Volume 2: Ren Ping Sheng Chapter 58: Sleeping Dragon

  (It has now rushed to the 14th place on the recommended list, and continues to seek progress with a strong desire.)

  Dinner ended in a warm and cozy atmosphere, after chatting for a while about family matters, everyone went to rest.

  Chen Jianchen bought this villa, behind which there are four wing rooms, two of which belong to Chen Jianchen, one bedroom and one study.

  It's called a study, but now there are hardly any books inside. Nevertheless, it is the first independent study that Chen Jianchen has had in his life. In the past, in Jingyang Village, his study was quite narrow, and half of the space was still occupied by a bed, which didn't look like a study at all.

  Now, birds have guns instead of bows and arrows, finally bidding farewell to their snail-paced life.

  In the spacious study, on the wall hung a brush and ink scroll with only one character, a big " Zheng" character.

  The character was written by Chen Jianchen, with a strong sense of justice implied.

  Hanging such a scroll here has the intention of bringing peace and stability to the house.

  The positive energy contained in the pen and ink will be greatly discounted or even disappear if the carrier is damaged.

  Therefore, it is necessary to be careful when mounting and rolling up, in order to achieve proper preservation.

  No words for a night, on the second day Chen Jianchen finished his breakfast early and returned to the college. As soon as he arrived at the gate of the college, he ran into Wang Fuxing rushing out.

  Seeing Chen Jianchen, Wang Fuyi pulled him over excitedly and said: "Liu Xian, let's go, I'll take you to see someone."

  "Who is it?"

  "Just follow me and I promise you won't be disappointed. It took a lot of effort for my brother to find out where he is."

  Chen Jianchen pouted: "If you don't say anything, I won't go with you."

  Wang Fu rolled his eyes: "Liu Xian, you're really boring. Alright, I'll be straightforward with you. He's a legendary figure from the pugilistic world, known as the mysterious 'Sleeping Dragon' who appears and disappears without warning. His name will surely make your ears perk up - it's Zhuge Wò Lóng."

  As for the name Zhuge Wò Lóng, Chen Jianchen was naturally very familiar with it. This was indeed an extraordinary person who enjoyed great fame in scholarly circles - to mention that, in fact, Zhuge Wò Lóng was not his real name, but a pen name.

  It is said that his learning was rich and abundant, his talent was high and outstanding, and he was well-versed in astronomy and geography. However, this extraordinary talent, from the age of 20, took the imperial examination, but until the age of 70, he was unable to pass, and spent his life in disappointment and half a lifetime in wandering.

  Repeated failures, Zhuge Wòlóng finally became disheartened and began to write books about ghosts, demons, and fox spirits. His works include "Youweizhuan" and "Lanzhu Mei".

  There is a rumor that Mr. Zhuge is secretly working on a masterpiece called "The Dream of the Stone", which will be completed soon and widely circulated, causing paper prices to soar in Luoyang.

  Of course, all of these without exception were imperial courts.

  His books, the more they were banned, the more popular they became, the more they stirred people's hearts, and the more they were copied and circulated. In various universities, there was a saying: "If one does not read 'The Plum in the Golden Vase', it is futile to read all the poems and books."

  The influence can be seen at a glance.

  Chen Jianchen had not read the legendary "Lan Zhu Mei", but he liked "You Wei Tang You Ji" very much. In the book, he vaguely saw the shadow of another masterpiece, which was enough to be called "ghosts and foxes have personalities, laughter and scolding become articles".

  So Chen Jichen also wanted to go and pay his respects to Mr. Zhuge Wòlóng, so he followed Wang Fu on the journey.

  All the way, they chatted about nothing in particular, but most of it was Wang Fu talking excitedly, as if he were going to meet an idol he had always admired. He kept saying that no matter what, he wanted to ask Mr. Zhuge to take a look at the manuscript of "The Dream of the Red Chamber" and get a sneak peek.

  After walking for about the time it takes to have a cup of tea, Wang Fu stopped in front of a magnificent house.

  Chen Jianchen looked up and was taken aback: Bird-Raising Pavilion!

  The name is somewhat ambiguous, but it's actually a brothel with some reputation in Jiangzhou. Chen Jianchen has never been here before, but he had long heard of its fame.

  In the Tianyun dynasty, it was quite common for scholars and bookworms to visit brothels. In many people's eyes, this was even a rather elegant thing to do. This is because many of the courtesans in this world were skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Setting aside their humble origins, some high-ranking courtesans could be called talented women.

  So literati and scholars come here, not just to "walk the birds", there are also many who come to "talk heart" - although, talking and talking, most of them end up in bed...

  Is Zhuge Liang here?

  Chen Jianchen was somewhat perplexed.

  It's still early in the morning, with the dawn just breaking. The Bird's Paradise is quiet and still, I suppose everyone inside is having a sweet dream.

  On the other side, Wang Fu lightly got into a conversation with a hippie-looking turtle slave on familiar terms, and with a flash of his hand, he clearly slipped a silver ingot over to him.

  After receiving the silver, Turtle Slave smiled with his eyes narrowed into a slit and quickly led Wang Fu and Chen Jianchen in. They walked through seven twists and eight turns, directly to a secluded backyard, facing one of the rooms, he whispered: "Mr. Zhuge is staying inside, you must not leak it out."

  His mouth said so, but his expression was as if he wanted the whole world to know that if a few big spenders like Wang Fu came every day, he would make a fortune.

  "Wang Fu asked: 'Has the master risen from his high bed?'"

  "Turtle slave replied: 'He's up early, probably drinking again inside. Two young masters, don't blame me for not reminding you, Mr. Zhuge drinks heavily every morning and will go crazy from the wine.'"

  Wang Fu thanked him and then Turtle Slave ran out to continue his work outside.

  Wang Fu and Chen Jianchen walked over, but before they got close, the door of that house was opened, and a thin, white-haired old man holding a jar of wine stumbled out.

  "When living in a prosperous era, one must be ashamed of every sentence that is not perfect; once fallen into the wilderness outside the Sun Mountain, then every phrase of writing has flaws. With a sideways glance, there is no home in the four seas, and the world's hidden talents are limited by time. Writing is detested by fate, knowing that half of life is spent in vain, I ask who is the most sorrowful person in ancient and modern times?"

  Its tone is old and desolate, with a hint of indignation.

  The so-called "Kang Le" has a story behind it. It is said that when a scholar named Liu was taking the imperial examination, he tabooed the word "le" in "An Le" because it had the same pronunciation as "fall". He ordered his family members not to say "An Le", but only "An Kang". This is similar to the reason why one cannot say the word "book" when going to a gambling den.

  However, Liu Xiucai did not pass the imperial examination after all. After the servant checked the list and returned to report, he said "The young master is fine" out of superstition...

  "Mr. Zhuge?"

  Seeing the old man, Wang Fu exclaimed with surprise.

  The old man stumbled along, his drunken eyes blurry, and scanned the two of them before suddenly asking: "Who are you? Why have you come here?"

  He had clearly drunk too much, his tongue was a bit thick and his speech was unclear; while moving, he accidentally stepped on a stone and lost his balance, almost falling to the ground, but fortunately, a strong hand stretched out from beside him and steadied him.

  Chen Jianchen's hand.