“Tomorrow is doomsday. Are you ready?” the man said.

“Are you sure? Where did you hear this?” Mrs. Yi asked. She was calm.

“Absolutely. Listen, headquarters is sounding the alarm.”

“Our Yun Village is always ready. It won’t faze us,” Mrs. Yi responded coldly.

The crowd went past and left the village.

Mr. Yi’s left arm felt a bit numb where they had bumped into him, and he was dazed.

“Are these people from Blue Mountain?” he asked his wife.

“I suppose so. I recognized one of them. Darling, you’re shaking. Is it really that terrible?” She clung to her husband.

“I’m not as strong as you are, and I’m not only scared, I’m also excited. What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about the baby and its mother. No matter how long a person’s life is, it should be considered complete.”

“Indeed. Even if she hadn’t opened her eyes, she would have still been in this world. It’s so strange—I’m now kind of looking forward to it,” Mr. Yi said aloud.

“It’s not strange. You’re part of Yun Village.”

When they reached the gate of their house, the cooped hen screamed once in alarm and then fell quiet again. Mrs. Yi muttered, “Even the chicken is . . .”

Unable to sleep, they held each other in the dark.

At dawn they simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief and fell asleep.

Gray and Spoon came over in the afternoon. Head drooping, Gray approached Mrs. Yi. Suddenly he looked up, his eyes determined, and said, “We need to replant all the herbs before that happens.”

“Good, that’s good,” Mrs. Yi said, puzzled.

The young couple worked very hard. Mrs. Yi didn’t want to disturb them, so she left with her medicine box.

When Mrs. Yi passed by the tofu shop, she unexpectedly saw Tauber.

“Hi, Tauber. Why did you come down the mountain?” she asked.

“I felt the passion of Yun Village. The scenery before doomsday is splendid. I couldn’t stay on the mountain any longer; I had to come down here. Don’t worry. You’re the only one who can see me.”

And then Tauber disappeared. Sitting on the bench where Tauber had just sat was Zhu’s daughter-in-law, holding the newborn baby in her arms. They both looked very happy.

“Mrs. Yi, how lucky I am!” the woman said, holding back tears.

“Did you hear about that?” Mrs. Yi couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes. But baby and I are so happy now. You see? She loves you . . .”

“She’s a wonderful little girl. She has the air of a heroine!”

Mrs. Yi waved good-bye to them and then hurried to Grandma Mao’s house.

Grandma Mao greeted her from the front yard. Holding her hand tightly, the old woman was listening closely to something. Mrs. Yi saw that Grandma Mao already knew it was coming. Mrs. Yi gave Grandma Mao a massage treatment. Grandma Mao groaned and stammered, “My dear daughter . . . I wish I could die in your arms . . . But . . . that won’t happen. This is just a rehearsal . . . What a good idea!”