CHAPTER 371: CHAPTER 165: THE PHOENIX CALLS, THE PARASOL TREE GROWS (PLEASE SUBSCRIBE)_2

Xu Qing couldn’t help but be affected by Feng Wu’s flute sound and drew the Wuji Saber.

The flute sound seemed like an invisible sword, clashing with Xu Qing’s Wuji Saber.

A tangible saber, an intangible sword.

During the clash, there actually arose a real sound of metal meeting metal, as if the intangible and tangible intertwined.

In this process, the resulting harmonious sound was like a beautiful piece of music, rich in emotion and naturally melodious.

After who knows how long, the flute sound began to be led by the saber sound.

If the saber sound was bold and intense, then the flute sound would certainly turn gentle and graceful.

After who knows how long, the flute sound stopped, and the saber sound ceased abruptly.

Feng Wu asked, "How is it?"

Xu Qing smiled and said, "There’s some clue now."

He paused for a moment and then continued, "I remember a song from Lingnan, perfect for a duet between man and woman. Let’s give it a try."

What he referred to was a song from his past life memories, from the Legend of the Condor Heroes, called "Iron Blood and Red Heart."

"In a blurry dream, it seems we have met before, stirring emotions within."

"Casting aside worldly affairs, cutting off enmity, accompanying each other to the ends of the earth."

The mood expressed in the lyrics was fitting for him and Feng Wu to practice the coordination of Heavenly Sound and Earth Sound, leading to the wonders of Marrow Cleansing. Of course, Xu Qing could not simply lift it as is, but instead had to adapt it to the rhymes of the current era, modifying and embellishing.

The old rhymes, modern rhymes, and the differences in rhyme across various dialects; that involved much knowledge. The so-called "Western Confucius" Yang Xiong had indeed written a book called "Dialect."

Of course, Yang Xiong’s most famous work was none other than the Supreme Mysterious Scripture.

Ah, going white-haired with the Supreme Mysterious Scripture!

"Dear husband, behind this song, there must be a touching story, right?" Feng Wu, perceptive as always, sensed the narrative within the music.

Xu Qing: "Indeed, this story begins with Quanzhen Dao’s Chang Chunzi, Qiu Chuji, passing through Niu Village..."

Feng Wu unknowingly inspired him to create a story along the lines of Legend of the Condor Heroes. Pulp fiction, though not esteemed by the literati, is widely spread among the common folk and is no less influential.

Of course, with Xu Qing’s current status, he could not personally take to the stage, but he could assign the task to his club members for refinement and compilation.

One advantage of this was that if the story gained significant influence, the remaining experts from the various branches of Quanzhen Dao might come looking for him. That way, Xu Qing wouldn’t have to go to great lengths to look for the whereabouts of Purple Mansion Primordial Sect.

Certainly, in Legend of the Condor Heroes, the main focus is on the descendants of the Quanzhen Dao’s northern ancestor Chongyang Zi, but that doesn’t mean Xu Qing can’t include the southern sect’s ancestor Pure Yang True Person.

The Nine Yin Scripture, the Pure Yang Iron Box - all arranged.

No worries about the descendants of Quanzhen Dao taking the bait, as for fear of retaliation?

You’re joking, with Xu Jieyuan’s current reputation in South Zhili’s literary circles, they should be more worried about Xu Jieyuan making trouble and belittling the reputation of Quanzhen Dao’s ancestors.

Scholars kill not with a sword, but with a pen! Look at the swaggering father-in-law now, as long as Xu Jieyuan’s high regards remain unshattered, he can be seen as the literary god of the younger generation in South Zhili’s literary circles, summoning wind and rain at ease.

Really dissatisfied? The fists will take care of it.

Since ancient times, scholars with martial prowess have naturally had the upper hand.

Can’t argue with you, can’t fight you either?

And there’s a funny thing - the Top Scorer from South Zhili of the previous term had planned to build up his reputation for a few years before going for the examination.

Actually, he was just poor, and as a Scholar, he wanted to scrape together a bit more at home.

But hearing about Xu Jieyuan’s fierce reputation, and his background, he directly went for the examination this time. Lest Xu Jieyuan think he intended to share the glory of South Zhili’s Top Scorer.

Indeed, the name is enough to strike fear; in the current court, the scholars who prey on the nobles, although Xu Qing is not the only one, his name is one of the two most resounding.

The other is the contemporary Judge Bao, Zhang Shilun, but he is not young, being over fifty.

Xu Jieyuan is still young, still has plenty of days left to prey on the local squires.

Even so, the nobles of Jiangning Prefecture were still eager to join the Jiangzuo Alliance, begging to be preyed upon by Xu Jieyuan. Nobles from other regions didn’t understand, and those from Jiangning Prefecture couldn’t be bothered to explain.

They would rather have Xu Jieyuan’s evil fame scare away competition for being underlings.

Those shiny Silvers, earned by Jiangning Prefecture’s people, caused them pain to think about, let alone those old dogs from outside Jiangning Prefecture.

They have a tacit agreement, to never speak well of Xu Jieyuan outside, to describe him as vicious as possible.

But within Jiangning Prefecture, never speak ill of Xu Jieyuan, lick his boots as much as possible.

Xu Qing had heard some of this but did not meddle.

What could he do?

Just like historical records, they record what they can, and if they don’t, unofficial histories will show you how wild they can be.

For scholars, being gossiped about is the norm.

Still, the same old saying, "Your bodies and fame shall both perish, yet the rivers and mountains shall flow eternally."

As long as the disciples and descendants are in power, what case can’t be overturned?

So for scholars or for the respective Daoist and Buddhist lineages, the immortality of the scholarly or spiritual lineage is what matters most.

However, even though Xu Qing mixed in many personal elements, Feng Wu’s focus was still on the romance in the story.

"Dear husband, why do I feel that the tale of Huang Yaoshi and his wife resembles us? The way you handle things is also somewhat unconventional and you are broadly learned. However, his temperament of ’rejecting both Tang and Wu, scorning Zhou and Confucius, favoring naturalism over the established doctrines’ really resembles father. Moreover, Huang Yaoshi’s wife is named Feng Heng, which derives from ’Shiyiji,’ a story about Emperor Wu of Han and Lady Li. Humph, I’m the legitimate one, why should I be Lady Li!"

Xu Qing felt a bead of sweat on his forehead, with her ability to make associations and to concoct stories, she might as well take the pen and do the writing herself.