In the thin mist, the instant Xili sprang into the air, all his explosive force gathered in his legs. Borrowing the power technique of the “snap kick” from Dai boxing, his body formed a graceful arc in midair, like a sacred bird spreading its wings and soaring into the clouds. At that moment, the wing props at his waist unfurled with the movement.
The fabric rubbed lightly against the bamboo ribs, making a faint sound that echoed strangely with the motion of his limbs.
His other leg stretched straight back, and his body twisted half a turn in the air, like the nimble turn of a sacred bird skimming past treetops. When he landed, the ball of his foot touched down first, using the momentum to cushion the impact. The entire sequence flowed smoothly, without the slightest sense of stiffness.
As he leaped in succession, swift light hops alternated with moments of flight, paired with small sways of his shoulders and waist, recreating the scene of a sacred bird darting through the forest, chasing and playing.
When he landed, there was a slight pause in the rhythm, yet it displayed astonishing strength. His body rose and fell with gentle ease, his landings as light as feathers unfurling.
Especially within this hazy mist, Su Yufan was fortunate enough to witness the entire performance in all its fullness.
She had danced this dance before. It was her mother’s favorite.
Su Fengxia was an artist of ethnic dance. She was familiar with many folk dance forms and would also create her own fusions of certain dance elements.
The sacred bird dance she taught Su Yufan was one she had recreated; it was not as primal as the one Xili danced.
His dance gave people a calm, comfortable feeling, as if he were communing with nature.
Yet it was also filled with mystery and spirit, even a hint of Zen, soothing the heart and breath.
It was more like a solemn farewell.
Compared with Xili’s dance this time, her own past performances seemed slightly inferior.
Xili finished the dance with full devotion and took off his mask.
“Sorry. I haven’t danced it in a long time, so a few movements weren’t quite standard.
But this dance is usually performed freely in the rainforest, echoing and conversing with all kinds of birdsong. It isn’t restricted to one fixed set of movements. I hope your mother would like it.”
“She definitely would. My mother saw several people dance this before, and you’re the best. Yours has the most vitality, and comes closest to that agile spirit of the sacred bird.
It should be the earliest prototype of the peacock dance. I remember that at the very beginning, this dance was performed by a man and a woman together. If one person dances it alone, it loses some of that interaction.”
Su Yufan could not hide her lavish praise, though there was also a trace of emotion in her voice.
“You’re the expert when it comes to dance. I don’t know as much as you do. I only copied it when I was little. It’s not as lively and interesting as something professional.
Su Yufan, it’s getting late. It’s time to take your father and younger siblings to Dali Airport.”
Only after he reminded her did Su Yufan realize she had sat numbly before the grave for an entire night.
Su Yufan drove, while Xili Bufa rode his motorcycle. They went to the inn where Wang Fugui was staying, took them to eat rice noodles with thin bean-flour soup, bought some local specialties for them along the way, and drove them to the airport.
Xili Bufa waited in the car. Wang Fugui softly comforted his daughter. “Xiao Fan, remember what I said. You still have me, your father, to back you up. No matter what you want to do, I’ll support you, whether with money or emotionally.”
Su Yufan nodded. What her father could give her was truly too little. As for money, to her now, it was worth less than paper.
When a person died, it was like a lamp going out. Her mother had been thinking of Old Wang before she died, and she did not want to keep resenting him either.
“All right, you’re making it seem like we’re parting forever. In a while, I’ll go to northern Xinjiang and spend all your money.”
Hearing this, Wang Fugui felt much more at ease.
His greatest wish was for his daughter to be willing to spend the money he gave her, because in the past, she had never accepted his living expenses.
That had filled him with guilt.
Now that his daughter had said this, he took it as her forgiving him, and felt a little better deep down.
Back then, he and Su Fengxia had fallen in love at first sight in an ethnic dance troupe, but he had given up his dance career and returned to northern Xinjiang to do business.
The two of them had spent more time apart than together, their feelings fading, which was why their marriage had ended in divorce.
After seeing Wang Fugui off, Su Yufan sat in the passenger seat.
“Xili, are you busy today? Can you go with me to Shaxi Ancient Town for a walk?
I heard that after Meet Yourself aired, there have been a lot of tourists there. I want to take a look. My grandfather restored quite a few buildings there.”
“All right.”
Xili did not want to go back and be ordered around by He Wenkang either.
Now that Su Yufan had cancer and was suffering the pain of losing her mother, he ought to keep her company more.
Shaxi Ancient Town lay between Dali and Lijiang. As the only surviving complete market town along the old Tea Horse Road, it had not been overly tainted by modern clamor and still preserved an ancient, quiet simplicity.
The flagstone road on Sideng Street, polished smooth by a thousand years of time, had not changed much.
In the past, when her grandfather came here to repair old houses for people, she would run and play in the street.
Her grandfather had said that when he was young, the sound of horse hooves echoed crisply here. The muleteers would carry tea leaves and salt here to lodge or trade.
He had also set out with the muleteers and gone abroad, where he did carving work for many years.
Su Yufan walked beneath the old opera stage. When she was little, she had secretly danced on it. Now, she could only watch.
The several-hundred-year-old locust tree silently watched over this place, no matter how wind and rain changed.
She strolled along the narrow alley. On both sides stood old wooden houses marked by the passage of time.
The market was very lively today, no longer matching the deserted quiet of her memories.
“Xili, why does a little town like this have more people than Jianchuan Ancient City?”
“I don’t know either. The houses in Jianchuan are also very exquisite. If you prefer fewer people, we can go walk around the newly built Woodcarving Town.”
“All right. Let me buy a bowl of milk-soaked plums first. I don’t know if that shop is still there.”
Su Yufan’s mood improved slightly, but her stamina could not quite keep up.
She had already suffered from insomnia for nearly a week straight. She had not taken sleeping pills and had not had any deep sleep.
She and Xili went to see the houses her grandfather had once contracted to build, as well as the temples he had restored. Xili praised her grandfather’s craftsmanship highly.
The two of them drank milk with plums. It was still the taste from her memories.
When they arrived at Woodcarving Town, she was amazed that Jianchuan actually had such a newly built old-style town.
“Xili, why is there no one here? The planning here is beautiful. You can tell a lot of thought went into it.”
“I’m not sure. I think it’s a pity. Oh, right, my master has a house here. He operated it for a few months, but no one came, so he moved back to the ancient city.”
“Ah? He has a house here too?” Su Yufan was astonished.
It seemed that over the years, he had made quite a bit of money.
The shops or courtyards here were all carved with great detail and looked expensive to build.
“It’s a very spacious courtyard. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring the key, otherwise I could take you to see it.
This place is so beautiful. If they could attract tourists here, Jianchuan’s woodcarving business should do better, right?”
Xili sighed sincerely.
As they spoke, the two of them sat on a chair by the lake to enjoy the cool breeze.
A friend request popped up on Su Yufan’s phone. She opened it and saw that the applicant was Feng Qing.
Attached to it was a sarcastic accusation, questioning whether she had spent money to buy trending searches and become famous.
She felt completely baffled. She tapped into Weibo and saw that “Queen of Peacock Dance Dies Suddenly” had become a trending search, and “Daughter of the Queen of Peacock Dance Has Cancer” had also become a trending search.
Someone had also uploaded a video of Su Yufan returning to her hometown and arguing with her stepfather over property.
Three trending searches in a row, all ranked in the top three of the entertainment chart, and all had exploded.
She had never been this famous before.
Clicking into any of them at random, she saw people exposing all kinds of gossip and private information about her. Someone had even posted that her phone wallpaper was a little novice monk.
A person in Jianchuan who claimed to know the situation commented that the little novice monk in the wallpaper was named Xili, and that he was a former monk who had returned to secular life.
Someone else posted secretly taken photos of him carving in Jianchuan.
Because he looked so spiritual, with features far too beautiful, combined with the added weight of his special identity and the fact that he was the person in Su Yufan’s phone wallpaper,
in half a day, all kinds of public opinion and dirt came flooding in like a tide. They had become a topic of heated discussion across the entire internet.
Seeing Su Yufan staring blankly at her phone, Xili asked quietly, “What happened?”
“I saw today just how great the malice of human nature can be. My mother, you, and I are all on the trending search list. Look—”