Dancing Phoenix and flying dragon

rack one's brains in vain

pervert the law by playing with legal phraseology

baffle/defy all description

have a mixed population

without bias and without favour

Warm pillow

grasping valuables in one's hands and carrying gems in one's bosom

Bored

cloudless

Like author, like book.(The style is the man.)

lose one's soul

take action as soon as one hears about ...

break like tiles and melt like ice

not to know what to do

can think of no way at all

be past compare(lick everything)

injure the country and bring calamity to the people

millions of troops

draw water to one's mill