Chapter 18: The Battle of Zhen Ling Pass
“Alright, alright, I don’t want to argue with you, little girl. Since you said the rules were set by me, I’ll change them today.” Bai Li, the old man, raised an eyebrow and looked at Qin Feng with malicious intent.
“You old rascal, why are you looking at me like that? Just because I won in the matching couplets yesterday, do you think I can’t handle this?”
“Hey, young brat, I admit you have some talent in couplets, but today, I’m not testing your couplets. I’ll test your poetry skills!”
“Poetry?” Qin Feng looked puzzled.
“Yes,” Bai Li lightly touched the wicker chair, and in an instant, a bronze incense burner appeared in the attic. The surface of the incense burner was engraved with exquisite patterns, shimmering with golden light.
“This is the Ascension Incense Burner. Its function is simple. As long as someone composes poetry in front of it, it will emit white smoke to determine the quality of the poem. The higher the smoke rises, the better the poem. Young man, I won’t bully you. If the poem you create reaches a height of more than three zhang, I’ll let both of you into the Listen To Rain Pavilion. How about it?”
“This…”
Qin Feng hadn’t responded yet, but Cang Feilan couldn’t help herself: “The literary tradition of the Great Qian Dynasty has been weak for a long time, and poetry is declining. In the past decade, how many poems exceeding three zhang have been produced in the Great Qian Dynasty? Your requirements are just unfair.”
“Heh, anyway, I set the rules. If you can’t do it, you can leave. I won’t force you.” Bai Li sneered with his legs crossed, looking incredibly smug.