Chu Sui Leung and vietnamese fox immortals

The source of this article: "Wang Xizhi's Goose Release", author: Ye Xingyi, edition: Lefu Culture x Paper Creation, Beijing United Publishing House, December 2021

At that time, Vietnam was still a barbaric place under Chinese rule, called Annam. Annam's capital city of Luocheng is a very small city, anyone from Chang'an City to Luocheng, the heart will be cold and half cut, with the nobility and surprise of the metropolis people look at this place, superiority and loss together, for a moment do not know what to say good.

Luocheng is a square, the city wall is rammed with mud, only more than one person high, each side of the wall is only two or three miles long, old and broken, as long as a slight touch, the fine pieces of dirt will fall. The four gates were as small as four dog holes, the beggars hid in the shade of the city to catch lice, digging in the body or in the crotch of their pants, and the people on the street were dark and short, all hunched over, and when they looked at people, their eyes rolled upwards, revealing large whites of their eyes and not moving. The skinny woman leaned against the door and chatted, and as soon as she spoke, she could see a mouth full of yellow teeth, and the skinnier children ran around with their dicks bare ass, screaming and sneaking out of one alleyway, and running into another alley in the blink of an eye.

Ah, how can this be lived?

Anyone who comes to Luocheng for the first time will say so.

Chu Suiliang thought the same way when he first came to Luocheng. He sat in the house and sighed, then went to the courtyard and sighed, then sat on the steps in front of the door and looked at a camphor tree in the courtyard, unable to say a word. After a few days, he finally sorted out his emotions, sat under the window and wrote a letter to Emperor Gaozong, telling Emperor Gaozong that he had served Gaozu and Emperor Taizong for a long time, and also insisted on supporting Emperor Gaozong's succession, imploring Emperor Gaozong to summon him back to Chang'an to bow to the Tang Dynasty. The letter was written from day to night, and when the moon rose, he read it several times in a faint light, and then he was relieved.

But Emperor Gaozong didn't hear anything, Chu Suiliang thought, probably never to go back.

In this way, Chu Suiliang lived in Luocheng for several years, and the humid weather in the south made his health worse and worse, and his knees always faintly hurt when it rained. He was sixty-three years old, thin and dark, with dull eyes, and a beard full of lice, and he had already sentenced two people when he was in Chang'an City.

Every day he just sat in the yard and looked at the camphor tree, wanting to do nothing, the tree didn't blossom or bear fruit, it was full of green leaves all year round, and nothing happened.

The voice hovered in his head for years, and the longer it went on, it seemed as if the voice had become clearer and clearer, as if someone had said it in his ear.

One day Chu Suiliang was really tired of sitting, and asked the servant to lead a horse and go out of the city alone. The horse was so thin that it was only a skeleton shelf, and it was necessary to take a breath after walking for a while, and it was even weaker than Chu Suiliang. Chu Suiliang had to get off his horse and lead it, one man and one horse walked aimlessly, about half an hour later, he heard the sound of crows rising and falling, Chu Suiliang looked forward, and saw that it was a mass graveyard, rows of crows standing on the branches of the trees and barking, weasels bigger than dogs, drilling in the grave, suddenly stretching out their heads and staring at themselves in shock, and quickly burrowing into the grass.

Chu Suiliang sighed, patted the horse's neck, and said: Go back, I am tired, or you come to drive me.

He stepped on the stirrup with trepidation, and suddenly heard someone calling out to Lord Chu.

A peerless beauty did not know when she had stood behind Chu Suiliang, and there was a feminine atmosphere in her hands and feet, and as long as she looked at people slightly, her two eyes could take away people's souls.

Chu Suiliang asked: Who are you?

The lady said: I am a fox fairy.

Chu Suiliang looked at her carefully again, and then looked around, there should be no ordinary people who would appear here, and she was so beautiful that she didn't look like a human, even in Chang'an before, in the imperial palace, he rarely saw such a beauty.

Fox Immortal said that she had cultivated for more than a thousand years on the outskirts of Luocheng to have what she is today, but she didn't have the same kind, she didn't even have a person to talk to, she often regretted why she wanted to cultivate, being a goblin was also very boring, knowing that Lord Chu came to Luocheng, she wanted to come to Talk to Lord Chu.

Chu Suiliang was already an old man, and he was not surprised by the fox immortal that suddenly appeared in front of him.

Fox Immortal said: I heard that Lord Chu came to Luocheng, I have always wanted to visit the door, and I am afraid that it is too abrupt, and today Lord Chu came here, it is really a godsend, so it does not matter whether it is abrupt or not.

Chu Suiliang said: You always knew that I was in Luocheng?

The fox fairy said: Yes.

Chu Suiliang said: You want to find me, is there anything wrong?

The fox fairy said: I know that Lord Chu is very lonely in Luocheng, and I am also very lonely, so I want to talk to Lord Chu.

After knowing the fox fairy, Chu Suiliang's life began to become less boring, and with her, he could really say a lot of words, and did not have to sit on the steps every day to look at the camphor tree.

The fox fairy walked in the courtyard every day with Chu Suiliang's arm, and sometimes he would go out of the courtyard to watch the sunset fall west outside the earthen walls of Luocheng, watch the boats shuttle on the river, watch those black and thin people on the street talking and arguing, and now Chu Suiliang suddenly felt that these sounds were not so boring, and even found them cute for the first time, just like they used to walk in Chang'an City.

At night, the fox fairy and Chu Suiliang spoke under the lamp, the fox fairy said very little, most of the time with those charming eyes to look at Chu Suiliang, listening to him tell himself, tell the story of Chang'an, tell the story of He Taizong, the frog sang in the pond outside the window, the wind rustled the leaves after a while, the candlelight shook, and the shadow of the fox fairy swayed on the wall.

For a moment, Chu Suiliang wondered, would she suddenly appear in her original form? So he looked into the fox fairy's eyes, waited for a while, and suddenly felt that this thought was ridiculous in his heart, so he smiled a little.

What does it matter to the present? I can still talk to her!

Maybe Chu Suiliang was really old, and the words he said were always repeated, and one thing would often be told to the fox immortal several times. The fox fairy always pretended to hear it for the first time, kept looking at him, and listened with a smile, this look was waiting, as if it was like encouragement, making Chu Suiliang more willing to continue.

Chu Suiliang talked about his life in his youth, about the days of strife at the end of the Sui Dynasty, how he followed Xue Ju to challenge the Tang army, how he was captured by the Tang army and taken to the execution ground, and how he became a subordinate of Emperor Taizong and became a subject of the Tang Dynasty. Yu Shinan, who said that he had replaced the deceased, talked about calligraphy with Emperor Taizong every day, discerning the authenticity of Wang Xizhi's handwriting for Emperor Taizong, and when Emperor Taizong greeted Master Xuanzang who had returned from India, he also wrote the "Holy Order" drafted by Emperor Taizong himself.

He even spoke of a quarrel with Emperor Taizong, who was in the nineteenth year of Emperor Taizong's reign and wanted to personally conquer Liaodong, but he strongly opposed it, and they debated in the main hall for several days and nights, but finally did not insist because of Emperor Taizong's toughness, and followed Emperor Taizong on an expedition. As he had predicted, the Tang army did not take advantage of this war, and had to return to the dynasty.

But he was still a rare good emperor, and Chu Suiliang, recalling Emperor Taizong, firmly said this to the fox immortals. When he talked about these pasts, he couldn't help but show a warm smile, and the fox fairy also looked at him, and his eyes were full of tenderness.

However, Taizong still left too early!

The former crown prince, the current emperor, the man entrusted to him by Emperor Taizong, actually wanted to depose the queen for a woman, even if he was so strongly opposed, he could not stop the blood flow in the main hall, but was degraded again and again, and even slandered and rebellious.

When Chu Suiliang said this, a great sadness appeared on his face, he turned his head and looked out the window, a star hanging alone in the night sky, small and distant. At this time, the fox fairy stood by his side, gently rubbing his shoulder, and after a while, he gradually eased from his sadness and smiled wearily at the fox fairy.

One day, two people were walking in the courtyard, and Chu Suiliang suddenly said: I feel that my limit is approaching.

The fox immortal did not take his words and asked: "Lord, do you want to see the emperor?"

Chu Suiliang looked at the fox immortal, sighed and said: "I want to think, but do I still have a chance to meet?"

The fox fairy said: The current emperor is not seen, and the new queen hates you to the bone, I want to take you to see another emperor.

Chu Suiliang said: I have only one emperor in the Tang Dynasty, who is this emperor you are talking about?

The fox fairy said: There is an emperor who admires your calligraphy, he first learned another calligrapher, and that person learned you, so the emperor learned your calligraphy and created another kind of calligraphy, called the thin gold body.

Chu Suiliang's face was full of doubts, and he said: I don't understand what you said.

The fox fairy smiled and said, "I am talking about this emperor, five hundred years later."

The two of them walked in the courtyard while talking, somehow, walking along, Chu Suiliang felt a fog slowly shrouded in front of him, and then went forward more and more thickly, the bottom of his feet seemed to be supported by clouds, nothing could be seen around, only to feel the wind whistling in his ears, he subconsciously grabbed the fox fairy's arm, so the fox fairy also held him tighter.

The fox fairy said: Don't be nervous, I will take you to see the emperor, and it will arrive soon."

It doesn't take long, the fog gradually thins, you can vaguely see some scenery, and after a while it will be clearer, only to see the flowers in the four places, a few white cranes walking and stopping by the lake, a peacock spread its tail hair, looking at the front with cold arrogance, the fragrance of flowers is very strong, the air is sweet and wet, this is the taste of summer after the rain. There were three people sitting under a pine tree, and in the middle the man in dark clothes, a little chubby, was writing on the desk.

Fox Immortal and Chu Suiliang walked behind the three people, but the three people did not notice at all.

The fox fairy pointed to the man in the middle and said, "Your Honor, this is what I mean by the emperor."

Chu Suiliang observed for a long time before he asked half-believingly: How many generations of the former emperor are the grandsons? In his body, he couldn't see a single shadow of the Emperor at all.

Fox Immortal said: His surname is Zhao, not a descendant of the former emperor, and the Tang Dynasty is no longer there.

Chu Suiliang looked at the fox immortal in a daze and said, "Is what you said true?"

The fox immortal nodded, pointed at the emperor again, and asked Chu Suiliang: Your Honor, when you look at his calligraphy, is it somewhat similar to yours?

Chu Suiliang saw that the calligraphy written by this person was clean and thin, and indeed had a bit of his own shadow, and after watching it for a while, he suddenly remembered the days when he and Taizong talked about calligraphy together, and couldn't help but cry.

Emperor Xian, I'm sorry for you!

After returning, Chu Suiliang's body became weaker and weaker, he knew that he was really leaving, and the fox fairy held his hand, which was thin and black, and connected with a slender arm, like a dead branch on the side of the road or in the wilderness.

I couldn't imagine that I would end up in this place in Luocheng. Chu Suiliang looked around, everything was so strange, he looked up, and his eyes stayed in the north for a long time, Chang'an was so far away, could my soul go back in the future?

Fox Immortal said: Lord, in a few decades, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty will re-affirm your merits and paint you on top of the Ling Yan Pavilion, and you will also meet with the eldest grandson Wujie and Wei Zheng.

Chu Suiliang's eyes shone with a faint light, and he said: If what you say is true, I am very relieved, and I can also leave with peace of mind. It's just that after I'm gone, you're lonely again.

The fox fairy said: I am lucky to be able to spend so long with adults. I have lived for more than a thousand years, seeing people born and then leaving, seeing the establishment of homes and then desolation, seeing dynasties prosper and then decaying, except for the sun, moon and stars, everything always comes and goes, glory and withering, the world is impermanent, life is more impermanent, I can't change anything, only to adapt to it.

After Chu Suiliang left, the fox immortal still lived in Luocheng. During the day, she wandered the streets and returned to Chu Suiliang's house in the evening. Before the new officials of the imperial court came, there was only her and a servant in the whole room, and that servant was older than Chu Suiliang, and he always spoke in front of him without saying anything, he always hunched over his back, sometimes sweeping the floor in the courtyard, sometimes doing nothing, just pestle in the courtyard, holding his hands crossed on his belly, tilting his head and looking straight ahead, looking straight ahead for a long time, he finally remembered things and said: It's not early, I want to cook for Lord Chu.

The fox fairy said: Lord Chu is no longer there.

The servant said, "Oh..., it's going to rain, isn't it?"

So the fox fairy looked down at the servant's eyes, and a dark cloud floated on the distant mountains, obscuring the sky into darkness, and the dark clouds moved little by little, and the nearby rivers, woods, and paddy fields also dimmed.

The fox fairy said: Yes, it is about to rain.

The servant asked: So, are you lord Chu's wife?

The fox fairy said: No.

The servant said: Oh. I always see you walking with Lord Chu, so what are you?

The fox fairy said: I am a fox fairy.

The servant murmured, "Fox Fairy, then, are you Lord Chu's wife?"

The fox fairy could only smile and said no again.

The two men continued to look ahead, and the dark cloud finally came, and the rain continued to fall into the night.

When the rain stopped, the moon peeked out of the thin clouds and shone on the yard like daylight, quiet, with only bugs singing in the corners, crisp and intermittent.

It's really lonely, the fox fairy thought.

The original author | Ye Xingyi

Excerpt from | Zhang Jin

Editor | Zhang Jin

Introduction Proofreading | Zhang Yanjun