Chapter 29: ★Interspersed Extra★
After Qi Xiao transmigrated to this dynasty, he became a “genius.”
Old General Qi would always tell everyone he met, “My son read military strategy at the age of three and practiced swordsmanship at five! He’s naturally gifted and absorbs knowledge so quickly!”
Of course, Qi Xiao thought. Your three-year-old son has the soul of a twenty-something-year-old man living inside him. It’s only normal that he can read and understand all the words. If a transmigration didn’t come with a golden finger, could it even be called a transmigration? Heh!
Furthermore, Qi Xiao had been a fencing master in his past life, so he had a foundation for learning the martial arts of this dynasty. He progressed faster than other children his age and was much stronger.
The only drawback was that this body was still small, and his brain hadn’t fully developed. Sometimes, after reading too much, he would feel dizzy or experience a sharp pain from being overloaded. In short, his organs couldn’t keep up with his knowledge!
When Qi Xiao was seven, he heard that another genius had appeared in the capital. This genius could compose poetry and play the zither at the age of five and was destined to be a literary prodigy.
Another transmigrator?
“Xiao’er,” Old General Qi said, “Father will take you to visit Master Fu.”
Master Fu?
“Father,” Qi Xiao said in a soft voice, “is Master Fu’s second son, Fu Yunzhi, the genius everyone has been talking about recently?”
At this time, although Qi Xiao was already practicing martial arts, his body hadn’t fully grown yet. He was still a little chubby, and his voice was soft and meltingly sweet, making him exceptionally cute.
Old General Qi laughed heartily and picked up his son. “Xiao’er, in Father’s heart, you are the best! No one can compare to my Xiao’er.”
After arriving at the Fu manor, Old General Qi and Fu Zhengyang chatted about everything under the sun. The two of them hit it off so well that they completely ignored everyone else.
Qi Xiao was a little bored sitting alone, so he took advantage of their inattention and slipped out of the main hall.
The Fu manor was much smaller than the Qi manor, which had a training ground and a tournament stage. But this place was much more poetic and picturesque. Plum trees were planted everywhere, blooming luxuriantly in the spring. From time to time, he could see pavilions and rockeries with flowing water. This is the style of a scholar, Qi Xiao thought.
He wandered aimlessly through the Fu manor. When he reached a certain courtyard, he heard the sound of a zither.
Qi Xiao didn’t understand music, but he could still judge whether it was pleasant to listen to based on his own preferences. The sound was clear and melodious, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes slow, sometimes fast. He found it pleasing to the ear and couldn’t help but want to see the person playing.
Following the sound, he came to a room and saw a young boy inside, focused on playing the guzheng. The boy was small, and the large instrument resting on his lap seemed almost too heavy for him.
The music stopped abruptly. The boy looked up. “Who are you?”
Qi Xiao was stunned, a little reluctant to let the melody go. After a pause, he cupped his fist. “Qi Xiao. The xiao from xiaoxiong .”
[Translator’s Notes: The phrase “Qi Xiao. The xiao from xiaoxiong” is a wordplay on the character’s name Xiao and the Chinese word xiaoxiong, meaning “heroic leader” or “powerful hero.”]
“Old General Qi’s only son?”
Seeing the boy let down his guard, Qi Xiao walked over and sat down beside him.
“What’s your name?”
“Fu Yunzhi.”
So this boy was the Fu family genius everyone had been talking about recently. No wonder he played the zither so well. After a moment of thought, Qi Xiao said, “Moonlight before my bed.”
[Translator’s Notes:
Moonlight before my bed : This is the first line of a very famous Tang dynasty poem, “Quiet Night Thought” by Li Bai. It’s one of the first poems every Chinese child learns. ]
“…?” Seeing Fu Yunzhi looking at him with confusion, Qi Xiao thought, This one isn’t a transmigrator. He’s a real genius of this era!
“Can you play again?”
Fu Yunzhi was taken aback, then placed his ten fingers on the strings. The flowing sound of the zither started again. This time, the melody was fast and urgent, as if being chased by something terrifying. Then, it became powerful and passionate, rising section by section. Qi Xiao was reminded of the thundering of ten thousand horses and the glint of blades on the battlefield.
He watched Fu Yunzhi’s ten fingers dance nimbly. Perhaps because he was playing such a spirited piece, Fu Yunzhi’s cheeks were flushed, and his eyes sparkled as if they held stars… He was just a six-year-old child, yet he was so beautiful and pleasing to the eye that one could even imagine how magnificent he would be as an adult.
Twang!
The last note fell without warning, and Qi Xiao hadn’t even reacted.
“This piece is about war,” Fu Yunzhi said. “You’re a general’s son, so you should prefer this kind of music…”
With that, he fell silent, but his eyes were fixed on Qi Xiao, clearly waiting for a comment.
“You’re… really beautiful,” Qi Xiao said numbly.
Fu Yunzhi: “…”
Later, the fake genius and the real genius both grew up. The fake genius became a world-renowned God of War, and the real genius became a universally known great scholar.
The God of War fell in love with the great scholar, and the great scholar also fell in love with the God of War.
On the day he was poisoned with the Gu, Fu Yunzhi lay on his bed while Zhou Yiqing treated him.
He was a bit disheveled, his hair messy. At this time, he was not yet the Fu Yunzhi who cared so much about his appearance and liked to carry a fan and pretend to be a handsome young gentleman.
“You need to be mentally prepared,” Zhou Yiqing said to him. “If this Gu is not removed, not only will it act up after you drink alcohol and shorten your lifespan, but it will also affect your appearance.”
Standing to the side, Fu Yuncai was shocked. “Shorten his lifespan?”
“If this Gu is not removed,” Zhou Yiqing said seriously, “he will live for five years at most.”
“F-five years?!”
That was probably the most serious part, but Fu Yunzhi’s focus was on something else.
“Affect my appearance? How will it affect it?”
“The host’s skin will wither and darken due to the poison,” Zhou Yiqing said. “His figure will become deformed, and his body hair, including the hair on his head, will fall out. This is all recorded in the medical books. I don’t know about anything else…”
Fu Yunzhi’s eyes were blank, his hands clutching the bedsheets tightly.
If it was really as Zhou Yiqing described, what kind of ugly monster would he become?!
“You all leave first…”
After everyone had left, Fu Yunzhi got up and sat before the bronze mirror, his left hand caressing his cheek over and over.
“You’re… really beautiful.”
Someone had once said that.
“You’re… really beautiful.”
“You’re… really beautiful.”
Fu Yunzhi bent over, hugged his knees, and cried silently.
