Chapter 136: Underworld General Yan Zhenqing!

Yang Meng did not leave and instead chose to stay at the Longyun Fitness Club.

Long Teng had two reasons for persuading him to stay: first, as a patient in need of recovery, Yang Meng would want for nothing here regarding food and board, and there were specialized physicians on hand to monitor his healing process; second, since both Long Teng and Bai Ze had shamelessly taken him on as their master, he ought to assume the role of a master to instruct them properly.

However, the most crucial reason for Yang Meng to stay behind was the pursuit of cultivation.

His recent encounter with that mysterious young man had taught Yang Meng a profound lesson: he had previously considered himself invincible under heaven, only to discover now that he was a sheer weakling. He needed to intensify his cultivation immediately—what if he were to cross paths with another powerhouse of that caliber?

The other party had let him off this time, but what about the next?

He had paid a heavy price for helping Zhang Quanbiao and Lü Liling. It was the first time in his life he had sustained such severe injuries, and had it not been for Yidi’s marvelous wine, Yang Meng might currently be wrapped like a mummy on a hospital bed, exactly as Di Wei had predicted.

Yet, he had also reaped rewards. The amount of merit he obtained from saving little Miaomiao and fulfilling Lü Liling’s wish far exceeded his imagination. What could this be called? Virtue rewarded? Well, that certainly aligned with traditional beliefs.

In truth, Yang Meng’s injuries had completely healed within a week, but he deliberately remained here for over a month. There was no other reason than the fact that the young man had truly dealt a heavy blow to his ego.

He used to believe his abilities surpassed ordinary mortals, which inevitably bred complacency—why push too hard? I am already super strong and can toy with fighting champions effortlessly.

Only now did he realize things were not so simple! There is always someone better, and in the path of cultivation, to stop advancing is to fall behind. He had to take it seriously!

Consequently, Yang Meng applied himself with extraordinary diligence this time. Aside from meals and occasionally guiding Long Teng and Bai Ze, he spent all his time cultivating. He also made sure to balance work and rest, as evidenced by the room piled high with various books.

Indeed, Yang Meng had taken to reading as a form of relaxation! Countless poor students would likely faint in frustration in the restrooms if they knew of this, though Bai Ze had already surrendered.

Unlike Long Teng, who was well-versed in both literary and martial arts and had the benefit of higher education, Bai Ze lacked such a privileged upbringing. Everything he had achieved was forged through sheer physical effort! He was an unadulterated academic underdog. Yet now, aside from practicing martial arts with Yang Meng, he had also started reading—and even began practicing calligraphy under Yang Meng’s tutelage.

This was Yang Meng’s new hobby: practicing calligraphy to cultivate the mind and temper his character.

Once his spiritual power recovered somewhat, his very first attempt was to cast the Soul-Summoning Incantation to summon Bai Qi and Mu Kun. He had suffered previously due to a lack of magical power; if he had possessed it, perhaps he could have engaged that young man in a duel of sorcery—although Yang Meng only knew a few basic spells at present, the Cosmos Within the Sleeve was by no means just for show!

At the very least, he could have used the Soul-Summoning Incantation to send Bai Qi or Mu Kun in to scout ahead. Had he known such a monstrous entity was lurking inside, he wouldn't have gotten himself injured, would he?

To his dismay, no matter how he executed the spell, he could summon neither Bai Qi nor Mu Kun. A whole slew of minor underworld soldiers—Underworld Soldier A and Underworld Soldier B—popped up instead. While Mu Kun's absence might be somewhat excusable, given that Mu Kun was residing within the East Peak Temple the last time they went there, why couldn't Bai Qi be summoned? Could it be that he was also at the East Peak Temple?

Nevertheless, Yang Meng was not entirely empty-handed; he managed to summon a different underworld general.

When this underworld general first appeared, Yang Meng was somewhat bewildered. Who was this old man? He looked as though one foot was already in the grave!

Oh, wait, he was already dead; the earth had buried him for at least several centuries!

Yet even after death, the fellow retained a trembling, frail demeanor, as if a single gust of wind could blow him over. Encountering such a person on the street would instantly bring the word "fraudster" to mind.

Yang Meng assumed this was some feeble, decrepit veteran who had wormed his way into the ranks of the underworld soldiers through connections. But when the old man opened his mouth to introduce himself—well, well, he actually turned out to be an underworld general!

Upon asking his name, Yang Meng was utterly dumbfounded: who could have guessed that this tottering old ghost was none other than Yan Zhenqing of the renowned Yan family?

People often speak of "illustrious noble families." To put it simply, compared to the Yan family, practically all modern elite clans would have to drop to their knees!

Just how prestigious was the Yan family?

Was Confucius prestigious? What was the name of Confucius’s mother? Yan Zhengzai!

When Confucius lost his father at the age of three, it was Yan Zhengzai who single-handedly raised and educated him! Among Confucius’s celebrated seventy-two disciples of virtue, eight bore the surname Yan! For instance, the immensely famous Yan Hui was honored by later generations as the "Restorer of Sagehood, Master Yan," and was grouped alongside Mencius and Zengzi among the "Four Sages."

Following Yan Hui, the descendants of the Yan family produced a continuous stream of renowned figures: Yan Sheng, Yan Han, Yan Yanzhi, Yan Zhitui (author of the Family Instructions of the Yan Clan), Yan Zhenqing, and so on. By the time of Yan Zhenqing, the Yan family had spanned over thirty generations, producing luminaries in every single one!

Moreover, the historical standing of the Yan family was quite fascinating. Their overall impression upon the world was that of a breath of fresh air. When successful, they aided the world; when in adversity, they sought self-improvement. They disdained matching their marriages with worldly status and refused to engage in purely political alliances of convenience. They upheld strict principles while remaining at peace with the world—one could not help but admire them!

The Yan family reached its zenith during the Tang Dynasty. Although subsequent generations did not quite match that peak, many exceptional individuals still emerged among their descendants. For instance, Yan Jun, the inheritor of the Mount Tai School in the Ming Dynasty, and Yan Yuan, the philosopher and educator of the late Ming and early Qing periods. Even today, many descendants of the Yan family are making great waves in domestic industries such as medicine and education. Whether the Kong family or the Yan family holds the title of the premier educational lineage in the country remains a matter of debate.

Much like Yan Zhitui’s Family Instructions of the Yan Clan, which has now become part of public cultural education nationwide, many people study this book to educate their family members. Written over fifteen hundred years ago, it still carries profound significance today, compelling one's admiration!

Naturally, apart from Yan Hui, the most famous member of the Yan family was undoubtedly Yan Zhenqing.

Anyone who has studied calligraphy has almost certainly practiced the famous "Yan style," and it was Yan Zhenqing who originated it.

Yan Zhenqing’s regular script was peerless, earning him a place among the "Four Masters of Regular Script."

However, while the world is well aware of Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy, people often overlook his martial prowess. His title as an underworld general was thoroughly well-deserved!

Yan Zhenqing was by no means a mere scholar who could only lift a brush. In fact, members of the Yan family during that era were almost universally accomplished in both literary and martial arts. Take Yan Yanzhi, the close friend of Tao Yuanming, for example: aside from penning exquisite essays and being paired with Xie Lingyun as the literary duo "Xie and Yan," his official rank was that of a general—a bona fide military commander.

Yan Zhenqing was no different. During the early stages of the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, when An Lushan first raised his armies, twenty-four commanderies in Hebei surrendered one after another. Only Yan Zhenqing’s Pingyuan Commandery held firm! When Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was fleeing hither and thither with his entourage, Yan Zhenqing was among the very first to raise the banner of loyal rescue! It was this very Yan Zhenqing who rallied the populations of seventeen commanderies, amassed an army of two hundred thousand, and served as the alliance leader to fight to the death against An Lushan!

In that era, Yan Zhenqing’s leadership, military capability, daring, and courage were all of the highest order. Furthermore, his loyalty to the country remained steadfast throughout his entire life, so his posthumous appointment as an underworld general came as no surprise!

Regardless, now that Yan Zhenqing had been found, how could one not extract a piece of his calligraphy?

Not a single authentic piece of Wang Xizhi’s handwriting survived to the present day! Yet Yan Zhenqing’s genuine works were among the most valuable calligraphy in existence!

For instance, the Draft of a Requiem to My Nephew preserved in Taiwan was hailed as the "second best running script in the world," making it an absolute priceless treasure.

To encounter Yan Zhenqing and not ask him to write a piece? Wouldn't that be like returning empty-handed from a mountain of treasures?

Yet ideals were plump while reality was skeletal. Even if Yan Zhenqing wanted to leave Yang Meng with some ink treasures, he simply couldn't: after all, he had become a ghost; how could one expect him to hold an ink brush and write?

Just as Yang Meng was plunging into despair, Yan Zhenqing offered a glimmer of hope: while he could not directly inscribe calligraphy for Yang Meng, he could impart his own calligraphy insights to him.

Hearing this, Yang Meng brightened up. Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him how to fish; acquiring Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy insights was acceptable too!

As it turned out, Yan Zhenqing proceeded to spend about five thousand words explaining how he needed to use ghostly energy to condense his calligraphy insights into a ghostly pellet, which would then allow Yang Meng to receive the inheritance. Furthermore, condensing this ghostly pellet would consume the merit he had accumulated over many years...

In short, after a lengthy ramble, the core message boiled down to a single word: difficult!

Yang Meng listened in a fog, finally deciphering Yan Zhenqing's true intent: the old man actually wanted to ask Yang Meng for a favor. He had a friend named Zhang Zhihe—the very same individual who immortalized himself with the verse, "In front of Mount Xisai egrets fly, peach blossoms flow past mandarin fish; green bamboo hat, green straw raincoat, in sloping wind and fine drizzle he need not return," and who styled himself the "Misty Wave Madman." This fellow had been a close friend of Yan Zhenqing during their mortal days, but had slipped into the water and drowned while boating on a lake with Yan Zhenqing.

Those who die unnatural deaths find it extremely difficult to enter the underworld. Some ghosts lacking sufficient fortune must find a substitute to entrap before they can descend into the underworld—which is why certain road intersections suffer from recurring traffic accidents, driven precisely by ghosts seizing substitutes.

Yet Zhang Zhihe had been kind in life, committed no evil after death, and refused to seek a substitute. To this day, Yan Zhenqing had no idea whether his soul had scattered into nothingness or what had become of him, and he wished for Yang Meng to go and check on him.

Once Yang Meng agreed to the request, Yan Zhenqing cheerfully handed over his calligraphy insights.

Yang Meng initially marvelled at what true friendship looked like, caring for one another even after more than a thousand years. But barely two minutes later, he began cursing Yan Zhenqing as an old fox!

Ghosts couldn't write, my foot! Couldn't he just possess Yang Meng's body to write?

When all was said and done, it boiled down to the so-called "literary integrity"—he disdained acting as someone else's ghost-writer directly unless he could strike a deal with Yang Meng, achieving two birds with one stone!

An old person grows crafty just as an old ghost grows cunning; these ancient ghosts were even more exasperating!

And so, Yang Meng acquired a new hobby: practicing calligraphy!

Tsk tsk, cultivating the mind and temperament indeed!