Song Ciwan stood under the bright sky, facing the patchwork of fields, the scattered houses, and the curling smoke from their chimneys. A passage of text surfaced in her mind unbidden—
The forest ended at the river's source, and there stood a mountain. In the mountain was a small opening, from which a light seemed to glimmer...
The land was flat and wide, with houses neatly arranged... Paths crisscrossed the fields, and the sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard from one to the next... The old and the young were all content and happy...
'Where is this? Why does everything here seem just as it was described in *The Peach Blossom Spring*?'
It was so peaceful, so joyous, so full of life—truly, a Peach Blossom Spring!
