"Stop, stop, don't talk about this topic anymore."
Fan Liren quickly waved his hand, pointed at Ouyang Shenhe, and said to Wan Yunting, "This old monk, he plans to go to Wudang Sect to become a Taoist priest, so he's very interested in martial arts and such."
Wan Yunting's expression was stunned, and he looked at Ouyang Shenhe in surprise, "Old He, you're going to Wudang Sect?"
"Yes."
Ouyang Shenhe nodded, and without hiding anything, he smiled, "I fell seriously ill last year and almost died. It was the venerable Taoist Zhang Yansong of Wudang Sect who cured me with a spiritual elixir. Now that I'm old and retired, I plan to celebrate the new year and then go to Wudang Mountain to cultivate myself."
Wan Yunting nodded as he listened. Since he didn't connect Ouyang Shenhe to the old patriarch of the Ouyang family in the capital, and believed he was friends with Fan Liren, he thought this elder might also be a master in the art world.
"I've heard of Taoist Zhang Yansong. He is excellent at refining pills and is the most famous pharmacist among the major sects," Wan Yunting said.
"Yes."
Ouyang Shenhe nodded, then asked, "Old Fan said you are also a TCM doctor. Are you in Beijing to attend the National Congress of Traditional Chinese Medicine?"
"Yes," Wan Yunting nodded, and smiled at the two elders, "The National Congress of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the day after tomorrow, but I've encountered some trouble."
Fan Liren raised an eyebrow and asked Ouyang Shenhe, "What trouble?"
Wan Yunting smiled and briefly explained the opposition between their Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association and the Sima family's Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Association. Fan Liren and Ouyang Shenhe immediately understood and said, "So, the Sima family might make things difficult for you at the National Congress of Traditional Chinese Medicine the day after tomorrow, is that what you mean?"
"Yes."
Wan Yunting nodded with a smile. The reason he told Fan Liren and the others about this was that he himself was unsure and just venting.
Fan Liren said, "Although I don't understand TCM, I've heard of the Sima family, a prominent TCM family in Beijing. Old He, you must know them, right?"
"Mm."
Ouyang Shenhe nodded and said, "Last year when I was ill, people from the Sima family treated me. I heard that there is a very powerful person named Sima Boyong in the Sima family. He is a towering figure in our Beijing TCM circle, with a status similar to yours in the literary world, Old Fan. However, he has already retired."
"But a while ago, that Sima Boyong was involved in a scandal. I heard he murdered his brother and seized power, which caused a stir in the martial arts circles of the major sects, causing the Sima family's reputation to plummet."
Hearing this, Fan Liren immediately said to Wan Yunting, "Little Wan, could that be what you told me about in Shaoxing last time?"
Wan Yunting didn't expect Ouyang Shenhe to know about Sima Boyong's affairs. He nodded and smiled, "Yes, I was at Wuliang Daoist Temple at the time..."
"Wait!"
Ouyang Shenhe suddenly thought of something, his old eyes widened, and he stared directly at Wan Yunting, pointing at him and exclaiming in surprise, "Wan Yunting, you're not the newly appointed abbot of Wuliang Daoist Temple, are you?"
Wan Yunting nodded with a slightly embarrassed smile. Ouyang Shenhe's old face was instantly astonished, and Fan Liren also looked at him in surprise...
Back then, when attending the calligraphy competition in Shaoxing, Wan Yunting had mentioned to him that he came from Wuliang Mountain, but he hadn't told Fan Liren that he was the abbot of Wuliang Daoist Temple.
"So you are that Wan Yunting. Oh my, I just realized. I'm getting old..." Ouyang Shenhe finally realized the matter and lamented his age and poor memory.
Wan Yunting shook his head and waved his hands, "People who are not concerned wouldn't know about this. Only martial artists from the major sects have heard of it, and I am merely the nominal abbot of Wuliang Daoist Temple."
Fan Liren smiled, "I've been to Wuliang Daoist Temple once before. Little Wan, you're not simple."
Wan Yunting smiled, "My master is from Wuliang Daoist Temple. Last time, because of Sima Boyong's affairs, I was pushed by the elders of the temple to become the abbot."
Ouyang Shenhe asked in surprise, "So, is the matter of Sima Boyong murdering his brother and seizing power true?"
Wan Yunting nodded and said, "It's true."
"If that's the case, then the Sima family has very dark methods," Ouyang Shenhe said.
Fan Liren looked at Wan Yunting and said, "How will the Sima family make things difficult for you at this National Congress of Traditional Chinese Medicine?"
Wan Yunting shrugged and smiled, "At most, they will accuse us of being heretical for establishing the Lingnan Traditional Chinese Medicine Association in front of everyone and demand that we disband the association."
Ouyang Shenhe snorted coldly and said, "Although I don't usually pay attention to these matters, I am aware of their monopolistic behavior in Beijing. If they continue to lead the future of TCM, as you said, Little Wan, it's likely that in less than twenty years, TCM will be completely buried in the long river of history."
"Alas."
Fan Liren sighed, lit a cigarette, and said, "TCM is a treasure passed down from our ancestors, just like our Chinese traditional culture. I can't see any hope for future inheritance anymore."
Wan Yunting nodded, realizing that both TCM and traditional culture were in a predicament.
"Grandpa, I'm back..."
At this moment, the front door was pushed open, and a familiar voice came from outside. Wan Yunting couldn't help but turn his head and look outside through the glass sunroom. He saw Fan Shuyuan, dressed in a white down jacket, entering and heading towards them. This made Wan Yunting's expression stunned, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Why is it her?"
Fan Shuyuan saw Wan Yunting in the sunroom and recognized him. Her peach blossom eyes widened, and she quickly entered the sunroom, huffing, "You actually came here?"
Fan Liren, who was sitting nearby, put on a stern face and reprimanded her, "Shuyuan, watch your tone."
But Ouyang Shenhe looked at them and said, "Girl, do you know Little Wan?"
"Who doesn't know him?"
Fan Shuyuan pouted her head proudly. Then, she saw the calligraphy piece placed on Ouyang Shenhe's left hand and immediately went to pick it up, "I thought you had torn this calligraphy piece."
"Hey, girl, this was given to me by Little Wan. Don't snatch it," Ouyang Shenhe reached out his old hand to take it back. Fan Shuyuan glared and said to Wan Yunting, "You're shameless! You give things to anyone. Do you really think your calligraphy is a treasure?"
"Whether it's a treasure or not, girl, give it to me quickly. Don't wrinkle it..."
Seeing Fan Shuyuan swinging the calligraphy piece around, Ouyang Shenhe became anxious, afraid she would tear it.
"Shuyuan, quickly return the calligraphy to your grandfather and don't ruin it."
Fan Liren was angry at his granddaughter's lack of manners and rebuked her. Fan Shuyuan, huffing with anger, finally returned the calligraphy piece to Ouyang Shenhe. Her peach blossom eyes glared fiercely at Wan Yunting, but he looked stunned and turned to Fan Liren, saying, "Old Fan, is she really your granddaughter?"
"Yes."
Fan Liren nodded, then remembered something and said, "Little Wan, you mentioned earlier that a girl challenged you to a calligraphy competition. Could it be her?"
Wan Yunting smiled. Fan Liren knew it was his granddaughter. He turned to look at Fan Shuyuan, who was pouting and looking displeased, and smiled, "How about it? Are you convinced now? Do you still dare to call yourself the best in the calligraphy world?"
"Tch."
Fan Shuyuan crossed her arms, her cheeks puffed out, looking very cute. She said unconvincingly, "So what? He can only write, he can't even compose a poem. What's so great about that?"
Wan Yunting nodded and smiled, "I can only write, and I truly can't compose poems or play with lyrics. So you are a talented woman, and I am just a porter for words."
"So, you concede?"
Hearing him say that, Fan Shuyuan felt a little better. Her peach blossom eyes glanced at him proudly. Wan Yunting smiled and nodded, after all, Old Fan was sitting right there, so he had to give the elder some face.
"Good, you admit it. You have to give me a piece of calligraphy."
Fan Shuyuan was overjoyed. In fact, she liked Wan Yunting's calligraphy when she first saw it, but being proud and arrogant, she was too embarrassed to ask for it forcefully at the Wenchuang Hall.
Wan Yunting looked stunned, not expecting her to ask for his calligraphy...
The rest of the afternoon, Wan Yunting spent at Fan Liren's place.
Originally, he was supposed to treat Ouyang Zhixin's daughter today, but the Sima Wentang father and son had gotten there first. Helplessly, Wan Yunting and Gu Yuanbai could only focus on preparing strategies to deal with the National Congress of Traditional Chinese Medicine. They would adapt to the situation as it unfolded.
Fan Shuyuan asked for calligraphy, so Wan Yunting wrote a piece for her in Fan Liren's study.
Standing beside them, Ouyang Shenhe smiled, looking at Wan Yunting like a grandfather looking at his beloved grandson. Thus, this elder who dominated Beijing's business world was now as amiable as an ordinary grandfather, completely lacking the imposing aura of the old patriarch of the Ouyang family, one of the five great families.
"Hey, why is your calligraphy so strange? How did you do it?"
Looking at the wild cursive script of Wan Yunting, which exuded a sense of mystery that drew people in unconsciously, Fan Shuyuan couldn't understand how he wrote it.
"I don't know how to explain it. It's all about personal enlightenment," Wan Yunting turned to look at her and smiled.
"Tch, if you don't want to say it, just say so. What are you implying? So stingy."
Fan Shuyuan held the calligraphy he gave her, which was a poem she had recited for him to write. She said this with her mouth, but in her heart, she cherished this piece of calligraphy.
The usually arrogant Fan Shuyuan had never admired anyone except her grandfather's calligraphy.
Only Wan Yunting's calligraphy made her feel a sense of admiration for the first time.
"Little Wan, do you have plans tonight? Why don't you stay and have a few drinks with me and Old He?"
Fan Liren ignored his granddaughter and said to Wan Yunting, thinking about having a big drink with him tonight because he was genuinely happy to see Wan Yunting.
Wan Yunting said, "I met Huang Yaodong and the others at Wenchuang Hall earlier, and I promised to have drinks with them tonight..."
"Oh, those kids. Let them come directly. We know each other, don't we? Are they afraid of me, an old man?" Fan Liren said.
Wan Yunting smiled and said, "Old Fan, you are a titan of the literary world, their idol. Of course, they are afraid. But I'll call them."
"Okay, okay, hurry up and call. I'll also call to book a table for food and drinks."
Fan Liren waved his hand and took out his phone. Ouyang Shenhe immediately said, "Why order food and drinks? Let's eat out. I'll treat."
"Forget it. I don't feel happy drinking at fancy places. I prefer to drink comfortably at home," Fan Liren waved his hand and took out his phone to call a chef from a small restaurant. It was clear that he often ordered food to be delivered.