Better to Take with a Straight Hook Than Seek with a Bent One

"The green hills and clear waters remain, but all that has passed is now nothingness."

For a moment, I found myself engrossed in it again.

Jiang Ziya reflected on his life and sighed deeply.

He lived a life of poverty and hardship in his youth, but fortunately, he had the help of his sworn brother; otherwise, he might very well have died in the streets.

The reason he made up his mind to enter the Daoist sect and cultivate Daoism was actually because there was nothing in this mortal world that he would be attached to.

Otherwise, who would want to live such a hard life in the mountains?

Looking back now, it all seems so unbearable.

Fortunately, although his aptitude was not very good, he had been in the immortal sect for more than forty years. Although he had not achieved much, he eventually cultivated to the realm of True Immortal and could be considered a person of the Immortal Dao.

He also shoulders the mission of the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, so his master can be considered to have given him a high position.

Jiang Ziya sat quietly on the rock, staring blankly at the river in front of him, lost in thought.

But then a woodcutter approached from a distance. He looked rather slovenly and didn't seem like a good person.

But the woodcutter slowly approached, humming a song.

"Climbing mountains and crossing ridges, the sound of chopping wood echoes, a broad axe at hand, hacking at withered vines, rabbits scurrying before the cliff, deer calling behind the mountain, a strange bird in the treetop, a warbler beyond the willow!"

"Seeing green pines and cypresses, white plums and red peaches, and a carefree woodcutter, one feels more like an immortal."

"Chopping firewood, I can exchange it for three liters of rice; vegetables, wine, and an erhu; I'll gaze at the moon, inviting my shadow, alone in the mountains and forests—"

"----------"

A woodcutter in the distance began to sing a mournful song, which grew louder as it approached.

This startled Jiang Ziya, who was fishing.

Jiang Ziya smiled slightly, finding it somewhat interesting.

Then he turned to look at the woodcutter in the distance.

It was a young man wearing a straw hat.

He was dressed in coarse linen clothes, with rattan wrapped around his waist and old cloth shoes on his feet.

With a large bundle of firewood on its back, it was singing happily.

Upon seeing such a remarkable person, Jiang Ziya couldn't help but smile.

Meanwhile, the woodcutter in the distance looked at Jiang Ziya on the large rock with curiosity in his eyes, and then approached and spoke to the old Jiang Ziya.

"Old man, my home is nearby. I've noticed you've settled here for several years now. You don't go out much, just grow vegetables and fish. It's quite an interesting life, isn't it? You're living a really carefree life."

Looking at Jiang Ziya's wrinkled face, the young woodcutter, for some reason, sensed a strange kind of benevolence.

Seeing the young woodcutter's kind expression, Jiang Ziya felt a strange sense of closeness and nodded in greeting.

But the young woodcutter was clearly a talkative person. Seeing that Jiang Ziya did not reply, he asked again.

"Does this old gentleman know your name?"

Seeing that the woodcutter had some merit, Jiang Ziya spoke up.

"I am from Ji County Henei Commandery. In my youth, I spent some time in Chaoge. My surname is Jiang, my given name is Ziya, my courtesy name is Ziya, and my nickname Daoist Flying Bear. You may call me Flying Bear or Jiang Ziya."

Upon hearing this, the young woodcutter was slightly taken aback. This man actually called himself the Daoist Flying Bear; what a boastful tone! He then burst into laughter.

Seeing that the young Daoist seemed to be mocking him, Jiang Ziya was not angry. Instead, he asked him a question.

"And what's your name, young man?"

"Sir, my name is Wu Ji."

Although the woodcutter mocked him, the fact that he changed the old man's address from "little old man" to "old gentleman" clearly showed him some respect for Jiang Ziya.

"Wu Ji, why are you laughing when you hear my name?"

The young woodcutter laughed again before speaking.

"In this world today, only the truly wise, the Saint, and the virtuous possess a heart brimming with wisdom and a mind overflowing with exquisite beauty!"

"Only people like you are qualified to have a title. How can someone like you, who lives in the mountains and forests every day and fishes on this rock, have a Daoist title?"

"He even calls himself Flying Bear? Isn't that a bit of a misnomer? It gives the impression of being all talk and no action, which is why I laughed."

Hearing Wu Ji's mockery, Jiang Ziya couldn't help but laugh as well.

This young man is quite something; he speaks frankly and without any restraint.

"Sir, it's not that I'm looking down on you, but your behavior is just a bit strange."

"I often see you fishing and raising chickens here. It seems you have no other livelihood; you just sit here waiting for opportunities to come to you. There's nothing Gao Ming."

Upon hearing these words, Jiang Ziya shook his head, smiled without saying a word, and then turned his head to stare intently at the fishing rod in his hand without speaking further.

Seeing that the old fisherman looked down on him so much, the woodcutter couldn't help but feel angry.

He stepped forward and snatched the fishing rod from Jiang Ziya's hand.

When they lifted the fishing line, they found only a silver needle tied to the other end, without even a bend. It was quite strange; how could they possibly catch a big fish like this?

He immediately burst into laughter. This old man had indeed lost his mind, actually fishing with a needle. His crazy appearance was rather pitiful.

Seeing the woodcutter's pitiful expression, Jiang Ziya paid no attention. He simply took the fishing rod from the woodcutter's hand and cast the silver needle into the river once more.

"As the saying goes, ambition knows no age, and empty plans at a hundred years old are futile. How could a mere mortal like you possibly understand my level of understanding?"

After saying this, Jiang Ziya simply smiled, took out the wine gourd from his waist, took a sip, and felt quite content.

Seeing that this crazy old man actually looked down on him, Wu Ji couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"That's not how you fish, old man."

"How long will you keep fishing like this? And where will you even get a bite? It's utterly ridiculous!"

"How about this, I'll teach you a method for making fishhooks. If you follow my method, you'll surely be able to catch those delicious big fish."

"After you get back, heat this silver needle until it's red-hot with a strong fire, then bend it and find some fish bait in the fields."

"Then you hang the bait on it, and when the hungry fish comes to eat, the fishing float will start to bob. That's when you know a fish has taken the bait."

"If you pull the fishing rod again, you'll surely catch that big, fresh fish."

"If you fish with a straight silver needle like that, even if the sea dries up and the rocks crumble, you might not catch a single fish."

Wu Ji was mocking Jiang Ziya.

However, he wasn't a bad person; he even taught Jiang Ziya how to fish.

Although he was a bit long-winded, he did not offend Jiang Ziya.

"What could a mere mortal like you possibly know?"

"You only know one aspect, but not the other; our levels of understanding are different."

"Although I fish here every day, I am not looking for ordinary fish; I am looking for fish that will willingly take the bait."

"As the saying goes, this ditch isn't built for koi carp, but only to mourn kings and nobles!"

"You wouldn't understand even if I said more!"

As Jiang Ziya spoke, he smiled slightly.

"It's better to obtain things directly than through crooked means—how can you possibly understand such a principle?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ji was immediately taken aback.

Goodness!

How could such a decrepit old man utter such arrogant and outrageous words?

A cold smile involuntarily crept across his face.

"It's better to achieve something directly than through crooked means."

"I never imagined you, old man, would be this arrogant and rampant."

"Then I'll see how you, old man, fish, and how you manage to get the fish straight—"

He then plopped down next to him; he was indeed a bit tired and this was a good opportunity to rest.