CHAPTER 320: CHAPTER 106: SEEKING SOMEONE AMONG THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS

Karuizawa is not like the Capital City, where there are dedicated Sakura Viewing Gardens. Here, the most enticing are the wildly blooming romantic wild cherry blossoms, untrimmed and unrestrained.

In early April, the cherry blossoms in the lowlands are already in full and raging bloom. Hidden are the green buds, layers of white and layers of pink covering people’s heads everywhere. As far as the eye can see, with every breath, there’s a flurry of petal rain falling, and the fragile petals make one tread cautiously.

"It’s been three days, should we place a missing person notice in the newspaper?" the female international student kindly suggested, as they had nearly searched all of Karuizawa, whether the streets or local product shops, without any news of the collector.

"That won’t do. The collector has already declared bankruptcy publicly, by posting that, wouldn’t we be revealing his whereabouts," the Japanese man named Yamai Ichiro seemed to have disappeared into the green leaves amidst the cherry blossoms, with no telling when he might appear.

Considering that the destitute collector was unlikely to appear in bustling areas, the two decided to take an alternative route and headed towards the less-populated mountain forests.

In the forest, the sunshine squeezed out from the dense greenery, passing by the Stone Church, the mountain path became more difficult, making Su Ziceng pant hard, and the female international student was also very tired. However, since the guest didn’t complain, she just gritted her teeth and followed. This guest was a bit eccentric, coming to Karuizawa not for sightseeing but to search for a stranger whose face and age were unknown. However, she was polite and generous, making her a good customer indeed.

"Is there really a Sakura Viewing Garden at the mountain top?" Su Ziceng reached halfway up the mountain, stopped and sweated a little through the thin down jacket he wore. The mountain wind blew, and the sweat chilled immediately, making both of them shiver uncontrollably.

"There is said to be a Nunnery, with a grove of cherry trees planted beside it." The female international student stomped off the mud on her feet. The mountain path was difficult, and as they went higher, the sunlight disappeared, with layers of mist enveloping them. The accumulated leaves over many years turned into humus, weighing heavily on their steps.

Along the way, the intensity of greenness faded, but the pink and white cherry blossoms seemed to vanish. By the time they were halfway up the mountain, almost no trace of any flowers could be seen.

The owner of the family inn they stayed at had mentioned that the cherry blossoms on the mountain differed from those at the base; even if not for looking for someone, coming up just for the cherry blossoms was worth it. Now, it appeared to be an exaggeration typical of businessmen—such a barren mountain, expecting to see any spectacular scene seemed far-fetched.

Both panting, they continued along the mountain stairs. After another hour, a grey figure appeared on the mountain stairs in front. A grey-clothed nun was cleaning the mountain path, and Su Ziceng hurriedly signaled to the female student to greet her, but saw her standing dumbfounded, pointing at the mountainside.

The bright red cherry blossoms weighed down the branches so much that they couldn’t straighten up. From bottom to top, the higher it went, the buds ready to blossom and those that had flowered were tightly packed, shifting from light red to bright red, as if releasing all of life in an instant. Compared to the blooming and color-changing cherry blossoms at the mountain base, those on the mountain were like fairies far removed from the mundane world, dancing lightly on treetops, never to fall.

Su Ziceng’s throat, still choked with the exhaustion from climbing, suddenly released everything, turning into part of the mist in the mountains.

This mountain journey indeed turned into a cherry blossom viewing trip, entering the mountain pass led to a small Nunnery. With red bricks and white tiles, it retained the most authentic flavor.

After hearing the two’s purpose, the nun cleaning the mountain path invited out the head of the Nunnery. This small Nunnery housed only two nuns, one responsible for daily cleaning, the other for managing lights and chanting prayers.

"There indeed was such a guest," said the Japanese nun through the translation of the female exchange student, explaining that every year at this time, there would always be a pilgrim who came here to view the cherry blossoms.

"Where is he now?" Su Ziceng asked hastily, not expecting that this accidental encounter might actually lead to finding him.

"He went down the mountain a few days ago. He is a Christian, devoted to foreign practices, so he didn’t stay here," the nun said, pointing at the cherry trees outside.

Su Ziceng walked under the cherry trees, the ground still sprinkled with a few vibrant red petals. On the dark brown trunk, several nails were hammered in, with common blessing charms hanging from them. Next to the trunk, a folded easel was left behind.

There were no traces of watercolor, only some shavings from sharpened pencils.

"Do you know which way he went? And what did he usually do here?" Su Ziceng asked, gazing at the pencil shavings while a figure flashed through her mind.

"He just enjoyed viewing cherry blossoms and painted. He often muttered under his breath, speaking things I couldn’t understand," Su Ziceng took out the dictionary, showing the nun the portrait it contained.

"Ah, that customer made these drawings," the host carefully examined it, then called over the young nun who did the cleaning. The guest often left random drawings under the tree without taking them with him.

The young nun often swept some away. Having seen many, she recognized them at a glance, but the everyday customers’ drawings were rougher, not as coherent and detailed as what the woman held in her hands.

"Do you know what this drawing means? And these numbers?" Su Ziceng urged the exchange student to ask more quickly. Unfortunately, the guest was very eccentric; apart from silent painting and cherry blossom viewing, he never greeted anyone when arriving or leaving. Every year, the nuns would only know he had gone down the mountain by seeing whether the easel was folded nicely or not.

"If he was down the mountain, why did the hotels and inns we asked not have any registration information," it’s Japanese nature not to use false names.

"But it’s impossible for anyone to live on the mountain," on the way down the mountain, the exchange student pointed to a sign on the mountain road: "Beware of bears."

"We can only keep looking," Su Ziceng sighed. At this moment, her thoughts were not just on Yellow Love; she urgently wanted to find that strange man to clearly understand what his drawings meant.

It’s harder to ascend the mountain than to descend. Quickly making their way down, they shortly arrived at the Stone Church they had passed earlier. Just as they were about to pass, singing from the choir sounded from inside the church, causing Su Ziceng to involuntarily stop.

The melodious singing provided a brief solace for the soul. With the huge Cross standing tall, not staying on the mountain or in an inn, could it be that the Christian was living in the church? Su Ziceng looked at all this, a spark flashing through her mind. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or a monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)