There were hardly any people around, so Ji Yuan didn’t need to hold back and simply returned the greeting.
“River God Bai, no need for such formalities. It was I who disturbed your enjoynt.”
Bai Qi turned around and glanced in the direction of the River God Temple, then smiled.
“It was just for fun. It can cultivate the mind and help understand the thoughts and feelings of ordinary people.”
Putting everything else aside, Ji Yuan felt that Bai Qi’s ntal state was much better than before.
“By the way, this must be Hu Yun. It’s been so many years since I last saw him, but his cultivation has improved rapidly. He’s truly exceptional!”
Bai Qi naturally recognized the fox who had co to Chunhui Prefecture with Ji Yuan years ago, who had a brief encounter with the big black carp and the old turtle by the river.
River God Bai’s Hu Yun half-joking complint made Hu Yun feel a little embarrassed. He was also surprised that the River God recognized him. However, he couldn’t neglect his manners, so he stood up and cupped his two front paws together in greeting.
“My na is Hu Yun, I greet the Lord River God!”
Seeing the fox bow so solemnly, Bai Qi thought for a mont and returned a slight bow, which could be considered as him giving Hu Yun a considerable amount of respect. Then he turned his attention back to Ji Yuan.
“Mr. Ji, would you like to visit the Number 1 Temple of the Chunmu River? I can lead the way and explain a bit to you. Over the years, countless literati and poets have left poems and inscriptions at the River God Temple, and later craftsn and painters have captured their beauty. The corridors and walls in the River God Temple are all treasures!”
Bai Qi hadn’t really cared about these things before, but since he had promised Ji Yuan that he would truly be a good River God, he began to care about the aquatic creatures in the river, as well as the people and animals who lived along its banks. Later, he even discovered the treasures within the River God Temple.
He was often captivated by the poems and paintings left behind at the River God Temple over the years.
Ji Yuan was indeed eager to see it, but unless he was looking at sothing extrely special or supernatural, it was very difficult for him to see clearly with his poor eyesight.
He had now mastered so skills, such as reading letters and books, which previously required printed paper or bamboo slip inscriptions to read smoothly. With ordinary books, he had to get very close, which required considerable effort and ntal strain and was ti-consuming.
Now, he could discern the subtle “textural” differences of the paper as he felt it with his fingertips, even feeling out the characters.
However, seeing the corridor walls of the River God Temple was not so easy. In many cases, he would probably have to get very close to even glimpse it. Poetry would be fine, since it was written text, and he could roughly make out what characters were written, thus understanding the aning of the entire piece. However, paintings were like viewing flowers through a fog, indistinct and unclear.
Bai Qi was, after all, a white chess piece connected to Ji Yuan, so Ji Yuan pointed to his eyes and said directly:
“Bai Jiang, are you perhaps unaware that my eyes are actually half blind?”
Hu Yun, who was standing to the side, was clearly stunned for a mont, before he rembered that Mr. Ji was indeed blind, despite having no difficulty walking, sitting, standing, lying down, or doing anything else, which made it easy for others to overlook this fact.
However, Bai Qi clearly had not overlooked this point; or rather, even if he had not realized it before, his subsequent reaction was extrely natural. Almost as soon as Ji Yuan finished speaking, he laughed heartily.
“Sir, there is no need to be troubled. Those paintings and calligraphy that you find blurry are naturally will not be of much value to you. However, so paintings and calligraphy are ancient and possess the spirit of the person who left the ink. They are truly extraordinary. I believe you can see these paintings and calligraphy clearly!”
“Oh? Then I really should go check it out!”
Ji Yuan was indeed intrigued by Bai Qi’s words.
“Please, sir!”
Bai Qi gestured, leading Ji Yuan and Hu Yun to the bustling River God Temple.
This ti, Bai Qi, perhaps considering Ji Yuan’s feelings, brought them in under an illusion, ensuring that the two of them and the fox would be ignored by the crowd. They went directly to the corridor wall.
It had been many years since Ji Yuan had last visited the River God Temple. At that ti, his Taoist cultivation was really shallow, and he also was preoccupied by other matters. He simply passed through the various halls at the temple, arriving directly at the main hall. He even lit incense, which had startled him, and he hurriedly slipped away. In addition, his eyesight was poor, so he barely noticed the side corridor walls at all.
This ti, the River God himself led the way, taking Ji Yuan and Hu Yun along the corridor wall of the temple. Ji Yuan could almost imdiately discern the true nature of the sight at a glance.
At first glance, the walls of the corridor were covered with colorful writings, seemingly unremarkable. But upon closer inspection, so of the words and paintings hidden among the dense inscriptions and paintings emitted a delicate, subtle light, making them clearer in Ji Yuan’s vision. After a while, he could even perceive their spiritual presence.
It wasn’t necessarily that all of these artists and writers were exceptionally talented; they were certainly talented and skilled, but it was impossible to maintain such intense focus for that long. How many truly remarkable individuals like Mad Disciple Zuo could there be in the world?
However, the River God Temple attracted many pilgrims and even more tourists, especially the literati who ca to comnt on the works on the corridor walls, which had continued uninterrupted for nearly two centuries since the River God Temple was built. With this continuous presence, the works on the corridor walls were imbued with more and more spiritual aning.
This was primarily evident in the paintings, which had developed a richer and more nuanced beauty with the passage of ti, becoming even more exquisite than when they were first created.
Watching Ji Yuan stroll along the corridor, lingering over so of the exquisite paintings and poems, Bai Qi asked him with a touch of pride.
“Mr. Ji, what do you think of my River God Temple?”
“Indeed, it is truly worthy of being called the Number 1 Temple of the Chunmu River. These poems and essays have excellent anings, but these paintings possess a profound depth. Perhaps they will nurture spirits in these murals a hundred years from now.”
Ji Yuan replied with great interest. Hu Yun, who was standing to the side, looked at the murals on the wall with astonishnt at his words. He had only thought that so of the paintings were particularly beautiful, but he never thought that these paintings might gain spiritual enlightennt in the future.
“Mr. Ji, can paintings really beco spirits?”
“It can only be said that this is possible. There are countless spirits and monsters in the world, and much of their existence is due to chance. As long as the conditions for spiritual birth are t, there is a possibility of nurturing a spirit.”
Ji Yuan stopped there. Bai Qi, seeing Hu Yun’s curious expression, explained it to him.
“What you say is true, sir. However, these kinds of spirits are extrely fragile when they are first born. They cannot withstand external interference, or they simply need soone to take good care of them. Otherwise, even a mischievous child could kill them by haphazardly scratching a twig on the wall.”
“Oh? How pitiful!”
“Haha, there are many more pitiful beings than these, you just aren’t aware of them. Young friend Hu Yun, you should cherish your rare opportunity to cultivate.”
Bai Qi’s words seed to have a hidden aning, and his gaze shifted slightly towards Ji Yuan. Hu Yun understood imdiately, nodded to Bai Qi, and then continued to look at the murals on the wall. This ti, however, he moved further away, afraid that he might scratch the murals with his claws. He also carefully observed the tourists passing by the corridor wall to see if anyone was carelessly scratching them.
The actual situation still worried Hu Yun. He not only saw people touching the words and paintings on the wall, but he also saw young couples secretly carving words on stone in a corner. Most of the words carved were probably things like “May we be together forever” and “I was here”.
“Mr. Ji, River God Bai, so of them are…”
“Although private carving is prohibited here, it is impossible to be perfectly thorough. There will still be so people who are not careful. However, ordinary people would not defile the excellent works of their predecessors. Besides, this is actually a disaster for the paintings. We can only ask the temple keeper to exercise more supervision and help tourists develop good manners.”
As he spoke, Bai Qi pointed to the distance.
“Look.”
Hu Yun quickly turned his head and saw two scholars in blue robes who had stepped forward to stop the young couple. They were pointing at the corridor wall and talking to them with serious expressions. The young couple looked embarrassed and uneasy, nodding and apologizing repeatedly.
Listening to Bai Qi’s explanation, Ji Yuan agreed with it and said with a touch of emotion.
“River God Bai is absolutely right. This is both a calamity and an opportunity. Using supernatural techniques to separate tourists and pilgrims from the walls can protect the murals, but it can also easily cut off the accumulated power. Fortune and misfortune are interdependent.”
The two n and the fox spent half a day carefully examining all the works in the River God Temple. Even Hu Yun lingered, captivated by the wonderful poems, essays, and exquisite paintings.
Before Hu Yun knew it, when he ca back to his senses from admiring a painting of eight beautiful ladies, he found that the sky around him had darkened and the number of tourists and pilgrims at the River God Temple had dwindled, indicating that the temple was about to close.
“Mr. Ji, I have prepared a painted ship. Let’s head to the river now. Old Turtle Wu Chong and Qingqing already know you’re here and are waiting in the middle of the river.”
“Let’s go!”
While Ji Yuan and Bai Qi were strolling around the River God Temple, Bai Qi had already made all the arrangents. Ji Yuan was fully aware of this.
The two n ahead of him had already walked along the corridor wall to a riverside platform inside the River god Temple. Hu Yun, after a slight pause, quickly followed, asking questions as he did so.
“Qingqing? The big black carp is called Luo Biqing. It’s not a bad na, but doesn’t Qingqing sound like a woman’s nickna?”
“You’re asking too many questions.”
Ji Yuan chuckled but didn’t say anything more, while Bai Qi also kept quiet.
A small painted boat sailed away from the riverbank near the River God Temple. Two yellow lanterns hung from the eaves of the cabin doors at the bow and stern. The boat was small, but it was fully equipped with tables, chairs, wine, dishes, and even a soft couch for people to rest on.
The boatman at the helm wore a straw raincoat and his bamboo hat was pulled low. He dutifully rowed the boat, not daring to look at Ji Yuan and Bai Qi too much, and at most occasionally glancing at Hu Yun. Clearly, this boatman was also a mber of the aquatic tribes of the Chunmu River.
The boat parted the waves and slowly sailed into the middle of the river. Painted boats and floating pavilions spread out in all directions on the Chunmu River, and the sounds of singing and dancing could be faintly heard wafting through the air. The small painted boat where Ji Yuan and Bai Qi were was just an ordinary one, and no one would give it a second glance.
Ji Yuan and Bai Qi stood at the bow of the boat, while Hu Yun squatted between them.
“Splash… splash…”
The water in the middle of the river began to ripple, and with the dim light from the lamp at the bow of the boat, a huge dark shadow could be vaguely seen gliding across the surface.
Hu Yun spotted a dark shadow swimming underwater and exclaid excitedly.
“A giant black carp!”
With that sound, the giant creature swimming beneath the boat erged from the water, pushing off of tiny whirlpools, and slowly rose to the surface in front of the bow. Half of an old turtle’s shell appeared, and a black fish blew bubbles as it floated to the surface.
“Old Turtle Wu Chong greets Mr. Ji and the Lord River God!”
“Glub glub glub, pop pop…”
The big black carp couldn’t speak, but it quickly blew a bunch of bubbles after the old turtle finished speaking as a way of greeting him.
T/n: T/n: aww, no non-binary rperson fish friend. rmaids are still cool though
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