Xu Yi said, "If you want to play, I'll play along. But if you lose, don't you dare cling on and refuse to let go."
He could tell that Xuan Lengyan had feelings for Tao Jingsheng. If Tao Jingsheng had truly been a refined young gentleman, Xu Yi wouldn't have bothered getting involved.
Unfortunately, he had heard Tao Jingsheng and Su Xingchun's whispered exchange loud and clear. Tao Jingsheng was plainly a hypocrite trying to hedge his bets on both sides.
Xu Yi knew that his words alone wouldn't sway Xuan Lengyan.
All he could do was strip away the halo of the worldly, elegant young gentleman surrounding Tao Jingsheng.
"Why must Young Master Yiling start with barbs? I, Tao, can certainly afford to lose. There's no need to make this complicated. Please choose one of the hundred paintings you made earlier, Young Master Yiling. We'll take that as our subject. The theme is unrestricted; let each of us show what we can do."
Tao Jingsheng remained as gentle and polished as jade, as if he had truly cultivated away all worldly passions.
Xu Yi stirred his spiritual energy, and a painting appeared: among a thicket of brambles stood a towering tree that pierced the heavens.
It was an impressionistic painting, sketched in just a few strokes to outline the great tree. Even the brambles around it were only lightly suggested.
Tao Jingsheng stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the sky. After taking just three steps, he picked up his brush and began to write.
"Summer has said its farewell, and your heart grows tender by degrees
Among branches where autumn winds gild the fallen leaves
Your fiery, radiant beauty is like a lantern brimming with light
Illuminating countless dusks where the woods are dyed in