Chapter 155: Wang Bo · Acrostic Poem

Hearing this, Yan Chixia and Bai Xiaoyue could not help but be startled.

The two hurriedly looked down and saw, beside an ancient pine on the peak below, a young man in his early twenties with striking eyebrows, clear eyes, and a white robe with a sword at his waist. He was standing on a rock like a jade tree facing the wind, looking up at them while continuously waving in greeting.

Bai Xiaoyue felt quite surprised and said:
"Danzi, that person is greeting us... What should we do?"

"Heh heh..." Yan Chixia could not help smiling. "Interesting! Mingzi, his expression is fervent, and as he looks at us, he is shouting 'Immortals, please stay your steps'—judging by this, he takes us for immortals. Since he is so sincere and earnest, we might as well go down and meet him to see what he has to say."

"Good!" Bai Xiaoyue said with a delighted smile. "Danzi, let's go down then."

With that, Yan Chixia steered his sword and descended.

In an instant, they arrived before the young man.

Yan Chixia suspended the precious sword half a person's height in the air, and then, alongside Bai Xiaoyue, leapt down to stand before the young man.

"Ah!" the young man exclaimed in wonder. "Immortals above, please accept this humble one's bow!"

With that, he bowed deeply, but Yan Chixia reached out to stop him, saying:
"Brother, please do not stand on ceremony. We are not immortals, merely cultivators of the Dao. My name is Yan Chixia, and hers is Bai Xiaoyue. May I ask your esteemed name, brother?"

"This humble one is Wang Bo, styled Zian, a native of Longmen County in Jiangzhou," Wang Bo replied. "Since the two of you are not immortals, how is it that you can tread upon a sword and fly through the air?"

"Heh heh..." Yan Chixia smiled. "Brother Zian is mistaken. That is not mere flying on our part, but a Daoist technique known as the [Sword Flight Technique]."

"Oh, I see," Wang Bo said, suddenly enlightened. "Since the two of you are not divine beings, then... how should this humble one address you? Sword Master Yan? Sword Master Bai?"

"As you please," Yan Chixia smiled.

Then Bai Xiaoyue beamed with a charming smile and said:
"Brother Zian, I have long admired your great name! To think that I would meet you here today. I know that you, Brother Zian, are a literary master of our dynasty, quick of wit, and proficient in all forms of parallel prose and poetry!"

"Heh heh, Sword Master Bai flatters me too much; this humble one is truly unworthy of such praise!" Wang Bo laughed heartily. "May I ask Sword Master Bai and Sword Master Yan, as you journey through the skies on your flying swords in such haste, where are you headed?"

"Our journey is a return to our homeland to visit long-absent fellow villagers," Yan Chixia replied. "Brother Zian may not know, but I am a native of Kaoshan Village at the foot of Dagu Mountain within the borders of Youzhou. Since childhood, I followed my master to Mount Zhongnan to cultivate the Dao, and in the blink of an eye, thirteen years have passed. Now, having achieved success in my cultivation and mastered the [Sword Flight Technique], I am flying home on my sword to visit my family... Originally, we set out from Mount Zhongnan yesterday morning, but unexpectedly a heavy rain caught us and delayed us on the way. At the Yin hour this morning, the rain cleared and the skies turned bright, and longing to return home, we pressed on through the night under the moon... Passing this place, we never expected to cross paths with Brother Zian here."

"Hahaha..." Wang Bo laughed out loud. "This may truly be called 'meeting by affinity across a thousand miles.' Sword Master Yan, I usually love roaming among mountains and rivers, and have long yearned for the autumnal beauty of Mount Yan within Youzhou. Therefore, climbing Mount Yan today and standing right here, I was admiring the full view of red leaves and the cold mist over the streams, immersed in the beauty of egrets singing on high, when I casually raised my eyes and beheld the two of you flying towards us on your swords, your aura grand as a rainbow. Thinking you were immortals, I was filled with boundless joy and thus waved and called out to you... I thought you might ignore me, but I never expected you to be men and women of genuine spirit who would come instantly at a call! This truly calls for the lines:

Mount Yan in autumn wears a rich and heavy coat,
Frost-painted maple leaves set all the woods ablaze.
The chivalrous knight returns to visit his old home,
With dashing grace he rides his sword through boundless space.
The singing egrets never cease their joyous dance,
While gentle streams wind through the chilly, gathering mist.
Who travels through the moonlit night to share the road?
A beauty pure as jade, a sword like soaring rainbow."

"Ah, what a magnificent poem!" Bai Xiaoyue could not help uttering an exclamation. "Brother Zian truly lives up to your reputation, overflowing with talent! The verses you just chanted, without a moment's hesitation and formed in a single breath, are a mere fifty-six characters, yet they not only vividly and richly depict the beautiful autumn scenery of Mount Yan, but also praise both Danzi and me... Truly a divine creation, beyond description!"

Hearing this, Wang Bo waved his hand and smiled:
"Not at all, not at all! Sword Master Bai flatters me; Zian is truly unworthy..."

"You are well worthy of it!" Before Wang Bo could finish, Yan Chixia could not help but chime in with high praise. "Brother Zian possesses startling talent and brilliant literary thought. Although the poem you chanted was inspired by the scenery and uttered on the spur of the moment, its artistic conception is exquisite, blending scenery and emotion into a harmonious whole, brimming with majestic grandeur that leaves anyone who hears it refreshed and gladdened! However," he said, turning his gaze to Bai Xiaoyue, "Mingzi, I merely felt that Brother Zian's poem was exceptionally beautiful, but I failed to notice where it contained any praise for you and me."

"Heh heh..." Bai Xiaoyue smiled faintly. "Danzi, the poem Brother Zian just recited has eight lines in total. Try reciting the first character of each of those eight lines for us to hear."

"Oh?" Yan Chixia blinked his eyes and began to repeat them:
"Mount Yan in autumn wears a rich and heavy coat—'Yan', frost-painted maple leaves set all the woods ablaze—'Chi', the chivalrous knight returns to visit his old home—'Xia', with dashing grace he rides his sword through boundless space—'Shuai', the singing egrets never cease their joyous dance—'Bai', while gentle streams wind through the chilly, gathering mist—'Xiao', who travels through the moonlit night to share the road—'Yue', a beauty pure as jade, a sword like soaring rainbow—'Mei'. Linked together, these eight characters read: 'Yan Chixia is dashing, Bai Xiaoyue is beautiful'—How wondrous! How marvelous! Brother Zian, you are truly a peerless talent of the ages. Heh heh, who would have thought poetry could be composed this way!"

"Hahaha..." Wang Bo laughed heartily once more. "Sword Master Yan flatters me too much. This is an 'acrostic poem', which allows one to build upon a theme and express one's feelings directly—just now, seeing Sword Master Yan and Sword Master Bai approach on your flying swords with an aura grand as a rainbow, I was utterly awed, and thus praised you with this acrostic verse."

"Splendid!" Yan Chixia said, exceedingly pleased. "Brother Zian, this acrostic poem of yours is marvelous indeed; we shall treasure it."

"Indeed!" Bai Xiaoyue also said with a radiant smile. "Many thanks, Brother Zian, for presenting us with this poem. Your many poetic works are all widely popular and worthy of being called classics; especially the two lines in your poem 'Seeing Minister Du Off to His Post in Shuzhou': 'If you have a bosom friend who knows your heart, the ends of the earth are close as neighbors'—that is truly a divine stroke, an eternal masterpiece! And that other poem, 'In the Mountains': 'The sorrow of the Yangtze has already stagnated, a myriad miles away I think of returning. Moreover, as the autumn twilight falls, from mountain to mountain flying yellow leaves.' Between the lines, scenery and emotion are perfectly fused, and though it is a mere twenty characters, it expresses the helpless feeling of homesickness to the absolute utmost!"

"Ah! The one who truly knows me is Sword Master Bai!" Wang Bo said, deeply moved. "I never imagined that Sword Master Bai, being a cultivator of the Dao, would also be so deeply versed in the principles of poetry and literature!"

"Heh heh..." Bai Xiaoyue smiled with a trace of bashfulness. "The path of poetry is vast and profound. Unworthy as I am, I know only a tiny fraction, like a frog at the bottom of a well or a leopard through a bamboo tube—not worth mentioning at all!"

"Hahaha..." Hearing this, Wang Bo could not help bursting into hearty laughter once more. "What a wonderful 'frog at the bottom of a well' and 'leopard through a bamboo tube'—looking across the entire world for the most humble of souls, none could surpass Sword Master Bai." Here, his tone abruptly shifted. "May I ask Sword Master Yan, is the [Sword Flight Technique] easy to cultivate?"

Hearing this question, Yan Chixia paused in surprise and said:
"Why does Brother Zian ask this? Could it be that you, too, wish to practice sword flight?"