I served as Li Bai's page.

Xu Ziyan called out loudly behind me, "Yuehua, be careful on the road. Bow to your parents-in-law a few more times for us."

I stood on the boat, hand on the stern, and waved to them, saying, "I understand, you can go back now."

The boat raised its sails, and the helmsmen rowed towards the center of the Yangtze River. Li Bai ran alongside the boat, and I waved goodbye incessantly. Li Bai ran and then squatted down on the ground. He probably wanted to go back to Longxi Academy even more than I did.

I was tossed about on the cargo ship, and being alone, I had no interest in appreciating the scenery of the Three Gorges. More than ten days later, I arrived in Yuzhou. After disembarking, I went straight to the inn where we had stayed on the way there. As I entered, the waiter approached and asked, "Sir, would you like a room?" He froze, then exclaimed, "Aren't you the young man from two years ago? There were three of you back then."

"Brother, you have a good eye. I'm back alone now. Are the horses we left here still there?"

"Yes, they're well-fed and plump. Come on, I'll take you to see them."

I followed the waiter to the stables, where three horses were scrambling for food in their mangers. Seeing the horses reminded me of Wu Zhinan, and tears welled up in my eyes without me even realizing it.

"Young man, what's wrong?" the waiter asked anxiously.

"It's nothing, just thinking of someone from the past."

"I thought you would come back for the horses soon, but I never expected it to take more than two years."

"Thank you for taking care of them these past two years. Could you calculate the costs for me? I'll be staying here again tonight, in the same room as last time—it wasn't rented out, was it?"

"No, come on, I'll get you the key."

I followed the waiter back to the inn's lobby, where he took the key and led me up the mountain.

"Hey waiter, give me the key, I know which room it is."

I took the key, grabbed my luggage, and went into the room. I heard the waiter shout to the dining hall, "Number six has a guest checking in." Then he went down the mountain.

I lay in bed and, exhausted, quickly fell asleep.

"Sir, come out for dinner." The knocking on the door startled me awake.

"Okay, I'll be right there." I arrived at the cafeteria, where the same elderly woman and young man were cooking. As soon as the young man saw me, he asked, "Where are those two customers? Didn't they come with you?"

"You guys have such good memories; it was just me this time."

After finishing my meal, I returned to my room and slept soundly until dawn.

After breakfast, I shouldered my luggage and it was time to set off again.

I arrived at the inn's lobby, and after the waiter calculated the room and horse fees, I said, "I'm going back to Western Shu, and it's inconvenient to bring two horses. Could I use the two horses to offset some of the cost?"

The waiter said, "I'll go ask the boss right away if it's okay, please wait a moment."

The waiter left the inn and soon returned with a well-to-do middle-aged man.

"Young man, I heard you're selling horses. I'll take these two. Your rent and horse expenses will be settled in one lump sum. You choose one horse and take it; the rest are mine."

"Thank you, boss."

We arrived at the stables, and I chose one of the horses, leaping onto it. After saying goodbye to the innkeeper and waiter, I headed towards Suizhou. By the time I arrived in Suizhou, it was already dark. I went to the streets of Suizhou, found an inn, and stayed for the night. The next day, just as dawn was breaking, I set off on horseback, riding non-stop straight towards Changlong County in Mianzhou.

Around three or four o'clock in the afternoon, I arrived in Changlong County. Remembering the instructions of Master Xu and his wife, I strolled around the county town, bought things for Li Bai's family, and then rode my horse straight to Longxi Courtyard in Qinglian Town.

When the grand gatehouse of Longxi Academy came into view, my eyes were already brimming with tears. Because it was winter, and it was dusk, the gatehouse was tightly shut.

I arrived at the gate, dismounted, and stroked the stone statue of the shepherd boy riding an ox—it felt so familiar. Just as I was about to step forward and knock on the gate, it creaked open, and the woman in purple stepped out.

He looked at me, and I looked at him, and for a moment we didn't know how to address each other. Since we parted at the Qinhuai River, Ziyi had changed again, growing into a tall and handsome young man.

"Purple robes."

"Moonlight."

We hugged each other tightly.

The woman in purple released me and looked behind me.

"Don't look anymore, I'm all alone. The young master hasn't returned."

"Why?"

"Come on, I'll tell you once we're inside."

The woman in purple called out into the courtyard, "Madam, Yuehua has returned."

Footsteps echoed throughout the courtyard. First came Uncle Lu and the servants, then Yueyuan and her sisters, and finally Li Bai's mother, supported by Aunt Lu, came out.

When I saw Madam Li, I knelt down: "Yuehua kowtows to the old lady."

"Get up quickly! Where's my son? Call him here right now!"

I stood up and helped the old lady to sit down on a chair in the hall.

"Madam, the young master hasn't returned. Did you receive all the letters he wrote to you?"

"I received it. He said he got married and wanted to bring his daughter-in-law back for me to see, but why hasn't she come back yet?"

"Madam, you've become a grandmother. We had planned to come back together, but then we found out the young mistress is pregnant, so we didn't dare let her come back. The young master can't leave either, so I came back alone."

The old lady suddenly hugged me, tears streaming down her face. Yueyuan came over, patted the old lady's back, and said, "Mother, you should be happy. Our Li family is going to have another member."

"Happy, happy, I hope my children and grandchildren will all be safe and sound." The old lady said, then smiled again. She held my hands and examined them carefully.

"Yuehua, you've gotten even thinner these past two years. You must have suffered a lot following the young master, right?" the old lady said.

"No, Madam, we're doing quite well out there. The young mistress's parents even asked me to bring back gifts for everyone."

I turned to look at Ziyi: "Ziyi, go and bring in the things I'm carrying on my horse."

Ziyi called two servants to go outside the gate and bring in the gifts I had bought.

"Everyone has something, just a small gift, bought in the county town. I hope you won't mind. I really couldn't bring anything from Anlu back with me."

"Why bring gifts when you've traveled so far? Your return is the best gift for us," the old lady said.

From the moment I entered, I was busy talking to the old lady. Whenever I had a spare moment, I would look around.

"Where is the master? Why hasn't he come out?" I asked.

The old lady held my hand and said, "Master is in Rencheng, Donglu, and won't be back until the end of the year. It'll be soon."

Seeing my weariness from the journey, the old lady said, "Ziyi, take Yuehua to take a hot bath, have dinner, rest for a while, and then come to my room. I have many questions to ask him."

"Yes, Yuehua, come with me," said Ziyi.

I followed Ziyi towards the inner courtyard: "Ziyi, please take me to my lodgings first, and get me some clothes to change into."

Ziyi led me to the same room I stayed in last time. Everything was the same. I took out the clothes I had put in the box and went out to follow Ziyi to the bathhouse.