“Miss, your health isn’t good. Why not gather more immortal herbs so you don’t have to come here every seven days to collect medicine? You know, each trip here takes so much out of you, and you need many herbs to recover. If we gather more, you won’t have to work so hard,” said Ping’er, her heart aching for her mistress. The mistress was a woman of sorrow, having suffered from poor health since childhood. Decades ago, a great fire razed the entire Peach Blossom Valley, taking with it the Valley Mistress and her consorts, leaving only the young lady, then just 12 years old. What was once “Peach Blossom Valley” had now become “Tianya Valley”. Every blade of grass, every tree, every peach blossom here was planted by her own hands, seeking exotic plants and flowers to restore the former glory of the valley. She succeeded, turning Peach Blossom Valley into the now-famous Tianya Valley, surpassing its former self in fame. Others saw only her success, unaware of the price she paid behind it, her health deteriorating, even minor coughs turning into severe illnesses, coughing blood, fainting, and enduring unyielding fevers, always hovering near death’s door. Perhaps it was divine pity…
One day, as usual, the lady sat in the peach grove, basking in the sunlight, her translucent, bloodless face and dry, cracked lips seeming to testify to the passage of her life. The peach grove, Tianya Valley, was a testament to her life’s work, crafted with her own hands…
“Miss, are you Yue Lianyi?” A voice, aged yet resonant like a bell, broke the silence of the grove. An old man in white, appearing in simple hempen robes, approached Yue Lianyi with a lively spirit. “I am Yue Lianyi, may I ask who you are, Grandfather?” she asked, feeling an inexplicable familiarity, as if he were her kin. This old man was the second, after Ping’er, to give her such a feeling of warmth, and the word “Grandfather” slipped out naturally, though she felt it might be presumptuous.
“Haha, lass, you’ve got it right. I am indeed your grandfather,” the hearty voice echoed through the grove, startling some birds away. His weathered face, full of wrinkles, now had a hint of tears in his bright eyes.
