In the folds of time, gently embraced by the secret realm of mountains and seas

When the first breeze brushes past the ancient trees of the secret realm, I know this journey is a long-awaited reunion of the soul with heaven and earth.🌿 That ancient tree nestled deep in the passage of time, its branches like the claws of a mighty dragon, boldly spreading yet carrying the weight of years. Sunlight filters through the dense leaves, casting mottled golden flakes, bathing the rough bark in a hazy glow. Beneath the tree stands a bronze horse, head held high and hooves raised, as if trying to break free from the reins of time and gallop toward the ancient battlefield. Its posture leaning against the ancient tree resembles two lonely souls comforting each other through the long years, witnessing the morning dew and evening glow together, and standing as an eternal silhouette through wind and rain.🪸 Turning along a stone path, the scene before me takes my breath away. A massive dragon head emerges from the rocks, its reddish-brown texture like burning flames or flowing magma, wrapped in greenery, adding a sense of mystery and majesty. The dragon’s body hides behind the stones, leaving only this imposing head overlooking a pool of clear water below. The stone shore by the water is polished smooth by time yet bears marks of human chiseling, as if nature and human effort conspired to carve out a corner in this secret realm worthy of mythic habitation. Not far away, a statue of a warrior clad in armor, holding a weapon with eyes blazing, seems to guard the secrets of this dragon domain and protect all the heroic imaginations in the hearts of visitors.🪸 Passing under a corridor eave, I glance up to see lush greenery everywhere. Different shades of green intertwine and collide here—the light green of new leaves, the deep green of old branches, and the vibrant emerald of bamboo leaves. They sway gently in the breeze, rustling softly like nature whispering in your ear, telling stories of growth and cycles. The sky is cut into irregular shapes by the branches and leaves, with gray-white clouds drifting through. At this moment, the clamor of the world seems shut out, leaving only this sea of green to gently envelop you.🍄 A few steps further, a qilin statue comes into view. Its scales shimmer with an ancient bronze luster under the light, each one intricately carved as if ready to sparkle with the qilin’s leap at any moment. A child sits atop it, smiling, holding an object that looks like a ruyi scepter or some kind of magical instrument. The combination of human and beast is full of auspicious meaning. Vines behind the qilin grow tirelessly, entwining the statue with nature tightly, as if telling the world that myths have never truly gone away—they are hidden in every blade of grass, every sculpture, waiting for the curious to discover.🪻 Looking out over the water, several dead trees stand on the shore, their twisted, sturdy branches bare of leaves but full of life’s tension. Their roots dig deep into the water and cling stubbornly to the rocks, as if engaged in a silent dialogue with water and stone. The water reflects the trees’ shadows and the clouds in the sky, blending reality and illusion so seamlessly that it’s hard to tell which is which. Perhaps the charm of this secret realm lies in its ability to break boundaries, letting decay and vitality, reality and fantasy, compose a moving poem on the same canvas.🍄 Most touching of all is the wooden house hidden among the trees. It seems to grow from the texture of the tree itself, its wooden structure blending perfectly with the branches of the dead trees. Surrounding vines climb wildly, linking the house tightly with the forest. In the distance, a towering stone mountain looms, its carvings faintly visible—perhaps marks left by ancestors, or masterpieces shaped by natural weathering. A wooden bridge winds its way, leading the worldly path to this treehouse, and to the dream of fairy tales and retreat in everyone’s heart. Standing here, listening to the wind whistle through the dead trees and watching clouds drift over the mountain peak, time seems stretched long enough for all fatigue and restlessness to slowly settle and fade away in the embrace of this secret realm.🌿 In this secret realm, every scene is a poem, every pause a soul’s immersion. The dialogue between ancient tree and bronze horse, the guardianship of dragon and warrior, the entanglement of greenery and sky, the auspiciousness of qilin and child, the fusion of dead trees and flowing water, the symbiosis of treehouse and stone mountain... Together they weave a dream beyond reality, allowing everyone who comes here to find their own touch and resonance.🍄‍🟫 Perhaps, all our lives we search for such a place—a place where we can temporarily escape the noise, converse with nature, with history, and most of all, with our own hearts. And this secret realm is exactly that. It quietly waits in the folds of time, ready to embrace every soul longing for poetry and distant lands, to intoxicate them, and to help them find that long-lost peace and tenderness.🌹