I Can Devour Spirits

Qin Xueyin put down Duan Rong’s poem draft, picked up Zhu Peng’s poem draft, and with a voice as gentle as an orchid, she looked at Zhu Peng and said, ”Master Zhu’s poem ’Early Morning Journey to Shang Mountain’, as I read it, it feels ancient and elegant, with a certain hazy beauty. I am curious, under what mindset did Master Zhu compose this poem?”

Zhu Peng was stumped by the question.

He hadn’t completely grasped the meaning of the poem himself, how could he know the mindset in which it was composed. However, being able to meet Qin Xueyin during this trip, he was already quite satisfied. Not being able to answer, he decided not to force it.

Zhu Peng said, ”Not to hide this from Miss Xueyin, this ’Early Morning Journey to Shang Mountain’ was actually written by him.”

As Zhu Peng spoke, he raised his hand and pointed at Duan Rong.

”Oh?” Qin Xueyin’s eyes were slightly astonished.

It was then that she realized, although one draft was in regular script and the other in cursive, the details of the strokes were quite similar, seemingly indeed from the same hand.

At this point, Qin Xueyin raised her eyes to look at Duan Rong again, her gaze full of deeper meaning.

”So this ’Early Morning Journey to Shang Mountain’ was composed by Master Duan. This poem, as I read it repeatedly, seems to hold a yet unsatisfied subtle depth. May I ask Master Duan to unravel its mystery a bit to relieve my confusion?”

Duan Rong took a bite of red braised pork, then picked two grapes to clear the palate before responding, ”Oh, this ’Early Morning Journey to Shang Mountain’, I like it very much too.”

”Awake in the morning and ring the bell of departure, as a traveler lamenting his hometown. The rooster crows at the moonlit thatched inn, footprints on a frosted plank bridge. Oak leaves fall on the mountain road, trifoliate orange flowers brighten the posthouse wall. Thus I dreamt of Du Ling amidst ducks and geese filling the pond.” Duan Rong said, then recited the poem again with gusto.

His somewhat silly demeanor amused Qin Xueyin, causing the corner of her lips beneath the veil to lift slightly.

After reciting, Duan Rong’s gaze suddenly turned profound, he looked at Qin Xueyin and said, ”The first four lines of this poem describe the desolation and disillusionment of the journey. But it also writes about the disillusionment of life, and between the lines, a sense of confusion and drifting permeates.”

The sense of confusion and drifting, these words with quite a postmodern air, used by Duan Rong at this moment, were extremely fitting, accurately capturing the essence of Wen Tingyun’s poem’s hazy beauty.

Upon hearing this, Qin Xueyin’s eyes suddenly lit up. ”Confusion? Drifting?”

Like a piece of paper on a window pierced by Duan Rong’s words, Qin Xueyin instantly melted into the deep meaning of the poem.

Duan Rong continued, ”In this journey of desolation and disillusionment, he suddenly saw a pale trifoliate orange flower beside the posthouse wall. The beauty of the trifoliate orange flower seemed to illuminate the wall, hence the use of the word ’bright’.

”The white bright trifoliate orange flower illuminates not the posthouse wall, but his heart filled with disillusionment and desolation. Suddenly, he thinks of a joyful dream from the previous night.”

”Thus I dreamt of Du Ling amidst ducks and geese filling the pond.” Duan Rong recited the last two lines again, and this time, Qin Xueyin immediately felt a chill spreading across her body.

Duan Rong said, ”In this flawed world, all living beings are actually placed in some form of disillusionment and desolation, filled with confusion and drifting, only sustained by that bit of hazy, beautiful dream hidden deep in the heart. This is true for me, true for Miss Qin, true for the people of this world!”

”Profound suffering, lurking deep in the soul, like silent fog, pervasive in the abyss of existence.”

After speaking, Duan Rong poured himself a cup of wine and drank it down his throat. Perhaps influenced by the poem, he tasted a hint of bitterness in the wine.

Qin Xueyin and Zhu Peng were both stunned, speechless for a long time.

Zhu Peng, though hardly heard, was greatly shocked too.

Qin Xueyin listened to Duan Rong’s interpretation and looked at the ’Early Morning Journey to Shang Mountain’ in her hand again, feeling that these verses pierced through the eras’ vicissitudes, fully expressing the world’s misery and the indescribable helplessness of being born human in this vast world.

Duan Rong’s interpretation elevated the poem, surpassing the suffering of travels, turning into a lament and cry for the profound distress of the world’s people.

”Profound suffering, lurking deep in the soul, like silent fog, pervasive in the abyss of existence.” Qin Xueyin murmured Duan Rong’s words again, feeling a deeper understanding of herself.

Looking again at the poem, the original haze is gone, replaced by an abyss appearing bottomless.

That is the depth of the human heart!

Moreover, this is not Duan Rong fishing for meanings, but an inherent depth of the poem itself, its profound meaning hidden between the lines, needing a deep mind to excavate it.

Qin Xueyin’s heart was stirred, her chest rising and falling for a long time before slowly calming, she raised her eyes to look at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong’s appearance was unremarkable, dressed in plain clothes, but his profound thinking penetrated Qin Xueyin’s heart.

The reason she set up the poetry contest at Qin Building was because she loved poetry, but before meeting Duan Rong, she never thought that poetry could express such deep sentiment.

That is the deepest abyss of the human heart, a place beyond the reach of language.

Qin Xueyin said, ”The poetry contest at Qin Building was set up waiting for a person like Sir!”

”Please accept a courtesy from Xueyin!”

As Qin Xueyin spoke, she rose from the zither platform, and before the table, she bowed to Duan Rong.

As Qin Xueyin rose from her bow, she suddenly raised her hand, uncovering the veil on her face.