Chapter 11

Lu Butou looked at the invitation in his hand, his heart burning with excitement. He pushed through the crowd at the entrance of the Wen Academy, wishing he had wings to fly to Fang Yun's house.

"Lu Butou, it's been a long time!" A warm voice called out. Lu Butou looked closely and saw it was Fang Li, the father of the prodigy Fang Zhongyong.

"It's you, Brother Fang. I have urgent matters to attend to and can't stay to chat. I apologize!" Lu Butou hurried away, a sneer appearing on his lips, unseen by anyone.

Fang Li stood there, stunned. He had thought he would soon be known as the "father of the top scholar" and had wanted to show off his connections in front of his relatives and friends. But the other party didn't even stop, giving him no face at all.

The relatives and friends nearby immediately started to scold.

"How dare a mere constable be so impolite! Wait until Zhongyong becomes the top scholar, and see what he says then!"

"He's just a scholar, while Zhongyong has the talent of a top scholar!"

Fang Li valued face the most, but with the results about to be announced, he couldn't lose his temper. He said, "Ignore him. When Zhongyong rises to prominence, such a small man will bow his head! The results are out, guess Zhongyong's ranking."

"Of course, he will be the top scholar!"

"You're too modest. Which child in the county can compare to Zhongyong?"

"Make way, let this year's top scholar go in first!"

The crowd in front made way, and Fang Li walked forward with a smile, Fang Zhongyong following behind him.

Before Fang Li and the others reached the golden list, a commotion broke out around it.

"What? Double first? A double-first scholar? The sage has shown mercy; our Jing country now has a double-first scholar, a first in history!"

"Who would have thought that someone surnamed Fang would be the double-first top scholar!" A person who knew Fang Yun was surprised, his mouth wide open.

Fang Li, upon hearing this, couldn't stop smiling. If it was someone surnamed Fang, it had to be his son, and with a double first, this was a great honor for the family, enough to build a literary arch for future generations to admire.

Fang Zhongyong, who was closely following his father, showed a hint of panic in his eyes. He didn't deny being a prodigy or his confidence in getting a first in poetry, but he couldn't believe he had gotten a first in "invoking the sage's words" because he had several questions he didn't know and had written random answers.

Fang Zhongyong quickly looked up at the list not far away. To his shock, the top name was Fang Yun.

Fang Li was about to praise his son but noticed Fang Zhongyong's unusual expression. He narrowed his eyes and walked a few steps to look at the list.

Fang Yun, first, first.

Fang Zhongyong, second, second.

The top scholar position slipped away!

Fang Li, furious, shouted, "There must be a problem with this ranking! How could my son not be the top scholar! I will go to the capital to appeal! How could anyone get a double first! I don't believe it!"

The constable in front of the golden list sneered, "Go ahead and appeal. Everyone knows the golden list has been reviewed by more than half of the sage examiners. If there were any problems, they would have been discovered long before the results were announced. Do you think you need to shout about it?"

Fang's relatives and friends were stunned.

"Fang Zhongyong is a prodigy, how could he not be the top scholar?"

"Who is that Fang Yun? He looks familiar."

"That's the Fang Yun with the Jiangzhou West Beauty as a child bride. I even attended his parents' funeral, never expecting him to become the top scholar." The person speaking subtly moved a step away from Fang Li, looking around to find Fang Yun to deliver the good news.

Fang Yun wasn't there.

The sun was setting, casting long shadows on the carriage in front of Fang Yun's house.

Four servants from the Liu family who had been to Fang Yun's house before were there, and in front of them stood a handsome young scholar in white.

Fang Yun protected Yang Yuhuan behind him, calmly looking at Liu Zicheng and said, "I didn't expect Brother Liu to visit suddenly. What brings you here?"

Liu Zicheng glanced at Yang Yuhuan, gave what he thought was a polite smile, and flicked his fan open, gently fanning himself.

"Fang Yun, I heard you were injured, so I rushed over, bringing the best medicine from Jiangzhou. How did you do in the child scholar exam? With all those injuries, you must have done terribly, right? No worries, you can try again next year." Liu Zicheng said with a smile.

Yang Yuhuan, however, sneered, "Put away your fake smile, I see through you! This is our home, step aside now, I want to go see the results with Little Yun!"

Liu Zicheng's smile froze, and he said with a forced grin, "It doesn't matter whether you go or not; Fang Yun won't pass the child scholar exam anyway. Yuhuan, I truly care for you. If you keep being so stubborn, once I marry you, my concubines will be jealous, and how will I help you then?"

Before Fang Yun could speak, Yang Yuhuan stepped forward, linking her arm with his, and said, "I will soon marry into the Fang family, and Little Yun is already my husband. You will never marry me!"

Fang Yun looked at Yang Yuhuan in surprise. He had always known that although she had resigned herself to her fate, she only saw him as a younger brother and had never called him husband. Yet today, she publicly acknowledged it, even hinting that they had already consummated their marriage.

Fang Yun saw a faint blush on Yang Yuhuan's face, unsure if it was from the sun or embarrassment.

Liu Zicheng's eyes flashed with anger, but he suppressed his rage and said, "I know you're just trying to anger me, but you've succeeded! Fang Yun, if you don't give up what doesn't belong to you, you will face another great disaster within three days! This time, there will be no luck for you!"

Fang Yun said, "Do you admit that the four people behind you tried to kill me last night?"

Liu Zicheng sneered, "Your tricks won't work on me. I never said I wanted to kill you. I, Liu Zicheng, have the rank of a scholar. Even if I cripple you, it's just a matter of compensation. Fang Yun, I'm giving you one last chance. Will you agree or not?"

Fang Yun said firmly, "Sister Yuhuan is my wife, and no one can take her away! If you dare to cause more trouble, I will sue you at the magistrate's office! Also, in the past, you only needed to pay compensation for crippling me, but now I am a child scholar. If you cripple me, you will lose your rank and title!"

"You? A child scholar? Hahaha, did I hear that right? Did you hear that?" Liu Zicheng laughed loudly, asking the servants behind him.

"I heard it, a poor man claiming to be a child scholar!" one of them said.

Fang Yun remained calm and said, "I owe my success in the child scholar exam to Brother Liu. If it weren't for the books on half-sages you lent me, I probably wouldn't have passed. If I become a scholar in the future, I will never forget Brother Liu's great kindness!"

The last four words were emphasized.

Liu Zicheng stared intently at Fang Yun, took a step forward, and asked aggressively, "I already know that the Wen Academy in Jixian County hasn't announced the results yet. How do you know you passed the child scholar exam? Do you think a few words can fool me?"

"If you don't believe me, come with me to the Wen Academy and see for yourself. Oh, and I am a sage-recognized child scholar." Fang Yun smiled.

Liu Zicheng was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Sage-recognized child scholar? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child? Do you know your own worth? You can't even recite the Thirteen Classics, and the famous works of the three half-sage examiners were provided by me. Your mediocre poetry skills couldn't even get you a child scholar rank, let alone a sage-recognized one? It's laughable! Fang Yun, stop wasting my time. My patience is gone! If you don't agree today, I will take two of your legs before I leave to show you I mean business!"

Yang Yuhuan quickly said, "Liu Zicheng, don't push us too far. My husband is now a sage-recognized child scholar with a rank. If you hurt him, I will appeal to the county magistrate!"

Fang Yun was surprised by Liu Zicheng's audacity and secretly hated him. If it weren't for a relative in a high position, Liu Zicheng wouldn't dare to act this way.

Fang Yun immediately challenged him, "Liu Zicheng, if you're a real man, come with me to the county Wen Academy and see the golden list first. What, are you afraid? You've always looked down on me, so you don't even have the courage to go to the Wen Academy?"

Liu Zicheng sneered and was about to agree when one of the servants whispered in his ear, "Second Master, he seems to be a sage-recognized child scholar."

"How so?" Liu Zicheng asked urgently.

"I clearly remember the prominent scar on his forehead from yesterday, and the others saw it too. But now that scar is gone. Even with the best medicine, it couldn't disappear overnight. Only a talent infusion could make such a large scar vanish in one night."

Liu Zicheng was shocked and quickly looked at the other servants.

"I remember."

"That's right, the cut was deep."

The servants all showed signs of fear. If Fang Yun was indeed a sage-recognized child scholar, they would be in trouble.

Liu Zicheng looked at Fang Yun again and noticed that he seemed different today, calm and composed, with a steady gaze and a greatly changed demeanor, as if he had suddenly grown several years older.

Liu Zicheng looked at Yang Yuhuan, who openly showed her disdain for him.

Liu Zicheng's eyes flickered, and after a long silence, he sneered, "The Wen Academy hasn't announced the results yet, and you haven't formally paid respects to the sage. Without the child scholar's robe and sword, you must be lying! You are still a commoner, and I am a scholar. Crippling you will only cost me money!"

Fang Yun didn't expect Liu Zicheng to be so decisive.

"Stop him!" Liu Zicheng shouted, running to the carriage and taking out ink, brush, and paper.

Fang Yun realized it was bad. Liu Zicheng was afraid of close combat and intended to attack him with "paper warfare."

"Sister Yuhuan, step back!" Fang Yun shouted and rushed toward Liu Zicheng, determined to prevent him from using paper warfare, or he would be at his mercy.

However, the four experienced servants immediately pounced, not attacking Fang Yun but restraining him by grabbing his waist, arms, and legs, quickly immobilizing him.

Fang Yun, who had received a talent infusion, would be stronger than these large servants after a few months of recovery, but his body wasn't fully healed yet, and he was no match for the four of them.

Yang Yuhuan took a step forward to help Fang Yun, realized her strength was insufficient, and immediately ran toward Liu Zicheng to stop him from writing.

One of the servants immediately let go of Fang Yun and blocked Yang Yuhuan.

Liu Zicheng laid the rice paper on the carriage, dipped the brush into the ink bottle, and lifted the wolf-hair brush, which was now full of ink, to write. His talent aura swirled around him, creating a light breeze that lifted his robe.

Liu Zicheng wrote in rapid cursive script while reciting the ancient war song that Jing Ke sang before his assassination attempt on the King of Qin.

His talent aura flowed through the brush into the ink, forming characters that resonated strangely with the words, drawing the elemental energy of the world.

A strong wind rose, and a human-shaped black mist gradually appeared beside Liu Zicheng. The black mist had an indistinct face and held a dagger. The dagger, though also black mist, emitted a chilling cold, turning the area into a winter wonderland.

Fang Yun felt despair. The other party was using this famous war poem.

"The wind is bleak and the water of Yi is cold, the brave warrior goes forth and will not return..."

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