Chương 73: Chapter 71 - Chasing Benefits

Zhang Bai smiled at seeing the impromptu event take such a pleasant turn. It seemed like Ao Wen and her friends were genuinely starting to let go of their guarded hostility that had flared so intensely when the two groups met. While many of these young men had ulterior motives for coming on this misguided rescue mission, they weren't a group of scoundrels and rogues. Besides, while they may not have had an opportunity to woo the young fairies, they certainly didn't seem to mind with other opportunities appearing before them.

Having realized that impressing Fairy Ao could result in amazing rewards, the remaining youths became very eager to demonstrate their talents! The next man to stand was an aristocratic young man with flowing sleeves covered in embroidered plum blossoms who strode eagerly forward. "I am Wen Jun, a poet without peer," he declared loftily. "Permit me to pay tribute to the twin Fairies whose sublime elegance illuminates this gathering." Taking a dignified pose, Wen Jun proceeded to recite his hasty composition.

"O dazzling Fairy of the gilded zither, vision of purity like...er...new fallen snow. How your...delicate features put the...moon and stars to shame. Verdant sleeves glide like currents...on a tranquil pond...of emeralds. And charming Fairy of the fiery dance, slender flame... searing my heart with passsionate heat...all men must crave to...yield beneath your trampling feet?"

Stunned silence filled the camp as Wen Jun's poem landed flatter than Granny Jun's scallion cakes. Eventually, Ao Wen smiled stiffly and said "thank you," her eyes flicking to Tang Jin for some help.

"Friend Wen Jun," Tang Jin said. "Your poetry skills are… that is… I don't think Sister Wen's alchemy can help with that, but when we get back to Turning Leaf town, perhaps a stroll through the Four Gardens with a jug of my father's plum wine would help more inspired words to flow…" Or at least, Tang Jin thought, if he got drunk enough he could forget about his shameful performance tonight!

Seeing the mood beginning to turn, one of the other young men stood up, not wanting to miss his turn. "My name is Shun Ren," the young man proclaimed, holding his horsetailed spear. "I'm afraid that I'm not as good at displaying my fighting talent without a partner to fight, but if any other young hero wants to be my partner I would be happy to showcase my fighting ability," he said with a flourish and a bow towards the other young men. "Though I do have to give warning that I've received considerable tutelage from Dragon Soldier Long Ma," he boasted. "Anyone who stands against me may find themselves quickly swept away."

"No fighting," Ao Wen cut in before anyone could volunteer to join the young man. "As much as I think we all enjoy a good show, we don't need to see steel clash and blood spill tonight."

"Oh," Mo Yan said snidely from the far side of the campfire, looking up from the cup of half empty tea he'd been staring into. "I thought Fairy Ao enjoyed violence. You weren't so squemish when Tang Jin was fighting that bear," he said snidely. Having his attempts to frame Tang Jin's family collapse had soured his mood and seeing other cultivators rewarded for their meager displays of talent irked him even more. Worse, he'd actually felt tempted by Shun Ren's invitation, or more accurately, by the Alchemy rewards that Ao Wen had been handing out. At this rate, he felt like he'd be thrown far behind the others!

"Brawler Mo misunderstands," Ao Wen said coldly. "It's not that I am hesitant to see fighting, rather, it's that seeing a good fight would make my hands itch. Since one of them is currently broken, I'd only go to bed hot blooded and frustrated," she said, ignoring the looks of the few young men who felt tempted to offer solutions to going to bed 'hot blooded and frustrated.'

"And how did the mighty Fairy Ao break her arm?" Mo Yan asked, still trying to regain some of his lost ground. "I'm sure there's a dazzling tale of heroism to accompany such a grievous injury that prevents you from displaying your overwhelming martial might. Perhaps if Fairy Ao didn't insist on using such an overlarge saber the injury wouldn't be as dibilitating," he sneared.

"She shoved her arm into the jaws of the Rage Queen to land a killing blow with her other hand, weilding that 'overlarge' saber one handed," Feng Xi said with ice in her voice. "It was one of the two bravest things I'd ever seen."

The air in the entire camp turned instantly cold. Several young men stared at Mo Yan as though he had lost his mind for antagonizing Ao Wen who had been offering up alchemy services that couldn't be obtained from the likes of Alchemy Novice Mao Ailum or Wu Lin, the other Alchemy Novice in town. What kind of animosity existed between these two for him to dig such a deep grave. And then to hear that she'd been injured hunting a Rage Queen? Killing a Rage Queen?

"Xi is overpraising me," Ao Wen said with a slight blush at having it called one of the two bravest things Feng Xi had other seen. Surely the other thing was something done by her legendary father! "It was a team effort to hunt the Rage Queen, that's why I'm only claiming the beast core of the beast, the heart is reserved for Tang Jin and the head will belong to the Feng family as the leaders of this hunt," Ao Wen said, passing greater credit to Feng Xi but also announcing that it wasn't Feng Xi but the Feng FAMILY that had earned the head of the Rage Queen. Ao Wen hoped that small thing would help in paving the way for Feng Lieren's recovery and return to prominence.

"We look forward to seeing your hunting trophy displayed," Zhang Bai said with a slight bow in the direction of the two Fairies and Tang Jin. "But perhaps we should all rest the night so that we can leave early and return to town by sunset," he offered diplomatically. He'd promised to keep Mo Yan away from them and while he couldn't very well gag the conniving brat, he could shut things down and deprive him of opportunities to pour more oil on the fire.