Chapter 304 - 218: When Will the Bright Moon Appear (Part 2)
Chapter 304: Chapter 218: When Will the Bright Moon Appear (Part 2)
Chen Yi said, "Oh." He straightened up, looked at him, and pointed at the centipede. "The two poisonous insects look more or less identical. I’ll choose this one."
Yan Fusha was taken aback. "Are you sure?"
When Chen Yi nodded, he broke into a grin and shook his head.
"It seems Mr. Qingzhou has only read a great many books but hasn’t truly grasped the principles of Heaven and Earth Yin Yang."
"And what makes you say that?"
"Both poisonous insects are imbued with Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism. The black snake is Metal, and the centipede is Wood. Metal overcomes Wood..."
"The black snake is guaranteed to survive this fight."
Chen Yi glanced at him. "I choose the centipede."
Yan Fusha stated confidently, "Then I shall have to enjoy the third act of this play alone."
Chen Yi shook his head. "The outcome isn’t set in stone. Let’s just watch."
Seeing his stubbornness, a flicker of displeasure appeared in Yan Fusha’s eyes.
"You just won’t be convinced until it’s too late. Very well, I’ll make sure you understand exactly why you’ve lost, Mr. Qingzhou."
With that, he placed the two poisonous insects into a clay jar and immediately covered it by inverting a second jar on top.
Having done this, Yan Fusha took a few steps back, folded his arms, and said, "Fifteen minutes."
Chen Yi knew he meant they would wait for fifteen minutes, so he simply waited in silence.
Before long, the jars began to shake gently, and faint hissing sounds could be heard from within.
Clearly, a brutal fight was unfolding inside the jar.
Just a moment later, the jar stopped shaking, and the sounds from within gradually faded to silence.
Seeing this, Yan Fusha waved a hand, sending the top jar flying. He looked at Chen Yi and said:
"Go and see the result for yourself, Mr. Qingzhou."
Chen Yi ignored him, his eyes fixed on the remaining jar.
’Truthfully, I had some confidence, but not a great deal.’
’Earlier, when I used the Qi Observation Skill on the centipede, I saw not only the Wood attribute of Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism, but also the Fire attribute.’
As wisps of black smoke drifted out from the jar, a dark, glossy sheen emerged from within.
CLICK.
The sound was crisp, like the tapping of segmented legs.
Immediately after, the jet-black centipede crawled out, its body still dotted with viscous venom.
Chen Yi relaxed slightly. "It seems I chose correctly," he said.
Yan Fusha froze at his words, turning his head to look at the centipede. His eyes widened slightly.
"How could this be..."
Before he could finish his sentence, he flicked out a Silver Needle, pinning the centipede to the jar.
Wisps of white smoke instantly enveloped the centipede, making it let out a series of wretched shrieks.
Chen Yi took a step back, frowning slightly as he watched him. "Is there a problem?"
Yan Fusha kept his cold expression and refused to look at him, huffing, "Mr. Qingzhou, your luck is certainly impressive. You just happened to stumble upon an exceptionally unique poisonous insect."
He refused to admit he had made a mistake.
Chen Yi understood this perfectly, but he also knew he couldn’t afford to provoke the man before him right now.
Otherwise, he feared he might never see Pei Guanli, whose whereabouts were still a mystery, ever again.
’If it weren’t for her, why would I have gone to such lengths to hide my abilities?’
With this in mind, Chen Yi lightly pressed a hand to his stomach and said, "Let the third act begin."
At his words, Yan Fusha’s expression darkened, but then he began to laugh.
"Good, good..."
"This act was full of twists and turns. Even I didn’t see that coming. Truly, it was excellent!"
After his laughter subsided, Yan Fusha stared sinisterly at Chen Yi. "Mr. Qingzhou, you must hold that little whelp from the Pei Family in high regard, don’t you?"
Without waiting for a reply, he continued, speaking as if to himself, "You’ve played along with all my games just for a chance to see her. I imagine you must value her a great deal."
"In that case, I will give you an opportunity!"
In truth, his original plan had simply been to toy with this live-in son-in-law of the Xiao Family, a man whom Liu Zhaoxue held in high esteem.
He hadn’t intended to kill Chen Yi, nor had he ever planned to let him see Pei Guanli.
But now, he had changed his mind.
Yan Fusha clapped his hands and gave a cold command, "Send a message."
"Yes, sir."
A man dressed in black took a bamboo tube from his robes and fired it toward a Painted Boat in the distance.
It burst, scattering sparks of fire.
Chen Yi focused his gaze and saw, on the second floor of the Painted Boat a few hundred yards away, that a light gauze curtain was being slowly drawn aside.
A figure tied to a chair was faintly visible—who else could it be but Pei Guanli?
However, she was clearly in a terrible state.
Not only was she bound with ropes, but her face was also smeared with a black paste.
Two other men in black, holding blades, stood guard at her side.
They stood in a state of high alert.
Seeing this, however, Chen Yi felt a sense of relief.
’Tiger Girl is still alive. That’s the best I could have hoped for in this disaster.’
Just then, Yan Fusha spoke:
"I have long heard that Mr. Qingzhou has achieved Mastery in Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting, as well as in poetry and prose. Your Calligraphy Dao, in particular, is said to possess a profound Mental Realm."
"For this third act, I think we should do something befitting the time and occasion."
Chen Yi pulled his gaze away from the boat and looked at him. "And how do you propose we do that?"
Yan Fusha raised a hand, gesturing toward the celebrating crowds along the banks of the Quchi.
"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. We have this beautiful night, this fine scenery, the lights of countless homes, and the two of us here on this Painted Boat, watching a play."
"So let’s take this opportunity. I would like to invite you, Mr. Qingzhou, to compose a poem."
"If your Poetry is good enough, I will let you meet with that little Pei whelp!"
Chen Yi paused. "That’s..."
Before he could finish, Yan Fusha raised a hand to cut him off. "Don’t be so hasty, Mr. Qingzhou. I haven’t finished."
"I know that Mr. Yue Ming had high hopes for you tonight, believing you could win the title of Poetry Champion."
"If I hadn’t interfered, you would be at Guiyun Academy right now, a beauty at your side, surrounded by Poetry."
"Therefore, I will have someone deliver your poem to the academy later."
Chen Yi frowned at him. "And why would you do that?"
’This time, I truly don’t understand his motive.’
’Composing a poem is one thing...’
’I have no shortage of lines about the moon, the Mid-Autumn Festival, or the fleeting beauty of the night.’
’But what’s the point of sending my poem to the poetry competition?’
Yan Fusha replied with a cold smile, "Naturally, it’s to allow the masters at the academy to appreciate your Poetry."
"If you can win the title of Poetry Champion... no."
"If the poem Mr. Qingzhou writes can outshine every other poem at the city-wide competition, then I will grant your wish."
Chen Yi blinked. "Outshine the entire city’s competition?"
Yan Fusha glanced at him. "Can you not do it, Mr. Qingzhou?"
Chen Yi’s gaze swept over to the Painted Boat where Pei Guanli was held. He nodded and said, "I can’t say I’m confident."
"Is that so."
Yan Fusha smiled and whispered something to the black-robed man at his side.
The man then jumped directly into the Quchi and began swimming toward Pei Guanli’s Painted Boat.
"Just a moment, Mr. Qingzhou. For a drama this rare, I feel we can’t let the little Pei whelp miss out."
He didn’t need to explain. At such a close distance, Chen Yi had naturally heard his two-part command.
Wake Pei Guanli. Tell her everything.
’Damn it, this lunatic!’
Chen Yi was secretly furious, but his expression remained impassive. "Very well."
A moment later, Chen Yi saw that on the distant Painted Boat, some of the black paste had been wiped from Pei Guanli’s face, revealing half of her soft features.
But after waking, she didn’t struggle in the slightest.
’She must have been given a secret drug, something like Qingfeng Drunk.’
A moment later, the man in black spoke a few words to her.
Pei Guanli seemed to realize something and looked over in their direction.
Chen Yi met her slightly agitated gaze and simply smiled, giving her a small wave.
When Pei Guanli could see him clearly, tears welled in her eyes, and her lips parted.
No sound carried across the water.
But Chen Yi heard it. ’She’s calling me ’Brother-in-law’. ’
’Brother-in-law...’
Chen Yi smiled and nodded, letting her know he understood. He then turned to Yan Fusha.
"It’s only Poetry. Bring me a brush and paper."
While signaling for the men on the Painted Boat to keep a close watch on Pei Guanli, Yan Fusha asked with a smirk:
"How confident are you, Mr. Qingzhou?"
Chen Yi glanced at him. "Even if I told you, I doubt you would understand."
"You...! Fine!"
Yan Fusha snorted, waved for his men to bring a brush and paper, and then stepped aside. "Mr. Qingzhou," he said coldly,
"you only have one chance."
"If you waste it, I guarantee you will never see that little Pei whelp again as long as you live!"
Chen Yi ignored his threat and calmly began his preparations.
He smoothed out the paper, poured water onto the inkstone, and began to grind the ink.
’There have been countless poems written about the moon throughout history, but very few are powerful enough to stun all of Shu State at a time like this.’
’After thinking it over, there’s only one that will do.’
Once the ink was mixed to the right consistency, Chen Yi glanced over at Pei Guanli in the distance.
Seeing the usually fearless, reckless, heaven-defying Pei Guanli crying her eyes out, he couldn’t help but make a goofy face in her direction.
Then, not caring whether Tiger Girl had seen him or not, Chen Yi took a deep breath to suppress the sharp pain in his stomach, lifted the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write:
"Bright moon, when did you first appear? With wine in hand, I ask the azure sky..."