I served as Li Bai's page.

We stayed at the inn for one night, and the next morning, we took our luggage to the Yinghe Ferry. There were many boats coming and going, carrying passengers here and there, and we didn't see a single empty boat.

Yuan Danqiu and Cen Xun searched on either side of the ferry crossing.

Just then, a larger boat carrying a dozen or so monks entered the ferry dock. After the monks disembarked, the boatman, holding a tow rope, stood beside the boat, looked around, jumped aboard, and prepared to leave. I quickly ran over:

"Uncle, is your boat leaving? Where are you going?" I asked.

"If you're going to leave, go back to Suizhou," the boatman replied.

"Wait a minute, we're going to Suizhou too. You can make a round-trip business deal."

"Young man, you're quite savvy. I'll take your business." The boatman smiled at me.

I turned to Li Bai and called out, "Young Master, I've found the boat. Go and fetch Master Yuan and Young Master Cen."

Li Bai and his two companions arrived at the boat, negotiated the price with the boatman, and boarded the boat, setting off for Suizhou.

"Uncle, how long will it take us to get to Suizhou?" I asked.

"It will take about seven days. Both the Ying River and the Huai River are upstream, so it will take longer. Look at the boat of monks I just sent off; they came from Suizhou to study at Shaolin. We only took them four days, precisely because we were traveling downstream."

Seven days later, we arrived at Suizhou, a town at the confluence of the Yangtze and Huai River basins, an important town in the Jingchu region. When the boat docked at Suizhou, it was noon. We disembarked and walked into the streets of Suizhou. Li Bai said:

"Let's grab something to eat quickly, then head to the Bitter Bamboo Temple on Xiancheng Mountain to pay our respects to Master Hu."

Yuan Danqiu took us to a small restaurant on the street and we ate some rice. We then hailed a horse-drawn carriage in front of the restaurant and headed towards Xiancheng Mountain.

About two hours later, we arrived at the gate of Xiangguo Temple on the eastern foot of Xiancheng Mountain.

Built against the mountain and nestled among the greenery, the temple has a ginkgo tree in front of it with lush branches and leaves. The golden leaves flutter in the autumn wind, which makes Xiangguo Temple look even more majestic.

"Master Yuan, is Kuzhu Temple located within the temple grounds?" I asked.

"Behind the temple, my master planted two osmanthus trees in front of his residence, the Bitter Bamboo Courtyard. It's the season when the osmanthus blossoms are in full bloom, so you can find it by following the fragrance," Yuan Danqiu said, leading us into Xiangguo Temple.

Xiangguo Temple has the Hall of Heavenly Kings, the Great Buddha Hall, and the Guanyin Hall, which we visited one by one.

Following the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms, I walked around the main hall to the right, with Li Bai and the other two following behind me. Outside the back door of the main hall was a short stone staircase, nestled among green trees. As we climbed the staircase, the fragrance of osmanthus grew stronger.

After climbing the stone steps, we arrived at a courtyard filled with bamboo. Two osmanthus trees bloomed from inside the courtyard wall to outside. The courtyard gate was open. Yuan Danqiu led us inside.

"Master, look who I've brought!" As soon as Yuan Danqiu finished speaking, several young Taoist priests came out and surrounded an old Taoist priest with a long beard and a kind face.

Upon seeing the old Taoist priest, Yuan Danqiu immediately knelt down: "Disciple Yuan Danqiu greets Master."

The old Taoist priest helped Yuan Danqiu up and said, "You've come! Get up quickly. Who did you bring?"

Yuan Danqiu pulled Li Bai and Cen Xun before the old Taoist priest and said, "These are my two good friends, Li Bai and Cen Xun. Li Bai is the author of 'Ode to the Roc Encountering a Rare Bird,' which received praise from our patriarch, Sima Chengzhen."

The old Taoist priest circled Li Bai, scrutinizing him closely, and said, "Truly ethereal and otherworldly, possessing the bearing of a celestial being. The patriarch was right."

"This is my master, Master Ziyang. The rest are my junior brothers," Yuan Danqiu introduced to Li Bai and Cen Xun.

Li Bai and Cen Xun also quickly knelt down: "Junior ones pay respects to Senior Master Ziyang."

"Please rise quickly, no need for formalities." Master Ziyang helped Li Bai and Cen Xun to their feet, taking one in each hand and leading them into the inner room.

Master Ziyang's Kuzhu Courtyard is a courtyard-style building with a main hall in the front, side rooms on both sides, and a main hall supported by several thick wooden beams at the back, where Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, and Daode Tianzun are enshrined.

Beside the courtyard house stood a three-story wooden building constructed from mountain trees and bamboo, bearing the three large characters: "Canxia Lou" (餐霞楼). Adjacent to Canxia Lou were two rows of wooden houses, the disciples' residences. I briefly toured the place and returned to Li Bai, who was discussing the *Tao Te Ching* with the Master Ziyang.

As I stood beside Li Bai, Master Ziyang asked, "Who is this young brother? Come and cultivate the Dao with me."

Yuan Danqiu said, "This is Li Bai's pageboy. He has to travel with Li Bai, so I'm afraid he can't stay still."

"Not now, but when the opportunity arises, I will definitely come and follow the Taoist master to cultivate Taoist arts." I put my hands together and said devoutly.

"What a handsome young man! If you're willing to come, you're welcome anytime," said Master Ziyang.

"Master Hu, I've heard that there's a kind of skill in Taoism that allows one to go without food for several days. Is that true?" I was filled with curiosity about Taoism.

"Of course I can. I can go for days without eating grains and live by absorbing the essence of the morning sun. Do you want to learn? I can teach you," Master Ziyang replied.

"I'd like to, but there are still some things I haven't finished taking care of. I'll come over once I've done them," I said to Li Bai.

"Very well, let's not discuss Taoist matters today. I'll host a welcome feast for Li Bai at the Canxia Pavilion." After saying this, Master Ziyang turned and instructed his disciples to prepare wine and food. He then told one of his disciples, "Go and invite the Prefect of Handong to have a few drinks with Li Bai."

His disciple obeyed and left. By the time the Prefect of Handong appeared at the Bitter Bamboo Courtyard, it was already completely dark. Master Ziyang's disciples had already prepared the wine and food. As soon as the Prefect arrived, Master Ziyang, accompanied by Li Bai, followed by Yuan Danqiu, the Prefect, and Cen Xun, headed up to the Canxia Tower.

I wasn't allowed to go upstairs with them, so I sat in the bamboo grove in front of the Bitter Bamboo Courtyard, feeling the cool breeze of early autumn in Xiancheng Mountain.

The sound of clinking glasses echoed throughout the Canxia Tower, and as the drinking progressed, laughter and chatter filled the air, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere.

At this moment, one of Master Ziyang's disciples came to me and said, "My master said that if you want to rest, you can go to the study."

"Alright, thank you, fellow Daoist." After I finished speaking, I followed the disciple to the study. Actually, it was a side room on the right side behind the main hall.

I entered the study and had just sat down when the melodious sounds of a flute and a sheng (a type of Chinese wind instrument) drifted from the Canxia Pavilion. The music was like waves rising and falling, the combined sound like crashing waves, and the solo sound like a gentle sea breeze. It was so captivating that it made one feel as if they were floating on air.

I sat on the threshold of the study, picked up a flute from the desk, and softly played it. Just as I was reveling in the harmonious blend of three melodies, the courtyard outside the study was filled with disciples of Master Ziyang, all smiling and watching me. My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately stopped playing. Master Ziyang's disciples clapped enthusiastically.

"I'm so sorry to have disturbed everyone's rest." I bowed to everyone.

"You play so well, even better than our second senior brother! We all love the sound of the xiao. Come be our junior brother! We can listen to you play the xiao often."