Top Scholar

Chapter 344 White Battle: Chongqing vs. Luzhou!

The dense raindrops pattered against the pavilion, showing no sign of stopping.

The world outside the pavilion was completely shrouded in mist and rain, and the page and servants had also disappeared, presumably having gone to find shelter from the rain.

Only the old man selling tea couldn't disappear from his stall. He tried to shrink himself behind the stall, but couldn't help whispering, "Have a bowl of eagle tea..."

At this point, nobody paid any attention to him; everyone's attention was focused on the scene...

Then Xia Bangmo said to Su Lu and the other man, "You two can decide which words to prohibit."

Forbidden-style poetry arose from Ouyang Xiu's dissatisfaction with the monotonous and clichéd nature of contemporary poetry. For example, poems about snow were often described as using "cotton floss" or "goose feathers," and poems about white rabbits were "all about Chang'e in the moon palace"...

Therefore, it is proposed to prohibit common descriptive words, such as prohibiting the use of 'jade, moon, pear, plum' in poems about snow, etc., in order to explore new modes of expression by restricting traditional imagery. This is quite challenging…

Therefore, the forbidden words for describing rain should be those common descriptions, and Su Lu then counted on his fingers:

“Silk, thread, curtain, screen, pearl, jade.”

“Lian, Wang, Xiao, Mian, Lü, Pu,” Baiyunshan added.

“Alright, then let’s ban those.” Xia Bangmo nodded and smiled. “The four of us will each say one line, and if we can’t finish, we’ll be eliminated. The last one left on the field will be the winner.”

Then he said to Liu Henian, "Brother Weixin, why don't you start with a rhyme?"

"Yes, sir." Liu Henian nodded and preemptively declared, "A thousand arrows are shooting at the rooftops, threatening to shatter them!"

"Excellent!" the Chongqing scholar exclaimed. "The opening line vividly depicts the torrential rain; it's brilliant!"

"It's your turn to finish the couplet," Xia Bangmo said to Su Lu and the other man with satisfaction.

Su Lu looked at Baiyun Mountain, who nodded, glanced at the stream flowing like a ribbon under the eaves, and said loudly, "Listen to me—the perilous eaves tilt, the white stream flows long!"

"Excellent, well done!" The scholars from Luzhou exclaimed, not to be outdone: "The phrase 'flowing continuously' captures the unbroken nature of the first line, further enhancing its lingering charm!"

"Your transition is truly impressive!" Xia Bangmo exclaimed, then raised his voice and said, "It's my turn—splashes of water soak through my heavy clothes!"

"Excellent! You've captured our miserable state perfectly," praised the Chongqing scholar.

“Brother Hongzhi, it’s your turn,” Xia Bangmo said to Su Lu.

Su Lu nodded and smiled, "Like a cascading silver river stretching across distant hills!"

"Excellent! This line has the strongest momentum; it truly deserves to be the grand finale!" Everyone exclaimed in unison, looking at the cascading rain in the distance: "Rushing from under the eaves to the distant mountains, the grandeur is instantly maximized!"

"Impressive." Xia Bangmo gave Bai Yunshan a thumbs up and said, "Brother Yunshan, it's your turn to compose the couplet."

The difficulty of writing forbidden poems lies in the fact that the available descriptions will become increasingly limited, and one will soon find themselves stuck.

Baiyun Mountain pondered for a moment, then laughed and said, "Listen to me—knock randomly on a thousand trees, the sound is chilling!"

"Wonderful! Young Master Bai is truly a genuine talent." Even the scholars of Chongqing couldn't help but praise, "'The three characters 'Han Sheng Kang' are a stroke of genius! The sound of rain is inherently scattered, but the word 'Kang' brings the sounds of a thousand trees together, instantly creating a powerful atmosphere!"

After thinking for a moment, Liu Henian smiled wryly and said, "It really is getting more and more difficult."

"Thick clouds spread across ten thousand valleys." However, he still managed to come up with a matching line.

"Isn't this wonderful?" the group of Chongqing scholars exclaimed. "It's quite impressive. It complements the previous line perfectly, one still and one moving, one visual and one auditory!"

"You flatter me." Liu Henian breathed a sigh of relief and said to Su Lu, "Brother Hongzhi, it's your turn."

"This will be tough on the young scholar who has achieved the highest rank." The scholars were racking their brains to come up with a matching phrase, as they all thought they had used up all the descriptive phrases they could think of.

"There's no way we can take any more, right?" the scholars from Chongqing said happily.

“Actually, there are some,” Su Lu said with a smile, “like swallows with strong wings, soaring gracefully.”

"Impressive..." The Chongqing scholar was immediately convinced.

Xia Bangmo slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Brilliant! I completely forgot that swallows love to fly in the rain! The phrase 'vigorous wings fluttering' is so vivid—because in the rain, it has to flap its wings with all its might!"

“Indeed, this nimble swallow connects all the scenery, adding a touch of liveliness to the torrential rain. It’s absolutely brilliant!” Liu Henian said with heartfelt admiration, “I am ashamed to admit my inferiority. I will take my leave.”

Because his line, "Thick clouds stretch across ten thousand valleys," is somewhat similar in imagery to Su Lu's first line, "The Milky Way pours down across distant hills!" Of course, it's not considered a violation of the rules, but a literary contest is a gentleman's contest, so how can it lack gentlemanly conduct?
If you're clearly inferior and still won't admit it, you're in an even worse position...

"Brother Shunyu, are you coming again?" Liu Henian asked Xia Bangmo again.

“Brother Hongzhi has already given me a hint; it would be a disservice to him not to provide a matching couplet,” Xia Bangmo said with a smile.
"A dragonfly is trapped in the pond and reeds."

"Wonderful!" Su Lu praised in a commercial manner, "The dragonfly, with its wings folded, stands timidly on the swaying reeds. In the stillness and movement, it perfectly captures the true state of life in the rain! A poem with a grand and sweeping style ends with this little dragonfly, and the artistic conception immediately becomes profound!"

"Brother Hongzhi, you flatter me." Xia Bangmo waved his hand and said, "If you hadn't thought of the swallows in the rain first, I wouldn't have thought of the dragonflies in the rain either, so you won this round."

"Sigh, it's just a game." Su Lu waved his hand; he was always very generous when he won.

"Shall we play another round?" Liu Henian asked eagerly.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Su Lu said, lifting his foot. “My shoes and socks are dry.” “Haha! Indeed.” The other staff members also looked down and found that their shoes and socks had indeed been dried by their body heat.

"Then let's not compete. Please have a seat," Xia Bangmo said readily.

"Let's sit together, it'll be warmer if we squeeze in," Su Lu said modestly.

"Please sit down, please sit down." The scholars from both places now showed each other courtesy and were no longer as petty as before.

“There’s no need to sit down anymore,” Su Dan said quietly from the corner. “The rain has stopped.”

"Haha, it really is!" The scholars turned their heads and saw that the clouds had dispersed, the rain had stopped, and the sky was a pale blue...

The pageboys, coachmen, and officials also emerged from their shelters, put away their rain gear, wiped the water off their horses, and prepared to set off.

"Let's hurry up and get going," Xia Bangmo urged. "Let's walk a little further while it's still cool after the rain!"

"Hmm, that makes sense." Su Lu nodded and smiled, "Let's go!"

The tea shop owner was almost in tears. So all you did was come here to dry your stinky shoes and socks.

Then, with a sob in his voice, he said, "Have some eagle tea... it'll cool you down and warm you up..."

"Alright, alright, old man, pour us some, it's on me." Su Lu then placed a string of coins on the tea table.

"Everyone?" The tea shop owner immediately perked up.

“Yes, everyone, please feel free to drink.” Su Lu nodded.

"Alright!" The tea shop owner quickly picked up the large teapot and poured the amber-colored tea into the teacups that were already lined up in rows.

Su Lu smiled and greeted Xia Bangmo and the other scholars, saying, "After we finish this bowl of tea, we'll be on the same side."

"Haha, then I'll gladly accept your offer." Liu Henian walked over with a smile, picked up a bowl, and blew on it to cool it down.

The others looked at Xia Bangmo. Although Xia Bangmo still wanted to remain loyal to the other Xiao Sanyuan, it would be too unethical to say no at this point. Moreover, he would miss this opportunity to turn hostility into friendship.

He chuckled and said, "Looks like I have no choice but to drink this tea."

"Haha, indeed." The group of Chongqing scholars happily rushed forward, picked up their teacups, and began to taste the uniquely named and even more uniquely flavored 'Eagle Tea'.

Su Lu also picked up a bowl and tasted it. He found the flavor to be rich and full-bodied, with astringency followed by sweetness. It was even stronger and more potent than the mountain tea from his hometown.

But after drinking it, the aftertaste was sweet like honey, and a faint pine smoke aroma lingered in his throat. The feeling was strong and novel, so he asked the old tea master.

"Old man, why is your tea so strong?" Xia Bangmo asked. "Did you add any medicinal herbs?"

"No, sir," the old tea master shook his head and chuckled. "It's a small business; adding extra ingredients would bankrupt us."

As he spoke, he explained, "Actually, this Eagle Tea is not made from tea leaves, but from the tender branches and leaves of what we call the 'Iron Man Tree' in our local dialect."

"I see." Everyone suddenly realized. Li Qiyu asked with a smile, "Then why not call it 'Iron Man Tea'?"

"Legend has it that the seeds of this tree need to be eaten by an eagle and then excreted before they can sprout," the tea shop owner explained.

"Uh..." Upon hearing this, the scholars gave up the idea of ​​having another bowl.

~~
After finishing their eagle tea, the two groups continued on their way.

After walking for about ten miles, we could see Yunfeng Pass in the distance. The gray-blue pass walls stood on the hills, and the Yunfeng Pagoda on the side of the pass pierced the sky, its seven-story brick and stone tower gleaming in the sunlight.

"This tower also needs to be climbed." Wang Bantou once again took on the role of part-time tour guide.

As the crowd approached, they saw that the base of the tower was engraved with four powerful characters: "A Ladder to the Clouds".

Who wouldn't want to climb the ladder to the top? Now they had to. Li Qiyu rushed forward and was the first to start climbing, with the others following behind…

Seeing this, the scholars from Chongqing followed suit. The two groups raced each other to the top of the tower, where they gazed at the magnificent landscape of Sichuan. The distant mountains were like dark eyebrows, and the Tuo River flowed like a ribbon. They felt cheerful and their hearts were opened up.

“Brother Hongzhi, I apologize to you.” Xia Bangmo stood on the top of the tower, reflected on himself, and turned to Su Lu, cupping his fists and saying, “When we were taking shelter from the rain just now, I deliberately wanted to compete with you.”

"Likewise," Su Lu said with a smile. "I also want to have a match with Brother Shunyu."

He has turned speaking into an art. With a simple sentence, he can defuse Xia Bangmo's embarrassment and demonstrate his own magnanimity to the other party.

Going against him again would be incredibly tasteless...

"So, does this mean we became friends after a fight?" Xia Bangmo asked, extending his hand.

"Of course." Su Lu nodded and reached out to shake his hand tightly.

"Haha, that's wonderful! To be honest, I've long admired Brother Hongzhi!" Xia Bangmo laughed and said, "When we get to Chengdu, how about I introduce you to the Lizhe Society? I wonder if you'd be interested, brother?"

P.S. The next chapter is still being written, check it tomorrow morning...

(End of this chapter)