Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 427: Hu Yun’s Friends

Outside Ji Yuan’s room, Hu Yun stood up, shook his fur, and scratched his ears. After hesitating for a moment, he decided against pushing the door open, and went into his own room.At the Yin residence, the Yin family not only treated Ji Yuan as an honored guest, but also Hu Yun as a true guest; naturally, he had his own guest room on the other side of the courtyard, opposite Ji Yuan’s room.

Hu Yun stopped in his tracks just as he reached his room door. He looked up at the stars and moon in the sky, then glanced in another direction. After hesitating for a moment, he leaped away.

Hu Yun didn’t want to cultivate or sleep right now, so he returned to Yin Qing’s study. As Yin Qing’s good friend, he knew Yin Qing very well. Perhaps Yin Qing also had a good first impression of that princess, otherwise he wouldn’t have been so attentive.

As Hu Yun reached Yin Qing’s study, he found it still brightly lit. This time, Hu Yun didn’t need to hide and could openly knock on the door.

“Yin Qing, it’s me. May I come in?”

“Come in.”

Upon hearing Yin Qing’s words, Hu Yun pushed the door open and quickly closed it to prevent the heat in the study from escaping.

Looking up at Yin Qing, Hu Yun saw him painting at his desk under the light of two shaded lamps. Hu Yun quietly walked over to him, jumped onto the empty chair behind Yin Qing, and stood on tiptoe to look at his painting.

Yin Qing didn’t speak, seemingly completely absorbed in his painting, paying meticulous attention even to the smallest details like the edges of clothing. However, he clearly hadn’t forgotten his good friend. After finishing a section and changing his brush and ink, he turned to Hu Yun.

“There’s still more than half a crispy chicken left in the kitchen. It’s what we ate in the dining hall. Except for one chicken leg that Yin Zhong tore off, most of it is still there. If you don’t mind, I can have someone go and get it for you.”

“No problem, no problem at all, hurry up and get it for me!”

Hu Yun had been craving this crispy chicken for so long, so when he heard these words he didn’t care about anything else.

“Haha, please wait a moment while I go and give the order. I was originally planning to have the chef make you something new tomorrow, but I think you want to eat it now.”

With that, Yin Qing put down his brush, opened the door, and slowly walked out to give instructions to the servants in the nearby room.

Seeing that Yin Qing had left, Hu Yun placed its two front paws on the desk and moved closer to the painting, carefully examining the figure being depicted.

Although it was only midnight, Yin Qing had already roughly drawn the portrait, and the rest would need a day or two to carefully refine.

In the painting, Princess Changping sat on a soft couch, her face turned towards the viewer, a slight smile on her lips. Adorned with pearl hairpins and silk robes, her slender fingers held a leaf-shaped playing card in her hand in an orchid finger hand position, slightly raised. Every expression and gesture was expressive.

“It’s so well painted! No wonder Mr. Ji said that the essence of skill and art can emulate the divine.”

As Hu Yun inspected it, he seemed to see Yin Qing and Princess Changping getting married and having children, and later surrounded by their children and grandchildren.

‘I wonder if I will be able to see that? I still need to cultivate diligently and gain enough power to walk freely!’

Hu Yun knew he wouldn’t stay at the Yin residence for long, because Mr. Ji wouldn’t stay there for long either, and Mr. Ji wouldn’t let him stay after he left. Hu Yun himself was also well aware that staying at the Yin residence would be more harmful than beneficial. Even disregarding any other factors, Hu Yun’s cultivation would be delayed.

Mr. Ji often went out, and in recent years the intervals between his returns to Ju’an Pavilion had grown longer and longer. Hu Yun felt that it would be quite a while before the next time he returned as well. In that case, unless Yin Qing could find time to visit him in Ning’an County, it would probably be a long time before he saw Yin Qing and Master Yin again.

However, Hu Yun thought, he was still a demon after all, and Yin Qing would no longer be alone after getting married. This princess would always be with him. It would probably be inconvenient for Yin Qing to meet and play with a monster.

As Hu Yun thought about it, he felt a little troubled, and the joy of his friend finding his wife was somewhat overshadowed.

“Alas, my cultivation is still insufficient. If I had the cultivation of Lu Shan Jun, and could truly transform into a human, I could wear proper scholar’s robes, walk up to Yin Qing and his wife, and say ‘Greetings, Brother Yin,’ and then ‘Greetings, Sister-in-law,’”

Yin Qing quickly returned to the study. Hu Yun made way for Yin Qing to continue painting. After painting for a while, Yin Qing suddenly turned to look at Hu Yun.

“Why so quiet today? It’s not like you.”

“It’s nothing, I just feel like my cultivation is terrible, I’ve always only had this little bit of cultivation, it’s frustrating!”

Hu Yun sat on the chair, his two paws resting on the armrests on either side, a posture that was both human-like and funny, especially with his fluffy big tail swaying back and forth in front of him.

“Hehe, although I don’t know much about the cultivation of monsters, I do know a little. Back then, I would often chat with that old turtle by the Chunmu River about some supernatural things. You’ve been enlightened for at most forty or fifty years now, right? That’s not slow, is it?”

Yin Qing’s words of comfort had no effect, and Hu Yun sighed.

“You’re comparing me to those wild monsters. I’ve received guidance from Mr. Ji. Although I don’t know exactly how high his cultivation level is, it’s definitely the kind of cultivation level that I would even be able to grasp the limits of even if I look to the end of the sky. Do you know how many monsters have the opportunity to receive this kind of ‘guidance from an immortal’? Anyway, when is the crispy chicken coming?”

“It’s warming up in the kitchen, it’ll be here soon.”

Hearing that Hu Yun was still thinking about food, Yin Qing felt relieved and turned to focus on his painting.

However, Hu Yun did not stay in the study that night. After eating half a crispy chicken and leaving a chicken leg for Yin Qing, he went straight back, saying that he would not slack off in his cultivation.

Yin Qing’s marriage was not something that could be finalized in a short time, but it was highly likely to happen within a few years. Ji Yuan felt that he would probably have the time to attend.

However, all good things must come to an end. Ji Yuan had stayed at the Yin residence for quite a while, but he didn’t plan to stay in the capital for too long. So, not long after the Lantern Festival,1 he bid farewell to the Yin family. Of course, Ji Yuan took Hu Yun with him when he left.

…

On the twentieth day of the first lunar month, Ji Yuan and Hu Yun left the Capital Prefecture and set off for Ji Province. However, Ji Yuan did not head directly to Desheng Prefecture, but gradually descended towards Chunhui Prefecture.

Hu Yun had good eyesight; he could see the city nestled beside the winding river in the distance from the clouds, and he knew it wasn’t their hometown.

“Mr. Ji, are we going to the Chunmu River? To see that old turtle and the big black carp?”

Hu Yun, who had seemed somewhat listless after leaving the capital, suddenly perked up, his voice tinged with excitement.

To be honest, Hu Yun felt that he probably only had two good friends: Yin Qing and the big black carp. As for the others, they were either elders or casual acquaintances. Perhaps the little paper crane might also count, but communicating with it was too difficult. Hu Yun didn’t know what the little paper crane was thinking.

“Yes, we’re going to Chunhui Prefecture to see how the old tortoise and the big black carp are doing, and also to meet Bai Qi.”

“Bai Qi?”

Hu Yun was stunned for a moment, but after thinking for a while, he still couldn’t remember who Bai Qi was. Confirming that he didn’t know him, he asked directly.

“Mr. Ji, who is Bai Qi?”

Ji Yuan also realized that Hu Yun had never met Bai Qi before and did not know him, so he smiled and replied.

“He is the God of the Chunmu River, a white flood dragon that lives in the river.”

“A… a flood dragon?”

Hu Yun shuddered involuntarily.

“Mr. Ji, I… I’ve heard that dragons have enormous appetites, many of them love to devour monsters, and they can also control clouds and rain, which is why they are worshipped as water gods by the people of the mortal world. I… I’m just a fox monster…”

“Are you a little scared?”

“Yes…”

“Don’t worry, I’m here!”

Hu Yun felt a little relieved, thinking that things were always fine when Mr. Ji was around.

“Mr. Ji and that River God are friends?”

Ji Yuan’s smiled mischievously.

“I wouldn’t call him a friend, but I promised to bring him a monster to eat last time, and since I couldn’t find a suitable one, I’ll just bring you along.”

Even though he knew Mr. Ji was joking, Hu Yun still flinched in fright and forced a smile.

“Sir, please don’t scare me, you know I’m easily frightened…”

“Hahahaha…”

With a smile, Ji Yuan rode the clouds and landed directly on the riverbank outside Chunhui Prefecture, then walked towards the city.

It was early morning, and people were coming and going through the city gates. The River God Temple, which was known as the most prominent temple along the Chunmu River, was already crowded with tourists and pilgrims.

Compared to the Daliang Monastery in the country of Tingliang, which also attracted a large number of people, the River God Temple in Chunhui Prefecture was more like a tourist attraction. Men and women could visit together, literati would compose poems and leave lyrics. It was a more carefree atmosphere with less desire.

Ji Yuan still preferred the style of the River God Temple.

Coincidentally, the River God of Chunmu River was in human form at that very moment, observing the scholars composing poems and lyrics within the River God Temple. Moreover, he was widely known as a famous “storyteller” in the area.

Because there were only a limited number of walls suitable for inscriptions at the River God Temple, only the finest works qualified to be displayed on the sheltered walls of the corridor. The River God, who went by the pseudonym Bai Wenchuan, was already famous for his inscriptions, and the temple steward held him in high esteem; if he said that if it could be displayed on the wall, it definitely could.

At this moment, a large group of scholars gathered around the outer courtyard wall of the River God Temple. Several desks were set up there, and some people were writing on white paper with brushes. There were not only scholars but also some young women watching from the side, and the atmosphere was quite lively.

“By day, I stroll along the river, enjoying the spring waters; by night, I peek through the curtains, admiring the lanterns…”2

“What a fine line!”

“Yes, Mr. Zhao has excellent writing skills!”

“Yes, yes, what do you think, Mr. Bai? Could he write it on the corridor wall?”

“Yes, yes, what does Mr. Bai think?”

The crowd asked Bai Qi to judge. Bai Qi, who looked like a middle-aged scholar, smiled and stroked his beard as he walked a few steps closer to the desk.

“This line is alright, it’s just a bit short!”

“Haha, Mr. Bai, I haven’t finished writing yet. Please come and take a look after I finish the whole piece!”

“Very well, then I shall eagerly await Mr. Zhao’s masterpiece. Today…”

At this point, Bai Qi suddenly stopped, an inexplicable hint of surprise appearing on his face. He turned his head in one direction and hurriedly left after a couple of breaths, leaving the group of literati somewhat bewildered, wondering what had happened.

Bai Qi walked in a hurry, his pace extremely fast. To the average person, he only seemed to be walking quickly, but in reality, he was walking even faster than they could comprehend. In just a few breaths, he was outside the River God Temple, and then he had crossed the market and turned to the side.

On the river beside the River God Temple, Bai Qi looked into the distance and saw a white-robed gentleman with his hair tied up in a bun and fixed with a jade hairpin, his hair flowing down his shoulders and framing his face. He walked unhurriedly towards him, accompanied by a red fox.

Bai Qi quickened his pace, already bowing from afar, hands respectfully clasped in greeting.

“Mr. Ji, I am deeply sorry for not welcoming you properly at the Chunmu River!”

The Lantern Festival marks the end of the New Year celebrations and takes place on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. 白日游江踏春水，夜里入帘观华灯 — 7/7 couplet. There’s a fun play on words here: the character for spring is 春 (chūn), which is both in the name of the river (Chunmu) and the name of the prefecture (Chunhui). So it’s not just the spring waters, but the spring waters specifically in this location. Think of it like showing off with puns

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