I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 238 Li Bai, the Princess, Wang Wei (+10)
Chen Hong turned around but didn't see anyone. He looked down several inches before he saw two small Taoist priests squatting behind him.

The servants beside them explained.

“In the past few years, when our young master paints immortals, he has never added the finishing touch to their eyes.”

The first day of the Lunar New Year was strange.

"Why?"

The Taoist priests in the temple were also puzzled.

The servant had explained this saying several times over the years. He said, "All things have spirits. Our lord says we should have reverence for gods and Buddhas."

"If the finishing touches are done, the painting might just come to life. Who knows what might happen then..."

The two junior disciples had never heard of such a thing before.

The Taoist priest frowned.

"I've heard before that a painter once depicted an immortal being, only to have it burned away by a single spark. But that's probably just a rumor..."

Chen Hong was both amused and exasperated.

Anything related to the imperial family spreads far and wide. Three years have passed since he was ordered to dot the eyes of the emperor, but the Taoist priests in the temple are still talking about it.

He raised his hand in a gesture of respect.

He smiled wryly.

"I am the humble one."

Sanshui and Chuyi stared wide-eyed, repeatedly asking, "Did you really encounter a deity?"

"Are there really gods in this world?"

"Who is more powerful, the immortal or Senior Jiang?"

Hearing the two children press him for answers, Chen Hong smiled, inexplicably recalling the person he had met during the two-month voyage. He felt a pang of helplessness; the man had said he was going to Yuezhou, and he wondered when they would meet again.

He felt quite regretful, wondering why he hadn't thought to ask about accommodations while on the boat.

Chen Hong casually replied with a couple of sentences, then looked around aimlessly. Suddenly, he felt that the people in the pavilion looked somewhat familiar. He glanced at them a few more times and then hurriedly walked over.

"Jiang Langjun!"

Chen Hong burst into the pavilion.

He smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, then looked at the others: "Taibai and Xiazi are here too. It's been a while since we last met... Where is that old man?"

Li Bai put down his teacup.

"That person did not come up the mountain with us today."

Chen Hong thought it made sense; that old man was indeed the oldest person he had ever seen, at least eighty or ninety years old, and there was no definite answer as to his age.

At such an advanced age, it's understandable that his legs and feet aren't in good condition; climbing mountains would probably be too physically demanding.

"I see, haha, it's fate that we meet today."

As Chen Hong spoke, he also sat down inside.

He asked with concern, "Young Master Jiang said he went to Hangzhou to look for someone, did you find them?"

Li Bai said from the side.

"Passed away."

Chen Hong's smile faltered, and he was about to apologize when he heard Li Taibai reassure him from the side, "It's alright. That man did a lot of evil in his life, so it's good that he's dead."

Yuan Danqiu laughed loudly.

Chen Hong sat down in the pavilion, bewildered, and poured himself a cup of tea.

Looking around, for some reason, Master Sima Chengzhen, who had invited him to paint, remained silent, as if lost in thought.

Jiang She sized up Chen Hong.

Not long after, the man lost some weight.

He asked with a smile, "I haven't seen you, Attendant-in-Ordinary, for a month. Are you well?"

"All is well, all is well, everything is fine."

What can one do while observing mourning? One cannot eat meat or drink alcohol, nor can one hold a banquet. If it weren't for the fact that today's activity is to paint murals for a Taoist temple, and also to pray for blessings and ward off disasters for his grandfather, Chen Hong should not have gone out at all.

He took a sip of tea.

The two young Taoist priests beside him followed, and Chen Hong smiled when he saw them.

He was filled with emotion when he saw the people he knew again.

"I didn't expect that these two young Taoist priests knew Mr. Jiang. They even asked me just now if I had ever seen a deity."

"It's funny, I've actually met him twice. I guess I'm someone with a special connection to the immortals, haha."

Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu laughed beside them. "Twice?"

Chen Hong nodded.

Thinking that the two men were quite envious of him, he forgot what he had said when he was drunk on the boat and recounted the whole story from the beginning.

The old Taoist priest, Sima Chengzhen, listened with exceptional care.

Hearing him say that he had watched several people drinking, he felt as if he had gotten drunk and fell asleep.

In my dream, I saw a dragon king who could swallow a whole pot of fish in one gulp, and I also heard people say that they had seen immortals three times. The next day, I was reminded by a servant that I had been sleeping on the deck and had to be helped back to my cabin.

Chen Hong was halfway through his sentence.

Suddenly feeling puzzled, he couldn't help but touch his hair.

"Why does the guru see me that way?"

Sima Chengzhen withdrew his gaze.

He laughed and said, "You may continue, Your Excellency. It was just that I, this old Taoist priest, was thinking about something else for a moment."

Chen Hong felt relieved and continued.

"Believe it or not, I saw the cook get off the boat just as it reached the next ferry crossing."

"He came back beaming with joy, and he was so energetic while cooking that he almost threw the ladle away. I wonder what benefits he got on the ship."

The first-year student asked curiously, "Could it be a reward?"

Chen Hong recalled, "I think it must have been a lot of money, otherwise he wouldn't be laughing like that..."

They chatted and laughed in the pavilion.

Jiang She held a teacup and drank tea.

Occasionally, one could hear voices coming from a Taoist temple in the distance, the soft sound of chess pieces falling on the chessboard, and conversations about Buddhism and Taoism, as well as about the local customs and products of the capital.

I glanced at Li Bai a couple of times and saw that he wasn't focused on the conversation and seemed lost in thought.

Jiang She chuckled to himself, a hint of mockery creeping into his mind.

……

……

In front of the Taoist temple, there was still the same tree. The maid rearranged the chess pieces, and the two of them played again.

The maids were all eyeing the two people playing chess.

After several years apart, Wang Wei's appearance had become even more outstanding.

Previously, I only felt that he was like a spring mountain after a fresh rain, but now, his relaxed and carefree demeanor adds a touch of magnanimity.

Princess Yuzhen tapped the chess pieces and spoke of the letters that had come from the capital in the past two years. She sighed, "My fourth brother passed away in Yanzhou. My imperial brother adopted a son for him, so the line of Prince Qi will not be cut off."

Wang Wei's style of playing chess was quite different.

He plans carefully before acting, takes his time in making moves, has a good temper, and can tolerate others taking back their moves.

“The Prince of Qi is fond of drinking, and ever since that banquet, his health has not been very good,” Wang Wei said.

Princess Yuzhen felt bored, glanced at the other person's radiant face, and then thought she could continue the conversation. She had already asked the other person about the mountains and rivers they had traveled over the past few years during the chess game. Princess Yuzhen read some of the other person's poems.

Princess Yuzhen read it aloud.

"Spring comes and peach blossoms adorn the waters, making it impossible to find the immortal abode. You're not a Buddhist, so why are you chanting Taoist scriptures?"

Wang Wei smiled.

Without mentioning his years of wandering and seeking immortality, he smiled and placed a piece, saying:
"When I read Tao Yuanming's poems and essays, I was deeply moved."

The princess didn't intend to investigate further.

She casually mentioned that she had heard some good poems and essays in the past two years.

Li Guinian once played a piece called "Night Tour of Ghosts and Gods, Drunkenly Hearing the Wonderful Dao," which had a very good melody. It was said to have been written by a poet from Xiangyang. The Chu region has had many legends of gods and ghosts since ancient times, and that poet used this as the basis for his poem.

His literary talent was so remarkable that it reached the capital, and his poems have been sung and recited ever since. I've heard that the poet also wrote many other excellent works.

Princess Yuzhen was looking at the chessboard, thinking about how to make her move, when she casually asked...

"Has Wang Wei, who was traveling far and wide, ever heard of this?"

Wang Wei paused in his chess-playing motion.

No move has been made yet.

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)