Chapter 90.2

“How can it not count?”

“You set the question, and you also say it doesn’t count, such untrustworthiness!”

“A thief is a thief, not to be trusted!”

“Your Majesty, your servant believes there is no need to waste more words!”

Lin Beifan waved his hand indifferently: “Ministers, what harm is there in giving him one more chance? He’s just a petty thief; can he really turn the tables under my watch?”

“His Majesty is benevolent!” the officials shouted once again.

Having been defeated twice in a row, the Empty Hand Master was extremely embarrassed and felt disgraced.

However, he did not consider himself defeated; he simply thought that he had not been as well-prepared as his opponent, which allowed the other to exploit an opening.

“This time, I must propose an unprecedentedly difficult challenge, like never before!”

Empty Hand Master pointed at Bai Zhu next to him and provocatively said, “Let’s take ‘assassin’ as our theme, what do you say? This time, I’d like to see what kind of poetry you can come up with!”

“Assassin as a theme?” The crowd exclaimed in surprise.

From ancient times to the present, there had never been an instance where someone used ‘assassin’ as a theme for composing poetry.

The difficulty of this challenge could be said to be unparalleled.

Everyone looked at Lin Beifan with concern.

“This time, you won’t be able to do it, will you? Haha…” Empty Hand Master burst into a triumphant laughter.

Lin Beifan said calmly, “Who says I can’t do it? Listen carefully now so you won’t accuse me of cheating again!”

“I’m all ears!” Empty Hand Master huffed.

Pointing at Bai Zhu, Lin Beifan recited loudly,

“Knight rush in nomad gear, great sword bright as frost.”

“Silver saddle pale horse shine, galloping like shooting star.”

“Ten steps for every head, thousand miles left no trace.”

“When all is said and done, the person is without a name.”

Once again, the officials spontaneously burst into applause: “Excellent!”

Empty Hand Master’s jaw dropped in shock: “You’ve managed to do it again!”

The flattery of the officials came rolling in once again!

However, this time, Lin Beifan did not laugh with pride. Instead, he hung his head in shame and said.

“My fellow Ministers, please stop your praises. This poem was prepared in haste and is not as good as the previous ones. I am embarrassed!”

The officials were suddenly at a loss for words!

How could he be embarrassed when he had done so well?

Even if it was slightly inferior to the first two, it was still a poem through the ages!

To produce an eternal poem about an assassin in such a short amount of time, your level of poetry is truly unparalleled and unprecedented!

It’s not that there haven’t been any who tried to do it, but certainly none before were like this. What more do you want?

Is there any room left for others to recite poetry?

“Empty Hand Master, now it’s your turn!” Lin Baifan made a welcoming gesture.

“This round doesn’t count, you must have been prepared in advance!” Empty Hand Master shouted loudly.

The officials once again became angry, and this time, they were absolutely furious.

“How does it not count?”

“You’re the one who set the question, and now you say it doesn’t count after it’s been solved. Are you deliberately playing tricks?”

“A thief is a thief, they never keep their word, no sense of honor!”

“Your Majesty, don’t stoop to his level!”

The Empty Hand Master argued furiously, embarrassed and angry: “What do you know? Look carefully, although this female assassin has her face covered, she still looks stunningly beautiful, a beauty that could overthrow cities and nations! It must be that your Majesty has been coveting the female assassin, hence you were prepared and took this opportunity to seduce her out!”

The crowd looked at Lin Beifan, then at the assassin Bai Zhu, and found that there seemed to be some truth to the other party’s words.

Lin Beifan: “…”

Under the gaze of the crowd, Bai Zhu felt somewhat uneasy and could only glare at Lin Beifan in embarrassment and annoyance.

Lin Beifan: “…”

“So, this round still doesn’t count. Let’s start over!”

Lin Beifan flicked his sleeve: “Fine, let’s continue! Without a struggle, you’ll never understand what true despair means!”

Then, the Empty Hand Master continued to pose questions.

However, each time a question was presented, Lin Beifan composed a poem, and each one was a classic.

The Empty Hand Master has gone mad, he’s in utter despair!

Why does he know every single poem and verse?

Even on the most obscure topics, he responds with ease?

Is this guy even human?

The officials, however, are extremely impressed; their sovereign is just too awesome!

He speaks and out comes a masterpiece, every single poem a classic!

Throughout history, you’d struggle to find a poet who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him!

To call him a Poet Immortal or a Sage of Verse would not be an exaggeration!

At this moment, Lin Beifan arrogantly said, “Empty Hand Master, are you capable or not? From the beginning until now, it’s always been you posing questions, and I’ve been composing poetry. It’s about time you produce a poem yourself!”

“Yeah, you should at least produce a poem yourself!”

“And here you claim to be a cultured person, yet you can’t even recite a single poem!”

“If you don’t have the skill, just admit it, why the pretense?”

“Pretending to be a cultured person when you’re clearly a thief, that’s just laughable!”

The officials followed suit, clamoring loudly.

Empty Hand Master was so taunted that he almost coughed up blood in frustration!

If he were to impulsively present his own poetry, it would truly be an embarrassing spectacle!

Empty Hand Master waved his hand dismissively and said dejectedly, “Alright, alright, I admit defeat. I won’t compete anymore. Are you happy now?”

“If you had said so earlier, wouldn’t that have settled it?”

Lin Beifan said with a smile, “According to our agreement, you have to grant me one request!”

“Of course, I, Empty Hand Master, maybe a thief, but I am a man of my word! However, let me make it clear beforehand, I only know how to steal; I can’t do anything else!” Empty Hand Master said somewhat resignedly.

Lin Beifan said disdainfully, “If I truly wanted to steal something, I wouldn’t need you, for I have a better candidate in mind!”

“Someone with thieving skills superior to mine? I don’t believe it!” Empty Hand Master shook his head.

“Don’t believe it then. I didn’t ask you to believe it!” Lin Beifan retorted.

“Just spit out your conditions. I’ll do the job and then leave; I don’t want to see you again!” Empty Hand Master urged.

“Alright, I’ll say it, but you better listen carefully!”

Lin Beifan said with a smile: “I want you to join Great Xia and serve me!”

The civil and military officials were shocked. No wonder His Majesty was so tolerant; it turned out he had his eye on Empty Hand Master and wanted to recruit him.

Empty Hand Master was also taken aback: “Well, well, so you’ve been targeting me all along, you cunning little fox! But to think that I would serve you with the loyalty of a dog or horse, that’s absolutely impossible!”

“You did promise. It’s within your capabilities!” Lin Beifan raised an eyebrow.

“Although I promised I am a world-renowned master thief, how could I possibly tie myself down to one country? It’s getting late, I must be off!”

With a whoosh, he shot up into the sky and quickly disappeared from sight.

However, the proud laughter of the Empty Hand Master echoed back.

“By the way, little foolish emperor, I find the Night Pearl in your imperial study quite nice. I’ll take it to play with for a couple of days, and I’ll return it to you after that, haha!”

The faces of the crowd changed dramatically.

“How audacious! To dare steal His Majesty’s night pearl!”

“Such reckless impudence, utterly outrageous!”

“Quick, chase him! Don’t let him get away!”

The Imperial Guard was urgently dispatched.

Lin Beifan waved his hand: “No need to chase, he will return soon! Everyone, please sit down and continue to enjoy the moonlight! Court musicians, resume the music, resume the dance!”

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