Chapter 36

In the city of Tian Nan, everyone who knew Feng Jueyu was well aware that he was a complete illiterate. Not only could he not recite poetry, he couldn't even recite the Three-Character Classic in full. Suddenly, such a powerful and impressive statement came out of his mouth, instantly stunning a group of people.

Even Shangguan Ruomeng and Xing'er couldn't help but be startled. They then sized him up, almost rolling their eyes in exasperation.

Although boating on the lake was a form of entertainment, it wasn't a place where you could just boast. If you were really at the boat and couldn't come up with a poem when asked, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing? It would be better to find an opportunity to leave now and avoid being ridiculed.

Shangguan Ruomeng's voice remained calm, but her small hand subconsciously pinched Feng Jueyu's waist. His cultivation was not low, having reached the True Martial Realm, and his true qi cultivation was even higher than Feng Jueyu's. A pinch from her was something Feng Jueyu couldn't bear, and he grimaced in pain. This girl had quite a grip.

Shangguan Ruomeng smiled and pulled Feng Jueyu to one side, whispering, "Big Brother Feng, don't talk nonsense."

"What? Don't you believe me?" Feng Jueyu grinned, looking very confident.

Xing'er was also very skeptical of Feng Jueyu's words. This guy was a complete bumbler. Asking him to write a poem? The sun would rise from the west before that happened. She said, "Sir, Miss is doing this for your own good. If they use this to humiliate you, it will be troublesome."

Feng Jueyu chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I have a treasure."

"Treasure?" The two girls were taken aback. However, when Feng Jueyu reached into his chest and pulled out something, the two girls immediately felt an urge to execute him on the spot. This guy had no shame.

What Feng Jueyu took out was not something else, but the third edition of the "Thousand Poems and Verses" he had obtained from Zhao Bing. With this, it wouldn't be a problem to board the boat, and even spending a day and night on the lake would be no issue.

To be honest, reciting poetry and composing couplets were not Feng Jueyu's strong points, but he knew how to make use of waste.

The two girls were dazed, thinking that this guy had recently improved his literary skills. But when they saw that it was a pirated poetry collection sold by a vendor along the lake, they were speechless.

Xu Zixiong stretched his neck to look at the three of them and noticed the third edition of the poetry collection that Feng Jueyu had taken out. He thought Feng Jueyu had some special talent, but it turned out to be this. He immediately covered his mouth and laughed.

The others were puzzled and gathered around. After hearing Xu Zixiong's words, their disdain became even more pronounced.

"Haha, Brother Feng, you are indeed a remarkable person."

Before Feng Jueyu could turn around, Xu Zixiong laughed and said, "If you have a treasure, I don't need to worry about Brother Feng. Haha."

Although he didn't say it outright, he left some face for Shangguan Ruomeng, but his laughter drew the attention of many people, completely exposing Feng Jueyu's "treasure."

Ma Yuanru sneered disdainfully, "Those who come to the lake for boating are all talented scholars of our Tian Nan Kingdom. Who would use such a thing? It's simply absurd."

Feng Jueyu didn't feel embarrassed at all. As he turned around, he slowly put the third edition of the poetry collection back into his chest and said with a smile, "Hehe, Master Ma, of course you don't need it. I've heard that Master Ma is a man of great literary talent, surpassing thousands of scholars, and is the best among them, unmatched by anyone. How could I compare to Master Ma?"

The crowd nodded, but few could detect the hidden provocation in Feng Jueyu's tone. After he spoke, Shangguan Ruomeng was slightly taken aback and pursed her lips.

As expected, Ma Yuanru thought Feng Jueyu was flattering him and immediately puffed out his chest, feeling like he was the greatest.

Xu Zixiong, Chen Hongjie, and Shang Gongjin all frowned and looked at him.

Those who came to the lake in Xilin were not ordinary. In the Great Xuan Continent, both literature and martial arts were valued. These people had some literary skills, and none of them would admit to being inferior to the others, which immediately isolated Ma Yuanru.

However, Xu Zixiong reacted quickly and, sensing Feng Jueyu's intention, smiled coldly and said, "That's true. Master Ma is a man of great talent. Even without mentioning his poetry and prose, his painting skills are unmatched. He was once known as the 'Divine Brush' in Jinling..."

"Divine Brush? He's more like Ma Liang," Feng Jueyu snorted.

Chen Hongjie understood and, without being provoked, said, "Indeed. Let's do this. Earlier, Master Ma was inspired by the lake and created a painting. Why don't you take this opportunity to show it to everyone for their appreciation?"

Ma Yuanru nodded and, with a bright look in his eyes, took out a painting and said to Shangguan Ruomeng, "I have just met Miss Shangguan and did not prepare a gift. I will give you this painting as a gift. Please accept it with a smile."

Xu Zixiong remained silent, clearly unhappy. Ma Yuanru was clearly pursuing Shangguan Ruomeng, but for someone who couldn't even get through the door, it didn't matter. The key was to use Ma Yuanru to humiliate Feng Jueyu and make him back off.

Chen Hongjie had many tricks up his sleeve. Looking at the group, he suddenly said, "Miss Shangguan, what good fortune. I have just seen this painting, and it has a grand style. Even within Tian Nan, only a few can match it. It's priceless. If Master Ma becomes the top scholar in the future, the value of this painting will be even greater."

"Oh?" Shangguan Ruomeng knew a bit about Ma Yuanru's background. She was interested in poetry and painting and couldn't resist the temptation, gently taking the painting.

When she opened it, she saw mountains and rivers, bustling crowds, pavilions, and boats, all centered around the lake pavilion, depicting the lively scenes of the spring talent fair along the lake and the beauty of Xilin.

The painting was vivid and lifelike, making one feel as if they were right there. As Chen Hongjie said, it had a grand style.

The brushwork was delicate and moving, and the movements of the hundreds of people were depicted with extreme perfection and individuality. It could be considered a masterpiece.

After seeing the painting, Shangguan Ruomeng nodded repeatedly.

Ma Yuanru and the others exchanged smiles and then gave Feng Jueyu a challenging look.

Feng Jueyu leaned lazily against the pillar and laughed coldly. These bastards, pursuing my wife right in front of me, do they even consider me? Even if I don't want her, it's not your turn.

"Let me see." Feng Jueyu quickly snatched the painting from Shangguan Ruomeng's hands.

Ma Yuanru was startled and said urgently, "What are you doing? Can you afford to pay for it if you damage it?"

Feng Jueyu glanced at the painting and threw it back, saying, "Can't afford it? Master Ma, you're too full of yourself. Is this painting a masterpiece? A grand style? Priceless? Ridiculous, truly ridiculous. In my opinion, this painting is worth only a copper coin, no, not even a copper coin. No one would want it if you threw it away."

"What did you say?"

Feng Jueyu's words offended everyone. After all, when Ma Yuanru finished the painting, Xu Zixiong and the others had praised it endlessly, and even some old scholars had given high praise.

However, in Feng Jueyu's eyes, this painting was worthless. Moreover, his words were extremely disrespectful. No one would want it? That's the work of the Divine Brush of Jinling.

Ma Yuanru and the others were furious and looked at Feng Jueyu with particularly venomous and hateful eyes.

Publicly humiliating a top scholar, especially one who excelled in both poetry and painting, was a serious matter.

The people around, seeing the dispute, gathered to watch the commotion.

Ma Yuanru picked up the painting and opened it. Everyone saw it and gave a thumbs up, and then they became angry at Feng Jueyu's comments.

This painting isn't worth anything? What painting is worth anything?

Shangguan Ruomeng, seeing that Feng Jueyu had provoked everyone's anger, frowned and whispered, "You, don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. Is it fun to provoke everyone's anger?"

Feng Jueyu raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm not talking nonsense. This painting is worthless. If you give it to me, it will just take up space."

"Nonsense." Ma Yuanru, hearing this, turned red with anger. Just as he was about to start cursing, Xu Zixiong stopped him and said coldly, "Brother Feng, since you say this painting is unsatisfactory, why don't you point out the flaws in front of everyone? Otherwise, you should apologize to Brother Ma."

"Right, right, point out the flaws, or apologize." The crowd chimed in.

Scholars are the most sensitive to others underestimating their literary talent, especially someone like Ma Yuanru, who was already famous.

Seeing everyone's angry faces, Shangguan Ruomeng sighed helplessly. She shouldn't have brought him out, as he always caused trouble. What could she do now?

Feng Jueyu's gaze swept over the crowd in the pavilion, showing no fear. He smiled slightly, walked over, and took the painting, looking at it and said, "If I point out the flaws, what then?"

"I'll swallow this painting alive." Ma Yuanru said in a huff.

"Alright, you said it, don't back out." Feng Jueyu walked to the center of the pavilion, spread the painting on the stone table.

The crowd gathered around, staring intently at Feng Jueyu.

Feng Jueyu smiled and said, "Just by the brushwork, Brother Ma's painting skills are at least ten years old, which is quite good."

After praising him, Ma Yuanru raised his eyebrows in satisfaction, not realizing that Feng Jueyu had a hidden intention.

Shangguan Ruomeng was very smart and immediately understood that Feng Jueyu's words had a deeper meaning. Did he really see the flaws? I can't see them.

The crowd listened as Feng Jueyu continued, "There are a few flaws in this painting. Let me point them out, and we can all discuss them to see if I'm right."

"Here." Feng Jueyu pointed to an old man selling candy with a bamboo basket on his neck. The old man was looking at the two mountains, seemingly enjoying the beautiful scenery, with a smile on his face...

Just this one character, Xu Zixiong frowned and said, "The brushwork here is delicate, and the old man's wrinkles are depicted perfectly, making him look very lifelike. What's wrong with it?"

Feng Jueyu smiled and said, "I didn't say the brushwork, I said the character. The spring talent fair is a grand event for the country, but it is limited to certain groups of people: scholars, beauties, literati, and poets... Has it ever involved vendors? All of you are part of this group, and you come to relax and enjoy the scenery, naturally with a smile on your face. I ask, why is this old man enjoying the scenery so much, yet not selling the candy in his basket?"