Chapter 2: Laughing at the World, Admiring West Lake

How should one describe the scenery of life? With what kind of perspective should it be viewed? And with what kind of soul should it be embraced? (Gu Long, On Life)
……
The Jiangnan region is a land of outstanding people and beautiful landscapes, with lush mountains and clear waters. How many talented scholars have emerged from this place?
“The lake shines bright in the sun, and its beauty is even more enchanting in the rain. To compare West Lake to Xi Shi—a beauty—she looks lovely whether lightly or heavily made up.” This poem compares West Lake to the beautiful Xi Shi, and thus West Lake gained the elegant name “Xi Zi Lake”.
In the third month of the year, when West Lake is at its most beautiful, many scholars and refined guests come to admire it, adding yet more splendor to this picturesque place.
As for Liu Yi, he came just because his home was nearby. As for Shi Jieyi beside him, he was a complete brute—his knowledge of characters couldn’t even fill a bucket. He was there only because his boss, Liu Yi, was here.
While sitting in the courtyard enjoying the beauty of West Lake, suddenly a voice said, “Oh, isn’t that Young Master Liu Fu? Wait, no—talented Liu! What brings you here to enjoy West Lake today? It seems West Lake’s beauty has increased even more with your presence.”
Hearing this, Liu Yi turned to look. About ten steps away stood a scholar dressed in a purple robe, wearing a scholar’s headband. He had thin eyebrows, small eyes, and an unpleasant look, somewhat resembling Wu Dalang. He wasn’t tall, appearing to be in his early twenties at most.
Liu Yi was familiar with this Wu Dalang. The most famous academy in Jiangnan, Guang’an Pavilion, was run by Wu Dalang’s father. Of course, Liu Yi was the greatest talent there. Though he looked ugly, if you asked on the streets if anyone knew Li Yin, many would claim to do so.
Li Yin wasn’t actually a bad person, but the most famous talent in Jiangnan was Liu Yi. As the saying goes, rivals hate each other—both being talents, Li Yin simply couldn’t tolerate Liu Yi.
As the saying goes, enemies meet and envy arises. Li Yin had come to West Lake in a good mood, but upon seeing Liu Yi there, he felt extremely uncomfortable.
Hearing Li Yin’s words, Liu Yi also felt displeased. He raised his hand in greeting, saying, “I thought I heard someone coming with the wind just now. It turns out to be Young Master Li!”
Shi Jieyi beside him said blankly, “Boss, I didn’t see any wind just now… But… I just farted.”
The servants behind Li Yin almost stepped forward together, ready to kick this stupid giant for saying such a thing.
Li Yin was angry too, but he wisely stopped his servants, knowing that Shi Jieyi, despite being a fool, had learned some skills somewhere and was quite skilled. In previous encounters, they had suffered heavy losses at his hands. After being beaten, he still brazenly boasted, “I’m one of the top ten outstanding youths today. Everyone calls me Shi Jieyi. If you disagree, invite someone to fight me.”

Li Yin stopped the servant while glancing at Shi Jieyi, whose gaze seemed capable of tearing him apart, and said with a smirk, “Brother Liu, look. What’s the point of this? We’re all scholars—how can we resort to violence? I doubt Brother Liu would approve of such foolish behavior.”

Liu Yi looked at Wu Dalang, whose expression changed faster than that of a chameleon, and said, “Your words are surprising, Young Master Li. The sense of honor and revenge in the martial world is exactly what I aspire to.”

Hearing this, Li Yin glanced at Shi Jieyi, who was on the verge of losing control, and said, “Brother Liu, I’ve always heard that you’re highly skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I admire you greatly. I was wondering… would you be willing to compete with me?”

Liu Yi looked at this man and wondered what tricks he had up his sleeve, then replied, “Your words are surprising, Young Master Li. My skills in those areas are merely for personal enjoyment and to cultivate my mind—they’re not meant for competition.”

By now, a crowd had gathered around the two of them, in three circles inside and outside. Everyone in the Jiangnan region knew that the talented Liu Yi and Li Yin were bitter rivals, and every time they met, it was an entertaining spectacle. Today was no exception, with everyone watching them eagerly.

Li Yin picked up his folding fan, gently opened it, and said as he strolled, “I certainly can’t compare to Brother Liu’s hobbies for cultivating his mind. How about we compete in composing couplets instead?”

It turned out Li Yin had planned this ahead of time. Knowing Liu Yi’s expertise in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, he had deliberately come up with a challenging task—couplets. When he saw no reaction from Liu Yi, he turned to the crowd and said, “Everyone, do you want to see the great talent Liu Yi compete in couplets with me?”

Instantly, wild shouts erupted from the crowd. Liu Yi was a rare talent, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see him compete.

Liu Yi wasn’t stupid either. He immediately realized that Li Yin was deliberately trying to leave him with no way out and force him to embarrass himself. But Liu Yi didn’t take this simple couplet challenge seriously either. Filled with enthusiasm, he said, “Very well. Since Young Master Li is so keen on this, I’ll show off my skills here.”

As soon as he said this, thunderous applause rang out. “Great! Excellent!”

Li Yin picked up his folding fan and flicked it a few times before saying, “Brother Liu, then I’ll start first, despite not being worthy.”

Liu Yi waved his fan and stepped forward toward Li Yin. “Please.”

Li Yin took a few steps forward, looked up at the sky, gently fanned himself, then turned and said, “Words run out of ink; a thousand loves and sorrows weigh heavily on heroes.”

The crowd exclaimed, “Great! Truly a wonderful couplet!”

Liu Yi sighed, shook his head, and replied without hesitation, “When the music ends, people disperse; hair turns gray, and beauties fade.” The crowd cheered even louder, saying the second line was even better—combined, they were absolutely perfect. Liu Yi came up with the reply instantly, showing his exceptional literary talent.

Hearing this, Li Yin panicked. He waved his fan and came up with another line: “Swallows and warblers, greens and reds—everywhere harmonious and perfect.” As soon as he said this, silence fell—this was quite a challenging line.

Liu Yi gently swayed his fan and replied, “Rain and wind, flowers and leaves—year after year, morning and night.” As soon as he finished, explosive applause filled the air once again.

Li Yin had no intention of listening. He turned around and recited the couplet he had prepared in advance: “Hour by hour, it gathers into a day; day by day, it gathers into a month; month by month, it gathers into a year; year after year.”

Liu Yi gently waved his folding fan, his brows furrowed. Seeing this, Li Yin laughed heartily and said, “Brother Liu, can’t you come up with a matching couplet?”

Liu Yi shook his head and replied, “Young Master Li, how about this? One day’s longing turns into a month’s longing; one month’s longing turns into a year’s longing; one year’s longing turns into a lifetime’s longing—through endless generations.”

Li Yin waved his fan, at a loss for words.

A wave of shouts arose from the crowd. Some cheered, “Great!” Others urged Li Yin to come up with another couplet quickly, while still others mocked him, saying, “This guy must have run out of ideas. How can he compare to the great talent Liu Yi? He shouldn’t even look in the mirror.”

Realizing he had to avoid further embarrassment, Li Yin gritted his teeth and said, “I have one more couplet. Please, Brother Liu, respond.”

Liu Yi remained calm and said, “Please.”

Li Yin waved his folding fan and recited, “A charming nun with almond-shaped eyes, her gaze full of springtime affection; her heart sways with tender emotions, her cries sweet and enchanting—her beauty irresistible, her joy uncontainable, determined to embrace spring.” When this couplet was spoken, the crowd pondered for a long time before bursting into laughter. They guessed that Li Yin was at his wits’ end and had come up with such a vulgar reply. They wondered if Liu Yi could come up with a couplet as long as that.

Liu Yi walked around Li Yin twice, then leaned in close to his ear and said, “A handsome monk with fierce eyes, filled with resentment and sighs; his devotion to Buddhism is unwavering, yet he sings a sad song of despair—his heart heavy as stone, determined to seek enlightenment.” After saying this, Liu Yi waved his folding fan, laughed heartily, and strode away, saying, “Eleven, let’s go home for dinner.”

Shi Jie nodded and followed Liu Yi to their dining place.

Only Li Yin remained frozen in place. He had spent three days crafting that last couplet, only for this kid to come up with a matching one instantly. As for the people around them? Although they didn’t know whether Liu Yi had come up with a response or not, they could guess almost everything from the expressions on Liu Yi and Li Yin’s faces. They just wondered what Liu Yi’s couplet was—what a pity… But it was already great to witness such an amazing performance. Thinking of Liu Yi’s elegant figure, everyone couldn’t help but marvel—how could such a talent belong to this world?

Of course, calling Liu Yi a talent wasn’t unfounded. In the Jiangnan region, almost everyone knew Young Master Liu Fu. Even in the capital and other places, Liu Yi’s reputation was well-known.

Since childhood, Liu Yi had loved music, chess, literature, and painting, and he possessed an extraordinary memory. The only thing he disliked was practicing martial arts. By the age of thirteen, he was already recognized as a talented young scholar. By eighteen, he had created his first famous work, “The Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Good Fortune,” which won high praise from the emperor. The emperor took him to the palace, and from then on, Liu Yi’s reputation as a talented scholar in Jiangnan grew even more. By the age of twenty, he had created fifteen masterpieces that were collected by nobles and high-ranking officials.

In fact, not all of these people were art lovers. The reason was simple: Liu Yi’s paintings were extremely rare, with only fifteen existing in the world. Owning one was proof of one’s status and could also be used for show.

And what about Liu Yi? After turning twenty, he never picked up a brush again, so one can imagine how precious these fifteen paintings are. Calling Liu Yi a talented artist is not unfounded. In the world of martial arts, where the strong prey on the weak, a talented artist is the least valuable of all. Who would care about a mere talented artist? But Liu Yi was different. His status as a talented artist in this world was undisputed—because whoever obtained one of his paintings wouldn’t need to strive to rob or kill anymore for the rest of their life. Since he was such a talented artist, many people took an interest in him. People like Li Yin were still relatively harmless, but even worse, many in the martial arts world coveted Liu Yi’s paintings and tried to force him to paint for them. Yet they suffered as a result—there was “One of the Top Ten Outstanding Youth” by Liu Yi’s side. This silly boy had learned some terrifying martial arts skills somewhere and guarded Liu Yi closely, even while sleeping; the two were always together. This made many in the martial arts world give up their evil intentions toward Liu Yi. Thus, this talented artist became a legend in the human world…