0015 Sentiments Like Poetry

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Seeing A Zi so enthusiastic, Jiang Mingzhe felt uneasy. Using copied poetry to please others always felt like inviting guests with stolen money. Moreover, this wasn’t some otherworldly realm; “Guan Ju” was a widely known work, and the risk of being exposed was very high.

But if he told the truth—

Jiang Mingzhe glanced at A Zi. This girl, having grown up in the environment of the Star Lodge Sect, probably rarely had the chance to show such genuine laughter from the heart. Should he watch this smile fade into disappointment?

Before he could decide, Chasing Wind grinned mischievously: “Little A Zi, you just don’t get it, do you? Poets don’t usually explain their own masterpieces. Let senior brother explain it to you!”

A Zi turned to look at him, thinking that this Third Senior Brother, who tried all sorts of tricks to please Master, did seem to know quite a bit. She knew a little-known secret—that Chasing Wind’s passion for cooking wasn’t due to a mere fondness for food but was a way to attract Ding Chunqiu’s occasional visits for a meal.

Three years ago, on a late night, on a whim, she had wanted to add a laxative to breakfast the next day to stir things up and unexpectedly caught Chasing Wind sneaking around. She thought he was there to test medicine but followed quietly and saw him throw a highly venomous spider onto the sleeping chef.

That chef had been specially hired by Ding Chunqiu to cook Shandong cuisine. Chasing Wind often pestered him, cheekily trying to learn the craft.

However, A Zi kept this to herself. After all, pleasing Ding Chunqiu was a must for all disciples. Not only the registered disciples but even those not officially affiliated all racked their brains to find ways to please him. Whatever methods Chasing Wind used were his own business. A Zi chose to stay out of it, pretending not to have seen anything.

Chasing Wind’s methods of winning favor weren’t limited to food.

Ding Chunqiu had a bit of a refined streak, which could be seen in the Taoist names he gave his disciples.

Therefore, Chasing Wind bought many books through others and spoke in a leisurely manner, which made him seem more cultured compared to the other rough disciples.

When Chasing Wind said poets usually don’t explain their own works, A Zi believed him and quickly praised him: “Third Senior Brother, you’re so talented, besides the poet himself, you understand the most.”

In her heart, she thought: Chasing Wind understands poetry, talented to the point of six pecks; Master can recite many poems, gifted with seven pecks; and young ginger here can write poems—well, talented to a hundred pecks.

She had heard the phrase “talented to eight pecks” from Ding Chunqiu’s mouth, and naturally, she thought the more pecks, the more gifted.

Chasing Wind had read “Guan Ju”!

Jiang Mingzhe immediately realized this when Chasing Wind volunteered to explain to A Zi.

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Looking at him, Chasing Wind cleared his throat and covertly winked at Jiang Mingzhe, then said: “Little A Zi, our junior brother’s poem is brilliant!”

Huh? What did he mean?

Chasing Wind obviously had no intention of revealing the truth; instead, he was confirming the author’s identity for Jiang Mingzhe.

Chasing Wind continued: “The ospreys are a kind of water bird, on the little islands in the river. Two water birds call to each other—‘guan guan’—that’s the sound of the birds. The ‘graceful and virtuous lady’ you already understand—that’s you, little A Zi. As for ‘a gentleman seeks a good mate,’ it’s not about our junior brother loving cuju (an ancient form of football). The word ‘qiu’ means…”

The third chubby guy laughed mischievously and hooked his two thumbs together: “Seeing the water birds always come in pairs, this gentleman—haha, haha—he just remembered he still doesn’t have a wife!”

A Zi gasped, blushing even more, but in her mind, flashes of thought appeared—this was exactly like the scene when the junior brother met her. He climbed out of the water. Well, there were many little islands in that big lake, many birds, but which island’s birds did he see? Hmm, he saw two little birds cozying up and thought of himself, all alone. Then he looked up…

And, he saw me!

Suddenly, A Zi recalled the first meeting, when she was jealous of Jiang Mingzhe’s favor with Ding Chunqiu and glared at him sternly, but Jiang Mingzhe winked and smiled at her.

The third chubby guy kept babbling: “The meaning of the following lines is even clearer. The water chestnuts are in clusters here and there, drifting with the current, just like the heart of that graceful lady—unpredictable. This gentleman, even asleep, thinks of her; awake, he thinks of her too, wanting her, hee hee hee!”

You hee hee hee, you big jerk, hee!

Jiang Mingzhe held back for a long time but finally broke down at the third chubby guy’s sleazy laugh, rolling his eyes, about to reveal the truth.

A Zi was still a young girl, equivalent to a middle schooler in modern times. No matter how practical, worldly, or calculating Jiang Mingzhe was, he wasn’t without bottom lines or unscrupulous.

Youthful feelings are always poetic.

He could not bear to exploit such pure feelings, nor did he want to.

“Little A Zi!”

Jiang Mingzhe didn’t call her senior sister—this was his subconscious reaction and how an adult treated a young girl.

“Y-you don’t speak yet!”

A Zi suddenly shouted, shy and nervous, glancing at Jiang Mingzhe and quickly averting her eyes, as if struck by lightning.

The flicker in her eyes revealed an indescribable charm.

She dared not look at Jiang Mingzhe, subconsciously twisting the corner of her clothing with her fair fingers, stammering: “I think Third Senior Brother doesn’t understand either. What he said isn’t right. ‘A gentleman seeks qiu’ means liking to play cuju. ‘Thinking of cuju when awake and asleep’ means wanting to kick it early and late!”

After saying this, she nodded to herself: “Yes, that’s exactly what it means!”

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Jiang Mingzhe smiled gently.

He immediately nodded: “Senior sister is still smart. What Third Senior Brother explained is indeed not the poet’s original meaning.”

He had no choice but to temporarily play the role of a literary copycat traveler.

A Zi glanced at him with a complex expression, seeming both relieved and a little disappointed.

“Yes, yes, Third Senior Brother knows nothing!” A Zi quickly returned to normal, shifting the blame onto the third chubby guy, cheerfully saying: “Next time I go to the market, I’ll definitely buy you a ball!”

Chasing Wind didn’t mind A Zi saying his explanation was wrong. He shook his head and swayed: “It’s just a pity that the Tubo barbarians don’t understand cuju. I reckon not only at the market, even in the town or county, it would be hard to buy one.”

A Zi immediately got angry and snapped: “If I can’t buy one, I’ll find a fat, plump head, chop it off, and give it to my junior brother to kick as a ball!”

Chasing Wind’s neck shrank as he pretended to be scared: “Junior brother, did you see that? This senior sister is not to be trifled with! Enough, enough. Senior brother will prepare a feast for you!”

By the fishpond stood a wooden cage. Chasing Wind walked over, opened the door, and after some searching, pulled out two strange birds. They looked like pigeons enlarged several times, with red beaks and white cheeks. A black stripe ran from their eyes to their necks, resembling a black chicken heart when viewed from the front. Their bodies were mostly blue-gray, with wings of black and pale blue.

Upon seeing them, A Zi immediately cheered: “Ah, it’s the quail chicken!”

As soon as she said that, the two birds quacked loudly.

Chasing Wind proudly told Jiang Mingzhe: “Have you eaten this before? It’s the big stone chicken. They run very fast and can fly when alarmed, so they’re hard to catch, but the taste is the freshest.”

Jiang Mingzhe knew of the stone chicken—a kind of frog species known as the stone frog, named for its chicken-like call. It was a prized delicacy in Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong.

There was also a wild bird species, likely the one the third senior brother caught. The largest subspecies was called the big stone chicken.

Chasing Wind pressed his thumb, broke off the big stone chicken’s head, then lifted the wild bird’s neck: “You all can sit wherever you like. If you want tea, make it yourselves. I’ll cook in the kitchen and come over.”

A Zi immediately said: “I’ll help you pluck the feathers!”

Then, she gave Jiang Mingzhe a wink and cheerfully followed Chasing Wind into the kitchen.

Jiang Mingzhe quickly realized that A Zi’s offer to pluck feathers was just an excuse—she really wanted to watch Chasing Wind cook!

He couldn’t help but silently reflect that the relationships among the Star Lodge disciples were truly complicated. Although A Zi and Chasing Wind had some rapport, they still couldn’t fully let their guard down. He would have to be cautious in dealing with these people in the future.