Chapter 45: Big Brother, Save Me, It Hurts So Much

“Top Scholar, don’t let yourself be fooled! Just as he said earlier, that poem was absolutely plagiarized!”
At that moment, Liu Muxuan finally couldn’t hold back and stepped forward.
“Don’t speak such nonsense!”
Before Xu Ye could respond, Old Scholar Liang, standing nearby, rebuked Liu Muxuan angrily and raised the Spring and Autumn Brush in his hand, saying,
“How could a plagiarized work receive the blessing of the Spring and Autumn Brush?”
As soon as these words fell, those who had doubted Xu Ye’s originality immediately dismissed the suspicion from their minds.
For, as Old Liang had said, the Spring and Autumn Brush would never bestow its blessing in vain.
“The righteous energy within a poem can only be used once—if it’s copied, how could it ever stir the Spring and Autumn Brush?”
Li Moyan snorted coldly at this,
And since even the top scholar had spoken, the crowd could say no more.
“But…but…”
“Stop making a fool of yourself!”
Liu Muxuan wanted to protest further, but Bai Ziqin, standing beside him, pinched him hard, forcing him to swallow his words.
“Xu Ye, does this poem of yours have a title?”
At that moment, Old Liang approached Xu Ye.
“Not yet, I haven’t named it.”
Xu Ye had no idea what Old Liang was up to, so he simply answered that there was no title.
Upon hearing this, a broad smile broke out across Old Liang’s wrinkled face.
“If you don’t mind, young friend, may I give it a name?”
Old Liang beamed at Xu Ye.
“Certainly, I would be honored.”
Xu Ye agreed without hesitation; to him, the name was of little importance.
“It’s settled, then!”
Old Liang laughed heartily when Xu Ye nodded his assent.
Only then did the scholars watching come to their senses—and inwardly cursed Old Liang with unrestrained envy.
To name a masterpiece destined for the ages—what a fortune unattainable even in eight lifetimes!

…

Night had deepened.
At the entrance of Lanruo Temple.
“Xu Ye, be honest with me—did you copy that poem?”
With the crowd dispersed, Lin Buyu quietly asked Xu Ye.
Xu Ye glanced around, then, mimicking Lin Buyu’s manner, leaned close to her ear and whispered,
“Yes, I copied it.”
“You’re lying to me again.”
Lin Buyu rolled her eyes at him.

After tonight’s literary gathering, she was already convinced of Xu Ye’s poetic talent; she only asked to confirm her own belief.
“I really didn’t.”
Xu Ye looked helpless.
“Whatever the truth, thank you for tonight. Tomorrow I can enter the Grand Academy and be officially recognized as a Sage.”
Lin Buyu grinned, shaking the token inscribed with “First Rank” in her hand.
This token, proof of having passed the gathering’s test, would allow her to enter the Grand Academy and seek the blessing of the sacred artifact.
“This painting is for you.”
Lin Buyu suddenly offered him her “Moonlit Night” painting.
“Without your poem, this painting would never have become a sacred artifact—it should belong to you.”
She added,
“You keep it; without your painting, there would have been no poem.”
Xu Ye pushed the painting back to her.
He spoke the truth—if her painting hadn’t stirred his homesickness, he would never have recited “A Moonlit Night on the Spring River” before the crowd.
Lin Buyu was startled by his words, then said nothing more and quietly accepted the painting.
“Xu Ye, in the future, no matter how badly you’re hurt, I’ll do everything I can to heal you. If I can’t, I’ll beg my father or my master.”
She looked at him earnestly.
“So this is repayment, or a curse?”
Xu Ye was both amused and exasperated.
“S-sorry, I’m not good with words,”
Lin Buyu’s cheeks reddened, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
“If you want to repay me, you could just—”
“Brother, big brother, mister…”
Just as Xu Ye was about to tease Lin Buyu, a little girl’s voice called out, interrupting him—a voice he knew he’d heard before.
“That voice again?”
Xu Ye frowned, searching around, but as before, he found nothing.
“Woof, woof, woof!”
Just then, from behind the gates of Lanruo Temple came the familiar bark of a little dog.
“It’s that spotted pup!”
Lin Buyu turned, her eyes lighting up.
“That dog again?”
Xu Ye frowned, a vague sense of unease rising in him; after all, he’d only seen the dog after hearing that little girl’s voice, both times.
“Go home, little one—we’re off now.”
Lin Buyu smiled and waved at the dog.
Having learned the dog belonged to Monk Huizhuo, she had given up the idea of adopting it.
“Woof, woof!”
Whether it understood her or not, the little dog really did stop at the gate, barking plaintively, its round black eyes fixed on Xu Ye with a look of utter pleading.

“You beast, how did you escape again!”
Just then, a hoarse shout sounded, and the terrifying, gaunt figure of Huizhuo appeared before Lin Buyu and Xu Ye.
“Hmph, you two again!”
He glared fiercely at them, then scooped up the trembling little dog.
“The gathering’s over, so get lost! You scholars are all thieves!”
With the dog in his arms, Huizhuo spat contemptuously at them, showing none of the dignity of a monk.
“What a despicable monk—once I thought he was a respectable man,”
Lin Buyu shot a look of disgust at Huizhuo.
But Xu Ye’s gaze lingered on the little dog—he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
“Maybe I should use my left eye?”
The thought suddenly occurred to him.
He pressed a hand over his bandaged left eye and pulled the cloth aside just enough to peek through.
Peering through the gap, he looked at the little dog—and saw a sight he would never forget as long as he lived:
The dog’s face merged perfectly with that of a porcelain-doll little girl.
At the same moment, the girl’s voice sounded again in his head:
“Big brother, please save me, Anuan is in so much pain…”
“Hmm?”
As if sensing Xu Ye’s gaze, Huizhuo suddenly spun around.
Fortunately, Xu Ye had already covered his left eye again, and Huizhuo noticed nothing.
“Still here? Get out!”
Huizhuo barked angrily.
“You—how dare you, monk…”
“Let’s go—it’s late enough already.”
Lin Buyu stamped her foot, about to curse him out—her temper was nothing like Xu Ye’s—but Xu Ye pulled her away before she could finish.
“What’s gotten into you? You’re so easygoing today,”
Lin Buyu looked at him in puzzlement.
“Why get angry with a monk?”
Xu Ye grinned, but inside he was tense:
“I don’t even know if he’s human or ghost—best not to offend him.”
The two returned to the carriage.
As the carriage rumbled away, Xu Ye poked his head out the window and once more peered at Lanruo Temple with his left eye.
He saw a raging torrent of ghostly energy soaring into the sky, and the once magnificent temple now appeared in ruins, with only broken walls and rubble remaining.
“How could such a haunted place exist right beneath the imperial city? Don’t the great scholars of the Academy care? Or perhaps—they can’t see it, or don’t wish to get involved…”
The more Xu Ye thought about it, the more unnerved he felt, and he realized that the secrets hidden in Lanruo Temple ran deeper than he’d ever imagined.