Poetry Competition

Bai Yujun quieted down after half a day of mumbling and began to study why this was happening.

After careful consideration, she realized she had been too naive to think that refining the hyoid bone would allow her to speak human language. This idea was childish and impossible.

In reality, a person not speaking for a short period doesn't affect their language ability, but if the duration is too long, it becomes a serious problem. For example, there was a man who committed a crime and fled for many years. To avoid exposure, he pretended to be mute and didn't speak a word. Ten years later, when he was apprehended, he had truly become mute and lost his ability to speak for an entire decade.

Although Bai Yujun was human in her past life, this didn't mean she could immediately speak after her form transformation and hyoid bone refinement, just like a human.

She had forgotten how to pronounce things over sixty years ago.

Long periods of silence cause oral muscles to atrophy. Or rather, Bai Yujun's oral muscles were merely a form without function; they couldn't produce sound by vibrating air. The reason her throat could produce sound was because the throat had learned to control vibrations, requiring years of practice to build muscle memory.

Bai Yujun's current situation was that her brain could organize sentences, but her throat couldn't express them. Her throat muscles needed to learn from infancy.

Legends of speaking immediately after form transformation and hyoid bone refinement were too miraculous.

Therefore, Bai Yujun could only practice her throat muscles little by little on the road, starting with preschool pronunciation lessons...

"Ah~"

"Oh~"

"Uh~"

She couldn't even pronounce simple syllables correctly. Every time a syllable went astray, she would get frustrated, either shaking her head or tapping her head to remember the pronunciation.

Chu Zhe quietly watched Bai Yujun babble, finding her very cute. The way her dark hair flew when she shook her head, coupled with her distressed expression, made him feel sympathetic, like watching a child learning to walk.

Thinking Bai Yujun was quite笨 (clumsy/slow) for not even being able to learn to speak, Chu Zhe couldn't help but teach her himself.

"Your method is wrong. Repeat after me, 'Ah~' and lengthen the tone."

"Yes, just like that. Lengthen the sound, and you'll learn faster."

"Repeat after me, 'I~'"

Chu Zhe pointed to himself and then to Bai Yujun, using a simple and effective method to practice pronunciation. It had to be said, the effect was quite good. Bai Yujun suspected her senior brother was underutilized as a kindergarten teacher.

Green grass swayed as four figures walked by quickly, leaving behind Bai Yujun babbling and the laughter of Xu Ling and Yang Mu...

On a stone bridge over a waterfall, Chu Zhe, covered in sweat, taught the beauty to correct her pronunciation errors...

In a small town, Chu Zhe pointed to shop signs and had Bai Yujun read them out word by word. If she mispronounced them, she would lose a high-quality pill...

Bai Yujun looked at the dwindling pile of high-quality pills in her hand, on the verge of tears...

In an inn, under the moonlight, two figures sat by a lotus pond, correcting their pronunciation. The moonlit lotus pond accompanied the beauty, drawing countless envious glances...

Chu Zhe found himself unable to understand himself. She was clearly a demon. Even if he didn't kill her, he wouldn't be like this. He always felt she wasn't like those ferocious demons; she was more like a clumsy girl, tilting her head curiously, learning to speak very slowly. Whenever she encountered a problem, her brows would furrow, making her look pitiable. When he couldn't see her, he would toss and turn restlessly. When they walked together, his gaze was always drawn to her.

Xu Ling remained an optimist, unable to move when she saw something fun.

Yang Mu had switched books. He had bought it at a bookstore in a certain county. At that time, the clerk mysteriously pulled him into the back of the bookstore and cautiously took out a few volumes of unofficial histories and biographies, all of which were filled with scandals of royalty and nobility, as well as ghost stories. These were the kind of books that couldn't be circulated openly. Well, Yang Mu liked them very much.

Passing through Tongliu City, Chu Zhe felt that continuous travel was too tiring and decided to rest for two days in the city.

That evening, it was said that scholars near Tongliu were holding a poetry gathering in Qingyuan. Upon hearing the news, Xu Ling insisted on seeing the legendary romantic talents. The three Pure Yang disciples changed into ordinary clothes and headed to Qingyuan. It had to be said that cultivators, no matter how simply dressed, couldn't hide their extraordinary aura.

Yang Mu held a folding fan like a scholar, but Bai Yujun looked more like she was holding a sword.

Qingyuan, the largest and most beautiful garden in Tongliu City, was a gathering place built by the local richest man for scholars. Scholars could enter and exit freely. In the Tang Kingdom, where literary culture was flourishing, almost every city had such a place, where poetry gatherings were often held, and countless people stood out.

The four of them easily entered Qingyuan with their attire.

Lanterns hung high, and the full moon shone in the sky. Qingyuan was very lively.

A gathering of scholars naturally included performances by courtesans to liven things up, as well as countless snack stalls set up within the garden. There were also beautiful lanterns, and even the lotus pond was filled with lotus lanterns. Unlike the desolation of Mount Hua, the secular world was bustling, colorful, and captivating.

Of course, most importantly, there were the daughters of the wealthy and powerful.

Innumerable poor scholars had a dream: to attract the attention of daughters from prominent families with their talent and win their hearts, thereby ascending to greater heights. Folk tales abound of young ladies from wealthy families falling for poor scholars, with the ultimate success story being a poor scholar becoming a prince consort and rising to prominence.

Xu Ling and Bai Yujun happily ate sweets with both hands. Chu Zhe simply smiled faintly, drawing flirtatious glances from countless young ladies. Yang Mu, on the other hand, ignored the young ladies and was instead interested in the fire-breathing acrobatics. Perhaps he didn't understand how someone could breathe fire without magic.

"Eat~ Delicious~"

Bai Yujun could only utter two-word phrases before extending her delicate hand to offer Chu Zhe a piece of sweet cake, repaying her hard-working language teacher.

Chu Zhe happily accepted the sweet cake and put it in his mouth. It was very sweet, sweet to his heart.

The most famous spot in Qingyuan was Buyue Tower, located in the center of the garden. Buyue Tower was actually a three-story pavilion built on a higher stone bridge. It was beautiful and magnificent, with superior wood and bluestone transformed by the hands of skilled craftsmen. The pavilion was draped with curtains, and bursts of laughter emanated from within.

Upon entering the garden, Chu Zhe seemed to notice something but paid no attention, acting as if he hadn't seen anything.

Bai Yujun curiously stared at the dancing girls on the colorful lanterns in the middle of the lotus pond. The energetic dances in modern discotheques paled in comparison. Her posture, her movements, her charm, her allure – the lives of literati were truly enjoyable.

Bai Yujun didn't notice that many people were staring at her, with envy, jealousy, and more than anything, a greedy desire to devour her.

Suddenly, her keen sense of smell detected a persistent, unwashed fur odor in the crowd.

That smell was unforgettable: the smell of wolf fur.

She grabbed Xu Ling and warned them with her unpracticed language ability.

"There's, a, demon."

Xu Ling and Yang Mu were startled. They didn't immediately understand what Bai Yujun was saying, but Chu Zhe, who often taught her to speak, understood. He signaled Yang Mu and Xu Ling to find a way.

Yang Mu immediately cast a spell on his eyes. In his slightly blurry and wavering vision, an abnormal aura floated within the crowd. There was demonic energy, but he scanned the area but couldn't find the demon.

Chu Zhe stopped Yang Mu and Xu Ling from drawing their swords. Since the situation was unclear, there was no need to draw attention.

"Yujun, can you find that demon?"

Hearing this, Bai Yujun nodded.

"Yes, close up. Far away, no."

Using the characters she had just learned, Bai Yujun was already excited to be able to speak six words at once.