Chapter 631 - 200: Meeting the Dean

What could he say? He couldn’t say anything.

Shen Bai felt he’d already done a good job just by smoothing things over this far.

"You have no appreciation for elegance."

The Dean set down his brush. "Such fine calligraphy. What a pity."

Shen Bai: "..."

’The Dean might have a screw loose,’ he thought.

After all, the calligraphy was truly hideous.

"If I may ask, Dean, why did you summon me here?"

Shen Bai set the "Woman’s Treasure" aside and asked.

’I’d better get straight to the point,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, if the Dean writes a few more "Heaven Rewards the Diligent"s with that horrendous calligraphy, I’m afraid I’ll puke and get a beating for it.’

The Dean pointed to the seat beside him. "Sit. Let’s talk over tea."

Shen Bai nodded, walked over to the seat, and took out a teacup.

Only then did he notice that the lid of the cup also had characters on it. It was the Dean’s handwriting, unique in its ugliness.

"What do you think? My ink treasure paired with this teacup, doesn’t it elevate the whole thing?"

The Dean said smugly, "Back in the day, my senior brother and I... one of us excelled at calligraphy, the other at painting. We were truly a peerless duo in both arts."

Shen Bai asked uncertainly, "Between the Prime Minister’s painting and the Dean’s calligraphy, who is better?"

The Dean took out a Scroll. "This is his painting. You can take a look. It’s truly excellent."

Shen Bai took the Scroll and unrolled it.

Painted on it was a chicken pecking at rice.

Shen Bai praised, "What a fine ’Chick Pecking at Rice’ painting."

The Dean: "?"

Shen Bai frowned. "Is that wrong?"

The Dean mused, "This is ’The Divine Phoenix.’ You’d best not let my senior brother hear you say that, or you’ll get a beating."

Shen Bai suddenly felt that the emperor of the previous dynasty, for having had such a pair of "great talents," must have truly suffered. ’Aren’t they just Oulong Fengchu?’

One "Woman’s Treasure," one "Chick Pecking at Rice."

It was simply ridiculous.

After admiring the painting one more time, the Dean finally said, "This time, you’ve brought great honor to the Great Zhou Country. I can just imagine how pleased His Majesty is. But, young man, you mustn’t become arrogant."

Shen Bai nodded. "Of course."

’I spend all day dealing with my Skill Level; I really don’t have time for things like pride and arrogance.’

The Dean continued, "This time, did my senior brother entrust you with a task?"

Shen Bai answered without hesitation, "That’s right. The Prime Minister told me to help him retrieve the Ten Thousand Ancient Books from the Celestial Pride Hall."

’There’s no point in hiding it,’ he thought.

’After all, a big shot like him must already know. Otherwise, the Dean wouldn’t have brought it up.’

"You didn’t find it, did you?" the Dean said with a smile.

Shen Bai nodded. "Indeed, I did not."

The Dean pulled a book from his robes, handed it over, and said, "This is the Ten Thousand Ancient Books."

Shen Bai: "?"

He realized the situation had already developed far beyond his imagination.

’The Ten Thousand Ancient Books that Prime Minister Cao needed was somehow right here with the Dean.’

’This is just ridiculous.’

The Dean placed the Ten Thousand Ancient Books on the table and said slowly, "I acquired this long ago, but I never brought it out."

"I was originally thinking that after getting the Ten Thousand Ancient Books, I’d find a chance to really humiliate him."

"But unexpectedly, when I opened this book, I saw some things."

Shen Bai was slightly curious but didn’t pick up the book. "What is recorded in it?"

’For it to make this pair of rivals hold back from acting against each other,’ Shen Bai thought, ’there must be a huge secret inside.’

The Dean said, "Open it and see for yourself."

Shen Bai hesitated.

’This thing is probably trouble.’

After all, anything involving secrets is trouble.

Seeing Shen Bai’s reluctance, the Dean said, "The Ten Thousand Ancient Books is so named because it’s a record of things from ancient times, written by our teacher."

"It contains some secrets, but they aren’t important to us. After all, we already know them."

Hearing this, Shen Bai felt a little puzzled.

’If that’s the case, then this book’s only purpose is as a tool in the squabble between Prime Minister Cao and the Dean.’

’So why do they want me to look at it?’

But since things had come to this, Shen Bai felt he might as well pick it up and have a look.

It would also be giving the Dean some face.

As Shen Bai picked up the Ten Thousand Ancient Books, the Dean took a shallow sip of his tea.

Shen Bai opened the book and was completely stunned.

The writing was ugly. The drawings were ugly.

The book was recorded in the form of text and illustrations.

But the text and the drawings were so hideous that a single glance was enough to make one want to vomit.

"Our teacher’s skill in calligraphy and painting was a level above ours. You’re fortunate to be able to see it," the Dean said.

Shen Bai really wanted to say that he’d previously thought the emperor of the old dynasty had suffered, but now he saw that the students had truly inherited their master’s legacy.

Suppressing a strong sense of discomfort, Shen Bai forced himself to keep reading, even though his scalp was tingling.

The content that followed made Shen Bai furrow his brow.

"Qin Shuang?"