Chapter 459: Peach Blossom Spring
Chapter 459: Peach Blossom Spring
Over the next week, Liam and Hermione visited many wonderful places, both in the ordinary world and the Wizarding world. The reason they were able to see so many sights in such a short time was thanks to China’s Cloud Path System.
The Cloud Path is similar to Europe’s Floo Network, but it doesn’t require a fireplace. Any container with a calm surface of water, marked with a Magic Array, can serve as an entrance or exit. The largest can be a lake, while the smallest can be a household basin or sink. To use it, you fill the container with water, wait for the surface to form a palm-sized area, place your hand in the water, recite the name of the destination, and finish with the phrase "as commanded by the urgent order."
During this week, they were amazed by the natural and cultural beauty of Tai Lake, Mount Lu, Mount Huang, and West Lake. Each place left them in awe and reluctant to leave. However, the place that left the deepest impression was the Wizarding tourist attraction they visited on the last day: Wulin Garden.
This Wulin Garden is different from the ordinary Wulin Garden in Zhangjiajie. It is a large valley protected by a natural Magic Maze Lock. Inside, there is a town that belongs to the Chinese Wizarding world and is home to many magical creatures.
Using the map they bought at Songjiang Market, the two of them arrived at the entrance to the town. It appeared to be an ordinary stream in a valley. To ordinary people, it was just a stream flowing out of the valley, but Wizards could see a fork in the stream after it entered the valley.
Following this Wizard-only stream upstream, they soon crossed an invisible boundary, and a beautiful Peach Blossom Grove suddenly appeared before them. Miraculously, even in the scorching summer, the temperature here was as pleasant as spring, and the peach trees were still in full bloom. Wizards were scattered beneath the trees, reading, playing games, or having picnics.
A gentle breeze blew, lifting the pink petals from the ground and mixing them with those falling from the trees, creating a fairy-tale-like pink world in the Peach Blossom Grove.
"It’s like a dream", Hermione said softly, gazing at the scenery. "Thank you—" But before she could finish, Liam silenced her with a kiss. After a moment, they smiled at each other and separated. Then, Rose Crystal and Little Qing took out their camera and started taking photos of them.
In the days leading up to this, Rose Crystal and her sisters had visited Paris and Versailles in Rosary Maiden’s world, enjoying a few days of festivities. Fortunately, she managed to join Liam for the final leg of his journey, the visit to Wulin Garden.
After thoroughly enjoying the Peach Blossom Grove, they continued along the stream. At this point, Little Qing transformed into a backpack. Rose Crystal climbed inside, playfully asking Liam to carry her. Liam shook his head with a smile and then hoisted the backpack with Rose Crystal inside onto his back.
The stream’s source was a mountain with a small cave at its base. The cave’s entrance, marked with the words "Wulin Garden" carved into the stone, looked narrow enough for only one person to pass through. Liam and the others had to queue up to enter, but the cave entrance was only narrow at the beginning. After a few dozen steps, it became spacious and bright. Before them lay an ancient town with flat fields, and in the distance, they could see a lake and a forest by its shore.
"Following the stream to the end of the forest, they found a mountain with a small opening, through which a faint light could be seen. They left their boat and entered the opening. At first, it was extremely narrow, only wide enough for one person. After a few dozen steps, the scene suddenly opened up—" Seeing this, Liam recited the famous passage from "Peach Blossom Spring." Unlike in his previous life, where it was just a story, in this world, the Peach Blossom Spring was real. This place, now known as Wulin Garden, was the very Peach Blossom Spring described in the story.
Previously, it was mentioned that the environment around the large valley formed a natural Magic Maze Lock. In addition to the natural lock, the Wizards who discovered this place later added various magical defenses. However, over a thousand years ago, the valley was only protected by the natural maze lock. This allowed a common fisherman to enter when the maze lock weakened due to a change in the stars, and he subsequently spread the news.
Unfortunately, after the fisherman left, the Wizards living in the valley used Magic Arrays to strengthen the defenses, so neither the Governor nor Liu Zijì of Nanyang could find the place again. Later, Tao Yuanming learned of the story and, like in another world, wrote the famous "Peach Blossom Spring."
"What were you reciting just now?" Hermione asked curiously from the side. Although she had learned Chinese, Classical Chinese was still difficult for her to understand.
"Oh, this is a piece of poetry written by an ancient Chinese poet over a thousand years ago", Liam explained, turning his head. After he finished explaining the story of Peach Blossom Spring, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the town along the gravel path.
Unlike Songjiang Market, many people in the town wore modern clothing with elements of Hanfu, and a few Wizards were even dressed in traditional Hanfu. Moreover, the street wasn't just populated by Wizards. For example, Liam saw a young woman with fox ears and a tail walking down the street, holding an oil-paper umbrella.
"Hello, I'm from Britain, and I'm here with my fiancée. I saw many people with animal ears or leaves and flowers on their heads in the street. Could you tell us what this custom is?" After buying a few sticky rice cakes, Liam asked the shop owner.
"It's not a custom", the middle-aged man with a beard said, seeming quite talkative. He quickly wrapped the sticky rice cake with a leaf while speaking. "They are not human."
"Not human?" Hermione paused, her mouth still full of sticky rice cake. In the British wizarding world, non-human intelligent beings were often marginalized and discriminated against. She had never seen other creatures walking openly in Diagon Alley. So, she was quite taken aback when she heard that those people were not human.
"Yes, they are not human", the owner repeated. "Many foreign tourists find this hard to believe. Even a fellow from your country, whom I met over a decade ago, thought it was a disgrace for a fangshi to accept them." (At this, Hermione muttered under her breath, "Sounds like a Pureblood to me.")
"We're not like that", Liam said, with Hermione nodding vigorously beside him. "But we do have to admit that in other places, some people believe their blood is superior."
"Blood?" The owner snorted dismissively. "Only animals like pigs, dogs, and horses are considered noble because of their blood. How can humans be noble because of their blood?"
Liam and Hermione laughed at this, finding it the most amusing rebuttal to the Purity of Blood theory they had ever heard. The shop owner, seeing that they were not blood purists, continued, "Those beings are collectively called Mountain Sprites. They are a kind of natural Elves—"
"Like Veela", Liam quickly explained in English to Hermione. From the owner, they learned that Mountain Sprites had powers derived from animals or plants and their own unique magic. Most importantly, they could intermarry with humans. However, just as the owner was enthusiastically describing the beauty of the Mountain Sprites, his plump wife sneaked up from behind and grabbed his ear.
"Don't think I don't know you've been staring at the Mountain Sprite owner of the restaurant at the end of the street. Go inside and make more sticky rice cakes, no slacking off here", the formidable wife said, dragging the owner into the kitchen. Liam and Hermione quickly left.
"I thought I saw Mrs. Weasley just now", Hermione said, looking back at the sticky rice cake shop as they walked down the street.
"Everyone has their own way of dealing with things. That uncle is much more powerful in magic than his wife, who is just a non-magical human. But love—", Liam laughed.
Besides the beautiful Mountain Sprites, Liam and Hermione also encountered a man over three meters tall on the street. The potion shop owner told them that he was from the Kuafu clan, similar to Giants in the West. However, they were not as powerful in magic or as strong as Western Giants. Their only advantage was that their intelligence and temperament were very similar to humans, though they were a bit stubborn.
After purchasing what they needed, the two went to the surrounding nature reserve. They saw the Four-Eared Macaque, the Changyou, and the Zouwu, which had colorful fur and a long tail. Their luck was at its peak when they passed a bamboo grove in bloom and saw a bird that looked like a pheasant but had colorful patterns and a long tail. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the bird's belly and wings had natural ancient seal script patterns.
"What kind of bird is that?" Hermione asked, pointing at the Phoenix. In her mind, a Phoenix was the large, fire-red bird that Professor Dumbledore kept, so she didn't recognize this one.
"This is the Oriental Phoenix", Liam said, feeling very lucky today.
(End of Chapter)
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