Chapter 18

"Pull me for what? I want to challenge them one-on-one!"

On the way, Yue Heng kept complaining. Although his right arm didn't hurt, being dragged by a seemingly gentle and refined young lady made him feel quite embarrassed. Wen Xin Yue was angry; it was already awkward enough to be pulling and dragging in front of so many people, and this guy was constantly groaning!

Well, groan if you must, with such a scrawny build and limited skills, you still want to challenge others in a literary duel?

Overestimating yourself!

From the third floor all the way to the crowd on the street, Yue Heng couldn't find a chance to break free. His right arm was firmly immobilized by Min Xuhuai, and he couldn't escape at all. Wen Xin Yue was a violent girl, pulling him so hard that he couldn't even walk comfortably. If he couldn't keep up with her pace, it felt like he was being dragged along...

"Stop, stop, stop!" Finally, the crowd blocked their path, and Yue Heng breathed a sigh of relief. He waved his arm, straightened his body, and felt a sore back and almost cramping legs.

"You're really overestimating yourself! You don't even know how to assess the situation! If I weren't here, you would have been beaten up today. Do you really think they wouldn't dare to throw you off the third floor?" Wen Xin Yue angrily shook off Yue Heng's arm.

Yue Heng rubbed his arm and sneered inwardly: "Do you really think I was foolishly provoking those people? Girl, you're still too young. If I didn't do that, I probably wouldn't survive tonight. I was using your tiger's skin to raise a banner. I have to endure until the re-examination for the child scholar. You didn't see the cannibalistic look in the Kuang brothers' eyes, and you don't know how vicious Bai Ming is. If those young masters get serious, they won't treat me, a commoner, as anything. No one would save me if they beat me up! Forget it, you're a girl, your beauty and intelligence are inversely proportional, and you're brainless with a big chest. I won't argue with you!"

Seeing that Yue Heng didn't respond, Wen Xin Yue added fuel to the fire, continuing to mock him: "Not only are you stubborn, but also arrogant, conceited, and shameless..."

"Hey, hey, hey, hold on. Wen girl, do you even know me? Do you know my background? Even I don't know myself, so how can you know I have so many flaws?" Yue Heng retorted, unhappy. One time is enough; who likes being criticized all the time?

He patted the dust off his clothes and glanced back at the third-floor window of the ZHUANGYUAN Pavilion, where a figure flashed, seemingly the top scholar of Hong County, Ji Cong.

Hearing this, Wen Xin Yue was inexplicably moved: "This guy is quite pitiful, not even knowing his own background, and no one dares to tell him that Magistrate Qi is his father... Why should I care about these things? Why am I even accompanying this arrogant guy to look at the list? What's wrong with me today? I haven't been in a good mood since I met this person!"

Both had their own thoughts, and at this moment, they were silent, looking at each other. The next second, they both pressed their heads, each with a face that looked like they had a stomachache from seeing the other.

"Hey, I ask you, did Bai Ming really slander you, bully you, and all that? You spoke so fast, who could hear clearly?" Wen Xin Yue asked curiously, stammering.

Yue Heng snorted: "Of course, he slandered me, bullied me, insulted me, laughed at me, belittled me, treated me as a lowlife, hated me, and deceived me. I didn't say anything. He treated me like this, and I endured him, let him, tolerated him, avoided him, endured him, respected him, and ignored him. In a few years, you'll see, he won't have a good end!"

Wen Xin Yue burst out laughing: "Is that how you endure and let him? Who said you would leave him a whole body?"

Yue Heng waved his left hand: "Hey! Didn't you just intimidate them? I was just scaring them. How could I dare to confront the top ten of Hong County head-on?"

"You know that!" Wen Xin Yue snorted, finally feeling a bit less angry.

Seeing the crowded people ahead, Yue Heng thought of the list again and insisted: "No, I must see the list today! If I'm not on it, I won't be surnamed Yue!"

"You're not surnamed Yue! Follow your powerful father and take the surname Qi! You're a stubborn guy who won't give up until you hit a wall!" Wen Xin Yue felt helpless, stomping her feet, and could only follow Yue Heng to squeeze toward the list.

Seeing him struggle to take three steps, she felt frustrated and decided to take matters into her own hands. She grabbed a person's shoulder and pushed, and they moved through the crowd much faster.

Half an hour later, Wen Xin Yue sat in the carriage, sneering: "Prince, are you really giving up now?"

Yue Heng was almost driven mad.

On the red background with black letters, the list of a thousand names really didn't have his name. He couldn't understand how this was possible.

Yesterday, when he wrote "Early Spring" in the exam, it was drizzling. The sound of raindrops on the roof was quite fitting for "The small rain on the street is as smooth as butter." When he finished the poem, he even felt some unusual sensation in his divine palace.

Min Xuhuai had said that poetry has several functions. The best can directly generate literary symbols, and the worst can still enhance the divine palace or other literary symbols. At that time, his divine palace's brightness and capacity seemed to be enhanced. He didn't look closely, but it at least showed that "Early Spring" was a poem worth learning and reciting for literati.

"Can't understand! Can't understand!"

"If you can't understand, don't think about it. No matter how much you think, you won't be on the list!"

"No, I can't understand you. Wen girl, we don't know each other. You invited me to the ZHUANGYUAN Pavilion, pulled me around, and even quarreled with others to protect me. Not only did you accompany me to see the list, but now you're even sitting in the same carriage, sending me back to the Drunken Immortal Tower. Wen Second Miss, can you tell me why?"

"This..."

Wen Xin Yue was momentarily speechless. She had approached Yue Heng on her father's orders, but the reason, even she didn't believe: "Actually, I... admire your poetry..."

"Admire me, who isn't even on the list of a thousand?"

Yue Heng chuckled, spreading his hands and leaning against the thick padding of the carriage, staring at Wen Xin Yue with interest, scrutinizing her from head to toe. His expression was as strange as it could be.

"It's the poetry! Bastard, this girl absolutely can't admire you!"

Even in her lady's embroidered clothes, Wen Xin Yue's well-trained figure couldn't be hidden. Yue Heng's gaze occasionally lingered on her prominent figure and her handsome and beautiful face. This girl was indeed quite attractive to the opposite sex.

"What are you looking at? Be careful, I'll gouge out your eyes!" Wen Xin Yue, unusually blushing, raised her hand as if to gouge out his eyes.

"I'm trying to figure out what kind of person you are. Compared to your claim that you admire my poetry, I actually believe my own answer in my heart. Do you want to hear it?" Yue Heng smiled, his tone light, and his body unmoving. He didn't believe Wen Xin Yue would really gouge out his eyes.

Wen Xin Yue snorted and turned her head away: "No!"

Yue Heng laughed even more: "Tell me where your whip is hidden, and I'll tell you why you deliberately approached me. How about that?"

Wen Xin Yue struggled to make sense of his words. In terms of wordplay, she was no match for a literatus.

"Daydreaming!"

The two bickered all the way to the Drunken Immortal Tower. Yue Heng became more and more certain that what attracted Wen Xin Yue to him, like what attracted Min Xuhuai, was the same thing—he was a pre-exam child scholar revered as a "prodigy," with a great secret.

Her father, Wen Zhangyuan, was one of the main examiners for the Hong County spring exam. "Early Spring" must have passed through his hands. Regardless of the reason, whether to make him fail the exam or to send his daughter to approach him after learning his name, Wen Zhangyuan had the power to manipulate everything.

Wen Xin Yue's purpose in approaching him was temporarily unclear. Yue Heng believed that this naive girl probably didn't even know the real reason. Her clumsy excuse was proof enough that she was following orders.

There's no such thing as a free lunch, and Yue Heng knew this well. He had only been in this world for a few days, experienced life and death, seen joy and sorrow, the contempt and sycophancy among literati, and the cruelty of the Mid-Yuan world. He was cautious about everything, especially about Min Xuhuai and Wen Xin Yue, who had approached him voluntarily.

Everyone has their own needs, and he might as well enjoy it while he could!

Yue Heng smiled brightly, openly admiring Wen Xin Yue's figure. He was a penniless guy, and anyone who wanted to benefit from him would have to pay interest first!

"Get out!"

Wen Xin Yue couldn't stand Yue Heng's lecherous eyes. Finally, they reached the Drunken Immortal Tower, and she jumped out first.

"Hey, hey, hey, I'm a severely injured patient. Can you help me, Wen girl?"

"Get lost! Get out yourself!" Wen Xin Yue didn't even want to enter the tavern, planning to jump back into the carriage and leave as soon as Yue Heng got out.

Yue Heng poked his head out, seeing the familiar gate of the Drunken Immortal Tower, with some people busy and others standing in front, pointing and arguing.

Mr. Zhu was standing outside the tavern, directing people to hang a red banner. The banner read, "Drunken Immortal Tower congratulates Mr. Lu on ranking 57th!" Mr. Qian and the waiters were busy straightening the banner on the second-floor window.

"Hey! Mr. Lu has made it! Truly a cause for celebration!"

Yue Heng was happy for Lu Changyuan. Among the poor scholars, he and Lu Changyuan got along the best. Although Lu Changyuan had recited a mourning poem for his "corpse," he had long forgiven him.

He slowly climbed down from the carriage, smiling and turning back to invite her: "Thank you for sending me, Wen girl. Why don't you come to my 'Tian' room and have a cup of tea?"

"Do you think a poor guy like you can afford a 'Tian' room? Do you think I would believe that?" Wen Xin Yue sneered, about to return to the carriage.

Yue Heng wasn't angry. He turned around and called to Mr. Zhu's back: "Mr. Zhu, I'm back..."