Chapter One: A Sudden Change in the Snowstorm...

At first, the young master's expression was mocking, with a scrutinizing look that said, "I'm here to see just how vulgar you are."

After a few lines of text, his expression changed.

The desolate atmosphere of the heavy snowfall, the helplessness and heroism of the Guo and Yang families in the chaos of the world, were like an invisible hand that instantly gripped his heart.

"Good! This is what a real man should see!"

He slapped his thigh and, completely ignoring the stares of those around him, began to read on with great eagerness.

As the plot unfolds, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan make their appearance, and a great battle takes place at Qiu Chuji's Taoist temple... The text is no longer dry preaching, but transforms into swordplay and tales of love and hate.

Just as he was watching with his blood boiling, completely absorbed in the moment—

The text abruptly ends.

Just as Jiang Lin had arranged, the story ended precisely at the moment when the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan, after searching bitterly for eighteen years in the vast desert, finally met that simple-minded boy.

Below is only one line of extremely irritating small print:

To find out what happens next, stay tuned for tomorrow's episode.

"That's it?!"

The young man in brocade robes let out a piercing scream, as if he had been dragged from his bed on his wedding night.

He gripped the newspaper, his eyes bloodshot, and roared at Qian Duoduo, "What's next? What about that female demon Mei Chaofeng? Did Guo Jing learn martial arts? Print it already! I have money! I'll pay five hundred coins! Give me the next chapter!"

"Sir, please arrive early tomorrow." Qian Duoduo gave a professional fake smile.

The same scene played out in every corner of Bianjing City.

Some people squatted in the outhouse until their legs went numb, but they refused to get up, just because they didn't want to miss the last line of text.

A fight broke out in a teahouse over a copy of the Lianhe Zaobao newspaper that had been left behind.

Even more surprisingly, several scholars who were originally discussing poetry and literature here secretly slipped the Morning Post into the Wang family's Elegant Newspaper and read it with great interest, like thieves.

……

At noon, at Fanlou.

Wang Wenxuan was still hosting a banquet for his guests, all of whom were prominent scholars and wealthy businessmen in Bianjing. His face was flushed, and he raised his cup in a toast: "Gentlemen, once this *Elegant Gazette* is published, it will surely set things right and restore order to the literary world of our Great Song Dynasty!"

The people below raised their glasses in agreement, but Wang Wenxuan keenly noticed that their eyes were always somewhat unfocused.

Especially the Confucian scholar sitting in the main seat, with his white beard, who usually valued "calmness" the most, looked very restless at this moment, his hands trembling in his sleeves.

"Mr. Zhang, what's wrong?" Wang Wenxuan asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Cough cough," Zhang Daru blushed, trying to remain calm, "It's alright, it's alright. I just... just caught a cold."

Just then, a clumsy servant rushed in, waving a newspaper and excitedly shouting, "Master! We bought it! We bought it! It's written in Su Zhuangyuan's own handwriting..."

Before he could finish speaking, the servant saw the room full of guests and immediately fell silent in fear.

Wang Wenxuan's face darkened: "Insolence! What is this commotion? Bring it here!"

The servant nervously presented the copy of the "Great Song Morning Post".

Wang Wenxuan snatched the newspaper and sneered, "I want to see what kind of filthy articles Su Shi wrote that could bewitch the entire city!"

He unfolded the newspaper and glanced at it with disdain.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Wang Wenxuan's brows furrowed more and more, his initial contempt gradually turning into seriousness, and finally into astonishment.

He was also a scholar, so he could naturally see the skill behind the writing.

Although it is popular and straightforward, the heroic spirit that shines through the pages and the smooth narrative rhythm are simply irresistible!

Before he knew it, Wang Wenxuan had become completely engrossed in reading.

When he saw that the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan had made an eighteen-year pact with Qiu Chuji, a strange sense of pride welled up in his heart.

And then... it's gone.

"You bastard!"

Wang Wenxuan slammed his hand on the table, causing the wine glass to overturn.

The guests, thinking he was condemning Jiang Lin's shamelessness, were about to chime in with comments like "a disgrace to scholarship," when Wang Wenxuan blurted out instinctively:

"What happens next? That's it? It ends here? Someone's going to die, you know that?!"

The entire room fell silent.

A moment later, Zhang Daru, who had been trembling all along, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He abruptly stood up, no longer pretending, and pointed shakily at the newspaper in Wang Wenxuan's hand: "Nephew, have you finished reading? Show it to this old man! I was only halfway through reading it in the outhouse when that clueless page called me out. I'm so frustrated!"

"..."

Wang Wenxuan stood frozen in place, the newspaper in his hand feeling like a hot potato.

Looking at the room full of "renowned scholars and tycoons" with their eyes burning with fervor, staring at the newspaper like hungry wolves, he felt a burning pain on his face.

This isn't a newspaper! This is clearly an addictive poison! A seductive hook!

He lost.

He lost completely, utterly and utterly. Even if his "Elegant Gazette" were printed in the most beautiful way, it would only be fit to be used as a wiping cloth in front of that foolish boy named "Guo Jing".

……

That night, at Jingshi Academy.

"Headmaster...I want to go home..."

A weak voice came from the roof beam.

Jiang Lin looked up at Su Shi, who was clinging to a pillar and refusing to come down, and tossed him a peanut: "Come down, great hero. Those hundreds of fans blocking the door and urging for more updates have already been cleared out by Crown Prince Yelü and his men."

"How terrifying... It's utterly disgraceful!" Su Shi slid down the pillar, patting his chest with lingering fear. "Just now, an old woman tried to force her daughter's birth chart on me, saying that if I revealed whether Guo Jing was dead or not, she would give me her daughter as a concubine!"

"This means you've become famous." Jiang Lin said with a half-smile, "Zizhan, this is 'momentum'. Now the whole of Bianjing is in suspense because of you. Your writing is more anticipated than the emperor's edict."

Su Shi wore a bitter expression, and although he complained, his bright eyes betrayed him.

This feeling of being adored by thousands... it's so wonderful.

"However, Headmaster, the Wang family has suffered such a great loss this time, they certainly won't let it go easily," Su Shi said worriedly. "That old fox Wang Kui is extremely cunning."

"I know."

Jiang Lin stopped smiling and looked out the window at the dark night sky.

Meanwhile, in a secret room deep within the Wang family mansion.

Wang Kui stared expressionlessly at the torn pieces of the *Da Song Zao Bao* scattered on the ground. Wang Wenxuan knelt beside him, not daring to utter a sound.

"Father, what should we do? Just watch Jiang Lin grow stronger?" he asked unwillingly.

"Since articles can't suppress him, then destroy him as a person."

Wang Kui turned around, walked to a wall, and gently pressed down on a brick.

The wall slowly slid open, revealing a deep, dark passage behind it.

"Jiang Lin was stubborn and unyielding, but what about the people around him? Su Shi was a man of great talent and seemed unrestrained, but in reality, he valued loyalty and affection the most."

Wang Kui took out a jade pendant carved with strange patterns from his sleeve and tossed it to Wang Wenxuan.

"Go and invite 'that person' out."

Wang Wenxuan caught the jade pendant, and after seeing the patterns on it, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his voice trembled: "Father, you mean... that person who once struck fear into the hearts of half of the Bianjing officialdom..."

"Go."

Wang Kui closed his eyes, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Since Jiang Lin likes to tell stories, then I will make up an even more exciting story for him."

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