salted fish soaring

In spring, the sun is just right, and the birds are chirping on the branches.

The young monks walked together in twos and threes and gathered by the Caishi River.

They don't carry swords or swords with them, they only wear folding fans, sachets or jade pendants, light robes and belts, and chat and laugh happily with their companions.

Compared with the noisy and passionate martial arts test and the serious and quiet chess test with hidden murderous intentions, the atmosphere of the painting and calligraphy test is much more relaxed.

After all, the contestants do not have two-two opponents who can fight to the death.If you feel that you are not performing well, as long as you do not exceed the specified time, you can change the paper and start over.

[-]% of the contestants are disciples of Qingya Academy, and [-]% are talisman masters from other schools and aristocratic families. Few of them are like Song Qianji, and the registration is only for participation——

In the eyes of others, he is a calligraphy and painting lover who was born as a sword repairman.

There are countless hanging springs and waterfalls in Huaweizong. This small stream is not big, but it has a unique beauty. It is called Caishixi by the Zong.

The stream is gurgling and crystal clear, and the pebbles under the water can be seen at a glance.

They are round and colorful, covering most of the stream.

On the bank of the stream is a flat and open meadow, under the blue clouds and the sky, the grass grows and warblers fly, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Thousands of tables and chairs are used for painting and calligraphy, and they are set up in such a beautiful place with beautiful spring.

Before the competition started, the scholars were waving their fans and pacing along the stream, talking loudly:

"I have heard that Li Daoyou has a brilliant literary talent and a wonderful pen. I don't know what to write today?"

"I'm not talented, I saw the beautiful scenery of Yaoguang Lake the day before yesterday, and I came across a quatrain."

"I heard that Brother Liu's painting of plum blossoms is one of the best in the academy. Can you still paint "Plum Blossoms in the Snow" today?"

"Recently visit the scenery of Huawei Mountains and Rivers, and draw a picture of "Huawei Mountain Scenery"."

They seem to be chatting, but they have a lot of attention.If you have a good relationship, you will flatter each other sincerely; if you have a bad relationship, you will praise and criticize each other, and your words will be sharp.

Song Qianji walked through the crowd of fans, lifted the hem of his clothes, bowed his head, and picked pebbles by the stream.

He planted lotuses in the tank under the eaves, and it was just right to fill the tank with a few rain flowers.

The spring water is not cold, it spreads over five fingers, leaving just the right amount of coolness, which is refreshing.

The rocks at the bottom of the water are colorful, and Song Qianji picks them carefully from left to right, sometimes alarming a few small silver fish in the crevices of the rocks, slipping through his fingers.

Song Qianji put the Yuhua Stone into the storage bag, and found it interesting and satisfying, so he didn't care about the whispers around:

"Who is this man? He dropped something in the water?"

"He's actually picking up rocks, is he out of his mind?"

"He looks familiar..."

Distant bells sounded from the mountains.

"All contestants, please take your seats according to the serial number—" the deacons on the sidelines said in unison.

Everyone laughed and said goodbye, and agreed to talk again next time, found their own tables and chairs, and laid out paper and pens.

Most of the brushes used by talisman masters are magic tools, and they often choose from thousands of choices before finding the one that suits them best. The ink and paint they are used to are not ordinary.

Pens, inks, papers, inkstones and inkstones are not provided by Huawei Sect, so you have to bring your own.

Song Qianji found his serial number, pulled out his chair and sat down, his hands still wet.

A piece of clean and soft silk cloth happened to be handed in front of her.

Meng Heze often handed him cloth, and Song Qianji took it habitually.

He wiped his hands before reacting.Ice silk satin brocade, the material is too good.

Song Qianji looked up and saw the face of the same table as the calligraphy and painting test.

The man had long eyebrows and starry eyes, and a sincere smile. He was wearing a robe with 88 heavy water cloud runes, a belt full of shark king beads, and a Ziyun Yanxia pen hanging on the pen holder on the table, which was actually a high-level magic weapon.

There are countless "expensive" characters written from head to toe.

Song Qianji was taken aback: "Thank you."

This face looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

"No thanks." The deskmate took back the satin brocade, as if it was just a rag.

He smiled and asked: "Just now I saw a fellow Taoist touching a stone at the bottom of the water, but he is praying for blessings? There is also this custom in my hometown."

Song Qianji: "...No, I only collect stones to fill the water tank."

The man nodded in embarrassment: "I see. I don't know whether you are writing or painting?"

"Let's draw." Song Qianji said.

The man's eyes lit up.

Although there are two people at the same table, most of the tablemates will not chat.

Once the contestants pick up their pens, they have nothing else to do.

There were grinding sounds all around, as if spring silkworms were eating mulberry leaves.

In this extremely regular and orderly noise, the voice at the same table was even more abrupt:

"Fellow Daoist, why haven't you written yet?"

Song Qianji sat leisurely, admiring the scenery of the stream, watching the clouds blowing: "I haven't thought about what to draw yet."

The man was dumbfounded: "You dare to sign up like this?"

"It doesn't cost money to sign up," Song Qianji said.

This reason cannot be refuted.But those who come to take part in the calligraphy and painting test, who has not practiced thousands of times in private, can write with eyes closed.

Only the two of them were left sitting still, even chatting.

Song Qianji took out the pebbles in the storage bag and started playing with the stones.

The tablemate couldn't hold his breath for a while, and took the initiative to speak again: "You can't, you can't draw, right?"

"I know a little bit." Song Qianji said.

Deng Wenya will take the calligraphy and painting test, but dare to come if you know a little? !

The man looked disappointed and sighed.

He opened the inkstone, added water and grinded the ink: "Forget it, I won't wait for you."

"What are you waiting for me?" Song Qianji was aroused by him.

The man said sincerely: "To be honest, I paint landscapes and I want to refer to your composition."

Song Qianji was speechless.

Don't you just say you want to copy your homework?

It turned out that the person who spoke to me just now was waiting for me here.

The strength and meaning of the brushwork all depend on the hard practice accumulated over time.

Composition is about ingenuity and aesthetics.

Especially in landscape painting, as the saying goes, "Looking horizontally, it looks like mountains and peaks, and the distance and height are different." For the same mountain, different people choose different angles, and the painted mountains and artistic conceptions are completely different.

Today's mountains and rivers emphasize meaning over form, and the "far mountains and near water method" of the sage of calligraphy is the most popular.In order to match their preferences, contestants often use this method.

Moreover, out of ten people to paint, eight of them chose to paint landscapes.

Song Qianji smiled helplessly, wondering if the serial numbers and seats are arranged horizontally?

Two scumbags are sitting at the same table, so don't rely on each other.

The man met his gaze, thinking that he was being despised, couldn't help but blushed, and argued: "I just don't know how to compose pictures! My writing skills are not bad..."

"It's okay, I don't even know how to landscape." Song Qianji said.

The man's expression softened, and he comforted him: "Then draw your favorite one, the one you want to draw the most at this time. Time is limited, don't delay."

Song Qianji thought for a while: "Okay."

After he finished speaking, he picked up his pen.

The deskmate craned his neck to look at him.Seeing that the pens and inks he used were the most inferior high-end goods, he couldn't help showing sympathy:

"You use mine. I have a spare set."

Song Qianji said no.

With just a few strokes, the outline of a small flower appears vividly on the paper.

The flower has five petals with a slightly bulging center and a lovely pointed end at the end of the petals.

The man was stunned and at a loss, thinking that I can't copy you if you draw like this.

Seeing that the flower was very agile, although it only had an outline, it seemed to be on paper, so I couldn't help but wondered:

"What kind of spiritual plant is this painted by Fellow Daoist? It's so cute!"

"It's not a spiritual plant, it's just a potato flower."

"Potato flower?" The man shouted in surprise: "Ancestor Dao, it turns out that potatoes grow in the ground and bloom! I thought it was growing on a tree, are you lying to me?"

Song Qianji: "...I really didn't lie to you."

Let's not alarm Daozu about this matter, okay?

Some monks whose parents were born in immortal sects or aristocratic families, ate spiritual rice and spiritual fruits since childhood, and fasted grains early after practicing, and had limited contact with mortals, so that they could not distinguish the five grains.

Song Qianji can understand.

"Actually, cucumbers also bloom," he said.

The man's expression changed, and he said with admiration: "Fellow Daoist is really knowledgeable and knowledgeable! Dare to ask you Gao's name?"

"...Don't take it seriously, my name is Song Qianji."

The man smiled slightly, and suddenly exclaimed: "So you are Song Qianji!"

The contestants on all sides raised their heads and looked at them one after another:

"He is Song Qianji? The leader of Huawei Sect's outer sect?"

"These two are actually sitting at the same table? Song Qianji is a tough guy, that stupid, rich, talkative trash might be in trouble."

Song Qianji coughed lightly: "Keep your voice down. Do you recognize me?"

"You are very famous!" The man became excited, "but you seldom go out and walk around. You have only heard his name and never seen him. Everyone is guessing what kind of person you are... When I saw you today, Daoyou Song painted it well. Good Potato Blossom, as rumored, uninhibited."

Song Qianji was at a loss.

In the previous life, when others scolded him, they only scolded him for being unscrupulous, trick-or-treating, ruthless, and so on.

What is the word uninhibited?He didn't know whether it was scolding or boasting.

"I heard that Meng Heze was taught by you?"

"It's not me." Song Qianji said helplessly.

The other party obviously didn't believe it, so he patted the table and complained: "Last night I was supposed to draw a picture to practice brushwork, then bathed in incense and calmed down, practiced all night, and prepared for today's calligraphy and painting test. But I couldn't help but go to see Meng Heze playing Hey! He actually set off a sky lantern, is that appropriate? Don't you care?"

"You said he did such things at night, who wants to take the exam today? But then again, the lights were so beautiful that day... You taught him all the new ways of playing in the ring, right?"

As soon as the other party opened the chatterbox, the speed of speech was extremely fast, like a continuous firecracker, eloquent.

This kind of speaking rhythm made Song Qianji feel very familiar, and finally caught the gap to deny:

"Absolutely nothing! I never taught it!"

I didn't, I was wronged.

The man still didn't believe it: "Brother Song, Sister She also likes to watch him fight. Could you throw Meng Heze the last flower before his end tomorrow?"

"This... can't be done."

Song Qianji had never heard such a strange request.

Putting on lights and throwing flowers, how many tricks did Xiaomeng do behind his back?

Not easy.

While mastering the battle rhythm, command the scene scheduling at the same time, you must play well and win.

If Meng Heze hadn't had the red jade Buddha beads beside him, he might have been overwhelmed and unable to support him.

The deskmate nodded understandingly: "That's right, there are huge crowds of people in the audience, and it's dark. How can he throw it accurately? I'm taking the liberty... Ah, I've talked so much, I haven't reported my family name, I'm rude, my surname is Ji, Single name Chen."

A bright light flashed in Song Qianji's mind: "Jichen of Fengxian County?!"

The familiar face in his memory finally coincided with the handsome face in front of him.

Ji Chen smiled awkwardly: "I didn't expect Fellow Daoist to have heard of me." He tried hard to explain, "Actually, I'm not that useless, I just don't know how to compose pictures..."

Song Qianji asked in surprise, "Why are you taking the calligraphy and painting test?"

Ji Chen was even more surprised: "Fellow Taoist, why do you ask this question? I have been learning calligraphy and painting since I was a child."

Song Qianji was stunned.

You are a big array master, you have been painting and calligraphy since elementary school?

"Have you started to learn formation yet?" Song Qianji asked.

Ji Chen said with a bitter face: "I can't even draw a talisman. I don't have time to learn the formation. Brother Song, don't make fun of me anymore!"

Song Qianji didn't know how to react.

Asking Ji Chen to learn calligraphy and painting is not the same as asking Miao Yan to use a big knife and asking Meng Heze to practice embroidery.

While hesitating, there was a commotion ahead, and many people put down their pens and got up to look around.

Song Qianji looked up, and saw that the two of them had arrived late, but they didn't come to take their seats. They flew straight up and flew towards the opposite cliff.

"What are they doing?"

Ji Chen explained enthusiastically:

"The two of us are here to go through the motions and get the head. The others are here to compete for the top [-] of the Wenya Club. If we go further, we can earn the top ten at most. So we follow the rules and write honestly on paper. How many times do we usually practice?" If you divide your efforts, you will show some skills...

"Those two people are not the same. If they want to be the direct disciples of Shusheng, they must do something amazing to attract the attention of the saint. Let's see what kind of tricks they have."