Chapter 9

He thought it would be quieter at the back, so he tried to find a place there, only to discover that the people at the back, who were mostly in small groups, were all older candidates. Just by looking at their faces, one could tell they were those who had failed the exams in previous years but kept taking them.

These people, mostly because they hadn't cultivated good relationships in their home province and couldn't find or were unable to secure satisfactory official positions, continued to take the imperial exams, unwilling to give up.

Those who couldn't find positions and kept failing the exams didn't want to socialize with the newcomers, nor did they want to compete with them. They didn't want to see the newcomers' naive and ignorant faces. Being veterans, they chose to live quietly at the back.

Seeing the排斥的眼神 of these people, Yu Qing felt that staying at the back wasn't suitable either, so he turned around and walked back. After looking around, he finally chose a spot in the middle, picked a house that wasn't occupied, and casually moved into a room on the second floor.

He had just put down his things and hadn't even sat down when he heard quick footsteps in the corridor outside.

The footsteps were one heavy and one light, clearly from two people. Yu Qing turned around and saw a figure flash at the door, revealing a scholar.

This scholar was quite unattractive.

He had a dark complexion, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and wasn't very tall but was quite robust, with a broad back and strong waist. He looked more like a farmer than a scholar, with a clearly sun-tanned skin.

Yet, he was dressed as a scholar, which was quite eye-catching at first glance.

At the doorframe, a head poked in to look inside, a shy and handsome young boy with a dirty face, clearly the scholar's servant.

"Ah Shiheng?" The dark-faced scholar looked at the sign by the door and was clearly taken aback. "Why are you here?"

Yu Qing's heart skipped a beat, his nerves on edge. Could this be someone who knew Ah Shiheng?

The dark-faced scholar looked at the person inside and stepped in, bowing and smiling, "Greetings, Brother Shiheng. I am Xu Fei."

Yu Qing, wary, returned the bow, "Greetings, Brother Xu. Is there something you need?"

Xu Fei turned and pointed to the young boy behind him, "My servant, Chong'er, said someone moved into this building, so I came to say hello. Oh, by the way, when I arrived a few days ago and was looking for a room, I remember seeing Brother Shiheng's name on the door of a room in the front building. Did I remember wrong?"

Yu Qing calmly replied, "You must have remembered wrong."

Xu Fei laughed heartily, slapped his forehead, and looked embarrassed. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he stared at the sword on the table. He quickly walked over, grabbed the sword, and pulled it out halfway, excitedly exclaiming, "A heavy sword! Does Brother Shiheng also practice martial arts to strengthen his body?"

Yu Qing was a bit annoyed by this uninvited guest and immediately pushed the sword back into its sheath, took it back, and asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Uh..." Xu Fei was taken aback, sensing that he wasn't welcome. He hesitated and finally said dejectedly, "Brother Shiheng, I just wanted to let you know in advance that I practice my skills in the morning and evening, which might make some noise. I apologize in advance if it disturbs you." He bowed.

Yu Qing replied, "It's fine. I'm a bit tired and want to rest."

With the guest clearly being dismissed, Xu Fei had no choice but to leave awkwardly.

In the evening, there was a knock on the door. Yu Qing, who had been sulking in his room, recognized the footsteps as Xu Fei's and asked, "What is it?"

Xu Fei, outside the door, asked cautiously, "Brother Shiheng, would you like to have dinner at Chenxiang Hall together?"

Yu Qing replied, "No, thank you."

Xu Fei then asked, "Would you like me to bring some over?"

Yu Qing replied, "I'm not hungry."

He wanted to keep his distance from everyone and didn't want to leave a deep impression on anyone. He didn't even know how he had managed to get through these days.

After a moment of silence, the heavy footsteps retreated.

That night, there was no disturbance from any practice.

The next day, Yu Qing left Chaoxi Garden early, taking advantage of the few people around to have a hearty meal at Chenxiang Hall and bringing back a lot of food.

When he returned and walked downstairs, he heard the sound of a sword cutting through the air and saw the flashing blade in the morning light. Xu Fei was wielding a large saber, practicing vigorously and sweating profusely, looking quite skilled.

However, from Yu Qing's perspective, he was just an ordinary martial artist who hadn't cultivated any internal skills. He could handle ordinary people, but he was far from reaching a true realm.

To put it simply, Xu Fei hadn't reached any realm yet.

The highest recognized realm was "Half-Immortal," followed by "Mystic Scholar," and the lowest was "True Warrior."

Mystic Scholars and True Warriors were further divided into three levels:初级, 中级, and 高级.

Yu Qing's cultivation was at the 高级 True Warrior realm, also known as the 高武 realm.

If one were to compare the strength of Yu Qing at the 高武 realm to Xu Fei, the standard would be: a 初武 could defeat ten elite soldiers, a 高武 could defeat ten 初武, and a 高级 could defeat ten 高武.

As for the highest Half-Immortal realm, it was equivalent to a half-immortal, a legendary existence. Throughout history, there were only a few people with this level of strength, and it was unclear who was stronger, so this realm was not further divided and was simply called Half-Immortal.

However, Xu Fei's practice with the saber still surprised Yu Qing a bit. Scholars usually carried swords as accessories, so how could a scholar wield a large saber? Wouldn't that be considered a disgrace to his scholarly status?

Noticing Yu Qing's return, Xu Fei stopped and held the saber by the tip, walking over with a cheerful smile, "Brother Shiheng, would you like to spar with me?"

"The sword is just an accessory; I don't know how to use it," Yu Qing said and walked away.

Xu Fei scratched his head and watched him go upstairs.

The young servant, Chong'er, came over, rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, and said in a clear voice, "Master, this person is so aloof."

Xu Fei sighed, "It's because those people have been bullying him. He must be feeling bad, which is why he moved to this less occupied building. Also, he doesn't even have a servant, which shows his family is not well-off... He's been hiding in his room since he arrived and didn't even eat dinner. We should be more understanding."

Chong'er's big eyes blinked, and he nodded, his eyes filled with sympathy.

Yesterday, Xu Fei had thought he had mistaken the person. When he returned for dinner and heard people discussing where the top scholar, Zhan Mochun, was staying, he realized that the room he had seen before was definitely not occupied by the top scholar. This confirmed that he hadn't been mistaken, and Ah Shiheng had indeed been staying there. Clearly, he had been forced to move here.

Suffering in silence and hiding in a corner, even skipping dinner, his mood could be imagined. Without a servant to take care of him, both master and servant felt a sense of sorrow.

Therefore, the two of them had no resentment towards Yu Qing's aloofness and felt even more sympathy for him.

Yu Qing, back in his room, was unaware that he had left a deep impression on others. He threw the food he had brought to the side and lay on the bed, passing the time.

After passing the morning, feeling bored and with nothing to do, he changed his clothes and went downstairs to the well to wash them.

When he arrived, there was someone at the well, none other than Xu Fei's servant, Chong'er, who was washing clothes.

Their eyes met, and Yu Qing put down his clothes to fetch water. After he had fetched the water, Chong'er timidly said, "Master, why don't you go back and study? I can help you wash and dry your clothes and bring them to you later."

Yu Qing coldly replied, "No, thank you," and squatted down to wash his clothes.

Chong'er lowered his head and didn't say anything.

Yu Qing noticed that the servant was occasionally stealing glances at him, and he occasionally glanced at the servant as well. He found that the servant had a rather handsome face, with bright, large eyes, but his face always seemed dirty, from the first time they met until now.

He was also very thin, with a small, sun-tanned body.

As the sun rose and then gradually set, the day passed.

Under the starry night, after finishing his practice, Xu Fei took the towel Chong'er handed him to wipe the sweat and looked up at Yu Qing's room, which was dark and without a light.

"Didn't he have lunch or dinner?"

"He hasn't come out all day."

"How can his body take it?"

There were only two candidates living in this building, just two households.

Late at night, as they were about to rest, a messenger appeared downstairs and called out, "Candidates, please come out and listen, there is an important announcement."

After several calls, Xu Fei and Yu Qing were quickly roused.

The messenger said to the two of them, "Tomorrow morning, the Prefect will visit everyone, so breakfast will be served an hour earlier. Please don't be lax. After breakfast, everyone will gather and prepare. Please pay attention."

Hearing that the highest official of the prefecture was coming, Xu Fei was slightly surprised and respectfully bowed, "Understood!"

Yu Qing also bowed in agreement...

As the sun rose, in the capital of Liezhou, at the residence of the Prefect, in the pavilion, the Prefect Lu Jikui personally accompanied a guest.

The guest had a long, ink-black beard, a clear and lean face, and an extraordinary demeanor, a renowned scholar and the top spiritual plant master of Liezhou, Di Cang.

The Prefect Lu Jikui, the top official of Liezhou, had a broad face, large ears, and a nose like a hanging bell, with an equally extraordinary demeanor, clearly a person of high status.

While the two were seated and enjoying tea, a servant quickly came to report, "Sir, Mr. Yu Qi has arrived."

"Oh!" Lu Jikui and Di Cang exchanged a smile and waved, "Please bring him in quickly."

Soon, a servant led a man in a black cloak to the pavilion. The man had a sharp nose, a long face, and gray hair, giving off an aura of a strange and extraordinary person, indeed a renowned scholar and the top demon exorcist of Liezhou.

The Prefect Lu Jikui laughed heartily and bowed, "Mr. Yu Qi, it's good to have you back." He gestured for him to sit.

Yu Qi and the spiritual plant master Di Cang nodded to each other. The latter asked, "I heard from Sir Lu that you went to Youjiao Port?"

Youjiao Port, as the name suggests, was a port in a dark and secluded corner.

A gathering place for the black market, a place of mixed fish and dragons, a no-man's land with its own rules and a special status in the martial world.

"Indeed, I returned from Youjiao Port last night," Yu Qi said, sitting down, and then asked Lu Jikui, "I just returned last night, and Sir sent a message to meet today. What is the matter?"

There were no servants serving, and Lu Jikui personally poured tea for the two, "The candidates are gathering in the capital, and they will soon head to the capital. Today, I plan to visit the academy. If the two of you are free, why not come along?"

Yu Qi and Di Cang exchanged a glance, clearly surprised. What was the purpose of inviting them to such an occasion, especially with demons rampant and posing a threat to the candidates?