Chapter 7: First Volume, Chapter 7: Words Flow Like Spring

First Volume, Chapter 7: Words Flow Like Spring

Every female student of Shenglin Academy is a daughter of a noble family, stunningly beautiful.

Qin Feng wiped his lips, looked at the girl in pink, and said seriously: "Miss, can we add each other on Momo?"

Before the girl could even fathom what "Momo" meant, Qin Feng was dragged away by Liu Hongyan, who grabbed his ear.

Qin Feng squinted and shouted, "Sister, spare me!"—causing the crowd to burst into laughter.

Li Rui's face darkened; he sneered inwardly: Is this fool truly stupid, or is he pretending?

No matter! I don't believe he can pass the Second Pass oral exam.

Li Rui cleared his throat, instantly drawing countless gazes; he gazed at one of the red plum paintings, paused, then began swaying his head:

"Plum and snow vie for spring beneath the bright moon's glow, I pen verses while treading the garden in white fur.

"Plum yields three parts of cold to snow, yet snow carries a fragrance plum cannot match."

"Treading snow, chanting plum—for all of you to judge."

The students around him studied the lines for a moment, then a chorus of praise erupted, filling the entire hall.

Even the examiners were greatly impressed.

"Brilliant! 'Treading Snow, Chanting Plum!'"

"It yields three parts cold to snow, yet surpasses it in fragrance—excellent poem, excellent!"

"No wonder he's Young Master Li—he is truly the model scholar of Shenglin Academy!"

Hearing the praise from all sides, Li Rui's head nearly floated into the sky, his brow brimming with pride.

Cheng Fa naturally seized this chance to flatter, clapping enthusiastically: "Truly an excellent poem! Young Master Li, your talent is unmatched!"

Then he shifted tone, glaring at Qin Feng, whose gaze wandered elsewhere: "Qin Feng, you claimed you didn't steal others' verses—so if you truly have talent, dare you compose another poem, with plum as the theme?"

Qin Feng was busy grading the female students around him and had no time to respond to Li Rui or Cheng Fa.

"This girl is decent—she scores at least eighty-five. This one's lovely, exactly my type—minimum…"

Liu Hongyan no longer cared for decorum; she kicked Qin Feng hard on the buttocks and scolded: "Afraid your eyes will fall out? The son of the Minister of War behaves like this? What propriety is this?"

"The fire's at your doorstep—still dawdling? Do you want to drive me mad?"

Qin Feng looked ashamed and instinctively reached to pat her chest to soothe her—then, meeting her murderous gaze, he hastily withdrew his hand.

To avoid delaying his main task of ogling girls, Qin Feng snapped: "Chanting plum is so boring—how about chanting…"

Seeing Liu Hongyan's hand reaching for his ear, Qin Feng's heart jolted—he dared not improvise further and hastily blurted:

"This body stands amid ice and snow, unlike peach and plum Military Order in fragrant dust.

"Suddenly, one night, its fragrance blooms, spreading as spring across heaven and earth."

Silence—dead silence.

Qin Feng looked at the stunned female students, raised an eyebrow, and smirked: "If you like it, come to my house tonight—I'll chant seven or eight more for you."

The girl blushed crimson, quickly turned her face away, but stole a glance at Qin Feng.

After what felt like an eternity, the crowd erupted into heated discussion.

"'Unlike peach and plum Military Order in fragrant dust'—not only is the diction elegant, the imagery alone outshines Li Rui's by miles!"

"Both poems are on plum, both improvised. Li Rui's 'Treading Snow, Chanting Plum' feels forced, like he just piled up phrases."

"Then… could his earlier 'Out of the Frontier' truly have been written by Qin Feng?"

"This is too incredible… or did the Qin Family buy these poems?"

"It's not impossible—we'll wait and see. There are many poems left in this second round—if he maintains the quality of his first two, Young Master Qin will rise like a phoenix, soaring in a single day!"

"Otherwise, as Li Rui said, these poems are either stolen or bought!"

The crowd nodded in agreement.

Liu Hongyan's face glowed with excitement—she never expected this fool of a brother could actually compose poetry, and so astonishingly at that.

Li Rui's face turned ashen; that poem, "Treading Snow, Chanting Plum," was the result of days of refinement, commissioned from several top literary talents in Jingdu at great cost.

Yet it was crushed effortlessly under Qin Feng's casual verse.

Placed side by side, the superiority was instantly clear.

Li Rui could not bear losing the spotlight; he sneered: "This one—surely it's also copied from somewhere?"

"Copied?"

Qin Feng smirked at Li Rui: "Then open your eyes wide and watch closely!"

As soon as this poem about plum blossoms was recited, he felt he might have been led into a trap by Li Rui today…

Qin Feng pointed at Xie Jinshi.

Xie Jinshi's face had turned ashen.

As soon as the plum poem was spoken, he realized—he'd been dragged into a trap by Li Rui…

Amid the stunned silence,

Qin Feng directly pointed at the nearby snowscape painting.

"A thousand mountains, birds flown away; ten thousand paths, no trace of man."

"A lone boat, an old man in straw cloak and hat—fishing alone in the cold river's snow."

Several female students breathed faster, cheeks flushed; their earlier disdain had vanished, replaced by excitement and awe.

Feeling their gazes, Qin Feng felt utterly euphoric.

Everyone get out of the way—I'm about to show off!

He casually pointed at several other paintings.

"Sitting alone in the secluded bamboo grove, I strum my lute and whistle long.

"Deep forest knows no one—yet the bright moon comes to shine upon me."

【61】 Not only the girls who scored eighty-five, but all the other female students now turned their eyes to Qin Feng, their gazes shimmering with admiration.

【62】 "Late-blooming flowers emerge from wild fences, cold fragrance clings to autumn waters.

【63】 "I recall seeing them in the mountains, nestled beside crickets on stone cliffs."

【64】 The female students gasped; the male students stared, dumbfounded.

【65】 Watching Qin Feng compose masterpieces effortlessly, Li Rui clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white, his face pale as death.

The examiner in charge of the second round was trembling with excitement.

Everyone hastily pulled out paper and brush, copying the poems Qin Feng had just composed.

Only when every gaze in the academy had fixed entirely on Qin Feng did they stop. He turned to Xie Jinshi and smiled with the tender warmth of a father.

"Xie Jinshi, were these poems just now your own work?"

Xie Jinshi's face turned as white as paper; he dared not answer.

Just now, Qin Feng casually produced these poems—any single one of them was enough to shake the ancients and dazzle the ages.

As was just said, even if he dared admit it, who would believe him?

If he forcibly claimed them as his own, unless he never wrote poetry again for the rest of his life, he'd be exposed in an instant…

Seeing Xie Jinshi refuse to answer, Qin Feng rolled up his sleeves, sneered, and raised his fist, showing the signs of another "episode": "Answer me! Yes or no?"

Thud.

Xie Jinshi collapsed to his knees on the ground, eyes glazed, numbly muttering: "N…no."

At these words, the crowd erupted.

Those who had earlier sided against Qin Feng now swiftly turned their accusations toward Xie Jinshi.

Facing the torrent of verbal attacks, Xie Jinshi knew his reputation was utterly destroyed; he lay on the ground like a lifeless corpse.

Qin Feng had no time to care for this petty lackey—he turned to face Li Rui, the mastermind behind it all.

"Brother Li, what do you think? If that's not enough, I'll write you another ten or so."

"My poems aren't for just anyone to hear. Cheng Fa paid Ten Thousand Li Silver per poem. Given our friendship, I'll give you a friend's discount: Ninety-Nine Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Li per poem! No haggling!"

Damn it, I just remembered—I forgot something important. I didn't come here to show off or chase girls—I came to make money!

Qin Feng felt a pang of regret, but it wasn't too late yet!

Thinking of this, Qin Feng suddenly grew excited—this was a fantastic deal. One poem for Ten Thousand Liang of Silver—how could he possibly worry about his Great Plan? He could just lie in bed at home and copy poems!

Hmm, this isn't about making money—it's a contribution to the cultural development of this world.

It's about sowing the luminous thoughts of China's thousands of ancient sages across the soil of this alien world!

Li Rui's face turned ashen, his molars grinding audibly—but facts spoke louder than words; he had to accept it, whether he liked it or not.

Li Rui took a deep breath, slowly bowed, and performed a formal salute: "Brother Qin, your talent is unparalleled in history. I, Li Rui, am deeply impressed."

With Li Rui now acknowledging it, none of the students dared question Qin Feng any longer; their gazes toward him had undergone a complete transformation.

"Qin Feng, advances to the Finals!"

The second-round examiner, face flushed with excitement, loudly announced it at once.