I Count You a Kindred Spirit

I Count You a Kindred Spirit!

Mount Tai lay in eastern China and was known as Eastern Sacred Mountain Tai.

Since ancient times, Mount Tai had been a symbol of sanctity. It stood foremost among the Five Sacred Mountains and was hailed as the greatest mountain under heaven.

It was also a place for fengshan ceremonies. Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu had both come to Mount Tai to hold grand fengshan rites, proclaiming their achievements to Heaven.

However, after Emperor Zhenzong of Song had also come to Mount Tai for a fengshan ceremony, such rites fell out of favor. Later accomplished emperors, such as Zhu Yuanzhang, would think of Emperor Zhenzong having performed one here and lose all desire to do the same.

Thus, fengshan ceremonies at Mount Tai had gone cold after Emperor Zhenzong of Song.

Fang Qing had never visited Eastern Sacred Mountain Tai in his previous life, though he had been to Western Sacred Mountain Hua and witnessed its perilous grandeur.

Now that he had arrived at Mount Tai, its steepness was naturally nowhere near as intense as Mount Hua's, but it was still imposing and majestic.

The mountain was divided into three geological tiers, like steps leading to heaven. A ten-kilometer road to heaven wound through the vast mountain mass toward the summit.

Fang Qing and the others made their way up Mount Tai together. Wang Ziwen had even thoughtfully hired a tour guide to recount Mount Tai's history, giving everyone a deeper sense of its weight through the ages.

"How the Sacred Mountain Tai Is—its verdant hues stretch endlessly across Qi and Lu."

As Fang Qing climbed, he thought of Du Fu's poem. He also recalled that in Smiling, Proud Wanderer, there was a Mount Tai Sect whose ultimate sword technique was called How the Sacred Mountain Tai Is.

Legend had it that this move was the most profound art among the Mount Tai Sect's sword techniques. Its essence lay not in sword forms, but in calculation. The right hand wielded the sword while the left calculated, determining the enemy's position, martial arts, weapon dimensions, even the angle of the sunlight, and more.

If one did not strike, so be it—but once one struck, the move would inevitably restrain the opponent and could kill with a single blow.

Fang Qing had obtained the Mount Hua Sect's Purple Haze Skill, so he was naturally interested in the Mount Tai Sect's How the Sacred Mountain Tai Is. Yet this world clearly did not possess such an ultimate technique, unless his fishing rod happened to reel it in.

Fang Qing sensed the fishing rod within his mind. Ever since it had caught the coordinates of the Great Tang World, it had been unusable, seemingly still on cooldown. But according to Fang Qing's estimate, the cooldown was about to end.

"Mount Tai really is hard to climb! It doesn't look that high, but we've been climbing forever and still haven't made it up!"

Not far away, a classmate wiped the sweat from his face and took another drink of water.

"I've heard that a mountain may look close, but it can wear your legs out before you reach it. Mount Tai is the same—it specializes in humbling big talkers!"

Another classmate was exhausted and wanted to stop for a rest.

"I'm tired, really tired. I work every day—when would I have time to exercise? With these old arms and legs, I get tired after walking even a little!"

"After we get back this time, my legs are definitely going to ache for days!"

"Huh? Look at Fang Qing. His physical condition really is great. He isn't even sweating, and he still looks full of energy!"

Many of the classmates sighed in admiration, while others turned to look at Fang Qing. They saw that he was still walking with ease, not even breathing heavily, immediately drawing plenty of attention.

"Li Xiaoman, your classmate has excellent physical fitness. He also seems to have a different temperament from everyone else."

Not far away, a foreigner watched Fang Qing with curiosity.

He was a man with typical Western features, deeply sculpted and striking. His nose was high, his blond hair slightly curly, and his blue eyes somewhat sunken. He looked rather handsome.

Watching Fang Qing, he saw that Fang Qing's strides were effortless, as if the long climb had barely cost him any strength.

"Kaid, I don't know Fang Qing very well. I only heard that he has been staying home these days, drinking tea and reading books—Chinese traditional classics, apparently."

The woman called Li Xiaoman spoke.

She wore sunglasses, her long black hair dancing in the wind. Her outfit was simple and somewhat cool: a T-shirt printed with a cartoon design above, shorts ending above her knees below, revealing her fair, beautiful legs.

Li Xiaoman also glanced at Fang Qing, trying to recall what he had been like in college. To her surprise, she barely had any impression of him.

But now, Fang Qing was truly handsome and truly had presence.

There was no one else in the entire class with more presence than Fang Qing.

"Fight, fight."

Not far from Li Xiaoman, Liu Yunzhi watched Ye Fan and Fang Qing with amusement. Li Xiaoman was Ye Fan's ex-girlfriend. If she fell for Fang Qing now, that would be interesting.

Or if Li Xiaoman fell for Kaid, that would be interesting too.

Of course, it would be even more interesting if she fell for him.

Yet things did not unfold as Liu Yunzhi had imagined. Fang Qing paid no attention to Li Xiaoman, nor did he pay any attention to the foreigner Kaid. Instead, he continued climbing with Ye Fan, discussing passages from the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon.

The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon recorded countless things. Aside from the Yellow Emperor's initial questions, the rest concerned health preservation and traditional Chinese medicine. The book was also known as the ancestor of traditional Chinese medicine.

"The Yellow Emperor asked: Heaven has eight winds, and the meridians have five winds. What does this mean? Qibo replied: When the eight winds give rise to pathogenic influences, they become meridian winds. They strike the five viscera, and pathogenic Qi gives rise to illness."

Passages like this were all recorded in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon.

Ye Fan had read the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, but he had not memorized every word of it.

However, after cultivating the Purple Haze Skill, Fang Qing had nurtured Qi and refined essence. Though he had not yet reached the stage of Refining Qi into Spirit, his mind was vastly sharper than before, and he had now nearly reached the point of never forgetting anything he saw.

Thus, when Fang Qing discussed the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon with Ye Fan, he had much more to say, leaving Ye Fan deeply impressed.

He had not expected his old classmate to possess such an exceptional memory.

After all, the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon was written in classical Chinese and was not easy to memorize.

Ordinary people would already be impressive if they could understand it in vernacular translation, yet this old classmate could cite passages with ease and explain them in a clear, orderly fashion.

For a time, Ye Fan counted Fang Qing as a kindred spirit.

Fang Qing also counted Ye Fan as a kindred spirit.

As they talked, their relationship warmed rapidly, and they became friends.

After talking about so many things, the group finally reached Mount Tai's summit, Jade Emperor Peak.

Looking down upon the myriad mountains beneath their feet and gazing into the distance at the Yellow River, they could not help but feel lofty emotions rise within them, involuntarily recalling the many words of praise ancient sages had written for Mount Tai.

Confucius: "Climb Mount Tai, and all under heaven seems small."

Xie Daoyun: "Lofty, lofty is Eastern Sacred Mountain Tai, its beauty soaring into the blue heavens. Within the cliffs lie hollow spaces, lonely, secluded, and profound."

Du Fu: "One day I shall stand atop the highest peak and behold all other mountains as small."

Zhang Zhichun: "Mount Tai is the most beautiful under heaven; timely rains spread across the world. Where now is one who reclines in lofty ease? Eastern Mountain resembles this mountain."

Such magnificent scenery could not help but intoxicate people and make them want to recite poetry.

But at that moment, several black dots suddenly appeared on the horizon. They gradually grew larger, and were actually hurtling toward Mount Tai!