Under One Person: Starting from the Inheritance of Gods

Chapter 375 The Immortal Left a Poem Above [Begging for subscriptions, monthly tickets, and recommendation votes!]

The world of Joy of Life, Danzhou.

Danzhou City lies on the shore of the East China Sea, its green walls winding like a dragon's spine, steeped in the salty winds for countless generations.

The setting sun shone on the glazed tiles, like scattered gold flowing over the eaves of an old house, about to fall but then being pierced by the masts of merchant ships.

Less than ten miles outside the city, one can see white sand, as fine as crushed jade dust. The tide swallows it up and spits it out when it recedes, making one wonder if an entire mountain of broken jade lies submerged at the bottom of the sea.

Fishermen often see the dark mountain shadows flashing past their gunboats; these are actually islands rising from the rising water vapor, sometimes near, sometimes far, like the green back of a giant turtle appearing and disappearing.

The most peculiar thing is the city's waterways, which are filled with all kinds of fish during the day, but at night, thousands of plain gauze lanterns float on the water, their lights blending into the ripples, making them even denser than the Milky Way.

When the storyteller struck the clapper under the old banyan tree, the entire city of Danzhou became a half-finished poem, with the merchant's pipa being the off-key rhyme and the distant sails being the spreading ink marks.

The peach blossom peeking out from the wall of the Fan family's old house, and the boy sitting under the old house gate as always, became the only leisurely scene amidst the hurried comings and goings.

"It has a unique charm!"

Meng Fan ate something resembling fish rice sold by a vendor at the corner of Danzhou City. It was made by steaming fish without any seasoning, using fish meat as the main dish.

Because it is located in the vast East China Sea, the price is exceptionally cheap, and it is specially provided for sailors, porters and porters in the port.

Even the soup after the meal is made from kelp, seaweed, and dried shrimp, with a little chicken bone and pork bone added. The savory and salty flavors blend together, creating a unique taste.

In the world of Joy of Life, because it is a post-nuclear civilization, many fish species have undergone some mutations due to various types of radiation.

But just as the more poisonous a species is, the more delicious it is, some fish are actually more delicious than the fish Meng Fan has eaten in the normal world.

After the meal, Meng Fan casually left a silver coin and handed it to the stall owner.

The stall owner, with a dark complexion typical of someone who has been exposed to the sea breeze for a long time, smiled kindly at Meng Fan and said, "Sir, this is too much. This serving of fish rice is not worth much, and the soup is complimentary. You really don't need this much."

"Take it!"

Meng Fan casually tossed the fish to the vendor and asked, "I think it tastes pretty good. Is there any secret to cooking this fish?"

The stall owner scratched his head, looking puzzled. He noticed Meng Fan's fine clothes and nodded in realization, then smiled and said, "The fish is all about being fresh. From the moment it's caught and brought aboard the boat to the moment it's slaughtered and put into my pot, it takes less than an hour."

"Perhaps the guests are used to the fine food in the city, which is why they feel that the food in the countryside has a different flavor."

Meng Fan nodded without denying it, then turned to look at the city wall, weathered by time, and asked, "May I ask if the shopkeeper has paper and pen?"

The man shook his head: "How could I afford such precious things?"

"No? Never mind!"

Meng Fan strode to the city wall, looked at the mottled, dark blue wall, and sighed, "What a fine scroll of paper!"

Having said that, he used his fingers as a pen, his primordial energy swirling at his fingertips, causing fragments of brick and stone to fall, his pen penetrating the wall three-tenths of an inch, and in an instant, a poem was written on the city wall.

The handwriting was so bold and powerful, like iron hooks and silver strokes, it had never appeared in this world before!
"Ode to the Spiritual Realm of the Coastal Area"

"At the foot of Yuntai Mountain, azure clouds rise and fall, and rainbows hang from the thousand-foot cliffs. Beside the ancient city of Qu, ripples on the shore embroider the water, and countless pearls splash on the moon's garment." "Fishing lights in the ruins pierce through the mist, the ferry where immortals gather herbs; the pine waves of the stone pavilion shake the starry raft, the old land where alchemists seek immortality. The eastern gate of Qin stands tall in the azure sky, and the Jieshi Mountain still bears the frost of the First Emperor. The mirage suddenly opens like a silken curtain, and a crystal corridor appears like a building."

"In the morning mist of Yingzhou, a white phoenix carries a lingzhi mushroom across the mountain peaks; in the evening mist of Yuzhou, a blue ox carries a book across the vast waves. Salt fields are piled high like a thousand heaps of snow, and cargo ships are like brocade spread out like nine layers of clouds."

"The wind sways the crimson blossoms of Fusang, the waves surge the dark shadows of Ruomu. Xu Fu's ship left behind a palace of shells, Tian Heng, the righteous man, transformed into the god of the tide. A single spur of ocean waves connects to the fairyland, and halfway up the mountain, a rain of flowers falls from the heavens..."

Meng Fan looked at the poem, smiled, then turned and left. His figure appeared and soared away several times, and even the soldiers guarding the city gate couldn't catch up with him.

Let things develop for a while longer.

The poem contains words such as "Fusang", "Zulong", "Yingzhou", "Tian Heng", "Xu Fu", "Fangshi" and "Yuren", which can include people, history, place names and legends that only exist in the history of China. The author also specially used the thin gold style of calligraphy.

In other words, such a term does not exist in the world of Joy of Life.

Since I wrote this poem on the city tower, it must have been quite well-written and would surely have attracted a lot of attention. I wonder what Fan Xian's reaction would be after hearing it.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As Meng Fan had predicted, within just one day, the "Ode to the Spiritual Realm of the Sea Corner" spread throughout the entire city of Danzhou.

Many scholars came to pay their respects, and even the city guards couldn't drive them away. When the matter was reported to the government office, the magistrate waved his hand and said, "What do we care about scholars and literati? Besides, those who can compose poems with true qi are not people we can afford to offend."

"Just turn a blind eye and it'll pass!"

Little did they know, the Bureau of Investigation had already reported the matter to Kyoto.

Seeing that no one was watching, the scholars even built a high platform for easier viewing and lined up to climb it.

"What a fine poem! What a fine poem!"

Many people sighed in unison.

"There are many words and phrases in the poem that we find hard to understand. They must have come from some private collection of books. May I ask if there is a learned person who can provide an explanation of the words in the poem so that we can clear up our confusion?" a scholar in white suggested.

Unfortunately, two days have passed and still no one has been able to provide an interpretation of the poem.

The rumors even intensified, with many saying it was the work of an immortal, since the word "immortal" appeared in the poem, and the so-called "old land where alchemists sought immortality" refers to this place.

What if a "celestial being" really does return here?

The fish rice stall owner was repeatedly asked by many people about Meng Fan's appearance. Several skilled painters even created a portrait of the immortal's true face based solely on the stall owner's description, which was then snatched up by the crowd.

The literary scene in Nanqing has been weak for a long time, but the scholars have been holding their breath all the more. Now that such a fine poem has finally appeared, especially one written specifically about their hometown of Danzhou, it is not surprising that such a situation has arisen.

That day, Fan Xian sat at his doorstep, waiting for the red-armored knight as usual.

Several scholars hurried by, a hint of joy on their faces. One of them recited: "Foaming foam flies like snow, splashing across the nine heavens; surging waves roll up the moon, swallowing the eight directions. It seems Gonggong struck the pillar of heaven, causing the Milky Way to collapse; it seems Yu forcefully drove the dragon chariot, causing the icy cliffs to crumble..."

"These few lines of poetry are so magnificent and powerful, but who exactly are Gonggong and Yuqiang? And where is the Heavenly Pillar? It's truly perplexing!"

(End of this chapter)