Martial Saint through Reading

Chapter 377: Chapter 280: Delving into Abstract Paintings, Reconstructing Ancient Shell Script_2

Tang Bai deliberately lowered his voice when he said that, clearly not wanting the three inside the hall to hear.

The sound was indeed very low, Qi Chen and Pei Yi probably couldn’t hear it, but Chu Ming did.

Line drawings, pictograms, is twenty characters enough to pass?

The two outside the hall continued their conversation.

"Oh? I see Qi Chen and Pei Yi sitting in the hall, are they also deciphering?" Zuo Yuan asked.

Tang Bai nodded.

"If that’s the case, Luu Xi, you go try it too, let Lord Tang see if you’ve been slacking recently." Zuo Yuan looked at the young man beside him.

"Yes."

Luu Xi cupped his fists, then expressionlessly walked into the hall and sat in a corner of the front row.

Qi Chen and Pei Yi looked up, a strange light flashing in their eyes, a sign of dissatisfaction yet apprehension.

Tang Bai paused for a moment, said nothing, handed Luu Xi two pages of test paper, then left the hall to converse with Zuo Yuan.

"Left Minister, Luu Xi’s talent is exceptional, surpassing Qi Chen and Pei Yi, but an hour is already half over, that line drawing is honestly quite intricate."

"Is Lord Tang suggesting Luu Xi can’t decipher twenty characters?"

Tang Bai smiled without speaking.

Luu Xi’s accomplishments in ancient text research indeed surpassed Qi Chen and Pei Yi, but his nature was arrogant, ambitious, unwilling to be confined to a leisurely place like Wenlin Garden, he inwardly disliked it.

Zuo Yuan smiled insincerely: "Since Lord Tang feels this test is unfair to Luu Xi..."

"Let’s do this, His Majesty mentioned to me during the morning court session today to pay more attention to the document research in Wenlin Garden, so I’ll also set a test to evaluate Luu Xi, Qi Chen, Pei Yi, and while we’re at it, test... Ming."

Zuo Yuan deliberately paused, pretending unfamiliarity with Chu Ming’s name.

"I wonder what Lord Tang thinks?"

"Mr. Zuo, esteemed as Prime Minister, is willing to pose a test, a rare occasion, naturally it’s excellent."

Tang Bai wondered why this Left Minister had the leisure to linger around Wenlin Garden today, but said nothing more.

"What kind of test is the Left Minister planning to set?"

"Let’s wait for Lord Tang’s test to finish first."

"..."

Half an hour passed quickly, Qi Chen and Pei Yi, after painful deduction and association, finally found some patterns, with complex characters appearing in their writings.

The later-arriving Luu Xi truly demonstrated extraordinary ability, seated for only a quarter of an hour, seemed to unravel the pictograms hidden in the lines, then began writing.

As for Chu Ming, after Luu Xi deduced several characters, he began to raise his pen, writing something on paper.

Seen through the window, what he wrote was not the complex characters deciphered, but combinations of various lines, appearing as if he just glimpsed some clues, attempting to decipher.

Tang Bai gently shook his head: "I think, the test from Left Minister can likely only evaluate Luu Xi, Qi Chen, Pei Yi, but Chu Ming probably won’t pass this test of mine."

Zuo Yuan looked toward the hall with a smile and said: "Lord Tang, there’s a quarter of an hour left, Chu Ming’s disassembly of radicals and components on paper is quite good, might decipher a few."

"Left Minister, don’t jest, cannot decipher even a few, unable to enter the Imperial City, let alone step into Wenlin Garden."

"..."

Their conversation outside was not deliberately muted, all four inside the hall could hear.

Luu Xi’s expression remained arrogant, his brush did not pause, deciphering more and more complex characters.

In the last quarter hour, Qi Chen and Pei Yi found it very difficult to continue writing, not because they couldn’t write, but because they couldn’t decipher.

One hundred and thirty-three pictograms, they wrote down what they could decipher and deduce, the rest were rather difficult.

At this point, Pei Yi secretly glanced at Luu Xi in the corner, then gave Qi Chen a look, gesturing, meaning approximately ’twenty-five.’

Twenty-five, meaning the pictograms Luu Xi had already written.

Looking at their own papers, one wrote twenty-three, the other twenty-two.

Not only did the character count fall short, but others had only used half the time...

As their expressions changed, they buried their heads again, continuing deduction and deciphering.

In the final quarter hour, they must decipher two or three more characters!

Luu Xi naturally sensed Pei Yi’s furtive gaze, he even deliberately shifted his arm, allowing Pei Yi to clearly see the number of characters on paper.

Research on ancient texts and artifacts indeed holds significance, but wasting time in this unproductive Wenlin Garden, with his talent, equates to self-destruction.

He could perfectly well hold an important official position, dedicate some time to research and decipher ancient texts and artifacts.

Thus, he needed to prove, without staying in Wenlin Garden, using just part of his Heart Spirit, he could still outshine Qi Chen and Pei Yi dedicated to ancient text and artifact research.

In this way, having two self-proclaimed geniuses as stepping stones, the future could hardly be anything but bright.

As for the Chu Ming in the back row, he never took him seriously, the illegitimate son of merchants from a small county, how capable could he be?

Even if he struggled to get into Wenlin Garden, it would merely provide another stepping stone.

Thinking thus, three more characters appeared under his pen, deciphering reached twenty-eight.

Then he put down his pen, sat deep in thought, seemingly waiting for the two hours to end.

The later hidden characters too deep, deduction and deciphering excessively consuming Heart Spirit, just a pointless test, twenty-eight characters, surpassing Qi Chen and Pei Yi, was enough.

The light tapping of the pen handle against the table, though quiet, clearly fell in Qi Chen and Pei Yi’s ears.

Unconsciously, both gripped their pen handles, anxious and restless, disturbed by that faint ’tap,’ and couldn’t decipher any further.

"Twenty-eight... twenty-three... twenty-two..."

Through the Sword Gourd Spirit, Chu Ming clearly observed the situation on the three papers, likewise catching the changes in their demeanors.