Chapter 345: Gentleman's Six Talismans, Subduing Ghosts and Suppressing Swords

Chapter 345: Gentleman's Six Talismans, Subduing Ghosts and Suppressing Swords

Pei Qian said she wanted to go to the main entrance to look at the spirit wall. The incense smoke from the temple above would drift, carrying a fragrance, and the water would flow, making sounds—it was so interesting.

The Water God Goddess waved her hand grandly and summoned a young maidservant to take Pei Qian to enjoy the scenery there.

Remembering that a Confucian sage from another scholarly lineage had just left, Chen Ping'an set down his wine gourd and said, "My hometown, Longquan County, was actually originally that Lizhu Cave Heaven. Teacher Qi served as a teacher at the school back then, but I was poor as a child and never attended that school. A next-door neighbor was Teacher Qi's student and often mentioned him. But of course, I had seen Teacher Qi, after all, the town was only that big."

Zhong Kui sat back down at the wine table and poured himself a cup of wine with a grin. He trusted Chen Ping'an's words, but not entirely. A young pure martial artist possessing a Nurture Sword Gourd and two lifebound flying swords, capable of yin spirit night travel—even if Lizhu Cave Heaven was a place where dragons and tigers lurked and Chen Ping'an had other blessings, it was impossible to believe that Chen Ping'an and Qi Jingchun had merely "met." Zhong Kui wouldn't believe that if he were beaten to death.

But since Chen Ping'an was holding back, Zhong Kui wouldn't dig deeper. Although the literary sage's teachings had been banned by all major academies, it wasn't a big deal for private book towers to secretly possess a few copies of the literary sage's works.

Even knowing Qi Jingchun, or even having attended that school, it didn't matter. As long as Chen Ping'an wasn't a direct disciple inheriting Qi Jingchun's scholarly lineage and tradition, he would never face any trouble. Even taking a step back—within the jurisdiction of Dafu Academy on Tongye Continent, even if he were, it would be fine, with him Zhong Kui around, and even more so, with his teacher.

But if it were at the two academies at the northern and southern ends, it would be hard to say.

The Water God Goddess's eyes lit up. She propped her hands on the wine table and asked eagerly, "But have you seen the literary sage? Is he an especially refined old man, with a tall hat and broad sash, a gentle breeze in his sleeves, serious yet with a hint of tenderness? And you can tell at a glance that he's a transcendent expert with profound knowledge, his temperament just like those reclusive hermits in the paintings, right?"

Chen Ping'an had no choice but to lie, saying, "I have never seen him before."

The Water God Goddess's expression was both regretful and pitying—the former for herself, the latter for Chen Ping'an. She slumped back into her seat, downed a large bowl of wine, wiped her mouth, and sighed, "That truly is a regret in life. You actually haven't seen such an old gentleman. You must try to see him in the future; otherwise, your life won't be complete."

Chen Ping'an smiled helplessly and said, "Alright, I'll try."

She recalled something and asked, "Then have you seen a fellow named Cui Chan? A bastard who, as the senior disciple, betrayed and killed his teacher. And that Sword Immortal whose swordsmanship is divine, with the particularly domineering name Zuo You, they say his swordsmanship is unmatched in the world. And Mao Xiaodong and the like... the literary sage had so many disciples. You must have seen at least one, right?"

Chen Ping'an lifted his wine gourd and said, "Such a pity. Let's drink."

The Water God Goddess slammed the table, her face full of anger at his lack of ambition. "Drink my ass! What's wrong with you?! If I had been born and raised in Lizhu Cave Heaven, the first most important thing after leaving my hometown would be to seek out the literary sage. If I couldn't break into that Academy's Forest of Merit, then I'd settle for the next best—at least I'd go curse out Cui Chan, witness Zuo You's swordsmanship, play chess with Mao Xiaodong..."

Chen Ping'an echoed, "Makes sense, makes sense."

The Water God Goddess: "..."

Zhong Kui suppressed a smile and said, "Curse out Cui Chan? Water God Goddess, it's not that I look down on you, but even if that Great Li National Teacher's realm has supposedly dropped drastically, he could still crush your golden body to pieces with just two fingers."

The Water God Goddess said righteously, "If I just curse a few times outside the Great Li capital gate, can he still hear me?"

Zhong Kui rolled his eyes. "Well, he really can't hear you."

The three of them drank their wine separately.

The atmosphere gradually grew heavy.

The great demon lurking near the Fuji Sect had violently attacked after its identity was exposed, causing the Daoist couple who were experts in combined attacks—both at the Jade Pure Realm—to suffer one death and one injury. And the battlefield was still within the Fuji Sect's mountain. Even accounting for the great demon's innate tough physique advantages, its realm would need to be at least the twelfth level.

A great demon at the Immortal Realm, which should have long since made a name for itself, had silently hidden in the central part of Tongye Continent for countless years? Neither the Fuji Sect nor the academy had noticed anything? And coincidentally, just as the Taiping Mountain Chief went to intercept it at the sea, the prison suppressing demons on Taiping Mountain suddenly opened, allowing them to escape in all directions?

Add to that the fact that three ancient, heavy immortal weapons had recently appeared on the continents of Bashu, Tongye, and Fuyao respectively, triggering endless battles among countless cultivators for their possession.

The Water God Goddess asked cautiously, "May I presume to ask—your academy's mountain master, having left the academy to take the lead in battling the great demon, isn't he afraid of falling in battle?"

Zhong Kui laughed angrily. "Say something good about my teacher, will you? Besides, anyone in the world can ask that, except you, Water God Goddess. Over the past two hundred years, how many times have you voluntarily left Biyou Mansion and the Water God Temple to fight that great demon?"

The Water God Goddess took a sip of wine. "That's different. I'm just a minor water god. Your teacher, on the other hand, comes from the residence of a sage in the Confucian Temple..."

Zhong Kui looked askance at her. "Is this the principle you drew from reading the literary sage's sagely books?"

The Water God Goddess was humiliated and furious. She didn't mind being called short-sighted to her face, but dragging the literary sage into it was absolutely unacceptable. She slammed the table and stood up. "Zhong Kui! If you keep speaking with such innuendo, spit out the noodles and wine you've drank here!"

Zhong Kui took a sip of wine. "I'm just drinking your wine."

He took another sip. "I've drunk another sip. So good."

The Water God Goddess's face turned green with rage, her whole body trembling.

Chen Ping'an said softly, "In my hometown, there's a memorial archway with one of four plaques reading, 'Yield to None in What Is Righteous.' That's probably the reason Zhong Kui chose to act as he did. Earlier, Zhong Kui asked why the Haoran World was willing to abide by the rules set by Confucianism. Today, with Zhong Kui's actions—regardless of life or death in the end—the three of us here, not to mention Zhong Kui, who is a student, but at least I and you, Water God Goddess, will feel that the academic spirit of Dafu Academy is truly worthy of admiration. If I have children in the future, and they travel the world, I will definitely make them visit Tongye Continent once and go to Dafu Academy."

Zhong Kui nodded and raised his wine bowl to toast Chen Ping'an.

The Water God Goddess hummed in agreement and accepted this reasoning, so she also toasted Chen Ping'an with a bowl of wine.

All good feasts must come to an end.

Zhong Kui set down his wine bowl, prepared to do one last thing, and then leave the Buried River's Biyou Mansion.

Pei Qian came trotting all the way to the threshold of the main hall, her hands cupped together as if holding water. Her face was full of excitement, and she loudly called out to Chen Ping'an, showing off, "I scooped up a handful of water from the spirit wall! Want to take a look?"

She lowered her arms, her fingers pressed together between her hands, and indeed held a handful of clear water.

Chen Ping'an glanced at it. "Put it back."

Pei Qian said, "Oh," and then trotted back the way she came, followed by the maidservant who was covering her smile.

The Water God Goddess found the little girl quite amusing and said with a smile, "It's just a handful of Buried River water essence, not worth much of an immortal coin. Young master, you didn't need to make her return it."

Chen Ping'an shook his head but didn't explain specifically.

Zhong Kui also had a dimension-storing item with him, a small and exquisite bronze paperweight beast called a Xiezhi.

He took out again the small snowy awl brush inscribed with the words "Inspired When Writing," along with three sheets of golden material talisman paper, with faint seal-script patterns as the base.

Chen Ping'an didn't recognize their value and only felt they were slightly different from his own golden talisman papers. But the Water God Goddess was an expert in using such talisman papers and exclaimed in surprise, "Wind and Thunder paper? With Dragon Claw Seal, Jade Sinew Seal, and Ganoderma Seal patterns respectively—these are valuable! When my Biyou Mansion was first established, the Great Spring court only granted us a single sheet of Wind and Thunder paper with Dragon Claw Seal patterns."

Seeing Chen Ping'an's composed expression, as if unaware of the paper's rarity, the Water God Goddess explained, "Talismans written on this kind of paper are best for subduing ghosts. Even Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators, those lofty earthly immortals, regard these as treasures—they're extremely expensive. For cultivators below Golden Core, buying these three sheets of Wind and Thunder paper would probably bankrupt them."

Chen Ping'an was not unaware of the quality of golden material talisman paper. When he was on the battlefield in Comb Water Country, following the old Sword Saint Song Yushao as they broke through the formation, an imperial family offering had once used a golden talisman to summon a golden-armored divine being, thereby blocking Chen Ping'an's sudden attack. Chen Ping'an had witnessed the old man's pitiful, heart-wrenching look after throwing out the talisman.

"Now, even Taiping Mountain is no longer peaceful, so you can imagine how chaotic central Tongye Continent is. Traveling the world without a few protective talismans just doesn't cut it," Zhong Kui said.

He placed the three sheets of talisman paper on the wine table, holding the small snowy awl brush. Before drawing, he said softly, "Chen Ping'an, friends are friends, but financial dealings should be clear. I'll write three talismans for you. These three Heaven, Earth, and Man military talismans are quite heavy with killing intent, perfect for suppressing evil spirits and killing ghosts. They are a set of apotropaic talismans I created myself. They can be used individually, enough to scare off Golden Core realm ghosts. Even against a Nascent Soul realm ghost king, if you use all three talismans together and time it right, you might even be able to severely wound it. Consider this the interest for lending me this small snowy awl brush."

Chen Ping'an patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "If they're that valuable, I can lend you the small snowy awl brush for a few more days."

Zhong Kui shook his shoulder to dislodge Chen Ping'an's hand and rolled his eyes. "I'm not that close to you."

The Water God Goddess clicked her tongue in amazement. She couldn't fathom what kind of friendship they had—one willing to lend a top-grade magic treasure, the other willing to give away three sheets of Wind and Thunder paper.

Zhong Kui, much like when he was writing Spring Festival couplets at the inn, started putting on airs again. Holding the brush in one hand, he hovered it in the air, ready to draw. With his other hand, he shook his sleeve and raised it high. "The sage said, 'After reading ten thousand volumes, one writes as if inspired.' Water God Goddess, bring the wine!"

The Water God Goddess handed him a bowl of wine.

Chen Ping'an reminded him, "Don't get carried away. Draw the talismans properly. If you mess them up and they're not effective, you'll have to conjure up another sheet of Wind and Thunder paper for me. You said it yourself—friends are friends, finances should be clear."

Zhong Kui sullenly set down that bowl of celebratory wine, but Chen Ping'an added, "I'm just kidding."

Zhong Kui shot him a resentful look.

The Water God Goddess was somewhat impressed by this young gentleman who could do yin spirit night travel.

You really don't take an academy gentleman seriously, do you?

Zhong Kui took a big gulp of wine, then burped. After that, a wondrous scene occurred—wispy strands of pure white spiritual energy, like the righteous qi that a scholar would have stored in his belly from reading, emerged from Zhong Kui's mouth. Those strands of righteous qi coiled around the tip of the small snowy awl brush. Zhong Kui drew the talisman in an unorthodox manner: instead of "setting it down" on the talisman paper, he recited a line of poetry: "The jade tally bids farewell to the phoenix palace, armored cavalry surround the Dragon City."

Then he gently flicked his wrist, and a string of tiny, grain-sized figures "fell" from the brush tip.

Looking closely, they were armored horseback generals, over a hundred of them quickly forming battle formations on the Wind and Thunder talisman paper, each reining in their horses.

Zhong Kui, holding the brush in his right hand, pressed his left index and middle fingers together and pointed at the talisman paper, shouting, "Fix!"

Those silver-armored cavalry generals instantly dissolved, merging into the golden talisman paper.

In the blink of an eye, it had become a completed talisman.

The next two talismans were drawn with similar flair, worthy of the reputation of having "spirits beneath the wrist."

The Water God Goddess was deeply impressed. Regardless of his moral essays, just this talisman-drawing skill alone would make even a Jade Pure realm talisman master clap in admiration.

Zhong Kui handed the three talismans to Chen Ping'an. "The Three Talismans of the Army, completed."

Chen Ping'an carefully took the talismans and asked with a smile, "Tired after drawing three talismans?"

Zhong Kui patted his belly and scoffed, "A trivial matter! My belly is full of strategy, housing a hundred thousand armored soldiers. Just three talismans... just?"

Zhong Kui was dumbfounded because he saw Chen Ping'an put away the three talismans and then take out three more. The topmost one was also made of golden material, but it wasn't Wind and Thunder paper with ancient seal-script patterns—it seemed even older.

Chen Ping'an placed them gently on the table and said with a grin, "Since you're not tired, draw three more for me. Preferably one lightning magic talisman, one guiding talisman that can break through barriers in certain geographical areas, and one talisman that can imprison a sword cultivator's lifebound flying sword, like the Well Talisman."

The Water God Goddess was full of doubt. This outsider young master really was unusually wealthy.

Zhong Kui wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed mournfully, "Fine, fine. I'll go the extra mile. Three more it is."

After a moment's thought, he made up his mind. Zhong Kui said seriously, "I'll write for you respectively a 'Main Dharma' Five Thunder Talisman, a specialty of the Dragon and Tiger Mountain Heavenly Masters. The lightning magic ranks highest among all magics, and though its heritage is mixed, Dragon and Tiger Mountain is considered the orthodox and main lineage. My teacher has traveled to Dragon and Tiger Mountain several times and met the Great Heavenly Master once. He happened to learn a Five Thunder Talisman—five dragons holding pearls, containing thunder and lightning, surging into the great void..."

He noticed Chen Ping'an's strange expression.

Zhong Kui groaned, "Can't I catch my breath before I start writing? I just wrote three top-grade talismans in one go, I'm exhausted. How was I supposed to know you could produce three such fine talisman papers? If I'd known, I would have just played dead."

Chen Ping'an sat down with a smile. "Drink your wine and steady your spirit before drawing. I'm not rushing you."

Zhong Kui relaxed, took a big gulp of wine, and carefully separated the topmost golden talisman paper, placing it down neatly.

The small snowy awl brush, hovering more than a foot above the talisman paper, crackled with lightning and thunder, purple lightning and white thunder, with an awe-inspiring heavenly might within that tiny space.

The Water God Goddess's heart trembled with fear.

After completing the imposing Five Dragons Holding Pearls Lightning Talisman, Zhong Kui then wrote a Barrier-Breaking Talisman.

Then he plopped down on his chair and stared blankly at the last sheet of talisman paper, which was made of a green material.

Chen Ping'an understood and reached out to pick up that talisman paper. "Forget it, I won't push you. The two talismans from before are enough."

Zhong Kui's face turned solemn. He grabbed Chen Ping'an's arm, which was pinching the green talisman paper. "This talisman, I must draw it. I just need to prepare well and be careful. If I mess it up, even if you, Chen Ping'an, don't hit me, I'll curse myself."

Chen Ping'an asked, "Can you do it?"

Zhong Kui countered, "What's not to do? Of course I can do it. I just feel that writing an ordinary Well Talisman that can only imprison or contain the flying swords of sword cultivators below Nascent Soul would be a terrible waste of such a material."

Chen Ping'an praised, "Zhong Kui, your talisman-drawing talent is far superior to mine."

Zhong Kui said helplessly, "You, a pure martial artist, telling me your talisman-drawing is inferior to mine—do you think that's something to be happy about?"

Chen Ping'an was speechless. After a moment of silence, he stopped bothering Zhong Kui as he rested and cultivated the righteous qi in his heart.

But he had also made a decision.

Zhong Kui took a deep breath and said to the Water God Goddess, "Send all the ghosts in the mansion outside of Biyou Mansion. Let them return only after I finish drawing the talisman."

Although she didn't know why, the Water God Goddess used the unique magical skills of the Buried River Water God and the Lord of Biyou Mansion to instantly "expel" all the stewards, maids, and servants from the mansion.

Zhong Kui stood firm, one hand behind his back, the other holding the small snowy awl brush. A gentle breeze rustled in both sleeves.

In an instant, Biyou Mansion began to tremble violently, and the underground water veins surged and churned.

The Water God Goddess found it hard to breathe for a moment. She retreated as far as possible from the Dafu Academy gentleman, but still found it unbearable. She drifted out of the main hall, only then feeling slightly better.

Biting her lip, her eyes were dazed.

This scholar named Zhong Kui was far more than just an academy gentleman!

As Zhong Kui set down his brush, he softly recited, "Shaking his sleeves, the sword rises, purifying the rivers; the four peaks collapse, the nine continents' seas boil."

Once the talisman was completed, the talisman spirit, which would normally be hidden within the talisman, manifested on the spot—a one-inch-tall white-clad Sword Immortal, floating above the talisman paper. It moved with agility, sword light flowing like wind and lightning.

Zhong Kui's face was slightly pale. He put away the small snowy awl brush and took a big gulp of wine. Though exhausted, his face was full of smiles. "This talisman is also my own creation. It's the talisman I'm most proud of. I named it the Sword-Suppressing Talisman. With the vast sword intent of an ancient Sword Immortal, it can suppress all lifebound flying swords below the Fifth Realm. The paper is excellent, and I drew the talisman well. It's not like that Well Talisman, which can only trap a flying sword for a short while. With this Sword-Suppressing Talisman, you can directly deprive a Golden Core realm cultivator of their lifebound flying sword. For a Nascent Soul sword cultivator's flying sword, you can't imprison it for too long—it will eventually break the talisman. Remember, don't easily take out this talisman or let outsiders see it. My teacher warned that this Sword-Suppressing Talisman goes against the rules, is too targeted at sword cultivators, and easily invites trouble."

Chen Ping'an felt somewhat guilty. "You've worked hard."

Zhong Kui waved his hand with a smile and spoke to Chen Ping'an mentally, "Do you know how rare this sheet of paper is? It's manuscript paper on which a sage wrote his foundational scholarship and teachings! Even my teacher, when he left the Central Earth Divine Continent, had only three sheets treasured on him. He used one when crossing the sea, used another when he arrived at Tongye Continent, and now only one remains—his most precious possession. I can only look at it, not touch it. So, if this had just been golden material talisman paper, my Sword-Suppressing Talisman would have been significantly less powerful—it could probably only trap the lifebound flying sword of a Golden Core sword cultivator for about an incense stick's time at most."

Zhong Kui cheered heartily and started drinking again.

Chen Ping'an turned his wrist and secretly handed Zhong Kui a sheet of talisman paper.

Zhong Kui stood frozen like a wooden chicken, staring wide-eyed. "Are you crazy? If you didn't know its value before, I told you how rare it is! And you're treating it so lightly? Take it back immediately!"

Chen Ping'an didn't argue. He simply let go of his fingers, letting the green material talisman paper flutter down. Zhong Kui had no choice but to hurriedly catch it and quickly tuck it into his sleeve.

Chen Ping'an took off the Nurture Sword Gourd, raised it high, and said with a gentle smile, "I wish you success on your journey to Taiping Mountain—slay demons and vanquish evil."

Zhong Kui seemed to want to say something, but in the end said nothing. He silently raised his wine bowl and lightly clinked it against Chen Ping'an's Nurture Sword Gourd. Each took a large gulp of wine.

Zhong Kui finished the bowl of fine wine, stood up, and said, "I'm leaving."

Chen Ping'an clasped his fists in farewell.

Zhong Kui was about to leave.

Chen Ping'an reminded him, "Not going to ask the Water God Goddess for a jar of fine wine?"

Zhong Kui's eyes lit up, and he gave Chen Ping'an a thumbs up.

The Water God Goddess, being bold and generous by nature, naturally wouldn't be stingy. She brought over two jars, but Zhong Kui left one to give to Chen Ping'an. Chen Ping'an didn't refuse—he had just run out of plum wine at the inn—so he slowly poured the hundred-year-aged Biyou Mansion brew into his Nurture Sword Gourd.

Zhong Kui, carrying the wine jar, vanished in a flash, streaking across the sky until he reached the bank of the Buried River. Just as he was about to cross the river, he abruptly stopped because he saw his teacher's yin spirit, as if waiting for him on the bank.

Zhong Kui quickly hid the wine jar behind his back.

The mountain master of Dafu Academy was a middle-aged man with a wooden expression. He walked slowly along the banks of the Buried River, with Zhong Kui following behind him.

In the Haoran World, among the seventy-two academies and their seventy-two mountain masters, their realms varied. The highest could be the towering Immortal Realm, but there were also those who were only at the Nascent Soul realm—like Mao Xiaodong at the New Cliff Academy in the Great Sui, who was only at the Nascent Soul realm. However, when a mountain master sat in an academy, a Nascent Soul realm could rival a Jade Pure realm, so it was still a cultivation level no one dared to underestimate.

This scholar, who came from a sage's residence, was neither high nor low among the academy mountain masters—he was at the Jade Pure realm. But when he was at Dafu Academy, that meant he was at the Immortal Realm.

But this time, going to the seacoast west of the Fuji Sect to hunt the great demon meant leaving the academy, so he was only at the Jade Pure realm.

The mountain master said softly, "The opponent likely has a backup plan. This doesn't mean you should shrink back, but I hope you will plan before acting in all things. Even when subduing demons around Taiping Mountain, you must not let your guard down."

Zhong Kui nodded. "Disciple understands."

The mountain master stopped walking, extended his hand, and on it floated a sheet of green talisman paper. "Keep this to protect yourself."

Zhong Kui didn't reach out to take it. "Master, by the river earlier, did you use your divine powers to look into Biyou Mansion?"

The mountain master scolded softly, "Earlier by the Buried River bank, you summoned underworld ghost messengers without authorization. As the mountain master of Dafu Academy, bound by duty, how could I not investigate?! When you were in Biyou Mansion, merely spending time with a friend, I naturally refrained from looking improperly! If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't give you this talisman paper in front of outsiders, my yin spirit would have left long ago."

Zhong Kui smiled. "Master's words are fragrant and deeds are pure, high as the mountains and long as the rivers. Disciple humbly receives your teachings!"

The mountain master wasn't bothered. "Why won't you accept it?"

Zhong Kui had to confess honestly, "Besides that writing brush that bonds well with me, that friend also gave me a sheet of green talisman paper, exactly the same material as yours, Master."

The mountain master frowned slightly and then put away the talisman paper in his hand, seeming displeased. "Such a valuable item—why did you accept it without hesitation?"

Zhong Kui was speechless. He thought carefully and said, "I don't know why, but it felt like accepting was the right thing to do. Please punish me, Master."

The mountain master was silent for a moment. "You don't need to hide that jar of Biyou Mansion wine anymore. Since you've made a good friend, isn't it worth drinking? Remember, you can drink, but it must not delay your journey to Taiping Mountain... and don't let it happen again."

Zhong Kui scratched his head. Could his master be possessed?

His master's rigid formalism was well known—following rules in everything, adhering strictly to etiquette in all matters. He was a close friend of that academy mountain master from Julu Continent, who, if he didn't strike, was fine, but if he did, the mountains would crumble and the earth would split.

This night-wandering yin spirit, in the snap of a finger, returned to its true body, which was already very far away.

The mountain master was somewhat melancholy.

Watching his disciple Zhong Kui interacting with that young man, he couldn't help but recall his own youth. Many descendants of sages' residences, influential families, and sect disciples, who had similar backgrounds and ages, would more or less envy someone by the surname of Qi.

Because the person who called himself A Liang—the one this group admired most—

loved to say, "Xiao Qi is my friend. If anyone dares to bully him, I'll beat them so hard their ancestors' coffins can't be held down."

---

At Biyou Mansion, the moment Zhong Kui left, the Water God Goddess's first words were earth-shattering: "I know you've seen the literary sage! And it wasn't just a passing encounter, a chance meeting!"

Chen Ping'an remained unmoved. "How would I know that myself?"

The Water God Goddess sneered, "Still pretending? Zhong Kui can't recognize your identity or see through your scholarly lineage because he doesn't belong to the literary sage or Mountain Cliff Academy's Qi Jingchun's tradition. Who am I? I've read every single work of the literary sage countless times! I know all about the two Three Teachings debates the literary sage participated in—how magnificent they were! One's spirit shines through the poetry one has learned. What you read determines your righteous qi. Who am I? At least I'm a Buried River Water God—gazing at qi is my specialty!"

Looking at the confident Water God Goddess, Chen Ping'an asked with a smile, "And so?"

Her face instantly fell, her momentum completely gone. "You really haven't seen the literary sage?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I have."

The Water God Goddess slumped onto the table, her eyes full of grievance, then suddenly jumped up. "You have?!"

Chen Ping'an extended a finger, signaling for her to keep her voice down.

The Water God Goddess stared blankly at this young man who truly knew the literary sage. Oh mother, how could there be such a handsome young man in the world?

What if she got him drunk... and then they became sworn brothers? That way, wouldn't she have managed to scrape a tiny connection to the literary sage?

She wiped her mouth and started chuckling foolishly to herself, thinking that she was truly unmatched in her cunning. After all, she had read so many of the literary sage's books; her reading hadn't been in vain. She would certainly never disgrace the literary sage.

Chen Ping'an somewhat regretted saying that he knew the old literary scholar.

.