Chapter 256: It Must Be the Celestials, Wild and Drunk, Tearing the White Clouds to Shreds!

Ning Fei only realized he had made the news again when he saw the comments.

"I just built a snowman. Is all this really necessary?"

Ning Fei was genuinely baffled.

He hadn't been online today, so he had no idea what kind of frenzy his snowman had sparked across the country.

First came the trending discussions and praise.

Then, a few netizens started showing off their own snowmen.

After that, more and more people joined in. The hype continued to build until a snowman-building challenge went completely viral.

From government agencies to private businesses, organizations were actually gathering their employees to build snowmen.

For some private companies, this was the perfect marketing opportunity.

If their snowman could take the top spot, it guaranteed massive exposure all across Huaxia.

Many families also found the challenge fun and called up their friends to go out and play in the snow.

Because of this, an interesting scene unfolded across the cities.

As far as the eye could see, people were building snowmen on both sides of the streets.

Even the sanitation workers were dumbfounded.

Normally, they had to sweep the snow from the roadsides into tree pits or pile it up themselves.

Now, they didn't even have to lift a finger—people were fighting over the snow.

It was a truly fascinating movement.

Sometimes, an action itself didn't mean much, but the impact it created was what mattered.

Ning Fei had simply built a snowman in the shape of a galloping horse, yet it had sparked a nationwide craze, bringing a little more harmony and laughter to society. That was a good thing.

Back at Qingfeng Temple, Ning Fei casually chatted with his viewers.

"Snow has always been a subject of praise for the ancients in Huaxia," he said.

"After all, people in ancient times didn't have much to do in the winter, nor did they have many ways to entertain themselves. So, many scholars liked to gather in pavilions when it snowed to show off their literary talent."

"Let me ask everyone a question. If you had to describe a heavy snowfall, how would you say it?"

The viewers found this post-snowfall interaction quite entertaining.

"Describe a heavy snowfall? How about: 'Snowflakes the size of goose feathers fell from the sky, covering the earth'?"

"I think it should be: 'Stop calling me, I'm afraid Xia Luo will misunderstand.'"

"Haha, full marks to the answer above."

"Snowflakes fluttering, the north wind howling~"

"Then how would you describe heavy rain?"

"Stop fighting, stop fighting you guys!"

"Lord Buddha, Er Yuehong has come to beg for medicine."

"The internet truly breeds talent. Why do all your comments have sound?"

Everyone was having a great time chatting.

Ning Fei looked at the comments and chuckled, finding them highly amusing.

He had originally expected people to quote verses like, 'As if a sudden night of spring breeze arrived, blooming pear blossoms on thousands of trees.'

But clearly, that wasn't the case.

"Temple Master Ning, how would you describe a heavy snowfall?"

A viewer asked.

"The ancients had countless poems describing the snow. We've all learned quite a few from our textbooks growing up," Ning Fei replied.

"But my favorite is this line:"

"'It must be the celestials, wild and drunk, carelessly tearing the white clouds to shreds.'"

Ning Fei recited the poem in a gentle voice.

His voice was already soft and clear, so when the viewers heard him recite this verse, it felt incredibly soothing to their ears.

"It must be the celestials, wild and drunk, carelessly tearing the white clouds to shreds!"

The viewers murmured along.

"Good poem, what an excellent poem."

"This poem is so domineering. Who wrote it? Why haven't I heard of it before?"

"I just looked it up. The poet who wrote this is Li Bai."

"Of course it's Li Bai! I knew only he could write such a domineering line."

Everyone began discussing it enthusiastically after hearing Ning Fei's recitation.

The current scenery around Qingfeng Temple perfectly matched the artistic conception of the poem.

At this moment, Ning Fei slowly explained, "The author of this line is my favorite poet, Li Bai."

"It means that after the heavenly immortals drank deeply of the Milky Way's fine wine and became dead drunk, they tore the white clouds into fluttering shreds, turning them into a sky full of heavy snow and a world of silver waves."

"This metaphor is bold and novel, unique and unconventional, astonishing yet surprisingly reasonable."

"That single word 'wild' completely captures the ethereal, uninhibited nature of the immortals."

Ning Fei praised the verse endlessly, and the viewers nodded along in agreement.

"I've learned geography and biology in Temple Master Ning's stream, and now I'm learning literature."

"I never listened this carefully back when my literature teacher explained classical texts."

"The mood is different, so the feeling is different. I used to think poems were just poems, but now I feel like the poetry is right here beside me. I can actually feel the atmosphere of the verse. It's such a great feeling."

"Next time it snows, I can show off in front of girls with this."

"Temple Master Ning's aura is just too perfect for reciting this poem."

"Sisters, let's make money! In the future, we can keep a few ancient-style handsome men like him to read poetry to us every day."

"You're daydreaming."

Ning Fei was also immersed in Li Bai's poetry.

Poems like this were like aged wine; the more you savored them, the more you could feel the artistic conception hidden within.

Li Bai truly deserved his title as a great poet of Huaxia through the ages. His lifelong pursuit of romance was perfectly embodied in his work.

Sometimes, when the mood struck, it was only natural to do something about it.

Men had always been like this.

So, Ning Fei went back inside to fetch his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began grinding the ink.

"Is Temple Master Ning going to paint again?"

A viewer asked.

Ning Fei shook his head and explained, "I might not be able to paint a scene like 'celestials wild and drunk.'"

"Because to create an ancient painting like that, one must have the spiritual resonance in their heart. It has to perfectly match the mood of the poem."

"I haven't actually seen or felt the presence of such 'wild' immortals, so my heart lacks the proper feeling for the imagery."

"I was just struck by a sudden impulse to write these two lines of poetry down."

Ning Fei was already skilled in calligraphy. He dipped the brush in ink, lifted his hand, and began tracing out the strokes on the paper. His movements flowed like drifting clouds and flowing water, carrying a unique and captivating charm.

From top to bottom, right to left, Ning Fei wrote down the two lines of verse:

"It must be the celestials, wild and drunk, carelessly tearing the white clouds to shreds."

His calligraphy carried Zhuangzi's essence of emptiness, detachment, and tranquil immersion. It didn't strive for rich variations; instead, his brushstrokes stripped away worldly vanity, pursuing a profound sense of vast emptiness.

It was a very handsome scene.

"As expected, handsome people look good doing anything!"

The viewers thought to themselves as they admired Ning Fei's characters.

........

The next day, Ning Fei was streaming as usual.

The snow outside the door had gradually melted, and the handsome snow sculpture of Heishuai had already melted beyond recognition.

Ning Fei pondered to himself whether he should make a wood or stone carving instead, so it could be preserved for much longer.

'I'll think about it later. It depends on whether I can find the right materials.'

Ning Fei thought.

Ning Fei went to the village to buy some things again. On the way, he bumped into the village chief, who was walking toward him from the north side of Qinshan Village.

The viewers noticed that whenever Temple Master Ning went out, he frequently ran into the village chief.

It was as if the village chief was everywhere.

"Chief, is something the matter? You look so worried," Ning Fei asked as he walked over.

"It's nothing major. You know Li Tietou'er from the north side of the village is being buried today, right? Well, his dog stubbornly refused to let anyone bury him. A bunch of people had to hold the dog down and tie it up just so we could get Li Tietou'er in the ground," the village chief said, shaking his head as he took a drag from his dry pipe.

"That's his dog with the slightly graying fur, right?" Ning Fei sighed upon hearing this.

"Yeah, that's the one. It hasn't eaten in three days. I figure it isn't going to make it." Qin Zheng sighed again, then quickly walked away.

The viewers heard their conversation and became highly interested in what the village chief had said.

Ning Fei explained, "Every place has different burial customs. In Qinshan Village, when an elderly person passes away, they are laid out in the main hall for three days before being buried in the graveyard on the back mountain."

"Qinshan Village still allows earth burials."

"I heard from the villagers that Li Tietou'er passed away a few days ago. Ever since he died, the dog he raised has completely stopped eating and drinking."

"Li Tietou'er's children have always lived out of town, so his dog was the only one keeping him company. Now that his children have returned to hold the funeral, the dog probably didn't want anyone burying Li Tietou'er's body in the ground."

Thinking of this, Ning Fei decided to go check out the graveyard on the back mountain in the north of the village.

Logically speaking, rural funeral affairs like this couldn't be streamed. It didn't quite align with currently promoted values, and his channel could be banned.

So, Ning Fei didn't head over immediately.

It was only in the afternoon that Ning Fei went to the back mountain north of the village to take a look, without streaming anything from the area.

On the back mountain, he saw a new grave among the burial grounds. Around it lay an offering table, scattered fruit, and the ashes of burned joss paper.

At a glance, Ning Fei spotted a native Chinese dog with graying fur.

The dog was lying quietly on one side of the grave mound. Its body was curled up and its eyes were closed, looking as if it were peacefully asleep.

The village chief had said this dog hadn't eaten anything in days.

The offering table right next to it was piled high with fruit, meat, and other food.

But the dog hadn't touched a single thing.

It probably knew exactly what had happened.

It just wanted to quietly keep its master company.

After all, to this dog, that ordinary old man had been its entire world.

"Woof!"

Little Dog was standing at Ning Fei's feet. He spotted the dog from a distance and barked, as if trying to wake it up.

"Let's go, Little Dog."

Ning Fei sighed and spoke to Little Dog before turning to leave.

He didn't want to disturb the dog.

Little Dog paused to look at the lying native dog for a moment longer. Then, seeing that Ning Fei had already walked far away, he hurriedly picked up the pace and followed.

This time, Little Dog ran unusually fast.