Chapter 51: Fang Xinghan is Totally Elated!
“My oh my, Uncle Fang, you’re too polite,” said Hong Xiaobao as he quickly got up and helped Fang Xinghan back to his seat before taking out his true olive branch.
Once the olive branch was revealed, everyone would know about it and there was no way Fang Xinghan could back off from the offer, no matter what sorts of demons and G.o.ds that stood in his path.
Hong Xiaobao said, “Uncle Fang, my handwriting has always been rather ugly, so I won’t be able to write the words for the wooden cubes myself. Since you’re from the Saint Academy, naturally there’s no question that your writing would be great, right? Why don’t I have Uncle Fang be in charge of producing the words that are to be carved on the wooden cubes? Please accept my request! Otherwise, I wouldn’t know anybody who can do a better job than you!”
After hearing that, Fang Xinghan’s expression instantly changed to this: O__O”
He was so moved! His heart was beating so wildly that it was about to jump out from his throat!
He wants me to write the words for the molds of the wooden cubes? This… The Living Printing Technique will no doubt be pa.s.sed down for several generations to come. To have Fang Xinghan write the words that are to be sculpted onto the wooden cubes was equal to having his name being pa.s.sed down throughout thousands of years of history! n.o.body would let a chance like that pa.s.s by!
Fang Xinghan said with a rough voice, “Xiao… Xiaobao… Were you serious about that offer?!”
“Of course I was,” said Hong Xiaobao casually as he nodded. “My handwriting really is too poor, that’s why it can’t be anyone other than Uncle Fang!”
Within a single moment, Fang Xinghan suddenly had a very good impression on Hong Xiaobao who was really the luckbringer of his life. Had he not come over and missed out on this opportunity, he would have regretted it for his whole life!
Zuo Shixian who was sitting beside quickly stood up to congratulate his master. “Congratulations, head teacher! Your calligraphy has always been praised by almost everyone! You really cannot reject this opportunity!”
“I won’t! I’ll definitely accept it!” said Fang Xinghan, not knowing what to do anymore. “Um, Xiaobao, let’s talk about the specifications now? How large do you need the words to be? And, tell me the calligraphy style and everything else! This one has been training in the way of calligraphy for more than 50 years… I am quite confident in my skills!”
That didn’t need to be stated because if the calligraphy of the head teacher of the Saint Academy wasn’t good enough, then whose will be?!
Hong Xiaobao smiled and nodded before saying, “Hmm, it should be about as large as a fingernail. Oh, and, when I announce this invention to the Jiang Hu, I’ll make sure to state that it was you who wrote the words that were sculpted onto the wooden cubes! That would no doubt raise the reputation of the Saint Academy by leaps and bounds!”
Having heard that, Fang Xinghan was totally elated! His face reddened and his brain seemed to let out some steam…
Merchants l.u.s.ted after profit while the people of the Jiang Hu craved reputation! With a chance to have his name spread throughout thousands of years into the future, Fang Xinghan lost all his mood to drink and excused himself from the banquet to go prepare for the calligraphy that he was about to write.
Given that the head teacher of the Saint Academy had left, the rest of them stopped eating as well and returned to their respective quarters.
At night, Hong Xiaobao and Yun Caixiao walked along the words within the royal palace. The man-made mountain and lake scenery around them was exceedingly beautiful. The moon hung high up in the sky accompanied by the twinkling stars as a light gentle breeze blew past them.
The two of them had grown up as childhood friends since a very young age. They walked along the path and seemed like a young couple who secretly went out on an evening rendezvous.
They quickly reached the side of the man-made lake. Hong Xiaobao escorted Caixiao to a pavilion and sat together with her there. Caixiao lowered her head and looked at her high-heeled shoes before letting out a soft sigh.
“Do you have anything on your mind?” asked Hong XIaobao with a smile. “Are you worried that the Thunder Sound Pavilion will come to cause trouble for us in the future?”
“Yes,” said Yun Caixiao softly. “Well, they are one of the Six Great Orthodoxies after all. Given the amount of time I’ve spent there, I understand the power they have all too well. Xiaobao, when you said before that you’ll found the Grand Alliance and catch up to them within 3 short years… I’m afraid…”
Oh, so Sister Caixiao is worried about this…
“Everything will be fine,” said Hong XIaobao as he leaned on one of the pillars at the pavilion. Looking at the star-filled sky, he smiled and said, “All this time, has your Brother Xiaobao ever lied to you?”
Yun Caixiao gave it some thought before shaking her head. Letting out a cute laugh, she said, “That indeed didn’t happen before. Brother Xiaobao, are you confident you can do it?” Under the starlit sky, Yun Caixiao’s fair, white skin showed to be even more beautiful and white as snow and entranced Xiaobao even more.
What a great sight!
“Haha, that’s a given,” said Hong Xiaobao as he breathed in a large amount of chilly night air. “Your brother Xiaobao naturally has his plans. Sister Caixiao, to be honest, I was a little surprised that you actually left the Thunder Sound Pavilion for my sake.”
Hearing Xiaobao bring the matter up, Yun Caixiao’s mood rose a bit more. “Oh, so even you have things you can’t predict.”
“That’s right. That totally caught me off guard,” said Xiaobao as he nodded. “For love, one can do anything for one’s other half, even through life and death. Sister Caixiao, for you to be able to do that for my sake, how can I not do anything for you in return? It’s not like I’m a blind person who can’t see your devotion for me… Don’t worry, even though you’ve ruined your cultivation, no matter how much money I will have to use in the future, I’ll definitely make sure you’ll be able to recover. After all, they’re just the Thunder Sound Pavilion. To be honest, I don’t really consider them much of a threat. The world is vast and I’ll bring you to many places for you to experience it for yourself. As long as I am by your side, I’ll make sure n.o.body can cause you grief or harm.”
“For love, one can do anything for one’s other half, even through life and death…” Yun Caixiao mused the poem to herself. Her two water droplet like eyes lit up before she said, “Brother Xiaobao, why is everything you say so profound and tasteful?”
“That?” Hong Xiaobao gave a light laugh. “It’s because I’ve seen the world for myself. It’s not weird for me to be able to say things like that.”
At that moment, Hong Xiaobao looked towards the sky and recalled the look of his previous world.
It has been 18 years since I transferred over to this world. I wonder how is dad and mom doing? I’m sure they’ll be okay. After all, they’re better than me at almost everything. They should be holding up fine…
Hong Xiaobao shook his head before smiling for a bit. I really wonder what brought me over to this world over here… Sigh…
Seeing Hong Xiaobao showing a wistful expression, Yun Caixiao took out her jade flute and said, “Brother Xiaobao, let me play a song for you.”
“Alright,” said Hong Xiaobao as he nodded.
Without delay, the sound of the flute rang out in the pavilion. The beautiful tune carried a hint of sadness within that symbolized the fear for that which is to come with a tinge of antic.i.p.ation.
Hong Xiaobao slowly broke into a hum along with the tune of the flute. “Who are you teasing with your alluring beauty, how would we match without hearts of sincerity? The bell’s crisp sound and the soft candlelight beyond the curtain, tells the tale of how we are a match made in heaven…”