Once upon a time, there was a mountain.

  On that mountain stood a tree.

  And within that tree lived a yaokai…

  I am that yaokai.

  At this very moment, I stand at the highest peak of this mountain. One step forward, and I will plunge into the sea of clouds below. If you can fly, you would love it here—the clouds shift constantly, sometimes thick, sometimes thin, always offering the most breathtaking views. But if you cannot fly, then I can only apologize, for the ravine at the mountain's base will soon cradle yet another set of lifeless bones.

  This is Fulong Mountain—isoted from the world, gazing down upon the mortal realm.

  It has preserved its mystery and beauty through countless millennia of quiet solitude.

  Exotic flowers and rare beasts are never in short supply here. Their scents, their silhouettes as they streak across the sky, their vibrant colors—all shift with the seasons, creating an ever-changing spectacle of life and wonder. Even a single dewdrop on this mountain holds a world of its own.

  One could look upon the same scenery every day, for a lifetime even, and never grow tired of it.

  But I am different.

  I have watched the seasons turn. Watched winter snow and summer rain, spring blossoms and autumn moons. I have watched for centuries, perhaps even longer. To say I have not yet grown weary is already a stroke of fortune.

  By all logic, I should resent this mountain—hate the peak that has kept me bound and stolen my freedom.

  And once, I did.

  But as the saying goes—the deeper the hatred, the deeper the love.

  A mountain is no different.

  My story is one of continuity—of the innkeeper and the ever-changing group of wandering yaokais. By now, I doubt I need to eborate. Most of you surely believe you already know the innkeeper well—the gold-loving, money-obsessed, often ill-tempered, occasionally airheaded woman. After all, you have witnessed her journey over the past three years. From the “Endless” Teashop to the “Endless” Inn and then to a roaming merchant's life—over a thousand days and nights of ughter, anger, joy, and sorrow. What you've seen is the sum of her existence.

  And that brings me comfort. Because you have been with me through the three most important chapters of my life.

  But tell me—have you ever met the reckless little yaokai who once used her own life as a way to stave off boredom? The one who hunted birds and beasts just to fill her stomach, wandering aimlessly and hopelessly through countless sunrises and sunsets?

  Of course, you haven't.

  Even I rarely see her anymore.

  Because she was me—the young tree yaokai who awakened on Fulong Mountain.

  The first time I left this mountain, I encountered the first disaster of my life.

  It was also the first time I ever hit someone.

  No, not someone—a dragon.

  A cursed dragon from the Eastern Sea who, for his own twisted amusement, destroyed an entire city. And from that very first sp, our fates were sealed. Two creatures who started their retionship with a brawl—there was no way we'd ever truly part.

  All my stories begin on Fulong Mountain. That's why I chose today to return.

  "Step back a little! Are you here to reflect on the past or to jump off the cliff?!"

  A rge hand grabbed my arm, yanking me away from the cliff's edge and pulling me a few meters back.

  Since arriving at Fulong Peak, Ao Chi's expression has never looked good. He said the pce he least wanted to come to was here because his wife, who is me,.

  Also, my first love is buried on this mountain, and my first love is not him...

  Friends, I know you're thinking exactly what I am—someone needs to drag this guy over and smack him with a slipper.

  "I didn't come here just to dwell on the past." I shook off his arm and gred at him.

  "Then why the hell did you drag us all the way up here?"

  Jiu Jue emerged from behind a rge boulder at the mountaintop, casually munching on a handful of pale red berries.

  "It's only been a few days since that whole mess with the former Matchmaker God. Haven't you two been through enough? You're about to be a mother soon—shouldn't you be at home resting? And instead, in the dead of winter, you haul us up a mountain?"

  He wasn't wrong—the troublesome matchmaker from before really got us into a huge mess! It took a whole group of people exhausting all their efforts, navigating countless twists and turns, before we could finally put an end to it.

  And it was precisely because of that ordeal that I came to understand the true value of time. None of us can guarantee what tomorrow will bring. Maybe tomorrow, I'll still be sitting in the courtyard of “Endless,” chatting and ughing with all of you. Maybe Ao Chi will still be at odds with the robotic sweeper, and Jiu Jue will still be obsessed with brewing wine and rambling on about his so-called lifelong commitment.

  But maybe… tomorrow, none of us will exist anymore. The words we wanted to say will remain unsaid, and the things we wanted to do will be left undone. This feeling has grown even stronger now that I’m about to become a mother.

  I pced a hand on my belly. It's already the st month of the year. Perhaps I'm fundamentally different from human mothers, so I haven't experienced any physical signs of bor—but I can feel it.

  Over the past year, this little one in my belly has accompanied me across countless mountains and rivers. We've never spoken a single word to each other, yet there is something between us—something unbreakable and inseparable—that allows us to understand each other.

  As the child of a yaokai, perhaps they won't insist on making a fuss like a normal infant before coming into the world. Maybe, even before being born, they already understand their mother too well. They know how hard it has been for her to make it this far, so they want their arrival to be peaceful and joyful.

  I believe I can understand the thoughts of this little one still inside me. And in recent days, that feeling has only grown stronger—the sense that this brand-new life simply cannot wait to come into the world and see it for themselves.

  So, before I become a mother, I must return to my home—Fulong Mountain—and bring with me the two most important people in my life.

  I want to prepare a sincere gift for my little one, whose arrival is still a mystery to me.

  And this gift must be something that the three of us create together.

  “The fruits of Fulong Mountain taste the best in winter.” I smiled as I watched Jiu Jue holding a handful of wild berries. “But you can forget about picking fruit for winemaking. That's not why I brought you here.”

  “Then what exactly do you want us to do?” Ao Chi and Jiu Jue asked in unison.

  At that moment, a light snowfall began to drift from the sky, adding a sense of serenity and enchantment to the entire ndscape. I walked to a clearing at the mountain's peak.

  To the average person, it was just an empty patch of nd, but to the three of us, a magnificent tree stood there—lush, vibrant, and full of life. It was my true form.

  “Our fate began on this mountain,” I said, motioning for Ao Chi to take off his backpack. “Now that our next generation is about to be born, as elders, we should prepare a precious gift for this hard-earned child.”

  Ao Chi's eyes widened in shock as I pulled out three ultra-thin ptops from the backpack. “No wonder it was so heavy! You actually made me carry three useless computers up the mountain?!”

  “Who said they're useless? These are the test ultra-ultra-ultrabooks with a one-week battery life!” I shot him a look and stuffed two of them into his and Jiu Jue's hands.

  Jiu Jue looked completely baffled. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  I gave them a mysterious smile. “We’re preparing a gift for our little one!”

  “You're not seriously pnning for each of us to give a ptop to Weizhi, are you?”

  Ao Chi's jaw practically hit the floor as he looked at me in shock and disgust. He rattled off, “Are you out of your mind? Giving a kid three ptops? Aren't you worried about radiation? What's a baby supposed to do with ptops—one to use and the other two to smash? You'd be better off gifting a robotic vacuum!”

  (T/N: 未知; Wèizhī; lit. means unknown. Ao Chi and Shi Luo call their future baby by the name Weizhi" because the baby has not been born yet, they have not seen what it looks like, and they also do not know the gender of their baby.)

  See? This guy is still such a simple, straight-thinking creature.

  I simply reached out and covered his mouth with my hand. “What we're giving Weizhi is our precious past.”

  Both men froze for a moment. “Our past?”

  I nodded and turned my gaze toward the winter ndscape of Fulong Mountain.

  “Starting from Fulong Mountain, we'll write down our past and gift it to the little one—someone who was never part of it but deserves to know everything.”

  Jiu Jue gnced at the ptop in his hands. “So… you want us to write about the most unforgettable part of our lives?”

  “Exactly.” I winked at him and pulled out three USB drives from my pocket, each shaped like a baby bottle. “Once we're done, we'll store our stories in these and give them to Weizhi as a birth gift. None of us will read each other's stories—only Weizhi will. Isn't that meaningful?”

  I beamed with satisfaction, then added with a sly grin, “Oh, and whoever finishes st has to pay off my credit card bill! These three ptops were all bought on credit.”

  “You're unbelievable!” Ao Chi practically exploded. “Dragging us up a freezing mountain just to type? I'm not a writer—why the hell am I writing a manuscript?!”

  “You're right—you're not a writer.” I pinched his chin and grinned. “But you are the kid's biological father! And you—” I turned to Jiu Jue, who looked utterly miserable. “You're the godfather! Don't even think about running away!”

  Jiu Jue groaned. “Can I hire someone to write it for me?”

  “Sincerity!” I roared. “I want sincerity!”

  “But it’s freezing out here…”

  “Yeah, exactly! Look, it's snowing! How about we head back and have a hotpot instead?”

  “You two aren't even human! What the hell are you afraid of?!” I gred at the two of them, who were clearly trying to make a run for it. “Do you think being a father or a godfather is that easy? Get back here and start typing! If you don't write, I'll divorce you! If you don't write, we're not friends anymore! And you can forget about pying with my kid in the future!”

  The two of them slunk back like scolded puppies.

  “I'm writing too.” I gazed at my true form—tall and evergreen, standing firm in the snowfall—and smiled. “Memories aren’t something painful.”

  “Fine, fine, we’ll write. But why do we have to do it on the mountaintop?”

  “Because this is Fulong Mountain.”

  “Can I at least go get a pot of warm wine before we start?”

  “No! Write first, drink ter! Now sit down—one on each side!”

  And so, at that moment, an incredibly rare sight appeared atop Fulong Mountain.

  Under the swirling snowfkes, beneath the sprawling green branches of a mighty tree that served as a natural canopy, three figures sat at its base. The innkeeper of “Endless,” the rebellious dragon of the Eastern Seas, and the celestial brewing officer of the heavens—each with an ultra-ultra-ultrabook in their hands, fingers tapping away.

  Distant memories unfurled from their fingertips, weaving into the quiet winter air, becoming the most hidden yet most beautiful melody of the season…

  ----Hellowyellow note: If you like the story, the novel collection, and my transtion, please treat me to a cup of coffee. Thanks!----