Féng Zijing hurried up from downstairs and, seeing the scene, frowned slightly. He leaned in close to Fan Xian and whispered a few words. Only then did Fan Xian learn that the other party was Guo Baokun, the only son of Guo Youzhi, the Minister of Rites, currently a compiler in the palace, and possessed of some talent.

The young man with a gloomy expression, upon seeing Fan Ruoruo, revealed a look in his eyes that Fan Xian found extremely repulsive. He said, "I was wondering whose family's offspring was being so overbearing; it turns out to be the children of Earl Sinan."

Earl Sinan, Fan Jian, was favored by the Emperor, but his official position was merely a Vice Minister, only a fourth-rank official. Moreover, the average official's children were completely unaware of the Fan family's power hidden in the shadows.

Fan Xian originally didn't want to make a big deal out of it, after all, Fan Sizhe had made the first move. And no matter what, the person who spoke first seemed to be a "fan" of *The Dream of the Red Chamber*—but he couldn't help but frown upon hearing such tepid teasing.

This Guo Baokun's father held a very high position, and he himself was a compiler in the palace, on good terms with the Crown Prince, so he had developed an arrogant and conceited temperament. Seeing the rumored ice-cold Fan Ruoruo, he felt a surge of anger and sneered, "It's truly laughable that people from the mere Fan residence dare to use their power to oppress others. It's a disgrace to culture!"

He styled himself as a scholar and, with a *swish*, opened the folding fan in his hand, showing a bit of dashing style.

The other scholars beside him were feeling uneasy, wondering how to deal with the situation now that they had offended Earl Sinan. Upon hearing Guo Baokun's words, they quickly echoed him, hastily pinning the label of "bullying others with power" on the other party, completely unaware of their own inappropriate behavior.

Only He Zongwei, who had started the incident, became silent.

"Culture?" Seeing that the other party's words were aggressive and showed no sign of wanting to resolve the matter peacefully, Fan Xian finally couldn't help but inject a hint of mockery into his reply upon hearing that word. "Scholars must study to broaden their talents, and they must have ambition to succeed in learning. Looking at you so-called talented men, instead of studying in the academy during the day, you come to this Yi Shi Residence to drink and make merry. Where is your ambition? Where is your culture?"

Apart from Guo Baokun, the rest of the people at the table were all scholars with considerable reputations. Upon hearing these words, their faces turned pale.

One scholar rebuked, "Don't think you can be so presumptuous with your words just because of the Fan family's power!"

Fan Xian frowned slightly. He had originally felt that his side wasn't entirely justified, but seeing the faces of these scholars, he couldn't help but feel a wave of aversion. He said, "You all say that the Fan family bullies people with power; I dare not defend myself. But you all are sitting at this table, drinking and chatting with the son of the current Minister. You truly aren't afraid of power, you are lofty and self-respecting. I truly admire, admire."

The meaning in these gentle words was all too clear. The people in the building quieted down for a moment. The few people sitting at the table with Guo Baokun were furious and were preparing to argue, and Guo Baokun even waved his fan a few times, preparing to lecture this young man.

But Fan Xian's temperament was actually a bit strange. He was outwardly gentle, but once he was unhappy, he also liked to make others unhappy, and he didn't like to give the other party room to fight back or retort, aiming to strike decisively.

So, without waiting for the Minister's son to speak, he pointed to the fan in Guo Baokun's hand and said with a smile, "Having just arrived in Kyoto, I see that all you gentlemen spend your days having fun, becoming skin and bones, and still needing to hold a fan to fan yourselves. Is this so-called integrity? Then I would never dare to learn this kind of integrity."

Guo Baokun frequented the imperial city and was on good terms with the Crown Prince. Where had he ever suffered such disrespect? Enraged, he slammed the fan back onto the table, trembling with anger and unable to speak.

After Qing Kingdom's rise through military might, it especially valued the literary arts. Young scholars were everywhere in Kyoto, and at least seventy or eighty percent of the people in this Yi Shi Residence restaurant were scholars. And which of these scholars didn't have the "bad habit" of carrying a fan?

Listening to Fan Xian's veiled and barbed remarks about integrity, not only did the people at He Zongwei's table become furious, but even the others on the third floor stood up.

Fan Xian was actually just generally unimpressed by so-called talented men. He felt a sudden impulse, plus, being a reincarnated person, he naturally acted more freely and unrestrained, so he spoke without thinking. But seeing the unusual atmosphere in the restaurant, he realized that he seemed to have offended the public, but he wasn't afraid at all. He smiled slightly and bowed to everyone.

For some reason, seeing the young man's bright, sunny smile, the scholars who were originally a bit angry felt their anger dissipate by a large margin.

But Guo Baokun's anger didn't dissipate. He gritted his teeth and threw the fan onto the table, giving the signal to attack.

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Intellectuals only belittle each other verbally, but the two sides facing off here were both the children of high-ranking officials and powerful families, so a somewhat dangerous atmosphere began to float in the air.

Féng Zijing stared coldly at the Guo family's bodyguard expert, ready to strike at any moment to protect his master.

With two *clack* sounds, two figures overlapped in one place! Fist winds rose, causing the scholars in the building, who had no strength to truss a chicken, to exclaim in alarm.

The struggles of Kyoto's powerful and wealthy families were always a boring game where servants and bodyguards fought to the death while the masters watched the fun from the sidelines. Very few people would bring the fire to themselves.

But Fan Xian was very different from those powerful and wealthy children. After Féng Zijing and the Guo family's bodyguard expert fought together, he quietly moved forward, found a fleeting opening amidst the rain-like moves, and extended a fist straight out.

With a crisp *snap* sound, the brutal fight that everyone expected came to an abrupt halt.

Fan Xian retracted his right hand and stood where he was with a smile, as if he hadn't moved at all.

The Guo family's expert was already squatting on the ground, his nose bridge broken by that punch. Blood was flowing out, and tears were also flowing out!

Fan Xian was very satisfied with the effect of this punch. Teacher Fei taught him correctly: breaking that place, this kind of pain is unbearable even for a ninth-level expert.

Guo Baokun, seeing his most capable bodyguard expert being punched into the ground like a puppy, was shocked and pointed at Fan Xian, his voice trembling as he said, "You... you actually bully the few with the many!"

Fan Xian glanced at him, shook his head, and felt a bit inexplicable, thinking that of course one should gang up in a fight; he wasn't some boring knight-errant of the Jianghu. He took Ruoruo's hand behind him and walked downstairs with a justified air, without even thinking about how his previous actions completely violated certain unwritten rules of this world.