Chapter 971: Let the Land be the Pipa and the Path be the String! Victory!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhan Yu Shu looked at Jun Mo Xie with suspicion before he sneered, “Mo Jun Ye, are you trying to avoid producing the second verse of the couplet by talking about the nonsensical and nonexistent conspiracies? Are you trying to frame our family?”
Jun Mo Xie snorted. “Frame you? For what? If I am to accept your conditions, then you should accept mine! Just say whether you can do it or not! Very simple. It’s just a yes or a no!”
The Zhan brothers looked at each other. Zhan Yu Shu whispered, “Brother, what do you think?”
“His condition seems easy to meet and has nothing to do with him, but it will badly damage our family’s reputation. If he really wins the bet and we have to say what we have done, the future of those who we asked to come and contest for us will be ruined. No one will want to work for a master that will give them up. So it will become more difficult for our family to find talents in the future…” Zhan Qing Feng couldn’t decide.
“That’s also my concern… but what if Mo Jun Ye actually can’t produce the second half and he is just trying to force us to forfeit this round? I feel this is the only chance we can possibly secure a victory. If we don’t grab this opportunity and lose all the subsequent rounds… our family’s reputation won’t end up any better…” Zhan Yu Shu was very concerned.
Suddenly, Zhan Qing Feng seemed to have made a resolution. “Yu Shu, we have to accept his conditions. If he really ends up able to compose the other half… someone will have to make the sacrifice. Yu Shu, you are younger and have a very bright future, so I will claim all the responsibility if the worst happens. I will say that it has nothing to do with you and the entire family. I believe this is the best way!”
“Brother, what are you talking about? I am the one who operated the whole thing; how can I let you bear the consequences all alone?” Zhan Yu Shu was still young and naive. Hearing that his brother suddenly became so selfless, he felt a rush of warmth up his chest and couldn’t help say, “Even if someone has to bear it alone, it should be me!”
“That… works as well.” Zhan Qing Feng only hesitated shortly before he agreed. Zhan Qing Feng sighed and said, “Brother, I’m so sorry that you will have to go through this. But I also trust your judgment! Mo Jun Ye mostly likely can’t compose the second half. He couldn’t do it for many years, so how can he suddenly come up with something in a few hours now?”
By now, Zhan Yu Shu really regretted saying what he just said. How could he imagined that his brother would quickly push all the responsibility to him with so little hesitation? Now he felt as if he had just jumped into a trap dug by his brother and was fed a dead rat that he couldn’t spit out. Was this man in front of him the same person as his beloved and respected brother?
“Mo Jun Ye, I accept it!” Zhan Qing Feng said as he smirked at Jun Mo Xie. “Now it’s time for you to showcase your unparalleled literary talent!”
It surprised Jun Mo Xie. “What! You even dare to accept such dangerous conditions? Are you not afraid that your family’s reputation will be ruined?”
“If it can give us a chance to witness your failure, I think it’s worth it! Mo Jun Ye, there’s no use delaying further, give us your second verse now!”
“Erm…” Jun Mo Xie looked as if he were stuck in a bad situation. He rubbed his head and asked, “Erm… what’s the first verse again?”
‘He’s doomed!’ The two brothers were now more certain and couldn’t help grinning triumphantly.
“The heavens is chessboard, the stars are the pieces. Who can play?” Zhan Yu Shu immediately forgot about what his brother had just done to him. He recited the verse with a lot of rhythm…
“The heavens is chessboard, the stars are the pieces. Who can play?… hmm…” As he walked in circles, Jun Mo Xie’s frowned harder and his face appeared darker…
Miao Xiao Miao immediately felt tensed up. You better get it right… if not, all your previous efforts will be wasted and the consequences will be unimaginable…
Everyone around looked at the young man with the Free and Natural Physique with sympathy. He was such a talented young man, unparalleled for at least ten thousand years. But now he had just sabotaged himself with a story he told…
What a pity!
Jun Mo Xie continued to pace back and forth before he finally stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the skies as he pondered harder before finally shaking his head and muttered, “No… no…” After that, he continued his pace again…
The grins on Zhan Qing Feng and Zhan Yu Shu’s faces were getting wider. It was at the brink of breaking into a full-fledged laughter. They eyed Jun Mo Xie as if he were their prey that had fallen into their trap.
All of a sudden…
“Yes, I’ve got it!” Jun Mo Xie exclaimed. He exaggeratedly wiped cold sweat from his forehead. “It almost drove me crazy, but now I finally came up with a good one! It’s not so difficult after all when I realized what was the key! What a pity I didn’t came up with it last time!”
“You did? Quickly say! I’m sure you know that there are many rules to composing a couplet. If all the words don’t match nicely, it won’t count![1.There are many rules in making a couplet. The two lines must have the same number of Chinese characters and each character must be in the same lexical category with its corresponding character in the other line.]” Zhan Qing Feng reminded him, trying to make him more stressed.
“Of course! It is the most important thing in composing couplets! The heaven matches the earth, rain matches wind and the land matches the sky. Now, here you go…” Jun Mo Xie emphasized every single word so it could be heard correctly. “Let the land be the pipa and the path be the string. Who dares to play!”
Hong!
It was the noise from the ignited crowd! What a beautiful and amazing match!
“The sky” matches “the land”, “the chessboard” matches the “pipa”, “the stars” matches “the path”… “who can play” matches “who dares to play”. Every word matched seamlessly 1 .
Both verses even conveyed the same arrogance!
If there was any flaw in this couplet, no couplet in this world could be called flawless.
Now, everyone looked at Mo Jun Ye with amus.e.m.e.nt. How can anyone be so talented in all aspects?
There was also a mixture of excitement, gratefulness, and surprise in Miao Xiao Miao’s beautiful eyes. It rendered her speechless. He really did it? Am I dreaming? How can he be so good? Wah… I… unbelievable.. . Endless admiration was brewing in her heart.
“This couplet has indeed puzzled me for many years. But how surprising, under the pressure today, it just occurred to me! Honestly, I should actually thank the two of you… hahaha, how fortunate I am.”
Jun Mo Xie’s words sounded especially strange to everyone. It was like he was ridiculing the Zhan brothers, but it was too sincere… How strange and indescribable!
The triumphant grin vanished from the Zhan brothers’ faces. What was left was a grayish emptiness…
Now it seemed like it was the two of them who had sabotaged themselves.
“I suppose, my second verse is matched properly?” Jun Mo Xie asked with “humility”.
Zhan Qing Feng could hardly nod his head. As for Zhan Yu Shu, he didn’t even have enough strength to nod his head. It was as if his soul was destroyed…
“Well, then, why not tell me what you did to ask those experts to help you contest against me?” Jun Mo Xie smirked and reminded them. “Don’t forget the oath you took!”
“We admit it’s our defeat!” Zhan Yu Shu wanted to go back against his words… but with the ominous oath and everyone watching… if he dared to curse the children of the family, his own family would expel him…
“Lin Qing Yin is from a musician family. Although the whole family is famous for their music, they aren’t very good at doing business. So now, their family has declined, and throughout the years, the Zhan Family purchased all of their musical theaters. If they want to live on, they have to listen to me…”
There was an outcry from the crowd that momentarily washed away what Zhan Yu Shu was trying to say.
Zhan Yu Shu bit his lips. “The whole thing is my idea. No one else from my family knew about it… or I would have been expelled from the family long ago…”