Maiden Galaxy

Twelfth day of the Literary Excellence Convention. Chen Mo returned from "Mad Brush" Zhang Xu's banquet. Starting the next day, so long as they possessed a purple Literary Excellence Pendant, a spiritual power Star General or cultivator could enter the Ten Thousand Sages Hall and participate in the last exchange with the sages.

Along the way back to the inn, Chen Mo's crammed mind pondered over Mad Brush Zhang Xu's wild cursive. Although Zhang Xu, known also as the "Sage Of Cursive," was not really a sage, this name stood out from the crowd. The woman, who was free and unruly towards cursive to the point of madness, left with him a deeply profound impression.

"The path of books leads to the gods, write onto the paper clouds and mist, past and present compete to pass on the eight techniques; wine and madness become the Sage Of Cursive a hall full of wind and rain, recollect in three cups of wine." Chen Mo looked at the couplet carved into the plaque he held. This was the personal work of "Mad Brush" Zhang Xu. The wild cursive was like dragon, fluctuating like gods and demons, unfathomable.

Characters like these could kill someone!

With Zhang Xu's personal writing, Senior Sister's "Ten Thousand Characters Stele" should be completed with no issue.

Passing a small alley, a familiar white figure appeared in the corner of his eye. Chen Mo apparently spotted an old well in the depths of the alley, and a girl dressed in muslin sat atop the well, quietly staring at him.

"Hm?' Chen Mo turned his head back. It was his imagination again.

Over the past few days, he had this kind of sensation many times. This left his mind very uneasy. Whether you're a human or a ghost, I'll get to the bottom of this. Chen Mo's figure flickered, and he flew towards the alley.

The alley ran deep, and was remote and secluded. The end was a lush garden of elm trees, and in the courtyard was a well; no one was in the courtyard. Chen Mo examined the well, but he did not detect any traces of a person. Then, he stuck his head deep into the well, sending in a ray of Divine Intent. Still, he was unable to detect any traces.

Chen Mo muttered to himself. He turned his head back. All of a sudden, his whole body felt goosebumps, and all his pores trembled with fear.

A tall woman had mysteriously appeared behind him. This woman was extremely tall. Although an overcoat hid her body, he could vaguely glimpse her legs were stuck into the ground like swords, with a kind of strict and domineering aura.

Chen Mo's consciousness was already very vigilant, but he was surprisingly unable to detect her presence in the slightest, as if she had appeared out of thin air. But even if she did, there would be a slight ripple. Chen Mo was on his guard, yet it turned out it was all for naught.

To have suddenly seen her, Chen Mo was startled.

However, he promptly composed himself. Chen Mo raised his head to look at the woman who was as tall as a horse. The woman wore an expressionless mask. He was unable to see even her eyes through this mask.

"Are you Chen Mo, the ‘Peach Blossom Green Emperor?'" The woman spoke, apathy filling her voice.

Ever since that "he asked if I would be the Green Emperor" poem spread through Qu Yuan City, add on that Chen Mo was surrounded by beautiful women like clouds, Peach Blossom Green Emperor somehow became his epithet. Chen Mo was a bit helpless. "Your Servant is, and who might you be, miss?"

"That ‘he asked if I would be the Green Emperor' Ode to Chrysanthemums is your work?" The woman apparently did not hear his question and kept asking her own.

"Hm?" Chen Mo stared at her, looking for clues.

The woman's voice was cold and detached: "I also have an Ode to Chrysanthemums, and I would like you to help me appreciate it."

"Miss, I fear you have found the wrong person if you want someone to appreciate a poem. I recommend you seek out the ‘Son Of Heaven Of Poets.' She is very capable." Chen Mo said.

The woman spoke her first line.

"When a hundred flowers bloom, I do not."

This woman simply did not listen to others; she was a bit too selfish. Chen Mo wrinkled his brow, but when the woman uttered the first line of her Ode to Chrysanthemums, Chen Mo's body shook, his expression sank, and he stared fixedly at her.

"When I bloom, the others are frightened to death."

"I will fight the western wind, and my petals will spread everywhere as golden armor."²

The woman recited the four lines. All of a sudden, everything in the courtyard seemed to be trapped in lead. Enormous pressure heavily pushed on the ground. The wind stopped, and everything in the world fell silent. A powerful killing intent suddenly erupted. Chen Mo felt all his pores burst open from this cold qi.

Under this oppressive killing intent, even the "Black Turtle" surprisingly felt fear.

What's happening??

Chen Mo was inwardly shocked. This was the first time he had encountered such a helpless situation. He was unable to utter even a word.

"If you are unable respond to my Ode to Chrysanthemums, then I shall take your jade pendant." The woman was cold and detached, reaching towards the glowing purple Literary Excellence Jade Pendant on Chen Mo's waist as if it was the natural thing to do.

Chen Mo's jade pendant granted whoever possessed it entry to the Ten Thousand Sages Hall without regard who the bearer was. These past few days, many had snooped on him, but those that coveted it from him were some cannon fodder. Chen Mo ignored them. However, this was the first time he had encountered such a terrifying woman. She clearly was not exerting herself, but every word she said unexpectedly brimmed with timeless callousness. Chen Mo's Primordial Spirit and even the Body of the Black Turtle actually could only sit and wait for death.

Just as the woman was about to take the jade pendant, Chen Mo broke into a cold sweat, and he activated the Star Manual Of Masters Gan And Shi.

Just at this moment, all of a sudden, a mysterious song came from the water inside the well.

The tune was like the wind, lovely and graceful.

"The cold cicada mournfully cries to the pavilion in the night, when the shower had just stopped. Long have those beyond the capital's gates been drinking in their tents, reluctant to depart, though the boat men pressed to leave. Clasping hands, we stare into each other's tearful eyes, choked on our silence. So begins a journey over a thousand li of misty water, what hides in the mist of the Chu skies. Since ancient times, hearts have broken at partings, hurting more than cold and lonely autumn! Where will I be when I sober up this night? Willows by the bank, a morning breeze and a waning moon in sight! "³

Once the song began, the vitality of the courtyard abruptly recovered. The wind began to move, the elms and willows swayed in the breeze, and the cicadas upon the branches began to sing.

Everything was full of life. The deathly aura that the woman's Hundred Flowers Kill poem produced was surprisingly vanished entirely in this gentle and graceful air. Even this tall and cold woman was slightly astonished.

Chen Mo received a chance to catch his breath, and he exercised Star Energy at full power, finally breaking through the woman's intimidation.

"The lady's poetry Realm is murderous. A chilling yet fine poem. My petals will spread everywhere as golden armor, that is wonderful, but unfortunately, Your Servant heard not too long ago Huang Chao's Ode to Chrysanthemums had a line, ‘filling the city with golden armor.' A bit suspicious, yet a level lower." 

Chen Mo breathed and shielded the jade pendant.

The woman retracted her hand. That expressionless mask showed no emotion, but there was a hair-raising chill.

The woman did not say a word. She looked at the vibrant vigor of the courtyard, then turned and left.

Chen Mo wiped his cold sweat and breathed a sigh of relief. "When a hundred flowers bloom, I do not…This poem…It couldn't be her, could it?" Chen Mo's expression was serious. An elegant verse. The courtyard returned to its former state, flat and ordinary without any changes.

Chen Mo spoke to the well: "Many thanks Lady Liu for your aid this time. Your Servant owes you a favor for this. In the future, please feel free to seek me out for whatever aid you might require. I will surely do all that I can."

"These years that have gone by, empty are the times and places that once were fine. A thousand feelings I have had, who else can I tell them to but you?"

The lovely and pleasant voice recited the poem's final line as if in response, yet also as if to herself.

This poem was Liu Yong's famous "Bell Ringing in the Rain." How could Chen Mo not have known this. After a long time without further reply, Chen Mo bowed once again and finally left this alleyway.

After Chen Mo walked away, the specter of a woman appeared from that silent well. The woman was covered in thin white muslin, her sleeves fluttering. Her clothes seemed to sink into nothingness, becoming one with the void, as if empty space formed her clothes.

The woman's complexion was absolutely beautiful, with slender phoenix eyes that would make anyone's heart race.

She stared at Chen Mo's back, then slowly she vanished.

The little garden became quiet as if nothing ever happened.

The wind moved, the trees moved, and a heart moved.

1. LOL, Ringu reference. ↩
2. "Ode to Chrysanthemums," by Zhu Yuanzhang. ↩
3. From Liu Yong's 雨霖鈴, lit. "Bell Ringing in the Rain." ↩