From Where Do Distant Travelers Arrive at Cheyue - extended (伴奏)-松鼠爆栗子

Glazed glass market streets with hanging corridors,
(琉璃街市悬空廊)
Silver-scaled shadows dart past cloud-kissed doors.
(银鳞跃影过云窗)
Ancient willows hang threads by firefly-like glow,
(古柳垂绳伴萤光)
Tethering a few lines of cicada songs slow.
(系住蝉声三两行)

A scavenger boy climbs heaven-reaching towers to pluck the Dipper,
(拾荒孩童攀天楼摘北斗)
Poor, he follows strangers to trade for sugar glitter.
(穷随远人换糖霜)
Suddenly a stranger staggers, asking the way,
(忽见陌客问路踉跄)
Ancient coins tumble from his fingers with a sway.
(指间漏落旧币响)

Ten thousand streets cut from cloud-and-water satin,
(千街同裁云水缎)
Ten thousand lanes drift with ancient robe fragrance thin.
(万巷皆飘古衣香)
How does the world beyond stars compare to the ancient realm?
(星外尘世何如汉)
The Milky Way flows westward, recognizing the old helm.
(天河西流认旧家)
Once the land of Nüwa’s leftover stones,
(当年女娲遗石地)
Still, five-colored threads weave and mend the sky-like gown.
(依旧五色织补连天裳)
When wind lifts silk lapels where glowing streams fly,
(风起罗襟飞光处)
Ten thousand ages of clouds hold a single line nigh.
(万古云霄一脉长)


Floating isles’ plowed fields drift with rice awns light,
(浮屿耕田飘稻芒)
Hydroponic green grains touch the sky and earth’s height.
(水培青禾接天壤)
Whose young lad skips school early, I wonder?
(谁家少年逃学早)
Steals a kite to chase the rainbow waves yonder.
(偷驾纸鸢追虹浪)

An iron steed calls a name, transforming into human form,
(铁马唤着姓名化人相)
Who falls silent, filling the lane with smiles warm.
(何人失语笑满巷)
Where stardust falls, there is home, let it be known,
(星尘落处即故乡)
All unfamiliar things soon become commonplace shown.
(万般陌生皆寻常)

Till the night market’s hum fades from the ear,
(待到夜市声绝耳)
Mechanical fireflies sleep in the old harbor clear.
(机械萤虫眠旧港)
Seventeen debts counted, line by line,
(数清欠钱十七行)
When success comes, I’ll repay them all in time.
(有朝得志自当还)
Cool wind knocks the door, parts the cloud curtain mild,
(清风扣门推云帐)
Revealing a glimpse of old mountains and rivers wild.
(露出一角故时山水光)
Turns out the universe’s mortal glow so bright,
(原来宇宙烟火色)
Most resembles the curved smoke of childhood kitchens’ light.
(最似童年炊烟弯)

Again I hear the beloved one sob, tearing the letter apart,
(又听良人恸拆书)
Shedding tears as a new grave rises at the border’s heart.
(垂泪边关添新坟)
The old wine peddler upends his cup with a sigh,
(贩浆老翁倒酒盏)
Mourning that tax coins are forged into arrow dust, oh why.
(暗叹税流铸箭尘)
A hologram play casts shadows at the corridor’s corner,
(廊角投影全息戏)
A little child waves light, burning the city to a mourner.
(稚子挥光火焚城)
Turns out this golden age, woven with fleeting light’s thread,
(原来盛世流光缎)
Is all forged by the Milky Way’s wheel stained with blood red.
(皆渡银河血色轮)