Listening to the Sea with You

Xiao Wu was like a wounded beast, blindly drifting through the illusory world of the internet, licking her own wounds and holding on by herself. But a casual, unassuming expression of concern from A Bu broke through her defenses. She carefully held on to those words, and added A Bu as a friend because “I don't make my living through martial arts, but I was born for them.” Then they began chatting, off and on, about all sorts of things, light and deep. A Bu was always saying he was a god, and so won all of Xiao Wu's admiration. Xiao Wu pursed her lips and said she was a breathtaking sight, with no need to look up to A Bu. One day, she would show him the full extent of her martial arts prowess as his equal. So Xiao Wu went without hesitation to the city where A Bu lived. Specks of light shimmered across the sea; waves crashed against the rocks; the sea breeze danced gently in the air... A cloud drifted in from the horizon. The cloud and the sea seemed to keep each other company, yet could never touch. Farther away, the sky and water met at the horizon... Walking along the crest of the waves, she counted her longing as it sank into her heart. Xiao Wu played sorrowful music on her bamboo flute, named Stillwater, and listened to the sea with A Bu, her heart enraptured and shattered...