NOVPUBThe demands for updates have multiplied beyond 12,000, huh? Are they trying to satisfy their mother’s appetite?
"You say you’re Fa Xiaozhi?" Chen Xi roared, pointing at the youth who was half a head shorter than himself.
"My name has actually spread to the Central Plains?" Fa Zheng, dressed like a beggar, practically had his nostrils in the air, full of pride.
"Isn’t your family in Fufeng? How did you end up at Mount Tai, and your parents don’t care?" Chen Xi grabbed a piece of Fa Zheng’s clothing, "You haven’t told your family, have you? Could it be that you sneaked away? Weren’t you supposed to be a county magistrate in Fufeng, you little rascal?"
"I’ve already come of age, I am an adult now!" Fa Zheng shouted back, stepping backward and inadvertently tearing off a strip of silk cloth, further diminishing his already scant attire…
"So you didn’t inform your parents..." Chen Xi’s eyelids twitched frantically, "Don’t you know ’One does not travel afar when their parents are alive’?"
"My father told me that a man aims for the four directions, reads myriad books, and travels myriad miles!" Fa Zheng retorted.
"Have you finished reading your myriad books?" Chen Xi demanded angrily.
"And I haven’t finished traveling my myriad miles either!" Fa Zheng shouted back, taking up the argument.
To this day, Fa Zheng still couldn’t figure out who this guy was, who had been seeking him out ever since he learned his name was Fa Zheng. However, Fa Zheng, currently in his rebellious phase, simply categorized Chen Xi as some stranger he had met somewhere, heaven knows when!
"We’re looking for talented individuals here, not children. Children need a letter of authorization from their parents!" Chen Xi had no love for the child version of Fa Zheng, who had sneakily run away from home. Damn it, he actually sneakily ran away. At least give your dad a heads up, for goodness’ sake. Your dad is a Great Confucian Scholar, you know. When your dad finds out about you skipping home, do you know how much trouble it will cause us?
"Gan Luo was appointed as a minister at twelve, I am sixteen now, why can’t I be called talented!" Fa Zheng said with pride.
Chen Xi felt like cursing; this guy had no clue about tactfulness, acting like a blunt awl, spouting such arrogant words.
"Just with that sentence, you’re not talented enough!" Chen Xi retorted fiercely, suppressing the headache that comes with reasoning with a child.
"Hmph, my talents are not for you to glimpse!" Fa Zheng haughtily flipped his head, confident he could measure up to the ancients, a confidence that even Chen Xi felt was terrifying. Who could tell him how this kid, no different from a middle school-aged child, matured into the composed Fa Zheng!
Chen Xi massaged his temple, knowing Fa Zheng would make a great Strategist, but a sixteen-year-old Fa Zheng, with all his intelligence, would only drive you to despair. It took over twenty, nearly thirty years of being tossed around by the likes of Liu Yan and Liu Zhang for him to fully understand what it meant to be a talent unrecognized. He only later became the mastermind for Liu Bei. Right now, Chen Xi felt that sending this kid to Liu Bei would just add to the chaos...
Several ways to deal with Fa Zheng flashed through Chen Xi’s mind: one, to have him bound and sent back immediately, then brought back a few years later when his temperament had improved so as to save himself the current trouble; two, to give him a severe psychological shock right here to make him realize there is always someone better; three, to take him in and re-educate him; four, to find someone with an even worse character, superior in every aspect, and groom him by his side...
The first veto, mishandle it and Fa Zheng is gone. The second, put on hold, and I, Chen Zichuan, might capsized in the gutter. The third thought is not bad, but how to educate? The fourth is the best, the question is, where to find such a character?
After much deliberation, Chen Xi finally decided to just go in with his shirt off, leave a deep impression on Fa Zheng here, then take him back for extensive education. As for the rest, like troubles from his old man and such, how could those compare to nurturing a Mastermind?
Besides, his newly established school also needed a figure to awe and intimidate, stuff Fa Zheng in there, make him further his study, and after a couple of years, bring him out to scare people; he would surely be top-notch. At the very least, he could brag that the Academy of Mount Tai nurtured a leading strategist of the time...
Just as Chen Xi was preparing to ** Fa Zheng in his area of expertise, a paw landed on Fa Zheng’s shoulder. "Move aside, kiddo. Don’t block my way. I still have to help Liu Xuande pacify the north..."
Chen Xi’s eyelids twitched. What day was it today? Another madman had arrived, and a drunkard, no less, with such grandiose talk. It was enough of a headache dealing with a young version of Fa Zheng, and now who was this mighty lord?
Chen Xi said nothing. In any case, Fa Zheng, already in a combative stance, certainly wouldn’t care who this fellow was. He was sure to spout off. Besides, Chen Xi had faith in Fa Zheng’s combat power. Despite looking like a little brat, his combat power was astonishing. To put it quantitatively, he could definitely be rated AA...
Glancing at the drunkard, reeking of alcohol, hair a mess, with a hint of green stubble, and bloodshot, bleary eyes, he was wearing a guan, his wide Confucian robes revealing most of his chest, waist devoid of a Confucian sword. It was clear that he had been on a bender until dawn and probably hadn’t realized what sort of person he had bumped into.
As expected, Fa Zheng didn’t care who the slovenly man was. Daring to touch him while reeking of alcohol, though he was dressed like a beggar, in Fa Zheng’s eyes, it manifested the spirit of a bohemian scholar. As for the man behind, he was nothing but a drunkard. With the line drawn, the spray began...
One quarter hour to finish the fight, Fa Zheng was defeated...
Fa Zheng was entirely engulfed in darkness, thoroughly refuted by his opponent, and, coming from a home of a Great Confucian Scholar, could not match his adversary even with all his knowledge of the classics. Without hesitation, he switched to Political Strategy and Military Strategy, his advanced cultivation.
Although Fa Zheng came from a home of a Great Confucian Scholar, educated systematically in Confucian and Taoist Studies, he took pride in the Military Strategy he learned by himself. But after he played his proudest card, he died even faster...
Originally, while Fa Zheng was at a disadvantage against the classic Confucian and Taoist debate, he could barely hold his own. However, once it switched to Military Strategy, he was outright crushed, with no words left to say. On the contrary, he had a sudden sense of clarity. Hmm, combined with the feeling he had when previously challenging others, he had shifted from a teasing Sadist to a compliant Masochist.
Afterward, the drunkard patted Fa Zheng’s shoulder as if sympathetically, which to Fa Zheng seemed like pity. When did he, Fa Xiaozhi, ever need anyone else’s pity!
Chen Xi covered his face. Even someone like Fa Zheng, with at least a double-A combat power rating, could be so thoroughly refuted when his experience was thin, especially in Military Strategy. It’s odd how the ancients had a habit of, while arguing, turning it into a contest of scholarly wit. As a result, Fa Zheng was dumbstruck by the drunkard’s attack, standing there stupefied, as if his mind had gone blank.
Seeing the drunkard’s shocking performance, Chen Xi couldn’t help but shift his attention to him. Taking a closer look, that which appeared slovenly before became more pleasing to the eye. The large, fluttering sleeves, the wise gleam in the blurry eyes, the carefree attire of baggy robes, wasn’t that the elegance and detachment sought after in the Wei and Jin Dynasties? And that scent of alcohol, didn’t it symbolize being above mundane affairs, looking at worldly views as nothing? A perfect impersonation of a Noted Scholar indeed~
[Eh, is this the same person we’re talking about? How come I saw him as a mere drunkard before? It must have been because I was overwhelmed by Fa Zheng just now. It’s all the fault of that bratty kid.] Chen Xi unhesitatingly blamed everything on Fa Zheng.
