Chapter 100: Challenge Me to a Poetry Duel? Absolutely Utter Arrogance

The frail scholar Xu Wenjie, before even reaching Da Hu's body, was knocked down by the newly arrived Lu Cheng.

Da Hu was still thinking about the soda, got up, snatched it from Lu Cheng's hand, took a sip, and smacked his lips.

"Lu San'er, this taste is off."

Lu Cheng glanced and said, "You just spat into it, how could the taste be right!"

Da Hu nodded, "True, but it's quite strong."

Looking again at the fallen Xu Wenjie, he got up, ready to find out who had knocked him down.

But before he could see clearly, Lu Cheng pressed his back against him, spun him a few times on the spot, then kicked him in the butt, sending Xu Wenjie headfirst into the Stinky Gutter.

Lu Cheng clapped his hands; earlier he had used Da Hu to call the other party "dad", making that little girl see Xu Wenjie's true nature, and the girl would surely tell the others in the Poetry Association.

Word spread like wildfire; the saliva stars could drown a person. Xu Wenjie's refined poet image was completely ruined.

He considered it a service to the people; at least no girl would be deceived by Xu Wenjie's façade again.

Falling into the gutter, Xu Wenjie's clothes were soaked with dirty water, his delicate white scarf stained with foul mud, his whole body filthy, leaving no trace of scholarliness.

Stung by the humiliation, Xu Wenjie clearly fumed, wiped the mud from his face, and, disregarding his image, launched into a tirade.

"Fuck you, on what grounds did you hit me? Do you even know who I am?"

Da Hu added, "I know, you're my dad, I'm your son."

"Fuck your mom."

Xu Wenjie was burning with anger; an unwarranted son appeared out of nowhere, a newly acquired girl not yet progressed further, and Wang Baduzi ruined the good thing.

He wanted to devour the kid alive, but seeing Lu Cheng standing nearby, swinging his wrist with a grin that didn't reach his eyes, he suddenly felt a bit intimidated.

"I haven't offended you, right? Who exactly are you, why did you hit me? I'm a famous poet; you know, hitting me is like taking on the entire poetry world!"

His tone still lofty, Lu Cheng disdainfully spat.

"You ask who I am? Then remember this, I'm also a poet."

Xu Wenjie was stunned; as long as someone loved literature, he'd seen them at the Poetry Association.

But the Lu Cheng before him was unfamiliar; moreover, if Lu Cheng truly were a poet, he would have heard of his name.

Anyone who knows his name would respect him before even getting the chance; they certainly wouldn't dare hit him as they did today.

Such a disrespectful person, even if a poet, would not be recognized by Xu Wenjie.

If he doesn't recognize him, no one will; he represents the authority of the poetry world.

"Hmph, you talk big, you stay silent, still unfit to be a poet! What a joke!"

"Hey, still looking down on me? Da Hu, recite my poem to him."

Lu Cheng's poem "Meteor in the Toilet" spread widely, though only among the kids in the alleys; adults couldn't appreciate such refined poetry.

Originally Da Hu spread this poem, so when recited it was full of emotion.

"When I squat, I look up and see the toilet crack, like a galaxy… my constipation…"

Da Hu stretched his hand as he recited, truly like constipation, unable to defecate, his little face flushed red.

"Puff—, it became a falling meteor…" Da Hu instantly felt relieved.

Lu Cheng hurriedly intervened: "No, no, there's no 'Puff—' sound; don't change my words, I have intellectual property rights."

"Right, right, there's no 'Puff—' sound; the next line should be, when you try to catch it with your hand, you also catch all my love."

Lu Cheng timely clapped: "Good!"

Only Xu Wenjie objected: "What a load of crap, how can you compare that beautiful galaxy to a toilet crack? And how can you liken a meteor, symbol of hope and love, to feces? Disgusting, utterly disgusting!"

Seeing the other side fuming and shouting, Lu Cheng laughed instead.

"You don't know a thing, this is called Elegant and Vulgar Appreciation."

Xu Wenjie sneered: "Elegant sees nothing, only the vulgar, the vulgar is unbearable! You're defiling poetry, defiling the literary world."

Lu Cheng squatted on the bank, looking down at Xu Wenjie in the Stinky Gutter.

"Looks like you're confident; how about we both compare poetry skills?"

Xu Wenjie was stunned; he hadn't expected Lu Cheng to say something so audacious.

When it comes to fighting, he's certainly no match, but in poetry, no one has ever bested him; his mind is his greatest weapon.

"Arrogant! Absolutely arrogant to the extreme! You're just a kid, yet you dare to compose poetry with me!"

Lu Cheng stood up: "Hehe, whether it's arrogance or not, you'll know once we start; it seems you still don't know my true strength."

Following his gaze, Xu Wenjie straightened his back as much as possible, lifted his head high, displaying the unyielding spirit of a scholar.

"You can insult my body, it's just a stinky husk; I don't mind, but don't think you can defeat me spiritually."

Enough nonsense, Lu Cheng said directly: "Just say whether you dare to compete or not. Don't make me look down on you!"

Xu Wenjie laughed wildly: "What do I have to fear? I speak boldly; today I'll teach you a lesson, so you know what a famous poet is."

"You just compared feces to a meteor—extremely vulgar. Today we'll take this Stinky Gutter as the theme, and show you how something can rise from the lowly to the elegant."

"Stinky Gutter as the theme?" Lu Cheng glanced, "This angle is a bit tough."

Unlike beautiful, majestic landscapes, whose visual appearance can be painted with bold strokes and expressed in poetry to convey the grandeur of mountains and rivers.

But before us is only a Stinky Gutter, with no aesthetic at all; how can it become elegant?

Yet Xu Wenjie didn't even need to think; he knew to use symbolism and metaphor to express.

In this way, the sense of elegance can be manifested.

Heh heh, I truly am a once-in-a-century talent.

"You think first; I'll give you a sample first, leaving you enough time so I can't be accused of bullying you."

Xu Wenjie took a few steps in place, not caring about the dark mud underfoot; instead, in his eyes, this place had become a beautiful ocean.

He brushed his arms, and inspiration instantly surged forth like a spring.

"In the deep black folds, it spreads itself."

Like a crumpled sea map, marked with the waves of the oil star.

It also has a salty, briny scent, a breath that is smothered.

Within the curve of the gutter, practicing the tide's mute language.

……

So it turns out, in the most humble folds

also hides a greatness that will not dry up.

Ah, this is our motherland! The great motherland!

Xu Wenjie pointed at the heavens, and a heroic feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

Sublimate! The final two lines, directly sublimated!

He hadn't expected that, under the enemy's oppression, in this filthy environment, under such weight, his inspiration would be completely sparked.

This poem is the best he has ever written, and it will trigger an earthquake‑like uproar in the poetry community.

Comparing the Stinky Gutter to the sea, then elevating it to the great motherland, who could have such talent?

When he looked back at Lu Cheng, he forcefully tossed the mud‑stained scarf behind his neck, his eyes filled with contempt.

Compare me to poetry? Go home and cultivate for a few years first.