The village in the mountains is quiet without any bustle; not even insects or frogs can be heard. Zhuo Feng has slept until dawn, and when he wakes up at nine, Xiao Xian is already gone, with the whole house silent.
Zhu Shijun and the village chief have also gone to the fields to discuss farm matters. Inside and outside the house, everything is empty, and a square table in the hall has a set of bowls and chopsticks on it.
Underneath the bowl, there’s a note that reads: "Grandpa and I have both gone out, the porridge and dumplings are being kept warm in the pot." Written in a few simple, yet beautifully neat words.
Zhu Shijun has also put a lot of effort into educating the children. Zhuo Feng remembers that last night, while listening to the broadcast, Xiao Xian was also listening on the side. It was during the Sydney Olympics, and as they listened to the results of the Chinese team, Xiao Xian would also make some comments. The grandfather and grandchild would take turns commenting and explaining, they looked less like a pair of grandparents and grandchildren, more like friends who forget their age difference.
Is it really right to take Xiao Xian away? Zhuo Feng is startled by his own wavering thoughts and walks restlessly to the kitchen, opens the pot, and takes out a bowl of millet porridge and dumplings. The dumplings were brought over last night by the old lady who was cutting leeks behind the house yesterday. Sister-in-law Lian, fearing that everyone would be too full, had steamed them to be eaten for breakfast the next day.
As Zhuo Feng eats the porridge, he hears someone ask from outside the door: "Has Xiao Xian gone out?"
Turning back to look, the young boy standing at the door was the one he had encountered yesterday, wasn’t it?
Yezi had headed out early in the morning, but he wasn’t quick enough. Right after getting up, Li Quqi pulled him into the workshop to rush a piece of silver jewelry. He was late leaving after the work was done. Actually, Xiao Xian had been to Yezi’s house and knew that he went to the workshop, so to not disturb his work, she went to the monastery first to say goodbye to Master Shanyin and Taohua.
But as soon as she said goodbye to Master Shanyin, the Monk pulled out a scroll and said he wanted to test the knowledge she had learned over the years. Xiao Xian was detained in the monastery to complete the so-called "primary-to-junior-high" test paper, which took her a full hour to complete.
After Master Shanyin took the test paper, he tallied the scores and came to a satisfied conclusion: "Xiao Xian, your current grades in Chinese and mathematics are at a junior high second-year level. You don’t have to worry even if you go to Beijing; tell your family to enroll you directly into the second year of junior high, there’s no need to waste time on primary school courses." By Xiao Xian’s age, she should be in fourth grade, but after all, she has lived many more years than other children and with Zhu Shi’s deliberate teaching, her foundation is very solid, especially in English and natural sciences, where her performance is exceptionally good. All of these exceed the learning scope of an ordinary primary school student.
Xiao Xian smiled bitterly and said goodbye to Master Shanyin again. When it came to saying goodbye to Taohua, Xiao Xian secretly gave her two bottles of water.
"Taohua, I know you can understand what I say. Two bottles of water, one is ’iron water’ which can quicken the revival and growth of the peach tree outside the monastery; the other is ’copper water’ which can keep you healthy. You gave up the chance to become a wood spirit for Master Shanyin. These two bottles of water can give you another chance to become an immortal spirit after repaying your gratitude," she finished, picked up Taohua, and kissed her cheek.
Taohua held the two bottles of water, her eyes filled with gratitude.
On her way back, Xiao Xian went to say goodbye to Yezi’s parents at Yezi’s house. The departures one by one only deepened Xiao Xian’s pre-departure melancholy. Walking by the stone bridge of Black Mountain, Xiao Xian saw Yezi, hurrying across the suspension bridge.
"For something as big as leaving Ge Village, why didn’t you tell me," Yezi’s voice still carried anger, it was Zhuo Feng who told him the news. When he heard it, Yezi felt as if his ears and eyes had lost their function. As he walked out of the Zhu Family’s place, he couldn’t hear clearly even when Zhuo Feng was calling him from behind.
"I was going to your house to tell you. I only found out about it last night," Xiao Xian retorted, blaming her because he was running around.
Above the two bridges, the sun shone fiercely, and Yezi felt the taste of separation for the first time. This feeling was so intense it seemed to shatter his heart, making him want to plunge headfirst into White Dragon Pond.
It was a long time before Yezi regained the ability to speak: "Will you come back after you leave? I heard you’re going... to scatter your parents’ ashes. Will you come back after that? You said you would go with me to the town in September to start junior high."
Yezi knew his request was feeble and pale. Xiao Xian was going to Beijing to study and live, she would not come back.