The third volume of Kui Prefecture, Chapter 4 of the Five Elements Volume: The Ancient Wind of Cangyan Emerges from the Famous City

  On the ninth day, Chu Qiuzi and Shifu knew that they were both erudite. Seeing the ancient city of Fengjie in the distance, he asked: "Seventh Uncle, this ancient city looks majestic from afar, with a stern and desolate atmosphere, as if it has an air of dust and loneliness, what a magnificent and ancient grandeur!"

  Mr. Chu Qi nodded and said, "That's right, my nephew is absolutely right! As for this ancient city of Fengjie, it has a long history and has been a civilized ancient city since ancient times. It was the capital of prefectures, states, and counties in various dynasties. In the Xia and Shang Dynasties, it was part of the Jing and Liang States, and during the Zhou Dynasty, it was known as Fish Belly County, belonging to Ba Prefecture!

  Lin Meng'er smiled and continued: "This, I also know. By the time of the Eastern Han's Jianwu era, Gong Sunshu built White Emperor City nearby. In the second year of Zhangwu, Shu Han emperor Liu Bei retreated to White Emperor City after his defeat and changed Fish Belly to Yong'an County. In the 23rd year of Tang's Zhenguan era, due to the ancient tradition of 'entrusting orphans and grandsons' when facing great changes, as exemplified by Zhuge Liang's loyalty to Emperor Liu Bei, the imperial court ordered White Emperor City to be renamed Fengjie City."

  She and Mr. Chu Qi were both eloquent, as if history was written by them. On the ninth day of the lunar month, she couldn't help but laugh and say: "Seventh Uncle, Little Shifu has been diligent in her studies every day, and meeting Seventh Uncle is like having someone to discuss with!"

  However, he also has a broad vision and thinks that this ancient city is still related to Zhuge Wuhou, a legendary figure. He has great admiration for him and adds another layer of respect. As a southerner, the various legendary stories about Zhuge Wuhou, such as "Seven Captures of Meng Huo", are indeed numerous in the south!

  Lin Meng'er smiled and said to Chu Jiu, "On the top of Dian Cang Mountain, there are places like Trial Sword Hall and Knowledge Tower. Among all the masters, except for Father, Yun Master often comes and goes from Knowledge Tower. You all like to practice swords, so many ancient books have not been seen!"

  Chu Jiu smiled awkwardly and said, "How can I compare with Master, Yun Shixiong, and Xiao Shimei?"

  Three people walked and looked around, feeling more and more the ancient charm. Mr. Chu Qi was walking and chatting with Lin Xiang'er, on the ninth day of the first month they went to listen, their mouths were full of sages of the Three Kingdoms, poets and writers of past dynasties.

  For a moment, the three of them entered the city, and the streets were bustling with people coming and going. Although it was not as prosperous as the southern part of Tianmen, it was still much better than the small town of Fengyi. The three dismounted their horses and walked slowly while chatting.

  On the ninth day of the first month, I was looking around from east to west when I suddenly heard:

  The wind is swift and the sky is high, the apes wail mournfully. The river is clear and the sand is white, the birds fly back. Endless trees fall rustling down, the long river flows on and on.

  Ten thousand miles of sorrow often make guests, a hundred years of illness alone ascend the platform. Hardships and bitter resentment fill my temples with frost, spilled and newly stopped turbid wine cups... This was chanted by Master Chu Qi!

  Mr. Chuqi saw that the city of Fengjie was already filled with wormwood and euonymus, thinking that in two days it would be the Double Ninth Festival, and poetry came from his heart, he recited it naturally, at this time his voice was clear and melodious, no longer hoarse like in the small tea shop, but now on the ninth day he is still thinking about the meaning of Mr. Chuqi's poem, unintentionally realizing.

  He grew up in the back mountain since childhood. Although he was taught to read and write by Liu Chenfei and his wife during his spare time from martial arts training, he was not forced to enter the library due to his remote location and being the youngest disciple. Fifth Master Li Lin had the lowest expectations of him. Fortunately, he learned to read and write, so although he wasn't well-read, at least he wasn't illiterate.

  And this poem "Climbing High" by Du Fu, he was also quite familiar with Lin Meng'er, and Master Gu Baiyun seemed to have recited it before, so he thought of the old days on Mount Cangyan again, and had no interest in anything else.

  "Seventh Uncle, wonderful! Father often says that this poem, through the scenery of the autumn river seen from a high place, expresses the poet's complex emotions of many years of drifting, old age and loneliness, generous and stirring, moving people's hearts. Can be praised as the first of seven-character regulated verse!" Lin Meng'er was different, she was naturally clever, and when Fifth Master Li Lin taught her to recognize characters and recite books, she quickly made progress, surpassing even the first among her fellow students, far above Chu Jiu and the others, now listening to Mr. Chu's recitation, she said.

  She also remembered the Double Ninth Festival in previous years, how lively it was on Mount Cangyan. I'm afraid today, the mountain should be quite deserted! She couldn't help but recite:

  "Living alone in a foreign land as a stranger, every time a holiday comes around, I miss my family even more."

  Far away, I know sisters climb to a high place, everywhere inserted Osmanthus fragrans, but one person is missing. "On the ninth day of the first month, I heard that it was already joyful! Laughing, I said: 'In this world, only this kind of change can be chanted out, and there is only one person, my junior sister!'"

  He knew that Lin Meng'er was thinking of Wan Rou and the two sisters, and on her own initiative changed the "brothers" in the poem to "sisters". In fact, every year on Chongyang Festival, Lin Meng'er would often go to Diancang Mountain with Chu Jiu. Now, however, Chu Jiu's younger brother was by her side, so she didn't think much of it and instead thought of Wan Rou and the two sisters.

  Mr. Chu Qi nodded slightly, seeing that Lin Ming'er and Chu Jiu were both literary and martial arts, he liked them even more. When he heard Lin Ming'er say that his father "Slanting Sun God Sword" Lin Ruo Chi also highly praised the poem "Climbing High", he was overjoyed and said: "This poem is actually written by the Poet Saint Du Fu, the poem of Climbing High on Double Ninth Festival, he is undoubtedly the best!"

  He finished speaking, let out a sigh, and stopped talking, as if recalling this saint of over 600 years ago.

  On the ninth day, however, he smiled and asked Lin Ming'er: "Junior sister, is the Poetic Sage also related to the ancient city of Fengjie?"

  "What's the relationship? In the first year of Dali in the Tang Dynasty, the Poet Saint drifted to Qiu State Prefecture, which is now Fengjie. That year, the Poet Saint was already 55 years old. The uncertainty of life and the hardships of his career, coupled with constant worries about the country and its people, made the Poet Saint's body and mind prematurely aged, plagued by all kinds of illnesses."

  On the ninth day, he heard something astonishing and sighed, "If a sage is so humiliated, what will happen next?"

  Lin Meng'er smiled and said, "Heaven is fair after all. Fortunately, that autumn, the newly appointed Governor of Kui Prefecture, Bai Maolin, allocated forty mu of citrus groves on the west bank of the Lian River to the Poet Sage."

  "What's with the tangerines? Why are they tangerines?"

  Mr. Chu Qi laughed and said, "Because tangerines were a specialty of Qiong Prefecture at that time, even the later 'Tang Book' says: Qiong Prefecture annually presents tangerines as tribute. I don't know if you still remember, my virtuous nephew's daughter? The Poet Sage also wrote in his poem "Blocked by Rain and Unable to Return to Xiliu Tangerine Grove": 'When the sweet oranges are ripe, three inches like gold. The feudal lords used to present them as tribute, thousands of groves were offered.' It is precisely saying that Qiong Prefecture tangerines have a reputation outside, even officials going to the capital to handle affairs are happy to use them as gifts."

  Lin Meng'er smiled and said, "Seventh Uncle is testing me. Although I'm not clever, I still remember that the Poet Sage lived in Kui Prefecture for nearly two years, during which he wrote over 400 poems. Among them are 'Recalling the Years Like Flowing Water' (_昔游_), 'Mighty Travels' (_壮游_), and 'Longing for the Past' (_遗怀_), as well as 'Eight Laments' (_八哀诗_) and 'Autumn Inspirations, Eight Poems' (_秋兴八首_). There are also famous poems like 'Chanting Ancient Ruins, Five Poems' (_咏怀古迹五首_) and 'Watching Madam Gongsun's Disciple Dance with Swords' (_观公孙大娘弟子舞剑器_). Among them is the poem 'Climbing High' (_登高_), which contains the famous lines: 'Endless leaves fall, rustling to the ground, / The Yangtze River flows on, never-ending.' And there's also 'Night in the Pavilion' (_阁夜_), with its lines: 'The drumbeats at the fifth watch are mournful and majestic, / The starry river shadows tremble and shake.' It can be said that the Poet Sage spent his final years in Fengjie."

  Just now, Chu Qiuzi recited the poem "Endless fallen leaves rustle down, not all the Yangtze River flows on" and it turned out that this poem was written by the Poet Sage in Kui Prefecture. He felt even more ashamed when he thought of this, saying: "Seventh Uncle and Little Shifu are really knowledgeable, I am truly ashamed! However, Little Shifu, where did the Poet Sage go afterwards?"

  Lin Xiang'er sighed and said: "It wasn't until the first month of the third year of Dali that the Poet Sage gave the 40 mu of citrus grove to Feng Jie Nan Ying, and he took his family and left Qizhou, going downstream along the river, just like what he wrote six years ago: 'White day release song must indulge in wine, youth as companion is good to return home. From Ba Xiang through Wu Xiang, then down to Xiangyang towards Luoyang.' He returned directly to the capital, but two years later, in the fourth month of the fifth year of Dali, he ended his legendary life on a small boat on the river."

  Lin Meng'er finished speaking, also feeling a bit melancholic, and sighed softly. Chu Jiu whispered: "White day release song must be drunk, youth companion good return to hometown. From then on Ba Xia wore Wu Xia, down Xiangyang towards Luoyang." "This is really a great poem! I didn't know that this Fengjie had such cultural depth!"

  Mr. Chu Qi heard Lin Ming's words and also sighed inexplicably. Now, hearing the beginning of the ninth day's sighs, he continued to say: "For thousands of years, those who have left their names in Fengjie are not only the Poet Saint, but also many famous poets in history, such as Chen Zi'ang, Wang Wei, Li Bai, Meng Jiao, Liu Yuxi, and Bai Juyi from the Tang Dynasty, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Wang Shipeng, and Lu You from the Song Dynasty. They all came here one after another, leaving behind famous poems that have been passed down through the ages, singing praises of the mountains and rivers here, so Fengjie has always had the reputation of being a "Poetry City".

  Although Wen was only slightly familiar with the text, the names of famous people from the Tang and Song dynasties, such as Chen Zi'ang, Su Shi, and Lu You, were like thunder in his ears. He couldn't help but sigh again: "It's truly an ancient city that has stood for a thousand years, with the ancient wind blowing right in my face!"

  Mr. Chu Qi and Mr. Chu Jiu are both intentionally studying Feng Shui, previously in the city they saw that the location of Fengjie City is very unique.

  "Seventh Uncle, look! This Fengjie is located in eastern Sichuan, at the starting point of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. It borders Wushan to the east and E'zhou to the south, with the Yangtze River running through its central part. It's indeed a rare and convenient water outlet for southern Shaanxi, eastern Sichuan, western Hubei, and northern Hunan!"

  "Exactly, my worthy nephew has discerned it correctly! It's indeed the case. This place is also a crucial location for various Jianghu forces to contend with each other, and its military position is of great importance. However, judging from the momentum of Qinglong and Baitu, the direction of the Tianji Dragon Head, the dragon head energy of Fengjie is still in the White Emperor City ahead!"

  As night began to fall, the three of them entered the largest "Lijnang Inn" in the city and asked the owner to take care of their horses and donkeys before entering the inn.

  The lobby was noisy, Mr. Chu Qi's eyebrows slightly furrowed, seeing that there were quite a few people from the martial arts world in this inn. However, he had been traveling the world for decades, hiding his name and identity, so others mostly didn't recognize him. Even if there were friends who recognized him, they only showed respect to himself, therefore he never feared anyone in the martial arts world. Thinking of this, he became indifferent and led Chunjiu and Lin Bi'er inside by themselves.

  Lin Meng'er also noticed and asked: "Senior brother, you see they are all people from the jianghu, but I don't know what their background is or what they're doing gathering here?"

  "Low voice said: 'I don't know either, but Seventh Uncle has rich experience in the Jianghu, let's listen to what Seventh Uncle says!'"

  Lin Meng'er nodded, and the three of them didn't say a word. They casually had dinner in the main hall, then returned to their guest room.

  On the ninth day, Chujiu and Lin Ming'er were discussing where to go for a stroll the next day when Mr. Chu Qi suddenly pushed open the door from outside. He lived just next door and was heard laughing, repeatedly saying: "Good nephew, good niece, what good luck! What good luck! It's going to be lively now..."

  As soon as he finished speaking, his face suddenly changed slightly, and he looked up at the roof. On the ninth day of the first month, he concentrated his mind and also heard someone moving on the rooftop.

  "What a commotion! Great, I love watching commotions the most! Seventh Uncle must take us to see it!" Lin Meng'er was sitting inside drinking tea on the tea table, and when she heard Mr. Chu Qi say this, she became very excited. With her internal strength cultivation, she couldn't hear that there was someone on the roof.

  Mr. Chu Qi smiled and nodded, but whispered to her, "There's someone on the roof!"

  The three of them blew out the lights in the house, and Chu Qi and Chu Jiu heard someone whispering on the roof: "... Tonight, all the masters have orders to gather at the temple in the east of the city. It seems that a senior member of the Wudang Sect has arrived to discuss tomorrow's plan to exterminate the demons!"

  Those few people whispered a few more words, and then on the ninth day, they heard from outside in the air "rumbling... rumbling" sounds that were continuous but not very loud, yet clear and distinct. The three of them hurried to the window and through the transparent paper on the window, Chūjiǔ and Lín Fēng saw a burst of fireworks in mid-air, and they knew this was the signal from the people on the roof calling out to their fellow disciples.

  As expected, in a short while, there was a slight commotion and disturbance around the guest rooms. It seemed that there were many people from the rooftop faction in this inn who wanted to gather at the East City Temple.

  It was only for a moment, and the people on the roof also left, and the inn became quiet again. Listening to the sound, those people seemed to have gone east.

  "Shall we go take a look, my dear nephew and niece? Fortunately, I still remember where the temple is located in the east of the city." Mr. Chu Qi smiled and asked.

  On the ninth day, smiling and asking: "Is this what Seventh Uncle said was lively?" Mr. Chu Qi replied: "Not so, I previously mentioned that the liveliness is that I found disciples of various major sects in this small city, thinking of going to investigate, but the matter spoken by the person on the roof just now is obviously more interesting, I changed my attention and want to go to the Dongting Temple in the east of the city, are you going or not?"

  Chu Jiu and Lin Ming'er traveled together, the two of them secretly descending the mountain. They didn't originally plan to meet with people from various sects, but after hearing the mysterious words spoken by the person on the rooftop earlier tonight, they were deeply moved.

  Lin Meng'er was even more so, with a girlish heart, shaking her arm and saying: "Great, great! Let's go see the excitement! Master brother, let's all go!" Chu Jiu smiled wryly, knowing that Lin Meng'er had always been someone who loved to watch the commotion on Mount Diancang, and was not afraid of anything. He didn't object, especially since he knew that even if he did, it would be ineffective anyway.

  Mr. Chu Qi saw that Lin Ming'er's white clothes were very eye-catching in the dark night, so he took out a set of night-traveling clothes from his backpack and gave them to Lin Ming'er. It turned out that he had been prepared early on, but he and Chu Jiu didn't need to change.

  For a moment, the three of them got ready, and on the ninth day, Lin Tie'er wore a sword, while Mr. Chu Qi was empty-handed. They all climbed over the wall of the inn together and rushed to the temple in the east of the city.