must start from an autumn four years ago.
At that time, Lu Liang-sheng was just over twenty years old and had married his childhood sweetheart, Xia Xiang-xue. While studying, he also managed the family’s silk shop. They weren’t extravagantly wealthy, but their household was comfortably well-off. Moreover, he and Xia Xiang-xue shared a harmonious and deeply affectionate marriage.
Only one matter pricked at their hearts like a thorn: despite being married for over three years, they had yet to conceive. They consulted one physician after another, all of whom assured them that both were healthy and that children would come in due time.
Xia Xiang-xue enshrined a Child-Giving Guanyin at home, bowing and burning incense daily. Whenever she heard of a particularly efficacious temple or deity, no matter how far, she would drag Lu Liang-sheng along to pay respects. And this was where things went wrong.
Seeing Xia Xiang-xue consumed by longing for a child, Lu Liang-sheng often took her on outings to divert her mind. One day, they arrived at a place called Tear-Watching Town. Xia Xiang-xue noticed that the town was teeming with children—it seemed every household had several, with many twins and even dragon-phoenix twins (a boy and a girl). Curious, she asked the innkeeper’s wife about it, who replied with a smile:
“Our Tear-Watching Town is blessed with excellent feng shui. See that Tear-Watching Mountain behind us? Doesn’t it look just like a dragon-turtle? The eight giant boulders on it resemble little dragon-turtles carried on its back. Plus, the mountain grows many pomegranate trees—how could the townsfolk not be blessed with many children? I had two within three years of marriage!”
Hearing this, Xia Xiang-xue discussed with Lu Liang-sheng the idea of staying for a while to see if she might conceive. Lu Liang-sheng, who had always indulged her, naturally agreed. Later, Xia Xiang-xue overheard an elderly townsfolk mention that there used to be a small, highly efficacious temple on Tear-Watching Mountain. But since the locals had no need to pray for children and outsiders found the mountain path too treacherous, the temple had fallen into disrepair from lack of worshippers.On a crisp autumn day, Lu Liang-sheng was playing chess with a local schoolteacher when Xia Xiang-xue dragged him off to climb Tear-Watching Mountain. Along the way, maple leaves blazed like fire, as if dyed in blood, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.
As they neared the summit, noticing Xia Xiang-xue slightly out of breath, Lu Liang-sheng teased, "Shall your husband carry you on his back?"
With a laugh, Xia Xiang-xue leaped onto his back, playfully tugging at his ears as she nestled against him.
"Liang-sheng, what if I still can't conceive next year?"
"Then so be it. We're happy just as we are—why trouble ourselves with a little one?"
Xia Xiang-xue knew he was trying to comfort her. She'd once considered finding him a concubine, but he'd refused, moving her to tears with guilt.
"If the Lu family line ends with us, even my parents in the afterlife would blame me—let alone yours."
"Enough of that. We've done our best—children are heaven's will." Lu Liang-sheng kissed her alabaster hand. Life couldn't be perfect, he thought. Growing old with Xiang-xue was blessing enough.
At the mountaintop, they found a dilapidated temple and prayed devoutly. With daylight remaining, Xia Xiang-xue suggested gathering mushrooms and pine nuts, wandering unknowingly toward the back slope.
The forest grew denser, sunlight barely piercing through. Weeds rose waist-high, obscuring the path. Fearing poisonous insects or wild beasts, Lu Liang-sheng urged them to turn back.
Just as Xia Xiang-xue nodded, Lu Liang-sheng's right arm suddenly jerked downward. He instinctively pulled back, but momentum yanked him forward—he crashed face-first onto the ground.
A hidden pit, concealed by overgrowth, had swallowed Xia Xiang-xue's footing. Only their clasped hands kept her dangling from his arm as he half-slid over the edge.
The abruptness left Xia Xiang-xue sobbing in terror. Lu Liang-sheng, pale-faced, gripped her right hand desperately while his left clawed at jagged-edged grass, bloodying his palm.
"Xiang-xue! Hold tight! Don't let go!"
Glancing into the abyss below her, he saw only darkness. No hunter's trap plunged this deep—pebbles rolled in without echoing. A fall meant certain death.
His shoulder near dislocation, sweat dripped from Lu Liang-sheng's brow onto Xia Xiang-xue's face.
"Liang-sheng, save me!" Her pitch-black eyes stared up, brimming with despair.
Their slippery grip loosened steadily. Xia Xiang-xue's body felt unnaturally heavy, as if something below tugged her downward.
At this rate, they'd both perish...
The thought flickered through Lu Liang-sheng's mind—and his fingers slackened involuntarily.
"Liang-sheng—" Xia Xiang-xue's cry was cut short as she plummeted into the void.Lu Liang-sheng's hands had gone numb, and his entire body felt devoid of sensation. It took him a moment to snap back to reality before he began wailing at the gaping hole that had swallowed the person he loved most. Frantically, he tore at his hair and clawed at his face until blood streaked his cheeks.
"Xiang-xue! Xiang-xue..." he cried out again and again, his voice nearly giving out from the strain.
Had he let go? Had he actually released her grip at the most critical moment?
Overwhelmed by immense grief and guilt, Lu Liang-sheng could do nothing but sob his beloved wife's name repeatedly.
III. The Bottomless Pit
Just as Lu Liang-sheng was on the brink of complete despair, he faintly heard someone calling his name.
"Liang-sheng... Liang-sheng..."
It was Xiang-xue's voice—so close, so near, as if she were right beside him.
"Xiang-xue, have you become a ghost and come back for me?" Liang-sheng muttered dazedly, sitting motionless by the hole.
"Liang-sheng! Liang-sheng, I'm in the hole! It's so dark here—I can't see anything! Liang-sheng, please get me out!"
Stunned, Lu Liang-sheng leaned over the edge. Though he saw only pitch-black darkness, Xiang-xue's voice was unmistakably right beside his ear—soft but clear, without the slightest delay or echo.
"Xiang-xue! Are you alright? Are you hurt? I'll find a way to get you out right now!"
Panicked, he tore vines from the trees, knotting them together into a long rope. He tied a stone to the end and lowered it slowly into the hole. Yet no matter how far he let it down, it never reached the bottom.
"Xiang-xue, don't be afraid. I'll go back to town and get everyone to help rescue you!"
"Liang-sheng, don't leave—I'm scared!" Xiang-xue's sobs cut through Liang-sheng's heart like a blade.
"Don't be afraid. I won't abandon you—just wait for me! Try thinking of something else, tell yourself stories or hum a tune, and you won't feel so scared!"
Liang-sheng raced back to Tear-Watching Town like the wind. Night had already begun to fall. The townspeople, hearing of the accident, grabbed torches and rushed out. When Liang-sheng explained how deep the hole was, they gathered nearly all the rope in town—enough to encircle the entire settlement twice. Over a hundred people arrived at the spot where Xia Xiang-xue had fallen and immediately set to work rescuing her.
Yet no matter how much rope they lowered, it never touched bottom. No matter how long they waited after dropping stones, no sound echoed back. The mountain wasn't even that tall—could this truly be a bottomless pit? And yet, Xiang-xue's voice remained right beside their ears.
The townsfolk found the situation eerie, and no one dared descend into the hole. Lu Liang-sheng tied the rope around himself and went down, finding the walls of the pit perfectly vertical, plunging straight down without bends or branches—as if a sky-piercing pole had punched straight through. He was lowered bit by bit until all light vanished, as though traveling through an endless tunnel, descending, descending, endlessly descending.
The sensation was terrifying. Yet no matter how deep he went, Xiang-xue's voice continued to echo softly right beside his ear. Eventually, they had no choice but to pull him back up. By then, dawn had already broken.Afterward, Lu Liang-sheng and the townsfolk tried every possible method to rescue her, but none worked. Even the food they threw down never appeared near Xia Xiang-xue, she said. Despite the great height of the fall, she hadn’t suffered a single injury. Beneath her feet seemed to be grassy ground, but in the pitch darkness, she couldn’t tell how vast the space was. Walking in one direction, she quickly hit the rocky cave wall after just a few steps, while the other direction seemed endless. Afraid of getting lost or encountering danger, she retreated and huddled by the cave wall. Sweet spring water trickled from the crevices, and there were unknown fruits growing nearby—these sustained her, though a few seemed enough to sate her hunger. The cave’s temperature was mild, the air plentiful, and time seemed to stand still. Yet, from outside, she could clearly hear Lu Liang-sheng and the townspeople speaking, even the chirping of birds.
The pit was too eerie, leaving Lu Liang-sheng and the townsfolk utterly helpless. Fortunately, Xia Xiang-xue faced no immediate danger below, though prolonged confinement in the dark would surely drive anyone to madness.
Lu Liang-sheng hired someone to speak to Xia Xiang-xue daily by the pit while he traveled far and wide seeking information about the cave. Yet, almost no one had heard of it, and the few suggestions he received proved futile.
He refused to give up, knowing that if even he lost hope, Xiang-xue would never escape the cave.
One day, following a tip, he went to White Mist Mountain to seek a man named Dan Shen. Clad in red robes, the man was elusive and enigmatic. After listening to Lu Liang-sheng’s account, Dan Shen raised an eyebrow slightly and murmured, “Oh.”
“Your wife—she fell into the Mysterious Cave, didn’t she?”
Lu Liang-sheng’s eyes lit up. “Ghost Cave? You call it the Ghost Cave?”
Dan Shen dipped his jade-like slender finger into tea and wrote the characters for “Mysterious Cave” on the table. The word “Mysterious” sent a deeper chill down Lu Liang-sheng’s spine than “Ghost” ever could.
“What exactly is this thing? How can there be a bottomless pit in this world? If it has no bottom, where did my wife land? And how can I hear her voice so clearly the moment she fell?”
Leaning against a pillar, Dan Shen tapped the table lightly with his fingers. “The craftsmanship of nature—sometimes this world is just that strange. It’s neither good nor evil; it simply exists. You and your wife were simply unlucky enough to stumble upon it.”
Lu Liang-sheng dropped to his knees, kowtowing desperately. “Please, sir, tell me how to save my wife.”
Dan Shen retreated into a room and returned with a still-damp piece of paper—a prescription written in fresh ink.
“These herbs aren’t hard to find. The challenge is collecting hair from a thousand people. Ordinary ropes will never reach the bottom. Only a rope made of hair might save your wife. I know it’s an odd request—believe it or not, it’s up to you.”
Lu Liang-sheng kowtowed again in gratitude. If such a sinister, bizarre cave existed in this world, he was willing to accept any strange solution. Besides, he had run out of options.
IV. Haircut
Dan Shen didn’t ask for just a few strands from each person—he demanded every single hair, and only from men, with no white or infant hair allowed.At first, Lu Liang-sheng spent silver to have the servants in his household shave their heads, then went around buying hair. However, since hair and skin are gifts from one's parents, ordinary people were unwilling to shave casually. He then bribed people in temples to help collect the hair of monks during their tonsure ceremonies. He also paid off constables and coroners to gather the hair of executed criminals and unclaimed corpses.
Each batch of hair collected had to be carefully combed and tied into neat strands with red thread to avoid tangling or mixing. Spread out in a large room, the hair was sprayed daily with a medicinal solution to maintain its original black luster, preventing it from drying out or yellowing.
Despite selling his silk shop and dismissing his servants, the amount of hair Lu Liang-sheng gathered was still far from enough. People around him said he had gone mad—what could he possibly do with so much hair? Make clothes out of it?
Lu Liang-sheng returned to Tear-Watching Mountain almost every month. Xia Xiang-xue, having grown up poor and endured much hardship, had always been strong-willed, but even she was on the verge of collapse after being trapped alone in the cave for so long. Lu Liang-sheng was her only lifeline. In the first year, she nearly thought of suicide every day. Only after Lu Liang-sheng found a solution and began updating her monthly on the amount of hair collected did she regain the will to live. Each day, she carved a mark on the cave wall, counting down the moments until her eventual release.
While Xia Xiang-xue was trapped in the dark confines of the Mysterious Cave, Lu Liang-sheng was imprisoned by his own guilt and self-reproach, suffering no less than she did. Every moment, he regretted letting go of Xia Xiang-xue’s hand; every moment, he condemned his own cowardice.
Another year passed, and the collected hair was still far from sufficient. By now, Lu Liang-sheng had nearly exhausted his family fortune. Desperate and out of options, he turned once more to Dan Shen for help.
Dan Shen only said, "Do you think this hair rope is any different from an ordinary rope? Do you think it’s stronger? What matters is your will and determination. The hair rope merely senses your heart and helps you find the person you wish to save. Of course, I could easily gather the hair of ten thousand people for you—but what would be the point?"
"I’ve exhausted all my means, Master. Please guide me!"
If begging could get him what he needed, Lu Liang-sheng would have willingly knelt on the streets. If he knew martial arts, he would have shamelessly broken into homes at night to shave heads by force. But he was just an ordinary scholar...
Dan Shen shook his head. "Not every problem can be solved with silver."
After much contemplation, Lu Liang-sheng suddenly understood. Upon returning, he set up a chess challenge in the marketplace.
One day, a man in gray robes carrying a bundle passed by and, seeing the crowd, couldn’t resist joining the commotion.
"What’s going on here?"
A nearby vendor replied, "Young Master Lu is holding a challenge. Beat him at chess, and you win twenty taels of silver."
The gray-robed man grew intrigued. "And if I lose?"
"You don’t have to pay anything, but you’ll have to shave your head and leave him your hair."
The man burst into laughter. "Interesting. I’ll give it a try."
The vendor quickly stopped him. "Hey, hey, you really want to go bald? Young Master Lu is a formidable player."
The gray-robed man brimmed with confidence. "What’s there to fear? It’ll grow back."
The two played until sunset before a winner was decided.The gray-robed man rubbed his bald head and clasped his hands humbly. "Brother Lu, I concede defeat."
Lu Liang-sheng wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed in relief. "Brother Zhang, you were too kind."
Though he had no other talents, Lu Liang-sheng had studied the game of Go since childhood. Gifted by nature and diligent in practice, his skills were formidable, and he rarely met his match. As time passed, more and more challengers came forward, and the more heads were shaved, the more opponents arrived to test their luck. Occasionally, Lu Liang-sheng did lose, but as his mastery grew, so did his reputation. Many traveled great distances just to play against him.
Lu Liang-sheng cared little for such empty fame—all he wanted was hair.
Day after day, the collected hair piled up until it nearly filled the entire room, layer upon layer thick as a carpet. Lu Liang-sheng walked through it daily, watering it as one would tend to plants. The sight of that oppressive sea of black was dizzying, weighing on him until he could barely breathe.
He should have gathered enough long ago, but an encounter with the Bandit People on the road had cost him two chests of hair, forcing him to delay another two months. By the time Lu Liang-sheng returned to Tear-Watching Mountain with the hair of nine hundred and ninety-nine people, four full years had passed since Xia Xiang-xue had fallen into the Mysterious Cave.
V. The Hair Rope
Lu Liang-sheng only needed to dip strands of hair into the medicinal solution prepared according to Dan Shen's prescription, and the strands would intertwine and coil together as if alive. Dipping another strand would connect it seamlessly with the previous one, the ends and roots locking tightly together as one. Then he would dip the next strand.
All the while, Lu Liang-sheng spoke excitedly to Xia Xiang-xue as he pieced the strands together, forming a long, serpentine rope that coiled in black loops across the floor. Though the thickness varied due to the differing amounts of hair, the braid felt sturdy in his grip.
At the very end, Lu Liang-sheng shaved off his own hair and attached it to the rope. Holding this lifeline he had spent over three years completing, he nearly broke down in tears.
The rope still wasn’t as long as the one he had used before—would it really be enough to save Xiang-xue? Fear and doubt gnawed at him, but he dared not dwell on it. This was his last hope.
Wrapping the rope twice around his body, he slowly lowered the end tied with his own hair into the dark abyss. The black cord stretched taut toward the pitch-black hole, as if an invisible hand were pulling fiercely from below. Yet in his hands, the entire rope felt almost weightless.
As he lowered it, he asked Xiang-xue if she could see, touch, or feel the rope. Both waited with bated hearts, their pulses nearly still.
With every inch of rope that descended, their hope dwindled. As the end neared, Lu Liang-sheng’s hands trembled. He no longer spoke to Xiang-xue, afraid she would hear the despair choking his voice.
Then, at last, he heard her scream.
"Liang-sheng! Liang-sheng! I’ve got the rope!"
He collapsed to the ground, utterly drained in that moment.
After instructing Xiang-xue to fasten the rope securely around her waist, Lu Liang-sheng began pulling her up bit by bit. Xiang-xue leaned back, walking step by step along the vertical cave wall. When exhaustion set in, they paused to rest.
Even while resting, Lu Liang-sheng never loosened his grip on the rope. No—he would never let go again. At the other end of that rope was his love, his duty, and his conscience.
Once rested, he resumed pulling. Unlike the unbearable weight of holding Xiang-xue’s hand before, now she felt as light as a baby at the rope’s end.
Though her joyful sobs sounded just as they always had, the growing pile of rope behind him told him she was drawing nearer.
Finally, a faint shadow came into view.
Closer…
"Xiang-xue! Xiang-xue! I see you! I see you!"
Tears streamed down his face.
He told her that once they returned, they would stay together day and night, never parting again. He told her it was already summer, with flowers blooming everywhere—she had to come see how beautiful it was. He promised he would listen to her in everything from now on, play less chess, and spend more time with her. He mentioned a new roast goose shop had opened on the next street—didn’t she love roast goose? He would take her there…
Xia Xiang-xue lifted her head, gazing up at him in bewilderment."But Liang-sheng, where are you? Why can't I see you..."
Lu Liang-sheng froze as he watched the figure slowly emerging from the Mysterious Cave. The person's clothes were tattered and covered in mud, their two spider-like legs mechanically pushing against the cave walls. After so long without sunlight, the once snow-white skin had turned a dark bluish-gray, and the formerly lush black hair was now reduced to a few sparse strands. The wide eyes staring at him showed only whites, the pupils long gone. Having been in darkness for too long, Xia Xiang-xue had gone blind...
Lu Liang-sheng's entire body began to tremble. His lips seemed frozen, unable to utter another word.
Was this truly the wife he had once deeply loved? Or some ghost crawling out from the depths of the earth?
"Xiang-xue..."
The world seemed to spin as Lu Liang-sheng's hands, which had been constantly pulling the hair rope, involuntarily stopped moving.
Though Xia Xiang-xue couldn't see anything, she seemed to sense a refreshing breeze and feel a ray of sunlight warming her skin. Her beloved felt so close she could almost reach out and touch him.
But suddenly, the hair rope tightly wrapped around her waist began to creak and show signs of loosening. Panicked, Xia Xiang-xue cried out, "Liang-sheng..."
Lu Liang-sheng's eyes widened in terror and confusion that overwhelmed his mind. Yet a voice kept screaming from the depths of his soul:
"Don't let go, don't let go, don't let go! This time, I won't let go..."
However, he watched as the strand of hair suddenly snapped—the very end, the strand that belonged to him.
"Liang-sheng!"
All he heard was a startled cry from the person he loved most before she vanished from his sight once more, this time never to return...
Lu Liang-sheng felt as though he had fallen into eternal night.
He let out a despairing howl like a wounded beast, helplessly reaching toward the all-consuming abyss. The hair rope he had spent over three years weaving exploded into fragments in an instant, scattering everywhere like an endless black snowfall that completely engulfed him.
VI. The Bridal Chamber
"And then what happened?"
The listeners sitting around were spellbound and pressed for the ending.
The gray-clad storyteller drained his bowl of tea, smacked his lips, and glanced outside where the rain had stopped. Picking up his bamboo hat and bundle, he stood up.
"And then? That was the 'and then.'"
"Ah..."
The other rain-shelterers sighed in sympathy: "Though the story is quite far-fetched, it was thrilling enough. Just a shame about the ending. That Lu Liang-sheng might have been wrong, but it was only human nature."
The gray-clad man smiled without comment and strode out of the tea pavilion to continue his journey.
After half a month's travel deep into the mountains, he roughly found the place. Several massive boulders served as landmarks, making it easy to identify. The stones had cracks for communication, and when the gray-clad man called through them, he soon heard a response.
Xia Xiang-xue said, "It's Brother Zhang."
Lu Liang-sheng's cheerful voice came through: "Brother Zhang, how have you been?"
The gray-clad man nodded. "Well enough, all's gone smoothly. I was passing by on business and thought to visit. It's been nearly two years—how have you been?"
"Oh, getting by," came the reply. "Fed and clothed with no other worries. Though we never see daylight, having my beloved wife by my side is still better than being in prison..."As they spoke, the sound of a baby's cry suddenly echoed from the cave.
The gray-robed man started in surprise: "What's this?"
"Thanks to blessings, we were blessed with a son last year, named Lezhi. The little one cries often, so this cave has become quite lively lately."
The gray-robed man felt genuine happiness for them: "Congratulations, Brother Lu and your good wife."
"Thank you. The townsfolk regard the Mysterious Cave as a demon's lair, so few come here normally. Though we've blocked the entrance with boulders to prevent accidents, to avoid any mishaps, I'd ask Brother Zhang to spread the word that it should be completely sealed off."
"Brother Lu..."
"My wife and I, finding our days dull, are planning to have more children. In time, we may not remain by this cliffside but gradually move toward more open spaces. As long as we're together, holding hands, no darkness can frighten us. There's plenty of time ahead—we'll eventually figure out what kind of place lies at the bottom of this cave."
The gray-robed man nodded: "As it should be. It's been long since we last played chess, Brother Lu. Shall we have a game?"
Lu Liang-sheng was naturally delighted, and the two began their match, exchanging words as they played.
Eventually, the gray-robed man took his leave and descended the mountain. The sudden rain had just ceased, leaving a rainbow arching high in the sky. Bathed in sunlight, he couldn't help but feel deeply moved. Though Lu Liang-sheng might have flaws like jade with blemishes, he was ultimately a true gentleman of profound sincerity.
The following year, passing by again, he came to visit. Yet no matter how he called out, there was no response. Not only were the boulders gone, but even the Mysterious Cave had vanished without a trace. Whether Lu Liang-sheng's family of three had been rescued, whether they no longer existed in this world, or whether they were living a new life on the other side of the Mysterious Cave—who could say?
"One Hundred Thousand Wild Flowers Enter the Dream" — The Mysterious Cave
2010-12-26
2011-9-19
OpenNovel