"Luotang, what should I write?"
However, Wan Yunting, holding the writing brush, suddenly turned to Gu Luotang, who was standing beside him, and asked, because he couldn't just write a prescription, could he?
Gu Luotang saw the man asking her and looked embarrassed. She couldn't help but giggle, and said, "Brother Yunting, they didn't specify what to write. Just write a poem or a lyric, like those by Du Fu or Li Bai. But pick a short one, you only have twenty minutes."
"Those poems and lyrics..."
Wan Yunting scratched his head and said, "It's been so long, I've forgotten it all. How about, Luotang, you just read one for me?"
"Alright."
Seeing that the man really couldn't think of anything to write, Gu Luotang smiled and said, "I'll recite Li Bai's 'Leaving Baidi City Early'."
"Good..."
Wan Yunting began to write, using the Slender Gold script to write "Leaving Baidi City Early." Then Gu Luotang recited, "This morning I bid farewell to Baidi City in the colorful clouds, A thousand miles to Jiangling in a single day's return. The monkeys on both banks cry incessantly, My light boat has already passed ten thousand mountains."
Wan Yunting's brushstrokes were like lightning, the tip of the brush as sharp as an emperor's sword, its edge sharp and formidable. As he recited, four lines of text soon appeared on the Xuan paper, precisely Li Bai's "Leaving Baidi City Early"!
"Done."
After finishing, Wan Yunting lifted his brush and looked at his masterpiece, which had only taken five minutes. He turned to Gu Luotang and smiled, "Luotang, what are you writing?"
Gu Luotang, who was also writing, turned to him and said softly, "Li Bai's 'Chang Xiangsi'!"
"Oh."
Wan Yunting, intrigued, put down his brush and was about to walk towards her, when a supervisor shouted, "You cannot watch others, to avoid disturbing their competition. Otherwise, you will be disqualified for cheating!"
Wan Yunting paused, pointed to his table, and said to the supervisor, "I've already finished. Can't I even watch my friend write?"
"You've finished?"
The supervising teacher's expression froze, and he walked over. Wan Yunting pointed to the characters on his table and said, "Perfect timing, teacher, please take it."
The supervising teacher walked over, stood at Wan Yunting's desk, and looked at the neat lines of poetry on the Xuan paper. The brushstrokes were slender and strong, yet retained a fleshy quality. The style was graceful and charming. Each stroke, each hook, was like a king's sword dancing on paper, its power controlled with supernatural skill, its edge sharp and formidable, even revealing another unique charm...
The supervising teacher was dumbfounded, his eyes widened involuntarily, and he unconsciously bent over, carefully looking at the lines of Li Bai's "Leaving Baidi City Early" written by Wan Yunting. He couldn't help but feel excited. He turned to Wan Yunting, his voice trembling with excitement, "Good calligraphy, truly good calligraphy! Did you really write this?"
"What else?"
Wan Yunting, who was watching Gu Luotang write the poem "Chang Xiangsi" in running script, turned back and smiled at the supervising teacher, "Could I possibly be cheating?"
"No, no, no, it's just that your calligraphy is too good."
The middle-aged supervising teacher was excited. He pointed to the poem written in Slender Gold script and said to Wan Yunting excitedly, "This is the best Slender Gold script I have ever seen. Sir, you are truly amazing."
"Thank you."
Seeing his excited praise, Wan Yunting smiled and nodded. Gu Luotang, having finished the poem "Chang Xiangsi," also wanted to see the man's calligraphy, as she hadn't seen his handwriting in a long time. "Teacher, can I see what he wrote?"
"Then I'll hold it up for you to see."
The supervising teacher nodded. After all, contestants couldn't move around, but they could look. So, he carefully picked up the calligraphy written by Wan Yunting and held it up, turning to show it to Gu Luotang...
Gu Luotang examined Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script and suddenly her eyebrows perked up. She said, "Brother Yunting, your Slender Gold script seems to have improved a lot!"
"Oh, really? I don't think so, it's the same as always." Wan Yunting looked at his own calligraphy, he naturally didn't feel any difference.
"No, your current writing seems to have a sense of charm that I can't quite describe, but I feel it's even better than what you wrote before." Gu Luotang looked at Wan Yunting's current work and couldn't describe it, but she felt his calligraphy had indeed improved.
"If it has, then it has."
Wan Yunting waved his hand indifferently and turned to Gu Luotang with a smile, "If you like it, I'll write it for you later."
Hearing the man's words, Gu Luotang smiled sweetly, her heart filled with joy, as if she had eaten candied dates...
"Wow, Slender Gold script! And written so beautifully!"
The other contestants around, out of curiosity, also glanced at the supervising teacher holding up Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script. They were instantly amazed by many people around them, their eyes widening as they carefully looked at Wan Yunting's poem "Leaving Baidi City Early," and involuntarily praised, "The brushstrokes are sharp, lean and vigorous, with a celestial bone structure, and the composition is sparse and elegant. The brushwork is fine and supernatural, exuding a regal demeanor. This is undoubtedly the best Slender Gold script I have ever seen!"
"Yes, I really didn't expect him to be able to write such excellent Slender Gold script. He's truly amazing..."
Suddenly, many contestants around turned to look at Wan Yunting, marveling at his ability to write such powerful Slender Gold script, which truly shook them.
For a moment, it caused a stir here, and other contestants around Wan Yunting were surprised, turning their heads and craning their necks to look...
On a large screen behind the judges' stand, as the camera of a cameraman on site panned, it happened to focus on the characters of the poem written by Wan Yunting, immediately causing everyone present to exclaim, "Wow, it's Slender Gold script! What beautiful writing..."
Even the members of the judging panel all turned their heads to look at the large screen behind them, where the camera was giving a close-up of Wan Yunting's calligraphy!
"Wow, this Slender Gold script is amazing!"
Lin Yushu, sitting on a chair in the east spectator stand, was instantly impressed and shocked upon seeing Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script.
"This calligraphy has so much presence!"
Zhao Yushi's beautiful eyes widened as she looked at the large screen, exclaiming in surprise.
Huang Yaodong also widened his eyes and said in surprise, "Miaomiao said before that his calligraphy overshadowed Huangfu Hongfang's. I didn't believe it at first, but now I do..."
"As expected of a remarkable person." Hou Xuesong nodded and smiled.
On the judges' stand, Fang Guowen saw Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script and the commotion it caused, and he couldn't help but feel proud. He smiled at the other judges beside him and said, "This is Wan Yunting from our Huadu City. Isn't he good?"
"Hmm, indeed, it's very good. The Slender Gold script is written beautifully, exuding a charm and regal demeanor. If I hadn't seen it written live, I would have thought Song Huizong wrote it." A judge sitting next to Fang Guowen nodded in praise. Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script had truly amazed them.
Even Shen He, the chairman of the Art Association, and Liu Shuhuai, the vice-chairman, who were sitting in the front row with Yuan Deyou, turned to look at the scene on the large screen of Wan Yunting's calligraphy. They felt a flash of inspiration and said in surprise, "I didn't expect that in this year's competition, someone could write such amazing Slender Gold script. This person is not simple!"
"Yes..." Liu Shuhuai nodded in agreement.
Yuan Deyou, sitting in the middle, also glanced back. He simply nodded slightly and said, "It's acceptable."
This remark made Shen He and Liu Shuhuai's expressions freeze. They exchanged glances, knowing that Yuan Deyou had always studied Slender Gold script calligraphy, and they had seen his works!
Seeing his dismissive and disdainful expression, Shen He and Liu Shuhuai understood why Yuan Deyou was like this.
Because in the capital, Yuan Deyou proclaimed himself the foremost master of Slender Gold script!
And at table number 1, Huangfu Hongfang also looked up at the scene on the large screen displaying Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script calligraphy, a sharp glint appearing in his narrowed eyes!
The last time, at the Mid-Autumn Festival gala, he had personally witnessed Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script. At that time, Huangfu Hongfang admitted that his own Slender Gold script was indeed incomparable to his.
Therefore, he later went to the capital and studied Slender Gold script calligraphy with his teacher Yuan Deyou for a period, which greatly improved him.
He had originally thought that by taking advantage of the Lanting Award calligraphy competition, he could gain an edge over Wan Yunting.
But now, seeing Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script calligraphy, Huangfu Hongfang felt the same sense of inferiority as he had at the Mid-Autumn Festival gala!
This made him somewhat unwilling. Was he truly inferior to him?
At this moment, the camera turned to Huangfu Hongfang, and a long shot was immediately given to his work, which was also written in Slender Gold script!
"Wow, this is also a Slender Gold script, not bad!"
When everyone saw Huangfu Hongfang's Slender Gold script on the large screen, they were also very impressed.
"It looks no different from the previous Slender Gold script!"
The contestants in the east and west spectator stands looked at Wan Yunting's Slender Gold script and Huangfu Hongfang's Slender Gold script, and felt that the difference between the two was not significant.
"If you think there's no difference, it's because you haven't mastered Slender Gold script!"
Someone immediately retorted, pointing to Huangfu Hongfang's work on the large screen and saying, "This person's Slender Gold script looks good at first glance, but it lacks a certain charm and momentum!"
"What charm? What momentum?"
"The aura of a king. As for the charm, it's hard to say, but I just feel that this Slender Gold script work is not as good as the one written by the person at table number 68!" The contestant shook his head. He just felt that Huangfu Hongfang's writing was missing something, though he couldn't say what.
"Wow, it's Young Master Huangfu's Slender Gold script, it's written so beautifully..."
Many of Huangfu Hongfang's admirers around, however, blindly praised him, causing a commotion...