Which Surname Has Never Been Glorious

The banks of the river were already impenetrably crowded with a dense sea of bobbing heads. The clamor of the crowd rose up along with the hot, humid air.

The tradition of dragon boat racing was inseparable from the river creeks. These waterways would eventually merge into the broad Yue River, but right now, they served as an arena that drew the eyes of thousands.

"Look, that's the boat from the Qingchuan Su Ancestral Hall."

Fang Jun pointed with his chin in a certain direction, his tone carrying the familiarity of a local. "They are the descendants of Layman Dongpo."

Chu Miaomiao raised her brow slightly, her gaze drifting unconsciously toward Lin Mo, seeking confirmation.

Lin Mo met her eyes and nodded. "Fang Jun is right, and they're the direct line of descendants at that."

He paused, his eyes falling on the dragon boat in the distance that was poised to launch, and his voice rang out at a leisurely pace.

Lin Mo spoke with assurance. "In his later years, Layman Dongpo was exiled to Lingnan, and his son came along with him to this region. However, the Qingchuan Su refers to Layman Dongpo's grandson, who was the son of Layman Dongpo's second son.

Layman Dongpo was first exiled to Huizhou, and later to Danzhou, while his second son was exiled to the Panyu area, leaving his bloodline right here."

Fang Jun was stunned for a moment. "As expected of a top-tier academic god. I only knew that those surnamed Su were descendants of Layman Dongpo, and that their dragon boat team is pretty fierce."

Lin Mo smiled and continued,

"Speaking of which, the Qingchuan Su not only has the blood of Layman Dongpo, but his mother was also the granddaughter of Layman Zuiweng. So strictly speaking, the descendants of this Qingchuan Su carry the bloodlines of two great literary masters."

"Holy crap!" An Yuexin listened in absolute amazement. "With a background like that, if this were a novel, they'd have the protagonist's template!"

He sighed with emotion, "Sure enough, if you pick any random surname in our country and trace it back a few hundred years, their ancestors were all prominent figures."

Fang Jun shot him a sidelong glance. "What about you, Young Master An? Have there been any famous figures among your ancestors?"

"Him?" Lin Mo spoke up unhurriedly, his expression entirely serious. "Now that is truly impressive."

An Yuexin immediately perked up and puffed out his chest. "Tell me, who do I have in my ancestry?"

"Imperial Consort Yang's godson, An Lushan. Let's not talk about anything else, just tell me if he's famous or not."

"Pfft!" Fang Jun was the first to lose his composure, slapping his thigh as he burst into laughter.

"Lin Mo, I'm going to beat you to death!" An Yuexin cursed with an angry laugh, landing a half-hearted punch on Lin Mo's arm. "You're An Lushan! Your whole family is An Lushan!"

Fang Jun finally managed to stop laughing and slung an arm around An Yuexin's shoulders. "Jokes aside, Old An's surname is actually quite hard to trace. My grandfather once said that a portion of the An surname here in eastern Guangdong comes from ancient Hu people who migrated from the Western Regions and changed their surnames. They specifically chose the character 'An' because it symbolizes peace."

An Yuexin's family wasn't originally from eastern Guangdong, but he had grown up there since he was a child. He had taught himself Cantonese, had been friends with Fang Jun since childhood, and his ID card listed him as Han Chinese.

But when it came to An Yuexin's ancestral roots, it was truly impossible to say for sure.

Because the surname An was often an adopted surname. In ancient times, when many ethnic minorities wanted to take on a Han surname, they mostly chose An. However, while some remained ethnic minorities, others completely assimilated and became part of the Han ethnicity.

Therefore, tracing the roots to their source was quite difficult.

As this topic passed, the sound of drums erupted.

The dragon boat crew was divided into three roles: the drummer, the paddlers, and the helmsman.

First was the drummer at the bow of the boat. Much like the conductor of an orchestra, they controlled the paddling rhythm through the frequency of the drumbeats, directly affecting the dragon boat's speed.

Then came the paddlers, who had to keep up with the drumbeats with synchronized movements. It was a crucial position that required teamwork and training.

Finally, there was the helmsman.

Because the race took place in the river creeks, certain narrow turns required the coordination of the helmsman and the paddlers to execute the ultimate technique of drifting the dragon boat around the corner.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The deep, rhythmic sound of the drums, like the heartbeat of a giant, echoed from the center of the river, striking at the hearts of everyone present.

Fang Jun stood by the fence, resting one hand on the railing while pointing with the other toward a bend in the river in the distance, looking quite smug.

"Let me tell you, this prime viewing spot at my place offers the best sight. It's right at this turn. Anyone can accelerate on a straightaway, but being fast on a curve is what true speed is all about."

Just as he finished speaking, the drumbeats suddenly intensified, like urgent war drums, igniting the emotions of the entire crowd!

"Roar!!"

"Come on!!"

The waves of cheering from both sides of the creek exploded instantly, almost threatening to overturn the sky above.

The waterway was narrow, so the races could only be held in pairs.

In Lin Mo's line of sight, the dragon boat from the Su Ancestral Hall, carved with a majestic dragon head, was racing neck and neck with another red boat, churning up two trails of white wake.

Dozens of paddles broke the surface of the water in perfect unison, sending up sprays of water with every rise and fall.

In just the span of a few breaths, the dragon head of the Su boat visibly pulled ahead of the red boat beside it by half a boat length, and the gap was still widening.

It was exactly as Lin Mo remembered.

As the Su dragon boat approached the buoy at the bend, its hull suddenly tilted to one side. Relying on the shift in their center of gravity and the precise control of their paddles, the crew forcefully carved a beautiful arc across the water, completing the turn with almost no loss of speed.

It was a textbook water-drifting maneuver.

Amidst the gasps of amazement from the crowd, the dragon boat shot past the next stone bridge and began to turn around for the return trip.

The six-hundred-meter course never tested endurance, but rather ultimate explosive power.

Almost all the men on the dragon boat were bare-chested. None of them wore life jackets, as wearing them would hinder their movements.

Unsurprisingly, the Su family's dragon boat was the first to return to the starting point, winning their heat.

"Those surnamed Su are indeed still very strong," Fang Jun said through gritted teeth.

"Last year, we just had the misfortune of running into the Su team first, which was why we suffered such a crushing defeat."

At this moment, An Yuexin quietly punctured his excuse.

"Did you forget? The race is timed. Even if you're slower in your heat, as long as your time is faster than the others overall, you still advance."

Fang Jun's expression stiffened, and he touched his nose sheepishly. "That's true in theory, but we lost out in terms of momentum!"

"So thrilling. Even though I'm not on the boat, just watching it makes me feel like my heart is going to leap out of my chest."

Jiang Yunlu's eyes were sparkling, still immersed in the highly impactful scene from just moments ago.

She was half a sports student, after all, and had a natural resonance with such competitive scenes.

"I remember when I used to play ball, during intense moments, I would feel so happy and energetic. I wouldn't feel tired at all on the court, but once I stepped off, I felt like I was dead."

As she spoke, she turned to look at Lin Mo, a trace of an excited tremor in her voice.

"That feeling is truly amazing."

As her words trailed off, a warm little hand quietly reached over and gently hooked onto Lin Mo's pinky finger, which was hanging by his side.

Lin Mo's body paused slightly. He could feel the delicate touch and a faint, almost imperceptible tremble coming from his pinky.

He didn't make a sound, nor did he pull his hand away.

Just in this moment of quiet, a cold, clear voice broke the atmosphere.

Xie Yuling, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

"It's my family's boat's turn."