Chapter 6 of 100

Chapter 6

16 min read3,893 words

"Th-this..."

The group of students were stunned again. The accountant's words seemed to make a lot of sense!

Every year, the blood tax caused families to be torn apart, and for someone like Yue Heng, who had no background, selling himself to the Drunken Immortal Tower would indeed give him a better chance of survival.

"A mere accountant can speak with such eloquent sophistry, and these scholars are actually convinced. Truly, this world is full of oddities! I don't want to be in a situation where I'm sold and then have to count the money for the person who sold me!"

Yue Heng sneered, knowing what he had to do. He struggled to prop himself up, not looking like a severely injured person at all, and watched the crowd with a mocking gaze.

When it finally quieted down, he opened his mouth and slowly said, "Mr. Zhu, how about we rephrase this? If I pass the child scholar exam, everything can be resolved. I won't hold you or the Drunken Immortal Tower accountable for trying to harm me, and we can act as if nothing happened. If I fail to become a child scholar, I will sell myself to the Drunken Immortal Tower and serve as a slave for life, in gratitude for Mr. Zhu's kindness in saving me in these turbulent times."

Sigh...

Mr. Zhu and the accountant drew in a sharp breath. Although both sides were talking about the same thing, the implications were completely different. Yue Heng's words were filled with a heavy threat, how could they not be intimidated and hesitant?

"Since it's settled, everyone please leave. I need to rest! Wishing everyone success in tomorrow's spring exam!"

After saying this, Yue Heng closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, leaving Mr. Zhu and Lu Changyuan and the others speechless. They could only leave the thatched cottage in silence.

...

Emperor Fuxi established the seasons, dividing the year into four. Every year, at the end of winter and the beginning of spring, Hong County would hold three important exams: the martial recruitment, the craftsman skill test, and the scholar spring exam. The mysterious profession of Spirit Master was organized by sects and noble families, and was not under the jurisdiction of the county government.

Before the spring exam, the martial and craftsman exams had already ended in the days leading up to Yue Heng's arrival. The new martial apprentices and craftsman apprentices had already been announced. Now, they were waiting for the spring exam to end, and the scholars who obtained the child scholar qualification to be selected. All those who made the list would enter the county academy for the second round of evaluation for the first-level qualification in their respective professions.

Yue Heng "struggled" to carry his book box, unable to sit in the carriage for too long. His fellow students couldn't bear to see his pained expression and encouraged him. They finally arrived at the county government examination site.

The carriage passed by the ZHUANGYUAN Pavilion, where the sound of drums and gongs filled the air, and the pavilion was decorated with lanterns. Dozens of elegant young scholars stood on a red platform, frequently bowing to the crowd, all of them beaming with joy.

They were the wealthiest, most talented, and most promising new candidates in Hong County. The ZHUANGYUAN Pavilion had spent a great deal to promote them, and there were rumors that they were even trying to bribe the chief examiner.

These were the kinds of treatments that Yue Heng and other poor students could never have. Huang Shihong and the others looked on enviously, discussing and yearning.

"That person at the front is the third son of the Ji family, and next to him is the young master of the Song family. They are rare talents in Hong County, and it's said they have already written child scholar poems. They just need a moment of enlightenment to activate their divine palaces. They will definitely top the list this year!"

"There are also the brothers Kuang Qing and Kuang Yun. They are personally taught by the head of the county academy. With the personal guidance of this third-level scholar, they will definitely become child scholars this year!"

"Hey, isn't that Bai Ming from the Northern Literary Society? He seems to be a classmate of Brother Yue... Brother Yue, what's wrong with you?"

The group looked curiously at Yue Heng, noticing that his gaze was somewhat distant. They suddenly realized and stopped mentioning Bai Ming. Who wouldn't feel disheartened seeing a classmate with such extraordinary talent? They themselves felt this way, let alone Yue Heng, who was both physically and mentally injured?

Yue Heng was indeed staring at Bai Ming, his expression melancholic, but his heart was filled with a rage he had never felt before.

"Wanting to ruin my future, you even resorted to such vicious means. I wonder if you can bear my revenge? I have already activated the divine palace in my body, giving birth to a recovery-type 'Life' rune, which is rare even among second-level Spirit Masters. And I seem to have grasped a bit of the 'Heart Dao.' What do you have to compare with me? I will definitely pass this spring exam! On the day my name is registered, you, Bai Ming, will pay a heavy price!"

The county government examination site was heavily guarded, with soldiers stationed every few steps. Candidates and their families gathered outside, in small groups, whispering and extremely nervous.

The carriage from the Drunken Immortal Tower dropped everyone off. Yue Heng thought that his appearance, with his arm in a wooden splint and needing support to walk, would attract a lot of attention.

But looking around, the word "oddity" flashed in his mind again.

There were many candidates who looked even worse than him. Some had hit their heads on bells, with thick white bandages on their heads, blood seeping through, and it was unclear what kind of state they were in. It was uncertain if they were even conscious.

There were also those who had prostrated themselves, and it was said that Chen Dafu had prostrated for three hundred miles, exposing the white bones of his arms, to move the heavens. Today, there were still many candidates with their arms in splints, not feeling any pain, but smiling and asking each other how many miles they had prostrated. Some had prostrated for sixty miles, others for ninety miles, all of them full of confidence for the spring exam.

Just before the exam, they were cramming, and Yue Heng, thinking about this, curiously asked, "When the martial candidates enter, do they sharpen their weapons at the entrance?"

Lu Changyuan replied, "Of course. Wealthy martial candidates use grinding stones collected from the demon beast mountains to sharpen their weapons at the county government entrance. Those from poorer families slaughter chickens, smear the blood on their chests and abdomens to awaken their dan heart essence blood. The craftsman candidates even dissect demon beast corpses on the spot. We scholars, like them, all worship our respective deities before the exam, who would want to fail at the last moment?"

Yue Heng sniffed, and indeed, there was a faint smell of blood in the air. It seemed that many chickens had been slaughtered, as the Drunken Immortal Tower had been serving whole chickens for days.

He sighed, thinking that in both his lives, he had to go through this evil exam, not knowing if it was a blessing or a curse!

The sky was somewhat overcast, and it looked like it might rain. It wasn't time to enter yet, so Yue Heng and Lu Changyuan and the others found a big tree and waited.

At this moment, a commotion arose from the back of the crowd. The gongs and drums from the ZHUANGYUAN Pavilion reached their climax, and the cheers and shouts continued. Dozens of elegant young scholars walked down the street, and the crowd spontaneously made way, leaving the best entrance positions for them.

As they passed by Yue Heng and the others, Bai Ming, standing on the outskirts, saw them and actually smiled, stopping to walk over, causing the crowd to sigh and be pleasantly surprised.

"Mr. Bai truly has great demeanor, he still remembers to encourage his former classmates!"

"Brother Yue, Mr. Bai is looking for you!"

"Brother Bai, how have you been?"

The group greeted Bai Ming, trying to flatter him, but Yue Heng remained expressionless, staring at Bai Ming's eyes without moving.

For a moment, Bai Ming saw a deathly aura in Yue Heng's eyes, feeling his breath catch and his mind waver. A fleeting sense of panic flashed through him, and he regretted coming over.

"Brother Yue, I heard you were injured. Are you feeling better today?"

"Disappointing Mr. Bai, I'm not dead yet!"

"Ha ha, Brother Yue is joking! Since Brother Yue is fine, I can rest easy. Ah, the martial recruitment exam was a few days ago, and the candidates who didn't pass were full of resentment and energy. Perhaps Brother Yue encountered one of them."

"Who knows? Once I pass the child scholar exam, I will use the county government's power to help find the real culprit. If I find them myself, I will give them a full body!"

Bai Ming was frightened, not knowing how to continue the conversation, and his smile gradually froze.

The others, no matter how dull, could sense something was wrong, but didn't know how to interject.

The atmosphere became heavy, and the air seemed colder than the early spring rain.

After a long while, Bai Ming recovered, looked at Yue Heng's miserable state, and sighed in relief, then resumed his arrogant demeanor, "That's only if Brother Yue passes. Ha ha! Also, if the culprit is a first-level martial apprentice or a member of a powerful family, you, a mere child scholar, are no match. Brother Yue, please be careful, don't die too miserably! Ha ha!"

He then left gracefully, without another word. Yue Heng knew that the battle between him and Bai Ming was now out in the open, but the outcome was still uncertain!

The mysterious conversation left the others confused, but the time to enter had arrived, and everyone fell silent, preparing to enter.

The guards began checking the exam cards. The scholars from the ZHUANGYUAN Pavilion entered first, with thousands of candidates entering through the four entrances of the county government exam site. It wasn't long before it was Yue Heng's turn.

"Exam card!"

Yue Heng handed over his exam card and received a slip of paper with his seat number, "Li Position, East Row 3, Seat 10."

"Password!"

Yue Heng replied, "Li, Qian!"

These were the two characters agreed upon during registration, taken from two different lines of poetry. Candidates had to report the password upon entry, and if it was incorrect, it meant someone was using a fake exam card.

The third check was the signature, and no one would be so bored as to imitate another's handwriting.

The fourth check was a quick portrait, comparing the image with the person.

According to the county government's announcement, these multiple checks should completely prevent proxy exams.

Yue Heng passed smoothly. At the second gate, a person with a strange-looking disk, similar to a metal detector, scanned the candidates' book boxes and bodies.

This was a simplified version of the Fuxi Wenpan, capable of identifying all characters in the world. No candidate dared to bring unauthorized texts, and it wasn't necessary anyway, as scholars had the texts memorized in their hearts.

Yue Heng's book box only contained ordinary writing materials, and he was injured, so the guards didn't make it too difficult and let him pass.

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