I served as Li Bai's page.

In May, Qingcheng Mountain is even more lush and verdant under the summer sun. The pines and cypresses sway in the wind, birds sing, flowers bloom, butterflies and bats flutter, making it an excellent place for people to escape the summer heat.

Li Bai had just returned to his room after studying outside and was about to sit down to rest when a flash of lightning streaked across the window, followed by a clap of thunder and a distant boom, accompanied by the gasps of women.

"Purple Robe, what's going on outside?"

Purple-clad figure ran in from outside.

"Young master, the dove tree east of the Jade Maiden Cave was struck by lightning and felled; it looks like it hit someone."

Li Bai quickly came out of the house and ran eastward, with Zi Yi following closely behind him.

At the foot of the cliff east of the Jade Maiden Cave, a stout Davidia involucrata tree was uprooted and lay there, with a person lying beneath its dense branches and leaves.

When Li Bai and Zi Yi arrived, the disciples of the Jade Maiden Cave had already surrounded the Davidia involucrata tree.

"Purple Robe, quick, go and lift that branch up, see if it has hurt anyone," Li Bai shouted anxiously.

The woman in purple rushed to the tree branch and lifted it with all her might. Luckily, the person wasn't under the branch, but rather hidden beside it by the leaves. The woman in purple lifted the surrounding leaves, and the person was fully revealed. The person had a low bun, wore thick clothes, was lying face down, was thin, and held a board-like object in their left hand, with a bag slung over their right shoulder.

The woman in purple gently shook him and asked, "Did it hit you?" The man didn't answer or move.

"Young master, this man has been crushed to death."

Li Bai walked over and reached out to check the man's breath. Just as his hand reached under the man's nose, the man suddenly sat up.

This is me, Yuehua, who has arrived in this unfamiliar place.

My head was buzzing, as if countless electric currents were colliding. I couldn't understand why I was sitting in a fallen dove tree. I remembered Yueyue was with me. Weren't we traveling in Wawu Mountain?

"Yueyue!" I shouted loudly, stood up, and looked around.

"Do you have any companions? Come quickly and help us look for them."

People around came over and searched the fallen dove tree and its surroundings thoroughly, but they still couldn't find Yueyue.

Only then did I calm down and take a look at my surroundings, scrutinizing the group of people around me. Both men and women wore their hair in buns, wore long robes, carried swords on their backs, and stared at me with wide eyes. Where had I ended up?

"Young man, where are you going? How did you get hit by a big tree?" an older woman asked.

I looked down at myself. My clothes and hair were covered in fallen leaves, and my face was smeared with mud. I was holding a phone in my hand and had a backpack slung over my right shoulder. I looked quite disheveled, and it was impossible to tell if I was male or female.

"Excuse me, where is this place? What do you do?" I asked.

The woman in purple approached: "This is Qingcheng Mountain, a famous Taoist mountain. Those are Taoist nuns practicing in the Jade Maiden Cave. My young master is also here to study. We live in the Green Lotus Cave next to the Jade Maiden Cave. My name is Ziyi, and my young master's name is Li Bai."

"Is it Li Bai from the Tang Dynasty? His courtesy name was Taibai, and his pen name was Qinglian Jushi."

"Yes, this is the Tang Dynasty. Aren't you from the Tang Dynasty?" Everyone looked at me with questioning eyes.

"I..." Before I could finish speaking, the woman in purple pointed to the person standing opposite me and said, "This is my young master."

I looked up and saw a tall, slender, and elegant man of about twenty-three or twenty-four standing before me. He had a straight nose, thin lips, fair skin, and sword-like eyebrows. His jet-black hair was tied with a white ribbon, and he wore a snow-white silk robe. A long white silk sash with tassels was tied around his waist, from which a piece of mutton-fat jade was attached. His clear, bright eyes were gazing at me gently. I lowered my head shyly.

"Li Bai, it's getting late. Why don't you take him to your place for the night? Our Jade Maiden Cave is all women, so it's not convenient for him to stay overnight," the older woman said.

"Alright, Abbess Kongming, it's about to rain heavily, everyone should go home."

Just as Li Bai finished speaking, another loud clap of thunder sounded in the sky, and large raindrops began to fall. Everyone hurriedly ran home.

Purple Robe tugged at me: "Let's go, let's go to our place."

I had no choice, nor could I explain that I was a woman. So I went along with it and followed Ziyi and Li Bai back to their residence.

This is a cave of nearly 300 square meters. The words "Qinglian Cave" are carved on the rock at the very top. Inside, the bedroom, study, and hall are arranged in an orderly fashion. Outside the cave, a pavilion is built using bamboo from the mountains. Not far from the pavilion is a pool with a waterfall cascading down from an unknown source, its waters gurgling loudly. To the left of the pool, a set of steps leads to a wide platform with stone benches and tables—a perfect place for reading and practicing martial arts. From here, one could likely enjoy a panoramic view of most of Qingcheng Mountain.

"Please sit down," Li Bai said. "How should we address you?"

"My name is Yuehua." Li Bai noticed that I was a little nervous.

"Ziyi, get Yuehua some food and take him downstairs to rest." After saying this, Li Bai went into his study.

Zi Yi sat across from me, watching me eat the noodles he had made. He introduced himself, saying, "I am the young master's page. Our hometown is Qinglian Town, Changlong County, Mianzhou. My master and my parents live there. I came with the young master when I was very young. We have been to many places, and only came to Qingcheng Mountain in the last two years. The young master's master came here to cultivate Taoism, and the young master came along. Actually, I miss my parents so much, and I really want to go back." Zi Yi seemed to be talking to me, but it also seemed like he was talking to himself.

"Your young master is destined for great things, so naturally he needs to leave his hometown and travel around to learn."

"How do you know? That's what everyone says about my young master."

"I can read faces and tell fortunes."

"Have you studied the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams? The young master and his master often perform divinations, which I can't understand."

"I'll teach you later."

"Aren't you leaving?"

"My hometown is too far away, I can't go back. How about I stay and do your young master's laundry and cooking?"

"No, you'll be the young master's page, and I'll do his laundry and cook for him. I hate reciting and writing the most."

Hearing that I wasn't leaving, Ziyi contentedly tidied up the dishes, even humming a children's song.

I think: He must have been too lonely growing up alongside a great man, so he longed for a companion. My staying here is exactly what he wanted.

After Ziyi finished tidying up, he led me to his room.

"Yuehua, shall we share a room, or will you have a room by yourself?"

"I live alone," I said.

The woman in purple led me into another room: "You can stay in this room. No one usually lives here; only my aunt comes here to rest when she's drunk."

As she spoke, the woman in purple walked out the door, then turned back to me and said:

"Yuehua, I'll talk to the young master tomorrow. You can't go back on your word."