The Final Killing Blow

Mr. Xun watched Shen Anxin point at the sky, countless thoughts flashing through his mind. "What do you mean by this?!"

The others looked at Shen Anxin and exchanged glances. Did she mean she had chanced upon inspiration bestowed by heaven? Surely that was a modest way of putting it.

The inner-voice members grew nervous. Was she going to admit that these works came from somewhere else? But that didn't make sense either.

Naturally, they couldn't expect Shen Anxin to keep lying forever, but there was no proof either way, and she didn't need to let herself be morally blackmailed.

Shen Anxin: [I have to take this chance to help Shen Anlan out. Otherwise, if he hears this news, he'll die on the road. With something that could leave endless trouble behind, I can't just do the killing and leave the burial to someone else.]

The inner-voice members: ...They'd almost forgotten "Brother Reputation"!

Sometimes, too much reputation was a burden too.

Though Shen Anlan had placed third in the imperial examination, his literary talent fell short of even the four great talents whose Dao hearts had shattered.

News of today's events was bound to spread throughout Great Qi and Southern Xia. One could imagine how many people would come seeking Shen Anlan's guidance in the future.

Uh... she did need to patch things up.

But how did Shen Anxin intend to turn the situation around?

Shen Anxin was still pointing upward. "Earlier, when Jixia Academy used its magnificent, brocade-like prose to overpower Great Qi, a flood of inspiration suddenly sprang into my mind, as though literary talent had been poured into the crown of my head.

"It was as though a host of scholars whose talent surpassed the world and outshone all ages stood looking down from heaven. Unable to bear what they saw, they borrowed my hand to write these masterpieces of the ages.

"All so that you scholars who have strayed from the path could see the true, timeless splendor of poetry.

"The people of Jixia Academy may not know me, Shen Anlan, but everyone who knows me is aware that I truly could not have written such works before, and I may never do so again.

"But today, for the scholars of the world, I was so enraged that my hair stood on end and raised my brush for you all."

The moment she said this, the whole gathering was stunned.

What did she mean? People couldn't help discussing it among themselves.

"Lord Shen had absolutely no need to say that. No one can produce concrete evidence to challenge him, and people like Mr. Xun, who refuse to accept their defeat, are a tiny minority after all. Everyone knows those works couldn't have been written by anyone else."

"Ah, perhaps literary talent really was poured into his head! Didn't Southern Xia's Imperial Preceptor predict not long ago that Great Qi showed signs of a golden age? Maybe this is one of those signs. Even heaven is helping us snatch victory from an impossible plight."

"Now that you mention it, if Lord Shen truly had such immense talent, how could there have been no rumors of it all these years? I was fortunate enough to see his examination essay, and it certainly wasn't at that level."

The inner-voice members were stunned for a long moment: Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Put that way, not only would it be easier to keep up the lie about Shen Anlan,

she had even taken a jab at Southern Xia's scholars and raised the spirits of Great Qi's scholars.

And at the end, she had reminded people of the Imperial Preceptor's prophecy.

It was a bit of a stretch, but she really had killed three birds with one stone! Otherwise, no one could explain how a person had suddenly seen the light and written so many works of lasting renown in such different styles.

Even Emperor Hongyao was surprised. So was her usual simplicity really just because she was lazy? In truth, she was quite clever and quick-witted.

Shen Anxin: [Hehe, slap a grand label on it and make the theme big enough! Just watch me fool them to death! This counts as helping Shen Anlan fill in the hole too.]

Chacha: [Are you sure you can convince them, host?]

Shen Anxin: [You don't understand. Just on the strength of all those poems and rhapsodies I copied earlier, no matter what I say now, someone will...]

"What did you say?! What did you call us?!" Mr. Xun finally processed her words and flew into a rage.

The other Jixia Academy elders and instructors who had hurried over intending to stop Mr. Xun from going mad also looked furious after hearing Shen Anxin's words.

What did she mean? Was she saying Jixia Academy's talents were scholars who had strayed from the path?

Even if they had lost, they couldn't endure such an insult!!!

The others also realized that Shen Anxin's lofty-sounding words had actually leveled a very serious accusation.

If this continued, others would say Shen Anlan was arrogant and looked down on everyone because of his talent.

Quite a few people wanted to signal Shen Anxin to take back her words.

Before Shen Anxin could open her mouth and spin another tale, however, Xiao Yanchen stepped forward.

"Lord Shen said nothing wrong. The people of Jixia Academy do indeed write excellent works. In Great Qi, aside from Lord Shen, no one else can compare. But your works are like glass dolls kept in a pile of brocade: beautiful and fragile."

"Your Highness, do you think that because he won on his own, you have the right to criticize our Jixia Academy?" Feeling humiliated, Mr. Xun was beside himself with rage.

Xiao Yanchen merely smiled and spoke mildly. "Don't be so hasty, Mr. Xun. Wait until I've finished. If I'm wrong, you can refute me then."

"Everyone saw Jixia Academy's works just now. From beginning to end, among all the works you presented, not one had a theme of 'concern for the nation and its people,' 'the suffering of common folk,' 'all living beings under heaven,' or 'loyalty and love for one's country.' Yet most of the scholars on our side wrote on such themes.

"Your four great talents' assessments of Great Qi's works were essentially this: too many flaws, too few historical allusions, vulgar diction, and a lack of elegance and gravitas.

"What you value is beauty of form, clever ideas, and displays of skill.

"Most of Great Qi's scholars quickly admitted defeat, because they too felt their writing was not beautiful enough.

"When a few refused to accept it, you found people to write works of the same kind.

"But anyone who looks carefully at those supposedly similar works will find that they avoided the original themes entirely, taking only the outward form and writing something else.

"For example, someone earlier clearly used a singing girl to express the sorrow of a fallen nation and its ruined rivers and mountains. What you gave us instead described a singing girl withering like a flower amid extravagance, powerless to control her fate yet beautiful.

"Those were simply not the same themes. You avoided what mattered and seized on what was easy, resorting to clever tricks.

"But because your writing was good in itself, everyone was dazzled by the works and overlooked their themes. This contest was unfair from the start.

"If I set a topic now and asked you to write on 'food is the people's heaven,' could you truly capture its meaning and spirit?"

Xiao Yanchen spoke neither hurriedly nor slowly, peeling back layer after layer to expose what had felt wrong about the entire literary gathering.

Jixia Academy's works were indeed outstanding, leaving many scholars unable even to glimpse their dust.

But they really had strayed, gradually departing from "humanity" until nothing remained but beauty: beautiful scenery, beautiful objects, and beautiful people.

It wasn't that scholars couldn't write about beautiful things. Shen Anxin had also brought out an unparalleled work like the Rhapsody on the Luo River Goddess.

But to devote all their efforts to making things more beautiful, and even make that the standard by which anyone who fell short was deemed an inferior scholar, was deeply warped.

Xiao Yanchen had long seen the problem, but words alone were useless against it. Only by producing a host of works like Shen Anxin's, works that failed to meet their standards yet genuinely and utterly won them over, could anyone shake their rigid way of thinking.

When Xiao Yanchen finished speaking, the whole gathering fell silent.

Many began to look back over the entire literary gathering and the works both sides had presented.

Even Jixia Academy's own students asked themselves whether they had never written works with the artistic depth of Shen Anxin's pieces.

Why hadn't they written them?

Were they merely average at writing them? Or were they afraid people would laugh at them for being unsophisticated? Ordinary and vulgar?

"Food is the people's heaven"-what sort of topic was that? No teacher or examiner would ever set such a topic. They had no idea where to begin.

Even the other teachers couldn't help feeling dazed.

Had they really strayed from the path?

Chacha: [Host, is that what you meant to say? You didn't discuss it with the crown prince beforehand, so how did he know what you intended?]

Shen Anxin stared, dumbfounded: [To be honest, I didn't even know what I intended. I only had a general direction in mind, and I was just about to spout some plausible-sounding nonsense to keep fooling them. I never expected him to express the whole thing.

[Sure enough! Once you've made your name and achieved success, great scholars will come to argue your case for you. Xiao Yanchen gets full marks from me for reading comprehension!]

Xiao Yanchen held back a laugh.

The inner-voice members: They had really thought those two were working together in perfect sync! They had almost started shipping them! Who knew it was actually like this?

Well, Miss Shen provided the inspiration, and His Highness the Crown Prince turned it into reality. That counted as a kind of understanding too.

They had thought this should finally be enough to keep the people of Jixia Academy in check. After all, they weren't stupid, and they had recognized their own problem.

But unexpectedly, someone still jumped out.

Southern Xia's Minister of Rites said, "Let us set aside the question of whether scholars are on the right path or have gone astray. But what Lord Shen just said sounds so mystical that it's rather hard to believe, isn't it?

"If literary talent could truly be poured into one's head, who knows how many gifted scholars throughout history would have had flashes of inspiration?

"I would find it easier to believe, Lord Shen, that someone planned this for you and spent years collecting works, waiting for this day to build you a reputation as a genius great enough to deal a blow to all of Southern Xia's scholars. After all, we scholars should have nothing to do with tales of strange powers and unruly spirits."

Emperor Hongyao heard these words from a distance and frowned slightly as he looked at Southern Xia's Minister of Rites.

He had to admit, the fellow might have had a hard lot, but he really was capable.

Even at this point, he was still doing his utmost to make up for their losses, enough to make Emperor Hongyao appreciate his talent.

By saying this, he was, first, casting doubt and trying to attribute Shen Anxin's performance to the Great Qi court's machinations, and second, trying to blur the prophecy the Imperial Preceptor had made earlier.

Only by turning everything into a conspiracy theory would Southern Xia benefit.

Emperor Hongyao wasn't worried. Xiao Yanchen could handle a minor situation like this.

Xiao Yanchen could naturally handle it; he had a lucky star watching over him.

Xiao Yanchen said nothing more, merely looking to Shen Anxin for help.

When such a beauty gave her that pitiful look, Shen Anxin's chivalry immediately surged.

Shen Anxin puffed out her chest. "Oh? You doubt what I said? In any case, I feel that the literary inspiration is still with me today. Why don't you name a topic at random, and I'll keep writing? Anything will do."

As soon as Shen Anxin said this, Southern Xia's Minister of Rites looked rather displeased.

Any topic, chosen at random-such a statement proved that Shen Anxin had not prepared her wares in advance, but truly could write on the spot.

People below had already begun clamoring for Southern Xia's Minister of Rites to set a topic. It was nothing much; they simply wanted to see what else Shen Anxin could write.

Southern Xia's Minister of Rites had mounted a tiger and couldn't get off. For the moment, he racked his brains but couldn't think of a topic that would stump Shen Anxin. After all, what she had written earlier covered a very broad range.

Standing behind Shen Anxin, Xiao Yanchen smiled to himself. Sure enough, as long as there were enough works, the other party's claim could not stand.

Shen Anxin said, "Can't think of one? Then I'll start with a poem. You doubted what I said just now, and I'm very unhappy about it."

"Chiseled by a thousand blows from the mountains deep, it treats a blazing furnace as a trifling thing. Though ground to powder, it knows no fear; it leaves its purity upon the earth!"

"'Ode to Lime.'"

The moment the poem was recited, the whole gathering erupted.

Sure enough, there was another immortal-grade work!

In just a few short lines, what integrity and unyielding pride it expressed!

In this life, if a person could say before death, "Though ground to powder, I know no fear; I leave my purity upon the earth," it would be enough to reveal their character.

After hearing the poem, Southern Xia's Minister of Rites stared so hard his eyes seemed ready to split. As a high-ranking official, he had climbed the ranks through countless schemes and plots.

He had harmed others, and others had harmed him. When he was first framed, his heart had been filled with grief and indignation; that feeling was probably just what this poem described.

So his response to such lines was not something an ordinary person could understand.

In an instant, he could no longer continue his unreasonable haranguing.

But he hadn't expected Shen Anxin to keep staring straight at him. Suddenly, her lips spread in a smile.

"I have another poem for you and people like you. Don't worry, it's a simple one."

Southern Xia's Minister of Rites, however, wanted to back away in fear, his heart rate soaring.

Why had he provoked her?! What had he done that for?!

What did she mean, people like him? What kind of person was he?

He was afraid that Shen Anxin's literary talent would let her curse him in a single poem so thoroughly that his name would stink for ten thousand years.

But it was already too late to stop her.

Shen Anxin slowly recited, "Beanstalks are burned to boil the beans; the beans weep in the pot. Born from the selfsame root, why torment each other so?"

At first hearing, it didn't seem likely to make his name stink for ten thousand years.

But when they savored it carefully, it wasn't just Southern Xia's Minister of Rites whose face turned deathly pale. The members of their delegation and everyone at Jixia Academy who harbored ulterior motives did too.

"Excellent! What a line: 'Born from the selfsame root, why torment each other so?'"

An official of Great Qi shouted excitedly from below.

Yes, how they had once wanted to maintain good relations with Southern Xia, cooperate for mutual benefit, and develop together.

But what had they learned from the gossip they had eaten from Shen Anxin?

A tragic future in which they were stabbed in the back, targeted, and schemed against until their nation fell.

Yet their two nations ought to have been the closest of all.

Now, they would think no further on it. They would defend Great Qi to the death, and if Southern Xia wanted to try them, it couldn't blame them for what followed.

After all, Southern Xia had been the first to disregard their shared roots!

Southern Xia's Minister of Rites had nothing left to say. Dejectedly, he apologized. "I... I spoke recklessly. Talent of this kind really can only be described as..."

Shen Anxin smiled and cupped her hands. "It's all right. Doubt is natural. I only hope you will not forget: when a dynasty rises, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer. Even in a humble station, one must not dare forget concern for the nation, much less you and I, who hold office in our respective courts, draw our rulers' salaries, and are sustained by the people. We must remember to grieve before all under heaven grieve, and rejoice only after all under heaven rejoice. Do not concern yourselves solely with personal gains and losses, with your own interests."

As soon as the lines mixed into her words came out, everyone went numb, from their spines to the depths of their souls.

It felt as though every casual remark she made was a famous saying for the ages. Could it really be that heaven had bestowed inspiration on her, and the Literary Star had poured talent into her head?

The Southern Xia officials had been utterly crushed in spirit, as though anything more they said would be wrong.

Shen Anxin: [Feels like I'm about to go over the limit. Time for the final killing blow.]

Shen Anxin turned to look at Mr. Xun.

Mr. Xun, who had already been utterly defeated, felt his scalp prickle the moment he saw Shen Anxin look his way.

What is she going to do? Now that she's finished with Southern Xia's officials, is she coming after me too?

What she said just now already left me too ashamed to show my face!

Why is she still chasing me down to finish me off?!

No, there's no need to be afraid. She must have shown off just about everything she had, anyway. The lines hidden in what she just said were frightening enough. Surely she can't have anything even more astonishing.

Shen Anxin gave another faint smile.

Not only Mr. Xun, but even the other Jixia Academy teachers beside him felt an urge to rush forward and cover her mouth.

"Today's performance belongs to today alone. I have made a poor showing of myself, but just now, another very powerful inspiration came to me. It seems I am meant to offer you all some advice.

"You have all studied for a lifetime, and I hope we can encourage one another. Why do people like us study? It is not for the sake of brocade-like prose."

Shen Anxin looked up at the sky, putting on an air of profound mystery.

"To establish a heart for heaven and earth,

"to secure a life for the people,

"to carry on the lost teachings of the sages of old,

"and to open an age of peace for all generations."

"So, stray from the path no longer."

"Pfft!"

"Ahhh! Mr. Xun spat blood and fainted!"