Synopsis
Zhuo Yi is the young owner of a small pawnshop, aloof and proud, usually spending his days in lazy seclusion among ordinary townsfolk.
When they first meet, his parents have died and his life is at its lowest point. The red maples are in their prime, and Jin Zhao, dressed in a blue robe, appears amid the scattered snow, bringing endless mysteries and conflict into Zhuo Yi's life.
Because Jin Zhao is hunted by the entire martial world, Zhuo Yi's horizons broaden. He travels across the world, through snowy mountains, deserts, grasslands, ruined cities, forests, and muddy towns, chased and beaten by all manner of strange monsters. He also learns all kinds of survival skills and about the many emotions of human life. His life is full of ups and downs, and at least it starts to feel alive.
"What kind of lousy fish is that? It turned me into a fish in a pond! Don't you have a conscience?"
"..."
"Then how about you pay me some compensation? 9,999 taels of gold!"
"Alone in the world, without a penny to my name."
"I don't want to be friends with him! What a faker!" Zhuo Yi, full of irritation, flopped down on a rock and stopped listening to Zi Pu.
Later, even when he was furious enough to see stars, he was still willing to turn back in the desert and carry Jin Zhao as they fled to the ends of the earth.
"Shut up! Can't you let me save you in peace?"
"I went through all this trouble, so hold on a little longer..."
During the Mongolian New Year, away from home, he was especially sad...
"Are you unhappy?"
"No."
Jin Zhao said nothing. He followed the ugly strokes of Zhuo Yi's writing and changed them into a big smile.
"Pfft... It's ugly, but kind of cute."
"If you want to cry, hug a tree. It won't ask why."
"Are you sure you want to go? Why?"
Zhuo Yi said, "The heart knows what it chooses, but the mouth can't explain it."
On the tense, dangerous road, Jin Zhao would make straw dolls and sew cotton dolls to cheer up Zhuo Yi and Zi Pu. A comfortable life was what Zhuo Yi had once longed for, but things never go as we wish...
Jin Zhao's health failed, and he had less and less time to spend with them. Their adventure seemed to have become a countdown to his death.
When they reached the final destination, all the emotions Zhuo Yi had kept bottled up burst out...
"Jin Zhao, could you please not... not leave? We haven't seen Zi Pu ride a horse and fly his hawk. We haven't planted grapevines together. I want to spend New Year's in Mongolia, chat with you, make bizarre dumplings and ugly lanterns, ride horses and look at flowers... We haven't really enjoyed the world's wonders: the Nuo opera of Xi'an, the fireworks of Yuluo, the Pure Sea of the Western Regions, the shadow puppets of Liangzhou..."
The more Zhuo Yi spoke, the less he could control his tears. They streamed down his face as he choked out, "No one's going to make Zi Pu's little dragon lantern anymore. No one's going to sew my little dolls. My silly matchstick-men drawings won't have smiling faces anymore... When I'm unhappy, no one's going to tell me to hug a tree, and when I'm happy, no one's going to listen..."
"Don't cry... Just sleep and you'll feel better."
Those three years of wandering were the most wonderful years of his life. When he returned to his once-peaceful home, even the endless red maples didn't seem so beautiful anymore...
He often sat alone beneath the eaves, gazing at the bridge where the blue-robed traveler had once appeared, with nothing but memories for company...
Then, with the first snow of another year, a tall figure in red appeared once more at the door of his pawnshop, his features as familiar as ever, his longing unchanged.
He smiled gently. "Long time no see. I've missed you so much."
Three main storylines:
1. On his path of revenge, Jin Zhao grows increasingly aloof and grave. After repeatedly experiencing separation and reunion, he gradually returns to his true nature.
2. Zhuo Yi grows through his adventures as he searches for his grandfather.
3. An Zi Pu's past dreams, his entanglement with Shi Dai, and his connection to Nan Miao.
Six side stories:
1. Xi'an: Stone Flowers, crawling corpse parasites everywhere.
2. Yuluo: A fog that consumes people, with wanderers trapped in illusions.
3. The Western Regions: Butterfly parasites, beautiful and strange butterflies that kill without a trace.
4. The Western Regions: Return to the Pure Sea, a warm, bittersweet story by the sea.
5. Liangzhou Shadow Puppets: Moving puppets, the sound of Qiang drums, and human-skin lanterns that follow.
6. Mud City: Long-Remembered Lake, woods growing on the water, hidden currents, strange clay figures filling the city, strangling with silver bells, and venomous snakes lying in wait...
Theme: Stand on your own two feet. Hope and light. Growing up is hard, but after hardship comes sweetness, and all paths lead back to one.