The Beacon of Kyushu

The air in the mountains is exceptionally fresh in the early morning. The mountainside and upwards are shrouded in mist. Every blade of grass and every tree on the mountain is covered with morning dew. Everything is beautiful and unreal, as if this place is no longer the human world, but a paradise on earth or a fairy mountain in the sky.

Chen Tafa had been training in this mountain for twenty years and was familiar with the beautiful scenery. Although he still felt relaxed and happy when he saw it, it was not as fresh as when he first saw it. Wan Jianfeng had not been to Huashan for several years, and when he was learning in the mountains, he often missed the mountain scenery in the morning because of drinking at night, so he was naturally very interested.

He walked slowly forward along the rugged mountain road, admiring the picturesque mountain scenery. He even forgot to drink the remaining gourd of wine. "Brother Chen, I heard that Master had practiced in Wudang Mountain and Zhongnan Mountain. Why did he come to Huashan in a fit of excitement?"

Chen Tafa said leisurely, "In the past, my master had studied Taoism and martial arts with Lü Zu, He Xianchang, and Master Mai, so he had been to Wudang Mountain and Zhongnan Mountain. Later, in order to repay his good friend Feng Yichen for saving his life, he resolutely went down the mountain to help him restore his country. However, God did not bless Nanzhao, and the matter ended up in a mirage. A few years later, Feng Yichen took over the Lingxiao Sect, and my master hid in Huashan. It is said that when Emperor Taizu was young, he and my master played chess with Huashan as the stakes. At first, my master deliberately concealed his weakness, until he was about to lose, and then he made five brilliant moves and won Huashan from Taizu in one fell swoop."

Wan Jianfeng laughed and said, "Haha, so that's what happened! I originally thought that Master moved the Taoist temple here on impulse because he thought Huashan's scenery was far superior to the other two mountains. I didn't expect there were such gimmicks. When I have money in the future, I will find a historian to tell me this story in its entirety!"

Chen Tafa shook his head and smiled. "Junior brother, most of the stories told by the historian are not true. If you really want to know what happened in the past, why don't you let your master tell you in person instead of asking those who don't know the inside story?"

Wan Jianfeng shook his head and said, "Brother, don't you know Master's temper? He is usually very kind and amiable. No matter what we disciples say to him, he won't get angry. But we can't mention the things in the past. As long as someone mentions it in front of him, he will sigh at the least, or even want to kill the person with a sword. I would rather hope that the sun rises from the west than expect him to tell me a story."

Chen Tafa nodded slightly, "Well, you are right. Not to mention that you have only been learning in the temple for a year, even I, who have been practicing in Huashan for twenty years, have never heard the master talk about the past. Occasionally, I saw the master reminiscing about the past, and I could only vaguely hear him mention a few names of old friends."

Wan Jianfeng asked curiously, "Which names did the master mention?"

Chen Tafa recalled and said uncertainly: "I didn't hear it clearly, but the most common one seems to be Feng Yichen, the former head of Lingxiao Sect. In addition, there seems to be Xiyan, Qian Liu, Li Jinghong, Wei Mingye, Long Hentian and others."

Wan Jianfeng scratched his head and searched his mind for a long time before he said, "Well... among these names, I have only vaguely heard of Qian Liu. If I remember correctly, this guy seems to have been an emperor. As for the others, I don't know any of them. Did you hear wrong, senior brother?" Chen Tafa shook his head and said, "These people must have been the top masters when our teacher was young. It's just that too much time has passed, and people in the martial arts world don't mention them much now. Just like when I was young, the most mentioned people in the martial arts world were not young heroes like my junior brother, but the middle-aged heroes who are now over 40. It's a pity that most of these people have passed away. It's hard not to feel sad every time I think of this."

Wan Jianfeng nodded, and was about to ask Chen Tafa if he knew these Jianghu celebrities, but suddenly heard the rumbling sound of a waterfall not far away. His brows subconsciously knitted tightly, and his whole body trembled slightly uncontrollably. He was usually very good at swimming and loved to grill fresh fish. When did he react like this to the sound of water? Not only did Chen Tafa feel a little strange, but even he himself was surprised.

Chen Tafa pointed forward and said with a smile: "Junior brother, didn't you say you would treat me to grilled fish when we were in Mancheng last time? Now you can finally fulfill your promise!"

"Grilled fish..." Wan Jianfeng's whole body trembled, and he felt an unprecedented fear in his heart. Even when he faced life and death countless times, the fear was not as strong as it was now. He didn't know what he was afraid of, but he couldn't get rid of the fear in his heart. The closer he was to the sound of water, the stronger the fear became. His heart was beating wildly, torturing Wan Jianfeng extremely painfully.

Chen Tafa looked at Wan Jianfeng in confusion, "Junior brother, what's wrong with you? I heard from people in the martial arts world that you are an excellent swimmer and can swim freely even in Dongting Lake, where there are still winds and three feet of waves. You wouldn't be afraid of a small waterfall in Huashan, right?"

Wan Jianfeng was inexplicably nervous. If he told Chen Tafa about his fear at this moment, he would definitely become the laughing stock of his fellow disciples in the Yuntai audience in the future. Although he didn't care about others laughing at him, he didn't want others to laugh at him for no reason, so he had to bite the bullet and said, "Okay, I haven't had grilled fish for many days, senior brother, you are really lucky." After he said that, without waiting for Chen Tafa to reply, he quickly ran towards the waterfall in front.

"May you be blessed with infinite happiness!" Chen Tafa looked at Wan Jianfeng's receding figure and couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Why is Junior Brother Wan always like a child, joking and playing so much? It's hard to imagine how he could have made a name for himself in the turbulent world of martial arts with his personality."

Chen Tafa muttered to himself, his pace slowed down, and he walked for a long time before he came to a small waterfall in the mountains. He thought Wan Jianfeng must have caught the fish and was grilling it on a branch, but Wan Jianfeng, who was alive and kicking just now, fell to the edge of the pond, foaming at the mouth, and his throat was spasming uncontrollably, as if he was poisoned!
"Junior brother!" Chen Tafa ran a few steps, squatted down and hugged Wan Jianfeng in his arms, and instinctively took his pulse with his right hand. But strangely, Wan Jianfeng's pulse showed no signs of poisoning, and there was no sign of fighting around him. Only the back of his head was slightly red for some reason, as if someone had hit him hard.

Chen Tafa suddenly remembered Wan Jianfeng's expression just now, as if he was afraid of something, and he became more and more confused. But no matter how confused he was, Wan Jianfeng's condition did not allow him to think carefully, so he had to carry Wan Jianfeng on his back and hurried to Yuntai Temple more than ten miles away. (End of this chapter)