Chapter 7 007: Wen Xin Monogram
The young man extended his right hand to Chen Tang, palm up.
Shen Tang was puzzled. After hesitating for a moment, she put her right hand on his and tilted her head to ask him.
"so?"
The young man looked at her indifferently, his eyes unreadable, as if asking her, "What do you think?"
Shen Tang then withdrew his right hand as if he had been electrocuted.
"Concentrate your energy in your palm."
Seeing that Shen Tang still looked confused, the young man had no choice but to offer some guidance. He thought he had explained it clearly enough, but Shen Tang didn't even know what "qi" was.
Seeing that Shen Tang remained silent for a long time, he had no choice but to say, "When you used the power of words just now, did you feel something flowing out from your dantian along your meridians? That is 'qi'. Now try to draw it out from your dantian and condense it in your palm. Can you do that?"
Word magic isn't something that works every time; it involves a level of proficiency.
The young man before us is capable of using his literary talent to forcefully contend with the third-rank Zan Niao, and his words have a powerful effect; he shouldn't be completely ignorant.
The young man explained it clearly, and Shen Tang carefully recalled that mysterious and strange feeling from before.
Qi, Danfu, Yanling, Wenxin...
After a while, she vaguely grasped something and guided it to slowly move into her palm.
finally--
A colorless cloud of gas gradually took shape, expanding from the size of a pea to the size of a fist, hovering an inch above the palm of the hand.
Shen Tang looked up at the young man and asked him, "Sir, is this 'Qi'? It's truly amazing... What rank of literary talent do I have?"
From the moment this aura appeared, the young man lowered his eyes, most of his face hidden in shadow, making his expression difficult to discern. However, Shen Tang was certain that his gaze was fixed on her palm. Sensing that something was amiss, she spoke up again to inquire.
The young man then came to his senses and responded: "You should refine and solidify this 'qi' again, just like I did."
As he spoke, a light blue vortex quickly appeared in the young man's outstretched right hand, which at first glance looked like a thin mist, but after two breaths it transformed into a viscous, gelatinous dark blue. Finally, under Shen Tang's gaze, it transformed into a uniquely shaped dark blue monogram the size of an infant's fist.
Seeing Shen Tang's curiosity, the young man offered his monogram.
The monogram is exquisitely designed, with the seal script "Sixth Rank, Middle to Lower" engraved on the side and "Qi Shi Yuan Liang" in the same script engraved on the bottom.
"Your name is Qi Yuanliang?"
If this is his name, then his literary talent level should be in the lower-middle sixth rank.
The young man said, "My name is Qi Shan, and my courtesy name is Yuanliang."
He stared into Shen Tang's eyes as he spoke.
Seeing that the latter's eyes were clear and showed no contempt for lower-grade literary talent, he was slightly satisfied, and his expression became less distant.
Shen Tang habitually said, "It really is a good name."
It contains both "goodness" and "virtue," so it seems like he's a good person.
Qi Shan was speechless after hearing this.
Shen Tang handed the flower back.
"I think I know what to do."
Following Qi Shan's demonstration, I compressed the cyclone inward. The cyclone gradually changed from colorless to milky white gel, and then from milky white gel to a small, transparent, crystal-like object.
Shen Tang then calmed down and hurriedly looked at the side of the monogram.
result--
"Huh, why are there no words?"
"No words?"
That's what they said, but Qi Shan's voice didn't sound surprised, as if she had expected it all along.
Shen Tang handed over his monogram and said doubtfully, "There are indeed no words on the side, only on the bottom."
The bottom is engraved with neat, rounded seal script.
"Shen's young pear".
“Chen…you…li? You really aren’t a member of the Gong family.” Because the monogram was transparent, it was a bit difficult to decipher the words on it. Qi Shan squinted slightly, looking at the words at the bottom while commenting, “However, young master, your courtesy name is a bit too delicate…”
At first glance, it sounds like a girl's given name.
Shen Tang: "..."
She has given up on explaining that she is a girl.
Since the world generally assumes that those with literary talent are men, her jumping out to defend herself, regardless of whether others believe her or not, will do her no good. Let the misunderstandings be misunderstandings; she'll wait until she figures out why she has literary talent or becomes strong enough before speaking out, lest she be treated as a heretic and killed.
"Mr. Qi, my name is Shen Tang."
"The fallen leaves of the pear tree are the color of rouge, and the buckwheat flowers bloom with the fragrance of white snow." Qi Shan smiled slightly and said, "It's a good name too."
Shen Tang: "..."
Although she really wanted to say that her real name was "Chen Tang," You Li was a pen name she got randomly and didn't have any special meaning.
However, since that's what they were thinking, showing off their knowledge, she couldn't dampen their enthusiasm and could only accept the praise. At this moment, what she cared about most was the grade of her literary talent.
"Mr. Qi, what grade of literary talent do I possess?"
To her surprise, Qi Shan countered with, "Which one do you want?"
Shen Tang: "What does this mean???"
Qi Shan then began to talk about other things.
“Unlike Martial Courage, which has twenty ranks, Literary Sense only has nine ranks. The first rank is upper-upper, the second rank is upper-middle, the third rank is upper-lower, and so on down to the ninth rank lower-lower. Martial Courage can be advanced through training and practice, and those with high talent can even become marquises. But Literary Sense is determined by its rank at birth. I am a sixth-rank middle-level Literary Sense, which is neither high nor low. So, what rank do you hope to be?”
Shen Tang was surprised: "This...is it up to me to decide?"
Qi Shan said, "If it were someone else, it would naturally not work, but since you've met me, I can help you with this."
Shen Tang was completely confused.
Her intuition told her that Qi Shan's words had a hidden meaning.
But they didn't explain much, only subtly implying, "It's not a good thing for a young child to carry a thousand pieces of gold in the bustling city."
Shen Tang subconsciously tensed up.
What is this "literary mind" thing, and why is it so serious?
So this perk for time travelers can actually lead to their deaths.
Shen Tang suppressed her curiosity, which could kill a cat, and didn't delve into it further, only asking, "Can even a literary talent of any grade be faked?"
Qi Shan himself is a "lower-middle sixth-grade" literary talent, and literary talent cannot be changed; one is born with a certain grade. Therefore, he certainly cannot help others truly change their literary talent grade, so all that's left is to pretend.
Since that's the case—
Shen Tang tentatively asked, "Then—how about the highest grade of the first-class?"
Qi Shan almost laughed at her question.
"The highest rank of the first-grade literary talent is a sage's rank, but it is a nominal rank that only feudal lords who hold the imperial seal can possess. Do you want to die?"
Shen Tang lowered her eyes and glanced at her own Wenxin Huabo (a type of Chinese monogram).
"Let's play it safe and pretend to be a low-ranking ninth-grade."
"The lowest of the ninth rank? Ha, you're quite clever."
Once the four seal characters "Nine Ranks, Lowest" appeared on the side of the monogram, Shen Tang played with the transparent monogram, unsure of what to do with it.
How do we take this back?
"Why take it back? It's used to prove identity. Even if it's a 'lowest ninth-rank' literary talent, it's still better than that of an ordinary person."
In this chaotic era where a generation can change two nationalities, the lives of ordinary people are less valuable than grass, let alone Shen Tang, who is a fugitive who has been exiled.
The words carved behind the ear were done using special methods, and they would never be removed unless the ear was cut off.
However, with the monogrammed design and the earrings covering it, ordinary constables would not dare to inspect it, which meant that their safety was guaranteed.
A monogram is a seal.
Please vote for this story! I was half asleep after finishing writing last night and accidentally set the timer for 2 AM. I just checked the comments and realized there were no new chapters, that's when I realized my mistake. Oops -_-||
PS: Thank you to the first adorable host, Gao Mei, for becoming the first adorable host. There will be a second update today.
(End of this chapter)
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