Chapter 72: Entering the Venue
Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Entering the Venue
White Tiger Boxing Hall.
Inside Hall Master Zheng’s residence.
"Chen Tong, take a look at this."
Elder Zheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, a faint, sharp glint flickering within them.
Chen Tong, the second disciple of the Martial Arts Hall who now managed its daily affairs, took the letter and read it carefully.
"This... Master, this can’t be right, can it? Could there be some misunderstanding?"
"Even though Zhang Boyang was the one handling the stir-fried tea, it was Fang Yue who came up with it. Why would he leak the secret?" Chen Tong asked, confused.
He had taught Fang Yue the Fist Technique for a few days and had a rather good impression of his diligent and hardworking junior.
Besides, while Fang Yue’s Talent might not be the absolute best, among the next generation of the Martial Arts Hall’s disciples, he was one of the most promising candidates to become a Martial Scholar.
After all, he was young, yet he had already begun Bone Forging.
Among the next generation of disciples at the Martial Arts Hall, only two or three others could match that pace.
How could such a talented person do something like this?
It was truly incomprehensible.
"Heh, you should investigate this matter as well. Do it quietly. Whether it was him or not, there must be a traitor in the Martial Arts Hall."
In his heart, Hall Master Zheng didn’t actually believe Fang Yue would leak the secret, but what was written in the letter forced him to be cautious.
Huang’s Tea House couldn’t have just invented stir-fried tea out of thin air.
If no one had told them, this whole affair would never have happened.
"Yes, Master."
Chen Tong accepted the order and slowly withdrew from the room.
Only Elder Zheng remained in the room.
’Sigh, these disciples... not a single one of them is promising. Scheming back and forth over such a trivial matter.
If they put all this scheming effort into the Martial Dao, we might have a few more Martial Masters at the Qi Sensing realm.’
Hall Master Zheng sighed softly, then closed his eyes to rest.
~~~~~~
Seven more days passed.
The day of the Imperial Examination for the Imperial Scholar had finally arrived.
Early that morning, Fang Yue finally woke up on his own, not to the sound of Chubby’s boisterous martial arts practice.
Just as Fang Yue was wondering why Chubby hadn’t gotten up to practice today,
he saw Chubby himself, his full figure jiggling, stride confidently from the inn’s rear courtyard into the main hall.
"Morning, Fang! Morning! Haha, I had my fortune told yesterday. My lucky star is shining brightly today! I’m definitely going to pass."
Chubby laughed heartily, holding up a Protective Talisman in his hand for Fang Yue to see.
"And this Lucky Pearl! It cost ten taels of silver from the Goddess Temple. And this one, and that one..."
Chubby took out more than ten different kinds of items, all of which were said to increase one’s luck.
A quick calculation showed that these dozen or so items had cost him nearly two hundred taels of silver.
Fang Yue was once again a little stunned by Chubby’s extravagance.
"It seems Bai is sure to pass with flying colors this time," Fang Yue immediately said in admiration.
This was the first person he had ever met in this world who spent money like it was water.
He had spent enough silver to support a family of three for ten years.
And all for a big pile of ’snake oil’ products.
In reality, Chubby wasn’t a fool at all. He had to know whether these things were useful or not.
He was just looking for a bit of psychological comfort.
But to still be so lavish about it was truly an eye-opener.
"Haha, I’ll take that as a good omen, Fang! Last night, I was up all night and came up with a courtesy name for myself that means ’Turnaround.’ Haha, I’m definitely going to pass this examination in one go and completely turn my life around!"
Bai Xingqiu laughed, full of confidence.
Hearing this, Fang Yue naturally cheered him on.
"Haha, you two, don’t you know what time it is? Still here bragging? If you keep blowing hot air, maybe you’ll actually float your way onto the list!"
"Exactly. I’ve never seen anyone brag so much before an exam. The Martial Scholar examination tests real ability, not just flattery and empty talk."
A few other men eating breakfast in the inn seemed unable to stand Bai Xingqiu’s exaggerated claims.
They couldn’t help but start mocking him.
These men also looked strong and sturdy, exuding a fierce aura. They were clearly also here for the Military Examination.
"Heh, my friend, you don’t understand. This is called confidence. Just wait until the competition starts, and you’ll see."
Chubby wasn’t angry. Instead, he just laughed.
His tone was light and joking, but it carried a challenge to the other men participating in the Martial Examination.
"Hmph. We’ll see about that."
Provoked by Chubby, the men unhesitatingly accepted the challenge.
Fang Yue looked young, not like a candidate for the Military Examination.
Thus, they completely ignored him.
As for Chubby, he looked soft and plump, clearly the son of a wealthy family.
Most rich young masters like him seemed to have decent cultivation, but their Cultivation Realms were usually built up with vast quantities of Secret Medicines.
In a real fight, they were no match for a Martial Artist of the same realm.
"Alright, we’re running out of time. Bai, let’s head in first."
Seeing that Bai Xingqiu was about to step forward and argue with the men, Fang Yue quickly stopped him.
The men were right about one thing: they were indeed running short on time.
At most, they had enough time for a quick breakfast before they had to enter the examination grounds.
According to usual practice,
the examination, presided over by Lord Liu Zheng of the County Magistrate’s Office, would be held in the large training grounds of the Government Office. However, this year was a bit different.
This was because the civil and Martial Examinations were being held simultaneously.
The large training grounds were no longer big enough.
Therefore, it was decided that all candidates would go to the City Guard Army’s barracks.
Xiahe County governed more than ten towns, and under those towns were even more villages.
This year, the civil and Military Examinations also happened to fall on the same day.
As a result, a great number of candidates had come to participate.
In particular, for the civil examination, there were the Scholars from previous years plus the newly passed Scholars from this year, totaling nearly five or six hundred people.
As for those participating in the Martial Examination, there were far fewer—a two-digit number, less than a hundred people.
Added together, that made for over seven hundred candidates.
By the time Fang Yue and Chubby arrived at the entrance to the City Guard Army barracks, the area was already packed with candidates.
The air was buzzing with the sound of chatter and fervent discussions.
As they neared the barracks entrance, the Scholars participating in the civil examination could no longer move forward.
There were too many people, and with their slender arms and legs, there was no way they could push through the crowd.
Chubby, on the other hand, continued to stride forward with his head held high.
His large frame was the size of three Civil Scholars put together, and his strength was immense.
He easily cleared a path for Fang Yue.
"What’s with all the pushing? Have some courtesy! If anyone pushes again, I, a Scholar, will not forgive them!"
Liu Chuanzhi was relatively near the front, as he had arrived quite early.
Just then, he felt Chubby push past him to the front.
"What are you looking at? I’m pushing you, so what!"
The fat on Chubby’s face jiggled as he put on a look more ferocious than a demon’s.
As a frail, gentle scholar, Liu Chuanzhi had never seen such a spectacle. He immediately began to stammer, not daring to say another word.
"Fang Yue? You... what are you doing here?" Liu Chuanzhi didn’t dare offend Bai Xingqiu and was about to move aside when he saw Fang Yue.
He instantly felt a pang of guilt, because he had ’stolen’ Fang Yue’s poem.
Although, deep down, he suspected that Fang Yue had surely copied it from somewhere else as well.
But Fang Yue definitely knew the poem’s origin, so he was afraid of being exposed.
That was why seeing Fang Yue now made him feel so guilty.
Moreover,
in the days since the last poetry gathering,
the line "two pairs of shoes on the ground" had practically become a phrase tailor-made for him.
After all, even though that woman had recited the poem in a jumbled mess, the other two lines she changed were excellent—far better than the ones Liu Chuanzhi himself had ’composed’.
Because of this, some people had even begun to question whether the poem Liu Chuanzhi recited was actually his own.
"Heh, if it isn’t ’Two Pairs of Shoes’ Liu Chuanzhi? So, Liu, you’re also here for the examination. It looks like you’re confident of success. In that case, I wish you a triumphant victory!"
Fang Yue laughed. The whole "two pairs of shoes" affair had become quite the interesting spectacle.
And since it concerned the currently celebrated Liu Chuanzhi, those in Xiahe County Town who were unconvinced of his fame would certainly not miss the opportunity to spread the story.
Naturally, the story had spread throughout the entire town.
Fang Yue had, of course, heard about it and discovered that this Liu Chuanzhi had some nerve, daring to copy him and plagiarize the poem.
What’s more, he had even tried to improve on a masterpiece, only to make it worse, changing a few words and calling the poem his own.
Heh, now the fake had run into the real deal.
He naturally had to mock and ridicule Liu Chuanzhi a little.
If it weren’t for the fact that the Liu Family had been very sensible, plus his own desire to avoid trouble and not draw too much attention to himself,
Fang Yue wouldn’t have minded exposing Liu Chuanzhi’s true colors.
"You- you’re insolent! I won’t stoop to the level of a crude Martial Artist like you." After holding it in for a long moment, Liu Chuanzhi could only squeeze out those few words.
After saying his piece, he quickly turned and squeezed into the crowd.
This was just a small interlude.
Soon, as time passed, the morning sun leaped up from the eastern horizon, its blood-red light gradually turning to gold.
At the entrance to the Xiahe County City Guard Army barracks, over a hundred soldiers with stern expressions, along with several dozen government constables, filed out from inside.
A grim, imposing aura washed over them, instantly silencing the rowdy square.
Guided by the government constables, the candidates separated into two groups: Civil Scholars and Martial Artists.
However, the Martial Artists lined up at the front, with the Civil Scholars behind them.
By convention, the Martial Artists participating in the Military Examination were allowed to enter first, while the Civil Scholars had to line up behind.
Seven tables had been set up at the entrance to the City Guard barracks.
Behind each table sat an official, holding a roster and calling out names while verifying the identity of each candidate participating in the examination.
Age, place of origin, Road Guide, appearance, and so on were all checked. Naturally, the even more important step was to register the guarantor’s information, followed by a series of signatures and thumbprints.
This was all to confirm that the candidates were who they claimed to be. Otherwise, if people could impersonate others, things like taking the exam for someone else or other forms of cheating would be impossible to prevent.
After passing the inspection, verification, and registration, and just a bit further inside, the chief examiner, Lord Liu Zheng, was seated on a central chair. Beside him were the Martial Scholars who had vouched for the various Martial Artists participating in the Martial Examination.
This served as another layer of security.
An official would call out a name, and the respective candidate would step forward.
Their guarantor would then have to speak up, confirming that this was the person they were vouching for.
If there was a discrepancy, they were to immediately notify the verification official.
The process was tedious, but it also clearly demonstrated the importance the government placed on the imperial examinations.
After all, passing the Military Examination was enough to qualify for some low-level official positions.
Caution was essential.