Rising Phoenix

Feng Zhiwei watched in astonishment as the man calmly licked the rice wine on his lips, some childish delight on his face at the sweetness of the liquid.

But then she realized that she had been drinking, and had rushed forward to push Chunyu Meng away without properly swallowing the mouthful. In a chaotic moment, she’d bumped into Gu Nanyi and knocked off his curtained hat. And then some of the wine on her lips … left wine on his lips?

And then he…. licked up that wine?

Feng Zhiwei flushed.

After the Embrace Crash Wine Tasting, Feng Zhiwei spent the next while hiding from Gu Nanyi, but the offending man seemed to be oblivious. He still slept with his veil on, and at every meal ate only the eight pieces of meat. The foot and three inches area in front of him still remained his entire world. He did not make any noise, refused to fight, and also made it so that others could not make noise or fight.

Other than the somewhat bothersome existence of Brother Jade Statue, Feng Zhiwei’s life had been pretty good. She was smart, and her mother had taught her many things, so she had a very solid understanding of the basics and was one of the top students in the class. She was polite, and her temperament was soft and gentle, so all the old men liked her, and after Chunyu Meng had become cheating note-brothers with her, he frequently brought his friends over to climb Feng Zhiwei’s wall and drink under the pear blossom tree. Although they always partied in silence.

The bright and straightforward Chunyu Meng did not dare make a sound, and every time he saw Gu Nanyi, he would always stare with a infinitely meaningful gaze as if to say “You are inhuman, how are you like that …. like that ….” He stared at Gu Nanyi as if he was looking upon an otherworldly man and wanted to shrink downward into dust to avoid the saint’s gaze. This loaded gaze always made Feng Zhiwei shiver, and sent goosebumps down her arms, and every time she wondered if she was living with a pretty zombie.

But ultimately, life had been very peaceful, and there was only the domineering younger brother of the Lin Family who enjoyed occasionally finding trouble for Feng Zhiwei, but Zhiwei fended off the matter with minimal effort. She was not afraid the rambunctious little idiot, and only worried somewhat about the elder brother, Lin Ji. That young man’s eyes always seemed strange when he looked at her, and she did not understand the meaning behind his gaze.

She had been here for over a month, and Chunyu Meng was about ready to leave the nest and take on the responsibilities of Field Officer of the Chang Ying Guard. At this point, Yan Huaishi had already gotten to know every single person in the academy, and had over fifty “bosom brothers.” Gu Nanyi had changed his thin brocade to a super thin silk robe, and Feng Zhiwei was racking her head everyday to figure out ways to keep his robe clean while not ripping the fabric.

She was walking to the dining hall thinking about this problem and had just reached the entrance to the hall when she once again ran into a colorful hurricane, rushing by on a tempest of perfume. Zhiwei did not even pause at the familiar sight.

Head Xin’s wife was originally from the Lin Jiang countryside, and together with her six younger sisters, was known as one of the “Seven Golden Flowers,” somewhat ironically famous for their shrewishness. They always had on hand their household murder weapons, and hunted the noble Head Xin throughout the most famous and most prestigious academy in the land with their chopping blacks, rolling pins, and kitchen knives. Everywhere they went, chaos followed, with vegetable leaves and chicken eggs flying in their wake as the woman rushed about with color matched shoes and bricks.

The hurricane swept through every day, and after a while, everyone grew desensitized. Every day, Xin Ziyan called out hatefully for divorce, and every time, his tone was so serious that everyone who heard him expected him to take out the divorce request immediately, but even after all these years, no one had ever seen him act.

Xin Ziyan was the top scholar under the heavens – a noble and venerated scholar, highly regarded by the imperial court, and held a prestigious seat as head of Qing Ming Academy. But for some reason, this man was willing to be run around and bullied by his rude and clumsy wife, and allowed the Seven Golden Flowers to swagger through the streets and make a laughing stock out of him.

Feng Zhiwei could not hold back a chuckle or two, and always smiled when she saw the mysterious and capable Xin Ziyan flee in panic when the Seven Golden Flowers appeared on their hunt, fangs bared and claws brandished.

In this world, everything has a reason, and if you do not understand, it is just because you do not understand the cause of the effect.

Just as Zhiwei had entered the hall and sat down, Chunyu Meng called out, walking over bowl in hand. “Hey, Brother, are you ready?”

Feng Zhiwei cocked her head in confusion, and Yan Huaishi leaned over to explain. “The Qing Ming Competition is in three days. Students from the Politics and History Hall will compete with their pens, and the students from the Military Hall will compete in swordsmanship. Important officials from the imperial court will come watch, and there might even be some imperial family members here. Although this is just an internal academy competition, the best competitors will be chosen for positions in the six Interior Ministries. If you do well there, the path up the ladder is smooth and quick. This is why everyone tries so hard to get into Qing Ming Academy.”

“Oh…” Feng Zhiwei smiled. “Well you know, my work is only a little above average. The cinnamon blossoms of the Moon Palace will not fall on my head.”

Both of her friends sighed with some disappointment. It was true, although Feng Zhiwei was good, she was still only just good. There were many students in the academy better than her, and even if she wanted to stand out, it was probably impossible.

Chunyu Meng walked away disappointed, but just as he had left, another man and another bowl arrived, and without a word of greeting, the man sat down beside Feng Zhiwei.

Feng Zhiwei turned to look at a pair of provocative eyes. The meddling Lin Shao returned her gaze with an aggressive stare, and called out in challenge “In three days, do you dare compete against me?”

Feng Zhiwei cocked a brow and smiled lightly. “I don’t dare.”

A smirk of delight had just appeared on Lin Shao’s face when Feng Zhiwei’s smile interrupted him. “If I beat you, I’m afraid that someone would be pushed that if he didn’t kill a horse, he would murder a man.”

 “Hahah”

Lin Ji laughed lightly as he walked over. He turned a focused gaze towards Feng Zhiwei and seemed about to speak when he was suddenly interrupted by a shout.

“Wei Zhi! Who do you think you are, you dare to talk to the Prin… the Young Prince like that! Be careful or I’ll report you to Headmaster Xin and he’ll kick you out of the academy!”

A large group of eight people followed the voice, and a bunch of expensive young men wearing expensive clothing sauntered over. Feng Zhiwei looked up from her seat and her pupils as she focused her gaze on the newcomer faces.

These faces were very familiar.

This was the group that day that had pushed Feng Has to hire a prostitute.

A cold and secretive smile flashed across Feng Zhiwei’s face, but before she could speak, Lin Shao had already arched an eyebrow and shouted.

“Did anyone ask for your help? Piss off!”

The newcomer group paused in surprise, and their faces immediately fell in embarrassment. The young man in the lead was unwilling, and fought for his dignity, jabbing a finger forward at Feng Zhiwei’s nose and shouting angrily; “Brat, if you aren’t a coward just wait…”

 “Pa Da”

Before he could even finish, the tip of his finger fell to the floor.

The bloody fingertip bounced once and trembled as it came to a stop, and suddenly every eye in the hall was focused on it.

The astonished crowd mechanically moved their stares and looked upward at a pair of slowly retracting chopsticks.

The cuff of a robe covered most of the slender and pale hand that held the chopsticks.