Fox Demon Golden Pearl

The Nine Talents of Quzhou all looked up at once, their faces pale. Even Mr. Lei was sweating like rain...

He had received instructions from the Capital Noble to cooperate fully with all of Zhang Xiu's actions.

Courtesan Leaves the Tower had been utterly mangled by Lin Jialiang's peerless poem.

One Poetry Gathering had enabled Lin Su's sudden rise to prominence—Seven-Colored Fame, with the Sage Directly Bestowing Literary Root.

While on their side, it was a crushing defeat!

A defeat beyond all measure!

Zhang Xiu's Literary Altar had been destroyed. Once the Literary Altar was broken, it meant the road of literature was forever barred to him!

For a scholar, this was the greatest punishment—truly worse than death!

If an ordinary person had destroyed it, there might still have been a remedy. At worst, he could seek out a cultivation sect or the Demon Race High-Rank and obtain miraculous medicines and spiritual pills to renew his Literary Root and rebuild his Literary Altar. But the Sage had destroyed Zhang Xiu's. Who would dare restore it? Who could restore it?

"What? I merely stated a fact. Everything was the Sage Master's judgment. Do any of you have objections?"

"You..." Zhang Xiu spat out a mouthful of blood, his face twisted with agitation. He wanted nothing more than to devour him alive, yet in the end, he did not dare say anything.

The others looked at Lin Su's smiling face and suddenly felt a chill creep into their hearts.

Zhang Xiu was considered an outstanding figure among the younger generation. With the matter erupting so suddenly, he had accurately seized upon this brat's weakness and used the name of a Treasonous Poem to force him into a dead end, earning the admiration of his companions.

At the time, everyone in the tavern had sensed that the Lin Family was finished for good.

Yet this brat had turned the tables against the wind. In the end, he had cleverly transformed Zhang Xiu's accusation into the Severing of the Root of the Literary Path, something the Sages feared most. Not only had he gained a heap of benefits for himself, but he had also used the Sage's hand to utterly destroy Zhang Xiu.

This brat was terrifying!

Now he was smiling at them, looking kind and harmless—but was he still digging a pit? If they jumped in, would they suffer the same fate as Zhang Xiu?

Leave!

The people in the front rows all vanished at once.

The beautiful woman holding the zither also rose and slowly walked toward Lin Su. Lin Su suddenly felt all the surrounding noise vanish in an instant. It was as if he had entered the Immortal Hall, where only he and that beautiful woman remained between heaven and earth.

The woman raised a hand, removed one of her earrings, and tossed it toward Lin Su, accompanied by words overflowing with poetic meaning.

"I give you One Golden Pearl, to share the rise and fall of a lifetime with me!"

Wonderful, wonderful! Lin Su reached out for the earring...

Suddenly, a thunderous roar exploded beside his ear. "Hey! Demon..."

With a boom, the illusion before Lin Su vanished, and the tavern reappeared. A tall, mighty figure stood before him. The Zither-Holding Woman across from him had already disappeared, leaving behind only a zither spinning around and around in the corridor before slowly falling over.

"Mr. Bao Shan!"

The Haining Tower manager bowed deeply.

Everyone in the hall also called out, "Mr. Bao Shan!"

Lin Su looked at that burly back and could not help feeling puzzled. Was this really a gentleman? Not a butcher? With that build, that bearing, that beard curling from the front all the way around to the back—it would be a pity if he did not slaughter pigs.

Mr. Bao Shan slowly turned around.

Lin Su saw his face: thick brows, large eyes, and a beard tangled like roots. Judging from his features, he truly matched the temperament of a butcher, yet he was wearing a scholar's robes...

"Young man, did you know that you nearly fell prey to the Fox Demon's arts just now?"

A Fox Demon?

Lin Su's eyes widened.

"Look!" Mr. Bao Shan raised his hand. A Golden Pearl rested in his palm, and atop it, a Fox Phantom was slowly dissipating.

The tavern manager was greatly alarmed. "The Zither-Holding Woman was a Fox Demon? Shameful, shameful. This old man failed to see through her..."

The young people who had yet to leave the tavern were also deeply shocked. That beautiful young woman who had sat before them, that enchanting zither player who had quietly stirred their youthful hearts, had actually been of the Demon Race?

Lin Su frowned. "Why was she targeting me? I never provoked her."

"She was interested in your talent. She intended to share a night of spring breeze with you and drain your essence and blood."

What? A night of spring breeze?

Lin Su asked, "Would I die?"

"Not quite. You would merely be utterly exhausted..."

Damn it!

Who was not tired after a night of spring breeze?

What man would not like that kind of exhaustion? What man would not willingly accept it?

Such a fine thing had fallen into his lap, yet this old man had leaped out sideways and turned it into chickens flying and eggs breaking. That was going too far.

What was even worse was that he was standing there smugly, waiting for Lin Su to thank him.

Lin Su looked at this one, then that one, cursed the damned feudal etiquette inwardly, and bowed to Mr. Bao Shan. "Thank you, sir, for coming to my aid so righteously..."

"As the Master said, thanking someone with empty words is no different from insulting them." Bao Shan smiled. "Third Young Master Lin, a verbal thanks alone will not do!"

If Lin Su from Modern Society had been here, he might have jumped eight feet into the air. You shameless old thing! You ruined the little Peach Blossom Luck I finally got, and now you want money from me? I'd be generous not to fight you to the death...

But living in this old society, he still had to show respect to his elders. "What do you want?"

"A poem!"

The several people who had already reached the tavern entrance stopped in their tracks at the same time.

Mr. Bao Shan was a Literary Heart Master! He was also a great poet renowned throughout the land for poetry, free-spirited and unruly by nature. Such a person would not even spare a glance at ordinary poems. For him to ask someone else for a poem was simply unheard of.

Mr. Bao Shan said, "You used swords as poetry and left behind a Seven-Colored Poem. If you used wine as poetry, what masterpiece could you write?"

With a boom, everyone in the tavern became excited...

Would Third Young Master Lin write another poem?

If he produced another masterpiece, it would be the grandest event on today's Literary Altar. To personally witness a poem destined to be passed down for ages being born—what great fortune!

This was the excitement of scholars and literary talents.

The tavern manager was even more excited. Wine—was that not the brightest signboard of a tavern? If a famous poem about wine appeared in the tavern, would Haining Tower not become known throughout the land?

It had to be said that those who ran taverns had the sharpest noses. He reached out and grabbed the person beside him. "Immediately! Hurry and bring the finest wine..."

In an instant, eight maidservants entered in single file, each carrying a bowl of wine. They formed a large circle around Lin Su.

Lin Su's expression changed. "What is the meaning of this?"

In modern Miao territory, there was a custom of drinking gate-blocking wine when welcoming a bride. Could it be that such a bad custom had crossed through time and space into this world as well? No drinking, no leaving? If they made him drink all this wine, he would have to leave lying sideways...

The manager smiled. "Third Young Master's poetic talent is unparalleled. Haining Tower is willing to add another fine tale to your name. This wine is to heighten your spirits..."

"Forget it. What kind of spirits can your sour plum soup heighten?"

The manager's face twitched violently...

"Fine, fine. I'll write one, all right? Just don't force me to drink..."

Everyone's faces twitched...

The manager was overjoyed inside, but his face turned bitter as a bitter melon...

A beautiful woman rushed forward first and placed Precious Ink and Paper before Lin Su...

Lin Su picked up the brush and tilted his head toward Mr. Bao Shan. "Before I write, I have a question for you, Mr. Bao Shan. You just said... 'As the Master said, thanking someone with empty words is no different from insulting them.' Which classic did that come from? Why does it always sound strange to me? It seems utterly out of place beside the Sacred Word Classics."

Yes, yes, the scholars all felt the same deep sentiment inwardly...

Mr. Bao Shan said, "It is supposed to be out of place beside the Sacred Word Classics. A friend of mine said it. He is a merchant named Li Jinzi!"

Everyone's faces twitched...

Because his name was Li Jinzi, even when he farted, it counted as "the Master said"...

Lin Su was completely speechless. Fine, fine, he would stop asking. He would write the poem!

The brush fell!

"Grape Wine in Jade Cups..."

The first line emerged, and three rays of white light appeared!

Everyone held their breaths at the same time. Heavens, the miracle had come again...

"Urged by the Battle Drum to Drink..."

Silver light dazzled the eye. Within that silver light, the "Qingzheng" battle drums sounded, iron cavalry looming faintly in the distance. In that silent, beautiful night, a great upheaval was about to arise...

"Drunk, I lie upon the battlefield—my lord, do not laugh; from ancient wars, how many ever returned?"

Seven-colored Rosy Clouds suddenly covered the entire tavern. Over the river tides outside, it seemed that fierce slaughter could be heard—bold and mournful, yet carrying a thread of wine fragrance piercing through it all...

The space beneath Lin Su's brush suddenly emptied. The poem he had just completed landed in Mr. Bao Shan's hands. He copied up the manuscript with his left hand, while his right hand drew through the air. A massive character for boat appeared, transforming into a vessel that fell into the middle of the river and cut through the waves. He left behind a sentence: "This is the gift of thanks you gave me. I accept it! Hahaha..."

"You old bastard! That belongs to the tavern! Leave it behind for me!" A furious roar suddenly came from atop the tavern. With a swish, a figure stepped on air and appeared atop Mr. Bao Shan's boat. A flash of sword light slashed directly at Bao Shan.

Wow! Lin Su's eyes lit up. Who was this now? A sword immortal?

Bao Shan raised a hand, and a huge character for seal suddenly appeared in the air. The character spread densely like a great net. The sword light was ground away within the net, but the net was also ground away by the sword light. The strange phenomena of their battle vanished at once, leaving Bao Shan and another old man standing face-to-face atop the river.

"Ding Hai, do you have no shame? That was clearly the thank-you gift that brat gave me, and you still dare steal it?" Bao Shan said.

"This poem clearly takes this tower's wine as its theme."

"Absurd! If a poem takes a tavern's wine as its theme, the poem belongs to you? Then if he took your daughter as a theme, would your daughter belong to him?"

"She can!"

What? Bao Shan was stunned.

Lin Su's eyes widened. "You two old bastards, keep your word!"

The subject shifted. Ding Hai said, "Bao Shan, let us speak plainly between honest men. This poem bears wine in its name, so naturally it should belong to the tavern. It is useless in your hands. You merely love drinking; you do not sell wine. How about this? Give me the poem, and I will provide you with the finest wine free of charge for ten years!"

Ten years of top-quality wine, supplied free of charge?

Had that not struck precisely at the vital weakness of a wine lover?

"On the other hand, if you refuse to give me face today, I will make every tavern under my banner refuse to sell you wine. In all of Quzhou, do not dream of buying even a single drop..." Ding Hai added another vicious threat.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Bao Shan was a Renowned Scholar of the land.

Ding Hai was a business titan and also a powerful cultivator. Yet they were fighting to such a degree over one poem.

Bao Shan shook his head like a rattle-drum. "Ding Hai, let us not beat around the bush. I absolutely cannot give this poem to you! But... but perhaps we can discuss another method..."

What method?

Lin Su did not know what the two said, but the two old men returned from the river side by side, their eyes gleaming as they looked at him. He immediately became wary. What did these two old bastards mean?

Why do I feel like you're plotting something against me?

"Third Young Master, look at this mess..." Ding Hai gently rubbed his hands before him. "Brother Bao Shan and I have known each other for twenty years. Yet because of one poem of yours, we have turned against each other. You are a kind and honest person. Surely you would not wish to see such a scene?"

Lin Su blinked. "Actually... how should I put it? I rather like seeing this sort of scene." It was the truth. One was a man of the literary path, the other a cultivator. How spectacular would a clash between two great experts be? Even movies and television dramas could not show something like that.

Damn it! Why did this brat refuse to follow the script?

Ding Hai choked...

Bao Shan spoke. "Forget it, I'll say it! Third Young Master, wine is the most suited to praise in verse. Writing one poem is writing; writing two poems is also writing. Since Boss Ding has asked, write one for him! It need not be too good. Something passable will do."

Lin Su rolled his eyes at him. He had known those two old bastards' private discussion could be no good. Sure enough, they had united their spears against him!

"Mr. Bao Shan, you are a senior master of the literary path. You should know that poetic inspiration must also be brewed. Three poems in one day—that truly is forcing a man to do the impossible..."

Right, right!

Bao Shan nodded.

Everyone around them nodded as well.

They were afraid of Lin Su. If he truly pulled off a triple kill in a single day, it would be far too crushing. It would make scholars across the land doubt their lives.

Fortunately, this monster finally had a moment when his poetic talent fell short.

But Ding Hai caught sight of a business opportunity. "I am not asking Third Young Master to write it now. He only needs to agree. Ten days or half a month would be fine."

Lin Su hesitated.

Ding Hai struck while the iron was hot. "Whatever conditions Third Young Master has, please state them plainly!"

Conditions? Hehe, this was exactly what he had been waiting for!

Lin Su raised his gaze and stared at the Precious Ink and Paper that had just been used...

Ding Hai was an exceedingly perceptive old fox. He immediately said, "One stick of Sage Incense, two top-grade Precious Brushes, and ten sheets of Precious Paper, all gifted to Third Young Master Lin!"

A figure flashed through the tavern. A beautiful woman appeared, holding a tray in both hands. On it lay one stick of Sage Incense, two Precious Brushes, and ten sheets of Precious Paper.

The scholars around them all had golden light in their eyes.

Everything on that tray was a treasure in the eyes of scholars—things that could not be bought even with money, given away for free!

Comparing people truly made one furious. In that instant, the ruined Lin Family seemed to have returned to its moment of greatest glory...