owlsbooks Chapter 324 1 Walking along the cliff
Chapter 324 1 Walking along the cliff
A winding stream flows gently, with red cliffs and green walls on both sides of the clear water. On the second day after the great escape from Sanliting, the sky was clear and the breeze was gentle. Someone was rowing a bamboo raft, slowly drifting down the stream.
The raft was being steered by a dark-skinned, thin man wearing a straw hat and holding a bamboo pole. He was shirtless, with embroidered tattoos covering his shoulders and back, and he was controlling the direction with unwavering composure.
From behind, the man's shoulders and back are extremely thin, yet they always maintain a tense and controlled posture, like a bow that is always fully drawn. When he exerts force, the tendons stretch from the back of his neck all the way to his wrists, like the fibers protruding from an old bamboo shoot, each one distinct.
At each bend, he would flick his wrist, and the long bamboo pole would glide across the water, the tip skimming the surface for half a meter before finding a hard rock at the bottom and firmly embedding it. Then, he would press down on his shoulder, his entire thin body bending down along the pole, almost touching the water's surface. A strange force would suddenly arise from his waist and abdomen, all of which would be channeled into the pole. With his seemingly frail body, he would actually make the several-meter-long bamboo pole bend slightly.
When the raft encountered difficult waves and the river wind blew back, the waves would slam hard against the bow. However, even if the raft tilted suddenly, the man did not move his feet even an inch. He simply used his legs to wedge the bamboo strips, tilted his body slightly with the wave, and quickly poked the bamboo pole against the side rock wall to deflect the brute force of the wave. In an instant, the raft was floating steadily on the water again.
Jiang Wen and his disciples were sitting comfortably on the bamboo raft, taking off their shoes to feel the cool water licking their feet, savoring the comfort of wandering among the green trees and mountains, and appreciating Wuyi Mountain from an unprecedented perspective.
"Great! Coming to Wuyishan and not experiencing the Nine-Bend Rafting is like entering a treasure mountain and leaving empty-handed. I've been wanting to invest in this tourism project for a long time..."
As if on a spring outing, Jiang Wen sat in the front row and exclaimed, “Disciples, the poem says, ‘The stream winds through three streams, and the mountains encircle sixty-six peaks.’ This is because Wuyi Mountain has thirty-six peaks and ninety-nine cliffs. The peaks and cliffs are intertwined, and the streams are crisscrossed. The Nine-Bend Stream runs through it. Only the scenery here is different from other places.”
The gaunt man rowing the boat at the front also said in a heavily accented tone, "Yes, benefactor, the scenery here is so beautiful, it's a blessing to live here."
The man punting the boat was not a local boatman.
Because of the frequent wars in recent years, the number of people going out to travel and enjoy the scenery during peaceful times has decreased significantly. The original boatmen have all gone to help caravans transport goods, and only occasionally do they work as boatmen for money.
The boatman with a full back tattoo is a member of the Dan people who came to Wuyishan with Jiang Wen. They are very loyal and affectionate. As soon as they heard that Jiang Wen wanted to take a boat trip on the Nine Bend Stream today, they immediately put aside their spring farming work, worked through the night to make a bamboo raft, and sent the most skilled member of their tribe to steer it.
Jiang Wen expressed his gratitude. He saw that the Tanka people's farming skills were really amateurish and they would most likely go hungry in the first year. Therefore, he planned to develop the tourism resources here, which would not only provide the Tanka people with an additional livelihood during the off-season, but also be considered as an industry set up by the Wuyi Sect at the foot of the mountain.
"Will you encounter any inconveniences if you travel by boat here in the future?"
Jiang asked, but the Tanka people smiled brightly upon hearing this.
“My benefactor, what’s so difficult about this? Compared to the turbulent seas where we live and die, ten days and ten nights here is nothing. Besides, even if my skills are lacking and the boat capsizes here, I can just jump into the water and let the people on the raft fend for themselves.”
After saying that, he leaned the long pole against the bamboo raft and actually jumped into the stream. After a while, he caught a big fish and came ashore.
"My benefactors! I'll cook the fish as soon as we get ashore, and you can have a taste!"
Jiang Wen sighed inwardly. It seemed that the Tanka people's business skills were up to par, but their professional ethics training still needed to be strengthened. Otherwise, if people from the martial arts world came to visit and saw the boatman suddenly go into the water, they might think they had accidentally entered Liangshan Marsh.
Among the disciples, Fu Ningdie and Xiao Shitou had the most vivid expressions. Their eyes lit up as they looked at the red-eyed stream fish that was still thrashing about after being brought ashore. This fish had a unique shape, firm and tender flesh, and a delicious taste. It was a delicacy that the Tanka people had discovered in Wuyi Mountain.
Looking at the other apprentice, Lin Pingzhi was sitting upright in his seat, staring intently at the magnificent scenery on both sides of the cliff, muttering to himself as he tried to decipher the inscriptions on the cliff face.
These cliff carvings embedded on both sides of the Nine-Bend Stream, some with imposing large characters, others with elegant and refined small inscriptions, have stood out brightly against the backdrop of green waters and red mountains after a thousand years of wind and rain, stretching for more than ten miles along the winding Nine-Bend Stream.
As the raft travels to the fifth bend, the cliff carvings in the Yunwo area become increasingly dense. From where the raft is, one can see the massive, monolithic rock formation of Xianzhang Peak looming before them. The four large characters "壁立万仞" (meaning "standing firm as a cliff") on the rock face are as if carved by a sword and axe, exuding an awe-inspiring and unassailable aura of righteousness.
Looking at the force with which the strokes penetrated the stone, Lin Pingzhi couldn't help but exclaim, "Master, the person who wrote these characters must have the strength to write with the power of a thousand pounds horizontally and the sharpness of a sword vertically. Without pure righteousness, one could never write such characters."
"You have a good eye. This was written by Chen Sheng at the end of the Ming Dynasty. This man successively served as Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Vice Minister, Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Governor of Huguang."
Jiang Wen nodded. "When he was an official in the court, he refused to follow the crowd and bribe his way into office. He was falsely accused of being a member of a faction, so he resolutely resigned and went into seclusion in Wuyi Mountain. He built a house in this cloud-shrouded place and wrote these four characters. Do you know the origin of these words?"
The out-of-school children present remained silent, except for Fu Ningdie, who answered fluently.
“I know that the phrase comes from Zhang Zai’s ‘Inscription on Jian Ge’ in the Western Jin Dynasty: ‘Only the gate of Shu is built as a stronghold and a stronghold. On this day, Jian Ge’s walls stand a thousand feet high.’”
"That's good. Now that you're here, think about what this means."
Jiang Wen's gaze fell on the four large characters. In the first few years after he came to Wuyishan, he often traveled around this area. Among the many words about seclusion and retreat on both sides of the river, this one had a lofty and majestic feel to it.
Seeing that his disciples were all deep in thought, Jiang Wen nodded in satisfaction and said to Lin Pingzhi, who was pretending to be an expert without saying a word.
"Pingzhi, then tell me, what does your teacher want to say to you?"
Lin Pingzhi pondered for a long time before answering.
"Is Master trying to say that only by being free from worldly desires and possessing a pure and upright character can one stand like the Wuyi Mountains, towering and unyielding, impenetrable to any attack, enduring wind and rain for a thousand years?"
After listening for a moment, Jiang Wen nodded and said.
"There's some truth to that. Anything else?"
Encouraged, Lin Pingzhi continued.
"But people often cannot be free from distractions. Just like the martial arts practitioners in Sanliting, they all seek unparalleled martial arts skills, supreme power, and a full treasury of gold and silver. But the more greedy they are, the more crooked their hearts become, and the weaker their skills become!"
Jiang Wen paused for a moment before speaking.
"So according to you, the more someone pursues martial arts, the more greedy they become; the more greedy they are, the weaker their martial arts become; the weaker their martial arts become, the lower their pursuit becomes; the lower their pursuit becomes, the higher their martial arts become... So the higher one's martial arts become, the lower one's martial arts become?"
Lin Pingzhi was confused by Jiang Wen's analysis and turned to himself to sort out his thoughts.
Jiang Wen sighed and turned to ask Hong Wending, who was deep in thought.
"Wending, you should have some feelings about this."
Hong Wending only snapped out of his daze when he was called out, and honestly told Jiang Wen:
“Master, I have some feelings about rowing the boat.”
"Tell me about it."
"The pole must be driven firmly into the bottom, corresponding to the opening move of the staff technique, 'straight break,' requiring a downward thrust of the tip; when encountering a reef, lightly tap it with the tip, using its force to help the boat avoid it, corresponding to the staff technique, 'point strike,' requiring the use of the opponent's force; when encountering a rapid current, use the pole to propel the boat downstream, corresponding to the staff technique, 'block and deflect,' requiring the use of the opponent's force to deflect the opponent's force..."
Hong Wending said slowly.
He had fought with Nalan Yuanshu before and had a vivid memory of the ruthless and fierce Four Gates Staff Technique. If he hadn't used his family's deadly throat-locking spear technique and his master's Chaishan Eighteen Styles of Knife Technique to deal with it, attacking with each move and dissecting the enemy like a butcher, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape and would have been exhausted and defeated.
But after witnessing the Tanka people's ship-sinking techniques today, he suddenly realized that there was a way to counter the Four Gates Staff Technique.
The Four Gates Staff Technique emerges from the Straight Army Formation, each move advancing without retreating. Once the staff is thrown out, there is no turning back, with all-out attacks from every angle, making it difficult for ordinary people to withstand. However, this staff technique has only achieved "fullness" but has not understood "half"; it has only mastered "advancing" but has not understood "retention".
The way the Tanka people pole their boats involves holding onto one end tightly with one hand, never extending the pole completely. The more the pole is extended, the less stable their footing becomes, making it impossible to attack or defend. A slight mishap on the water could lead to utter disaster. They always need to keep some 'reserve' in their hands.
If this boat-pole technique is incorporated into actual staff combat, then every move must be executed flawlessly, with half a move left unsaid, allowing for both offense and defense, and measured advance and retreat. If the length of this bamboo pole is also added, it seems that the solution to the Four Gates Staff Technique will become clearer...
"Alright, although you went off-topic, I'll consider you passed because of your high level of comprehension."
Jiang Wen then offered some guidance.
"I was afraid you'd go astray, so I'll tell you directly. This staff technique has six moves: killing staff, cutting staff, swinging staff, flicking staff, nailing staff, and lifting staff, plus a slight movement somewhere between flicking and lifting. When you go back to Xiamei Town, you can learn some boxing from Miss Yan; perhaps that will be even more effective. Next—"
Jiang Wen looked around and his eyes landed on Fu Ningdie, who was pretending to be dead and acting cute.
"Ningdie, you speak."
Fu Ningdie, like a student called on to answer a question, seeing that she couldn't escape, let out a breath through her nose.
“Speak then. I think this Lord Chen is too pedantic. Since he is an upright and incorruptible official, he should not bow down to evil people. He left to travel and enjoy the scenery, while the court was occupied by his political enemies. On the contrary, the bad guys are celebrating their success!”
Fu Ningdie grew angrier as she spoke, and continued, "In my opinion, one should not be afraid to be a bad person. The more evil a person is, the more they can control evil spirits. On the contrary, good people always give way, which allows evil people in this world to do whatever they want."
Jiang Wen nodded after listening.
“What you say makes sense, but you don’t need to worry about these things. Whether the Wuyi Sect is righteous or evil is something we decide ourselves, not something that people say or hearsay. Look at Master Gui in town, even if people slander him every day, in this martial arts world, only those who can win have the right to argue.”
Jiang Wen knew that his disciples were resentful and even harboring resentment because of their setbacks at the martial arts tournament, but he was no longer worried about them.
Upon arriving in Xiamei Town, Gui Xinshu immediately set his sights on Ding Dian, who was patrolling the area. However, Ding Dian was an eccentric individual, and martial arts were more like a curse to him. Therefore, he never sparred with anyone and instead sought refuge far away. Gui Xinshu, burning with rage and finding no outlet for his anger, roamed the town. Whenever he saw a member of the martial arts world committing an immoral act, he would give them a sound beating, and the gang members being beaten would have to swallow their pride and say, "Good riddance!"
"Little Stone, what are you thinking about?"
Jiang Wen asked. Little Stone and Fu Ningdie are currently the sect's most clueless and grumpy characters. They often get together to play chess and joke around, but these past two days Little Stone has lost his earlier enthusiasm and seems a bit depressed, probably the difference between Psyduck and Delinquent Frog.
Little Stone stared intently at the red-eyed stream fish: "I want to eat it."
"...Alright. You've finally spoken your mind, showing your true colors."
Jiang Wen had always felt deeply regretful about his disciples' academic studies. He was constantly on the go and didn't have time to properly teach them math, physics, and chemistry. He worried that over time they would become aimless wanderers.
His worries deepened after meeting so many low-level martial arts figures. If this trend started with his disciples and spread, after several generations, with the illiterate teaching the illiterate, and the illiterate passing on their knowledge, Wuyi Mountain would be nothing but a place where uneducated people from all walks of life would fight amongst themselves.
Speaking of savages, Hu Fei, sitting in the last row with disheveled hair and a smeared face, was the most fitting in appearance, but what he said was quite surprising.
"After the Gongsun clan was destroyed, the Liu clan held the jade disc. The path of a fallen cart is never repeated. What good is it if a family's power surpasses that of Song and Hua? If they cannot learn from the lessons, their downfall will be nothing more than a moment's inconvenience."
Hu Fei's first sixteen characters were not only the original text of Zhang Zai's "Inscription on Jian Ge" from the Jin Dynasty, but also the central idea of the entire piece: to warn everyone to be mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace, to plan ahead, and not to be complacent and reckless because of the natural defenses.
Even if such a poorly written question were used to take the imperial examination, it would still be enough to get a passing grade. Jiang Wen really didn't know what was wrong with Nan Lan of the Ming and Qing dynasties, that she wanted to cultivate such a promising student into a ruthless gangster.
"Hu Fei is right. Whether it's holding a martial arts conference or bringing fame to the Wuyi Sect, it's all about the wings I've provided for you. Be prepared for danger in times of peace and plan ahead. If something really happens and I can't take care of you, what will you do? Only heaven knows."
Jiang Wen sighed. In front of outsiders, he walked with composure, his face always displaying the calm and collected demeanor of a "gentleman swordsman." But in front of his disciples, he had been frowning with worry these past few days.
His disciples thought he was troubled because the martial arts tournament was not going well, but in fact he was worried about his disciples' naivety and carefree nature.
The several murders at the foot of the mountain have proven one thing: this martial world is inherently turbulent and unpredictable. Once strange things happen, Jiang Wen can only take care of the small area around him. However, he cannot keep his disciples by his side forever.
Faced with this bottomless world of martial arts, the disciples have not grown enough. Even the most mature Hong Wending has a fatal flaw like the Dragon Form Fist, not to mention the others such as the Tiger that guards the mountain, the Eagle that has foresight, the loyal dog, and the bucket that holds the rice.
Jiang Wen had just looked at the four characters "a sheer cliff" and suddenly realized something: before his disciples had fully grown up, he had to transform into a high mountain, a towering peak even higher than Mount Wuyi, a sheer cliff, to suppress this turbulent and unpredictable place. This was the responsibility he had to bear since he had become the master...
At this moment, the bamboo raft reached a bend in the river where the current was slightly calmer. Jiang Wen subconsciously looked up and realized that they had reached the second bend, which was his second purpose for coming today.
His gaze fell upon the graceful Jade Maiden Peak, which was very close to the place where Liu Changshun had encountered the "ghost," and not far away was the riverbank where he often stared blankly.
At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the golden-red afterglow swept across the relatively flat rock face on the east side of Jade Maiden Peak at an extremely tricky angle. This rock face was often half-hidden by moisture and vines.
Jiang Wen leaped into the air, his toes barely touching the bow of the raft, and he soared towards the shore like a large bird. With a few bounds, he climbed onto a giant rock by the stream. As the light pierced the mist, certain marks on the rock face suddenly became clearly visible, seemingly a faded stone carving. He gazed intently at the four characters inscribed on the rock face—
"Lao Dan will never die!"
The handwriting is simple and vigorous, carrying a transcendent Taoist charm, echoing the hasty but consistent poem on the rattan door wrapper, as if a testament that transcends time and space.
Jiang Wen's gaze quickly moved downwards, and below the four large characters, he found a smaller inscription:
"Changshu Sixuan Jushi"
Jiang Wen remained silent, lost in thought—
Do you think this Hermit Sixuan has a pointed head? (End of Chapter)