On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month in the third year of Tianxi's reign, the New Year is about to begin.
The snow in Bianjing this year has been extremely bad. It has been snowing intermittently since the winter solstice. The pair of stone lions at the entrance of Xiangguo Temple, their noses and eyes were almost covered with snow, and they looked like two white-faced steamed buns from a distance.
Before daybreak, monk Huiming, who was fetching water, carried a bucket to the life-release pond in the backyard. As he walked, he muttered that the water in the pool was probably freezing again in this damn weather, and hitting the ice could numb someone's arm. Yesterday, the monastery said that this year, on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month to celebrate the Little New Year, you have to go to the pond to get some clean water to offer to the Buddha. This is good, but you will be scolded when you go back.
The life-release pond is located at the innermost part of Xiangguo Temple, next to the Buddhist scriptures building. On weekdays, pilgrims buy fish and turtles and release them here. The pond is not big, only two or three feet square. In summer, it is filled with lotus flowers and red carps are scurrying back and forth in the water. It is very beautiful. But looking at it now, the entire pond is as frozen as a large bluestone slab, covered with a thick layer of snow, and not even a crack can be seen.
Huiming put the bucket on the ground, picked up the iron pickaxe that he had prepared long ago, spit into the palm of his hand, rubbed it, rounded his arms and smashed it down.
There was a muffled sound of "clang", and a white mark opened on the ice, which made Huiming's mouth numb.
