Official Seals and Literary Treasures Speak of Flower Guests, Laughing at Those Within Books for a Lifetime

Heng Hua's face darkened as he slapped the table. "Grandfather, I'm a talent devoted to transmitting scriptures and researching techniques. You want me to go outside and fight? That's Third Brother and the others' job."

His technique deduction had reached a critical juncture. How could he possibly split his attention and leave now?

Xiang Feng: "..."

He silently swallowed the words he had been about to say, but he had no intention of taking Little Six out either.

Little Six had lived in Langhuan Hall for thirty years and had practically never gone out properly. His combat ability was utterly pathetic.

Taking him along would just mean dragging dead weight around, wouldn't it?

He thought disdainfully, A researcher who transmits scriptures and performs Dharma should just stay obediently within the clan and be protected.

"If I tell you to go, you go. Why so much nonsense? You brat never steps past the main gate or the inner gate—you're more delicate than a little girl. Letting you go out and see the world will benefit your future."

"No benefit at all. It'll only delay my cultivation. A scripture-transmitting clansman like me, one who deduces cultivation techniques, is the Fu Family's brain. The entire Fu Family's future cultivation depends on my calculations. My existence is the hope of the Fu Family bringing glory to its name!"

Fu Henghua pointed at the tip of his own nose without the slightest shame. "My combat strength is terribly weak. If something happens to me outside, that would be the Fu Family's greatest loss. You wouldn't merely be letting down my parents—you'd be letting down our ancestors too. Beneath the Nine Springs, Great-Grandfather and Great-Great-Grandfather would both take whips to you."

"You brat..."

Fu Danwei's rage surged to the heavens. If this had not been the grandson he had raised with his own hands, he would have slapped him already.

"Take whips to me? This old man will whip you, you little bastard, to death first."

As a dignified Golden Core Realm grand cultivator, who ordinarily dared speak to him like this?

"There's no room for discussion. Think about it—how many years has it been since you last left home?"

"Nonsense. I went out the day before yesterday."

"Yes, you came to Coiling Dragon Pavilion to pay this old man respects, but you never even left Coiling Dragon Island."

"Langhuan Hall and Dragonhead Peak aren't exactly close, all right?"

Fu Danwei said with a face full of contempt, "A mere few miles. With your Foundation Establishment cultivation, you could fly there in an instant. You wouldn't even need to walk, and your shoes wouldn't touch the dirt."

"After paying respects the day before yesterday, you ate a bowl of my jade-rice dragon-bamboo meal and a Dragonfish with three hundred years of cultivation."

Coiling Dragon Island was not large, yet it occupied a lower-grade first-rank Coiling Dragon spiritual vein. Grain was planted there and fish and livestock were raised freely. Nourished by the spiritual vein, they naturally became spiritual grain and spiritual fish.

Food of this kind was no less effective for cultivators than medicinal pills.

"And you took away the red-jade ornament I had displayed in my study—wait, where is my 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix'?"

Fu Danwei swept his gaze around, but did not see where that ornament had gone.

Fu Henghua's eyes drifted away for a moment. "It's on the third floor."

Sold it—no, he was preparing to sell it. He needed to keep buying spirit puppets to deduce cultivation techniques for the two of them, grandfather and grandson.

As a cultivator who performed techniques and transmitted Dharma, Fu Henghua naturally did not merely help others calculate their cultivation methods. He was calculating his own path as well.

He looked down on low-grade techniques and had resolved to tailor a supreme technique, the very best one, for himself.

Furthermore, despite the objections of every elder in the family, he intended to calculate a Soul Formation technique for his grandfather.

The pocket money his grandfather usually gave him naturally could not support that. He had to keep going to his grandfather to act spoiled, mooch off him, and exchange things for money.

Even that was not enough. From time to time, he had to help others deduce techniques and translate ancient texts in exchange for money.

But—

A Dharma Performer with no reputation outside would receive no attention at all. Though he had advertised his business as "tailored cultivation techniques," practically no one believed him.

Rather than seeking an unknown Dharma Performer, would it not be better to ask one of the great sects to copy out a cultivation technique?

Compared to something custom-made for oneself, people trusted those ready-made techniques that had been passed down for centuries and practiced by everyone.

Only two people had ever commissioned a technique from him.

The first had been a demonic cultivator. Once Henghua finished calculating the technique and the man received it, he immediately turned hostile and tried to kill him. In the end, the man and his storage pouch turned to ashes together.

Naturally, Henghua did not receive the remaining payment, nor could he build a reputation from it.

The second had been an immortal cultivator who ran off with the technique Fu Henghua had tailored for him and vanished without a trace. To this day, he had paid only the deposit. It angered Henghua so badly that his liver hurt for days, and he had nearly gone to his grandfather to beg him to hunt the man down.

Yet he did not dare make a sound, and could only swallow the loss in silence.

The Fu Family did not permit Fu Henghua to privately calculate techniques for outsiders, much less make custom techniques. If Fu Danwei found out, he would be the first to break his grandson's legs.

Fu Xiangfeng stepped forward then and gently soothed his grandfather.

"Please calm down, Grandfather. Little Six is still young, so don't lower yourself to his level."

Cultivators' descendants could live three hundred years. In Fu Xiangfeng's eyes, sixty-year-old Fu Henghua was merely a little brat.

"If he doesn't want to go out, then he needn't. Later, have him go pay you respects more often—three times a day, as exercise."

Henghua's eyes widened as he stared straight at Fu Xiangfeng.

How vicious. Three times a day—when would I have time left to read and perform Dharma?

"Do you think this old man cares about his visits? I'm trying to get him out of the house! Do you know how many years it has been since he left the island?"

He gestured at Fu Xiangfeng. "Ten years. A full ten years! This brat soaks in the library all day. When has he ever stepped beyond Langhuan Hall?"

Henghua yawned and could not be bothered listening to his grandfather complain.

Ten years. He had heard it until his ears grew calluses. Better think about which book to read tonight. Spells? No, Qi Refining techniques. Forget it, perhaps some miscellaneous essays...

"The farthest he walks in a day is from Langhuan Hall to the Dragonhead Main Hall up ahead. I tell him not to sit around all the time and to come out for walks, but he never listens!"

"How do I not exercise?"

The youth snapped back to attention and bared his teeth and claws. "I exercise plenty every day."

"Of course. Come on, tell your Third Brother how you exercise."

Henghua lifted his chin and declared with complete confidence, "I practice whip techniques and the Wind-Riding Lightness Art."

"Pah—whip techniques? You take a top and a whip, spin it around a few times each day at Langhuan Hall's entrance, and call that exercise? You dare say you practice whip techniques?"

Xiang Feng opened his mouth, but could not find any words.

"Balance work and rest, understand? My Evergreen Art requires stillness, not movement. Getting some air and sun every day is enough."

It was only a transitional technique anyway. His true cultivation method would soon be deduced. When the time came, he would have to disperse his cultivation and start over, so why bother painstakingly cultivating now?

He had chosen the Evergreen Art because it had the strongest effects for prolonging life and preserving one's appearance.

Henghua's face now looked as tender as that of a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old, entirely thanks to the appearance-preserving effect of the Evergreen Art.

Xiang Feng watched his grandfather and younger cousin quarrel, sighed, and could not be bothered to interfere.

After all, the younger cousin raised before their grandfather was not afraid of their grandfather's fiery temper at all.

Calm and unhurried, he surveyed the hall's furnishings. Four folding screens stood in the center, enclosing a small study. Inside were not only desks, chairs, and bookcases, but also incense tables, tea tables, a zither stand, and antique display cabinets filled with all manner of exquisite ornaments.

Suddenly, his gaze was caught by a strange tower-like structure atop one cabinet.

The tall building had no upturned eaves or soaring corners. It was square and regular, a palm-sized rectangular block.

At first, Xiang Feng thought the immaculate white ornament was carved from ivory. But upon approaching for a closer look, he discovered that it had been carved and assembled from grain after grain of long rice.

This was Dragon-Scale Rice produced on Coiling Dragon Island.

The rice grains were warm and pure white, their interiors hollowed out. Within every grain was a tiny room. Eight or nine such rooms formed one layer, and the rice grains were stacked layer upon layer, each room containing a different scene. In some of the tiny rooms, elderly people, children, and youths were even playing and reading.

Looking carefully, this palm-sized rectangular tower contained hundreds of rooms.

"What exquisite craftsmanship. Though I have cultivated for many years and specialize in sword arts, I have never been skilled at such meticulous work."

The grandfather and grandson had argued without result, and now noticed Xiang Feng staring blankly at the small ornament.

Fu Danwei snorted. "Now you know just how idle your cousin is every day, don't you? Hiding in the library with nothing to do, making 'rice carvings' and 'sand engravings.' Playing with trifles saps one's ambition. What use are they?"

"Art. This is art. And practicing handicraft skills helps with forming seals and chanting spells."

"Pah—you'd do better to practice your sword properly. When you're traveling outside, the time you spend making hand seals and casting spells is enough for several sword strikes."

The grandfather and grandson began quarreling again.

As Xiang Feng stared at the rice-carved tower, he noticed beside it a small pinch of sand arranged into a square. Each grain bore a single engraved character, so tiny that, if not for Xiang Feng's accomplished cultivation and torch-bright eyes, he likely could not have read them:

The spirit does not wander outward, essence does not spill; qi does not scatter, and the spirit sprout takes root.

The five elements and four images enter the central palace; why fear that the Golden Core will not form of itself?

True celestial signs lie within, responses without; empty blossoms fill the eye, and white snow descends.

When one yang returns at the meeting of Hai and Zi, a round, reunited moon appears at the center.

Xiang Feng contemplated it carefully and discovered that the poem was actually a cultivation mnemonic.

He secretly marveled at his younger cousin's attainments in circulating cultivation and performing Dharma.

Then shame rose in his heart. His Third Uncle and Third Aunt had passed away, and his younger cousin had moved alone into Langhuan Hall. He had often cared for him and believed he had repaid his uncle and aunt's kindness. Yet now, the grain-carved sculptures and sand-engraved words showed how lonely his cousin must have been every day. This was something they had all overlooked.

After thinking it through, he said to Fu Henghua, "As cultivators of the Lineage, we ought to strive and render meritorious service for the Lineage. If you stay home every day, how can you contribute to the clan..."

Seeing Fu Henghua swing his identity jade token, Xiang Feng suddenly remembered his position and duties, and swallowed the rest of his words.

"I do not merely enjoy the Lineage's protection. The merit I have rendered for the Lineage far exceeds yours, Third Brother. You fight outside to seize territory, earning nothing more than one great merit or several small merits. But I calculate techniques for clansmen every day. Great merits... heh... on the merit ledger, I alone rival every person of our generation combined."

"Cough, cough..."

Xiang Feng decisively changed his approach. "Shutting yourself in the library every day will eventually stifle you. You should go out more often, see the scenery, and socialize. It will cultivate your temperament and broaden your horizons."

"Books contain gold, and books contain human ties. Guarding Langhuan Hall, I observe within books the myriad forms of human life, its joys and sorrows, meetings and partings. It's quite good."

"But isn't it lonely? Apart from Xiaoyu and Hengshou, this place is so cold and deserted. Isn't that too bleak?"

Thinking it over carefully, if Grandfather was gone in ten years and the others from Cypress Sovereign Hall moved away, while only his younger cousin remained on Coiling Dragon Island, would he not be even more solitary?

Xiang Feng immediately understood his grandfather's loving concern and joined in persuading Henghua to travel outside.

Yet Fu Henghua only kept shaking his head. "I read and amuse myself every day, deduce profound arts, and have a host of friends to keep me company. It's quite good. Not lonely in the slightest."

"Friends?"

Fu Xiangfeng's expression turned strange as he instinctively looked toward Fu Danwei.

He stayed cooped up in the library all day. Where could he possibly have friends?

Fu Danwei thought of something, gave two cold laughs, and stood off to one side with his arms crossed. "Brat, introduce those friends of yours to your Third Brother."

Henghua rolled his eyes and could not be bothered with him. "Grandfather, this is called elegance. Do you understand elegance?"

"Withered branches and dead leaves die at year's end; clay figures and porcelain shards shatter at a touch. How can such dead objects speak of 'elegance'?"

Seeing the grandfather and grandson circle around their words, Xiang Feng kindly said, "If you have friends, introduce them to your foolish elder brother. It happens that I brought back quite a few gifts this time, so I can give them a meeting gift."

"That won't be necessary. Third Brother can just give them all to me."

Xiang Feng smiled. "Your share naturally won't be lacking. But your friends ought to have a share as well."

Upon hearing that, Henghua pointed at the writing desk.

One object after another flew over from the desk.

"Come, come, all of you. Pay respects to my Third Brother."

Several writing brushes flew over first, vying with one another as they transformed into thin, lanky scholars. They nodded to Fu Xiangfeng.

"These are the writings of my household, styled the Scholar of Utmost Devotion. They are my trusted confidants. We see each other day and night, never separated for thirty years."

Next, a pair of golden paper-cutting scissors flew over with a snip, snip, circled Xiang Feng three times, and took the form of a woman in golden robes.

Henghua added, "This is Qi Sifeng, elegantly known as the Recluse Lord of the Swift Pavilion."

"..."

Fu Xiangfeng's face stiffened, and he could barely maintain his smile.

After that, a seal flew over.

"This is Bright-Faith Gentleman."

Henghua clapped his hand, sending mana into the seal. It transformed into a white-robed gentleman with a thirty-percent resemblance to Henghua.

The gentleman smiled, clasped his hands and bowed to Xiang Feng, then returned to the desk.

Xiang Feng opened his mouth and stared dumbfoundedly at these writing implements.

Brush racks, water droppers, paperweights, inkstones...

Henghua named them one by one, having each transform into human form to pay respects before returning to its place.

At last, a bamboo cage came bouncing over from the bed. Two small balls swayed back and forth within it, ringing with a tinkling sound.

Henghua said, "The Beginning of Summer was the day before yesterday, and the weather is growing hot. My newest favorite is the 'Bamboo Lady.'"

The Bamboo Lady, also known as Green Slave, was a woven bamboo article used to cool oneself in summer.

It transformed into a beauty in green robes, bowed deeply to Xiang Feng, and returned to the hall.

Drawing a deep breath, Fu Xiangfeng forced out a smile. "Younger Cousin, are these the friends you speak of?"

Naming and granting official titles to literary treasures—how bored would someone have to be to do that?

"Of course there are more than these. Outside my library, I also have a group of flower guests."

"In spring, I watch Enchantress and Beauty dance in rivalry for favor. In summer, I discuss the mysteries with the gentlemen of secluded streams. When golden autumn arrives, I attend the banquets of longevity guests and drink osmanthus wine with rock guests. During the three winter months, I sleep beside Pure Cold and await the dawn of spring."

Listening to him, Xiang Feng was bewildered for a moment.

Fu Danwei snorted. "What this brat means is the flowers and grass at the library entrance.

"Enchantress is peach blossom. Beauty is apricot blossom. When spring comes, he watches peach and apricot compete in splendor through the window. Secluded Stream refers to orchids and lotuses, beloved by cultivators of our mystical sects, with whom one may discuss the mysteries and debate the Dao. Longevity Rock refers to chrysanthemums and osmanthus. During the Mid-Autumn moon viewing, he enters the chrysanthemum thickets and drinks osmanthus wine. And those so-called Pure Cold guests are plum blossoms and wintersweet. When all flowers wither in winter, he waits with plum blossoms and wintersweet for the next spring.

"For thirty years of library life, he has watched thirty cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter here."

Giving flowers names—what idle elegance.

After thinking for a moment, Xiang Feng tentatively asked, "Little Six, are you planning to grant spirit to these flowers and trees, creating flower and tree spirits?"

During his travels outside, he had seen cultivators who kept harems of flower spirits, passing every day in romantic pleasure.

"Whether vegetation gains spirit depends entirely on fate. If these flower guests of mine have such fortune, I naturally will not begrudge them Dharma. If they merely pass through the four seasons, cycling through withering and flourishing, then let them be."

Having lived two lives and spent thirty years cultivating his character in the library, Henghua possessed an open and understanding state of mind.

"Enough, Third Brother, Grandfather. You needn't worry about me. If I ever find things dull, I'll naturally go out for a walk."

Seeing Xiang Feng still meant to persuade him, Henghua pointed toward the fishpond outside. "These fish play and sway in the water. Third Brother, do you think they are happy or miserable?"

"I am not a fish. How would I know whether they suffer or rejoice?"

"Third Brother is not a fish, so he does not understand the joy of fish. Nor is he me, so he cannot know my joy."

Reading books and performing Dharma—leisurely and at ease.

The only thing Henghua worried about now was his grandfather's remaining lifespan of merely ten years.

For that reason, he would inevitably have to run about outside before long, but not now.

Windgate Island—going there would be utterly meaningless.

But Fu Danwei's attitude this time was exceedingly firm:

"There is no room to refuse this matter. Go take a walk with your Third Brother. No matter how much you deduce techniques, you cannot neglect your own cultivation. This old man does not want to hear again that a Foundation Establishment cultivator cannot defeat someone in Qi Refining, becoming the laughingstock of every great family."

Fu Henghua immediately fell silent.

He folded his arms, seemingly calculating something.

Fu Danwei felt the other party had nothing to say in reply and was full of shame, so he continued, "The Wei Family brat may be a prodigy at swordsmanship, and he has even entered the Eastern Sea Sword Sect recently. But back then, you were in the Foundation Establishment Realm and still lost to someone in Qi Refining. Aren't you ashamed?"

The Wei Family and the Fu Family were sworn enemies.

Ten years ago, Fu Danwei had cajoled and pleaded before finally getting this brat to leave home once. Then he ran into the Wei Family's genius blocking the way. Not only had the brat suffered a crushing defeat, he had also used it as an excuse to hide in Langhuan Hall and never go out again.

He claimed the outside world was too dangerous, unsuitable for a sage like him who specialized in divination and calculation.

"When I was your age, this old man may not have been invincible throughout the surrounding lands, but I certainly wouldn't have lost to some trifling Qi Refining cultivator."

Heng Hua said gloomily, "Today is the seventh day of the fourth month. By my reckoning, that Wei Family fool should be dead by now, shouldn't he?"

"Dead? You can even calculate whether he lives or dies?"

At the mention of the Wei Family's sword cultivator prodigy, Xiang Feng's heart stirred, and a strange look entered his eyes.

"Losing once isn't shameful," Fu Danwei said earnestly and patiently. "Later, obediently go out with your third brother and take a walk around. Improve your combat skills. Win it back next time. You must understand, no one can win forever. One defeat means nothing."

"Grandfather believes that with your talent, the next time you meet that brat, you'll definitely defeat him."

No. He didn't believe it.

From the bottom of his heart, Fu Danwei did not believe that this lazy good-for-nothing of his, who was poor at fighting, could defeat that swordsmanship prodigy.

That was a swordsmanship prodigy who had swept aside the younger generation. By the estimates of their group, that brat needed only eighty years to forge a Great Dao Golden Core.

Still, letting his grandson go out, see the sights, and enjoy a little freedom was one of the few things he could do before he died.

With that thought, Fu Danwei looked again at the two grandsons before him and sank into sorrow.

"Later, this old man will pass my magic treasure on to you. If you meet that fellow again, then just—"

"Grandfather, perhaps there won't be any need to fight. If Little Six meets Wei Xingyu again..."

"He'll definitely win!"

Fu Danwei came back to his senses and repeatedly signaled Xiang Feng with his eyes.

Though he knew they could not win, he still had to say something nice to get this brat to leave home.

Xiang Feng said helplessly, "When I returned, I did indeed see people from the Eastern Sea Sword Sect going to the Wei Family to deliver funeral news. It was most likely Wei Xingyu."

Supplement:

The Heavenly Ancestor loved reading in his youth and delighted in elegance. He often made merry among flowers and bestowed names upon literary treasures. The elegant names for literary treasures throughout the world today all originated from this.

—Records of the Fu Family · Biography of Fu Henghua