Auspicious Sign

“Cousin, you truly have the upper hand. But if she turns out to be an ugly girl, don’t do anything rash—don’t let Aunt and Uncle be heartbroken,” Chen Yuanwen continued with a grin.

“You’re right. If she’s ugly, I’ll have suffered a big loss. How careless of me,” Li Xintian replied, looking as if he wanted to say more, his hands awkwardly at his sides.

“Haha, just take this as a lesson bought with experience,” Chen Yuanwen said, feigning sympathy.

“And if any other talents here wish to compose their own works, feel free to do so,” Zhong Mengying said as she carefully put away Haochu’s original manuscript.

The other scholars exchanged glances at her words.

“Li, your composition just now surely deserves the top honor at today’s poetry gathering. You’re just as brilliant as you were in previous years—your charm remains undiminished,” said Ren Yuanwu, a military general who knew little about poetry himself but was adept at playing up to others. He wanted Li Xintian to become the target of envy and to be in the limelight; after all, Li had just made him look foolish.

“I’m not much of a writer, to be honest. Besides, I’ve already gifted my work to Miss Zhong. No need for me to claim the top spot. I’m more skilled in martial arts than letters, General Ren. Why don’t we have a friendly spar?” Li Xintian had recently acquired some martial techniques from the library at Yunxiang Temple and was eager to put them to the test.

“Cousin, are you sure about this? He’s a general, after all. I think you’d better not,” Chen Yuanwen whispered, concerned.

“Don’t worry, cousin. I’ve made great progress lately. I won’t embarrass myself,” Li Xintian replied, full of confidence.

“Very well,” Ren Yuanwu agreed after a moment’s thought. He stood up and walked forward. “Let’s go downstairs.”

With that, Ren Yuanwu leapt directly from the second floor to the first, landing steadily and drawing cheers from the crowd. The first floor was already empty.

“What a show-off,” Li Xintian muttered, surprised to find someone even more theatrical than himself. There was always something new to learn.

“Did you see that, cousin? He jumped down as if it were nothing. He’s definitely a master. Thank goodness I never offended him,” Chen Yuanwen whispered, silently mourning Bai Yang’s fate for three seconds.

“Don’t worry, cousin. I can do that too,” Li Xintian replied. He vaulted over the railing and landed firmly on the ground. Still, no one seemed to expect much from him—except for Chen Yuanwen, who cheered him on from the sidelines.

“Not bad. Since we’re sparring, shouldn’t we have a wager?” Ren Yuanwu looked down at Li Xintian.

“A wager? Is that really necessary? It’s just a friendly match; no need to take it too far,” Li Xintian responded.

“What’s the matter—afraid?” Ren Yuanwu needled.

“Not at all. But you’ll have to say what the wager is. If you don’t, how can I agree to it?” Li Xintian frowned. If Ren Yuanwu wouldn’t specify the terms, how was he supposed to know what he was getting into?

“Five hundred taels,” Ren Yuanwu declared haughtily.

“Just five hundred? You should have said so earlier,” Li Xintian replied, relieved. Five hundred taels was within his means.

Hearing Li Xintian’s agreement, Ren Yuanwu attacked immediately, his fist sending a strong gust toward Li Xintian.

“He’s even more shameless than I am,” Li Xintian thought as he dodged left. The force of the punch smashed a vase behind him.

Seeing Li Xintian dodge, Ren Yuanwu pressed the attack, both fists striking out with wind and power aimed at Li Xintian.

But Li Xintian spotted an opening. He flipped nimbly, kicked Ren Yuanwu’s arms aside, and landed a heavy blow to Ren’s chin.

Ren Yuanwu reeled back in pain and crashed to the floor.

Everyone watching from the second floor was stunned.

“Do you yield, General Ren?” Li Xintian asked, giving him a respectful salute.

“Cousin, you were incredible!” Chen Yuanwen came running down the stairs, trying to give Li Xintian a hug.

“Careful with your dignity, cousin,” Li Xintian said, putting out a hand to block him.

“I concede,” Ren Yuanwu said, pulling out five hundred taels and throwing them angrily into Li Xintian’s arms.

“Miss Zhong, we have other matters to attend to, so we’ll take our leave,” Li Xintian said, not at all offended as he accepted the promissory note. Without waiting for Zhong Mengying’s reply, he grabbed Chen Yuanwen and left.

“Cousin, why are you dragging me away? That was a perfect opportunity! You might have resolved your lifelong matter then and there.”

“Of course! Or did you think I wanted to help you get another concubine? You know full well what your wife is like,” Chen Yuanwen replied, nervous under Li Xintian’s gaze.

“As long as you know. I think I’ve made a good impression today. There’ll be more chances in the future,” Li Xintian said. He’d decided that since he was there, he might as well steal the show.

“Cousin, you’ve just earned five hundred taels—shouldn’t you treat me to a good meal?” Chen Yuanwen said, clapping a hand on Li Xintian’s shoulder.

“Of course. Whatever you want to eat, it’s on me,” Li Xintian agreed with a nod.

The Underworld.

“Come here, Lord Situ, take a look at this,” Judge Lu said cheerfully, pulling Lord Situ over to the Netherflame.

“This one here is called Gao Shangde. Clever and quick-witted,” he said.

Within the Netherflame appeared the image of a feeble-minded youth, with an old woman beside him saying, “His name is Gao Shangde, clever and quick-witted.”

The youth repeated, “My name is Gao Shangde, cle-ver and quick-wit-ted,” drooling as he spoke.

“I think this Gao Shangde is quite suitable,” Judge Lu said with a smile.

“I disagree,” Lord Situ replied after some thought.

“Why not?” Judge Lu asked in confusion.

“This person was born an imbecile, even more dull-witted than the average fool. He is so slow that he’d never conceive an evil thought. Even if you made him clever, there would be no baseline for comparison—how could we judge who wins or loses?” Lord Situ explained.

“Divine Lord, bless my husband Zhu Erdan, let him win the top scholar’s honors soon. If my prayer is answered, I’ll fry a fresh pot of delicious stinky tofu for you, and I guarantee that after eating it, even your flatulence will smell fragrant,” said another woman, appearing in the Netherflame, holding incense as she prayed.

“I think this woman is quite suitable,” Lord Situ said with a laugh after listening.

“How so, Lord Situ?” Judge Lu, still unconvinced, pressed for a reason.

“She’s illiterate and rough in manner—a fitting candidate,” Lord Situ answered.

“I disagree,” Judge Lu shook his head.

“Why? She seems like an excellent choice,” Lord Situ insisted.

“Though she hasn’t had much schooling and is indeed coarse, you can tell she’s actually shrewd. She’s no fool,” Judge Lu replied.

“If you won’t agree, then we’ll have to keep looking for a suitable candidate,” Lord Situ said, unable to hide his disappointment.

“Let’s leave it for another day,” Judge Lu said, noticing Lord Situ’s displeasure, and turned to leave.

Lord Situ snorted coldly and departed as well.