Red Dust Daqian

Zhou Sen and Xiangcao arrived at the last bookstore happily and relaxedly.

As soon as I stepped into the attic on the second floor of the library, I found that the nosy Li Qi, who called himself a wandering knight, and old man Yuwen were sipping tea and discussing poetry in the attic.

Zhou Sen had no good impression of Li Qi, who tried to blackmail him with the Song of Everlasting Regret. In addition, Li Qi was so handsome that Zhou Sen became jealous and turned gay. And there was Xiangcao. Seeing Xiangcao looking at the handsome Li Qi, Zhou Sen became infatuated with him again, and his eyes were almost tearing.

At this moment, Zhou Sen didn't want to have too much interaction with Li Qi. He pulled the obsessed Xiangcao and wanted to go downstairs and leave the library.

"Masters, you're leaving right after you got here. Why don't you stay for a while?" The magnetic and feminine voice came from behind. Hearing Li Qi's call, Xiangcao instinctively stopped. Zhou Sen didn't want to stay in the library for a moment, so he pretended not to hear the call and prepared to force Xiangcao to leave the library.

But Li Qi didn't intend to let Zhou Sen leave easily. With a wave of his hand, the thugs understood and blocked the way of Zhou Sen and Xiangcao. Zhou Sen sighed, damn, you come to block the way again, are you a roadblock?

Li Qi invited Zhou Sen and Xiangcao again and said, "Masters, meeting each other is fate. Since we meet in the bookstore, why don't you sit down and have a cup of tea?" Seeing that there was no hope of leaving, Zhou Sen just pulled Xiangcao angrily and turned back.

Zhou Sen politely said to Li Qi who was sitting by the window: "I only drink tea with two kinds of people, one is men and the other is women. Please forgive me that I still need to review my poetry and attend a poetry conference, so I have no time to drink tea with you, young master." Anyone with a discerning eye could hear that Zhou Sen was making fun of Li Qi for being neither male nor female.

Xiangcao thought Zhou Sen was being stingy, so she pinched him secretly to make him more generous. This action made Zhou Sen even angrier, and he felt as if his wife had been taken away from him, and he glared at Li Qi.

After a while, the guards around Li Qi finally understood what Zhou Sen meant by his words. This was an insult to his master, and they angrily scolded Zhou Sen: "You are so bold and evil, you dare to humiliate me..." The guard stopped talking halfway, as if he realized that he almost made a mistake, and stopped talking. Li Qi calmly waved his hand to signal the guards to leave.

Zhou Sen sneered: "What am I humiliating? I just don't have the time to accompany this eunuch for tea." Facing Zhou Sen's sarcasm, Li Qi seemed quite generous and replied without any anger: "In fact, Taoist priest, you don't have to be so hostile to me. Putting aside the content of the poem, I still admire your poetry." Although it was a compliment, Zhou Sen didn't feel comfortable listening to it. He didn't have any poetry. He recited a poem inspired by his feelings and was hit by a blackmail.

Li Qi continued to ask, "I met you a few days ago, but left in a hurry. I forgot to ask you two Taoists, your names, and where you learned from?" Xiangcao, who had a natural liking for Li Qi and had a pair of eyes, replied readily, "My name is Zhang Xiangcao, and this is my junior brother Zhang Mumu. We both learned from Longhu Mountain."

Hearing about Longhu Mountain, old man Yuwen said thoughtfully: "Longhu Mountain is one of the twelve Taoist blessed places in Daqian. The two Taoist priests also came from famous schools. I, too, once traveled here in my early years. The scenery is picturesque." As soon as old man Yuwen spoke, he distracted Zhou Sen from the thought of fighting with Li Qi.

Zhou Sen thought of a famous writer in the contemporary Daqian world, Yuwen Zhonglan, among the poems and articles he had read in the past few days. This old man Yuwen also had the surname Yuwen, so could he have any relationship with Yuwen Zhonglan? Zhou Sen asked directly, "Sir, your surname is Yuwen, and I wonder if you have any relationship with the famous writer Yuwen Zhonglan?"

After hearing Zhou Sen's words, Old Man Yuwen hesitated for a moment and looked at Li Qi, who nodded. Old Man Yuwen replied, "I must be the Yuwen Zhonglan that the Taoist priest mentioned. I am not worthy of the title of a great literary figure." When Yuwen Zhonglan said this, the people who had just been discussing poetry with Old Man Yuwen and Li Qi in the library were shocked as if they had heard thunder. They gathered around and bowed to their idol teacher.

"So Mr. Yuwen is Mr. Yuwen Zhonglan." "I've heard a lot about you." "I'm so lucky to have heard your teachings." A group of pedantic scholars began to flatter Yuwen Zhonglan. As if they had heard a call, soon the library was filled with people who came to admire him. Zhou Sen, Xiangcao, and Li Qi were squeezed to the edge of the room.

Zhou Sen sighed, "Wow, I didn't expect that Yuwen Zhonglan was so popular among the Daqian literati. He was just like the superstars of later generations." Looking at Li Qi next to him, Zhou Sen couldn't help wondering who this Li Qi was. He must be someone extraordinary to make Yuwen Zhonglan, a great literary figure in Daqian, obey his orders.

Seeing Zhou Sen staring at him for a long time, Li Qi's cheeks turned slightly red and he felt embarrassed. He waved his hand to wake Zhou Sen and said, "Master Mu, it's not polite for you to stare at me like this." Zhou Sen woke up from his thoughts and realized that he was rude. He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, who wants to stare at you? I'm also afraid of being turned gay. Didn't I doubt your identity?"

Zhou Sen asked Li Qi directly, "Who are you to make Yuwen Zhonglan willing to accompany you in the bookstore? Also, there must be many scholars around you, why do you insist on letting me participate in the Huaxi Society Poetry Conference? What's your intention?" Li Qi replied calmly, "Master Mu, don't be nervous. I just want to confirm your level of talent. I have no other intention."

Zhou Sen would never believe it so easily. Li Qi's face changed and he continued to threaten: "Remember, I am a wandering knight. You must know that you have indeed insulted the royal family. I have the evidence of your signature. If you can't get the first place in the poetry competition, I will still report it to the government and punish you for disrespect."

Li Qi saw that more and more people were gathering around him, and was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would disturb someone he didn't want to disturb, so he called his attendants to escort Yuwen Zhonglan out of the library quickly.

After everyone left, Xiangcao asked Zhou Sen in confusion: "Mumu, I think this Li Qigongzi must be of a special status. Could he be a member of the royal family?" Zhou Sen replied uncertainly: "Who knows? Anyway, judging from his age, he doesn't match the ages of the princes. However, members of the royal family are not so common that you can run into them just by strolling around the streets. Don't they always travel with a large number of carriages and horses? How dare they travel alone? They will not casually show up in teahouses, restaurants and other places where all kinds of people gather."