She looked at her husband in surprise, as if he had become another person. But she was happy for him. She fantasized that one day she and her husband would wander about in the mountains and then go into them. Anyway, it was better to “discuss matters of vital importance” face to face. Mrs. Yi’s heart ebbed and flowed: based on what her husband was seeing and telling her, she tried to communicate inwardly with those people in black. Surprisingly, this wordless communication worked. Mrs. Yi felt absolutely sure of this. For example, when her husband said, “A man is standing on the edge of a cliff, leaning out . . . ,” a huge windmill which she had seen many years ago appeared in her mind at once. The image of the windmill swept her off her feet for a while. If Mr. Yi suddenly stood up with a wave of his hand and said, “Okay, we’ve reached an agreement,” she would see a sea of herbs and unfamiliar pink flowers in full bloom. At the moment she felt filled with youthful ambitions. But now her husband fell silent, and his willpower sank into the deep darkness. His silent message lit countless lamps in her heart. The lamps were all over the mountain. She saw a figure on the hill approaching her. It seemed to be Tauber. This Tauber said nothing, but what a wonderful passion he brought to her. Look, weren’t the pear trees blossoming in the light?

“I am willing to ‘discuss matters of vital importance’ with my peers on Blue Mountain from time to time,” Mrs. Yi said sincerely to her husband.

“I’m as excited as you are, for I saw it first and communicated it to you. I never dreamed I would have this kind of ability. Now they’re gone, and the cold wind is blowing in the empty theater. Let’s go home. It’s been a great day.”

As they descended the mountain, they heard the noise of the same crowd fading away, but their song could still be faintly heard. Mr. Yi said they were ancients, and some of them were Yun Village’s ancestors. He also said that when he thought of Kay’s husband being among these ancestors, he was proud of him. Yun Village was so powerful in being able to revive the collapsing human spirit. Mrs. Yi held her husband’s hand tightly and walked on. She was very proud of her husband.

“The day he comes back, we’ll ‘discuss matters of vital importance’ with him,” Mr. Yi said.

“You mean Kay’s husband?”

“Who else? He won’t go far, he’ll be hanging around here.”

“We found out the truth. I’ll tell Kay tomorrow.”

When Mrs. Yi came in, Kay had finished treating two women’s feet. Neither of them could bear to leave. They were talking loudly with Kay and laughing heartily.

“Ha, here comes Dr. Kay’s good friend. We should go,” Mrs. Liu said as she stood up.

They thanked Kay profusely and left.