Rather than appear as Suijie, perhaps Xu Yi had a better chance.
After all, poetry and painting had always gone hand in hand. He refused to believe that an elegant scholar who loved painting would feel nothing for poetry. If his exceptional writing could move the Female Saint's heart, perhaps he could still turn the tide.
When he entered Dai Shui City, only two days remained until Ning Wuyou's Tassel Gathering. He had received an invitation long ago, sent by the Heavenly King of the Imperial Way, but it was addressed to Suijie. If he appeared as Xu Yi, naturally he couldn't show up with Suijie's invitation.
To get an invitation, he'd gone all out. He'd imitated Song Jiang's style, gotten drunk, and composed a poem at Wangbei Tower, west of Shaoyin Pavilion. His line, "Today, before the wine, I lose my name to drink," quickly spread.
Early the next morning, an invitation to the Tassel Gathering arrived at Wangbei Tower.
That was exactly what he'd expected. By composing a poem at Wangbei Tower, he'd announced his presence. With him making his intentions known at such a time, there was no way the organizers of the Tassel Gathering wouldn't understand what he meant.
Besides, the gathering was itself a grand event for literary and artistic exchange. As a poet whose fame resounded throughout the world, Empty Guest couldn't possibly be turned away.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the Tassel Gathering arrived. Heroes from every quarter had already crowded around Shaoyin Pavilion.
Across the broad Dai Shui River, as vast as the sea, pleasure boats like scraps of paper sailed toward Shaoyin Pavilion from every direction. By the time the hour of the Rooster arrived, every one of the 136 tables on the waterside pavilion's platform was