Beside the River of Trust
…
Time flies, and years flow. This year, Fang Zhengzhi is now fifteen!
In the Huai An County, in the Northern River of Trust Province, a stream of river flowed through the county, splitting this ancient city into its North and South, and at the same time creating a water traffic path, causing this city to become an important business and commerce district in the Northern Desert.
The sun shone brightly, and a cool breeze was blowing.
On the River on Trust, a few pleasure boats sailed along in the direction of the wind, sending silky ripples spreading across the river surface.
The biennial Law of Dao examinations was only three days away. The River of Trust Province had set the examination location at the Huai An County, and attracted gifted scholars and beautiful ladies from all around, one after another gathering at the riverside of the River of Trust.
The green willows swayed gently in the breeze, and a tall rectangular stage adorned with red carpets elegantly occupied the best sightseeing spot in the River of Trust. The stage was decorated with lanterns and coloured banners, and below the stage, brocade clothes and flowery robes decorated its surroundings, which were covered densely by fresh flowers.
In the March Spring, a hundred flowers bloomed.
According to rules set in the previous years, a gathering of scholars would be organised before the start of the Law of Dao examinations, inviting famous people from all parts of the area to gather and watch.
It was called, the Hundred Flower Gathering!
"Grr!"
A low beastly growl was heard, but not many people paid attention to it. After all, beast rearing techniques had already become commonplace in some bigger families within these years.
"Young Master, over here, there is a mix of good people and scumbags, and even consist of people who dally with women and have affairs. Considering your reputation, there is absolutely no need for you to attend this gathering!"
A strong, sturdy man with a bearded face sat on a "Three-Eyed Scarlet Flame Tiger", which was enveloped in red and white fur, with a thin opening on its forehead and a red ball of flame blazing on its tail. He was asking a youth dressed in a blueish-white fine robe and his attitude was unusually respectful.
The finely-clothed youth slowly raised his head, looked at the tablet adorned with three big words - Hundred Flower Gathering, and slightly paused his steps. His expression was exceedingly cold.
"When I left, grandfather instructed me to act with courtesy!" The finely-clothed youth replied indifferently, then continued to walk towards the front.
The strong man didn’t dare to speak any further. He quickly jumped off the Three-Eyed Scarlet Flame Tiger and followed behind the finely-clothed youth, walking towards the Jade Square.
The Three-Eyed Scarlet Flame Tiger growled in a low voice, then in one leap, jumped on the beast stand at the entrance and lay down softly. Around the Three-Eyed Scarlet Flame Tiger, many different kinds of fearsome beasts also lay.
The finely-clothed youth didn’t walk very quickly, and walked directly towards the high stage of the Hundred Flower Gathering. As he walked, he slowly took out a Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan from his pocket. Tossing it lightly, an ink painting of a Mountain River Illustration revealed itself.
When a few scholars dressed in brocade robes who were chatting animatedly saw the finely-clothed youth, they were instantly taken aback, then fixing their gaze upon the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan, a horrified expression appeared on their faces.
They quickly moved away and gave up their spots.
On the other hand, the finely-clothed youth’s expression remained the same, neither angry not happy, neither downcast nor delighted. Walking towards the centre seat in front, he gradually sat down.
A plump man dressed in brocade clothes at this moment was chatting loudly with another man dressed in brocade clothes beside him, while holding a handful of fruits. Laughing animatedly, he suddenly saw the finely-clothed youth and his face instantly turned a deathly shade of white, as if he had seen a ghost. He hurriedly shot up and quickly grabbed the man beside him and ran off.
In a blink of an eye, the surroundings of the finely-clothed youth seemed to have vanished like smoke in thin air, leaving only the strong bearded man.
"Back off!"
"But, this place…"
"Back off!"
"Yes, young master!"
The strong bearded man’s gaze swept across his surroundings once more, and backed off. But, none of the rest of the scholars surrounding him was willing to return back to their seats.
"Yan Xiu actually participated in the Hundred Flower Gathering? Isn’t this too unthinkable?"
"With some calculation, it seems that Yan Xiu had reached the age of sixteen this year."
"No wonder!"
After a few sentences of debate, the scholars sitting a distance away didn’t speak further and continued to admire the flowers and taste the wine.
Right at this moment, a youth whose face was fair and clear, dressed in a yellow brocade robe, with a long blue sword at his waist walked smilingly up the tall stage, accompanied by a few armoured bodyguards.
"Quick, look, Meng Yushu is here!"
"I heard that this Meng Yushu had accessed Dao since a year ago. I fear that his participation in the Law of Dao examinations this time would definitely gain him the Double Roll Champion!"
The scholars discussed softly among one another, an envious look appearing on each of their faces.
The youth dressed in a yellow brocade robe, Meng Yushu, heard the discussion around him, and a somewhat delighted expression appeared on his face. Following which, he directly made his way over beside Yan Xiu and lightly cupped his fist with his other hand as a sign of greeting.
"Huai An Meng Residence, Meng Yushu, expresses his fortune in meeting Young Master Yan Xiu!"
Yan Xiu’s expression was ice cold. Without even taking a look at Meng Yushu, he remained seated on his chair and lightly swayed the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan on his hands.
A light gust of wind blew across. Meng Yushu felt a desolate sense of chilliness. Considering the Meng Residence’s prestige in the Huai An County, and his abilities of having accessed Dao, there wasn’t much people he had taken the initiative to greet.
But, this Yan Xiu in front of him didn’t even bother to look at him.
This was an indifferent form of disregard, and furthermore, it was in front of so many scholars. Meng Yushu’s expression changed slightly, and gripped the sword on his hand. His chest rose a few times, but, ultimately restored the smile on his face.
"Since Young Master Yan Xiu loves peace and quiet, then Meng Yushu shall take his leave!" Meng Yushu once again cupped his hands, finding a way out of the situation.
"Aiyo, Heaven has opened his eyes! Such a good seat with nobody sitting on it? This is really my blessing!" Right at this moment, a clear voice suddenly rang out from behind Meng Yushu.
Meng Yushu frowned.
He had just found an excuse that Meng Yushu loved peace and quiet, but never thought that somebody would come and make noise. If he really allowed him to sit here, then weren’t his words just now slapping his own mouth?
Just as he prepared to act to prevent this, he suddenly realised that there seemed to be no need to do so.
Considering Yan Xiu’s personality, don’t tell me he would really allow somebody to sit calmly beside him?
The edges of his mouth curved into a smile. Thinking of Yan Xiu’s coldness a moment ago, and thinking that the new person had overestimated his own capabilities, he suddenly felt that watching the tigers fight from the side-lines wasn’t actually a bad choice.
Even though he didn’t know whether the new person would be a tiger.
But ultimately, he could still take the opportunity to find out, how much patience this Yan Xiu, known as the cold Asura among the youths in the Great Xia Dynasty, actually had.
"Hey, are you sitting or not? If you are not, please make way!"
Just as Meng Yushu became secretly delighted with his thoughts, he felt a burst of strength on his shoulder, then, his entire body was pulled up by this strength and his body leaned back.
"Plop!" He fell on his buttocks.
"People these days have such poor inner quality! Good dogs don’t block the way, doesn’t anybody know this?" A voice filled with disdain rang out once again. Then, a lanky youth dressed in a blue coarse robe, wearing a blue cloth on his head effortlessly bypassed Meng Yushu, walked towards a seat beside Yan Xiu and sat down.
"Ah, this Hundred Flower Gathering is indeed not too shabby, they even provide a fruit platter!" Seeming as if he had discovered a new continent, the youth picked up the fruits placed in front of him and bit down. The sweetness was unparalleled.
As the youth’s voice sounded out, the initially bustling Hundred Flower Gathering instantly became extremely silent. Only the sound of the willows dancing in the breeze along the riverside was left, giving off a gentle rustling sound.
Comments