竹林月夜 Moonlit Bamboo Forest

竹林月夜·一 Moonlit Bamboo Forest (I)

来自山庄的少年志在离开一成不变的家乡，却迷失在竹林夕照之间。他将遇到怎样的旧梦？

When a small-town boy looking to leave his sleepy hometown behind gets lost in a bamboo forest at sundown, what long-forgotten dreams will he encounter?

在簌簌作响的翠绿幕墙之间，蛙声与蝉鸣交织之处，山岩缺口下的潮湿地带，是竹林枯败的一角。

Between the rustling emerald curtains of foliage, in a spot where the croaks of frogs and shrills of cicadas meet, lies a corner of the forest that is withered and dry, just near the wetlands beneath the mountain crags.

轻策山的竹林中，多有鬼狐故事流传。

The bamboo forest of Mt. Qingce is the verdant home to many fables.

霪雨过后，竹叶间露滴奏鸣。少年急匆匆走过林间小道，左曲右转，攀上潮湿的山岩，又走下覆着青苔的石板路。任草藤牵绊他的步伐，叶片划过他的皮肤。在轻策山的绿竹之间，在山岩缺口下的角落，少年来到一小片枯败的地界，稍事休息。

After a spell of rain, a cadence of drips and drops could be heard bouncing from the bamboo leaves and hollow bamboo stalks. Along a winding path between the bamboo spires came a young boy. He swiftly made his way along the trail, climbing up damp crags and running down its paved mossy course. The leaves of tangled foliage and vines strewn across his path brushed against his skin. The boy finally decided to stop for a rest at a dried and withering spot among the creaking bamboo of Mt. Qingce, tucked away below the mountain rock.

庄里的长辈说过，霪雨霏霏的季节是狐狸娶亲的好时节。只有小孩子能看到送亲队伍和狐狸新娘的大红轿，听到一路上吹吹打打的鼓乐，在竹林中好不热闹。

The boy clearly remembered the village elder once saying that the rainy season was the proper time for the fox to take its wife. Only the eyes of a child could ever see the fox bride's crimson sedan chair and its procession dancing through the forest accompanied by strains of music and thumping drums.

长辈还说过，小孩子可不能靠近那队伍

The village elder also warned that kids mustn't approach any such procession.

「若是靠得太近，会被狐狸把魂摄去的！」

"If you wander too close, the fox will snatch your soul away!"

村里的长辈这样说过。

That's what the village elder always said.

「把魂摄去了，又会怎么样呢？」

"What happens if your soul gets snatched?" asked one of the kids.

「若是被狐狸把魂摄去了，那可就永远也不得翻身了呀…说不定就让狐狸做了唢呐、做了铙钹，敲啊，打啊，从此不得安生……」

"Once the fox has your soul, your fate will be forever sealed... Perhaps they will use you for music in their processions, smashing you like a cymbal and beating you like a drum, horns blaring all around... There will be no rest for your soul."

这样说着，长辈还不忘作出敲锣打鼓的姿态，吓唬后生。

The elder would never forget to pose as if she were beating a drum while she spoke, scaring the little ones all the more.

等到稍稍长大，少年不再相信无稽的鬼故事。在飘荡的仙灵指引下，他穿越翠色的迷宫，沿途却只听得几声狐鸣，这些深藏竹林的狡黠生灵几乎从不会在草率路过的来客面前现身，更不用提热闹的送亲队伍了。

As the boy grew older, he stopped believing the elder's silly fables. Following the Seelie's wispy trails, he passed through the green labyrinth, accompanied by the faint calls of foxes coming from the thickets along the way. Those crafty creatures hiding deep in the forest will seldom reveal themselves or their boisterous bridal processions to careless treading travelers.

少年颇感失落，踢开脚边的卵石，踏过天成的石阶，继续向竹林深处走去。

The boy was in rather low spirits, kicking pebbles off the road and stomping up the naturally occurring stone steps along the way, wandering further into the heart of the bamboo forest.

长辈曾说过，这片竹林生长的地方，曾是被岩神的伟力征服的故国。可岩神生得什么样子？岩神是否有手有脚，有人的面目？或者，岩神是否与遍布河边的石人石兽一番模样？

The village elder once said that this very forest was once an ancient kingdom conquered by the Geo Archon. But what did the Geo Archon look like? Did it have arms and legs, or eyes like us? Or, was he more like the stone beasts found along the water banks?

定期进城贩卖药材的采药人们每年都会带回请仙仪式的消息，为大家讲述一年一度岩神降世的盛景。但好奇的孩子们总是希望能亲得一见那尊山庄祖祖辈辈崇拜的巨神。

The herb gatherers that periodically set up shop in the city to sell their herbal ingredients would always bring tales of that year's Rite of Descension. Listening to their stories, one could only imagine the amazing scene of the Geo Archon descending to the world. But of course, the curious kids could only hope to someday see the great Archon that had been revered for generations with their very own eyes.

轻策山的永固是岩神的恩赐吗？祖祖辈辈在平静中老去的生活，也是岩神的先定？

Was the immovable Mt. Qingce a gift from the benevolent Geo Archon? And were the decades of peace and the long lives that had been enjoyed by generations of people here preordained by the Archon?

这些疑问的答案只在山庄之外，与山中那个逐渐老去的世界隔着一片竹林。

The answers to these questions lay outside the village, within the aging forest on the mountain.

怀着疑问与期待，志在波涛的少年在竹叶分割的碎影间迷了路。

Bubbling with questions and expectation, the determined boy made his way forward beneath the scattered shadows of bamboo leaves.

竹林月夜·二 Moonlit Bamboo Forest (II)

明月渐升时分，出自山庄的少年与来自竹林的女子偶遇。是仙人的神游，或是妖鬼的陷阱？

As the moon slowly rises in the night sky, small-town boy meets bamboo-forest girl — but is he voyaging into the realm of the adepti, or setting foot in some monstrous trap?

翠绿的竹幕间，迷路的少年遇到了意想不到的同伴。

Lost among the green bamboo canopy, the young lad soon met an unexpected companion.

「怎么，迷路了吗？」

"What's the matter? Are you lost?"

一个轻柔的声音传来，带着一丝嘲讽的轻佻。

The lad heard a gentle voice among the rustling bamboo stalks, speaking with a hint of sarcastic playfulness.

少年转过身去，却看见一个修长的白衣女人。她站在汩汩的清泉边，蓑衣上珠光闪闪，金色的瞳眸与夕阳投下的散碎光彩相融。

The lad turned to see a slender woman garbed in white. She stood beside a clear babbling brook, with beads of water glistening on her woven rush raincoat, her golden eyes melding with the rays cast through the forest by the setting sun.

庄里的长辈说过，清泉中曾有白马跃出，化作仙人助岩王征战。

The village elder had said that there were once white horses that would leap from clear springs to become adepti to assist the campaigns of the Lord of Geo.

但从没有谁说过，那是何处的清泉，一跃而出的优雅仙兽名讳为何。

But no one had ever specified which spring, or the honorable name of the illuminated beast that sprang from it.

更何况，面前的这个女子并不像是什么仙人，除了那双摄人的金色眼睛。

Besides, the woman that stood before him now didn't appear to be an adeptus, apart from the piercing gaze of her golden eyes.

再说，从来没有听说过仙人下雨也要披蓑衣的。

Furthermore, he had never heard of any adepti that needed to wear raincoats.

「原来是个傻子。」

"Well if it isn't another fool."

白衣的女人狡黠地笑起来，金黄的眼眸弯成了两轮新月。

The lady garbed in white began to chuckle, squinting her eyes with a smile.

「你才是傻子！」

"Who are you calling a fool?"

少年生气地回击道。

Replied the young lad in a fluster.

这家伙果然不是什么仙人，哪有说起话来如此难听的仙人！

This was certainly no adeptus. Who had ever heard of an adeptus that would speak in such a deplorable manner?

「我想要出门冒险，出去做水手，亲眼看看帝君的巨岩枪是什么模样！」

"I wish to embark on an adventure. I want to sail across the seas and witness the stone spears of the Lord of Geo for myself!"

「……结果刚出门就在竹林里迷了路。」

"You've only just embarked on your journey and yet you've already fallen astray among the bamboo forest..."

女人波澜不惊地接道，眼睛带着淡淡笑意，格外令人气恼。

The woman's reply was calm and even, a subtle smirk playing over her eyes. Already, the lad found her particularly annoying.

「我不是……」

"I don't need your..."

「少嘴硬了，来，我带你出去。」

"There's no shame in being lost. Come, follow me. I will lead out of here."

女人笑着，伸出手来，她的手纤细洁白，映着竹叶间漏下的点点暮光。

The woman snickered and extended her slender hand toward the boy. Her white skin glimmered under the rays of the sunset that shone between the bamboo leaves.

「……谢谢。」

"Uh, thank you..."

少年牵起她的手，触感冰凉湿润，就像山中的清雨，就像被露珠打湿的竹笋。

The young lad took her outstretched hand. Her skin was cold and damp to the touch, much like fresh rain upon a mountain or dewdrops upon a bamboo shoot.

夕阳渐渐隐入山脊，余晖在青色的天空一闪即逝。

The setting sun gradually disappeared behind the mountain ridge, and the afterglow in the clear sky above gradually grew dim.

庄里的长辈说过，当夕照消逝，山林阴气浊重寒凉，最易孳生妖鬼。

The village elder always used to say that once the warm glow of the setting sun fades, the cold and murky atmosphere of the mountain woods becomes a perfect breeding ground for monsters.

众妖鬼生自早已死亡的过去，是亡者的怨憎与不甘凝成的恶灵。被它们缠绕的竹木会渐渐枯败而死，被它们缠上的人也将憔悴昏沉。

These monsters are born from a past that has long gone, their spirits forming from the resentment and unwillingness of the dead. Any bamboo they ensnare will dry up and die, and any person they ensnare will similarly grow weary and fade from existence.

「有些时候，它们会请求路人做不可能达成的事，然后令他们自陷绝境……

"Sometimes, they will even call upon passers-by to assist them with matters that they could not accomplish on their own, before leading them into a trap from which they would never return..."

「还有些时候，它们会给无辜的过客引路，终点却是妖魔的巢穴。

"Other times, they would act as a guide for innocent travelers, leading them to a den of demons."

「所以啊，小鬼头，出门远行可千万不得掉以轻心！」

"So you see, little ones, you must stay vigilant, and never let your guard down when you journey far from familiar soil."

庄里的长辈如是说着，教训般拍拍他的脑袋。

Thus would say the village elder, patting the kids on their heads as she finished the story.

这么想来，她莫不是山林里的妖鬼？

Come to think of it, could this woman in white be a monster of the mountain woods?

少年心中忐忑，不由得放慢了脚步。

The lad grew nervous in his heart and couldn't help but slow his pace.

「怎么了？」

"What's the matter?"

女人回过头来，背着月光的阴影中，金色的瞳眸闪闪发光。

The woman turned around, her golden eyes shining through the moonlight draping over her silhouette.

竹林月夜·三 Moonlit Bamboo Forest (III)

皓月高悬的竹林之夜，是旧日之梦与现实交汇的终点。少年在古老的故事中沉入了难以言喻的睡梦。

Deep in the bamboo forest, reality has coincided with a story from the distant past. But the crossover ends as the bright moon reaches its peak in the night sky, and small-town boy disappears into an indescribable dream.

轻策山的竹林，夜晚总是来得很快。

Nightfall seemed to always hasten its approach over the bamboo forest of Mt. Qingce.

从竹林下仰望，银色的月亮被锋利的竹影切割得支离破碎，在蛙声渐歇，蝉鸣渐隐的地方，在银色月光照亮的角落，几棵新笋刚刚冒头。

Gazing upward, the silvery moonlight was scattered amidst the shadows of the bamboo forest's leaves. In a spot illuminated under the moonlight, far from the croaking frogs and chirping cicadas, new bamboo culms had just sprouted from the ground.

轻策山的竹林中，多有鬼狐故事流传。

The bamboo forest of Mt. Qingce is the verdant home to many fables.

入夜时分，白衣的女人为少年讲述了许多故事。都是些很古老的故事，但少年未曾听过。

As night fell, the woman garbed in white began to recount many stories to the young lad, ancient tales that the lad had never heard before.

「在久远的过去，夜空曾挂着三轮明月。她们是三姐妹，寿限比岩神更长，生辰比璃月港的基岩更为古老。

"Long ago, three bright moons once hung high in the night sky. These three moons were sisters, their years numbering more than those of the Geo Archon and their year of birth predating the very bedrock upon which Liyue Harbor now rests.

「月亮是诗与歌的女儿们，也是月夜的君王。她们驾着银色的高车巡游，每过一旬，便由一位姐妹接替另一位的王位。如是周而复转，直至大灾祸降临的那一天。

The moons were daughters of prose and song, sovereign over the night sky. They navigated the heavens above in their silver carriage, alternating with one another thrice a month. If the reign was not promptly passed from one sister to the next, a terrible disaster would occur that very day.

「三轮皓月有同一个爱人，是司晨的星辰。只有白昼与夜晚相交的一刻，三姐妹之一才得以穿越渐隐的星斗，临幸晨星的寝宫。之后，随着曙光初现，夜的君王又匆匆驾着高车隐去。

These three luminous moons shared but one love, the stars of daybreak. Only at the fleeting moments when day and night converged could one of the three sisters pass the fading stars and gaze upon the chambers of the morning stars. Moments later, as the new dawn would break over the horizon, the carriage would quickly ferry the night's sister away.

「三位姐妹对唯一的爱人付出同样的深情，就像她们对彼此的深情。那是颠覆天地的大灾降临之前的事情了。

The three sisters shared an equal affection for their one and only love, much like the affection they shared for one another. But this was all before the world was smashed against the tides of great calamity.

「后来，灾祸掀翻了君王的高车，摧毁了星罗的宫阙。夜空的三位姐妹反目成仇，不得不以死作别，却只有一位留下了苍白的尸身，放射着清冷的光芒……」

With time, disasters overturned the sovereign carriage and laid ruin to the halls of the stars. The three sisters of the night turned against one another, leading to their eternal parting by death. Only one of their pale corpses now remains, ever shedding its cold light..."

女人仰头望向竹海间的皓月，修长的脖颈被镀上了银光，金色的眼眸闪亮。

The woman raised her head and gazed at the moon through the sea of bamboo. Her long, slender neck was covered in the silver light and her eyes shone gold.

「狼群是月亮的孩子，它们始终记得大灾祸与随之而至的悲怆。因此每逢月圆，它们便为主母的命运哭诉……也正因此，那些与狼群生活的孩子们，会将晨星——月亮幸存的爱人，称为恸星。」

"The wolf packs are children of the moons, they remember the calamities and the tragedies that ensued. Hence, they lament the fate of their mother with each new moon... It is also why those who live among the wolves call the morning stars, the surviving love of the moon, the grievous stars."

「这样吗……」

"I see..."

少年一时无语。

The young lad remained silent for some time.

那是庄里的长辈从未讲述过的故事，或许即使最年长的长老也从未听闻过这些传说。它们比狐狸娶亲、妖鬼缠人的故事要更宏大，却又不如岩王镇妖之类的传奇生动。更像是一场虚幻荒唐的大梦。

This was a story that the village elders had never told before. Perhaps it was a legend that even the eldest of elders had never heard before. It was a grander tale than those about foxes taking brides and monsters ensnaring people, but a less riveting one than those about the Lord of Geo driving away evil spirits. The woman's tales were almost like a dream of the imagination.

「这是没有发生过的故事，是被人们遗忘已久的传说。」

"These are stories that have never been told, legends that have already been long forgotten by people."

白衣的女人轻轻抚过少年的头发，垂下眼睑，眼中的黄金色彩黯淡了一些。

The woman garbed in white gently stroked the lad's hair and lowered her eyelids. The golden color of her eyes grew a little darker.

「在仙祖定乾坤于一尊之前，曾有众神漫步大地，诸多仙人也曾在此立命。但在那之前呢？

"Before the ancient immortals established the universe, there were gods that wandered across the lands. It was at this time that many of the adepti came into being. But what about before then?"

「只有残破的记忆，记忆的碎片又化作故事，故事变成口口相传的传说……

"Only broken memories and fragments of the past were turned into stories, and stories turned into legends, passed down among the people..."

「这些超越凡世的古老记忆，即使是神灵或仙人听闻，也会为之感伤吧。」

"Even deities and adepti would feel sentimental upon hearing such ancient memories that surpass the mortal world."

女人深叹了口气，却发现身边的少年早已沉入梦乡。

The woman let out a long sigh and turned to find the young lad fast asleep.

「真是……」

"Tsk! Unbelievable..."

无奈地笑笑，女人将蓑衣解下，披在了他的身上。

With a weary smile, she took off her raincoat and placed it over the young lad.

那一夜，少年梦见了三轮明月的夜空，与高车停靠的星阙。

That night, the lad dreamt of three moons in the sky, and a silver carriage stopped before the gates of the stars.

竹林月夜·四 Moonlit Bamboo Forest (IV)

天色渐明，两人的命途分道扬镳，但古老故事的余韵依旧回荡在山林之中，等待着少年再度归来。

As dawn gently approaches, the fate of the two youngsters diverges, and they go their separate ways. But the echoes of that ancient story still resound within the forest, waiting for the day that they may welcome small-town boy back into their midst once more.

当天色渐明，少年被轻轻唤醒。

As day slowly dawned, the young boy was gently awakened.

被鬼狐故事缠绕的竹林，曦光中闪烁着白雾的影子，仿佛飘逸的马尾。

Daybreak's light silhouetted the white mist that shrouded the bamboo forest of which tales of ghostly foxes were told. The vapor seemed like a horsetail, as it billowed this way and that.

女人牵着少年的手，向着日光穿破竹林的方向走去。左曲右转，穿过蚊虫孳生的草丛，登上湿滑的青绿石板，攀下隐藏在竹影中的山岩，她引领着他来到了竹林的出口。

The woman held his hand, and together they walked toward the place where the sun pierced through the woods. They turned left, then right, passing through undergrowth teeming with insects, clambering over slippery moss-covered stones, scaling down a gorge hidden by the shadows of the bamboo trees. All the way she led him, till they arrived at the exit of the bamboo forest.

「我还不知道你是从哪来的，姓甚名谁？」

"I still don't know who you are, or where you're from."

少年问道，他对昨夜的故事意犹未尽。

Said the boy, for the previous night's story had yet to leave his mind.

「……」

"..."

女人转过头来，背对着晨光，瞳眸闪烁着金色光芒。

The woman turned, and with her back to the morning light, her eyes shone gold.

她只是对他笑笑。没有说话。

But she merely smiled, and said nothing.

多年后，不再是少年的少年重又回忆起这一刻，那时他才会明白：她与他的分歧有如山渊。他命中注定要离开故乡前去璃月港，寻求岩神所赐的财富；她的命运则是避世隐居，远离威严慈爱的岩之巨神的目光，守护那些甚至被她自己逐渐遗忘的古老故事。

Many years later, the boy, who was a boy no longer, would remember that moment, and he would understand: the gap between them was as a yawning chasm. His fate was to leave his home and go to Liyue Harbor, to seek the riches the Geo Archon had bestowed upon him. Hers, then, was to hide herself away, away from the majestic, kindly gaze of that great Lord of Geo, and protect those ancient tales that even she was beginning to forget.

于是，少年与白衣金瞳的女人分道扬镳。

So, the boy and the white-clad, golden-eyed woman were parted.

他打点行囊向繁华的港城走去，而女人默默伫立在竹林边缘，摄人的金瞳似乎已预见少年许久以后的命运——当他老去，厌倦海面或人世的一切风波，终有一天会回到这座慢慢步向安乐终末的山庄。

He would pack his things and head for that thriving port city, while she stood silently at the boundaries of the bamboo forest. For in her bewitching eyes, she seemed to have already foreseen the young man's fate — that someday, when he was old, tired of the sea and the waves of life, he would slowly return to this mountain village, and there he would live out the rest of his days.

晨阳的朝霞中，少年听到嘶鸣与远去的蹄声。

In the dawn's glow, the boy heard a whinnying cry that then grew distant.

转头观望，身后空无一物，只发现肩头落了一缕白色鬃毛。

He turned and looked, and there was nothing behind him, but a single strand of hair that had come to rest on his shoulder.