The Wandering God

50 Well Water Does Not Mix with River Water 1/3

井水不犯河水
jǐngshuǐ bù fàn héshuǐ
Well water does not intrude into river water.
I'll mind my own business, you mind yours.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The surface of the river was like jade.

From its cloudy green color, to its smooth texture. Perfect, unbroken, for the river here was wide and still, almost like a lake, and there was no wind today.

The only ripples came from our barge, as it cut the river's surface. But since I sat at the prow of the craft, before me stretched perfect unblemished water.

Two days ago after Sanli and I had climbed the mountain, the prince had appeared in my room with a small wooden tag in his hand.

"Your pass, my lady. For a grand river cruise. No better way to enjoy the rainy season than by viewing the mountains from the river."

I knew what the invitation was. Another of Sanli's attempts to convince me not to leave. He had been showering me with gifts and special attention lately, as only a prince could.

I had laughingly acquiesced to his request, stringing the small tag beside the wooden rat Zakhar had carved that day in our hide. I had made the chess piece into a charm and now always wore it on a string around my neck.

However yesterday, when Sanli and I had disembarked from his carriage beside the small canal that ran into the Valley, I had found myself regretting my easy agreement to Sanli's venture.

A small barge waited for us, little more than ten lengths long and three across. A cabin sat in the middle, with miniature, shuttered windows that would have been quite charming if not for the fact that they showed how narrow the low room beyond them was.

"Yes? What is wrong with the Swimming Maiden?" asked Sanli, catching sight of my face as he directed servants to load my things onto the tiny barge.

"The Swimming Maiden looks like she will sink at any moment."

"She is perfectly river worthy," Sanli assured me. "A little small, but that will make it more cozy."

And he winked.

And so now a day later I found myself leaning over the prow of the Swimming Maiden, watching the water split either side of us.

"Ao, what do you think of my painting?"

I turned. Sanli sat behind me, beneath a woven straw awning on the deck designed to keep off the intermittent rain. He had decided to try his skills as an artist during the trip, and was practicing painting the scenery around us in the 'washed ink' style.

"Very nice, little prince," I said, looking from Sanli's cloudy grey landscape to the world around us.

There was not much difference really. The cloudy colors of the painting were a lot like the cloudy colors of the real world. A day down stream from Linjing, the river Zhang had widened out so much that the thickly wooded shores on either side of us were distant walls of green. The thick, ruffled edges of trees contrasted with the smooth light green of the river they stood beside, like a different brush had been used to draw them.

Beyond the forested banks, mountains stretched high. But not mountains such as most imagine them. These mountains were more like huge arches of rock, left behind as the river eroded the more fragile parts of the landscape around them. They towered above the waterline, dark grey and green monoliths, shaped by the patient hand of the river.

And above it all the clouds, grey, dark grey, sometimes black, drifted, causing peaks to wash away into nothingness. Occasionally the clouds would tremble, shaking free their rain onto the land below them, setting the jade of the river dancing.