"For now, let's not alert the snake. Xiao Nan and Gu Cheng are not strong, their threat to us is not significant."
Fang Ming pondered for a moment, determining the general direction. Whether Xiao Nan and Gu Cheng had sided with the Liu family or not, it wouldn't significantly impact his search for the painter.
With Nannan around, they wouldn't be able to cause much trouble. It was just that Fang Ming felt a pang of sadness, having spent so much time with the two of them.
"Alright, Qingmian, you should lay low for a while. Stay hidden in the mirror and observe their every move. If anything seems amiss, stop them immediately."
Qingmian nodded in response, "No problem. I'll keep an eye on them. However, for Gu Cheng, it's best if Nannan sister personally watches him. His strength is comparable to an ordinary fierce demon, and I might not be his match." Fang Ming nodded slightly, stroking his chin in thought. Suddenly, he realized he had overlooked a crucial question: How would the Yunxian Poetry Gathering lure out the painter? Simply by presenting excellent poems and verses? But this world was a cycle, and the content of the Yunxian Poetry Gathering was always the same. How could it attract the painter?
"That's not right." Fang Ming suddenly thought of something and quickly left the room, heading towards Young Master Liu's chamber.
"Fang Ming," Nannan called out as she followed.
"You all wait for me inside. I'll be back shortly," Fang Ming waved his hand, arrived at Young Master Liu's door, and knocked.
"Enter."
Fang Ming pushed open the door, then closed it. Young Master Liu sat on a stool, still reading Fang Ming's submitted work.
"What is it, Brother Fang?" Young Master Liu asked, surprised. Why had Fang Ming come over now? And he looked quite serious.
"Brother Liu, I have a question for you. You must answer me truthfully. This concerns whether we can find the painter first!" Fang Ming's tone was grave, his gaze fixed intently on Young Master Liu.
Young Master Liu also sensed that the upcoming question was critical, and his tone became serious as well. "Brother Fang, speak. If I know, I will tell you."
"Every time you host the Yunxian Poetry Gathering, how do you lure out the painter? You know this world is a cycle, and you do this every reincarnation. Why?"
"Because..." Young Master Liu was about to speak when a sharp pain shot through his head, interrupting his answer. When he recovered, his eyes were somewhat dazed.
"What's wrong?" Fang Ming, seeing his abnormal state, quickly inquired.
"I was clearly about to say something, but after a wave of headache, I suddenly forgot," Young Master Liu said, looking confused.
Fang Ming furrowed his brows at this. Who was preventing Young Master Liu from revealing the truth? In this world, there was likely only one entity capable of directly influencing Young Master Liu: the painter!
The painter did not allow anyone to reveal the method of his appearance!
Was he avoiding them?
"Since you've forgotten that, think about another question. After the poetry competition, at what stage does the world begin to cycle?" Fang Ming asked another question.
"After the Yunxian Poetry Gathering, we collect all the submitted works, and then... and then..." Young Master Liu's head began to ache again, even more severely than before. His subsequent answer was once again forcefully interrupted.
Seeing Young Master Liu's poor condition, Fang Ming interrupted him, "Alright, you don't need to force yourself to recall. I think I have some idea."
Young Master Liu looked up in surprise. "You know?"
"I have a rough guess." Fang Ming nodded slightly, then walked to the table, picked up the poem he had written, and without hesitation, walked to the candle and lit it.
"Hey, Brother Fang, what are you doing?" Young Master Liu rushed over to stop him, but Fang Ming extended a hand and blocked him. Young Master Liu had no choice but to give up, watching the paper burn away.
At the same time, the entire world began to tremble slightly, but no other phenomenon occurred until the paper had completely burned.
"Did you feel it?" Fang Ming took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He believed he understood how to find the painter.
"That tremor just now?" Young Master Liu exclaimed. "What's going on? Why would burning this paper cause the entire world to shake?"
"It wasn't the burning paper that caused the world to shake, but some other reason," Fang Ming said, frowning. He had some suspicions about the painter. Perhaps he didn't disappear entirely, but rather appeared at the very moment of the world's reincarnation?
The Yunxian Poetry Gathering was equivalent to the world's fulcrum, the starting point of all cycles. If the painter never appeared, he couldn't possibly support the world's repeated cycles.
"Then what's the reason?" Young Master Liu was bewildered. Why did Fang Ming seem more familiar with the painter than he, a native?
Fang Ming then shared some of his speculations with Young Master Liu, who listened and fell into thought. It seemed to make sense.
"So, what do we do next?" Young Master Liu asked.
"If we want to find the painter in advance, we must accelerate the progress of the cycle, and it must begin under our control for us to gain the initiative," Fang Ming said gravely.
Young Master Liu was not a dull person and immediately understood. "You mean we steal the submitted works and burn them, forcing the painter to appear early?"
Fang Ming nodded. That was his intention.
Young Master Liu pondered for a moment longer, then made up his mind. "Alright. I know where the submitted works are kept every year. I can take you to steal them."
"Agreed. But we can't have too many people to avoid drawing attention. For this plan, only you and Qingmian will go. Don't tell anyone else," Fang Ming said cautiously.
"What about Gu Cheng?" Young Master Liu asked, confused.
"Gu Cheng... he has a problem," Fang Ming told Young Master Liu the truth. "He might have already sided with the Liu family. To avoid danger, we won't tell him about this plan."
"What? Gu Cheng sided with the Liu family?" Young Master Liu was shocked. The Demon Extermination Division was at odds with the Liu family, holding a deep hatred for them. Yet, the director of the Demon Extermination Division had actually sided with the Liu family!
He had already felt that Gu Cheng's excuse for his disappearance and subsequent return was problematic. He never expected that he actually had problems.
"Then why not eliminate him now?" Young Master Liu said hatefully. He had no particular affection for Gu Cheng. If Fang Ming hadn't acted as a bridge, he wouldn't even be cooperating with Gu Cheng.
"It's not suitable to alert the snake now," Fang Ming said grimly, then outlined his next plan.
"The day after tomorrow, during the finals, won't the Liu family's security focus be on the competition grounds?"
Young Master Liu nodded. "That's inevitable. The competition venue will be chaotic, so at least the security forces will be concentrated there, especially for the finals."
"In that case, on the day after tomorrow, during the finals, you and Qingmian will go to the place where the submitted works are stored and steal them all. Then, wait for me to return and burn them."
The reason Fang Ming wanted them to wait for his return to burn them was that he was worried that if he was absent, Nannan and the painter might clash. If Nannan won, it would be fine, but what if she lost?
"Alright, no problem," Young Master Liu nodded.
A day and two nights passed in a blur. The first round of the Yunxian Poetry Gathering, the poetry competition, entered its final stages.
"Congratulations to the five talented scholars present for successfully entering the final stage. Next, you will undergo three rounds of point-based ranking!"
"The rules are as follows."
At this moment, Fang Ming and the other four finalists sat on a high platform. Below were tables and chairs. Besides the five judges, there were invited guests seated below watching the competition. These guests included local officials, wealthy merchants, and many renowned scholars and talents.
The head steward of the Liu family stood before the five competitors, reading out the rules for the point-based rounds.
"The five talented scholars will compete in three rounds, completing their works within a specified time. Then, the judges will award points. After three rounds, the final rankings will be determined based on the total points!"
Three rounds, with each person having to write three poems. The difficulty was self-evident!
After the head steward explained the rules, he announced the start of the competition. A huge banner descended from the backdrop of the high platform.
"First round topic: Wandering."
Hiss! A gasp arose from the guests below. This topic was not simple, or rather, it was extremely difficult for these five young talents!
When writing poetry, the integration of emotion was crucial. These five young individuals, how much experience of wandering could they possibly have? How could they write good poems?
As expected, except for Fang Ming, the expressions of the five people on stage were not good. This topic struck directly at their weakness.
A censer with thin incense sticks was brought up by a servant, serving as the timer. Fang Ming glanced at it, estimating it to be around thirty minutes.
Indeed, the difficulty of the finals was extremely high. Thirty minutes, unless inspiration struck, one could barely complete half a poem. However, this was a minor issue for Fang Ming. In the age of information overload, what had he not encountered?
While the other four were still racking their brains, Fang Ming had already picked up his brush and started writing. The gazes of several judges couldn't help but fall on him. They couldn't help but sigh, thinking, "This young man is truly a genius!"
How could he produce poetry so quickly?
The head steward couldn't help but curiously cast a glance at Fang Ming's actions. Seeing someone start writing, the other four became nervous and also picked up their brushes to start writing, but only managed to write two or three words before getting stuck.
A few minutes later, Fang Ming raised his hand.
"Head Steward, I'm finished."
"Finished?" The head steward exclaimed in surprise and quickly hurried over. He saw that Fang Ming's Xuan paper was indeed filled with a complete poem.