Literary Master 1918: Starting with New Youth

The warm sun finally pierced through the clouds that had been hanging over the building for days, casting blurry patches of light on the corridor floor tiles of the Red Building.

Classrooms 34 and 35 on the second floor are located on the west and east sides respectively, with their main entrances facing each other.

In the classroom on the east side, students were already seated, preparing for Qian Xuantong's lesson on phonetics, and the room was filled with low murmurs of discussion.

In the classroom on the west side, Huang Kan's history and literature class was about to begin. The students were seated, but it was a bit noisy.

The doors to both classrooms happened to be wide open, like two gaping mouths hurling insults at each other.

As class time approached, the air grew even quieter when Qian Xuantong, leading Wu Zhu, encountered Huang Kan halfway through their journey.

Not to mention, Huang Kan was holding a copy of "New Youth" magazine, which made him look like he was about to cause trouble.

The second and third generations of the Zhang family, who should have been living in harmony, stopped in their tracks, staring at each other silently, their eyes brimming with tension.

In the end, Qian Xuantong handed the lesson plan to Wu Zhu and bowed first to make way:

"Brother Huang, please."

"Hmph! Brother Qian still acknowledges me as his senior brother, then I shall respectfully accept your offer."

Huang Kan still maintained an arrogant demeanor, looking down on the traitor who had broken away from his master. With a flick of his long robe, he strode into classroom number thirty-four.

In terms of seniority, Huang Kan is indeed a bit higher than Qian Xuantong, so it's understandable that he would show deference to him at this time. They can't just start fighting every time they meet, can they?

After leading Huang Kan into the classroom, Qian Xuantong led Wu Zhu into classroom number thirty-five. When the two of them arrived at the podium one after the other, the students below immediately gasped in surprise.

"Am I seeing things? Isn't that Wu Zhu behind Qian Gong?"

"It's him. I heard he'll be Qian Gong's teaching assistant later on."

"That's great! Wouldn't that mean I could talk to people like that every day?"

The classroom immediately erupted in noise, the sound almost drowning out the noise from the other side.

Qian Xuantong reached out and pressed down into the air:

"Gentlemen, please be quiet for a moment, we'll stop arguing later."

His teaching style was very distinctive. He treated all students equally, addressing them respectfully as "Mr." at the beginning and as "Brother" after they became familiar with each other.

But it was precisely this style that made him quite prestigious among the students; the moment he extended his hand, the audience fell silent.

He cleared his throat, pulled Wu Zhu to his side, and shouted loudly:

"This guy is quite famous at our Yenching University, so I won't go into too much detail about his achievements. You guys know what I mean."

"Wu Zhu, a researcher at the Institute of Chinese Literature, has been appointed as a teaching assistant in this department, effective immediately, after review by the university's evaluation committee. He will also assist me with my courses! In the future, if any of you gentlemen have questions or wish to discuss any issues, you may consult Wu Zhu in addition to me!"

A burst of enthusiastic applause erupted in the classroom. Many students stared at Wu Zhu with admiration, making him feel a little embarrassed.

"Thank you all for your kind words. I am still inexperienced and am willing to learn from you all. I hope you will not hesitate to offer your guidance."

Wu Zhu bowed deeply, very earnestly.

Before the applause from the audience had subsided, everyone heard a loud and angry curse coming from the corridor.

"Look! Look at the latest issue of 'New Youth'! What kind of utterly disgraceful rubbish is published here!"

"The first article, titled 'Kong Yiji,' is just awful! And the following 'Hu Xiao'er's Opera Review' is even more utter nonsense!"

Huang Kan's voice, with its heavy accent, was just as loud as Fu Dapao's when he cursed, easily carrying from the opposite classroom and drowning out the gradually subsiding applause.

Everyone present knew that this was Huang Kan's opening ceremony before each class—

Criticize the new literature, especially Hu Shi.

He probably smoked and drank tea while throwing the magazine "New Youth" on the ground and stomping on it.

The main reason was Fu Mengzhen's defection, which greatly shocked him. However, the scope of the attack has now expanded, including Wu Zhu as a target.

Qian Xuantong frowned, the students had different expressions, and Wu Zhu's lips were tightly pursed into a straight line.

The sounds outside paused for a few seconds, then resumed.

"I won't comment much on the drama, but this third-rate writer named 'Bamboo Gentleman' portrays us scholars as book thieves, lazybones, and ultimately dying under mysterious circumstances. What is his intention?!"

"They're nothing more than trying to destroy the cultural heritage of our Chinese nation and ruin the reputation of our scholars!"

"Using such vulgar language to depict the ugliness of the world and win applause from those ignorant fools! What difference is there between this behavior and that of a shrewish woman cursing in the street?"

Wu Zhu's eyes gradually darkened, and his fists clenched tightly.

You think he's easy to bully? Old man Huang, you've already chosen your own death!

Huang Kan, who lived across the hall, seemed to think that no one would refute him, and he became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke.

"Even worse are those who fan the flames behind the scenes of such children!"

"Some people, having forgotten their own roots, not only spout nonsense like 'If Chinese characters don't perish, China will surely perish' and 'A person should die at forty, or be shot,' but they also recruit such children as thugs, calling them their comrades and spreading this nonsense far and wide!"

"You madman Qian Er, you've gone too far!"

Such explicit insults caused an uproar in both classrooms.

Even the lecturers in other classrooms peeked out to see what was happening, which even alerted Cai Yuanpei, who was working in his office.

Hearing Huang Kan raise his voice as usual before class, he shook his head and went back.

Qian Xuantong's face turned ashen, but he forced himself not to lash out and went to close the door.

"Please focus on your studies and don't let the noise from the outside world bother you."

However, his attempt to handle the situation calmly only emboldened the other side.

Huang Kan's voice stopped, but other somewhat sarcastic voices followed closely behind.

"What Professor Huang said is absolutely right. I have also read this article, and in my opinion, its wickedness is outrageous. I have also heard that this author is lurking on the campus of Yenching University, under the protection of certain individuals, engaging in nothing but sensationalism. Such a despicable and arrogant scoundrel has infiltrated the highest institution of learning; it is a disgrace to Yenching University!"

"Yes! I'd be ashamed to be associated with them!"

"A bunch of cowardly rats hiding their heads and tails, they have the guts to write it but not the guts to admit it, come out and show yourselves!"

The students looked at Qian Xuantong and Wu Zhu with extremely complicated expressions.

Sympathy, worry, anger... anyone would feel unlucky to be bothered by these guys.

Wu Zhu recognized the voice that led the conversation; it seemed to be Zhang Fengzai, the one who had argued with him in the reading room before.

Now that old and new grudges were combined, how could a young man like him tolerate the provocation? He immediately rolled up his sleeves and rushed out.

"Damn it! I can't take it anymore!"

What a load of bull! Forget about being patient!

Do you really think I'm some kind of nice guy? I'll settle a score with you right then and there!

"Hey! Where are you going! Come back here!"

Seeing that Wu Zhu was ready to fight, Qian Xuantong quickly pulled his eldest disciple back.

"Say horrible things to him!"

"Are you crazy! This is an open conspiracy. If you're angry, you can talk to Professor Cai after class. Don't rush up there now and start arguing with that guy. Then you'll be accused of disrespecting your teacher and lose your teaching assistant position!"

Qian Xuantong gave him very serious advice.

But as the saying goes, shame makes it hard to sheath one's sword. Wu Zhu had already put on a show of bravado, so if he was pulled back and pretended not to hear, how embarrassing would it be to go and tattle on her after class?

"Master Qian, you can focus on your class. I'll be right back and wipe out these scoundrels' arrogance!"

"Hey! What's wrong with you?!"

Qian Xuantong didn't know where Wu Zhu got the strength, but he broke free from his hand.

Then, in a few quick steps, they arrived at the door of the next classroom, blocked the door, and made it clear that no one was allowed to leave!

The classroom where Huang Kan was located fell silent. It seemed that no one had expected Wu Zhu to have such a fiery temper, and to start blocking the fountain directly!

Even Huang Kan himself was afraid that Wu Zhu would take action, so he quietly moved to the side of the podium.

Because he saw a reflection of his younger self in Wu Zhu...

Immediately afterwards, Wu Zhu pointed a large finger and began to hurl insults back:

"It turns out that those who subscribe to traditional learning are nothing more than scoundrels who, while lamenting the loss of civility, simultaneously hurl veiled insults and curses from afar!"

"All the knowledge you study and the principles you uphold, in the end, are just the skills of these street thugs!"

"The harsher the baseless insults, the more they prove that these scoundrels are utterly incompetent in academic matters, resorting only to insults in retaliation! If that's the case, how can they have the face to teach in a place of learning?"

"Why not go home sooner and find those women who were taken advantage of and abandoned by these scoundrels, and properly kowtow and apologize! Don't go to brothels and bring their sordid atmosphere into Yenching University!"

These words caused an uproar in both classrooms.

Huang Kan's private life was quite outrageous. After getting married, he used a fake name to deceive female students, and then abandoned them after taking advantage of them. He had been with far more than one woman, and visiting brothels was a regular occurrence for him.

Even his master Zhang Taiyan called him "literary but immoral," and his master's wife even cursed him as "a beast in human clothing." Therefore, what Wu Zhu said here was all based on facts and was a scathing critique.

Huang Kan's defenses crumbled as expected: "How dare you!"

Zhang Fengzai retorted, "Who are you cursing?!"

This immediately sparked a chorus of agreement. Wu Zhu looked around and saw that most of the faces were familiar ones from before.

"Ha! Who am I cursing?"

"Is stating facts and reasoning considered an insult?"

"Can't the behavior of some scoundrels be called 'hypocrites in human clothing'? Why don't we go to the playground and let the students judge for themselves?"

Wu Zhu then said he wanted to go to the playground, but Huang Kan and the others dared not.

The impact of yelling in the classroom is completely different from confronting someone on the playground.

People already have a low tolerance for him, and now if some of his private scandals are exposed, he'll be kicked out of Yenching University on the spot.

Seeing Huang Kan falter and his hand tremble in the air, Wu Zhu increased the pressure:

"That play, 'Kong Yiji,' is about one person, but also about a group of people."

"Some people, upon reading this article, not only fail to take it as a warning, but instead rush to see themselves in it, resulting in them jumping up and down in protest at every turn."

Perhaps, what Kong Yiji truly struck at were those rats who refused to see the sunlight and hid in the gutter all day long!

"If your heart is filled with filth, everything you see will be filth."

After saying that, he turned around without looking back and walked towards the classroom, leaving behind Huang Kan, who was furious, and a group of followers who had witnessed their boss being scolded but could only sit aside and watch like incompetent husbands.

Wu Zhu walked to the end of the path, just about to step into the classroom, when he remembered something, turned back, and said:

"I'm not only writing this one, I'm going to write the next one, until you all dare not howl anymore and are swept into the trash heap!"

"Just wait and see!"