Sword Roaring in the Sky

Chapter 25 Others carry swords, but I have a pen like a knife
Zhang Qingxi invited the guests into Taiyi Temple and selected a pavilion to receive them.

This kind of bizarre building is not common even on Earth, let alone in this world.

Sun Yanwan did not build stairs when designing the house. After all, the materials were not readily available and the staff's skills were not enough, so she only built a wooden ladder.

Sima Zi Yan and Wu Qing Ying had never seen such a bizarre building before, and they thought it was a grandmaster testing the visitors' martial arts skills.

Sima Ziyan thought to herself, "How can this be so difficult for me? The Nine Transformations of the Golden Eagle of Emei is also world-famous."

She soared into the sky like a giant bird, tapped the wooden ladder three times, and then leaped onto the pagoda pavilion. Looking back, she smiled sweetly and asked, "Brothers Qingxi and Yanwan, is my Qinggong skill up to par?"

Zhang Qingxi smiled faintly, then soared into the air. He reached out and pressed the stone wall of the pagoda pavilion, then floated upwards. He was much more unrestrained than Sima Ziyan. He said nothing, but this presence impressed Sima Ziyan more than anything else. She thought to herself, "Grandmaster Zhang Yuanqiao's first disciple is truly an extraordinary martial artist, even more advanced than the legends say."

Sun Yanwan didn't have that skill; he only had a basic understanding of Qinggong, so he honestly climbed up the wooden ladder. Wu Qingying's Qinggong wasn't good either, so she thought Sun Yanwan was doing it on purpose to save her face, and with a slight sense of gratitude, she followed him up.

She had originally felt sorry for Sun Yanwan. Not only had she accidentally shot an arrow, almost injuring someone, but she had also peeped at someone taking a bath. Now, she felt that this little Taoist priest was a pretty good person.

Zhang Qingxi and Sun Yanwan often spent their leisurely time in this pagoda pavilion, gazing at the scenery and meditating. Therefore, they had tea, firewood, and all the necessary utensils for brewing tea. Sun Yanwan brewed a pot of strong tea, scalding the cups before filling them. He didn't know what to say, so he simply remained silent.

Although Sima Ziyan was a lady from a prominent family, she was born in Emei after all. As a woman who practiced martial arts, she was very graceful and took the initiative to start the conversation, saying, "If it weren't for my sister going to ask for help, my father would have been killed by the traitor."

"Qingying was being hunted by the Scorpio Cult and it was extremely difficult for her to escape. She was completely dependent on the help of the two senior brothers."

"My little sister came here to apologize and to ask for favors from two people."

"I heard that the Scorpio Cult has surrendered to the Taiyi Temple. I shouldn't have made this unreasonable request, but the brothers Du Wanli and Du Qianxing usurped the throne and committed countless evil deeds while in charge of the Scorpio Cult, killing dozens of women and children from my Sima family. I hope you two senior brothers will give me some face."

Sun Yanwan grinned and said, "This really won't do. These two people..."

Sima Ziyan's expression changed slightly, but she heard Sun Yanwan continue, "He's been killed. We at Taiyi Temple don't have the ability to resurrect the dead. We can't give you a living person, not even a complete corpse. Only two heads are buried in the back mountain."

Wu Qingying breathed a sigh of relief. Sima Zi Yan had already reminded her before she came. It was rumored that Grandmaster Zhang Yuanqiao was stationed at Taiyi Temple. Although the brothers Du Wanli and Du Qianxing had killed many people from the Sima family, if the Grandmaster did not allow it and insisted on protecting them, she would have to bear the consequences and not say anything careless.

Sima Ziyan stood up and bowed, then said, "Thank you, brothers."

Sima Cheng angered the emperor by writing a letter to express his opinions, and was ordered to return to his hometown to reflect on his mistakes. Unexpectedly, one dark and windy night, his old house was suddenly surrounded by a group of bandits.

Censor Sima Ma is not a martial artist, and his family lacks any skilled martial artists. Sima Ziyan, returning from Mount Emei to visit her family, is hampered by several mysterious masters, leaving her to watch the Scorpio Cult wreak havoc. The Sima family is in imminent danger. Unexpectedly, the Scorpio Cult's pursuit of Wu Qingying inexplicably leads them to the Taiyi Temple, a long-abandoned Taoist temple where the contemporary Grandmaster Zhang Yuanqiao resides in seclusion...

Those who were plotting secretly could only give up with hatred, and the Sima family took action everywhere and finally turned the situation around.

Sima Zi Yan was actually extremely grateful to Taiyi Temple in her heart, but the two brothers Du Wanli and Du Qianxing were a thorn in her heart, so she came to the door with trepidation. When she heard that the two were dead, the eldest daughter of the Sima family was in a good mood. She didn't care who killed the two evil people, as long as they were dead.

Sun Yanwan wasn't good with women, having only dated eight women in his previous life. When Zhang Qingxi wasn't making advances, he was a modest gentleman, not one for talkativeness. This forced Sima Ziyan to try and stir things up, bringing up a few tales of the martial arts world. Zhang Qingxi and Sun Yanwan didn't really engage. Zhang Qingxi didn't see the point in such conversation, and Sun Yanwan hadn't even heard of these people. The eldest daughter of the Sima Censor family had no choice but to bite the bullet and change the subject to poetry.

Sima Zi Yan came from a noble family and was very talented in both literature and martial arts. When she talked about some newly emerged poets in Dalang, Zhang Qingxi became interested. This senior brother from Taiyi Temple was really talented. He made a few comments, and each of them hit the nail on the head, which made the two girls look up to him.

Sun Yanwan was not so good. Although he did not understand poetry, before he traveled through time, he had read works of such monstrous writers that only appeared once or twice in five thousand years, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Su Dongpo, Li Shangyin, Xin Qiji and the like. He would occasionally read those who appeared once in a thousand years, but the literati and poets who appeared once in a few hundred years were not worthy of being in textbooks.

The poets Sima Zi Yan mentioned were all from the Lang Dynasty, who could produce seven or eight of them a year. How could they compare with the essence of China's five thousand years?

He was like Alexandre Dumas looking at someone named Guo, with only one thought in his mind: "My son's writing is dozens of levels better than this person's."

Wu Qingying didn't have the skill bar to read the air. Seeing that Sun Yanwan was drowsy, she wanted to liven up the atmosphere. Sima Ziyan happened to mention a child prodigy who had recently become famous in Dalang. She asked, "Master Sun, what do you think of this child prodigy's poetry?"

Sun Yanwan almost fell asleep, her mind not as sharp as usual, and she casually said, "It's the same as what I made up when I was three or four years old - geese, geese, geese, singing with their necks curved to the sky. White feathers float on the green water, red feet paddling the clear waves. It's pretty close!"

Sima Ziyan and Zhang Qingxi, who were originally discussing poetry and lyrics, suddenly stopped talking.

This poem about the goose is a famous line throughout the ages. Although it is not a first-rate poem, it is a poem by a child prodigy that is unparalleled in the ages.

If you can do it in your twenties, it’s nothing special. But if you can do it at three or four years old, you are truly a genius.

Luo Binwang became famous at a young age with this poem about the goose, and his name has been passed down through the ages.

Sima Ziyan was slightly unconvinced, thinking, "How could such a beautiful poem be written when he was only three or four years old?" She asked, "I wonder what poems Senior Brother Sun wrote when he was seven or eight?"

Sun Yanwan's mind cleared up a bit, and he thought to himself, "Why am I copying poems? This isn't some literary gathering, and I, a martial artist, don't rely on poetry to gain fame..."

But Sima Ziyan's words forced him to retreat, so he could only stammer, "When I was seven or eight years old, I didn't know the immensity of the world. All I did were empty words. I was actually worse than when I was three or four years old."

Sima Ziyan chuckled and said, "Ziyan would like to hear the details."

Sun Yanwan was helpless and said, "What are they all saying? 'You must study hard when you are young, and literature can establish you. The whole court is full of scholars.'"

"Knowledge is gained through diligence, and a thousand volumes of books can be read by the light of a firefly; three winters are enough for me, so who can laugh at an empty stomach?"

"I have been gifted and learned since childhood, and have always had high aspirations; others carry swords, but I have a pen like a knife."

"Wait, that's full of delusional thoughts, it's really unbearable to hear."

(End of this chapter)