Chapter 12

As the black fog assassin was about to launch an attack, a loud shout echoed.

"Stop! The head constable of Jixian is here. How dare you, you rats, act so recklessly!" Head Constable Lu shouted from a distance, throwing his literary treasure badge.

A voice appeared out of nowhere in mid-air, reciting the war poem "Canglang Xing" by the semi-saint of Jingguo, Chen Guanhai. Accompanied by the recitation, a sound like the crashing of waves exploded in mid-air. The literary treasure badge transformed into a three-zhang-high blue wave, blocking the sky between Fang Yun and Liu Zicheng, ready to fall and strike at any moment.

Liu Zicheng subconsciously stopped writing, took three steps back, and tightly gripped the brush in his hand, which began to glow faintly, revealing it to be a literary treasure as well.

Liu Zicheng turned his head and said, "Head Constable Lu, I am Liu Zicheng of the Dayuan Liu family. My elder brother is the top scholar of Jiangzhou, and my uncle is the current left chancellor. Leave immediately, and I will pretend nothing happened today."

Head Constable Lu, with a righteous air, replied, "You attempted to assassinate a pre-saint child in broad daylight. I am the head constable of Jixian. How can I stand by and do nothing! The literary treasure badge has been activated, and the county magistrate's official seal will surely respond. Put down your literary treasure and await the magistrate's judgment!"

In the literary academy, County Magistrate Cai had just changed into casual clothes and was about to attend a banquet at the Auspicious Wine Tower, followed by an extremely muscular man.

The muscular man was no different from an ordinary person below the neck, but his head was not a human head but a bull's head, a Niuman.

A scholar can keep two armored private soldiers.

A graduate can keep four private soldiers, with no restrictions on demons or Niuman.

The Niuman held a small yellow silk package containing the official seal, which the county magistrate must carry when going out.

The yellow silk package suddenly moved slightly.

County Magistrate Cai's expression changed, his talent aura surged, and he reached for the official seal.

His eyes flashed with light, as if he were looking down from a high place over the entire county. Then, through the official seal and Head Constable Lu's badge, he saw what was happening at Fang Yun's house, the half of "Jingke Ciqin Ge," and Fang Yun being trapped.

County Magistrate Cai was so angry that his beard trembled. Jixian had finally produced a pre-saint child who might become famous throughout the world, and the Liu family dared to kill him.

"Bold scoundrels!"

County Magistrate Cai shouted, and a white light flew out of his mouth, condensing into an ancient sword of talent in front of him.

The ancient sword of talent emitted a mysterious killing intent. Even the Niuman, who was fearless on the battlefield, squinted his eyes and shrank his neck, afraid of being killed.

County Magistrate Cai was too far from Fang Yun, and even the lip and tongue sword of a graduate would be hard to reach, but the entire county was under the power of the literary academy. County Magistrate Cai gripped the official seal and used the accumulated power of the literary academy over hundreds of years to activate the ancient sword of talent.

With a "whoosh," the ancient sword of talent cut through the sky, accompanied by a piercing sound, and reached Fang Yun's house in two breaths.

The ancient sword of talent emitted a powerful pressure, causing Liu Zicheng's hand holding the brush to tremble.

Liu Zicheng was terrified, pale as a sheet. He knew all too well the fear of a graduate and understood that the other party was determined to protect Fang Yun. If he dared to make another move, he would surely die.

Liu Zicheng immediately shouted, "I hope County Magistrate Cai will investigate clearly. I am Liu Zicheng, a scholar of Dayuan Prefecture, and the ninth in the prefectural examination three years ago. I did not know Fang Yun was a pre-saint child before. Now that I know, I will not make a move!"

County Magistrate Cai's voice came from the ancient sword of talent: "To attack a child in broad daylight is a heinous crime!"

Suddenly, the ancient sword of talent disappeared, moving at a speed that could not be seen by the naked eye, slicing through a servant's neck, and then returning to the air.

"Ugh..." The servant suddenly clutched his neck with both hands, blood gushing from his fingers and mouth, and slowly fell to the ground.

The pungent smell of blood spread in the air, and the sand on the ground gradually turned red.

The other three servants were terrified, hurriedly kneeling and shouting, "Spare us, sir! Spare us, sir!"

"Head Constable Lu, take these three to the prison and interrogate them later. As for Liu Zicheng, he must not leave the boundaries of Dayuan Prefecture until this case is resolved, or he will be considered a fugitive."

Liu Zicheng hurriedly bowed and said, "I know I was wrong." He then quickly got into a carriage and left in a hurry.

"Xiao Yun." Yang Yuhuan cried and threw herself into Fang Yun's arms. Fang Yun gently patted her back to comfort her.

Fang Yun was extremely grateful to County Magistrate Cai. He wanted to thank him but realized that saying "thank you" was too vulgar and lacked weight, especially since he was the top child scholar and the other party was a graduate county magistrate.

After a moment of thought, Fang Yun recited a poem aloud: "By the ink-washing pool of the Cai family, the flowers bloom with light ink traces; they do not need praise for their color, only to leave a clear fragrance in the world! Your student, Fang Yun, writes this poem to thank Cai He."

Head Constable Lu was taken aback, thinking, "No wonder he is the top scholar. This poem is at least at the county level. It doesn't directly praise County Magistrate Cai, but it extols him to the heavens by writing about the flowers in his family. Scholars value their reputation and influence. This subtle flattery is truly skillful, and he even named the poem 'Thanking Cai He.'"

Head Constable Lu was even more determined to attach himself to Fang Yun. Talent was one thing, but the ability to handle people at such a young age was rare, and his future achievements would be boundless.

"Good poem! Good poem! What a clear fragrance in the world, only County Magistrate Cai deserves it." Head Constable Lu praised loudly.

When the poem was recited, the ancient sword of talent moved slightly and then slowly dissipated. County Magistrate Cai said nothing.

Head Constable Lu looked respectfully at where the ancient sword of talent had disappeared, put away his badge, and handed an invitation to Fang Yun with both hands, saying, "This is the invitation the county magistrate asked me to give you, inviting you to the literary gathering at the Auspicious Wine Tower."

Fang Yun also received it with both hands and said, "Thank you, Head Constable Lu."

Head Constable Lu smiled and said, "You're welcome. Since you are the top scholar, I wanted to go in for a cup of tea, but I still have work to do. This is my gift, congratulations, Fang Yun. You know we don't have much money in the public service, but please accept these five taels of silver. If you need anything in the future, you can come to me directly, and I will do anything for you." Saying this, Head Constable Lu took out a five-tael silver ingot.

Yang Yuhuan was surprised by the heavy gift from Head Constable Lu. For ordinary families, a gift for a happy event would be no more than one hundred copper coins, and five taels of silver was equivalent to five thousand copper coins. She was even more surprised that someone called Fang Yun "Fang Yun."

Fang Yun declined, "Head Constable Lu, you are too kind. I haven't even thanked you for your rescue, how can I accept your gift?"

"One thing is one thing, and the two cannot be mixed. Please take it, and I will make them leave immediately."

Head Constable Lu said, putting the silver into Fang Yun's hand and ordering the three servants to carry the body away.

Fang Yun watched Head Constable Lu leave, thinking about the literary treasure badge.

A literary treasure is a treasure formed by a scholar or above injecting their lifetime talent into an object through poetry, prose, or other literary works. Depending on the literary work used, the effects vary.

Each sage has their own talent world, and any object commonly used by sages and capable of carrying talent will naturally become a literary treasure.

At least a scholar is required to use the most basic literary treasure of a graduate, so some graduates or higher-ranking scholars who find their descendants incapable of making progress will choose to create a literary treasure according to the requirements of the court to exchange for the wealth and status of their descendants.

Head Constable Lu's badge was a literary treasure of a graduate, created by a graduate who, on his deathbed, used the famous work "Canglang Xing" by the semi-saint of Jingguo, Chen Guanhai, to inject his talent into the badge and dedicate it to Jingguo, in exchange for his son being promoted from a child scholar to an "official scholar" and his grandson being granted the title of "county marquis."

An "official scholar" refers to someone who enjoys the same treatment as a scholar within Jingguo but is not recognized by the literary academy and must be registered with the literary academy.

The higher the literary rank, the stronger the literary treasure, and the higher the status of the descendants.

If a university scholar or a semi-saint dedicates a literary treasure on their deathbed, it is a great merit, equivalent to military merit, and their descendants can inherit a high title.

In each country, there are people who have obtained titles through their ancestors' military merits or the dedication of literary treasures. These people are collectively called "nobles," and while they have low status in other countries, they have high status in their own country and receive many privileges.

Fang Yun saw the bloodstains out of the corner of his eye and did not have time to envy those with literary treasures. He went to find something to clean the blood, but Yang Yuhuan said she would do it.

"Aren't you afraid of human blood?" Fang Yun asked.

"I've killed chickens and pigs before. A little blood is nothing. I only fear I haven't killed enough!" Yang Yuhuan hated those who had hurt Fang Yun.

Fang Yun said, "If we kill them all, wouldn't we be helping Liu Zicheng destroy evidence? Killing one proves his determination, leaving three indicates he might be held accountable in the future."

Yang Yuhuan suddenly understood and asked, "Why didn't you catch Liu Zicheng, that scoundrel, too?"

"He is a scholar, a son of a prestigious family, and a relative of the left chancellor. Even if we catch him, without solid evidence, we can only release him, which would help clear his suspicion. If we are not careful or if Liu Zicheng plays a trick, other officials will certainly impeach County Magistrate Cai, which would be bad for us. With the three servants detained, Liu Zicheng will bear the suspicion of murder, and the Liu family will not seek help from the left chancellor Liu Shan but will try to cover it up. With the three servants, County Magistrate Cai can attack or defend."

Yang Yuhuan gazed at Fang Yun, her eyes sparkling, and said softly, "Xiao Yun, you have really become strong. You understand such principles. No wonder you are the top child scholar."

Fang Yun said, "Actually, reading more books and opening my mind has made me understand."

"Right, our Xiao Yun is very strong! A head constable gave five taels of silver, and who knows how much others will give. You are really making us proud!" Yang Yuhuan looked up, feeling that Fang Yun had grown up.

"Whatever I do, you, Yuhuan, deserve half the credit." Fang Yun smiled, his eyes warm.

"I'll go and work." Yang Yuhuan suddenly realized she couldn't meet Fang Yun's gaze, lightly lifted her skirt, and quickly left.

Fang Yun looked in the direction Liu Zicheng had disappeared, his gaze growing cold.

"The three servants will not confess; if they do, their whole family will suffer. Even if they confess, they will likely say Liu Zicheng ordered them to teach me a lesson, not to kill me, leaving no evidence. The key is, I was not a child scholar then, and he was a scholar. He will not be severely punished, as there are similar precedents. County Magistrate Cai has already done his best by killing one servant. Liu Zicheng, knowing I am a pre-saint child, still dared to kill me. He will not let me go. I cannot sit and wait to be killed. The day I become a scholar will be the day Liu Zicheng dies!"

At that moment, Ge Xiaomao's panting voice came from the other side, "Fang Yun! Fang Yun! You passed the child scholar exam and are the top scholar! Why didn't you go to the literary academy to see the results?"

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