Chapter 290: This is the Next One (2/2)

Jun Mo Xie had put-up this verse even though he didn’t know the counter The fact that he had put-up this puzzle could not be reversed He would find himself in trouble if the opposition was unable to co reply This was because he would have to answer the riddle if they weren’t able to And every person fro-up on him if he wasn’t able to answer his own riddle…

The solution to this puzzle would come like a miracle to them; and they needed this miracle to happen!

Wouldn’t it be a matter of shame if the entire brain-power of the Institute was unable to solve an incompetent debauchee’s puzzle…? Therefore, everyone racked their brains, and ca various kinds of creative concepts However, none of the counter-verses seeifted scholars were required to come-up with a reply before an incense stick burns out This made them worry more and more as time elapsed

The twoas well!

Mei Gao Jie’s eyebroere puckered as he paced back and forth He’d shake his head from time to time and then mutter, “No That won’t do” Then, he’d atte Yang was led towards the heavens He was iht However, if one looked froloo over his face One couldn’t help but feel a strange sadness as they’d look at his face

This verse was meant as a puzzle for the disciples of the Institute Therefore, the participation of the two old al However, this matter related to the reputation of this ancient Institute Hence, the two old masters couldn’t help themselves…

Jun Mo Xie didn’t care much about it He wouldn’t have bothered if ten-twenty masters of the institute were to participate… let alone these two…

Tiradually The smoke from the incense stick continued to rise in spirals until its entire body turned to ashes

Their ! I concedelow in disappointment He couldn’t help but feel frustrated within his heart How could a top-scholar fro Heavenly Literature Institute lose to this brat…?!

He wished he were dead…

“No! You lost, but you’re not to be blamed for it Well, the blame isn’t limited to you!” Jun Mo Xie half-leaned into his chair as he extended his finger and gently rowed it “You’re not to blaainst ame; and a very ordinary one at that You’re not qualified to make a bet with me! No matter which way you see it… you’re not even qualified to ainst me! You’re too beneath my own self for that”

Then, Jun Mo Xie tilted his head and s and Mei Gao Jie, “Masters? What do you have to say?”

“We’ve lost” The faces of the two old h spirits as the two lead-representatives of the WenXing Heavenly Literature Institute — an institution that was publicly accepted to be the biggest and wisest talent hub of the E defeat at Jun Mo Xie’s hands The two old -death

Kong Ling Yang’s lips trembled as he spoke in a soft voice, “This Old Man shall keep his pro Heavenly Literature Institute will never speak of poetry in front of Jun Mo Xie”

There was absolute silence in the hall for a while

Jun Mo Xie sighed The characters of these two men had earned them a lot of respect in his heart He hadn’t wished for theht These twoHeavenly Literature Institute on their own merit They would hand-pick their disciples personally, and would nurture the Empire’s talent pool with their inexhaustible efforts They had never disregarded the poor and lowly Their only selection-criteria had been the disciple’s intellect and learning ability They had solenored the riches of life, and had stayed away froenuinely worthy of the Hitard

These two men were certainly ade and teachings were surely worthy of respect, but their ideology and methods were mistaken They would pay note to a disciple’s intellect and learning ability, but they’d neglect his other character-traits

A teacher e alone

Jun Mo Xie had always believed that — Teachers are the engineers of the hureatest of their generation They had ie to their disciples Their disciples ell-versed with poetry They ell-versed with strategic ploys They ell-trained to handle important political positions They were certain to find success in their careers if they were able to put this training to use; and quickly at that However, the two lected that their disciples would act selfishly if they weren’t good men at heart Their actions would only revolve around their person glory, wealth, and profits… as such, they’d make terrible servants to the people of the Empire

It was needless to say that these two masters had nurtured thousands of the disciples under theirs’ and the WenXing Heavenly Literature Institute’s name

Such individuals would be bound to act for their own selfish interests once they were to leave the Institute and eardless of their inherent social wealth or status Moreover, these disciples were educated at the WenXing Heavenly Literature Institute, and were likely to acquire top positions in the powerful factions and families In fact, even the worst of them were bound to make low level officials… such as clerks or book-keepers…

How much harm could they cause to the society if their characters weren’t shaped with appropriate inable

This was the reason why Jun Mo Xie disapproved of them In fact, he didn’t merely disapprove of them… he despised theed However, Jun Mo Xie didn’t believe that they had been wronged Rather, he believed that they had been served well

[I’s of the people on this land However, if you bully me like that — I shall not be reluctant to stand-in for the heaven’s punishhed Then, the Hitman Jun suddenly turned into a champion for a cause He had started to think very nobly of his no e when people are in dire need…] Well, that situation hadn’t arisen yet…

Notes:

The term we’ve used to describe Jun Mo Xie’s poetry is ‘Counter-Verse’ The most appropriate term would be ‘Antithetical Couplet’ An Antithetical Couplet is a verse of poetry which counterpoints its counterpart verse In China, such poetic verses are often drawn or written on paper/wood, and are used as decorations The competitions described in these chapters were known to be a popular intellectual pastime in ancient China

This verse is situationally untranslatable to so Hua’ in the native language The ’ /Picture’ ‘He Shang’ means ‘ in reserve Hua Shang He… Hua… He Shang Hua… And he only uses the[Hua]… of a lotus [He Hua] to create a situationally coe]…