Chapter Ten: Speak freely and let the chips fall where they may, who cares about ghosts crying or gods raging?

  Fairy Road Dust 10

  As for Lu Chonghu, after suffering this great disaster, he was suddenly enlightened and reformed his former ways. He followed the example of Cao Shen and Jin Yi, who governed their counties with non-action during the Han dynasty, only managing the overall situation and rarely asking about trivial matters, leaving the local affairs to be handled by the merchants and powerful families of Poyang County; he himself spent his days drinking in the government office, or dressing up with his wife to go on pleasure trips, or going to social gatherings at the lake, living a carefree life.

  Unexpectedly, however, the county of Boyang became prosperous and peaceful year after year, with abundant harvests and wealthy citizens, earning it a reputation for good governance. And as for his nickname "Locust", no one ever mentioned it again; the kind-hearted common people only knew that there was a wise and capable "Magistrate Lu" in Boyang County.

  But the legend of Lü Gong and Lü Chonghua did not end there. After his retirement, he only stayed at home with his wife to enjoy their old age. However, unexpectedly, a group of bandits rose up on Mount Dagu in Poyang Lake, causing military disasters that extended to several villages. At that time, the magistrate of Poyang County was a scholar who was weak and timid, seeing the bandits' powerful momentum, he was so frightened that he had no strategy; after being pointed out by others, he had to come to Lü's door to ask for advice.

  Lü Gong heard the bandits' evil deeds, got angry and stood up, regardless of his old age, climbed high and shouted, and those who responded gathered. With the prestige and reputation of "Lü Gong of Poyang", hundreds of civilians were gathered in just a few days. After training for several days, Lü Gong, despite his old age and physical decline, let his men carry him onto the battlefield with a stretcher, directing the militia to attack the bandits. The soldiers saw that Lü Gong had personally taken to the battlefield, moved by this, they fought with all their might, winning battle after battle, eventually eliminating the bandits on Mount Da Gu, capturing many of them.

  At the end of his life, Lü Gong still held a civil position and led military affairs. He eventually exterminated those evil bandits, making it a great story at that time. The people of Poyang County were all grateful for Lü Gong's great virtue, and the emperor himself heard about this matter and personally wrote "The Fubo of This Generation" on a golden plaque to reward him with praise.

  That Chen Kui, the squad leader, had been feeling a chill on the back of his neck ever since that night when the pirate ship was startled. From then on, he felt constrained and uncomfortable as a squad leader. After painful reflection and summarizing the profound lessons learned from experience, Squad Leader Chen finally decided to become a notorious pirate hiding in the dark alleys, which made him feel safer. So he simply resigned and became a thief.

  Who would have thought that Chen Kui, who was not good at his job in the government office, had a surprising talent for being a thief. In the end, he even became the second leader of the Da Gu Shan bandits. However, their luck ran out and they were unexpectedly defeated by Lü Gong, an old man who was already half-buried in the ground. Chen Kui also ended up as a prisoner under his former superior.

  As the leader of the thieves was being taken to the camp for trial, Chen Kui saw his old master in the hall and quickly recounted their past friendship, hoping that Lü Gong would spare his life out of consideration for their past relationship. However, this move unexpectedly led to his own death. A young scholar who had followed Lü Chonghui to suppress bandits heard this extremely evil thief leader speaking nonsense about his connections with the great Master Lü and couldn't help but get angry, beheading Chen Kui with one swift knife strike. This young scholar was known for his quick blade, and Lü Gong was unable to stop him in time!

  If someone understands cause and effect, they can't help but sigh at how unpredictable fate is and how karma doesn't always work out as expected.

  Of course, that's all in the future. The two young men and women who changed their fate with one hand are now completely unaware of it. At this moment, they are on a small boat on Poyang Lake, drifting towards Nanji Island.

  Originally, to celebrate the rescue of the father and daughter, Ju Ying proposed that Xing Yan go to the water residence on Nanji Island to eat shad fish. Xing Yan was also in a great mood, and upon hearing that he could try this famous dish from Poyang Lake, he readily agreed. The two then rented a small boat and headed to the water residence in a leisurely manner.

  When they tasted the famous "Steamed Shad" in the Water House, even the young girl who had seen and known a lot couldn't help but exclaim its deliciousness. The peasant boy who usually didn't have good food was also delighted. Indeed, the Water House lived up to its reputation, using just the right amount of heat to steam the freshly caught shad, making it extremely tender and fragrant. No wonder even Chen Bantou, a notorious gourmet, would come to the Water House first to satisfy his cravings.

  After finishing their meal, they were in a good mood and saw that the weather was fine and sunny. The sky was as blue as if it had been washed with jade. They found a painted boat on Nanji Island and boarded it to tour the scenic spots of Poyang Lake.

  Under the clear sky, Poyang Lake has another charm. The nearby water surface reflects the sunlight, with ripples and a soft glow flowing gently. A little further away, the lake is like a clear crystal, with a calm and pure surface; in the distance, seagulls fly, their bodies fluttering as if in a painting. At the end of one's line of sight, there are still clouds and mist surrounding, only to see the hazy smoke and water.

  The autumn water soaks into the distant sky, with clear reflections above and below, where the water and sky meet, it is a vast expanse of a single color.

  Before this magnificent scenery, Xing Yan and Ju Ying, the two young men, suddenly forgot their words and were immersed in the beauty of the water and sky.

  The boat moved and the scenery changed, and soon they arrived at a towering stone island. This stone island was another scenic spot in Poyang Lake, Luoxing Mountain. Luoxing Mountain was already outside the borders of Poyang County, and the waters it was located in belonged to Xingzi County.

  Luoxing Mountain is a small stone island, about several zhang high and over 100 steps in length and width. At first glance, it seems like stars floating on the water's surface. Local people all say that Luoxing Mountain was transformed from a fallen star in the sky, so it is also called "Luoxing Dun". There is also a saying here: "Today's stone in the lake, yesterday's star in the sky." From this place, one can see the faint outline of the Lushan Mountains in the distance.

  Most of the people who can afford to sit on this expensive pleasure boat are oily and powdered young masters, as well as some merchants who carry swords and do business without capital; among these tourists, Xing Yan, a rustic and unsophisticated young man, and Ju Ying, a young girl just coming of age, seem like an anomaly, quite out of place among the crowd.

  Upon seeing the unique scenery of Luo Xing Mountain, it's inevitable that someone would be inspired to compose a poem to enhance their travel experience. For instance, this young man who appears refined and elegant, upon learning that Ju Ying's daughter lives here, tidies up his silk robes and hat, gently waves the feather fan in his hand, imitating the mannerisms of Zhou Yu on the parapet, clears his throat, and prepares to recite a poem. Little does he know that it's already autumn, and bringing out this feather fan again would only make him appear pretentious.

  He looked down on Zhou's behavior, but was also curious to see how this "Little Zhou" would express himself in writing.

  That gentleman, seeing his success, attracted the attention of many people, especially the attention of that young girl. He couldn't help but feel secretly pleased in his heart. Under the gaze of the crowd, he finally opened his mouth to recite a poem:

  "From afar, this mountain is dark and murky, with fine peaks at the top and coarse ones at the bottom;"

  "If this mountain were turned upside down, its lower part would be thin and upper part thick!"

  With a rise and fall in tone, this gentleman finished speaking, lightly waving his fan and looking around, just as he had expected. The tourists on the boat, except for Xing Yan, couldn't help but nod their heads in praise or pretend to be deep in thought, afraid of being seen as ignorant - so Xing Yan's suppressed laughter became particularly jarring and clear amidst the crowd. On the other hand, Ju Ying's stifled giggles were drowned out by Xing Yan's loud laughter.

  The young master, who was full of himself and looking down on everything, couldn't help but change color with rage. He turned his head to see who this superior person was laughing at him, only to find that it was a rustic-looking youth wearing coarse clothes, who was laughing uncontrollably. The rich young master's anger grew even more intense, and he loudly scolded the youth, saying:

  "Hey kid! Do you think this poem of mine is no good?!"

  He listened to his interrogation and the young man finally realized that he had made a mistake, hastily answering humbly:

  "How dare I! How dare I! This poem is indeed well-written, extremely smooth and easy to read! The most wonderful thing is that it's also very humorous and witty. I'm so infected by this great poem that I've lost my composure. Please, sir, don't hold me accountable for my mistakes, just forgive me!"

  However, although his words were humble, the smile on his face that hadn't been withdrawn yet greatly discounted the effect of his humble attitude. This gentleman felt that he was speaking insincerely and couldn't help but become even more enraged, sarcastically remarking:

  "Oh? I didn't expect that this rustic and simple-minded young man, dressed in fine clothes, would have such insight. It seems he must be full of poetic talent! Well, today we might as well let everyone see it for themselves! Haha!"

  After finishing speaking, this fellow burst into loud and insolent laughter.

  When he heard this sarcastic remark, the crowd on the boat burst into loud laughter. In the midst of this sky-shaking laughter, the person who was used to being looked down upon didn't feel anything; but it was the young girl Xiāo Yī who got angry, her face turning bright red, and she demanded that the young man must compose a great poem to show them his skills!

  Then this boat full of laughter became even more resonant!

  Jian Ju Yin couldn't help but feel a surge of anger in her heart, despite her good temper. Moreover, she had unknowingly developed a subconscious aversion to losing face in front of the young girl, and so she furrowed her brow and said loudly:

  "Good! The kid will also come and show off his skills today!"

  The stern words were clear and loud; the jeering on the boat suddenly stopped. Everyone was shocked:

  "Hmm? I didn't expect this rustic young man to have such a good voice!"

  But seeing this young man ignoring everyone else, he proudly raised his head, patted the railing of the painting boat, faced the long autumn sky and water, and sang in a clear voice:

  "Luoxing is as big as a fist."

  Everyone who heard this sentence was about to burst out laughing, but somehow, this unremarkable young man, with the empty and desolate blue sky and water as his background, had an inexplicable aura. The crowd's mouths moved for half a day, but the mocking words were never spoken. And that fellow traveler, Ru Yin, also looked at this companion she had met just two days ago with a face full of surprise and complex emotions.

  He didn't notice the reactions of the people behind him and proudly recited:

  "Luoxing is as big as a fist,"

  Splitting the sky from the water of Poyang Lake.

  Drunk leaning on Zhou Lang's tower, moon above

  "The sound of the qin sends off the sleeping dragon in the cave!"

  The magnificent and heroic words, with a rise and fall in tone, seem to contain a vast and majestic atmosphere of heaven and earth, echoing between the calm and serene waters and sky!

  Just as the young man was reciting poetry by the boat, everyone stared at the back of his head, waiting for him to turn around so they could take a closer look at this confident youngster and see what he really looked like. Earlier, they were all laughing and hadn't paid attention to this rough-looking youth in plain clothes, and no one had noticed what he actually looked like.

  Finally, under everyone's gaze, the young man who had finished reciting slowly turned his head around.

  But he saw a face smiling brightly, fawningly looking at the wealthy young master who was shaking his feather fan earlier, sneering and seeking his opinion.

  Perhaps the scene was too different from what they had expected, and everyone didn't react for a moment. However, the humble smile on his face and the coarse linen clothes with several patches quickly restored these arrogant passengers to normal. These confident passengers all believed that the young man's majestic appearance just now was just an optical illusion caused by the sunlight reflecting off the water.

  Only then did Mr. Qiushan make an appearance, nodding his head and waving his hand as he made his critique, finally rendering his verdict:

  "Not bad, the word count is just right, only slightly worse than my poem; but it's already very good!"

  Now that the storm has passed, Xingyan returned to Ju Ying's side. The little girl on the other side looked unhappy and wondered why Xingyan was so polite to these people. Xingyan smiled calmly and told her not to bother with these people, otherwise it would ruin their trip. Upon hearing this, Ju Ying finally felt at ease.

  In fact, the young man had another reason that he didn't tell her, which was that he had actually gotten used to being humble. After all, as a poor and lowly mountain village boy, what qualifications did he have to compare with those rich and noble young masters?

  However, the clever words could see that this innocent girl didn't have any feelings about his humble status, so she didn't say anything more, to avoid stirring up another commotion.

  Generally, after arriving at Luoxing Mountain, the scenery of Poyang Lake can be considered complete. The painting boat then turned around and headed slowly back to Nanji Island.

  When the lush trees on Nanji Island are in sight, I couldn't help but think of the steamed fish in the water, which is really delicious. While savoring the flavor, I thought of a story about this fish; at first, I only remembered the food and forgot to tell Ju Ying. Now it's just right to tell the girl, and also to dilute the unpleasantness on Luo Xing Shi Island. So the young man began to enthusiastically tell the story he had just thought of to the girl beside him:

  The shad in Poyang Lake has a thin belly like a blade, rough and shiny scales, and a whole body white like silver. In ancient times, it was also called "silver light fish". Unlike other places' shad, this Poyang Lake's shad is not only available all year round, but its crystal forehead also has a touch of bright red. This red dot is bright and transparent, really good-looking.

  It is said that in ancient times, the shad fish in Poyang Lake were also like all other shad fish under heaven, with a smooth forehead like a mirror and no red spots. According to legend, later when Da Yu was controlling the waters, there was a monster called "Wuzhi Qi" who was causing trouble and chaos in the Yangtze River near Poyang Lake, blocking the waterway and causing the lake to flood and overflow, killing many people and turning hundreds of miles around into a swamp. When Da Yu heard about the monster's evil deeds, he went to ask for the help of heavenly soldiers and generals. The heavenly general chopped down with his axe, opening up a passage in the blocked Yangtze River, and the waterway was cleared again.

  Many years later, the monster Wuzhiqi was revived and returned to make waves in Poyang Lake. The lake's surface was turbulent every day, making it impossible for fishermen to fish, and they lost their livelihoods. The Dragon King of the East China Sea learned about this and sent his crown prince, the Little Dragon King, to come to Poyang Lake to quell the monster and bring peace to the people. The Little Dragon King had great magical powers and succeeded in one move. Due to his outstanding contributions, the Little Dragon King was later appointed by the Heavenly Court as the "Four Rivers Dragon God", governing the four major waterways of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huai River, and Ji Water; and Poyang Lake, which was connected to the Yangtze River, also became one of the Four Rivers Dragon God's grottos.

  After that, the East China Sea Dragon King would send a carp spirit to deliver a letter to the Little Dragon King every April or May. After delivering the letter, the Little Dragon King would use a red brush to dot the carp's head as proof of delivery.

  After that, the descendants of the fish that delivered the message continued to thrive in Poyang Lake; these offspring also became different from other fish in the world's waters, with a bright red dot on their foreheads.

  This conversation has left Ju Ying, a young girl, enchanted. It was evident from the last time in Raozhou City that she had an extraordinary talent for language; and now, facing this breathtaking scenery of the lake and mountains, she told this originally very moving legend in a vivid and engaging way, depicting the evil spirit's cruelty, the heavenly general's great power, and the dragon king's deep father-son relationship. The young girl Ju Ying, who had been pampered since childhood, had never heard such a wonderful story; nor did she expect that this small fish from Poyang Lake would have such a mysterious and beautiful origin. For a moment, the girl was so absorbed in the story that she forgot where she was.

  Just as the two young people were immersed in that beautiful and moving legend, they suddenly heard a strange and eerie voice ringing in their ears:

  "What dragon king, monster fish head horse face, all mixed up! This bright and clear world, where did so many strange things come from? You little brat, fabricating such nonsense, only suitable for deceiving ignorant girls! But you're not even facing the Poyang Lake, take a look at your own poor appearance. Truly, you don't know your own strength!"

  This discordant noise is exactly from the mouth of that "lower head thin and upper head thick" brother. This guy has always been able to recite a few lines of crooked poetry, and since then he has been self-proclaimed as elegant; relying on the silver in his pocket, he has a group of idle followers to support him, and he thinks he is extremely talented and unparalleled. He is indeed the typical "rich but talentless" dandy young master.

  It just so happened that the young man from a humble background was ridiculed by this country bumpkin on the island of Luo Xing Shi. This guy had never suffered such humiliation before, and when he came to his senses, he couldn't help but feel angry from the bottom of his heart. He was looking for an opportunity to take revenge, but unexpectedly, that country boy became extremely humble, just like a mouse stealing eggs without knowing where to start.

  Seeing that the South Reef Island is approaching, if I still can't find an opportunity to take action under this anxious and urgent situation, I will inevitably accumulate a lump in my chest, and from now on, I will have a heart disease!

  Just as he was wandering around, he happened to hear the young man talking about that strange and absurd matter. He immediately grasped the opportunity and hurriedly seized the tail of the conversation to mock him a bit - but because he had been holding back for too long, his tone was somewhat urgent and rough, making it extremely harsh and unpleasant to listen to.

  Seeing that the two had no reaction, he was even more pleased with himself, using force to shake his goose feather fan and turning his head to shout loudly at the crowd on the boat:

  "Come quick and see! The Dragon King is nowhere to be found, but there's a toad who wants to eat swan meat!"

  Those passengers were not good people either, and they had just been humiliated on the island of Luo Xing Shi. They were extremely resentful in their hearts and were looking for an opportunity to vent their anger. At this moment, they were even more in tune with each other, bursting into loud laughter. After mocking him, they also mixed in all kinds of sharp and sarcastic taunts. Seeing such a rare opportunity to be presumptuous, even the boat owner and helmsman joined in, doing their best to mock him.

  Waking words and Ju Ying, at most, were just two young people who had never encountered such a situation. In the midst of the crowd's ridicule and mockery, although the two were momentarily stunned, they were at a loss for what to do.

  But in the midst of this noisy and bustling boat, no one noticed that in the vast clear sky above their heads, there was a dark cloud, initially only the size of a copper coin, but slowly expanding silently...