Qingshan

Chapter 65 : Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Red Cloth Lane

The Embroidery Building's second floor had twenty-one elegant seats total. White gauze curtains hung from the ceiling like waterfalls, surrounded by vases with freshly picked flowers, making people feel as if in a fairy realm.

However, the curtains of other elegant seats had been successively removed by maids. Only the Prince's three elegant seats remained blocked by curtains.

The Prince, Baili, I, Liang Gou'er, and Liang Mao'er sat in one elegant seat. She Dakang, Liu Quxing, and other martial world people sat in the other two.

Liang Gou'er didn't care. Even if the curtains weren't removed, maids continuously brought wine and food. He found the elegant singing troupe's wine cups too small and simply switched to bowls.

The Prince rolled up his sleeves, sitting dazedly behind the curtain at the desk, holding his brush, racking his brains but unable to write a single line of poetry.

He slowly looked at me—I still frowned in sleep. No point counting on me.

He looked slowly at Liang Gou'er and Liang Mao'er... Forget it!

Finally, he looked at Baili: "That... Baili, can you write one? I remember you used to write poetry too."

Baili said with difficulty: "My writings were criticized by teachers as 'complete nonsense.' I can't write. If I did, it would just be embarrassing."

Liang Gou'er laughed cheerfully: "These elegant singing troupes love being mysterious. Clearly they're just trying to make money, yet they still set up layers of obstacles... But scholars love this! I say White Cloth Lane isn't as straightforward as Red Cloth Lane. That Yan'er girl from Jin Fang has amazing alcohol tolerance—you drink a few cups, she accompanies a few cups. Truly refreshing."

Liang Mao'er smacked his lips: "Brother, you like her alcohol tolerance? I don't even want to expose you!"

At this time, Chen Wenxiao's laughter came from outside the curtain: "Why are three curtains still not removed? Do the friends inside think this is more elegant and quiet?"

The Prince retorted through the curtain: "Fine lines come naturally, obtained by skillful hands. Writing poetry isn't about quantity but quality. If not refined enough, what's the use of writing more? I think Courtesan Liu's game is rather hasty—forcing everyone to immediately write three autumn-related poems. Sure, we can write, but what good things can be written in such haste? Do you all think what you just wrote can be passed down through the ages?"

Outside the curtain fell quiet. Some pondered the Prince's words, some pondered the eight characters "fine lines come naturally, obtained by skillful hands."

Chen Wenzong was silent briefly: "Can't hear clearly. Remove the curtains to speak."

The Prince: "..."

He turned to look at me, placing his last hope on me waking.

The Prince said worriedly: "Chen Ji isn't dead, is he?"

"Impossible. He's still breathing," Princess Baili thought and said. "Probably too tired after being injured and then carried out by you all."

"Drag it out a bit longer. See if he'll wake."

......

......

I didn't wake. I'd been fighting until dizzy and disoriented.

Atop the green mountain peak, the halberd soldier and I both gasped for breath. Just now we'd exchanged testing strikes over a hundred rounds. Neither could defeat the other.

Xuanyuan had changed into black royal robes at some unknown time, the sleeves embroidered with gold thread showing Purple Wei Enclosure in the center, Supreme Wei Enclosure and Celestial Market Enclosure flanking both sides.

The golden armor and royal banner were nowhere to be seen.

When Xuanyuan sat properly on the boulder, though just sitting on a stone, he still resembled an emperor seated on a golden throne.

His expression was majestic and solemn.

Like the black of his royal robes—calm, rational, unquestionable.

Seeing neither of us move, Xuanyuan urged coldly: "This match has already lasted two incense sticks' time. How long will you keep dawdling? On a real battlefield, in battle formations pressing shoulder to shoulder, where is there time for you to catch your breath!"

Hearing the command, the halberd soldier immediately swung his bronze halberd, roaring forward.

My eyes didn't dodge. I stared tightly at the sweeping

halberd blade. My body only leaned back slightly, and the halberd blade swept past in front of my nose, not hurting me in the slightest.

This dodge was casual and effortless, as if breathing in sync with the world, completely natural, light as lifting something heavy.

The furnace fires in my body had already lit sixteen lamps. My strength had long surpassed ordinary people. Even wrestling with Jing Dynasty spies, I could firmly hold the upper hand.

But having suddenly gained such strength, I wasn't even familiar with my own body, nor did I have techniques for exerting force.

Force exertion techniques were like a lever. Without this lever, ten parts of strength could only use eight parts. With this lever, ten parts of strength could be exerted to twelve parts.

Now, I already knew what this body of mine was like, where my strength was hidden!

However, the halberd soldier was no weakling either. Seeing one strike miss, he immediately twisted his waist and turned, forcibly changing the halberd blade's direction with the power of his waist and hips.

What was clearly a sweeping strike from left to right suddenly reversed direction and thrust upward!

The halberd blade swept across my chest, leaving a wound, forcing back my opportunistic attack.

But after being injured, I didn't look down at the wound. Instead, I still stared tightly at the halberd soldier, slightly bending like a hunting leopard.

Though injured, there was no sign of being at a disadvantage.

Xuanyuan once said I'd lost my combat instincts, but he suddenly realized he was wrong.

In just one day, he'd personally witnessed me go from fleeing desperately all over the mountain to now fighting the halberd soldier to a standstill.

Footwork, techniques... even force exertion techniques were becoming cruder yet more genuine.

A casual punch or kick clearly looked hasty and clumsy, yet was filled with violent, direct dominance.

"Just six hours," Xuanyuan sighed softly.

The combat instincts in that body were like an immortal sword that hadn't seen daylight for ten thousand years, being wiped clean of dust bit by bit.

Though Xuanyuan thought this, he mocked: "Six hours, and you still can't win? This halberd soldier is merely a common soldier in my battle formation."

I gasped while looking at the halberd soldier, smiling: "He's not very good at talking. Don't mind him. You're very formidable. It's normal not to be able to defeat you."

Xuanyuan raised his eyebrows.

I looked exhausted. After six hours of fierce battle, the halberd soldier could stand here fresh and energetic each time, but I couldn't.

Every minute and second now was torture for me.

How many times had I died in one day?

Forty times? Or sixty times?

I'd lost count.

At one moment, I thought about just giving up. This Sword Seed path—I didn't need to learn it.

But when I thought about learning something new, gaining a bit more certainty, new fighting spirit ignited.

The next moment, the halberd soldier swung his halberd again. My body moved but pulled at my chest wound, causing my movement to falter. My body couldn't shift in time, and my entire left arm was sliced off a chunk of flesh!

This strike was like a watershed. From then on, I could only dodge desperately, no longer having opportunities to actively attack.

Xuanyuan mocked me: "I see you have no hope. Why don't you just let me return to the mortal realm? Leave your last words—whoever you want killed, I'll kill for you."

"I'll do it myself," I said while dodging the halberd soldier's attacks, gasping for breath.

"Oh? Are you very attached to that world?"

"I still have a cat. If I'm gone, what will happen to it?"

Xuanyuan asked doubtfully: "...A cat?"

"I also made some new friends."

Xuanyuan burst into hearty laughter: "You need friends too? You said long ago you didn't need friends anymore!"

"Were we once friends?"

"Yes, but we stopped being friends long ago."

"Then let's get to know each other again."

When the bronze halberd chopped down vertically once more.

I suddenly crouched and charged toward the halberd soldier. My eyes locked onto his halberd blade like hooks.

The bronze halberd's crescent blade chopped down overhead. The halberd soldier had already prepared for various changes after I dodged, but this time I deliberately didn't dodge!

I accelerated again, actually passing the position where the crescent blade was chopping down, arriving at the halberd shaft. My hands gripped the slender shaft like lifting a mountain, forcibly stopping the bronze halberd's downward trajectory!

The halberd soldier tried to pull the bronze halberd back, but he was shocked to see me pull the shaft down and forcibly shake it with both hands!

"Let go!"

An inexplicably overwhelming force transmitted to the bronze halberd shaft, actually shocking the halberd soldier into involuntarily releasing his grip. That strange weapon-snatching move... had clearly been used by the halberd soldier before, but I'd learned it!

"Oh!" Xuanyuan's eyes lit up. This thousand-forged weapon-snatching technique was his battle formation's secret skill. To think it was learned in just one day.

I swung the bronze halberd like a full moon, forcing the halberd soldier to retreat repeatedly, not letting water through.

In a flash, one chased and one retreated. The halberd soldier had his back to the mountain's edge with nowhere to retreat, forced to stand firm. But the bronze halberd in my hands didn't chop at his body—instead it stopped at his neck.

"How about it?" I asked gasping for breath. "Can you teach me now?"

The long-awaited joy of victory filled my heart.

In the scorching breath, I felt like I'd climbed another insurmountable mountain, like climbing all the way to the mountaintop to see the sunrise breaking through the cloud sea—that peaceful yet exalted feeling.

Xuanyuan sat on the boulder and said slowly: "Satisfied already? Now your strength in my battle formation can only serve as a common soldier."

"Hm?" I was puzzled.

Xuanyuan beckoned toward the time-frozen battle formation. Another朴刀士 wielding a simple saber at his waist walked out of the ranks, coming to this green mountain. Facing Xuanyuan, he knelt on one knee: "My King, why have you summoned me?"

Xuanyuan pointed at me: "This kid has already become familiar with the halberd soldier's attacks. Now you go up."

I widened my eyes, looking at the battle formation below the mountain with its eighteen types of weapons, and my expression immediately changed: "I can't continue fighting today. My friends are still waiting for me to drink. See you tomorrow!"

Having said this, I actually took the initiative to leap off the cliff, falling below the green mountain.

Xuanyuan looked at the empty cliff edge, stunned: "I really do need to get to know you again."

......

......

On the Embroidery Building's second floor, the three elegant seats' curtains still hadn't been removed.

Liang Gou'er's face was already flushed red from drinking. The Prince still sat at the desk scratching his head: "Autumn... what poetry can be written with the character autumn?"

He heard someone beside him say softly: "I'm awake."

The Prince turned to look and saw I had slowly opened my eyes, which were full of bloodshot veins, like a fierce tiger hunting prey.

Baili muttered: "What kind of dream did you have? Such heavy killing intent?"

The Prince was overjoyed and lowered his voice: "You finally woke! Quick, quick, we need nine lines of poetry. We're just waiting for you!"

I looked at the handful of golden melon seeds in my hand... These hadn't even been able to wake me?

While gathering the nine golden melon seeds into my sleeve, I considered: "Nine lines? Princess Baili, I'll speak, you write."

Baili's eyes lit up: "Good, I'll write."

However, just as the two of us were speaking and writing, Chen Wenxiao's voice came from outside the curtain: "Do the friends in these three elegant seats still not have autumn-related poetry? If you keep delaying, won't that hold up everyone's exchange with Courtesan Liu?"

The Prince smiled in response: "Already writing, already writing."

Chen Wenxiao: "If you could write it, why wait until now?"

Lin Chaojing's laughter rang out: "I recognize who the friend behind the curtain is now—it's the Prince. How about this, Brother Wenzong—it's just nine autumn-related poems. You and I were classmates with the Prince for three years. Let's help him together. I'll write four poems, you write five. Afterward we'll treat them as the Prince's writing and have the curtains removed."

Chen Wenzong hesitated: "This seems improper."

Lin Chaojing smiled: "Then I'll write all nine."

He rolled up his sleeves and summoned the Embroidery Building's maid for brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. With a flourish of his brush, one poem was complete.

Everyone crowded forward to see him complete nine poems in one breath, as easy as plucking them from thin air.

Lin Chaojing handed the poems to the maid: "Send these to Courtesan Liu. If they're acceptable, remove the curtains on the Prince's side."

The maid smiled lightly: "No need to show them to Courtesan Liu. Even a crude maid like me can see these poems are good. I'll remove the curtains right away."

Actually, the Embroidery Building was getting anxious about the three elegant seats' curtains remaining.

However, the Prince heard my words like pearls and saw Baili's brush flying like the wind. He immediately grew anxious: "Wait, we can write them ourselves. Don't remove them!"

But these words came too late.

Layer after layer of curtains were removed, revealing the three elegant seats to everyone.

Liang Gou'er was drinking heartily, already half-drunk. Liang Mao'er was eating dish after dish like at a flowing banquet.

Looking at She Dakang, Liu Quxing, and the other martial world people, they weren't much better—the desks were already a complete mess.

Chen Wenxiao burst out laughing: "How come you're all eating and drinking?"

Lin Chaojing sat properly behind his desk, his expression grave: "Tonight is rare with Courtesan Liu coming from Qinhuai River to Luocheng. If she sees Luocheng's literati behaving this way, how disappointed she'll be. Prince, tonight is a literary gathering. Why bring these crude martial world ruffians to join the excitement?"

The Prince looked at Lin Chaojing: "I also wrote poetry to come up. How come you can come but my friends can't?"

Lin Chaojing shook his head: "It's not that they can't come—it's that it's inappropriate. These martial world friends eating at roadside noodle stalls and visiting Red Cloth Lane would be fine, matching their status and standing... Coming here—isn't that a waste of heaven's gifts?"

The Prince asked in a grave voice: "What kind of people should go to Red Cloth Lane?"

"Naturally crude people seeking flowers and asking willows."

The Prince asked again in a grave voice: "Then what kind of people are suitable for White Cloth Lane?"

"Naturally learned and distinguished people like you and me."

The Prince slowly stood. Everyone thought he'd grown angry and would fight Lin Chaojing, but he suddenly turned and cupped his hands apologetically toward She Dakang and the others: "I'm sorry. Today because of my rashness, I let you all see such ignorant and arrogant people. I apologize to you all. If White Cloth Lane is full of such literati and elegant scholars, we don't need to come anymore! I alone being insulted doesn't matter, but implicating friends in insult is my fault. Let's go!"

Liang Gou'er was puzzled: "Prince, where are we going?"

The Prince straightened up and laughed loudly: "Let's go to Red Cloth Lane to drink flower wine!"

Having said this, he actually flicked his sleeves and took the lead walking downstairs.

Liang Gou'er and Liang Mao'er lifted my bamboo chair to follow. A large group advanced and retreated together, not the least bit dejected, as if going to attend a wedding.

Baili sat behind the desk, holding her brush, staring blankly as the group left in a crowd.

She opened her mouth to speak but stopped... She'd only just finished writing the poems I'd recited.

The Prince called from the stairs: "Baili, let's go!"

Baili originally planned to take the finished poems with her. After thinking, she put down the rolled-up poetry scroll and chased downstairs: "Coming, coming!"

The Embroidery Building's second floor fell quiet again. Chen Wenzong glared fiercely at Chen Wenxiao before standing to come to the Prince's desk and picking up the just-written poetry scroll.

Just one look and he froze.

"Withered vines, old trees, dusk crows; small bridge, flowing water, people's homes; ancient road, west wind, lean horse; setting sun to the west; the heartbroken one at heaven's edge."

Not one character for autumn, yet reading it, one felt the autumn wind's desolation, the loneliness beneath the bridge.