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墨書 Inktalez
At that moment, Third Granduncle Master suddenly kicked me. "What are you daydreaming about? If you can remember, then remember; if you can't, then you can't. Daydreaming is useless! How did that brat Sun Zi Zhou end up taking you, a worthless piece of trash?!"
Third Granduncle Master had never liked my master, and it wasn't just a recent development. Eight years ago, they had a major falling out, and since then, they were like fire and water. As my master's eldest disciple, I could do nothing right in Third Granduncle Master's eyes; doing something was wrong, and doing nothing was even worse. Whenever I made a mistake, Third Granduncle Master would inevitably drag my master into it and berate him as well.
The first time I heard this in the underground palace, I was furious. You can insult me all you want, but don't touch my master! However, protesting against Third Granduncle Master only resulted in me getting scolded even more harshly.
So from then on, whenever I heard similar remarks, I felt uncomfortable inside but managed to control my expression. I figured I might as well take it as motivation to improve myself; if I worked hard to avoid mistakes, what else could this old fox say?
However, reality proved that I was mistaken. Someone like Third Granduncle Master would seize any opportunity to criticize, especially when it came to disparaging my master.
These thoughts flashed through my mind quickly. I didn't want to tarnish my master's reputation any further, so I nodded immediately. "Oh, now that you mention Tao Yuanming, I remember! It seems like we studied a classical text about him back in middle school."
Third Granduncle Master shot me a sideways glance, his anger still simmering. "You remember? Then recite a couple of lines."
I froze. Seriously? He was actually testing me? Who the hell remembers that old Chen Guzi text?!
I forced myself to think back and vaguely recalled a few lines. Stammering, I recited, "After... after several days of rest... the people here say... say..." Damn it, what was the original text again? Forget it! "Don't talk to others about clouds!"
"Worthless!" Third Granduncle Master raised his hand and smacked the back of my head. "Recite it from the beginning! Who told you to recite it backward?"
I gritted my teeth and held back my frustration. It wasn't about the food; it was about pride! After thinking for a moment, I finally got it: "In the Jin... during the Taiyuan era!"
"What's with the staring? Keep going!" Third Granduncle Master raised his hand, ready to hit me again. I quickly covered my head and dodged to the side, loudly reciting, "The Wuling people make a living by fishing. Upon seeing a mountain, there is an entrance; entering through the entrance, there are... there are... oh, there are fertile fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees and bamboo! The sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard! The elderly and children live happily together; upon seeing fishermen, they are greatly surprised and ask where they come from..."
As I continued reciting, I became more confident, completely unaware that I had skipped and mixed up so many lines. This time, Third Granduncle Master did not interrupt me, which inadvertently boosted my confidence even more. "...They say their ancestors fled from the chaos of the Qin dynasty, bringing their families and townspeople to this desolate place... They did not know of the Han dynasty, nor did they care about Wei or Jin; this person recounts everything he has heard..."
"Stop, stop!" Third Granduncle Master waved his hand to interrupt my recitation with a cold snort. "Back then, the Fourth Master insisted on sending you to school; I told him it was useless! Hmph... Now the facts are right in front of us. You're just like your master—both useless!"
I finally understood that Third Granduncle Master made me recite classical texts just to embarrass me and my master, proving his theory that "schooling is useless."
I immediately retorted, "I memorized all this back in middle school. If you show it to me again, I can definitely recite it!"
Third Granduncle Master seemed to have anticipated my response. He sneered, "A waste is a waste! Haven't I already shown it to you once?"
I gasped internally and followed Third Granduncle Master's gaze to the landscape painting in my hands. My eyes scanned it like a scanner from top to bottom and from afar to near—three children with long hair were bouncing down the mountain path; in front of the houses, seven or eight men and women were bent over in the fertile fields, busy with farming; and there was a recluse playing the zither, his flowing white beard visible from the side, looking serene and joyful...
My mind buzzed as several lines popped into my head: "The land is flat and vast; the houses stand tall and orderly. There are fertile fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees and bamboo; paths intersect everywhere; the sounds of chickens and dogs can be heard. Men and women come and go for farming; their clothing is just like that of outsiders. The elderly and children live happily together... Could this painting be a restoration of Tao Yuanming's Peach Blossom Spring?"
Third Granduncle Master slightly shook his head. "No, quite the opposite. This painting came first before Peach Blossom Spring was created. Take a closer look at the inscription in the lower left corner."
Upon hearing this, I skeptically leaned towards the lower left corner of the painting. Next to the mountains and rivers was a row of characters in seal script—more accurately, in seal form. I couldn't recognize them all but managed to identify one character as "San," another as "Chuan," and one more as "Li." I read aloud, "San Chuan something something... Li something something."
This time Third Granduncle Master couldn't even be bothered to criticize me; he simply slapped me on the back of my head in frustration and said urgently, "Sanchuan County Magistrate, Li You Shu!"
For some reason, I suddenly felt an illusion of seeing my master. When my master taught me how to read back then, I relied on my good memory and often lost focus. As a result, I would misremember nine out of ten sentences. My master would get so frustrated that he would use this same exasperated tone repeatedly teaching me until his patience wore thin—leaving me with nothing but beatings in return.
I can accept that my junior and I have received such a good education, having studied from childhood through university, and my master has played an indispensable role in this. He often says, "Reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. It should be the other way around; one must travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books. Otherwise, one is likely to go astray. If a person loses the ability to continue learning, then that person is dead, dead at the moment they stop progressing."
However, this brief illusion of mine was quickly shattered when Third Granduncle Master followed up with a barrage of scathing remarks about my master, criticizing him for his poor teaching methods and nonsensical teachings.
Once he had vented enough, I cautiously said, "The 'Peach Blossom Spring' was written by the Jin Dynasty poet Tao Yuanming, while the author of this painting is Li You, the magistrate of Sanchuan County during the Qin Dynasty. The scenes depicted in both works are remarkably similar, almost like a replica. Clearly, based on the timeline, Tao Yuanming created 'Peach Blossom Spring' after personally visiting or hearing about the Peach Blossom Spring. In any case, it serves as evidence for the existence of the 'Peach Blossom Spring.' If I'm not mistaken, the paintings on the stone wall just now recorded the construction process of the 'Peach Blossom Spring,' from initial planning to construction, and finally to an aerial view of the courtyard that was later burned down. All the evidence points to this 'Peach Blossom Spring,' which is your 'Li You's Tomb,' right?"
Third Granduncle Master nodded. "You are quite clever this time. Our destination for this mission is indeed General Li You's Tomb."
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