Mount Ma’er wasn’t far; the snowy road was hard to travel, but not a half shichen had passed when they arrived at the foot of the mountain. The mountain was very low, and the snow hadn’t even accumulated, and at the foot of the mountain there were still a few households that had smoke rising from their chimneys, and even a couple of stores. Li Shiyi bought some rations in one of the stores, and then asked the proprietor giving change a few questions; the proprietor was accustomed to people coming to look for the tomb, and without raising his head, pointed in the northeast direction without saying anything. Li Shiyi listened and gave her thanks; waiting for a few people to leave, only then did the older man settle into the rattan chair, eyelids drooping as he watched them. Following the winding mountain road upwards, after another half a time it would take to prepare a cup of tea, there came a fork in the road before them; that road didn’t have the pale flagstones of the stores, but als