Chapter 341: Lanting Elegant Gathering 7 Gu Yuchuan moved his fingertips slightly and took off the heavy brocade bag from his waist. The crisp sound of the silver beads colliding was particularly clear in the silent arena.

Having just won five games in a row, he probably has hundreds of points in his pocket.

Chu Mo gave him an unusual feeling. Since his rebirth, besides Gu Jiayue, this was the second person who made him want to compete with him.

Since they are opponents, they should be given enough respect.

He raised his hand and threw the brocade bag onto the stone table. His movements were nonchalant, but his tone was filled with unquestionable certainty: "I'm going all in too!"

There was a sudden gasp and exclamation from the audience.

Someone had quietly started a gambling game behind the crowd. The sound of copper coins clashing could be heard. Most people bet on Chu Mo to win, while a few were staring at Gu Yuchuan who was standing calmly on the stage.

Seeing that both of them had placed their bets, the Master pointed to the carved wooden box beside the stage and said, "Master Chu Mo, please draw a question."

Chu Mo nodded and walked forward, his plain long gown fluttering gently in the wind.

When he reached into the box, his fingertips brushed across dozens of folded sheets of rice paper, but without the slightest hesitation, he casually pulled out one.

The teacher took the question, squinted his eyes to look at it carefully, frowned tighter and tighter, stammered his lips, and read the question again haltingly.

"The Zhoubi Suanjing states that 'the width of the hypotenuse is three, the length of the leg is four, and the radius is five.' Consider an isosceles triangle with a base length of 6 feet (1 foot ≈ 0.23 meters in ancient Chinese) and a height of 9 feet. What is its area? Let's use the "Square Field Method" from the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art to verify the calculation logic."

Everyone in the audience held their breath, frowning in thought. Could there be an answer to such a difficult question? They'd forgotten the first part as soon as they heard the last part. They couldn't connect the dots at all.

Finally, the master simply waved his hand and spread the rice paper on the stone table: "You two can look at it yourselves. This question...it's hard for me to read it."

He stepped aside, looking at the neat line of small characters, feeling puzzled.

The Zhoubi Suanjing is not a classic that ordinary students would read, and this year's questions are too tricky.

The students in the audience stretched their necks and barely saw the question clearly, then they were immediately shocked.

"'The width of the hook is three, the length of the leg is four, and the corner of the diameter is five'? What does this mean?"

"And we have to verify it using the 'square field method' from the 'Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art'... This is a test on arithmetic while also testing classics, history, and miscellaneous texts! It's so difficult!"

"I've only heard of the Zhoubi Suanjing but never read it. I've also dabbled in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art, but only superficially. If I were to solve this problem..."

Discussions surged like a tide, mixed with sighs. Many people looked at the two people on the ring, their eyes full of sympathy.

Chu Mo lowered his eyes and stared at the question, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the fan bones.

Two years ago, he was a bastard that everyone laughed at. Now, he had earned a reputation for himself with his talent, and those people no longer called him a bastard to his face. But behind his back, they still called him a concubine's son.

Something even lower than a bastard.

The palms of his hands in his sleeves were scratched with deep red marks by his fingernails. Thinking of his seriously ill mother and his distressed stepmother in front of him, he pinched the palms of his hands in his sleeves hard.

He must win this game today!

If they win, they can become the disciples of a famous teacher and get a reward that is enough to extend their mother's life. Those members of the tribe who usually act tyrannically will never dare to touch them again!

The obsession in my heart burned like a flame, and my chaotic thoughts suddenly became clear.

Chu Mo took a deep breath, spread out the rice paper, dipped his wolf-hair brush into thick ink, and began to calculate rapidly on the paper. The rustling sound of the brush tip sliding across the paper was surprisingly clear amid the noisy crowd.

But Gu Yuchuan was still hesitant to start writing, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

The inexplicable uneasiness in his heart grew wildly like a vine.

This intuition had saved him from danger countless times in his previous life, and even after his rebirth, he still believed in it.

This question itself is not difficult. If you have studied the course developed by Gu Jiayue, you can calculate the result with just a simple formula. However, if you only rely on "Zhou Bi Suanjing" and "Jiu Zhang Suanshu", although you can calculate it, the process is much more complicated.

What really made him uneasy was the weirdness hidden in the title.

This question is not rigorous and even has several obvious loopholes.

Is it because of my poor skills? Not really.

It seems more like someone wants to hide something but can't help but want people to find out, so they come up with such a weird title.

Gu Yuchuan tapped his fingertips lightly on the inkstone, his eyes as sharp as an eagle.

Hidden in this question is clearly a unique knowledge system similar to Gu Jiayue's.

What exactly does that person want to do?

Looking for similar people?

What happens after finding them? Win them over, or... eliminate them?

He was silent for a moment, then slowly picked up the pen. The ink spread out as a small black dot on the rice paper. Then, as the pen moved, the answer gradually emerged.

The time of a stick of incense passed in a flash, and the sand in the copper leak just fell out.

They both put down their pens at the same time.

The Master carefully put away the two answer sheets, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. "Please wait a moment, both of you. I will... ask the higher-ups to make the final decision."

Questions of this difficulty were already beyond his purview. Furthermore, he had been instructed before the competition that the final answers to the competition must be reviewed by several adults in the pavilion.

The answer sheets were quickly delivered to the Observatory.

Song Bing took a quick glance at it, not even interested in opening it. He simply handed it to Xie Qingyun beside him: "Master Qingyun, you should be the judge."

He picked up the teacup, but his fingertips tightened unconsciously.

What's the point of watching? The outcome was no longer something he, the prefect, could control.

His eyes swept over the energetic young people in the audience, and he felt a surge of annoyance.

They should have been the hope of Juzhou and the future of Dagan, but now they have to lose their lives at any time for an illusory prophecy!

The academician gently tugged at Song Bing's sleeve, signaling him to calm down. Didn't you see that Master Qingyun's face was as black as the bottom of a pot?

Xie Qingyun's fingers, gripping the two answer sheets, trembled slightly, his brows knitted into knots, and he muttered to himself, "Impossible... Obviously, they are the most likely candidates..."

He flipped through the pages again and again, unconvinced, and the papers rustled, but no matter how many times he looked, he could not find the trace he was looking for.

Upon hearing this, Song Bing's face suddenly broke into a smile, like the sky clearing up after rain. "I knew it! Why would the Chosen One hide in our mountain valley? Master Qingyun, have you misunderstood the Imperial Master's intentions?"

Xie Qingyun didn't respond, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the stone table.

Could it be that he was mistaken? But the master clearly pointed to the southwest on the map.

Going all the way south from Kyoto, isn’t Juzhou in the southwest?

After conducting open and secret investigations during this period, he was certain that the person must be among these young people in the audience, but why couldn't he find the key clue?

"I don't believe it! Let the game continue!" Xie Qingyun slammed the stone table so hard that the water in the teacup splashed out.

Song Bing shook his head, his tone undeniably resolute. "It's getting late, and the students are tired. Why don't we start the feast?"

Continue the competition? Let you use the excuse of finding the chosen one to mess up the Lanting Elegant Gathering he carefully planned?

Don't even think about it! By cooperating until now, I've already given His Majesty enough face. So what if you're a disciple of the Imperial Master? Even a powerful dragon can't defeat a local tyrant!

He stood up and grabbed Xie Qingyun's sleeve, grinning like a cat stealing fish. "Come on, come on, Master Qingyun, I'm afraid you haven't tasted our Juzhou specialties yet, right? I've specially prepared a table of Zhe Er Gen banquet today, and I guarantee you'll never forget it after just one try!"

Xie Qingyun's face was filled with rejection from head to toe, and he retreated repeatedly. "No need to trouble you, sir. I still need to go back and write a letter to my master. I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, he turned and walked away, his steps as fast as if he was being chased by a dog.

This was not his first day in Juzhou. A few days ago, he had tasted the so-called "houttuynia cordata" and the taste was simply indescribable.

I have to say that the person who named this thing "Houttuynia cordata" is really a genius, and the description is very appropriate.

This is definitely the most hated food in his life, no doubt about it!

Looking at Xie Qingyun's fleeing back, Song Bing shook his head with pretended regret: "Ah, Master Qingyun is so unlucky. He missed such a delicious meal."

The academician laughed at what he saw. "Aren't you afraid of offending the Imperial Master?"

Song Bing shrugged nonchalantly, picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and stuffed it into his mouth: "So what if I've offended you? Can you really banish me to a place even more remote than Juzhou?"

In the whole of Dagan, there is probably no other place poorer than Juzhou. He is not afraid at all.