Chapter 324: Little Touch

As soon as the man finished speaking, everyone's attention turned to Zu An, mostly with an air of amusement. This good-for-nothing had not only married the most beautiful woman in Brightmoon City, but it was also rumored recently that he had an ambiguous relationship with Qiu Honglei from the Immortal's Abode. He was clearly cutting off all other men's chances, so naturally, no one liked him.

Xie Daoyun looked at Zu An with some concern. She knew that these scholars were inherently proud and refused to bow to power, so Zu An might be in trouble today. However, she was also curious if the man who could compose such a tune would be able to resolve the current crisis.

Wang Yuanlong was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. Interfering would tarnish the reputation of the Four Quarters Pavilion, but not interfering would offend Zu An, and potentially the Chu family behind him. Left with no choice, he gestured to his subordinates, signaling them to find a way to remove the troublemaker.

Just as the subordinates were about to step forward, Sang Qian took a step, blocking their path. Zheng Dan glanced at him with an amused smile. She clearly understood what was happening, but she wasn't worried about Zu An in the slightest. That fellow was cunning and mischievous; how could he possibly be easily taken advantage of?

Sure enough, Zu An smiled and said, "May I ask for the name of this esteemed scholar?" His tone and expression showed no sign of nervousness.

The man with triangular eyes fanned himself and replied, "It's nothing, I am Xu Qinsong from Starfire City." He spoke with a triumphant look on his face, as if his name alone signified honor.

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding crowd began to murmur.

"Never heard of you. Are you famous?" Zu An picked his ear.

Xu Qinsong gasped.

Rage points from Xu Qinsong +233!

At this moment, Xie Daoyun whispered a reminder, "This Xu Qinsong is a famous scholar from Starfire City in the neighboring prefecture. You should be careful."

Xu Qinsong smiled slightly and bowed to her. "Miss Xie, you flatter me. I have long heard that Miss Xie is the most talented woman in Brightmoon City, and I have always admired you. I wish to exchange ideas on poetry and literature with you."

"You're too kind, Young Master Xu," Xie Daoyun replied with a nod. Her etiquette was impeccable, but there was no emotional ripple in her eyes.

Seeing her lack of interest, Xu Qinsong's smile froze. He immediately realized that she was currently Zu An's companion and likely felt it was inconvenient to engage with him. He then glared fiercely at Zu An.

Rage points from Xu Qinsong +334!

Zu An thought, *This guy got rejected by a beautiful woman, why is he taking it out on me?* He said, "Alright, alright, you just want to challenge me to a match, don't you? Tell me, how do you want to compete? Horizontally or vertically?" What kind of joke is this? I've been through nine years of compulsory education and influenced by the sharp wit of modern internet users. How could I lose to a native of this world after transmigrating?

Xie Daoyun was slightly surprised to hear him agree so readily. It was too late to stop him. She thought, *Why is this fellow so reckless? Usually, bowing down at the beginning would resolve such matters. Could the other party really follow him upstairs?*

Xu Qinsong, however, was overjoyed. He had come to Brightmoon City specifically to make a name for himself, and Zu An was the perfect stepping stone. He had been worried Zu An would refuse to compete, but the man had willingly jumped into the trap. So he quickly said, "It's simple. I'll give you a few couplets. If you can answer them, I'll acknowledge your right to go upstairs."

Zu An scoffed, "Who do you think you are? Do I need your approval to go upstairs? The only reason I agreed to this challenge is because you're practically begging for a beating. It would be rude not to oblige." Of course, the most important reason was not to miss any opportunity to earn rage points.

Everyone was dumbfounded. This guy's arrogance was a bit excessive. Even Xie Daoyun frowned slightly. She had heard of Xu Qinsong's literary talent; even she wasn't confident she could decisively win against him. Where did this guy get his confidence? Although he was skilled in composing music, that was completely different from literary talent.

Rage points from Xu Qinsong +666!

He had never seen such an arrogant person before. Suppressing his anger, he said, "In that case, please accept my challenge."

"The general shoots a tiger, his bow is strong, the stone is hard."

Many self-proclaimed scholars in the hall began to ponder this first line, and even Xie Daoyun frowned in deep thought. This seemingly simple couplet, based on dissecting characters, actually alluded to a historical anecdote. Historically, a general saw what he thought was a fierce tiger in the wilderness. In a panic, he drew his bow and shot an arrow. After hitting it, he looked closely and realized there was no tiger, only a rock shaped like one. Yet, his arrow had pierced deep into the stone, and people praised his immense strength. So, matching it was quite troublesome.

Only Zu An scoffed. *I thought the scholars in this world had some real skills. Is this all they've got?* So he immediately replied, "The concubine is drunk, her body still lies, do not touch with your hand."

Xie Daoyun silently recited the second line. It was indeed a very neat match, but the meaning of the words was a bit... Zheng Dan pursed her lips and smiled. *This guy certainly has a crooked talent.*

Xu Qinsong's finger trembled as he pointed at Zu An, his face turning beet red. "You... this is an insult to scholarship!"

Rage points from Xu Qinsong +145!

Zu An smiled slightly. "What do you mean, 'an insult to scholarship'? This is clearly a word of caution. You're the one with the dirty mind, aren't you?"

Xu Qinsong gave an annoyed huff. "Fine, you matched it. I have another couplet for you to hear. I don't believe you can be so clever this time."

"If it's matched, it's matched. What do you mean, 'fine, you matched it'? Show me what else you've got. But looking at your level, I doubt you can come up with any truly profound couplets," Zu An said with a look of disdain.

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Qinsong's eyes. "Listen carefully. The first line is: 'Among a hundred virtues, filial piety comes first; often go home and visit!'"

As soon as this couplet was uttered, the hall fell silent. Everyone's gaze shifted between the two men with a strange expression. Everyone knew that Zu An's parents had died when he was young, and even the uncle who raised him had passed away. What home did he have left? As for the Chu family, he was merely a live-in son-in-law. According to the prevailing values of this world, that wouldn't generally be considered his home. For someone with no home, where was he supposed to go back and visit?

Xie Daoyun also frowned. "Young Master Xu, you're going a bit too far."

Xu Qinsong smiled slightly. "I don't understand what you mean, Miss Xie. Is there anything wrong with my couplet? Everyone should agree with it, shouldn't they? Is it only problematic when it comes to him?"

Xie Daoyun opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing. Explaining on Zu An's behalf now would only fall into Xu Qinsong's trap and cause Zu An to lose face. She looked at Zu An with concern, but to her surprise, there was no expression of embarrassment or anger on his face.

Zu An looked at Xu Qinsong. "Brother, your dark circles are quite prominent."

"What's it to you?" Xu Qinsong scoffed. "For scholars like us, who study day and night, it's normal to have dark circles from lack of sleep."

"That's strange," Zu An said, pointing to Xie Daoyun. "According to you, does that mean those without dark circles aren't diligent students? Miss Xie is the most talented woman in our Brightmoon City, and she doesn't have dark circles."

Xie Daoyun's face flushed slightly. *Why are you dragging me into this?*

Everyone looked at Xie Daoyun's flawless complexion, full of admiration, and then turned to glare angrily at Xu Qinsong.

Xu Qinsong quickly waved his hand. "That's not what I meant. It's probably due to individual differences in constitution."

Zu An knew he would say that. He pointed to the others around him. "Look, hardly anyone else has dark circles either. Does that mean they're all less diligent than you?"

Xu Qinsong, knowing that public anger was hard to contend with, immediately grew anxious. "Don't slander me! That's not what I meant!"

Rage points from Xu Qinsong +444!

"Oh, I see," Zu An chuckled. "It seems you've probably overindulged, leading to a weakened body."

"That's slander!" Xu Qinsong roared with anger, but then quickly realized, "If you can't answer it, you can't answer it. Why are you dragging in all this irrelevant nonsense?"

Rage points from Xu Qinsong +666!

"Who said I couldn't answer?" Zu An smiled mysteriously. "Your first line was 'Among a hundred virtues, filial piety comes first; often go home and visit.' Based on your personal situation, I'll offer you a second line: 'Among ten thousand evils, lust is foremost; stop going out and touching around.'"

The entire hall first fell silent, then erupted in laughter. Even Xie Daoyun's face was flushed with embarrassment. This fellow was truly inventive; every couplet he formed seemed to involve words like 'touching.'

Xu Qinsong's face instantly turned crimson. "You, you, you... this is an insult to scholarship, an insult to scholarship!"

Rage points from Xu Qinsong +999!

Unfortunately, his voice was already drowned out by the noise of the amused onlookers.

Sang Qian, witnessing everything from the side, couldn't help but curse under his breath, "Useless!"

Xu Qinsong seemed to be provoked and loudly declared, "I have more couplets, and more..." With his talent, it should have been easy for him to come up with couplets. However, the first two had been defeated by the 'touching' responses, leaving him questioning everything for a moment. He had no idea what kind of first line he could offer to turn the tables.

Seeing him hesitate, Zu An smiled. "Alright, you've been setting the questions, and I've answered them all. Now, it's my turn to challenge you, isn't it?"