Nine Star Hegemon Body Art (WN)

After spending a lifetime haggling, he had finally miscalculated. Just what was going on today? Was his horoscope bad for today? Not only did he sell himself to someone else, but his haggling skill had also regressed.

“Alright, shopkeeper, count yourself vicious.”

Long Chen directly admitted defeat. Having managed to haggle three thousand down to eighty, he had thought that this was the limit, and anything further would cause the shopkeeper to turn hostile. Unexpectedly, he had severely underestimated this fellow.

Two hairpins for one hundred silver? Most likely, the shopkeeper still made a large profit, probably over seventy silver from this transaction.

“He did that on purpose. Definitely on purpose.” Long Chen walked out of the shop with his teeth clenched furiously. Meanwhile, Yu Qingxuan was holding his arm, laughing.

Most likely, it was Long Chen’s pleased expression after haggling that made the shopkeeper irritated, so he gave Long Chen a little lesson, letting him take another hairpin to tell him that he was still too young.

However, seeing Yu Qingxuan laughing delightedly, Long Chen felt that this loss was worth it. If the hair ornaments made her smile, then this money was well-spent.

“Junior brother, I see that you are blessed with fortune and vision. Why don’t you come and take a look at my humble shop? These are historical objects from the ancient era. Why not gain some experience here?” An elder warmly called out to them from an antique shop.

Long Chen took a look inside and then turned to the elder irritably. “The oldest thing in this shop is you.”

Hearing this answer, Yu Qingxuan burst into laughter. She could also tell that the antiques here were mostly fakes. But Long Chen’s phrasing was too funny. She always felt particularly happy with Long Chen.

“There are people on Scholar Road looking for a husband! Let’s go take a look!” Suddenly, they heard an exclamation on the street, and countless people were running in one direction.

“Let’s go take a look too!” Yu Qingxuan started running while dragging Long Chen along.

“You foolish girl, what are we looking for? Are you trying to get a wife for me?” Long Chen bitterly smiled.

“We’re just taking a look! It’s not that important.” Yu Qingxuan didn’t get angry and just giggled as she dragged him along.

They quickly joined a large crowd around a stage. Standing prominently on the stage were two exquisite-looking maidens in their early twenties.

“Hehe, this is a groom search, but it’s also a scholar competition. It’s like a martial arts competition to look for a wife. Look, their origins shouldn’t be ordinary. Do you see that couplet in their hands?” Yu Qingxuan pointed.

Only then did Long Chen notice the couplet held between their hands. There was a banner saying, “One Da Jiao, two Xiao Jiao, three golden lotus feet, four-inch waist, five six seven makeups, eight nine dresses, ten out of ten looks.”

These two were sisters, one named Da Jiao and the other named Xiao Jiao. They were appraising the crowd, and when they saw a few Hanlin scholars in the crowd, their eyes immediately lit up.

“This couplet was written by our father, and the two of us are willing to serve any nobleman who can come up with a matching couplet,” said one of them. It was undeniable that both of them possessed not only breathtaking beauty but also voices that resonated like enchanting melodies.

The Hanlin scholars were interested and walked over to the stage. They then examined the couplet, trying to think of a matching verse.

“Difficult, very difficult. For the first half to count up one two three four five six seven eight nine ten, the lower half must be the opposite. That just makes it even more difficult,” said one Hanlin scholar, sighing.

In truth, it wasn’t impossible to match the couplet, but a good verse required delicate work. It needed to rhyme, as well as to match the syllables and timing.

As Hanlin scholars, they refused to simply give a second-rate answer. If anyone were to pick out their flaws, that would cause them to lose face. Hence, it would be better to simply say that they could not come up with anything that could match it.

“Is this hard? All these people can’t do it?” Long Chen couldn’t help looking at Yu Qingxuan in surprise.

These words were only for Yu Qingxuan, but before she could answer, someone around them sneered, “Big words. Not even great Hanlin scholars can come up with anything, so how could it not be difficult? If it’s not difficult, why don’t you try it?”

This person was also a scholar, and seeing Long Chen carrying a giant saber on his back, he knew that Long Chen was a martial cultivator. After hearing Long Chen question their ability so arrogantly, this person naturally retorted.

He intentionally spoke loudly so that the surrounding people heard. As a result, everyone in the surroundings looked at Long Chen.

The reason their gazes were focused on Long Chen was because Yu Qingxuan had used a magical art so that only Long Chen could see her face clearly. Others would only see an ordinary woman when they looked at her.

“It’s you? You were the one who was rude to the Philosopher and then argued on the zither fairies’ stage!” Someone quickly recognized him.

As a large number of the people here were scholars, they all glared at him hostilely.

“Hehe, Long Chen, give a matching verse for this couplet. Put them in their place,” said Yu Qingxuan.

With her saying this, Long Chen looked at the surroundings. There were seven Hanlin scholars around them, six glaring at him and one pondering, seemingly still wondering about how to match this couplet.

This was a main street. As it was nighttime, the lanterns on the street had been lit, and the moon was hanging in the sky. Somehow, Long Chen and Yu Qingxuan had been out for a long time, not realizing that the day was coming soon.

Eyeing his surroundings, Long Chen indifferently said, “The tenth day of the ninth month, eight-tenths of the full moon shine. Seven Hanlin scholars, six arrogant. Fifth hour, fourth strike, third light, two Jiaos follow one person away.”

Hearing this, the people in the crowd stood there like wooden chickens. This complete couplet was put together perfectly, and there were almost no flaws.

By the time they reacted, Long Chen had already left with Yu Qingxuan, leaving behind the dumbstruck crowd.

“Hehe, if you were to give up martial cultivation and focus on literature, in ten years, no, seven years, you will be comparable to a Philosopher,” said Yu Qingxuan proudly.

“That’s right, Qingxuan, what exactly is this Philosopher rank?” asked Long Chen.

“Ah, the Philosopher is a rank for the highest level of learning in the Vermilion Bird Empire. We only have three. Two of them stay in the Philosopher Institute and rarely come out, and only Philosopher Sun likes to go around. He teaches and accepts disciples, even holding classes for us in the palace. To tell the truth, I’m not very fond of him. He’s rather decrepit. But in theory, his position is equivalent to that of the emperor, so we still have to greet him as disciples when we see him.”

Yu Qingxuan was rather sullen. For someone as kind as Yu Qingxuan to give such an evaluation of someone, it was clear that this Philosopher was no good.

“What Philosopher? To dare make my Qingxuan feel aggrieved, just wait until I beat him up,” raged Long Chen.

Yu Qingxuan once more laughed. But in a bit, the sun began to rise. Having no choice but to return to the palace, Yu Qingxuan then bid farewell reluctantly.

As the sound of her laughter faded away, Long Chen felt a sense of loneliness well up within him.

“This is no good. I have to proceed faster.”

Long Chen went to Yu Qianxue’s mansion. At the gate, he revealed his status plate, and the guard immediately let him in.

After passing two gates, Long Chen arrived in a spacious courtyard, but he frowned. There was an expert with a spear blocking his way.

He was a red-haired man with astonishing Blood Qi. When they saw each other, he pointed his spear at Long Chen and disdainfully said, “How could seeing the princess be so simple? I’ll give you two choices: beat me and I’ll let you through, or you can crawl between my pants.

“I feel like there’s a third choice. I’ll walk over your corpse.” Long Chen’s killing intent was instantly triggered by this man’s arrogant conduct.