Volume 1 Chapter 14: Green Bamboos Beyond the Green Window
Seeing that Lin Hongfeng had returned to his usual gloomy look, Lin Jianlan sighed inwardly, slowly steadied his body, and crawled back to Tiesong. He looked up and saw Yin Yin looking at him indifferently with a strange expression and a slight raise at the corners of her mouth, as if she felt sorry for him, but also as if she was laughing at him. Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "Well, I'm pitiful to begin with, and I'm trying to impress Uncle Qing's sister with a poem. I'm being laughed at for nothing." He was not angry, but raised the corners of his mouth slightly towards Yin Yin, and then turned his head away.
Tie Song led his men to hold on for a long time, and finally they could see the shore from afar. Tie Song's back was soaked, and a thin layer of sweat was soaked on his face. Lin Jianlan sat on the raft and was tossed by the huge waves. He was already dizzy and hoped that he could not get ashore immediately. Someone on the shore had already thrown up a rope. Tie Song stabilized the raft and tied it up carefully. He still carried Lin Jianlan and jumped to the shore. After hesitating for a moment, he clasped his fists and said to Lin Hongfeng, "Madam Cao, I believe you are also tired. I am afraid that the young master can't stand the running any longer. Someone will arrange for you to stay and rest. You can set off again tomorrow."
Lin Hongfeng glanced at Lin Jianlan and said, "You are considerate of him. I think in the future..." Tie Song had a rough face but a good temper. He smiled and said, "Madam Cao, how could you misunderstand me? Although he is the adopted son of the gang leader, he has nothing to do with the grudges between us. The gang leader has lived with him for three years and saved his life, but he has not yet taught him martial arts, and he may not necessarily intend for him to inherit the cause. He is just a country boy, what can he do?"
Lin Jianlan thought, "He must have a special relationship with Uncle Qing's brother-in-law, so he dared to say this. Well, he is actually right." But he heard Lin Hongfeng say softly, "Tang Master Tie and Shu Jian have a life-and-death relationship. I was too suspicious. Alas, since I promised in front of everyone in the gang not to hurt him, I will never break my promise and let him get into trouble in my hands."
Tie Song said, "Then I will bid farewell to Madam Cao. There are other hall masters waiting for you on the road ahead. The Yellow River branch hall has important matters to attend to, so I cannot see you off for long."
Lin Hongfeng said, "Master Tie, you don't have to be so polite. I'll need your help in the future. Take care of yourself." After that, he took Yin Yin and boarded the carriage . Tie Song watched her get into the carriage, then squatted down and patted Lin Jianlan's head and said, "Mrs. Cao won't hurt you, so you can rest assured and let her go... She lost her lover, so her temperament is naturally different from before. If she speaks harshly to you sometimes, don't take it to heart."
Lin Jianlan nodded and said, "I know." Tie Song said, "Go quickly, young master, take care of yourself." After that, he turned around and called the twenty men who came with him, got back on the raft, and rushed away.
Seeing that Cao Zhong and Cao Quan were already waiting in front of another carriage, Lin Jianlan quickly ran a few steps and got on the carriage. He heard a shout from the front and the wheels rolling, indicating that the carriage had already started its journey. He lifted the curtain at the back and looked back at the surging Yellow River, the sound of the waves was gradually fading away.
The group crossed the Yellow River. Along the way, the heads of the subordinate branches came to greet and entertain Lin Hongfeng. They were all respectful to Lin Hongfeng. The heads saw Lin Jianlan being adopted as an adopted son by Lin Longqing that day in the courtyard, so they were more polite to Lin Jianlan. Moreover, because he was innocently implicated, these people were not as bold as Tie Song to speak directly to Lin Hongfeng, but they sympathized with him in their hearts.
Lin Jianlan was lively by nature. He had interacted with these hall masters along the way. He recognized many uncles and grandfathers. He thought to himself, "Although Uncle Qing and his sister are not on good terms, to be honest, the hall masters I have seen in the Kuangyi Gang are all good men who value loyalty and are very caring to me. It seems that Uncle Qing's brother-in-law is indeed good at winning people's hearts. He knows that these people cannot be moved by ordinary gold and silver. He must have put in a lot of effort at the beginning. Alas, listening to Uncle Tie talk about the past, ten years ago, Uncle Qing and his brother-in-law must have been close friends. I don't know why it has become like this today."
Although Lin Jianlan was kidnapped to a foreign land, this was the first time he left the small village where he had lived for twelve years. In addition to missing his grandmother and Lin Longqing, he was busy looking around and was full of curiosity about everything. He thought to himself, "Uncle Qing often told me, 'Reading ten thousand books is like traveling ten thousand miles.' The accents in different places are so different. Even the food and accommodation are very different from before. It turns out that you have to see things with your own eyes to understand them. If you don't see the high mountains outside, you will think that the small hill at home is very high. If you don't see the Yellow River, you will only have the view of the Yangliu River." Although he enjoyed the scenery along the way every day, he felt bored after watching it for a long time. He secretly said to himself, "Besides missing my family every day, do you have nothing to do?" He begged Dr. Cheng to buy him some books to read.
Doctor Cheng was willing to respond to requests. The next day, he collected a pile of books and put them in Lin Jianlan's car. Lin Longqing had been teaching him for three years and he had read a lot of books himself. Now that he had the books, he immersed himself in these poetry and book collections every day, and sometimes he would even close the book and ponder in a serious manner.
Day after day, although the crowd walked slowly, they also arrived at the north bank of the Yangtze River. It was very different from the Yellow River ferry, and it was very lively and bustling. There were large ships parked on the riverside, with dozens of boatmen and servants on board. The more luxurious ones had maids to serve, but usually only officials or wealthy families could afford to hire them. Here, it was already in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang area, not far from the main hall. Master Fang had already made arrangements and specially ordered the master of the Jiangning branch hall to come and greet everyone. The master of the Jiangning branch hall was named Yue Lingfeng. He had a handsome face and fair skin. He was not very old, probably only in his thirties, and looked like a scholar. When they met, they all asked about Lin Hongfeng and Yin Yin's mother and son's health without exception. Later, there was a banquet, which was very thoughtful.
After dinner, everyone went to their rooms. The moonlight was bright, so Lin Jianlan opened the window, took out a book, gently covered the lampshade on the candlestick and took it to the window, intending to read a few more pages in the bright moonlight, but then he saw Doctor Cheng and Qin Tianxiong come into the room. Doctor Cheng had a blank expression on his face and did not say a word. But Qin Tianxiong came in and saw the books on the table, and saw that Lin Jianlan was holding a book in his hand. He kept shaking his head and sighing, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.
Seeing this, Lin Jianlan asked in confusion: "Uncle Qin, do you have anything to tell Lan'er?"
Qin Tianxiong sat down and said in a muffled voice: "Young master, don't blame me for saying something unpleasant. You have been buried in these books like a bookworm all the way here. If you continue like this, you will probably fail the gang leader's expectations." Lin Jianlan looked at Qin Tianxiong blankly, not knowing what to say.
Doctor Cheng said slowly, "Protector Qin, please don't do this. Don't scare the young master." He turned around and waved to Lin Jianlan. Lin Jianlan walked to Doctor Cheng and sat down. Doctor Cheng stroked his head and said, "Chief Steward Qin is just like this. He has no ill intentions. Although you were forced to get involved because of the feud between the gang leader and his sister, you are now considered a member of the martial arts world. What are your plans?"
Qin Tianxiong did not wait for Lin Jianlan to answer, and said hurriedly: "Young Master, we in the martial arts world are not in the mood to chant poems and compose essays. When we were leaving the gang leader, he asked us to take good care of you, hoping that you can achieve something in the future and stand out in the martial arts world. Along the way, Doctor Cheng and I have discussed that as long as you say you want to learn martial arts, we will teach you, but you..."
Doctor Cheng patted Qin Tianxiong on the shoulder and said, "You seem anxious again, so I'll tell you." He turned around and said kindly to Lin Jianlan, "The gang leader's wife died early and left no offspring. Over the years, although various sects have been interested in proposing marriage and making friends with the gang, the gang leader has never thought of remarrying. This time, you were adopted as an adopted son. All the hall masters in the gang were present and have already treated you as a young master. Although the gang leader's innocence cannot be proved now, there are many people who have high hopes for you. Madam Cao is also determined to make Yin Yin the successor. The hall masters have failed to push you as the successor due to the great kindness of Cao Zongguan. I'm afraid you will inevitably have to fight Yin Yin with your own skills in the future. But you only bury your head in reading and never ask about martial arts. It's a good thing to read and understand things, but there should be a priority."
Qin Tianxiong slapped his thigh and said, "That's right! For people like us in the martial arts world, practicing martial arts well is the real skill. No matter how much we read, it's useless!"
Lin Jianlan had nothing to do along the way, except reading books, looking at the scenery, and recalling the past. He figured out a lot of things and thought to himself, "You don't understand Uncle Qing's heart at all. He really wanted to die at that time, so he adopted me as his adopted son and had no intention of letting me inherit the gang. Alas, when he first came to my house, on that night of fireworks, he buried the sword and the keepsake together. Even when he taught me to read on weekdays, he never mentioned that I should seek fame, let alone make a name for myself in the world. I guess he was deeply burdened by fame and worldly affairs, so he had long planned to stay away from these disputes and grudges, so how could he let me get involved?" He thought about these things in his heart but it was inconvenient to tell the two of them, so he looked up and said, "So, Lan'er thanks Grandpa Cheng and Uncle Qin for their care. It's just that although Uncle Qing said he would teach me martial arts, there has been no movement in the past three years. I just read and write, so I don't have any foundation. How can I start?"
Doctor Cheng said with a delighted look on his face, "So the gang leader has accepted you as his disciple. That's great. It's legitimate for us to teach you. Maybe the gang leader sees that you are still young. As long as you are willing, it's fine. We will arrive at the headquarters in a short time, and we can discuss it then."
As the two of them got up to go out, Qin Tianxiong seemed to remember something and turned back and said, "Young Master, you also saw it at the Yellow River ferry that day. The young lady's martial arts are already quite impressive. She is determined to take revenge, so she works particularly hard in practicing. She is extremely talented. In a few years, I'm afraid she will surpass her mother. You've started late, so you must work harder." Lin Jianlan nodded in agreement, and Qin Tianxiong and Doctor Cheng left.
Seeing them leave, Lin Jianlan let out a breath, closed the door, came to the window, and said to himself: "How happy is reading, the green grass in front of the window is not removed... Alas, fun is secondary, reading can increase knowledge, which is most useful when dealing with people and judging things... What's the use of just knowing martial arts? It's just to be driven by others, but they just don't understand." Just as he finished speaking, he heard someone outside clapping and laughing: "It's right, but they just don't understand."
Lin Jianlan was startled, and immediately stood on a stool and leaned against the window to look around. He saw someone standing with his hands behind his back in a clump of bamboo under the window. He turned around and smiled at Lin Jianlan. It was the head of the Jiangning branch hall that he had seen during the day. Lin Jianlan blushed slightly and said, "I just said it casually. Don't tell Grandpa Cheng and Uncle Qin." Yue Lingfeng waved his hand and said, "No, no, come out and let's talk." Lin Jianlan was puzzled, but it was inconvenient to refuse, so he said, "Uncle Yue, wait a moment, I'll open the door and go around to find you." Yue Lingfeng smiled and said, "Why bother so much, just jump out of the window and I'll catch you."
Lin Jianlan looked down. His room was on the second floor, so the window was quite high from the ground. He felt a little scared, but saw Yue Lingfeng already under the window. He climbed up the window and jumped down. He felt someone holding him up and gently placing him on the ground.
Looking up, he saw a stone table and stone benches in the bamboos under his window, which were very elegantly arranged. Yue Lingfeng pulled Lin Jianlan to sit down and said with a smile, "You kid, Doctor Cheng is an old man who followed the previous gang leader. He watched the current gang leader and Madam Cao grow up. Everyone in the gang said that his martial arts skills are at the highest level. As a guardian, Manager Qin's martial arts skills are naturally not bad either. The two of them offered to teach you, but you were reluctant behind your back."
Lin Jianlan said, "I'm not unwilling, I just don't have any foundation. I just think it's more interesting to study. Besides..." Yue Lingfeng said, "Besides what?" Lin Jianlan curled his lips and said, "Besides, Uncle Qing's martial arts are so high, but he still lost the brother-sister relationship and I don't know how to save it." Yue Lingfeng was stunned for a moment and said, "How much do you know about their relationship? You are wrong. Even if they don't know martial arts, they are all well-educated, and it still can't be saved." Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "Yes, what exactly is going on between them? I only heard it sporadically in the courtyard that day. Maybe there is another hidden story." He stopped arguing, stared at Yue Lingfeng for a while and said, "You are also very good at martial arts, right? But I think you are more like the scholar in our village, quiet and gentle."
Yue Lingfeng laughed and said, "Do you think that people who learn martial arts are all rough men like Tiesong and Qin Tianxiong?" Lin Jianlan shook his head and said, "That's not the case. You all say that Uncle Qing is good at martial arts, but Uncle Qing has also read a lot of books. There is nothing I ask him that he doesn't know." Yue Lingfeng sighed, "That's natural. Even if he is talented, everyone in the martial arts world will give him a thumbs up." After saying that, he became dazed and stopped talking. Lin Jianlan saw that his eyes were very melancholy, as if he had a lot on his mind, so he asked, "What weapon does Uncle Yue use?"
Yue Lingfeng said, "I use a sword." Lin Jianlan nodded and said, "Oh, Uncle Qing also uses a sword. Uncle Qing said that many scholars also like to wear swords, and I have never seen them, but I think they are very cool."
