Chapter 56: Professor Mizuki

  "This..."

  Zhou Fan's couplet was taken out, and Ming Lei immediately turned pale as a ghost.

  Although he is not a mixed book law, the vision of the book law still exists. He has always been proud of his own book law, but this is only compared to ordinary people, and even at most with the author's circle. However, when encountering Zhou Fan's calligraphy works, he was instantly flushed. If his calligraphy is at most just entering the door, then Zhou Fan's works are simply masters.

  No, it can even be said to be unique.

  That couplet is indeed a masterpiece of the highest order, with phrases that flow like ripples on water and dance like spirits.

  Such a work, he simply didn't dare imagine, was written by Zhou Fan.

  But everything in reality tells him it's all true.

  "My god, this guy, was pretending all along."

  Until this time, Ming Lei finally woke up. What is not good to compare with others, what is not good at writing words, it is clear that it is a trap for oneself. However, one has already forgotten oneself, unknowingly, and lost everything in the process of trying to gain something.

  "Minglai, what's wrong?"

  When Li Qiang saw Zhou Fan's work, he was slightly surprised. However, he wasn't really into art. As for calligraphy, he didn't have much of an eye for it. At most, he just thought Zhou Fan's work looked a bit better. But he was a businessman. A businessman's first thought is always how to make a profit. Yet, when he saw Ming Lei's face turn pale, his heart skipped a beat.

  Isn't Minglai's calligraphy work vastly different from that guy's?

  "It's no use, let's give up."

  Seeing Zhou Yifan's couplet, Ming Lei thoroughly didn't have the courage to play against him.

  Just like when you know the other party is too strong, so strong that you can't even resist, in the end, you will only give up.

  Even Ming Lei, who is a popular author now, was the same.

  After all, popular writers are also human beings.

  "Admit defeat? What did you say?" Li Qiang's veins bulged, gritting his teeth, "Do you know what admitting defeat means?"

  It's not the time to lose his temper, Li Qiang glared at Ming Lei and began thinking about how to respond. Fortunately, after decades of struggling in the business world, he was used to seeing big waves and wasn't too flustered by his current loss. He immediately spoke up, "Congratulations are in order! This work by Mr. Zhou is also a rare masterpiece. I think this literary exchange has come to an end here. What do you think, Old Li?"

  Li Zhi Cheng was about to agree, but still felt that he should consult Zhou Yi Fan's opinion.

  When Li Zhi Cheng sent his gaze over, Zhou Fan understood what he meant and thought for a moment before deciding against it.

  Don't push the other side too hard. Now everyone with discerning eyes knows that this game, no matter who wins or loses, is meaningless even if you insist on a winner and loser.

  "Alright, we still have a lot of books to sign on our side and don't have time, so let's stop here."

  Li Zhi Cheng nodded with a smile. This time, Zhou Fan gave him too much surprise. Unexpectedly, Zhou Fan not only wrote well, but also had excellent calligraphy skills, with the style of a master. Such talent, it's really unknown how he was cultivated. Moreover, he is only around twenty years old.

  Both sides gave up, Zhou Fan and the staff presented this couplet to the fan group leader Lu Feiqing.

  At this moment, thousands of fans were shocked again.

  But suddenly Lufei Qing said, "Everyone, this couplet is really too precious, I am ashamed to accept it alone."

  Calligraphy is a relatively profound art. Some famous calligraphers, their works can sell for tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions. Although Lu Feiqing didn't know what level Zhou Fan's calligraphy had reached, this couplet, whether it was the couplet itself or the characters, was an exceptional work, absolutely not something ordinary. If she were to accept it completely, she would really feel a bit uneasy in her heart.

  However, other book friends and fans were very generous, "Captain, what's this? We believe in you."

  "Yes, it is the same whether in the hands of the team leader or in our hands."

  "That's right, Captain, you can go next, and then we'll take a group photo as a keepsake."

  All book friends have some excitement.

  This trip was not in vain, it's really meaningful. Even when they go back, they can still talk about this experience.

  Upon hearing the book friends say so, Lu Feiqing could only nod her head. However, she still said, "Since that's the case, then I'll take it first. But I must declare, this couplet does not belong to me personally, it belongs to all of us. Just like the horizontal scroll, this is something that belongs to all the brothers of the Hong Hua Qun Ying Association."

  "Good."

  This sentence is well said.

  Even friends who were not seen on the street were talking about it from mouth to mouth, saying what happened at the scene.

  At the same time, some others who came to buy books saw the activity here and were also deeply impressed. In their hearts, they secretly sighed that this was a truly dedicated fan base. At the same time, they became extremely interested in "The Book and Sword Enmity Record" and Zhou Yi Fan. After a while, no matter what, they had to buy his works and take a look at what made them so great.

  ……

  "Professor Kong, you've arrived."

  The staff at Hai Da Bookstore saw Professor Kong coming in and greeted him warmly.

  "Well, just come here and take a look."

  This professor is around 60 years old, holding a paper fan, with a square face and very dignified.

  His surname is Kong, his first name is Fang, and he is a professor in the Chinese Department of Sui Mok University.

  Professor Kong Fang has a hobby, he likes to go to various book cities to dig for books. This hobby has always been puzzling, and at the time, someone asked Kong Fang, "Why does Old Kong come to the market to dig for books? What book doesn't the library of Shui Mu University have? Why bother here?" But Kong Fang just smiled and didn't respond. The real reason why Kong Fang often goes to the market to dig for books is actually very simple. He just wants to understand the direction of contemporary culture.

  Yes, it's just this one reason.

  The library of Mizuki University has a large collection of books, but they are all old books. Of course, there are also some contemporary works that are relatively well-known. However, the library is after all a library, and it will always be one step behind in collecting new books. Moreover, the library's collection consists mainly of classic works, while other literary works have not been collected. But as for the entire society, it is a market where various cultures and ideas collide and influence each other. As a professor of Chinese studies, Kong Fang believes that he needs to understand this society and the cultural collisions of today's world.

  "By the way, I'll ask, why is it so lively at Haida Bookstore today? There are so many people queuing up. Is there a new book coming out?"

  From a distance, Kong Fang saw that the Hai Da Book City was crowded with people. As he walked in, he was startled. It seemed that in his memory, only on Reading Day would it be so terrifying.

  But now it's not Reading Day, there's something strange.

  "Yes, today there are two writers here holding a book signing event, the scene is very lively."

  "Oh."

  Kong Fang nodded, but he wasn't very interested in the so-called book signing events that these authors were talking about. To him, these events were just a marketing ploy by business people. Good books didn't need any book signings to sell well. Of course, although he wasn't enthusiastic about book signings, he also didn't object, after all, this was part of doing business and couldn't be prohibited.

  He shook his head and walked to the front bookshelf, thinking of picking out something more innovative.

  Just turned a few laps, and there's a big pile of new books, but they're all ordinary, nothing special. I was about to leave the Haidao Book City, but on one side, I heard several young men discussing, "I think the success of 'The Legend of Sword and Chivalry' is entirely due to its martial arts system. This kind of martial arts has a particularly strong appeal for people in our Chinese region."

  "I think this is just one of them, the most successful place should be that he has a good shape of what is a knight."

  "No, no, xia is important, but without wu, there's no so-called xia. As Zhou Yifan said, 'wu xia' means wu comes first and xia comes after. Without wu, xia cannot be embodied."

  "Haha, what you said isn't wrong either. But if there's only martial and no chivalry, wouldn't that be purely a violent book? Then, how many people would read it?"

  Two people each have their own views and are having a lively discussion.

  "Huh?"

  Professor Kong had been about to leave, but he inadvertently overheard a few sentences.

  "Martial?"

  Chivalrous?

  Martial arts?

  When was there such a new word?

  For a new word like "Wuxia", Kong Fang feels it's very interesting and has its own characteristics.

  This can't help but remind him of the Assassin's Biography by Taishi Gong, like Zhuan Zhu and Jing Ke inside, are they also a kind of Xia?

  For this, Kong Fang directly came to those few friends' side.

  "These few little friends, you were just discussing very heatedly, can you specifically tell me, what is martial arts?"

  "Oh, this old gentleman. So, the term 'wuxia' is a new word. It was created by author Zhou Yifan, who referred to the heroic deeds of those with martial arts skills as 'xia'. Now, this book 'Jian En Chou Lu' is considered the first work in the wuxia genre."

  Kong Fang took over the book "Sword Enmity Record" handed over by his friend, turned to the page, and on it were written three big characters: "Zhou Yifan".

  "The handwriting is okay."

  Kong Fang nodded, this signature is not bad. However, he didn't think much of it. Generally, some famous people will create a unique signature for themselves. Even if their handwriting is poor, their signatures are always impressive. He casually flipped to the first page, intending to take a quick glance. Suddenly, he felt that the three characters from earlier were really stylish, so he flipped back again to re-examine Zhou Yifan's three characters.

  So, after repeated consideration, Kong Fang initially thought it was nothing special, but then felt that it was still okay. After a little more thought, he felt that it had a lot of style. Finally, after another look, he suddenly felt that these three characters seemed to have their own unique flavor. Once this idea opened up, it couldn't be stopped. Although they were only three characters, the things that were revealed between the lines were really too numerous to count.

  "Expert."

  He is indeed an expert.

  At this time, Kong Fang was somewhat excited.

  Unexpectedly, I met a master of calligraphy here.

  Then opened the book again, looking at Chapter One. But as soon as I looked, I was immediately drawn in by Professor Kong Fang.

  "Refreshing."

  What a relief.

  This book is perfect in every way, whether it's the choice of words, the structure of sentences, or even the plot.

  Of course, this is just a prerequisite for becoming a good book. However, what really makes this book a classic is the same as what Professor Kong Fang heard from these few friends discussing earlier. One is the martial arts system described in "The Book and the Sword", and the other is the chivalrous system written in "The Book and the Sword". The two are linked together to form another type - Wuxia.

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