Chapter 84

"Amidst the red autumn scenery, the name is hidden in the mist, the ancient tree leans against the sky, and the temple is far from the mundane world..." After reciting a five-character poem, the old man no longer paid attention to Ye Yu, turned around, and entered the thatched cottage on his own.

After listening, Ye Yu was lost in thought. He then bowed three times toward the thatched cottage and sat back in his wheelchair, which was pushed out of the small garden by She Tongcheng. On the way out of the small garden, Ye Yu did not speak a word, always pondering the four lines of the poem the old man had recited.

She Tongcheng really couldn't understand. After all, the current Grand Historian wanted to take his elder brother as a student, but his elder brother seemed to have no interest. Why did he change his attitude today and specifically come to pay respects to an old man as a teacher?

"Brother..."

"You don't need to say anything more, I know what you want to ask!" Ye Yu waved his hand, indicating that he already understood: "This old man, if he hadn't disappeared fifty years ago, would already be a renowned master of painting!"

"..."

"Alright, you won't understand even if I explain, let's talk about it when we get back..." Ye Yu felt that he couldn't explain it to She Tongcheng, so he urged him to hurry back. He had to carefully ponder the topic given by the old man.

In the thatched cottage, the old man looked through the bamboo curtain at Ye Yu's departing back, his cloudy eyes showing a hint of satisfaction. He nodded slightly and muttered to himself: "Having this discerning eye is truly rare. I am old, and I can't take all my knowledge to the grave. Since I have a connection with this young man, if he has some enlightenment, taking him as a disciple in my old age can also make up for a bit of regret..."

Back home, Ye Yu locked himself in his study for two days and two nights without stepping out. During these two days, Ye Yu repeatedly pondered and studied the four lines of the poem written on the paper. He didn't believe that the old man's topic would be so simple.

If he painted based on the tranquility in the poem, it would indeed be much easier, but was this the true meaning of the poem? Ye Yu immediately rejected this idea.

"Master, have you had the fish head soup..."

With the inquiry from Qiulan outside the door, Ye Yu finally came out of his deep thoughts. He glanced at the fish head soup on the shore and shook his head, muttering to himself: "At this time, how can I have the heart to drink fish soup!"

However, just as he finished speaking, Ye Yu suddenly seemed to think of something, and began to mutter incessantly: "Fish head soup... fish head soup... hidden head poem?"

When he shifted his gaze back to the four lines of the poem on the table, four prominent characters caught his eye: "Mountain Conceals Ancient Temple!"

Qiulan, seeing that Ye Yu had not responded for so long, pushed the door open in worry. When she saw Ye Yu sitting well at the table, her heart, which had been on edge, gradually calmed down.

She took small steps to approach and saw that the fish head soup she had prepared was already cold. She shook her head and sighed: "Master, I'll warm it up for you again..."

"No, no need! The fish head soup is better when it's cold!"

At this moment, the delighted Ye Yu didn't care whether the fish soup was hot or cold. He grabbed the porcelain pot and gulped it down. Qiulan had wanted to stop him, but it was too late. In a moment, Ye Yu had already finished the fish soup!

"Master, this is bad for your stomach!" Qiulan, unable to stop him, stomped her feet in worry.

Ye Yu didn't take it seriously, wiped his mouth, and laughed heartily: "This fish head soup is so delicious, how can it be bad for the stomach! Alright, go and make something delicious, suddenly I have a big appetite!"

"Really?"

Qiulan perked up at the sound of this. These two days, Ye Yu had been locked in his room, not drinking tea or eating, which had troubled her greatly. She had used all her skills to prepare many delicious dishes, but she never expected that her master liked to drink fish head soup.

"Is there any doubt?" Ye Yu gave Qiulan a playful glance and urged her: "Go quickly! Make more delicious food..."

"Alright! I'll go right away!"

The delighted Qiulan picked up the plate and rushed out of the study. However, she didn't know that her master's sudden appetite was not because he liked to drink fish head soup.

After the study returned to quiet, Ye Yu looked at the four lines of the poem on the desk and couldn't help but marvel at the old man's deep intentions. A five-character poem, testing the painter's three major challenges in succession.

After a brief thought, Ye Yu took a piece of paper and began to paint. The scene was created from the heart, and with a focused mind, painting came naturally. By the time Qiulan called him for dinner, Ye Yu had already completed the painting of "Mountain Conceals Ancient Temple"!

...

On the afternoon of the third day, Ye Yu brought his painting to the thatched cottage again. This time, the old man did not keep him at a distance but asked Ye Yu to spread the scroll on the stone table in the courtyard.

When Ye Yu slowly opened the scroll, the painting showed a scene of overlapping mountains, a clear mountain spring, and an old and a young monk carrying a bucket of spring water, leisurely walking along the winding stone steps into the depths of the mountain...

The mountains and water in the painting exuded a sense of spirituality, the red leaves seemed to dye the entire mountain range, and especially the old and young monks, although the painting technique was quite rough, they were vivid and lifelike.

The old man stood on the side, staring at the painting in a daze. His lips trembled slightly, and his expression showed a moment of surprise. But he quickly covered it up, lightly stroking his beard and coldly snorted: "Little boy, do you know what the old man's topic was?"

"Mountain Conceals Ancient Temple!"

"Good! Being able to see through this layer shows that you have some insight!" The old man nodded slightly and then waved his hand: "Since it's 'Mountain Conceals Ancient Temple,' there is no temple in the painting, so it's off-topic. You should leave!"

Ye Yu respectfully replied: "Old man, the temple is in the painting!"

"Oh? How so?" The old man pretended not to know and asked.

"If there were no temple in the mountain, why would the old and young monks be fetching water from the foot of the mountain? Although I didn't outline the temple, the meaning is clear: where there are monks, there is a temple; where there is water, there are people!"

"Ha ha ha! Well said, 'where there are monks, there is a temple; where there is water, there are people!' This insight is very gratifying!" The old man couldn't help but laugh heartily after hearing Ye Yu's explanation.

Ye Yu also smiled slightly: "Old man, your five-character poem intentionally set three challenges! I almost got lost in them!"

Thinking about the maze in the poem, Ye Yu was still slightly surprised. For the first challenge, if it weren't for Qiulan's fish head soup, he wouldn't have thought that the topic was hidden in the first character of each line of the poem.

The second challenge followed: if he directly painted the scenery described in 'Mountain Conceals Ancient Temple,' such as the red mountain, the winding path, and the hidden temple at the end of the path, he would have fallen into the second maze.

In fact, the core of the topic 'Mountain Conceals Ancient Temple' lies in the word 'conceal.' How to conceal is a huge challenge, which is the most difficult third challenge.

The temple hidden in the forest is 'concealment'; the rising smoke from the kitchen is 'concealment.' But these so-called concealments seem too cliché. Therefore, the word 'conceal' is the essence of the old man's topic.

However, this did not stump Ye Yu. For someone who understands that painting is about 'intention rather than form,' his thinking is flexible and versatile. Using the monks fetching water as a lead, he implied that there is a temple in the mountain. The old and young monks also symbolize the continuous tradition of the temple...

The old man, stroking his white beard, looked at Ye Yu with satisfaction, a smile appearing on his face: "You have discernment and insight! Your future achievements will surpass mine!"

"Old man, you flatter me! You were already famous at the age of twenty, how can I compare to you?"

"Oh? Do you know who I am?" At this moment, it was the old man's turn to be surprised. He stared at Ye Yu with keen eyes and asked.

Ye Yu replied solemnly: "I dare not hide the truth. When I saw the painting on your fan, I noticed the signature 'Jing Meng,' which gave me a peculiar feeling. Later, when I saw the half-finished painting hanging in the thatched cottage, I guessed that you are Wang Ximeng, the renowned painter of fifty years ago!"

The most famous long scroll painting in the entire Song Dynasty is Zhang Zeduan's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," and the other is Wang Ximeng's "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains."

Wang Ximeng, although ten years younger than Zhang Zeduan, became famous much earlier. Moreover, Wang Ximeng was personally taught by Emperor Huizong, which was an incomparably high honor for an eighteen-year-old young man.

The young and famous Wang Ximeng soon disappeared without a trace, with no historical records to follow. Later generations speculated that after completing "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains," Wang Ximeng fell seriously ill and died. Whenever Ye Yu read this, he felt a deep sense of regret for the early death of this young genius.

However, when he saw the signature 'Jing Meng' and the unfinished "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" in the thatched cottage, Ye Yu's first thought was that the old man in front of him was Wang Ximeng. The characters 'Jing Meng' split apart are Wang Ximeng! Therefore, he had the idea of becoming his disciple...

"Oh? It seems I underestimated you..." The old man was slightly surprised and then said thoughtfully: "Then you should know the name of the painting hanging in my room?"

"A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains!"

"Do you know why it's only a fragment?"

"I am ignorant, I don't know the meaning!"

The old man sighed deeply: "Not only is the painting in my room incomplete, but even the painting I created back then was incomplete! During Emperor Huizong's reign, our Song Dynasty lacked the sixteen northern states of Youyun. Therefore, when I was eighteen, the 'A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains' I painted was also a fragment!"

"Fragment!?"

Ye Yu was stunned as if struck by lightning. A painting that would later become a masterpiece of the ages was actually a fragment!

"Indeed! With an incomplete landscape, how could I paint it completely, and how could I deceive myself?"

"..." Ye Yu remained silent, for what the old man Wang Ximeng said made perfect sense.

Wang Ximeng then continued: "And the painting you saw in the thatched cottage is even more incomplete than the 'A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains' I painted back then! I don't need to explain the reason in detail, do I?"

Sitting on the side, Ye Yu sighed deeply: "With a broken landscape, how can there be a thousand miles of rivers and mountains..."

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