Chapter 97

Qing Qi

Fang Yun nodded and said, "I have also heard a little about this person's talent. When he was a scholar, he passed the second mountain. After passing the provincial examination, he not only passed the third mountain and obtained a literary heart but also passed the fourth mountain, stopping before the fifth mountain. He probably obtained a medium-grade literary heart."

Zhao Zhuzhen said worriedly, "If he only had one literary heart, I wouldn't be too concerned. I suspect that his semi-saint teacher, after traveling the world with him, sent him to other holy places to obtain a second literary heart. If that's the case, he would be too difficult to deal with."

"A provincial candidate with two literary hearts?" Fang Yun was very surprised.

"Others can't do it, but the four great talents can certainly achieve it, as can some geniuses from semi-saint families. However, don't worry too much. Once you become a provincial candidate, you will surely obtain a literary heart on your second visit to the Book Mountain."

Fang Yun nodded without speaking. He didn't know how the Book Mountain tested people and felt very uneasy.

After discussing with others, Qian Juren came over and said, "Fang Shuangjia, we have agreed. You will be the last to take the lead. We are about to set off to the islet in the river to prepare for the dragon boat race."

"Alright, let's go together."

Zhao Zhuzhen said, "Then let's all go to the lower deck of the pleasure boat, where we can see clearly."

Fang Yun held Yang Yuhuan's hand and left the Jade River Tower, heading towards the riverbank where the boats were moored.

Along the way, there were vendors shouting, making it exceptionally noisy. Seeing that Yang Yuhuan had nothing, Zhao Zhuzhen bought her some colorful threads to wrap around her wrist and some cheap trinkets, for which Yang Yuhuan thanked him.

There were many young women and young wives who usually didn't go out, and the air was filled with fragrance. The crowd squeezed to the riverbank, and Yang Yuhuan and Zhao Zhuzhen had beads of sweat on their foreheads, wiping them with handkerchiefs.

Pushing aside the hanging willow branches, they arrived at the dock. Fang Yun and the others took a small boat to the sandbar in the river, while Zhao Zhuzhen, Yang Yuhuan, and Nunu boarded the pleasure boat, standing by the railing to watch Fang Yun's small boat sail towards the sandbar.

"Ying ying!" Nunu shouted loudly in Yang Yuhuan's arms, waving her little paws at Fang Yun.

Fang Yun turned around when he heard the sound and waved back. Nunu suddenly jumped out of Yang Yuhuan's arms, diving into the river and swimming towards Fang Yun's boat at an incredible speed.

Fang Yun was both amused and exasperated. When Nunu got close, he picked her up.

Nunu immediately shook her body vigorously, splashing water everywhere, causing the people on the boat to laugh and dodge.

"How did you come over?" Fang Yun asked.

Nunu looked at Fang Yun with a puzzled expression, pointing at his hand as if to say, "Didn't you wave me over?"

"You! Never mind, just stay here." Fang Yun said.

The boat stopped at the sandbar, where many people were already standing. After exchanging brief greetings with acquaintances, everyone went about their business.

Fang Yun scanned the crowd and finally noticed someone particularly unusual.

The person was only seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a loose white robe, with black jade-like hair flowing down his back. He didn't look like a polite scholar but more like a wanderer. His eyes were extremely vacant, as if reflecting the heavens and earth, but without a single human figure.

It was as if no one in the world was worth his attention.

The person suddenly blinked, slowly turned his head to look at Fang Yun, and carefully examined him before slowly turning back to look at the sky.

Fang Yun felt this person was truly strange. He was clearly looking at him, but his gaze was incredibly hollow, as if it had passed through him to look at something far away.

Fang Yun ignored the person and looked around. There were five dragon boats in total, each painted in the style of a yellow dragon. The boats were narrow, about two zhang long, and could seat about a dozen people.

Each dragon boat had a raised dragon head at the front, with a number on the neck.

Qian Juren led Fang Yun and the others to the second dragon boat.

Behind the dragon head of the boat was a large drum with a flag. Qian Juren said, "We don't need to beat the drum. We will invite a strong man to beat the drum to boost our morale, a custom passed down from previous dragon boat races. We just need to sit in the boat and write poetry, the more talent we invoke, the faster the boat will go. Look at that black-tiled high-rise; the governor and the academy head are there."

Fang Yun looked over and saw many officials standing on the building, watching here. He only recognized the academy head Feng Zimo of the Prefecture Academy, the general who escorted him, Dinghai, and his uncle Fang Shouye. He didn't recognize the others, and Li Wenying wasn't there.

Fang Shouye, who was informal, waved at Fang Yun, who returned the gesture with a bow.

The strong man responsible for beating the drum walked to the bow of the boat, tied a red flag, and stood with a drumstick in each hand. The other four dragon boats did the same.

However, Qian Juren and the others didn't board the boat but walked towards the position of the first dragon boat. People near the other dragon boats also went there, standing behind Qian Juren and the others, watching the people by the first dragon boat.

The people by the first dragon boat were all from the Qing Kingdom.

Qian Juren said, "Fellow literati, there are two quarters of an hour left before the race. We will follow the old rules. Is there anyone who objects?"

A Qing Kingdom provincial candidate with a confident smile said, "Of course, we will follow the old rules. The dragon boat literary gathering will write poems related to the Dragon Boat Festival. Let's not waste time; let's set the rules for the poems. I will set the rules for the Qing Kingdom first. The poems must not mention weapons or boats."

A scholar behind Fang Yun muttered, "Using this trick again, what a coward!"

Fang Yun also knew that setting the rules for the poems meant deciding what content could not be included. The Jing Kingdom was surrounded by demons and was much more warlike than the Qing Kingdom. If battle scenes were combined with Dragon Boat Festival poems, it was highly likely that the Qing Kingdom's dragon boat would be defeated. Therefore, every time the Qing Kingdom set the rules, they restricted this aspect.

Qian Juren said, "Then we will set the rules after. The poems must not mention sentiments or ancient people."

This made the faces of several Qing Kingdom people change. The Qing Kingdom's war against demons and barbarians was not as fierce as the Jing Kingdom's, but its literary style was much stronger. If they were not allowed to write poems expressing feelings or remembering ancient people, the Qing Kingdom would be greatly handicapped.

The Qing Kingdom provincial candidate laughed, "Since we can't write those poems, we can only write about the beauty of nature and the good times. Well, today is a holiday, so writing about these things is appropriate. However, don't overthink it, because no matter how hard you try, you will lose to the Qing Kingdom just like the past seventeen years!"

"Don't be too arrogant, Qing Kingdom people!" someone couldn't help but shout.

Qian Juren stopped the person and said, "Shi Dehong, as a disciple of the Poet Lord, you haven't learned much of your teacher's talent, but you have learned his arrogance!"

"Ha ha ha, I am satisfied to have learned my teacher's arrogance. Thank you, Brother Qian, for your praise." Shi Dehong's expression suddenly changed, and he said with a mocking smile, "Although I am arrogant, I am only arrogant towards the scholars and provincial candidates of your enemy kingdom. When I meet your kingdom's advanced scholars, I still treat them with respect. But your people are so arrogant that they can't even see the sages. Just because a young man barely qualifies to sit at the table, they dare to compare him to my teacher. Some even claim they will push my teacher off the position of one of the four great talents. My teacher is already displeased, so how can I be polite to you! We'll see on the dragon boat race!"

Except for the person with the flowing hair, the other five Qing Kingdom people walked to the dragon boat with angry expressions.

Fang Yun was stunned, wondering if this person was talking about him.

The others also returned to their respective dragon boats.

When they reached the second dragon boat, Fang Yun couldn't help but ask, "Brother Qian, fellow literati, I never said I could be compared to the Poet Lord, let alone that I would push him off the position of one of the four great talents. How did it get spread like this?"

Qian Juren laughed carelessly, "Don't worry about it. It's just that someone said something that the Qing Kingdom people took seriously. Besides, the Poet Lord has only written one national poem. Apart from having more poems about the prefecture and the city than you and becoming a university scholar in his twenties, he isn't much stronger than you. Why can't you be compared?"

Another scholar said, "That's right. The Qing Kingdom people really have no tolerance. They take casual talk as the truth and can't even take a joke. Fortunately, the Poet Lord is just the Poet Lord. If he were the first Poet Saint in history, and we said something, wouldn't he have us exterminated?"

"Very well said..."

The people spoke in support of Fang Yun. Fang Yun was both amused and exasperated. It seemed that these people had been suppressed by the Qing Kingdom for too long. They couldn't help but compare the famous Jing Kingdom person to the Poet Lord.

Fang Yun didn't blame them. People who protect their own were better than those who harm their own, like Tong Li.

There were pens, ink, paper, and inkstones on the boat, so no preparation was needed.

After Qian Juren finished speaking, he said to Fang Yun, "The rules of the competition are simple. After the race starts, there will be a quarter of an hour for each person to write a poem, song, or essay. When the quarter of an hour is up, the talent of each dragon boat will be revealed. The more talent, the faster the boat will go. After the boat starts moving, each person can write another poem, essay, or song. This second piece tests both talent and artistic conception, as the 'Sea of Learning' also values the artistic conception of poetry. The Qing Kingdom people are too cunning; they can't write about boats or weapons, so we can't write about racing. However, they also suffer because they can't write about sentiments or ancient people, so they can't write good artistic conceptions either."

Fang Yun nodded, basically understanding the purpose of both sides, and said, "I understand, but this is my first time participating in such a dragon boat race. Can you tell me what kind of poetry is best to write?"

Qian Juren said, "Write about the scenery or atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival. This way, there won't be any mistakes."

"Alright, let me think about it." Fang Yun lowered his head in thought, occasionally looking up at the surroundings or the crowd.

Nunu, seeing that Fang Yun was ignoring her, found it boring and yelped twice before jumping into the water and swimming happily towards the pleasure boat where Yang Yuhuan was.

Fang Yun smiled and looked at the pleasure boat, nodding lightly to Yang Yuhuan and Zhao Zhuzhen.

At ten o'clock, Fang Yun immediately felt a change in the world's essence. He looked at where the officials were and saw the academy head Feng Zimo of the Prefecture Academy and another person each holding an official seal. The essence of the seals surged, forming a strange force that covered the river section from the sandbar to the Dragon Head Bridge.

The crowd on both banks burst into thunderous cheers.

"Heaven bless the Jing Kingdom!"

"Jing Kingdom must win!"