Chapter 4

When Yu Qing woke up from his coma, it was already the evening of the next day. He opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself lying in an elegant and quiet room. The air was filled with a strong medicinal scent, and he saw a weary Yu Qing standing beside the bed.

There was also Pu Dianli, who was walking back and forth in the room with a heavy expression.

On the night of the incident, Yu Qing had brought Shi Heng to this place. It was Shi Heng who, before losing consciousness, had reminded him to find Pu Dianli.

Yu Qing didn't know where Pu Dianli lived, but fortunately, Pu Dianli had previously instructed that if anything happened, he should go to a shop at the street corner and find the shopkeeper.

Of course, Yu Qing also learned from Shi Heng before he lost consciousness what had happened in the kitchen. The snake demon, which had lost its head and hung from the beam, fell to the ground and still reacted violently, sweeping down half a wall with its tail, causing half of the kitchen to collapse.

Fortunately, it was just a kitchen, which was built more lightly, so not many heavy objects fell. Otherwise, it might have caused more than just a broken arm.

He had already been examined and treated. Apart from the broken arm, the other injuries were minor, just some cuts from tiles.

Yu Qing's eyes flickered, noticing that the unconscious person had opened his eyes, and called out, "You're awake?"

Pu Dianli quickly came to the bedside and said with concern, "Young Master..." but then didn't know what to say, finally managing to say, "Just rest and recover."

Shi Heng asked, "Has the scene of the incident been handled?"

Pu Dianli reassured him, "Young Master, don't worry. I've arranged for my people to handle it carefully. If you don't want it to get out, it won't."

Shi Heng looked at his tightly bandaged injured arm and tried to move it, but found that only his shoulder could move. Below that, there was only pain and no response.

Yu Qing and Pu Dianli, seeing this, both turned their heads away.

Shi Heng keenly sensed their reluctance to look and realized the severity of the situation. This was the arm he used to write with, so he asked, "Is it seriously injured?"

No one responded.

The atmosphere in the room became heavy.

After a long while, Shi Heng asked again, "Is it crippled, and can't be cured?"

At this point, Pu Dianli didn't hide it from him and sighed, "For an ordinary person, it might be impossible. But for you, Young Master, it shouldn't be so hopeless. The elbow bone was shattered, and even a good doctor would find it difficult to restore it completely. We would need to find an extremely skilled healer in the cultivation world. If the old master were still in power, this wouldn't be a big problem, just a word from him. But now, our abilities are limited, and we'll have to think of ways slowly. It will take more time, and you will have to suffer for a while."

Yu Qing quickly added, "Don't worry, Little Master will definitely have a way to cure it when he returns."

Shi Heng understood their meaning. Whether it could be cured or not, it definitely wouldn't be cured before the imperial examination. In other words, he wouldn't be able to participate in this examination.

Yu Qing and Pu Dianli were most worried about this. Before he woke up, they had discussed it multiple times, fearing that Shi Heng wouldn't be able to accept the result.

Especially Yu Qing, who didn't know what to say to comfort him, his guilt was evident.

During the time Shi Heng was unconscious, he had been blaming himself, regretting that he shouldn't have cooked the spirit rice, which had attracted the three snake demons.

If Shi Heng's arm really became crippled and couldn't be cured, the court wouldn't employ someone with a physical disability.

He knew all too well the hardships Shi Heng had endured in his years of studying.

His father, A Jiezhang, had spent a great deal of effort to cultivate his son for a career in the government.

If his rash actions destroyed the efforts and hopes of two generations, he wouldn't know how to face it.

Shi Heng had quietly closed his eyes, but his expression was very complex, his inner feelings undoubtedly mixed.

Yu Qing and Pu Dianli knew that no one could remain calm after such an incident; it was hard to accept.

But since it had happened, what could they say?

The room was quiet for a while. Calmed down, Shi Heng seemed to enter another state, his brows sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed, as if he was thinking about something. After a long time, he suddenly opened his eyes, his pale lips moved, "Mr. Pu, I have something to say to him."

Pu Dianli understood and nodded slightly, glanced at Yu Qing, and turned to leave.

Yu Qing looked anxiously at the person on the bed, not knowing what he wanted to say privately.

But Shi Heng asked a question that Yu Qing found hard to answer, "Regardless of age, seniority, or experience, Linglong Temple shouldn't be led by you. The old abbot wasn't a fool, why did he let you succeed him?"

Clearly, he wanted to take the opportunity to resolve his doubts.

Yu Qing's lips tightened for a moment, "Bookworm, every sect has its own secrets that can't be told to outsiders. I can't tell you this."

Shi Heng didn't press the issue and asked another question, "Why did you take your senior brother's money?"

Why ask this again? Yu Qing was puzzled but muttered, "That money, though it was theirs, wasn't really theirs. Before our master died, he said he wanted to treat us equally and divided the remaining money in the temple into four parts, giving each of us four brothers a share. Linglong Temple's conditions can't retain people. I originally had over a dozen senior brothers, but they all left one by one. These three only returned due to special reasons.

Now that they have money, and they can't beat me, and they don't respect me as the abbot, do you think they would stay in this poor mountain and suffer? Do you think if I didn't take their money, they would respect me? Only if their money is in my hands, even if they don't respect me, they can't easily leave because of the money. Without money, it's hard to run far, and I can have time to solve the current problems.

I can't let Linglong Temple fall apart as soon as I take over. If everyone runs away, how can I be the abbot? How can I explain to Little Master and the deceased master? I asked them to hand over the money, but they didn't take me seriously, so I had to take it by force."

That's how it was, Shi Heng thought.

Yu Qing noticed something was off and asked, "In this situation, you still have the heart to care about such trivial matters?"

Shi Heng replied, "You grew up in Linglong Temple, which doesn't give much pocket money. You've always been 'thirsty' for money. I know you are greedy, but I didn't expect you to use the abbot's authority to force your senior brothers to hand over their money as soon as you took over. If I don't figure this out, I can't trust you with some things."

Yu Qing rolled his eyes but, seeing Shi Heng's pitiful state, couldn't muster the energy to argue, "Speak up, whatever you need, I'll do it if I can."

Shi Heng said, "Please bring Mr. Pu in."

Yu Qing didn't hesitate, got up, and called out. When he returned, Pu Dianli was with him.

After they arrived, a determined look flashed across Shi Heng's face, and he said firmly, "I will continue to participate in this year's imperial examination!"

Yu Qing's mouth twitched, wondering if Shi Heng couldn't accept the reality and had gone mad.

Pu Dianli also frowned, sharing similar concerns.

But then Shi Heng turned his head and stared straight at Yu Qing, saying clearly, "You go and take the exam, in my place!"

"..." Yu Qing was speechless, thinking he had heard wrong, pointing at himself.

Pu Dianli was also clearly shocked.

"Yes, you pretend to be me and go to the capital to take this year's imperial examination," Shi Heng emphasized clearly.

He was serious!

Yu Qing and Pu Dianli's previous sadness vanished instantly, replaced by shock and disbelief.

This was too much! Regaining his composure, Yu Qing panicked, waving his hands, "No, no, I can't do this. I can't pass the exam! I'll continue to play the role of the escort. Find someone else to replace you!"

Shi Heng countered, "Does it matter whether you pass or not?"

"Uh..." Yu Qing was stunned, not reacting immediately, suspicious, "What do you mean?"

Shi Heng's gaze turned to Pu Dianli and said slowly, "If a scholar suddenly withdraws from the examination, it's not something that can be easily explained away. The court will send people to verify my situation. I said before, once I'm on the list of those who missed the exam due to illness, and once it's reported to the court, it could attract attention. If it alerts the幕后凶手 (幕后凶手 means 'the幕后凶手'), the consequences would be unimaginable. Moreover, the court won't accept disabled candidates. Whether it can be cured or not, my injured arm is a big problem. We can't let the court know, and we need to leave room for maneuver."

Pu Dianli nodded thoughtfully, understanding this. Verifying the reasons for candidates' absences was a way for the court to show its concern and to prevent misconduct.

Shi Heng looked at Yu Qing again, "If I withdraw from the examination, the court's investigation will put me in a difficult position. People in the county who have seen me will be hard to avoid, and it will be difficult to cover up. We must take the initiative and prevent the court from sending investigators. As long as I participate in the examination normally, the court won't send investigators. So, you need to take my place and participate normally. Even if you don't pass, it's fine. At least it will buy us a few years to prepare for the next examination. Even if I'm crippled, finding a suitable replacement who can pass will take time."

The last sentence made Yu Qing's heart race, sensing the deeper meaning, but he didn't want to think about it too much.

He wasn't unwilling to help, but this plan seemed full of holes. Yu Qing said with a bitter smile, "The imperial examination in the capital is a grand national event. How can someone easily impersonate another? You just said people in the county know you. I'll be exposed as soon as I stand up! Bookworm, it's not that I don't want to, but this is impossible."

Shi Heng replied, "Don't worry about that. Mr. Pu will take care of it. No one will recognize you."

Is that so? Yu Qing turned to look at Pu Dianli, full of doubt, clearly skeptical of a mere clerk's ability to handle it.

But Pu Dianli also couldn't keep calm, clearly panicking, waving his hands, "Young Master, how can I cover this up? I can't kill everyone who has seen you. I can't kill the people in the county, and I can't kill the people above them! This is really impossible. He'll be exposed as soon as he shows up, and the impersonation won't work."

Yu Qing immediately threw up his hands at Shi Heng, a look of relief on his face.