The Great Song Dynasty: You were put in charge of teaching, and you produced a whole bunch of prime

Beside a dry well in the backyard of Xiangguo Temple, Shen Kuo looked like a refugee who had just crawled out of a coal pile, his body covered in dust and strange powder, except for his eyes which were frighteningly bright.

The stone in his hand was about the size of a fist and had an irregular shape, but if you looked closely, you could see that one corner had obvious gold inlay marks, giving it an ancient and weathered feel.

"Master, look at the texture." Shen Kuo handed the stone to Jiang Lin like a treasure. "I used saltpeter to corrode the surface of the bluestone, and then filled it with a special resin mixed with mica powder. After aging it, even the palace appraisers would never be able to tell that this is a brand new piece unless they look at it with a magnifying glass all day."

Jiang Lin took it and weighed it in his hand. It was heavy and cool to the touch, and it really looked like the real thing.

"Just having the appearance isn't enough; the key is the 'manifestation of divine power.'" Jiang Lin toyed with the fake jade seal. "Where's the mechanism in this thing?"

"Hehe, this is the main event." Shen Kuo rubbed his hands together and pulled out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket. "This is 'phosphorescent powder' that I extracted from a kind of luminescent moss and rotten fish bones, and I added some of my newly developed 'temperature-sensitive color-changing ink.' I carved words on the bottom of the stone. Normally, it looks like ordinary patterns, but as soon as it's heated slightly—"

"For example, if you place it in warm water or warm it with your palm for a long time, the characters will appear. And at night, the characters will emit a faint green glow!"

"Phosphorescence plus thermosensitive ink?" Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow. In later generations, this would be considered a street magic trick, but in the Song Dynasty, it was an absolute miracle.

"Besides this, I added something else," Shen Kuo said, pointing to an inconspicuous crack in the stone. "Inside is sealed a tiny bit of quicklime particles that boil upon contact with water, coated with a thin layer of wax. If you throw this stone into water, the wax will melt after a while, and the surrounding water will immediately boil, even steaming. This is called 'Dragon Qi Protection,' impervious to water and fire!"

Jiang Lin couldn't help but give Shen Kuo a thumbs up: "Cunzhong, it's a real shame you're not a conman. These methods are enough to completely fool those superstitious old fogies."

Shen Kuo scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed: "It's all thanks to the headmaster's excellent teaching... oh no, I mean the principles of investigating things to acquire knowledge. But headmaster, those words carved on this stone..." He hesitated for a moment, "Aren't they a bit too harsh?"

Jiang Lin turned the stone over, looking at the faintly visible incised seal script on the bottom. A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips: "Ruthless? Compared to sending a living girl to be defiled by barbarians, compared to sacrificing innocent lives to cover up crimes, what do these few words matter?"

He tucked the fake jade seal into his pocket, stood up, and straightened his clothes.

"Let's go. Our top scholar Su is still in Daming Prefecture. Tonight, at the 'Feast at Hongmen' at Fanlou, I, as his teacher, have to 'show my face' for him." Jiang Lin picked up a mask that had been prepared beforehand from the side—a Nuo opera mask with a blue face and fangs, exuding an eerie and mysterious aura.

"Headmaster, are you really going to take this with you?" Shen Kuo asked in astonishment.

"Su Zizhan is now a 'peerless master,' and a master should naturally have the demeanor of one." Jiang Lin put the mask on his face, his voice becoming deep and imposing. "Moreover, what I'm about to do tonight will be harder to handle if I reveal my identity. Remember, from now on, I am Su Shi's 'senior brother,' fighting in place of my junior brother."

By this time, Fanlou was already packed with people. The news that the Western Xia prince had set up a challenge to the literary world of the Song Dynasty had spread throughout the city like wildfire. Whether they were ordinary people who wanted to watch the spectacle, resentful students from the Imperial Academy, or even officials traveling incognito, everyone crowded downstairs, waiting to see this grand spectacle.

In the private room on the top floor of Fanlou, Li Liangzuo sat upright with writing implements in front of him, his eyes fixed on the stairwell with a gloomy expression.

"Why hasn't Su Shi arrived yet?" he asked impatiently, banging on the table.

"I'm afraid they won't dare to come," a Western Xia follower mocked.

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose downstairs, followed by deafening screams. The crowd parted automatically to make way for a strange man dressed in a blue robe and wearing a hideous mask, carrying a folding fan, who swaggered in.

Instead of taking the stairs, he lightly touched the railing with his toes, and soared into the air like a large bird, landing gracefully on the second-floor railing. Although it was a simple form of light-footed skill, its use in this situation instantly exuded an air of superiority.

"Su Zizhan disdains to see barbarians." Jiang Lin's lazy and mocking voice came from behind the mask, echoing throughout Fanlou. "Therefore, he sent his good-for-nothing senior brother to teach the little prince a lesson."

A deathly silence fell over Fanlou. All eyes were fixed on the figure wearing a blue-faced, fanged mask. This performance was too audacious, both exhilarating and nerve-wracking.

Li Liangzuo's face turned ashen, and the wolf-hair brush in his hand snapped in two with a "crack." He stared at the swaying figure on the second-floor railing, gritting his teeth as he asked, "Su Shi's senior brother? Hiding like a coward, what kind of hero is he! Doesn't Su Shi have the guts to come himself?"

"Hero?" Jiang Lin scoffed, his figure swaying as he landed steadily at the door of the private room. He pulled out a chair and sat down, even pouring himself a glass of wine. "You dare to talk about heroes? My junior brother said that if he were to face a monkey in a crown like you, he probably wouldn't be able to eat for three days. So he had to let me, the thick-skinned one, take the blame."

"Insolence!" The Western Xia guards behind Li Liangzuo drew their swords, ready to attack.

"Step back!" Li Liangzuo ordered his men to retreat, taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing his anger. He knew that today was a battle of wits; if he resorted to violence, he would be at a disadvantage. "Very well, since Su Shi sent you here to die, then I will grant your wish. May I ask your honorable name?"

"Nameless and faceless, a recluse in the mountains." Jiang Lin took a sip of wine, clicked his tongue twice, and said, "This wine from Fanlou is only famous; it's as bland as water, not even one ten-thousandth as good as the wine brewed by my junior brother."

Li Liangzuo sneered: "Sharp tongue and sharp tongue. Since it's a battle of wits, then we won't care about background. Today, let's each compose a poem on the theme of 'the aura of a king,' how about it?" He was full of confidence. He had prepared this topic long ago, intending to highlight the rising momentum of Western Xia.

A stir ran through the crowd below. The imperial students exchanged bewildered glances; the question clearly leaned towards martial arts, which was disadvantageous for these Song Dynasty literati accustomed to romance and poetry.

Jiang Lin yawned: "Writing poetry? Too slow, and too mundane. How about this, let's play something simpler. You say something you can do, and if I can do it too, or do it better than you, I win. And vice versa."

"What kind of comparison is this?" Li Liangzuo frowned.

"That's called 'bragging,' oh no, I mean 'discussing the Tao.'" Jiang Lin shrugged. "What, is the prince afraid? Afraid his bragging will backfire?"