At dawn, the sky cleared, revealing every mountain peak crowned in white. 0

The mountains and rivers remain unchanged, old but never dying; silent observers, they show no emotion toward the births, deaths, joys, and sorrows of the mortal world. And for those with feelings, all that was left in the end was loneliness and sorrow.0

“If Heaven itself had feelings, it too would grow old,” Li Yuan remarked wistfully. He thought again of his Eternal Youth, feeling a slight stir within.0

He had only been here for two years, but he might still live another two centuries, two millennia, 20,000 years...and so on. Eventually, would he become like these mountains and rivers,unfeeling and undying?0

“Bah, who am I kidding?” he laughed at himself. “In these times, living that long is just a fancy dream.”0

He refocused on the mountain path ahead, trudging through the snowy trail...0