He changed Tiwat

Yet we'll go no more a-roving

We no longer roam together.

By the light of the moon.

In this world of moonlight.

For the poet who lost his lover, Mondstadt, this "world of moonlight," was nothing more than a purgatory tormenting his soul. Therefore, he wielded poetry as a sword, vowing to pierce this old world. And, if necessary, Han Fulai could even conveniently write reading comprehension exercises for the poems.

Eileen was taken aback; she hadn't expected someone from Liyue to be so familiar with Mondstadt's bards.

Of course, despite the surprise, the competition had to continue. Eileen thought for a moment, then changed to "A Brilliant Sunset in Mondstadt":

"The moon has risen, but it is not yet night,

The moon has risen, but it's not night yet.

The sun and moon divide the sky equally, the sea of ​​glow

The sun and moon share the sky equally, a sea of ​​rosy clouds.

Along the blue peaks of Mondstadt

Along the blue peaks of the Mondstadt mountain range

Flowing in all directions, there were no clouds in the sky.

It flowed in all directions, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

This poem was written during the time when the "Wandering Band" was being persecuted by nobles. The poet witnessed the sunrise and sunset in Mondstadt during his exile and was moved by the sight of the sun and moon rising together, hence this poem.

Because it was written during their exile, the band had fewer listeners than when they performed in Mondstadt, so this poem is less well-known than the previous one. Most people who aren't true fans of the band's poetry haven't heard of it.

But Han Fulai still simply accepted the poem:

“But it seems to be intertwined with various colors,

But it seems to be interwoven with various different hues.

Melting into a huge rainbow in the West-

It merges into a giant rainbow in the West—

The day that goes down to the west is there one after another

The setting sun of daytime there connects with the bygone eternity;

The passing of eternity; On the other side, the peak in the middle of the moon.

Opposite them, floating in the moon, were the mountain peaks (Sky Island).

Eileen was stunned once again.

"...Is he really from Liyue?"

She discovered that her opponent might actually be more knowledgeable about Mondstadt poetry than she, a native of Mondstadt.

During the preliminary rounds, Han Fulai's recitation of two Shakespearean sonnets under the name of "Mondstadt Liyue Poems" clearly misled many people. After all, not everyone understands the professional iambic pentameter and rhyme schemes. They just instinctively found those two Shakespearean works beautiful, and only experts could truly appreciate their nuances.

Eileen, a commoner girl, lacked both the upbringing of a former noble family and the influence of a church choir, so naturally she couldn't grasp the essence of it. She genuinely believed that Han Fulai's two sonnets were translations of Mondstadt bard poems from Liyue poetry.

In this final match, facing her opponent head-on, Erin truly realized how terrifying Sir Humphrey was—even as a die-hard fan of the wandering musician, she would have to put in a lot of effort to search her mind for poems that matched the keywords, while Han Fulai, a Liyue native, seemed to be even more familiar with these poems than she was.

More importantly, Han Fulai recited not just any poems, but original lines from the long poems she had chosen!

As soon as she finished reciting the first line, Han Fulai could immediately respond with the second line, making it seem as if they were playing a drinking game in a tavern.

If Eileen had read the popular martial arts novels of Liyue, she would probably know that Han Fulai's move was called "using their own methods against them".

Han Fulai did this deliberately not only to put some psychological pressure on his opponent, but also because he took advantage of the characteristics of bard poetry. Bard poetry is a genre that is characterized by narrating in sections around a theme.

For example, in a bard's poem about the moon, if the word "moon" appears in the first stanza, there's a high probability that the same word will appear in the second stanza as well, since the theme is consistent.

This characteristic is actually quite similar to the ancient Chinese classic, the Book of Songs.

Take the poem "Guan Ju" from the Book of Songs as an example. The theme of the poem is the pursuit of women, so the keyword "fair maiden" is repeated many times in the text.

If the keyword for this competition is "a graceful lady", and the opponent recites "A graceful lady, a gentleman's good match", he can certainly reply with "A graceful lady, he seeks her day and night". If the opponent then recites "A graceful lady, he befriends her with zither and lute", he can similarly reply with "A graceful lady, he delights her with bells and drums".

So Han Fulai secretly delegated the task of "searching" for the poem to his opponent. He would simply read the next line after his opponent read the previous one, saving both time and effort.

Since he had made up his mind to "defeat seventeen people at once", he naturally had to conserve his strength.

Eileen, meanwhile, had also discerned Han Fulai's plan. This time, she took even longer to consider her options: assuming Sir Humphrey was indeed well-versed in Mond's poetry, then choosing long poems with the moon as their theme would undoubtedly save her opponent time and effort. Therefore, she needed to select shorter poems, reciting them in one breath to prevent him from finding any loopholes.

Due to the narrative nature of bard poetry, older bard poems tend to be longer, making it quite difficult to find short poems that meet the criteria.

Eileen herself wasn't from a well-educated aristocratic family, and her knowledge in this area was even less. As the hourglass time was running out, Wendy coughed lightly to remind Eileen to be mindful of the time limit. Eileen, having finally racked her brains, found a short poem that met the requirements:

The moon has risen; oh, what a lovely night!

The moonlight, like flowing water, poured down onto the sea waves;

Perhaps the girls are captivated by the sweet words of the young men.

As for us, we'll wait until we get ashore to taste this flavor!

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she read the poem aloud—it was also the work of that hero Gordon, but it was a flirtatious poem written to her lover before she became the "Badminton Festival Princess," a poem written after a night spent together at sea, the content of which was truly enough to make a young girl like Eileen blush.

Well, to put it simply, young girls don't actually reject flirting with men they like, or rather, they quite enjoy it... but while they may like someone, they generally won't admit it...

This short poem certainly didn't have a line that Han Fu could follow, but that didn't stump him.

Suddenly, he picked up the bell on the table used for answering questions, holding it in his hand as if raising a cup to the sky:

“How long will the full moon appear?

Wine cup in hand, I ask the sky.

I do not know what time of the year

It would be tonight in the palace on high.”

This is a poem that no one has ever heard before.

Could it be that... Sir Humphrey once again composed a poem on the spot?

Several contestants on the scene had already started exchanging glances.

The two most knowledgeable scholars among the contestants, the Musk sisters with doctorates, both shook their heads, indicating that they had never heard of the poem either.

The poem uses simple words, but the rhyme is very beautiful. It seems to be about a poet raising his cup to Sky Island and asking when the bright moon will be seen again, with a hint of distant sorrow in the background.

Moreover, this is also a "regulated poem" with lines using the "single rhyme" commonly used by bards, which is a form of alternating rhyme, and the iambic pentameter is equally exquisite.

Moreover, Sir Humphrey didn't even spend a minute thinking; he blurted out, "How could there be such poetic talent in the world?"

Lisa on the judging panel and the "Poetry God" who was hosting the competition exchanged a glance—it was a good poem, as confirmed by their eyes.

Wendy nodded and announced loudly, "Sir Humphrey just composed a new poem on the spot. Please judge whether this poem is up to standard."

The reason why judges are needed in this competition format is to assess the contestants' impromptu poetry performance. After all, if a contestant runs out of poetry and is forced to produce an original work, then the judges need to certify that their poem qualifies as a "poem."

The audience below the stage immediately stirred, mainly out of excitement.

Generally speaking, people tend to use the poems of predecessors in such occasions. After all, the bard poems that have been sung for many years are masterpieces that have stood the test of time. It is difficult for the quality of the poems written by the contestants on the spot to be compared with the famous works of predecessors.

The works of Gordon, the wandering pianist whom Han Fulai and Eileen just quoted, are all masterpieces. The poems of ordinary people would naturally pale in comparison to the works of such masters. To describe it in a poem, it would be, "The scene before my eyes is indescribable, for the poems of the predecessors have already been written above."

But Sir Humphrey was so confident that he dared to write new poems on such an occasion!

The three judges discussed their points on the judging panel, while the contestants and audience waited anxiously for the results. Han Fulai, however, remained completely unfazed. He gently swung the bell-shaped "wine glass" in his hand and leisurely recited the Liyue version of the poem he had just recited in Liyue language:

"When will the moon be clear and bright? I raise my cup to ask the heavens. I wonder what year it is tonight in the celestial palace."

His willingness to be the first to step forward and seize the initiative wasn't blind confidence. The competition rules allow original works in addition to referencing the works of senior poets, which means he essentially has a built-in library of Chinese and foreign poetry from another world. Whether it's Su Dongpo or Shakespeare, he can quote them all with ease.

These masterpieces would not lack appreciation even in another world, a fact that his fellow countryman Gu Hua, a plagiarist, had already proven to him.

He did this not just to show off, but because if he wanted to nominate Yura as the "Saintess of Mondstadt", one of the key points was that the "nominator" had to be influential enough.

Just like when he won first place in the unified exam in Liyue, many people were openly or secretly dissatisfied. It was Ningguang, as his examiner and Tianquan Star, who personally came forward to acknowledge his talent and paraded through the streets with him, thus giving him this "certification".

Sir Humphrey, who is "on par with Barbatos," will elect Yura as the "Badminton Festival Princess," and then Barbatos will personally acknowledge Yura as his consort—he has already written this script.

Therefore, he, as the "recommender," must win spectacularly and make a name for himself in Mondstadt... and Yura is watching from the audience.

When there are girls watching, men always feel they need to make a good impression.

Today he's going to show these Mondstadt people what it means to be "talented enough to surpass millions in Liyue, and the foremost translator of poetry in Mondstadt!"

Chapter 272 A Love Poem for Qin

The final round of this "poetry recitation" competition began with contestants composing poems on the spot, which was clearly unexpected by everyone.

After all, memorizing poems is much easier than writing them, and even if you write your own poems, you might not pass the judges' review. Under normal circumstances, no one would do something so difficult in this kind of competition.

But Han Fulai seemed to have completely disregarded the possibility of being rejected by the judges.

He casually jingled the bell in his hand, its ringing like a death knell in an exam hall, unsettling many spectators and contestants—how could this guy be so confident? It's like he's urging the judges to make a decision? Too arrogant!

The judges' discussion did not last long, after all, they had already witnessed Sir Humphrey's talent firsthand during the preliminary rounds.

Although the new poem that Han Fulai just recited is very short and does not have the same impact as the two Shakespearean sonnets, its quality is impeccable and it is fully qualified to be included in this year's "Badminton Festival Poetry Anthology".

Sister Victoria held up a scoreboard with a badminton shuttlecock drawn on it, which represented a "○", meaning the original poem that passed the judges' approval.

Wendy cleared her throat and announced loudly, "Sir Humphrey's live performance has been approved by the judges! The competition continues! Miss Eileen, please continue with your answer!"

A cheer erupted from the audience below, with many praising Sir Humphrey's talent for composing poetry in seven steps. Of course, most of these people had bought lottery tickets to bet on Sir Humphrey's victory.

Correspondingly, there were also dissatisfactions from viewers who bet on other people's victories.

"What do you mean by composing a poem on the spot? This Liyue person must have already written a new poem, and just happened to stumble upon the keyword, so he just recited it at this moment."

"Hmph, all that pretense. Let's see how long he can keep up this act!"

"Eileen, don't give up! Show him what's what!"

Well, it's natural for these viewers to think that way, and what they're saying is actually true. Han Fulai still has that book of ancient Chinese poetry in his storage space. In the past few days, he has been reading Mondstadt's bard poems, and in addition to memorizing some of the more well-known works, he has also taken the opportunity to analyze the different types of Mondstadt's bard poems.

In fact, if we classify the poems of wandering according to their emotional color, they can also be divided into categories like those of Tang and Song poetry, such as "depicting scenery and expressing feelings", "praising objects and conveying sentiments", "farewell and missing people", "hometown feelings", "love and longing", "reflecting on history and reminiscing about the past", etc. Han Fulai also specifically selected some famous Chinese works from that book of ancient poems and lyrics according to categories for "Germanization".

It was because of this preparation that he was so confident.

Eileen, of course, would not admit defeat so easily.

Although she is still training and has not yet passed the Knights' selection, she has long since set her goal—to become a Knight of Favonius, work diligently, rise to captain… and then be promoted to be Lady Jean's second-in-command, never leaving her side again… then join forces with Jean to fight enemies, achieve great merit, and on the day of the investiture ceremony, Lady Jean will hold her hand with a smile… and at that time, she can…

So put winning or losing aside, the key is to dare to challenge yourself and become stronger than you were yesterday. Only then can you become a woman worthy of standing beside Master Qin!

Eileen decided that she would respond to her opponent in a fair and square manner, just like a Knight of Favonius.

Eileen raised her hand to her chest, took a deep breath, then closed her eyes and imagined a scene she had seen countless times:

As night deepened, the knights who had been on guard outside the Knights' headquarters had all returned home, leaving only a young girl diligently wielding her longsword against a wooden stake.

Finally, the day's practice came to an end. The girl sheathed her sword and looked back. There was no one around. The only companions she had were the bright moon in the sky and the lights in the captain's office.

The girl saw moonlight streaming through the window, illuminating the figure bent over his work at the desk. His blonde hair, tied in a ponytail, swayed gently, appearing dreamlike in the moonlight…

"Your focused profile when you're working..."

Like the bright moon in the night sky,

It made me feel like I was in a dream.

The young girl recited verses that flowed from the bottom of her heart; though they did not conform to the rules of meter, they contained deep emotion.

This is a love poem that Eileen wrote to the leader of the Qin Troupe.

Although Eileen didn't say who the poem was for, some people already knew.

On the judges' panel, Lisa wore a mysterious smile and raised the scoreboard in her hand, which naturally had "○" indicating a pass.

She was already imagining how red Qin's face would be when she read the poem to her after the competition. Hmm, it would definitely be very interesting.

The audience below the stage immediately erupted in cheers: "Wow, another one composing poetry on the spot!"

"Well done, Eileen!"

After Eileen's turn ended, it was Han Fulai's turn to answer the question. However, this time he did not answer as readily as before. Instead, he frowned and pondered. Hearing the audience cheering for Eileen had given him a new idea—a new idea that would be more "entertaining".

Seeing that Han Fulai's side had fallen silent, the audience who were hoping for his defeat got excited:

"Haha, he's done for!"

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be a great poet? How about you compose a poem right here and now in response?"