Minglong

Chapter 113: Night Banquet at Qian Palace (2)

The young people around all assumed that Xie Jinhuan was a warrior. When they heard this, they naturally turned their attention to the handwriting in the booklet.

Fan Li thought Xie Jinhuan was complimenting him, but when he saw the iron-stroked and silver-hooked handwriting on the book, which was so powerful that it could be seen through the paper, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes, then took the book and examined it carefully:

"Hmm... This handwriting is indeed learned from my own teacher, but it can't be said to be completely identical to Fan Jinye Gu. There are many of my own elements in it, and it looks more realistic than Huaiyu's..."

Everyone was surprised to hear Mr. Fan's high evaluation.

Zhang Huaiyu was a direct disciple who started learning calligraphy at the age of six. He found that Xie Jinhuan's calligraphy was indeed more like that of a direct disciple than his own, and his eyes were a little puzzled:
"Uh... Brother Xie's handwriting can't be achieved without more than ten years of practice. I don't doubt Brother Xie's intentions, but... um..."

As a martial artist, Wei Lu thought that he and Xie Jinhuan were of the same kind, but now he realized that was not the case and interrupted:

"Brother Xie, with your martial arts prowess, do you still have time to practice calligraphy? Even though calligraphy is said to be like swordsmanship, it's just talk..."

Xie Jinhuan knew at the age of three that handwriting was a person's "business card". In order to kill the local natives, he worked hard and responded at this time:
"I copied a thousand characters a day from the age of three until I was sixteen. I learned martial arts during those three years in the mountains. In fact, I spent much more time on calligraphy than on martial arts."

"?"

There was silence for a moment, all eyes filled with suspicion.

When Fan Li heard this, he was a little bit unconvinced and asked:

"Nephew Xie, what you mean is that you weren't a martial artist before, and only started practicing martial arts three years ago?"

Xie Jinhuan had learned too many things in the past, which led to him being unskilled in everything. He only reached the eighth level of martial arts at the age of sixteen, so he was really a layman.

But he didn't want to be too scary, so he just responded:

"It's not like I changed my career halfway. I've been practicing martial arts since I was young, but when I was in the capital, I focused on studying and didn't pay much attention to martial arts. In the past three years, with the guidance of my master, I have been able to focus on martial arts, and my progress has indeed been faster..."

Faster...

You're not even twenty years old yet you're already a third-rank official!

As a direct descendant of Snow Eagle Ridge, Wei Lu started practicing martial arts since he could remember, but his current level is only this high. When he found out that Xie Jinhuan had caught up with him in just three years, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of magical place Fengling Valley was.

Fan Li knew that Xie Jinhuan was extremely talented, but practicing calligraphy and martial arts required time and energy. It was unlikely that both calligraphy and martial arts could be mastered before the age of twenty. Therefore, he handed the small notebook to Xie Jinhuan:
"Nephew Xie, could you please write two words to open my eyes?"

Seeing so many people looking at him, and a few ministers coming over to watch the fun, Xie Jinhuan thought about it and said nothing. He took the notebook, pulled out the hard pen next to it, and scribbled on the paper:
How can we fight against each other? The friendship between brothers is full of love...

The handwriting is like a dragon taking off from the land, with lofty ambitions soaring to the sky. Because it was written with great care, it is even more beautiful than the one in the booklet.

Just by looking at the first few strokes, everyone knew that this was the result of more than ten years of hard work, and it could not be faked. They couldn't help but show surprise in their eyes.

But the content of this is a bit... um...

Before Linghu Qingmo and the others could figure out what Xie Jinhuan had written, they noticed that the refined Master Fan froze for a moment, raised his hand to hold the booklet, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"Eh?"

Wei Lu was a little confused: "Brother Xie hasn't finished writing yet, what about Mr. Fan?"

Fan Li looked at Xie Jinhuan with a strange look in his eyes. He carefully looked at the righteous Xie Jinhuan and thought for a moment before asking:

"Is nephew Xie also a fellow traveler?"

Xie Jinhuan was writing the opening poem for the mirror-grinding chapter of "Jinlan Biography." Seeing that Fan Daru had figured it out, he naturally stopped writing:

"I've been interested in these things since I was a child. I came to see you this time just to ask you some questions."

Fan Li inherited the "book" from the "Two Saints of Books and Swords". His hobby is to write some half-truthful and half-fictional books, such as - Wei Wuyi's Romantic History, The Prodigal Son Lu Wuzhen...

In order to avoid being beaten to death by fellow Taoists, these books were not made public, but published anonymously and distributed at the academy.

When Fan Li met a talented young man who was learning calligraphy from him and shared the same hobby, it was like seeing a family member!
However, it would be too arrogant to talk about this matter in public, so Fan Li just stroked his beard and smiled, acting as if he was respected, and waved his hand to lead Xie Jinhuan to a secluded place.

Many young talents, seeing Mr. Fan pulling Xie Jinhuan to talk in private, looked blankly and whispered:
"What's this?"

“I guess I can see that Brother Xie’s question is not a small one, so I have to preach in private.”

"Really?! What kind of profound knowledge must a contemporary figure of Confucianism have to possess to be able to discuss something in private?"

"Could it be the mystery of immortality?"

"possible……"

"This is simply... really enviable."

……

Xie Jinhuan ignored the gossip behind him and followed Fan Li to a secluded place before asking for advice: "The other day in Danyang, I read a book called 'Jinlan Biography'. The allusions in it don't seem to match the historical facts..."

Fan Li looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping before answering in a low voice:
"'The Story of Jinlan' was written by my teacher Ye Ci in his spare time. It's just a joke in a novel and definitely doesn't conform to historical facts."

Xie Jinhuan asked, "Is the book all a joke? From what I understand, Qixia Zhenren rarely appeared in public after the witch cult rebellion, and at such a young age..."

Seeing Xie Jinhuan's eagerness to learn, Fan Li considered carefully before responding:
"Qixia Zhenren was injured during the witch cult rebellion and his temperament was unstable. My master was also beaten by Qixia Zhenren before. He entered the life and death gate at the age of forty. It was also for this reason.

"As for the specifics, my master hasn't said it explicitly, so I can't speculate. However, the book isn't entirely a joke, so it's possible that my master is hinting at something.

"If nephew Xie wants to know about this past, he should actually ask Sect Leader Nangong. Although she has never met Master Qixia, as the Sect Leader, she must know the inner workings of the sect."

Xie Jinhuan also wanted to ask his dream daughter-in-law for advice, but how could he ask about his master's unofficial history?

And he didn't know when his dream wife would come back...

After hearing Fan Li's implicit statement, Xie Jinhuan also understood that "The Story of Jinlan" might be half true and half false, using the content of lesbian literature to imply the situation of Qixia Zhenren at that time.

Qixia Zhenren and the demon met and were inseparable. On the bright side, it was a great opportunity that he could neither fully control nor let go of. On the negative side, it was a mental breakdown and the birth of a demon...

As for letting the demons control the blessed land at night, perhaps it was a hint that Qixia Zhenren was no longer able to control himself...

This is obviously not good news.

If Apia is the inner demon of Qixia Zhenren, then the real Qixia Zhenren must be in the Demon-Suppressing Tomb. Apia has obviously not been killed yet. As long as the tomb is blown up, a schizophrenic crazy woman will come out!
And if Apia is the "uncontrollable thing" sealed by Qixia Zhenren, the consequences will be even more troublesome.

Even the head master Qixia couldn't control it, but he could?

Even if the ghost wife didn't harm him, if he dared to dig it out himself, he would definitely face severe beatings from all religions and schools.

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan felt a huge pressure in his heart. Seeing that Fan Li was not very clear about the matter either, in order to avoid saying too much, he did not talk about this topic anymore. After a few polite words, he found an excuse to leave.

Linghu Qingmo was holding the coal briquettes and was not in a position to listen in. He waited until Xie Jinhuan and Mr. Fan parted ways before quickly stepping forward and asking curiously:

"Xie Jinhuan, what were you asking?"

Xie Jinhuan certainly couldn't say it directly, so he explained casually:

"These are some secret court affairs that cannot be disclosed publicly. Where are we going now?"

"Oh~"

Seeing that Xie Jinhuan seemed to be preoccupied, Linghu Qingmo did not ask any more questions. He raised his eyes and gestured to the main hall:
"The banquet is about to begin. Go in and take a seat. His Majesty and the Empress should be out soon."

"Walk."

……
-
At night, the Linde Hall was brightly lit and the air was filled with music and singing.

Inside the huge hall, Emperor Qian and the Empress sat in front of the golden wall with a dragon pattern, with Crown Prince Zhao Jinghuan sitting beside them. Cao Fuer stood in an inconspicuous corner, holding a whisk.

Princess Changning and the Prince of Dan, as nephews and nieces, sat in the first seats on the right with several royal family members; on the left were the father-in-law He Xiu, Li Gongpu and other important officials of the court.

As the princess's personal master, Xie Jinhuan was honored to be able to come to the banquet with her, and his seat was basically at the children's table.

However, Wei Lu and Zhang Huaiyu were also nearby, and further ahead were civil and military officials, foreign envoys, ladies of noble birth, etc., so this arrangement was not considered to be neglected.

At this time, there were more than a dozen dancers performing moving songs and dances in the hall. Although the show was very exciting, Xie Jinhuan had no intention of enjoying it.

Since entering the Linde Hall, Xie Jinhuan has been wondering what the ghost daughter-in-law is. He has also been observing the princes and nobles in the hall through the ghosts who are possessed by ghosts.

Xie Jinhuan had two purposes for this trip, one was to find an opportunity to set a trap for Li Gongpu, and the other was to find a hidden agent of the Hades Cult.

Under normal circumstances, as long as the ghost wife is close enough, she can find out the school and background.

But the facts were as Xie Jinhuan had expected. The imperial palace was the core of the Daqian Empire. Its construction gathered the wisdom of various religions and schools. The ancestors who made great contributions to the witch cult rebellion during the founding of the country had set up various restrictions in the imperial palace to prevent evil spirits from disrupting the country. There was even an eight-sided transparent tower on the side of the palace, with two super ancestors squatting inside and outside.

If there were demonic bandits who could bypass the inspections of countless experts, formations, and treasures and sit in the Linde Hall without being discovered, they must have used secret methods to cover up all abnormalities, and it would be difficult for the ghost wife to detect any clues.

According to the ghost wife's narration, hundreds of people gathered in the entire hall at this time. Their Taoist skills ranged from ordinary people to super-class people, and their schools were also varied. Even people from the witch cult from the Northern Zhou Dynasty could be seen, but no demon Taoist monks were found.

In addition, Emperor Qian, who was sitting on the dragon throne, and even the empress and the crown prince beside him, were completely unable to be measured.

After all, Emperor Qian is the supreme ruler of the Great Qian Empire, so he must be wary of the schemes of evil spirits. Although there seems to be nothing special around the dragon throne, there is a protective magic circle under the stage where he sits, which isolates all internal and external energy. Not only can it not be detected, it can also not be attacked by magic or incantations.

However, judging from his complexion, Emperor Qian was indeed not very healthy. His skin had no luster and he coughed lightly from time to time.

Xie Jinhuan looked around the entire hall, suspecting that the Dark God Cult's spies were likely inside this hall, but he couldn't find anyone suspicious. He could only think about how to set up a trap for Li Gongpu...

(End of this chapter)