Chapter 68

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Mr. Xiao hurriedly said, "Can you explain more clearly?"

Fang Yun had no choice but to pick up the pen and, using Lu Yu's painting as an example, drew the three sides of light, dark, and gray, along with the shadow, with very unfamiliar strokes, and gave a detailed explanation.

Lu Yu and the other four couldn't understand, but Mr. Xiao stared intently. At first, his eyes sparkled, then he fell into deep thought, his expression constantly changing, but his gaze grew increasingly dim. Finally, Mr. Xiao's eyes were blank, and he stared at the painting in a daze.

Fang Yun was puzzled, wondering if this painting theory didn't apply to the Holy Yuan Continent. But that was impossible.

The other five scholar classmates also looked curiously at Mr. Xiao, not knowing why he was in a daze.

Mr. Xiao was in a daze for a full quarter of an hour, then suddenly his face lit up with joy, and he shouted, "I have found the way! I will surely enter the second realm of painting today!"

After saying that, he turned and ran to the lectern, picked up the pen, and started painting.

Fang Yun and the other five scholars looked at each other, then got up and walked over to watch Mr. Xiao paint from a distance.

The six of them watched silently as Mr. Xiao painted.

He first painted the sun, a small river, and reeds, and then began to paint a kingfisher.

At first, there was nothing unusual, but soon everyone noticed that Mr. Xiao's talent was slowly flowing into the painting. The entire painting was bathed in a faint white light. Then, they saw the water flowing and heard the wind, and the reeds that had already been painted swayed in the wind.

"Indeed, he has entered the second realm of painting!" Lu Yu whispered.

Li Yunchong immediately glared at him, not allowing him to speak.

The moment Mr. Xiao put down his pen, everyone heard a clear bird call. A translucent kingfisher flew out of the painting, flapping its wings and chirping, and finally landed on Mr. Xiao's shoulder, preening its feathers with its beak.

The kingfisher in the painting was gone.

Mr. Xiao, the stern middle-aged man, smiled widely, carefully watching the kingfisher, afraid it would fly away.

The kingfisher's image gradually faded, and after a moment, it exploded with a light sound, then turned into ink and fell onto the reeds, reverting to the kingfisher. The flowing water stopped, the wind ceased, and the light on the painting disappeared.

Mr. Xiao laughed aloud, rolled up the painting, and put it in his arms. Then he looked at Fang Yun and said, "You are indeed a prodigy, a rare talent in a hundred years! If you focus on painting, you will surely enter the Holy Academy's Painting Society and surpass one of the four great talents, the 'Painting Lord'!"

"Mr. Xiao, you flatter me," Fang Yun said.

"Don't be modest. I will write an article about the 'three sides of light, dark, and gray' today and present it to the Dean. This article will definitely be published in *The Way of the Saints*! And more people in our ten countries will enter the second realm of painting. I will list you as the first author, and I will be second. As for the rewards from *The Way of the Saints*, they will all be yours!"

Fang Yun said, "Mr. Xiao, please don't do that. I just shared my thoughts and shouldn't be the first author."

"Don't refuse! I am also benefiting from your ideas! It will take about a day to write the article. In three days, go to the library, and I will give you a battle painting. I am a scholar, and entering the second realm should allow me to paint a demon soldier, but unfortunately, I just entered the second realm, and my brushwork is unstable. I can only give you a demon civilian painting for now. Once I consolidate the second realm, I will give you a demon soldier painting! See you in three days!"

Mr. Xiao quickly left.

Fang Yun sighed, never expecting that just a few words would result in a new article in *The Way of the Saints* and even as the first author.

Lu Yu suddenly covered his face and said, "I want to die."

"Me too!" Ning Zhiyuan said with a worried look.

Li Yunchong praised, "Fang Yun, meeting you has shown me what a true all-rounder is! You write poetry, parallel prose, and even create new painting techniques, all of which are published in *The Way of the Saints*. If you don't become a saint, it must be because the Literary Star is blind."

"Don't ruin my reputation!" Fang Yun said half-jokingly.

Du Shudai said seriously, "Fang Yun will not be inferior to Yi Zhishi. When Yi Zhishi became a university scholar, he could move the Literary Star. Fang Yun can certainly do the same!"

"Yes, he definitely can! He might even move the Literary Star when he becomes a Hanlin scholar, becoming the first person of his time!"

"When Yi Zhishi became a university scholar, the Literary Star moved once. If Fang Yun becomes a Hanlin scholar, it might move twice."

"Very likely."

Fang Yun hurriedly said, "I have no grudge against any of you, don't flatter me to death."

Lu Yu laughed, "Since you have another article in *The Way of the Saints*, shouldn't you show some appreciation? Let's go to the Riverside Tower. The boneless fish there is the most delicious, and I've never had it before."

Fang Yun had also heard of the boneless fish and was in a good mood, so he said, "Let's go now!"

"Fang Yun is a true gentleman!" Ning Zhiyuan shouted.

The six of them went to the Riverside Tower, had a big meal, and returned home. They didn't drink alcohol, just ate and chatted, and mentioned the upcoming demon hunt.

Fang Yun didn't let Fang Daniu follow him, only taking Tan Yu, and walked home.

It was already around 6:30 PM, the sun was setting, and the sky was filled with the glow of the sunset.

When they reached Minghui Street, Fang Yun saw many people looking at his house. Two carriages were parked at his front door, and several servants were around them. At the bottom of the main door's steps stood an elderly man in fine clothing. Next to him was a door panel, and on it lay a person.

The person was lying face down on the door panel, with blood around his buttocks, as if he had been beaten with a board, and his injuries were severe.

The person didn't face Fang Yun, so he couldn't see clearly, but he had a vague idea.

Fang Yun walked forward, and the neighbors greeted him warmly.

Fang Yun walked to the door, and the old man looked at him with a puzzled expression. The person lying on the door panel, groaning, turned his head and looked at him. It was Zhuang Wei.

Zhuang Wei's face was already pale from blood loss, and now it was even more ashen, his eyes filled with fear. He then whispered, "Father, that's Fang Yun."

Zhuang's father immediately lifted his robe to kneel, but Fang Yun quickly stopped him and sternly said, "If you kneel, I will consider it an attempt to harm my reputation!"

Fang Yun was annoyed. In this Confucian society, forcing an old man to kneel to a young man would bring a terrible reputation.

Zhuang's father quickly stood up and explained, "Please don't misunderstand! I have no intention of harming you! I am bringing my ungrateful son to apologize to you! I have already had him beaten with forty strokes and refused to give him medicine! I have brought him here, and you can punish him as you see fit. But please, out of your great kindness, spare his life. I beg you, I only have this one son."

The neighbors were shocked. They knew Fang Yun's literary fame and his great potential, but to force a scholar to become a "cheap life" was extremely powerful, something only a governor could do.

Fang Yun carefully examined Zhuang Wei's buttocks. His pants were torn, and blood was flowing, even with bits of flesh. If he were an ordinary person, he might have been beaten to death, but as a scholar, he wouldn't die, though he would need at least half a month to recover.

Fang Yun knew that the Zhuang family was afraid of Li Wenying and feared retaliation from the Jiangzhou officials, so they came to him to resolve the issue.

Fang Yun smiled and said, "Uncle, you are too kind. Zhuang Wei kindly helped me revise my poem, but he made a mistake. It's not a big deal. Have his wounds treated and send him home. Don't let them get infected; even a scholar can't withstand such torture. I'll go in now, and you can go back."

Zhuang's father, seeing this, quickly grabbed Fang Yun's sleeve and pleaded, "Young Master Fang, please spare our Zhuang Wei. I have decided to have him resign from the academy and study at home for five years, not allowing him to take the imperial exams within five years. He has also sworn a deadly oath that if he breaks it, his literary spirit will shatter!"

"Really?" Fang Yun looked at Zhuang Wei, surprised that he would swear on his literary spirit and not take the imperial exams for five years, which would have a significant impact on a scholar's future, though Zhuang Wei's chances of passing were not high.

"Whether you want land or shops, we will compensate you. Please, spare Zhuang Wei's life." Zhuang's father begged.

Fang Yun said, "Uncle, you misunderstand. This really has nothing to do with me. He humiliated me for the Liu family, but I haven't blamed him. If you want to blame someone, blame the Liu family."

Zhuang's father understood and lowered his head, scolding, "You ungrateful son! What are you waiting for? Swear on your literary spirit that you will never help the Liu family again! Do you want me to bury you before I die? How old is Chancellor Zuo? How old is Fang Yun? Even an old scholar like me knows Fang Yun will go further than Chancellor Zuo. How can you not see it?"

Zhuang Wei wanted to say that it would be decades before that happened and many talents would fall along the way, but he didn't dare. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "By the Literary Star and all the saints, I, Zhuang Wei, swear on my literary spirit that I will never actively help the Liu family! If I break this oath, my literary spirit will shatter, and my literary palace will collapse!"

The neighbors nearby heard the deadly oath and began to discuss.

"If this news spreads, the Liu family's reputation will suffer. No one will want to associate with them."

"The Liu family's relatives have already left. The Liu family must be furious."

"Chancellor Zuo won't be pleased if he hears about this. A scholar abandoning the Liu family is not a big deal, but it's not a small matter either."

"This Fang Yun, so young, is quite formidable."

Fang Yun naturally understood what "not actively help" meant, but he didn't mind. He bowed to Zhuang's father and said, "Uncle, please go back. I will explain this to the Dean, and I believe he will understand it was a misunderstanding and won't blame Zhuang Wei. Zhuang Wei, take good care of yourself and don't do anything foolish again. I won't be able to save you next time."

"Thank you, Fang Shuangjia! Thank you, Fang Shouzhu!" Zhuang's father thanked him repeatedly, then lifted Zhuang Wei onto the carriage and left.

Fang Yun then entered the house, where Yang Yuhuan and Nunu were waiting behind the door.

After entering, Fang Yun told Yang Yuhuan the whole story, then returned to his room and rewrote Li Wenying's "Early Plum," changing "last night several branches bloomed" to "last night one branch bloomed." Using "one" instead of "several" better emphasized "early," and Fang Yun believed this single word would make "Early Plum" reach the prefecture.

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[End of Chapter]