Everyone in the Su Mansion thought that their young master had been possessed. Ever since he bought a wine flask from Treasure House a few days ago, their Young Master Su, who was fond of the bottle, hadn't even touched a drop of wine at home. Moreover, he no longer set foot in places like antique shops and the Pavilion of Myriad Flowers. He, who always said "the most useless person is a scholar," actually held a collection of poems one night and read it attentively under the lamp for a long time. Furthermore, he often rushed out of the house without eating breakfast properly and returned sober, but with a lingering fragrance of alcohol on him.
Su Qiuchi had always believed that what repeatedly drew him to the black bamboo forest was the wine brewed by the unidentified immortal Jiu Jue. Li Huai thought the same. A chance encounter and a pot of fine wine brought together three individuals with no prior connections. In the wide world, under the warm sun and amidst the verdant mountains, the fragrance of wine lingered all day in Jiu Jue's utopia-like dwelling, occasionally accompanied by the melodious sound of a flute.
Sometimes, they would light a small stove in the bamboo house and slowly roast the mountain delicacies brought by Lan Ting. The three of them would leisurely eat and drink. Su Qiuchi and Li Huai always competed with their chopsticks, never giving in to each other. While they made a racket, Jiu Jue would seize the opportunity to grab the largest and freshest wild mushrooms to eat. Lan Ting never ate but stood aside, chuckling. Other times, they would spread out a straw mat on the ground in the courtyard outside, casually laying out cups and dishes. They paid no attention to etiquette or bearing; sitting or lying down, and they didn't even bother with chopsticks. They would grab the fragrant braised beef and put it directly into their mouths. They did whatever they felt comfortable with. They were free from the secular world and its countless restrictions. Amidst the seemingly boorish laughter and chatter, they discussed ancient sages, contemporary affairs, and extraordinary tales from around the world, full of wit and humor. When the mood was high, Su Qiuchi would even fall on the ground, kicking his legs while laughing uproariously, not even noticing that his shoes were flying away.
I'm happy here and don't miss home[1]. Although neither Su Qiuchi nor Li Huai explicitly spoke these words, their manners and the expressions in their eyes conveyed it clearly. They liked this place, liked Jiu Jue's wine, and seemingly also liked Jiu Jue himself. After spending a considerable amount of time together, the mutual animosity between Su Qiuchi and Li Huai seemed to have diminished. Although they still bickered endlessly, although Li Huai continued his trick of digging a hole in the ground to trick Su Qiuchi into falling in, although Su Qiuchi also played the prank of secretly pouring half a can of salt into Li Huai's wine jug, it all appeared to have transformed into a form of amusement.
Once during a late afternoon, after three rounds of wine, the distant setting sun cast a perfect golden glow. It resembled rolling waves of the sea, and painted the scenery in front of them into picturesque lines with slow and distant strokes of its fingers. Jiu Jue took his bamboo flute, lazily leaning against the trunk of an osmanthus tree. With blowing blue hair, fluttering robes, and slightly parted thin lips, he played the world's most beautiful melody with a green bamboo flute. Su Qiuchi's literary talent was so-so but he was proficient in music. He had Lan Ting fetch Jiu Jue's guqin[2] from inside the house. Sitting cross-legged and straight, he placed the guqin on his knees, and used drunken inspiration to pluck the guqin strings, harmonizing with Jiu Jue's flute. One flute and one guqin complemented each other perfectly. Witnessing this, Li Huai felt moved. He stood up and walked to the center of the courtyard, stepping to the beat, and started dancing lightly and gracefully. With steps like blooming flowers, sleeves flowing like clouds, and eyes shimmering, he swayed in this slightly intoxicated atmosphere. With every smile and frown, he seemed like a fairy descended to the mortal world, devoid of any trace of masculinity.
The beauty danced as the flute and guqin played harmonious music. These three individuals unwittingly painted the most beautiful scene in the world. Lan Ting leaned in front of the window, focused on the rare and exquisite scenery outside with his painting brush swiftly moving across the paper.
If time cannot stop, then let the beauty that belongs to the three of them be preserved in this painting.
Footnotes:
[1] Too happy to be homesick. It usually has a negative connotation that one has so much fun that they forget their origins, or that they have to return; to indulge in pleasure and forget home and duty. Titbit: Liu Shan was the Emperor of Shu Han. The Shu kingdom was conquered by the Wei. One day, the Wei regent Sima Zhao invited Liu Shan and his followers to a feast, during which Sima Zhao arranged to have entertainers perform traditional Shu music and dance. The former Shu officials present were all saddened, but Liu Shan was visibly unmoved. When asked by Sima Zhao if he missed his former state, Liu Shan replied: I am too happy here to think about Shu (此間樂不思蜀). This phrase has become a Chinese idiom — 樂不思蜀.
[2] Guqin is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favored by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement.
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