When Wen Han found Cheng Muyun, he was at the very front of the procession, conversing in English with a barefooted, elderly Indian man garbed in splendid dress. Wen Han stepped over and stood quietly. Listening attentively for a while to their dialogue, she was approximately able to ascertain that this elderly Indian man was the manor lord.
"My congratulations." When Cheng Muyun was bidding farewell, Wen Han put her palms together and quietly offered her felicitations.
Smiling, the elderly man pressed his palms together in return. "Thank you for coming all the way here from so far."<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.
Music started playing. The ceremony had officially begun.<>Please read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com
Wen Han followed Cheng Muyun to wait off to the side.<>Please read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com
Nearby, there were patient staff members repeatedly telling all the honoured guests, "Distinguished guests, please wait patiently. The procession will come back soon."
The first ones to follow behind the elderly man and step out on their way were the parade of sadhus.
The majority of the sadhus here were ones who had walked all the way to this place from Varanasi yesterday. When they strode past, Wen Han even caught sight of some familiar faces from the manor. They were those few people who had once stayed with Cheng Muyun in that building beside the peafowl shed.
She remembered, one of them had applied a bindi to her forehead.
Following closely were the monks.<>Please read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com instead
Behind the procession of monks was the elephant herd.<>Please read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com
The heavy footsteps drew near. This state where the entire earth seemed to be shaking stirred up an unsettled feeling in Wen Han. Because Wen Han was standing very close to this scene, an elephant trunk nearly swept into her. Fortunately, Cheng Muyun pulled her behind him and blocked the trunk with his hand.<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the translation has been taken without consent of the translator.
As a result of this contact, the elephant bull whose trunk had been obstructed let out a displeased trumpet but then was subsequently given a loud shout of reprimand from a mahout [elephant handler]. The bull reluctantly suppressed its emotions but still brandished its trunk and swept it viciously in their direction.
This time, the mahout gave an extremely loud, sharp rebuke.<>Please read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com
A rope that had been thrown out captured the trunk, bringing the trunk's course to an abrupt halt right in front of Cheng Muyun.
With a light shrug of his shoulders, Cheng Muyun dropped his chin and lifted his eyes to stare directly at that elephant, as if he was using his eyes to do some sort of negotiation with the beast. Slowly, the agitated elephant swayed its trunk and let out another muted trumpet cry.
Then, it left in a well-behaved manner.<>Please read this at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com instead
Cold sweat had broken out on Wen Han from fright, and even after the entire herd had left in succession, she was still tightly gripping Cheng Muyun's sleeve. "Those are still large, ferocious beasts." Her heart still quaked with lingering fear as she said quietly, "Even if they've been tamed, they are nonetheless very dangerous."
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Life: A Black and White Film (一生一世，黑白影画)
General FictionWen Han has arrived in Nepal on vacation and, as a Buddhist believer, also a pilgrimage. But very shortly after entering the borders, she runs in again into someone she had had one encounter with six months ago, hundreds of miles away on the far-off...
