Insufficient balance

  He retreated and returned, Yu Jie said with a smile: "Brother Yi, I admire you from the bottom of my heart. You were able to kill Ma Guo Ping so miserably."

  It's natural for Yi Han to feel proud in his heart, but he smiled and said, "You're overpraising me."

  Ming Xi looked puzzled and asked: "Yi brother, what were you just talking about with Master Jing Ming?"

  Yi Han said calmly: "The monk wanted to have a game of Go with me, but I refused. So he invited me to visit Wuxiang Temple when I'm free."

  Yu Jie exclaimed: "Master Jingming has invited you to Wuxiang Temple, Brother Yi. Do you know what a great honor this is? Even Fu Zuoyi was refused an audience when he went to pay his respects to Master Jingming at Wuxiang Temple, yet the master has taken the initiative to invite you."

  Yi Han thought Yu Jie was a bit too surprised, he's just an old monk, having mixed in Jinling for so many years, still not as magnanimous as him. He said calmly: "There's nothing strange about it, he just wants to play chess with me, it doesn't count as looking at me differently". What's the point of playing chess with an old monk, it's better to go to the street to look at beautiful women.

  Ming Xi's face showed a hint of admiration, and he praised: "Master Jingming's chess skills are high, not comparable to Ma Guoping's style. If Brother Yi can win, that would be truly famous throughout the land."

  "Fame isn't my intention, beautiful women are what I'm after." Indeed, fame can sometimes make it easy to achieve certain goals, but at other times it's a pressure that prevents you from doing as you please. He's the type of person who does whatever he wants, and doesn't even live comfortably himself, so why would he care about what others think, unless that person is important to him.

  The Flower Poetry Society is on this side, Ma Guoping's face is as dull as the earth, and Yun Guitian's expression doesn't look very good either. However, he still comforted Ma Guoping by saying: "Don't worry, there are people outside of people, and there are heavens beyond heaven."

  Wei Feng said with a frown: "Ma brother, your chess skills are so high, how could you lose?"

  Ma Guoping's face fell, and he sighed: "I've lost this game miserably. At this moment, I just can't figure out how I lost. Forget it, forget it."

  Luo Zhancai said in a low voice, "Who is this Yi Han after all, to have so many talents?" The crowd shook their heads, not quite understanding, only knowing that he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

  Yún Gū Tiān Xiū said: "Qín Qí Shū Huà, the two sides of the qin and qi games ended in a draw. Last night on the painting boat, Yì Hán finished a painting in an instant. It seems that his attainments in painting are also extraordinary. Our Huāi Xiū Poetry Society is actually going to lose to one person, what a pity!" As he spoke, a hint of unwillingness flashed across his face, and suddenly he tightly grasped Lù Zhǎn Cái's hands: "Zhǎn Cái, the next round will depend on you."

  Luo Zhancai was also a proud person, but since he saw Yi Han, he had no bottom line in his heart. He said lightly: "Even if the opponent is Mingxiu, I have a 10% chance of winning, it's just that this Yi Han is really hard to guess, I'll do my best."

  The third round was a calligraphy competition, announced by Bai Congxing, the president of Jinling Calligraphy Institute.

  "Wei Feng exclaimed: 'Look, the one who has come out from Feng Ya Song's side is Ming Xiu!' Originally, Ming Xiu was the strongest opponent of Feng Ya Song, but now that he had appeared, they were overjoyed."

  Luo Zhanchai said with full confidence: "Ming Xiu thinks that his calligraphy can rival mine, but he doesn't know that I am no longer the Luo Zhanchai of a few days ago."

  Bai Congxi and the other two were writing Cao Zhi's "Danxia Bi Ri Xing", which is also a famous work. If they couldn't even recite it, they would be laughed at by everyone. Fortunately, Yi Han didn't come on stage, he wasn't someone who memorized books to death, and he really hadn't memorized this poem.

  After half an incense stick, both of them finished writing.

  Bai Congxi looked at Ming Xiu's handwriting, the word shape was beautiful and elegant, the structure was strict, clear and sharp, the pen tip was sharp, the strokes were forceful, and the beautiful posture jumped on the paper. Bai Congxi happily said: "Mr. Ming has written a good hand", Ming Xiu modestly returned the courtesy.

  Bai Congxi looked at Ruo Zhancan's calligraphy again, which was elegant and beautiful, but compared to Ming Xiu's calligraphy, it lacked a bit of maturity and sharpness. However, Ruo Zhancan had something that Ming Xiu couldn't match - his calligraphy had its own style, with form as the foundation and meaning as the connotation. Only calligraphy with intention has vitality, leaving people to savor it endlessly. Calligraphy with intention can reach the realm of natural elegance. Bai Congxi had already entered the threshold of calligraphic intention, while Ming Xiu's calligraphy, no matter how beautiful, was only about form, without depth or substance, and its superiority or inferiority was already clear.

  Bai Congxi looked at them and said: "In order to show fairness, I invite Brother Zhao to evaluate together", the two nodded in agreement, this is even better.

  Zhao Sansi finished reading Ruo Zhancai's calligraphy and walked to the other side to look at Ming Xiu's calligraphy. After a brief pause, he organized his thoughts and spoke out his true feelings: "Ruo Gongzi's calligraphy is written with a free heart, pursuing the meaning of naturalness, while Ming Gongzi's characters are beautiful but written with deliberate intention. I think Ruo Gongzi has a slight edge."

  Bai Congxi also nodded and said: "My view is the same as yours".

  Ming Xiuren returned and said to everyone: "I lost. That Lu Zhan has only just begun to understand the meaning of calligraphy, he is indeed a worthy successor of the great masters."

  Yu Jie smiled lightly, but somewhat forcedly, and said indifferently: "It doesn't matter, winning or losing is a common thing." Although he said so with his mouth, he still had some concerns in his heart.

  Yun Gu Tian let out a sigh of relief, finally salvaging some face. Wei Feng patted Rong Zhan's chest and said: "Good job, you've managed to win us back some dignity. The next round will be yours again, let them see the prowess of our dual mastery of literature and art."

  Fu Zuoyi stood on the high platform, laughing loudly: "I didn't expect Jinling to have so many talented people, I'm very happy in my heart. Finally, it's time for painting. I usually like famous paintings and have been fortunate enough to see many famous paintings in the court. Today, I don't know if the talented people of Jinling can surpass me, let me be surprised. I didn't make any preparations, so please ask both parties to paint a picture based on the current scenery of Moyu Lake."

  The Huaxiu Poetry Society doesn't need to guess, it's still Luozhan Cai, after all, he's known for his exceptional calligraphy and painting skills, and just won a game, full of momentum. But who knows what kind of elegant and refined person will show up on the side of Fengya Song, is it Mingxiu or that mysterious genius called Yihan?

  A hubbub of discussion erupted in the arena, and there was no one else who could have such an impact except for Yi Han. Originally, he wanted to yield to Ming Xiu, but Ming Xiu insisted on yielding instead. This was a crucial match, and they absolutely couldn't afford to lose again. Several people had seen Yi Han's painting skills before, and they were extremely confident in him.

  Yi Han walked into the arena with a smile, and as soon as he entered, the audience erupted in cheers. Rong Zhan, who was already seated, saw Yi Han and was startled - this person was indeed talented and skilled, and if they had competed in calligraphy just now, he wondered if he could have beaten him.

  Yi Han bowed to Luo Zhanwen: "Brother Luo, please." Luo Zhanwen also returned the courtesy to Yi Han. Compared to Ming Xiu's indifference, the two were much more cordial and harmonious.

  Two people sat down, and the table had already been prepared with pen, ink, and paper. Ruo Zhan thought to himself: "This Mo Chou Lake has many picturesque scenes at this time, but where should I start? To win, I must take a different approach. The landscape is too common, but the figures and scenes are in harmony with the current rhyme. However, painting people requires not only drawing their shape but also their demeanor. With so many people now, how can I paint them all at once? Let's take one corner of the scene and use it to represent the whole. Having made up his mind, he picked up his brush and began to paint.

  Luo Zhancai had already started drawing, but Yi Han was still carefully observing the surroundings. He had a great memory and could remember everything after just one glance. Luo Zhancai had been drawing for quite some time before he finally began to draw slowly.

  The people in the field began to observe the two, Rong Zhancai was observing and drawing at the same time, while Yi Han had not lifted his head since he started working.

  Without half a stick of incense time, Yi Han stopped writing and gently blew a breath on the rice paper, sitting leisurely waiting for Luo Zhanwen to finish painting. Luo Zhanwen had no time to look at Yi Han's situation anymore, although it was just this corner of Mochou Lake, but the amount of painting was also extremely large, even if someone else might not have finished painting in half a day.

  Everyone waited for a long time before Lu Zhanwen finally put down his pen. Yi Han, however, had already opened his half-closed eyes at some unknown point in time.

  Fu Zuoyi, Zhao Sansi and Bai Congxing all came over. First, they admired the painting of Luo Zhanchun. The painting depicted a corner of Mosou Lake, with water, pavilions, flowers, trees and five colors - dry, thick, heavy, light and green - all perfectly captured. The changes in ink color were rich and varied. The shapes and forms were vivid and lifelike, no different from real objects. But the main focus was on the people, those standing in front, whose expressions and appearances had all been painted. Luo Zhanchun had already demonstrated his artistic skills, excelling at landscapes as well as figures. This painting made one feel the lively atmosphere and beautiful scenery within it. The three of them all praised: "What a great painting! Truly a masterpiece!"

  Fu Zuoyi said: "The shape and meaning are so vivid that even I feel as if I were in the painting itself."

  Lu Zhenwen saw that all three of them were praising him without stopping, and he felt relieved in his heart. The people of Jinling all knew that he was unparalleled in both calligraphy and painting, but only he himself was clear that his true specialty was actually painting, and he had learned calligraphy just to provide a basis for his paintings. No matter how talented you are, can a few quick strokes surpass me?

  After three people finished looking at Qiao Zhan's painting, they felt that Qiao Zhan had already won. In order to show fairness, they still walked over and took a look at Yi Han's work.

  There is no gorgeous, vivid scenery. The water in the painting is blurry, but it has a sense of water color. The trees are vague, but they have tree shadows. People are quiet, but they have dynamics. This painting incorporates all the scenes into one, with every flower and grass, every pavilion and lake, as well as numerous people. Yi Han painted them all in, each person just a black dot, unable to discern their facial expressions or appearance. In this vast crowd of hundreds of people, Yi Han only painted one person clearly, yet it gives the feeling that everyone has been brought out. Just now, Fu Zhiyi felt as if he was standing right inside the painting, seeing Yi Han's artwork and truly seeing himself within it.

  When he saw the painting, he could see himself, abstract and vague, but existing in reality. This atmosphere surpassed the paintings of Lu Zhiwen. The shape and meaning, that extremely small woman in the painting, could make people clearly see her expression and appearance. Her artistic skills were even better than those of Lu Zhiwen. The three men couldn't necessarily tell how this painting was done, but only had a strange feeling, an unfulfilled feeling, which made them lean towards Yi Han's painting. Appreciating paintings is subjective consciousness, what one feels is good is good. Some things are inexpressible through language.

  Fu Zuoyi suddenly said with joy: "Yigongzi, can this painting be given to me?" Zhao Sansi and Bai Congxi were about to speak, but unexpectedly Fu Zuoyi took the lead, so they could only secretly sigh.

  Yi Han smiled and said, "If Mr. Fu likes it, he can take it away. I'm not a celebrity, nor do I have any value." A painting is only as good as the person who created it, and even a great painting is not as valuable as a living, breathing person. To prioritize paintings over people is to be inferior.

  Zhao San thought for a moment and smiled, "Young master, your words are not quite right. This painting is priceless, it's just that Mr. Fu has recently acquired a treasure." Lü Zhuanwen was already being ignored, and he urged, "Please, the three gentlemen, distinguish between good and bad."

  Bai Congxi didn't rush, and instead smiled at Luo Zhancheng, saying: "Luo Gongzi, please come forward to see Yi Gongzi's painting."

  Luo Zhanwen walked by with ease, but when he saw the painting, he was struck as if by lightning and remained speechless for a long time. His eyes stared motionlessly at the painting, his whole person becoming dazed and entranced.

  Fu Zuoyi announced loudly: "The fourth game, Feng Yacong wins".

  Ma Guo Ping held the painting done by Luo Zhan Wen in his hand and said angrily: "Such a wonderful painting, how could it have lost? I think those three people are old fools."

  Yun Gutian also thought for a long time and couldn't figure it out, saying: "Zhan Wen, what do you think?"

  Lu Zhanwen sighed and said, "I admit defeat wholeheartedly. His talent is beyond my reach." He lamented, "The saying 'there's a heaven above the heaven, and there are people beyond people' makes sense to me, but how can someone so young be such a genius?"

  The next poetry duel, each side chose five people, including Mingxiu and Yihanchen. How could Huaxiang Poetry Society not lose? In the end, after several rounds of back-and-forth, Huaxiang Poetry Society had to admit defeat. Thus, Fengya Song won its first true victory over Huaxiang Poetry Society in a literary competition.