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While Fei Qian was gaining enlightenment on Lushan, Sima Hui had arrived at the foot of Lotus Peak, north of Mount Zuo in southern Mian.
The area at the base of Lotus Peak was predominantly inhabited by people with the surname Huang, so locals referred to it as Huangjia Mountain Base. Because Lotus Peak faced a bend in the Mian River, it was also called Huangjia Bay.
The most prominent feature of Huangjia Mountain Base was a sprawling estate known as Huang Manor, also referred to as the Huang Family Retreat.
Since it was called a "retreat," it naturally housed a recluse—the renowned Huang Chengyan.
As Sima Hui approached the Huang Family Retreat, he saw Huang Chengyan waiting at the entrance and couldn't help but smile. "Well, well! It's been years, but you're still as robust as ever!"
"Naturally!" Huang Chengyan took a few steps forward, grasped Sima Hui's hands, and looked him up and down with a grin. "You're not doing too badly yourself!"
"Good, good! We're both doing well," Sima Hui replied cheerfully. After all, it was a joyous occasion to reunite with an old friend after so many years and find each other still in good health.
The two men walked arm in arm into the estate and settled in the main hall. After servants brought tea and snacks, Huang Chengyan chuckled and asked, "So, what brings you here this time?"
"Well, well!" Sima Hui shook his head and smirked. "Can't I just visit you without a reason?"
"You? Without a reason? Hehe..." Huang Chengyan began counting on his fingers. "In the tenth year of Xiping, you came to me to have me craft some wine vessels. In the twelfth year, you asked me to build a wheeled carriage. In the thirteenth year, you wanted me to make a pair of bamboo chairs. And in the fifteenth year, you..."
"Ah, good heavens! Well, well! I never thought you were such a meticulous record-keeper!"
Huang Chengyan's litany of past requests left Sima Hui somewhat embarrassed. Feigning indignation, he flicked his sleeves, stood up, and made a show of leaving, muttering a few parting words as he slowly walked toward the door.
Huang Chengyan wasn't fazed. He simply chuckled, neither speaking nor rising to stop Sima Hui, just watching him take his slow, deliberate steps.
After a few paces, Sima Hui turned back and asked, "Well, well! Aren't you going to stop me?"
"Why should I stop you? Go on, go on!" Huang Chengyan waved his hand, pretending to be dismissive.
Sima Hui was left speechless. He shook his head and sighed, "Well, well! It's been years, and I never imagined you'd become so sharp-tongued..."
Huang Chengyan couldn't hold back his laughter any longer. He laughed so hard that tears nearly streamed down his face. Between laughs, he said, "You think you can do as you please, but I can't call you out on it? Hahaha..."
Sima Hui, too, shook his head and joined in the laughter.
Once the two had settled back into their seats and enjoyed some tea and snacks, Sima Hui finally said to Huang Chengyan, "This time, I'm not here to ask you to make anything. I have something important to tell you."
Sima Hui then recounted to Huang Chengyan the matter of Zheng Jing, which he had previously discussed with Pang Degong.
"That pedantic scholar is truly something!" Huang Chengyan muttered under his breath. Noticing Sima Hui's gaze, he quickly added, "Not referring to you, of course. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Fortunately, Sima Hui was well-acquainted with Huang Chengyan's temperament and didn't take offense. However, recalling two pieces of news he had received on his journey, his smile faded, and his expression turned serious. "There are two other matters. First, Yuan Shu has recommended Sun Jian as General Who Breaks the Caitiffs and appointed him as the Inspector of Yu Province..."
Huang Chengyan sat up straight, visibly surprised. "This... what is the Yuan family planning? Could it be..."
Sima Hui didn't respond to Huang Chengyan's speculation. Instead, he lowered his eyes and continued gravely, "Second, the tyrant Dong Zhuo has sent troops to massacre the community in Yangcheng... They beheaded over a thousand people and built a mound of their heads in Luoyang as a warning..."
Huang Chengyan shot to his feet, unable to believe his ears. "This... this... is this true?"
Sima Hui let out a long sigh and nodded, then fell silent.
"This... chaos! Chaos!" Huang Chengyan stamped his foot and sighed deeply.
For a while, the two men sat in silence, each lost in thought, their earlier cheer replaced by worry.
If the power struggles during the time of General-in-Chief He Jin, between the eunuch faction led by Jian Shuo and the reformist faction led by the Yuan and Wang families, had been relatively restrained—
Then Dong Zhuo's actions since taking power—seizing the remnants of He Jin and Ding Yuan's military forces, suppressing rumors in Luoyang with brute force, and now sending troops to Yangcheng to massacre an entire community and display their heads in the capital—clearly signaled his intent to crush all opposition through violence.
Meanwhile, the two sons of the Yuan family—one in eastern Ji Province and the other in Yu and Jing Provinces—were raising armies under the guise of quelling Yellow Turban remnants and forming alliances with local warlords...
The imperial relatives were acting unpredictably, and now the leading reformists were resorting to extreme measures...
How could this not lead to chaos?
And with the emergence of Zheng Jing, it was like adding fuel to the fire...
Sima Hui gazed out at the sky, as if lost in memories, and said in a low voice, "Back then, the Sima family split... and now... alas..."
The Sima family had split due to irreconcilable differences over scholarly matters, with Sima Hui's branch leaving their ancestral home in Henei and settling in Yingchuan.
Over the years, as the older generation passed away, the animosity between the two branches of the Sima family had gradually faded. With Sima Hui's children having died young, he had lost the desire to compete and had merged his family's books with those of the Henei Sima, symbolizing a reconciliation between the two branches.
Huang Chengyan glanced at Sima Hui and said, "Your family is doing fine. Your scholarly traditions have been unified, and the Sima family has many descendants to carry on the legacy. But I only have one daughter. What can I do?"
Indeed, while the Sima family had many heirs, Huang Chengyan had only one precious daughter, born late in his life. With his advanced age, even if he had the will, he lacked the means to do more.
Sima Hui acknowledged that he couldn't help with Huang Chengyan's predicament, but he could offer some advice. After a moment of thought, he said, "Well, well! Don't worry, don't worry! Pang Degong is planning to reopen his school and take on more students. If you're interested, perhaps... ah, haha..."
"Oh, you managed to persuade Pang Degong?" Huang Chengyan couldn't help but express his admiration.
Pang Degong was famously a staunch adherent of the Huang-Lao philosophy, advocating for inaction. That Sima Hui had convinced him to take such a step was no small feat.
Sima Hui nodded with satisfaction, clearly proud of his accomplishment. But more importantly, he wanted to confirm Huang Chengyan's stance. "I've already reached out to Xu, Han, Shi, and Meng in Yu Province. With Pang Degong joining us, we plan to compile a northern edition of the classics. Would you be willing to collaborate?"
Huang Chengyan clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "It's about time! I thought my life would pass without such an opportunity, but to think I'd live to see such a grand endeavor. Count me in!"
"Good, good!" Sima Hui was delighted. "With all of us working together, we can make something truly remarkable!"
Under the blue sky, at the foot of Lotus Peak, within the Huang Family Retreat, the two old men clasped hands and laughed. Their hearty laughter echoed far and wide, carrying their joy and determination into the distance...
*****
A/N: The historical record places Dong Zhuo's massacre of Yangcheng in the second month.