"Boss Ding, yesterday I rashly promised to present your esteemed establishment with a wine poem. My mother repeatedly taught me that one must keep one's word. I have come today to fulfill my promise."
With a single sentence, he was neither servile nor overbearing, cultured and modest, while also conveying the fine traditions of his family.
A young master seated at the head table had originally worn a look of disdain, but his expression softened somewhat now.
His name was Zhang Haoran, and he was no ordinary man.
Ding Hai's smiling face was practically blooming into a flower. "A famous scholar's promise is worth a thousand gold! Young Master truly lives up to the name of a famous scholar! ...Bring the brush!"
A beautiful woman brought a tray before Lin Su. On it lay a Precious Brush and ten sheets of Precious Paper.
Lin Su picked up the brush and hesitated slightly. "Boss Ding, what wine does your establishment specialize in?"
The moment he asked that, the entire hall erupted. Damn! He had prepared for nearly two days, yet he did not even know what he was meant to promote? This preparation was far too inadequate, wasn't it?
This was what he called having conceived it already?
Wasn't this plainly improvised on the spot?
Fine, let's see what good poem this brat can produce. If we don't catch him by the sore spot today, I'll eat every last sheet of paper on this tray...
All the young masters looked as though they had been injected with chicken blood.
Ding Hai kept his gaze straight ahead, yet every reaction in the hall entered his eyes. His heart, too, went cold as ice. So he was merely going through the motions? Though the tavern had paid rather little, that old fellow Bao Shan had paid even less yesterday...
Being a merchant by nature, he had been delighted beyond measure last night, believing he had gained a huge bargain. Only today did he suddenly realize that his vision had been too narrow. If the price paid was too low, others simply would not take the matter seriously. In the end, the one who suffered losses would still be himself. What a painfully deep realization...
Ding Hai wished he could slap himself on the head.
Time could not be turned back. It was not only Lin Su who was being roasted over the fire now, but Ding Hai as well. He had made such a grand display and spread the news everywhere. If all he got in the end was a Grass Poem, Haining Tower's reputation would be dragged through the mud.
Kid, you had better have some bottom line. At the very least, give me a White Light Poem.
"Our establishment's signature wine is called Xiling."
"Oh? What does it look like? Bring some for me to see."
Pfft! One diner sprayed out his drink on the spot.
If everyone had only been fifty percent certain at first, they were now one hundred percent certain. This brat truly had made no preparations.
Ding Hai still wore a smile, but there was already a hint of tears in it...
With a wave of his hand, a lovely woman brought over the Xiling Fine Wine. It was pale yellow and quite pleasing to the eye, especially beautiful when poured into a white jade bowl. Of course, Lin Su had no intention of drinking it. He truly feared it would ruin his appetite.
Advertising was all about exaggeration, wasn't it? Even in Modern Society, celebrities advertising food could be on the verge of vomiting and still insist, "It's really delicious!"
Therefore, Lin Su felt no psychological burden whatsoever in advertising this wine—oh, no, writing a poem for it.
The brush came down:
"Xiling Fine Wine Tulip..."
There was no light, not even a thread of it. This was merely an advertising slogan.
The young masters exchanged glances, all of them thrilled.
"Jade Bowl Holds Amber Light..."
Silver light suddenly burst forth. Everyone was startled at once, and Zhang Haoran at the head table abruptly stopped fanning himself with his folding fan...
"But if the host can make his guests drunk,
One Knows Not Where Their Hometown Is."
Golden light flashed into being, followed immediately by seven-colored radiance spreading through the entire tavern like a peacock fanning open its tail.
The entire hall fell silent. Those who had lifted their wine cups to drink froze in place. Nearly every folding fan hanging in the air ceased its motion. Zhang Haoran let out a loud shout. "Excellent!"
The several young masters at his table all looked at him as if he were an alien. He was the trump card they had specifically invited today to subdue their opponent, yet without a word, he had surrendered and laid down his weapons? He had directly defected?
If even you had defected, what were we supposed to do?
Were they still going to deal with him or not?
Ding Hai's first instinct was to reach out and snatch the poem draft.
Yet when he held the draft in his hands, he remembered that today's poem had been his from the start. There was no need to snatch it at all.
Lin Su smiled faintly. "Fortunately, I have not failed my mission. Farewell!"
He set down the brush, cupped his hands, and left the tavern.
He departed with such ease that the young masters had no time to react at all.
When Lin Su returned to Lin Residence, he was still startled. A young man in white stood before the gates, quietly watching him...
"Who might you be?"
The newcomer smiled slightly. "Only now do I believe that you were not putting on airs just now. You truly had not paid attention to anyone."
"Yes."
"Why? In your eyes, was no one worth paying attention to?"
"It is not a matter of whether they are worth it, but whether it is necessary." Lin Su said, "Think with your heels and you will know that those who came were all outstanding figures. Think with your toes and you will know that few of them bore me goodwill. Since I understood all that, why pay them extra attention? Since we do not walk the same road, why waste the effort?"
"Haha..." The young man burst into laughter. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhang Haoran, from the capital. They invited me to deal with you... but I defected. I would rather exchange ideas with you than fight you to determine life and death."
Lin Su was greatly surprised. "Why?"
"I am a cultivator of the Dao. I believe in a certain unseen feeling."
A cultivator of the Dao?
Lin Su smiled. "Did they invite you here so you could use a flying sword to chop off my head?"
"You think Dao cultivators only know how to use swords? I can use a brush too!"
Lin Su froze. "Literary and Dao Dual Cultivation?"
He practiced both literature and martial arts, yet the man before him actually practiced Literary and Dao Dual Cultivation?
"Literary and Dao Dual Cultivation was forced upon me too. You do not know how hegemonic my younger sister is. Three years ago, she forcibly dragged me up the mountain to decipher the Ancient Heavenly Scroll for her. It made me miss the Provincial Examination, but it also unexpectedly allowed me to enter the Dao Gate."
"Haha, it seems we do have something in common. I accidentally gained a Literary Root because my Martial Root could not be activated, while you were harmed by your sister and accidentally gained a Dao Root... Come in. You are the first guest to visit me since I became a fake scholar."
"A fake scholar?" Zhang Haoran laughed. "A fake scholar who has written three Seven-Colored Poems?"
Three Seven-Colored Poems?
Someone emerged from the house. It was Lin Jialiang, his eyes gleaming with a strange light beneath the setting sun. "Third Brother, another Seven-Colored Poem?"
Lin Su rubbed his nose awkwardly. "Second Brother, this is Zhang Haoran, from the capital."
From the Zhang Family of the capital?
Lin Jialiang was slightly startled. "Could it be the Zhang Family of Green Willow Villa on the outskirts of the capital?"
"I live in West Alley."
Oh, so it was not them. Lin Jialiang immediately calmed down. When he asked about the tavern poem from today, Zhang Haoran rushed to recite it. Once the poem was finished, Lin Jialiang fell into a daze once more.
Zhang Haoran sighed. "A Seven-Colored Poem that appears once in a thousand years. There is no need to speak of Brother Lin's poetic talent, but even more frightening is the fact that this poem will hang in a tavern. With this one poem, Haining Tower will soar into the sky, unstoppable by anyone. I truly do not know what fortune Boss Ding stumbled upon to find an unparalleled genius like Brother Lin."
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
"What do you mean, exaggerated? You wrote this poem yourself, yet you do not understand its power?" Zhang Haoran said. "The world is wracked by war after war. How many people have been driven far from their native soil? They will never return to their hometowns in this life, and perhaps only Brother Lin truly understands the knots in their hearts. 'But if the host can make his guests drunk, one knows not where their hometown is.' One sentence exhausted the longing for home; a thousand cups could hardly untangle the flavor within... Brother Lin, do you have wine? At a moment like this, there ought to be wine!"
A woman approached through the sunset, carrying a wine pot and cups. It was Xiao Tao.
"Young Master, for tonight's meal, would you prefer some meat, or noodles and steamed buns?"
The moment she spoke, Lin Su's eyes widened in astonishment. Was this Xiao Tao? Why was she speaking like that? Had she not always called out from far away before, "Young Master, are you hungry? What would you like to eat?"
How plain, how down-to-earth! Yet today she had spoken in such a refined, literary manner. He truly was not used to it.
But Zhang Haoran was used to it.
He was especially accustomed to Xiao Tao's tone of speech, but not accustomed to the things she spoke of.
"Noodles? What are steamed buns?"
"Reporting to Young Master, noodles and steamed buns are new foods newly devised by my young master today. Mr. Bao Shan praised them highly, and Madam did as well..."
Lin Su nearly wanted to cover his ears. Who had taught her to speak like that?
It made goosebumps rise all over his body.
Yet Zhang Haoran was overjoyed. "If that is so, may I sample Brother Lin's marvelous invention?"
"Go on, bring some up..." Lin Su waved a hand. Xiao Tao gave a graceful curtsey and departed elegantly.
Lin Su's eyes fell upon his second brother's face, full of inquiry. Second Brother had taught her, right? There were only a few people in the household. Xiao Yao certainly could not have taught her; it had to be either his mother or his second brother.
What did this mean? The Lin Family was no longer ordinary, so even the household maid had to keep pace with the times? Forget it! How wonderful was a girl with no filter on her tongue?
Lin Jialiang caught his brother's gaze, but he did not understand it at all. He was a man of this era; no matter how literary someone spoke, he saw no issue with it.
No one knew that after Xiao Tao fled the scene, she took a deep breath, patted her chest, and resumed her elegant gait. In her heart, she told herself, I want to become a learned person. I want to be worthy of warming Third Young Master's bed...
All of this was caused by one sentence Lin Jialiang had said today.
The steamed buns and noodles were served, and Zhang Haoran began tasting them. At first, he merely sampled them, but after one bite, he could no longer put down his chopsticks. In the time it took to draw a breath, he finished an entire bowl of noodles and five steamed buns. He had barely taken two sips of the wine he had specifically asked for.
He inhaled sharply. "Brother Lin, if I were not in the presence of an unparalleled genius like you, I would truly like to compose a poem."
Lin Su rolled his eyes. "Then compose one..."
"Looking back on a lifetime of mountain and sea delicacies, today I first realized my stomach had opened..."
"Haha, bring out Precious Paper and write it down! Let me see what color it is..."
Lin Jialiang actually went to fetch Precious Paper. Zhang Haoran hurriedly pressed his hand down. He had merely recited it casually. If Lin Jialiang truly wrote it down, they would fall out immediately...
The room dissolved into laughter and commotion.
Zhang Haoran shifted the topic. "Brother Lin's talent is truly astonishing. Other than poetry and these ingenious ideas, have you studied anything else?"
"Such as?"
"The Five Elements, astronomy, mathematics, and the like..."
The Five Elements? Astronomy? Better forget it. He naturally knew the Five Elements, but people here spoke of Dao and formations alike; in the matter of the Five Elements, they were the ancestors. Astronomy was better left alone too. The astronomy he had studied began from Earth as its point of reference. Heaven knew which expanse of the universe this was?
"I have dabbled somewhat in mathematics. Why? Is there some mathematical problem you wish to discuss?"
"I have a question. It is quite interesting."
"Let's hear it."
Zhang Haoran slowly said, "Listen carefully, Brother Lin. There are thirty chickens and rabbits in a cage, with eighty-eight feet touching the ground. How many chickens and rabbits are there respectively?"
Lin Su's eyes instantly widened.
Lin Jialiang's eyes widened as well.
But their feelings were entirely different.
Lin Jialiang was completely bewildered. How could he know how many rabbits and chickens there were? Though mathematics had mathematical classics, such texts were merely minor paths and had never been included among the classic works of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Students like them were generally poor at mathematics. What level could the better ones reach? Roughly this level: Tell them directly that there were thirty chickens and rabbits in total, ten of which were chickens, then ask how many rabbits there were...
What shocked Lin Su was this: Such a simple Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage problem, and Zhang Haoran had actually asked him so solemnly? Did not think Lin Su had missed the gleam in his eyes. Zhang Haoran clearly believed he could stump him.
Was that all Zhang Haoran thought he was capable of?
Zhang Haoran completely misunderstood. He truly thought the question was too difficult for the two brothers. This fellow was rather kind and well-mannered, so he quickly found himself a way down. "This problem requires counting rods. Brother Lin has none here, so naturally you cannot provide an answer immediately... Let us discuss something else. Brother Lin, are you planning to take this year's Provincial Examination?"
"Yes!"
Before Lin Jialiang could even speak, Lin Su directly gave the answer.
Zhang Haoran raised a hand, and a small bundle appeared in his palm. He untied it, and a large stack of materials spilled onto the table. "Brother Lin, meeting you today feels like meeting an old friend. I am in the capital and enjoy some advantages of time and place. These materials have been annotated by my master, and perhaps they may be of some use to you."
Lin Jialiang was overjoyed. Materials annotated by a renowned master from the capital were treasures that could not be bought even with a thousand gold.
"You do not need them yourself?"
"My teacher is right by my side. I can ask him at any time, which is far more direct than for you... Brother Lin, I too will take this year's Provincial Examination. Unfortunately, we are not in the same examination region, but may we both overcome the difficulties and appear together at the Palace Examination grounds in the future."
He rose to take his leave, waving farewell.
The moment Zhang Haoran left, Lin Jialiang seized Lin Su. "Third Brother, do you truly intend to take this year's Provincial Examination?"
"Yes!"
"There are fewer than two months left. From now on, you must study day and night. Even if you still cannot succeed, you must give it your all..."
"Second Brother, to tell you the truth, I have long studied the Four Books and Five Classics, the various histories, philosophers, and collected works. There is no need for me to lock myself away and study."
Lin Jialiang stared at him fixedly. "Nonsense! When have you ever studied them?"
"You had never seen me write poetry before either. Does that mean I cannot write poetry now?"
With just that one sentence, Lin Jialiang was left speechless. Though he was not from Modern Society, he had the same confusion: did ordinary people truly understand the world of geniuses?
That was right. He had never seen Third Brother write poetry before, yet was he not now an unparalleled poet?
Could he really have studied diligently in secret?
"In any case, neither you nor Mother had placed any hopes on me for this year's Provincial Examination. Let me try my own method first. If I pass, then I decide how I study from now on. If I fail, then you decide how I study from now on. All right?"
Lin Jialiang nodded gently. "Fine! It is a deal."
He turned toward their mother's room. Mother still did not know about Third Brother's third Seven-Colored Poem...
But after taking only a few steps, he stopped again. "Third Brother, although your talent surpasses mine a hundredfold, the Provincial Examination still has many techniques to it. I briefly looked through the materials Zhang Haoran left behind. A famous teacher's guidance truly lives up to its reputation. You must seize the time to study and absorb them carefully... But do not imitate him in researching miscellaneous subjects. Miscellaneous studies like mathematics are most capable of making people obsessed. Once one falls into them, they can most easily leave one mentally and physically exhausted."
Lin Su smiled. "Do not worry. A childish question like the one he posed is not even worthy of making me use my brain, much less exhausting my mind."
"Nonsense. Though mathematics is not part of the proper path of the examinations, it is vast and profound, a great field of learning in its own right. Third Brother, you must not deliberately belittle it." Lin Jialiang's expression darkened.
"I was not belittling mathematics. I only said that the question he asked was too simple."
Lin Jialiang's brows furrowed tightly. "Third Brother, can you solve it?"
"Sixteen chickens, fourteen rabbits!"
Lin Su returned to his own small courtyard. Lin Jialiang lowered his head and pondered for a while, then shook his head to cast away the distracting thoughts and went to Madam Lin. No one noticed Xiao Tao quietly returning to the inner room through the darkness, taking out a box. Inside the box were counting rods...
Madam Lin waited outside the doorway, her eyes faintly gleaming in the darkness.
San Lang had just returned from Haining Tower, and before she had even had the chance to meet with her son, a student had arrived. The three young scholars had been laughing and chatting together, so she could not interrupt them. Now was the time to learn the result.
The moment Lin Jialiang arrived, she asked directly, "How was it?"
"Another Seven-Colored Poem!"
"Another... Seven-Colored?" Madam Lin's voice suddenly rose.
Before you continue