Farmers with hoes on their shoulders and babes in their arms jostled at the academy gates, their clamor fillin…
Farmers with hoes on their shoulders and babes in their arms jostled at the academy gates, their clamor filling the air.
The disciples of Dragonbend Academy, long accustomed to such scenes, remained unperturbed: the readers read on, and the painters painted.
If you listen closer, you will find there were no scholars drawn by the academy's prestige, but commoners who came to "reclaim" their kin.
Tales of eighty-year-old mothers vanishing every afternoon; of a wandering old fogey "abducting" someone's husband; of strange warnings to a young daughter that "a shallow mind leads to a shattered fortune"...
A daylight loiterer, a loose-tongued babbler, a suspected "abductor" of many... such a perilous soul in Dragonbend Academy, they did, in fact, have one.
A disciple recalled how he had once painted such a flowery picture of "teaching outside the mountain" to her master, "tricking" her and her fellows into following him here, only to spend months wielding hoes alongside the peasants. Yet come harvest time, he stubbornly refused to take even a grain of the villagers' yield. When questioned, he simply ladled the last grains of rice into her bowl, sipped the watery dregs himself, and whispered cryptically: "Just wait. I'm only baiting the waters." Hmph. As if he were the one breaking his back!
Another remembered the day he donned a robe swindled from Lone Cloud, clutched a "borrowed" scripture, and tried his hand at physiognomy on every passerby. Finally, fancying himself a master, he sought out real targets: he fleeced a heartless tycoon into "buying salvation" and moved a deadbeat father to tears of repentance. Returning, he shed the disguise and sighed that wagging one's tongue was far too taxing. Better to just head home and doze off.
Senior disciples recalled even older days: how he "requisitioned" books from the Inkbound Order and "convinced" a certain General Wang to provide the builders. They thought the academy's completion meant peace at last, but the true trials were only beginning. Rejecting the dried meat gift meant growing their own greens; refusing to court the elite meant scouring the fields for pupils...
Sharing a helpless look, the disciples led the unruly mob toward the stream behind the mountain, a path they knew all too well.
"Master..."
"Shh!"
The man gripped his fishing rod, never once looking back. Beside him, the "spirited-away" villagers, young and old alike, each held a rod, gazing at the water with solemn intensity.
"A bite!"
A child cried out in glee as several hands helped him heave the rod. Sure enough, a plump silver carp emerged splashing from the depths.
"Is this what the Master meant by 'Victory belongs to those who share one's aim'?" "No, no. This is 'Persistence carves through stone'!"
As the anglers chattered away, the disciples watching from behind could bear it no longer.
"Bore through stone indeed. With all this feed and bait, any fish from any pond would be 'persuaded' to take the hook!"
Reunited with their families, the "abducted" villagers eagerly shared the day's bounty, their spirits still high. It wasn't just the baskets of fish, but the philosophy in the bait, the craft of chumming the waters, the lessons from scrolls and the wisdom of sages... and a wealth of knowledge they had never dreamed of. They'd be back tomorrow for more, without a doubt!
Only then did the man look back, a silent smile playing on his lips.
First the chum, then the bait. There's a profound craft to this game of angling.
In these rolling hills and shallow brooks, Crane might not land a bigwig, but he could hook a few bright young minds and reel in a better life for an entire village.
Of course, it takes time for fish to grow, and longer still for prosperity to bloom. But in fishing, patience is the only currency that matters.
Did not the Great Sage Jiang spend a lifetime in preparation, only to haul in eight centuries of peace and prosperity?
To weather the wind and frost is to safeguard a sanctuary.
Then, let the fish roam the vast rivers and lakes. The enlightenment of the realm begins here.