Chapter 71: A Soldier of Great Wu

PS: This chapter has been heavily censored, which may affect the reading experience.

The more Lin Dafu tried to stop them, the more curious everyone became.

He naturally couldn’t hold them back.

Several of them squeezed in front of the carved wooden window, poking their heads out to look down.

The hall was over five zhang wide. In the center, four large tables were occupied by over a dozen students from the Literature Institute and their accompanying singing girls. By now, several rounds of wine had clearly been served; everyone was flushed and behaving with wild abandon.

Among them, a student dressed in a scholar’s robe stood on a round table near the wall, holding a brush in one hand and a cup in the other.

He was splashing ink across the white-powdered wall.

“The Timid Maiden”

‘The southern sky splits!’

‘A hundred thousand mighty soldiers make the maiden tremble.’

‘The maiden trembles,’

‘Before her silk jacket is even undone, her fragrant body is already yielded!’

‘As the war drums suddenly sound, the patron arrives,’

‘Frosty spears and snowy blades are all but useless!’

Having written this far, the man held his cup in his left hand, tilted his head back, and drained it in one gulp.

Then he shouted, “Courtesans, pour the wine!”

He displayed the demeanor of a wild and famous scholar.

Immediately, five or six scantily clad singing girls crowded forward, scrambling to be the one to pour his wine.

It was as if it were a matter of great honor.

The wine was filled; he drank again.

The student in the scholar’s robe lifted his brush to write again:

‘All but useless.’

“Good!”

“Hahaha”

“Brilliant! This first poem by Brother Juhan is truly brilliant!”

“The southern nation splits!”

Someone loudly chanted the lines again.

Downstairs, bursts of laughter broke out, wanton and mean-spirited.

“This is too much!”

Gao Gan’s clenched fists had turned white at the knuckles.

Most of the troops under Prince Huanyang, Gao Shizhen, were local sons of Yezhou. In this battle, over a thousand young men had been lost.

Even Third Young Master Gao’s eldest brother had shed his blood beneath Koujian Pass.

Now, with the souls of his kin and comrades still lingering nearby, how could he bear this?

“Fifth Brother!”

“Third Young Master, don’t go!”

Seeing the infuriated Third Young Master Gao about to go out and confront them, Li Baicheng and Li Meimei both stepped in, holding him back firmly.

“Let me go!”

Gao Gan struggled incessantly.

Li Meimei didn’t dare let go, pleading, “Third Young Master! Even if you go down now, what can you do? Our army… lost. Going down to argue is just asking for humiliation! If you hit them, people will only say our army is incompetent against outsiders but fierce against our own!”

Defeat is the original sin.

Li Baicheng also said, “Fifth Brother, calm down. Right now in Central Heaven, who isn’t cursing us? Public opinion is raging. If you cause trouble and draw the world’s attention, there’s no guarantee you won’t be used as a scapegoat to appease the people’s anger!”

After this persuasion, Gao Gan’s struggling strength gradually weakened.

Li Baicheng and Li Meimei released him one after another.

Gao Gan couldn’t help but glance at that stinging poem “The Timid Maiden” on the wall again. Then he slumped onto the floor and wept, “My elder brother died in battle. Sixth and Seventh Brother are gone too… Seventh Brother was only sixteen, he hadn’t even started a family…”

Li Baicheng and Li Meimei’s eyes also turned red.

They felt a heavy weight in their chests that was hard to dispel, making it difficult to breathe.

Lin Dafu, who was crying along with them, accidentally glanced down again and was suddenly startled. “Old Six! What is Old Six doing?”

The four of them turned their heads together. The door to the private room was wide open, and Ding Suian’s figure was already gone.

Looking down again, they saw he had somehow silently moved through the crowd and stood before the student who had written the poem.

“May I ask your esteemed name, brother?”

“Zhao Juhan. And you are…”

The tipsy Zhao Juhan saw the newcomer was dressed in a brocade robe and had a handsome face, so he couldn’t immediately gauge the other’s status.

Ding Suian simply raised his hand. “May I borrow your brush?”

Zhao Juhan reflexively handed the brush over. Ding Suian took it and, with a light leap, jumped onto the round table.

Zhao Juhan, as an outstanding student of the Literature Institute, had quite a reputation. Some people saw Ding Suian ask for his name without giving his own and couldn’t help but feel displeased.

Just as they were about to step forward and question him, they were stopped by Zhao Juhan. “Let’s see…”

When Ding Suian’s first few characters landed, a few snickers broke out below.

His calligraphy couldn’t be called ugly, but it certainly wasn’t at the level where one would dare to leave an inscription on a wall in public.

Who gave him the courage?

However, as lines of wild ink strokes wound across the powdered wall, the laughter below gradually died down.

A moment later, the originally boisterous hall of Yunshao Tower, where nearly a hundred people were gathered, became so quiet that a falling needle could be heard.

Zhao Juhan’s eyes seemed to be firmly glued to the wall by something magical. As he read word by word, the Vitality in his chest began to surge.

A long-lost, overwhelming Vitality erupted uncontrollably from his chest, surging through his entire body!

He had experienced this feeling before.

It was just like when he broke through the Vitality Realm into the Enlightenment Realm!

Zhao Juhan realized that a massive Opportunity had arrived!

He hurriedly focused his mind, sinking all his consciousness into the powerful Concept contained within the lines of words.

But just then, the man writing the poem suddenly paused his brush and looked back. “Pour the wine!”

Instead of being even slightly displeased, Zhao Juhan acted like a driven servant, immediately holding the pot to pour the wine and offering it with both hands.

Watching this strange scene, not a single guest among the full house felt it was out of place.

Ding Suian took a deep breath and drained the cup. He reached out. “Pour more!”

After drinking seven or eight cups and satisfying his craving, he said again:

“Bring the inkstone!”

Zhao Juhan respectfully held up the inkstone.

Ding Suian licked the brush, soaking the tip in thick ink. Only then did he swiftly write the final two lines, followed by his signature.

The poem finished, he tossed the brush aside, jumped off the round table, and walked away elegantly.

On the wall, the ink was dripping.

The excess ink left at the points of emphasis flowed down like rivers of black.

“Yi Qin’e: Koujian Pass”

Zhao Juhan stared fixedly at these fourteen characters. Because he hadn’t blinked for a long time, his eyes were bloodshot. He felt a vast, awe-inspiring aura that filled heaven and earth, creating a strong resonance with his Divine Soul.

Suddenly, his spiritual terrace became clear and transparent, and his drunkenness vanished without a trace!

“I… I’ve entered the Silent Sound Realm…”

After murmuring to himself, he suddenly cried out in wild joy, “I’ve broken through!”

This shout was like a spark thrown into boiling oil; the hall instantly erupted!

The commotion was far greater than when they were mocking the soldiers of Great Wu just now.

Countless people scrambled toward the counter, grabbing paper and brushes to transcribe the poem.

Those who couldn’t get paper and brushes simply cut their fingers, using blood as ink and their clothes as paper.

At the stairs.

The four of them had seen Ding Suian go downstairs and, fearing his youthful impetuousness would cause trouble, had immediately chased after him to stop him.

But as soon as they ran down the stairs, they witnessed the scene of Ding Suian splashing ink and the whole hall falling silent.

At first, they just felt embarrassed. Old Six, you’re a rough military man, don’t try to force your way into the literary circle.

Isn’t this attacking their strengths with your weaknesses?

But after a few breaths, they all noticed something unusual.

At this moment, Li Baicheng seemed to have entered a mysterious state, standing rooted to the spot like a piece of wood.

Old Lin was the first to notice something was wrong with him.

“Second Brother? What happened to Second Brother?” Lin Dafu was uncertain and gave Li Baicheng a light push.

Li Baicheng had no reaction.

Gao Gan and Li Meimei, who were anxiously searching for Ding Suian in the crowd, turned their heads at the sound.

They saw Li Baicheng’s face was as red as a date, with wisps of steam rising from his forehead.

Third Young Master Gao, who had a deep family heritage, saw the signs at a glance and said with surprise and joy, “Second Brother is about to break through! Let’s surround him quickly, don’t let anyone disturb him!”

Li Baicheng had been stuck at the perfection of the Astral Realm for four whole years.

One poem, two breakthroughs.

In the hall, the initial chaos and madness gradually subsided.

The manager of Yunshao Tower, fearing someone would scrape off the section of the wall with “Koujian Pass” written on it, personally led several strong workers to guard the wall.

After his breakthrough, Zhao Juhan was anxious to find the young man in the brocade robe who had given him such a massive Opportunity, but he was nowhere to be found.

Then someone said, “Look at the wall! Those small characters at the end must be the name!”

Everyone woke up as if from a dream, their gazes collectively focusing on the signature below the magnificent poem.

“Only looking, no touching!”

The manager of Yunshao Tower repeatedly warned.

The signature wasn’t large, but it was clear and powerful, seemingly exuding an indescribable arrogance and determination.

The name left there was: A Soldier of Great Wu

This chapter is a bit incomplete; the censors kept deleting content.