I am collecting entries in reincarnation

Chapter 617 Poetry and Painting
"The gift given during the ceremony just now was the Night View Cave Screen Painting, which was painted by Hero Li himself. My third brother became friends with Hero Li because of his poetic talent. Ordinary people only know that Hero Li is a martial arts master, but only we know that Hero Li is also a great writer. It's a pity. Besides, Hero Li's sword dance last night was unparalleled in the world. Why not let Hero Li dance again to entertain the guests!" The second young master said with a laugh.

Ao San immediately jumped out and said, "Master Li, he is my father's guest, how can you be so disrespectful!"

He knew his second brother's temper. He was still brooding over the humiliation he suffered at the hands of Li Ming last night, but he didn't expect that he would make trouble at the birthday banquet. Such behavior was equivalent to treating Li Ming as a clown, which naturally made him lose face in front of so many guests and feel inferior to them for no reason.

Long Jun narrowed his eyes slightly, scanned the two of them, and did not speak.

Then the second young master took a few steps forward and clapped his hands. Immediately, a maid came forward holding a scroll.

"This is Master Li's birthday gift, painted by Master Li himself. Oh, and he did it last night in the Dragon Palace using the brushes and ink we have in the palace. It shows how much care Master Li put into it! I think we should all come and take a look."

The second young master placed emphasis on the word "carefully", and the implication was very clear.

Ao San immediately said angrily, "Brother Li is a distinguished guest invited by my father himself. He was traveling and only found out about my father's birthday banquet by chance. He was in such a hurry that he couldn't prepare anything carefully. Naturally, his gift can't compare to the carefully prepared gifts of others."

The Second Young Master sneered, "But you can't just deal with it like this."

He shook the scroll and saw only a vague picture of a lake and mountains. Although it was not a graffiti, it was certainly not worthy of being called a top-notch work. It was just mediocre.

Ao San moved closer and saw the scroll. His expression changed and he looked a little puzzled. Then he looked at Li Ming and saw that he was still calm and even nodded slightly at him. He felt relieved and smiled.

When everyone in the hall saw the scroll, some people immediately started to discuss in a low voice. The name Li Ming was now well-known in the area. Giving such a thing as a gift at the Dragon King's birthday banquet was like giving a big red envelope with five dollars in it.

It would have been fine if no one opened it in front of me, but now that the Second Young Master had thrown it away, it was really embarrassing.

Especially here, many people have tried their best to obtain rare treasures before the birthday banquet, just to get a look from the Dragon King. Now that Li Ming is sitting in a high position, but he has produced such a trick to fool people, do you dare to say that they don’t feel dissatisfied in their hearts?
Maybe it would just be a joke at other times, but it's really embarrassing to talk about it at this moment.

But Li Ming remained as steady as a rock, even with a smile on his face.

Marquis Dingyuan secretly admired his thick skin, saying that an extraordinary person should have an extraordinary thick skin.

Li Ming smiled and said, "It's normal for Second Young Master to have such doubts. I was going to leave a little Easter egg for those who will watch it later. Now that Second Young Master has brought it up, I will clear up your doubts."

Li Ming stood up and walked to the second young master. He placed his hand on the scroll and said with a smile, "Last night when I was painting, I used not only ink but also wine."

The second young master heard the sound and asked, "What's wrong with using wine?"

Li Ming sighed and shook his head, saying, "This is a rather strange method. It's not very useful, it's just fun."

"I remember now. There once was a wine-drinking immortal who was a master of both poetry and swordsmanship. He had the unique skill of using wine as ink."

"Hidden Ink?"

"Yes, yes, that's the name!"

"Doesn't that person have a successor?" "It seems to be the Star-Moon Sword Couple, but they have never used it."

"Could it be that?"

There was no mediocre person in the hall. After a few words back and forth, they guessed most of the answer.

Li Ming smiled slightly when he heard the voice. He brought the wine jug in his other hand to his lips and took a big gulp. He threw the scroll in his hand into the air and lifted it up with an imperceptible amount of Qi. Then he sprayed a mouthful of the wine, and drops of it fell on the paper. Immediately, a wonderful change occurred. The scenery of the lake and mountains suddenly changed. Suddenly, the perspective of viewing the lake from distant mountains turned into viewing the cave screen from the Dragon Palace.

The underwater scenery of Dongping Lake is magnificent, with fish swimming here and corals shining over there. It is a great night view of Dongping Lake, with two sides of one picture, which will appear when it is touched with wine. On weekdays, it is the light of Dongping Lake during the day, but when it is touched with wine, it will become the Dragon Palace at night. It is a picture of auspicious auras like the palace in heaven, a rare and wonderful sight rarely seen in the world!
Seeing this, the Dragon Lord nodded slightly and said, "Not bad, not bad, this painting is very much to my liking. It's thoughtful, it's thoughtful!"

Everyone cheered, some praised the superb painting skills, and some said the secret techniques were mysterious.

The second young master was not entertained and lost face in front of everyone. He was angry and wanted to say something, but when he looked up and saw his father's cold eyes, his heart went cold again and sweat broke out on his back. He didn't dare to say anything and just retreated back to his seat.

Li Ming thought to himself.

"Luckily, I was in the mood last night. I felt that a scroll of atlas was a bit underwhelming, so I put some thought into preparing it. Otherwise, I would have made a fool of myself today. Thanks to the kindness of those two seniors back then, who not only exchanged ideas with me but also chatted with me. After upgrading my [Civil and Martial Arts] entry, I now have a deep cultural background and am not afraid of such occasions."

Then Ao San said, "Father, please look, although this painting is extraordinary, the poem is even better!"

After saying this, he read aloud.

The autumn waters of South Lake are smokeless at night.
Naike can ride the current straight up to the sky.

Let's borrow the moonlight from the cave screen,
Take the boat to buy wine by the white clouds.

"Good, good, good poem, good poem!" A man who looked like a scholar recited the poem twice again, and his eyes immediately lit up.

"These two lines of scenery may seem plain and simple, but they are actually masterpieces of natural talent, leaving us with endless room for imagination."

"Yes, yes, I love the exquisite calligraphy. This beautiful cave screen was borrowed from the Dragon Lord. It is truly wonderful."

"Look again at the white clouds of buying wine, which are connected to the straight up to the sky. The two words in the middle show that the straight up to the sky is not impossible, but is retained because the scenery of the cave screen is too beautiful."

Seeing that his birthday party had become a poetry appreciation event for Li Ming, Long Jun was not angry but happy and just laughed.

Seeing this, Ao San was so excited that he said, "Father, I think Mr. Li's poem is the best. Why don't we give the first prize in this birthday banquet essay competition to Mr. Li?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place fell silent. Although Li Ming's poems were well written, it would be a bit unfair to ask others to give up.

Seeing this, Li Ming quickly waved his hands and said, "This is a birthday gift, how can it be included in it? Third Master, don't joke, don't joke."

(End of this chapter)