Time flew by, and three days later arrived.
The sky continued to snow ceaselessly, as light and fluttery as willow catkins, scattered and sprinkled all around.
In the midst of Yunding Mountain, the mountainscape was like white jade, snow landing on branches, a heavy accumulation bending the limbs; occasionally, one could hear the cracking of branches from within the mountains, followed by cascades of snowflakes falling like waterfalls.
Streams meandered between the mountains, steaming mist rising in layers, while icicles, clear and sparkling, formed among the branches, presenting a vision too beautiful to behold.
Here and there stood pavilions and terraces, each mountain distantly outlined, appearing sporadically placed, as if a fairyland on earth.
At this moment, on Ninth Mountain, halfway up, the sound of whimpering could be heard.
There, under a pavilion, stood a girl in a light green floral-print jacket, carrying a bundle on her shoulder, her face clear and pretty with a mole by the corner of her mouth, which added to her delicacy, saying a tearful goodbye to three sisters, sniffling.
She was called Little He.
She was a maid under the Internal Affairs Department of Ninth Mountain, once carefully selected to tend to the daily needs of the Colonel along with a few other sisters.
Now, she was being dismissed, alongside others.
Rumor had it that the steward had squeezed in his unmarried daughter and niece to take their places, while Important people from other mountains were also pushing their candidates into Ninth Mountain.
The reason behind this, they all knew, was that the General’s influence was no ordinary matter, many of whom they deemed highly important were eager to curry favor with him.
Thus, they had to make room.
Under the pavilion, the other three women were close friends of Little He, feeling a sorrow reflective of their bond; with Little He leaving, and others already gone, they, without any backing, likely could not stay either.
"Why don’t we plead with the General?"
"We’ve been on Ninth Mountain for so many years, where could we go if we leave?" A girl’s face showed sadness, especially as the snowstorm raged outside, intensifying the atmosphere.
The others quickly shook their heads, somewhat fearful.
"The General is a cold person, hardly letting us serve him."
"What’s more, the General is preoccupied with a myriad of matters."
"In these past days, except for that one time in the rear kitchen garden, we haven’t seen the General at all. If we’re not careful and accidentally offend him..."
As they spoke, they resigned themselves to their fate.
Their coming and going mattered to no one; any inappropriate action could only bring disaster.
"Little He, take good care of yourself!"
The sisters hugged Little He together, comforting her.
The girl with the mole on her mouth cried a little, hummed a response, then waved goodbye to the three sisters. She then paced away, turning her head three times, her bundle on her back, bracing against the snowstorm, treading the cleared mountain path, descending.
Little He only felt the mountain wind biting, as if the wind and snow of the mountain were seeing her off, the tears at the corners of her eyes turning into icicles.
Not far from leaving, she arrived at a secluded covered bridge next to the babbling stream where few people ever came.
Carefully stepping on the snow, she made her way to a corner of the stream. There lay a small, clear pool, not large, over which hung a misty haze of steam; the rocks by the stream resembled little snow mounds.
Before the snow, when the season was at its hottest, this secluded pool hidden around the corner of the stream was a secret place where she and her sisters would play in the water.
Recalling this, the little maid felt another wave of sadness and confusion, then snapped back to reality, rummaging through her bundle for a piece of cake wrapped in wax paper, chirping sounds ensuing as if calling out to something.
And as the sound settled, splashes echoed from the pool surface, as if something emerged, then amidst the steaming mist, two dark figures darted onto the shore.
Two plump, otter-like creatures, a foot in size and soaked, appeared in front of the little maid.
Their fur glossy and sleek, shimmering with a hint of gold, their eyes as big as dates gleamed with human-like joy, full of liveliness.
Seeing these two chubby creatures lightened the previously gloomy mood of the little maid; she lifted her skirt’s hem, crouched down, and extended the cake from her hand.
The two creatures, eyes alight with excitement, immediately grasped the pastry with their furry black paws, those big flat teeth gnashing away as if chewing wood, the entire snack disappearing in two breaths, the speed astonishing.
The seven or eight square cakes from the pack were soon gone.
Those pairs of eyes then expectantly fixed on the maid called Little He.
Seeing the pitiful pair, the maid’s face showed hesitation, but still she took out her last piece of cake from the bundle and unwrapped it.
Then, stroking the smooth fur of the otters with one hand, she said with sorrow, "From now on, sister won’t be able to feed you anymore, sister is leaving this place, you two little guys, take good care."
Tears followed her words.
These two otters were animals she had discovered while playing in the water here with her sisters, just before the snow began to fall. The two little guys were very cute and quite human-like, having built a nest from wood upstream of this clear pool.
Lately, with the snowstorms and plummeting temperatures, she was afraid the little guys would freeze, so she came over, wanting to take them up the mountain. But the two otters refused, prompting her to come feed them daily, taking the chance to play with the little creatures in the vast expanse of snowy landscape, finding joy in it.
But now, as she was leaving, she couldn’t feed them anymore.
At this moment, the otters seemed to understand, pausing in eating their cakes, their big eyes rolling for a moment before they exchanged a glance.