Chapter 89: Lantern Festival, Wind and Rain Approach
Zhou Yan arrived in Zhongdu at dusk on the thirteenth day of the first lunar month.
The Lantern Festival had already begun.
One lantern illuminates a thousand years.
The true origin of the Lantern Festival is related to Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng. In the early Han Dynasty, imperial power was concentrated in the Lü family. After Empress Lü’s death, Emperor Wen of Han, along with his ministers, quelled the “Rebellion of the Lü Clan” on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Thus, he designated this day as a day for the emperor and the people to celebrate together. Every household in the capital hung lanterns and decorations to show their joy.
Later, Emperor Wu of Han also designated the fifteenth day of the first lunar month for the worship of the “Taiyi God.”
During the Song Dynasty, Kaifeng Prefecture erected scaffolding and poles directly facing the Xuande Tower. Spectators gathered along both sides of the Imperial Street. Marvelous skills, exotic performances, songs, and dances, and a hundred entertainments were packed together, with the sounds of music creating a cacophony for over ten li.
This clearly demonstrates the grandeur of the Lantern Festival during this era.
Before entering the city, Zhou Yan had to dismount and lead his horse for several li. Within his sight, lanterns blazed, gold and jade shimmered, and brocades intertwined. He, too, was captivated by the spectacle.
After nearly half a month of diligent cultivation in the mountains and fields, his gains were not only the tempering and opening of the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and Hand Yangming Meridian, but also the mastery of One Sword, Seven Stars. He also made significant progress in “Free and Easy Journey,” “Golden Goose Skill,” “Yue Family Fist Manual,” and “Yue Family Spear Technique,” his cultivation level increasing. He could now effortlessly employ the martial arts techniques of other escorts he had seen at the escort agency, much like Huang Rong in the Jianghu of Legend of the Condor Heroes, who could learn and use the martial arts techniques of Peng Lianhu and Sha Tongtian immediately after seeing them. Of course, without the proper internal energy cultivation methods, their power was greatly diminished. When Huang Rong used them, it was more for intimidation.
Zhou Yan was different. Most escorts at the agency focused on external styles, so the techniques he remembered, when executed, could truly surpass the original.
As he roamed the streets, his consciousness had not yet fully emerged from the state of diligent cultivation. He saw the lion heads on the street and thought of the meteor hammer techniques of the escort agency’s skilled hammer escorts.
Street vendors were cooking tangyuan and dumplings, and the aroma of cooking filled the air. Zhou Yan’s thoughts finally returned to the present, and he chuckled inwardly, realizing he was almost becoming obsessed with martial arts.
He ate two large bowls of dumplings by the roadside, then led his horse to the escort agency’s stable. Carrying a cloth bag filled with mountain chicken and wild rabbit, he walked back to his courtyard.
The hall and its surroundings were covered in dust. Zhou Yan cleaned them, drew water to bathe, and rested on his bed. Before falling asleep, he thought about visiting Zhang Wangyue, Yang Tiexin, and Huyan Lei the next day, then heading to the Yuelai Inn and the Zhao Wang Manor to see if anything was happening.
…
Waking up in the morning, Zhou Yan finished his ablutions and leaped onto the Plum Blossom Piles. He executed the thirty-six moves of “Free and Easy Journey.” His movements were swift, like a shooting meteor across the sky, his palm shadows filling the air, resembling a Heaven and Earth Net.
The intention arose from his heart. The fist techniques and internal energy cultivation methods taught by Hong Qigong had not been altered in the slightest, yet they possessed a completely different flavor from when he first learned them.
The true meaning of “Free and Easy Journey” lies in the word “free and easy.” Hong Qigong’s free and easy boxing was “a robe of hemp and a sack, walking freely and at ease.” Zhou Yan’s free and easy boxing was “clear and distinct, inside and out. Occupying freedom and ease,” which was the freedom of the spirit. Therefore, his intention was rounded, his movements like flowing water, reaching a state of doing as he pleased and controlling his actions with ease.
If Hong Qigong were to see his current mastery of this boxing technique, he would undoubtedly be astonished.
After an hour of practice, the sun had risen high. Zhou Yan took the cloth bag containing four mountain chickens and two wild rabbits and headed towards Zhang Wangyue’s home.
Zhang Wangyue lived alone in a siheyuan in Jiqing Ward, west of the city.
Zhou Yan could understand the Chief Escort’s single status. Because of a personal safety escort mission, he had traveled from the Dragon Gate Escort Agency in Lin’an Prefecture to Fu’an, living incognito. He sometimes wondered if that infant girl was being secretly protected by the Chief Escort in Zhongdu. Therefore, it was understandable that he had not yet married or started a family.
As clouds drifted across the sky, Zhou Yan walked through streets and alleys, arriving at the siheyuan in Jiqing Ward.
The courtyard gate was ajar. As Zhou Yan was about to push it open, it creaked open, and Mu Nianci, dressed in red, appeared before him.
“Miss Mu?”
Zhou Yan looked at Mu Nianci with some surprise. The young lady within his sight turned and called into the courtyard, “Head Escort Zhou is here.”
The curtain of the main hall was lifted, and Huyan Lei strode out. “Brother Zhou is out of seclusion. It’s good timing; Elder Yang, Head Escort Wang, and Head Escort Shi are all here.”
As Huyan Lei finished speaking, Mu Nianci said, “Head Escort Zhou, please come in. I’ll go get some wine.”
As she finished speaking, Zhang Wangyue, Wang Kui, and Shi Baichuan all came out.
Huyan Lei said, “I came to your place around the year-end, but the door was shut tight. I happened to see the Chief Escort and Miss Mu coming to look for you.”
Mu Nianci’s face flushed, and she quickly explained, “Father is getting wine to drink with the escort.”
“Thank you, Miss Mu. I was cultivating in the mountains and fields at that time.”
“Yes, the Chief Escort and Head Escort Huyan both guessed it. Hurry inside.”
“Alright!” Zhou Yan stepped aside. Mu Nianci gracefully walked out and quickly headed towards the wine shop.
Zhou Yan entered the courtyard and cupped his fists. “Thank you for your concern, Chief Escort, Elder Brother Huyan, and Elder Yang.”
Wang Kui said with a sigh, “I was also thinking of you, Brother Zhou. However, with over ten people in my clan and several marriageable nieces, I was afraid of startling you, so I gave up the idea of looking for you.”
Huyan Lei and Shi Baichuan burst into laughter.
Zhang Wangyue stepped forward and asked, “How was your secluded cultivation?”
Zhou Yan replied, “I gained quite a lot.”
“Very good. Relax for these two days. After the Lantern Festival, when the escort agency sets out, you will have to take charge.”
“Alright!”
Zhou Yan smiled and placed the cloth bag in the courtyard. He entered the house with everyone. While eating and drinking, he subtly inquired and learned that no unusual events had occurred in the city, except that the Changfeng Escort Agency had brought in many people from Datong Prefecture.
Zhou Yan surmised that the Six Freaks of Jiangnan had not yet made a move against Wanyan Honglie, otherwise the Chief Escort and the others would not be so unaware.
Two days passed in interactions with the escorts. During this time, Zhou Yan visited the Yuelai Inn once. A sharp-eyed shop assistant saw Zhou Yan and immediately whispered that the guest with the peculiar appearance was still there.
Zhou Yan felt that with such a memory, the person was wasted as a shop assistant, and he rewarded him with another piece of silver.
Time passed in this rhythm until the Lantern Festival.
…
Without lanterns, there is no joy; without the moon, it is not spring.
Zhongdu’s Lantern Festival had both lanterns and the moon, and was bustling and prosperous.
Zhou Yan, Zhang Wangyue, Huyan Lei, Yang Tiexin and his daughter, and others, went out together to stroll and admire the lanterns.
As dusk fell, dragon dances, lion dances, lantern displays, and juggling filled the air. The entire city seemed to boil with excitement.
At Hai Shi (9-11 PM), the atmosphere of the Lantern Festival was gradually reaching its peak.
Zhou Yan felt that strolling through the streets was more tiring than escorting a caravan.
He found a street stall and sat down with Zhang Wangyue, Yang Tiexin, and Huyan Lei, each ordering a bowl of tangyuan.
Mu Nianci looked at the riddles on a lantern, her delicate eyebrows almost furrowed together.
One point by one, add one point;
One point by one, combine one point;
One point by one, leave one point;
One point by one, subtract one point;
“So many points!” Mu Nianci muttered to herself.
…
Huang Rong, dressed in white, was also looking at the riddles on the lanterns.
“Two dots, one line; one line, two dots.”
“How is this so simple?”
As Huang Rong walked forward, she continued to look at the lanterns. Ultimately, guessing riddles was a rather enjoyable activity.
Two chapters will be released together today.
