Meanwhile, in the big tent outside Qing Shan Town.
A sand tray had been set up on the long mahogany table, and Invigilator Shen Chun was adjusting the deployment of the flags in the tray according to the intelligence coming from the town.
“I see chaos on the opposite side, is something happening?” Ba Xingtian softly asked as he and the short inspector walked into the tent. The two had come to inspect every late afternoon for the past few days and never arranged for their men to inform them. Shen Chun had long been accustomed to that. He was about to salute in reply but was stopped by a large hand.
He looked at the sand table for a while before saying “Wow” with interest. “They found out where they are now?”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Good. It’s only the fifth day, almost two days faster than twelve years ago.” The inspector praised.
“Twelve years ago?” Another person asked, “There’s a mystic examination every three years. Even if the Tilting Mountain Formation is under special circumstances, it should be held once every six years.”
Although he already knew that his superior was particularly tolerant of this young man, considering the difference in rank between the two, the other man’s straightforwardness and spontaneity still staggered Shen Chun. It was just that he also wanted to know the answer to this question, so he acted as if nothing had happened and continued to fiddle with the sandbox.
“Because the pass rate was too low that time, the leaders had no choice but to stop the examination for one round.”
“The passing rate was too low?”
“My memory is not very good, but around one hundred and forty people should have taken part in the examination that time, and in the end, only nine people passed.” Ba Xingtian laughed. “Back then, the Privy Council took a lot of effort to keep the total acceptance rate at around fifty percent.”
Shen Chun couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. This was the first time he had heard of this inside story. This meant that the pass rate of the other examination venues had been raised significantly, indirectly benefiting those candidates in the other examination venues. Thinking about it this way, it seemed that he himself was the one who passed twelve years ago, and it wouldn’t be because he borrowed the light from this place, right?
“Wouldn’t that be unfair?” The short man questioned.
“The mystic examination is adapted to the place, how can they all be the same?” Ba Xingtian shook his head. “If there’s a hard one, there’s naturally an easy one. Of course, the Council will also take this into account when assigning positions, and the mystics who come out of the Tilting Mountain Formation will start a cut above the rest.”
“Oh? That’s a solution.”
“In addition, the low pass rate is not the only reason for the suspension of one round of the exam here. In fact, the unnecessary loss is another key.” Ba Xingtian stroked his beard and seemed to feel some emotion. “That year, more than thirty candidates died here, which is beyond the normal number. Put in other examination venues, they might have all been able to become excellent mystics. That was the Privy Council’s fault. Of course, the same mistake will not be repeated this year.”
More than thirty… the death rate even reached twenty percent? Shen Chun’s heart jumped. After so many years, Tilting Mountain’s Night of Great Desolation was still so threatening? No wonder the Privy Council would lay so many demon stakes in the town. Six years ago the suspension was also estimated to test the effect, to determine the infallible before re-enable.
“How many people do you presume will pass this time?” The short man looked at Shen Chun.
“That depends on how many hiding places they can find.” He hastily replied, “Some of the sealed openings will dissipate over time. The longer they persist, the better the chances. As planned, one hundred people can be guaranteed to qualify if all the places are utilized. Considering that not all locations can be found by the candidates, the final result should be around seventy to eighty.”
“It seems our work wasn’t in vain.” Ba Xingtian stroked his beard in satisfaction. “A big reason for the problems last time was the lack of guidance, as most of the candidates didn’t realize the existence of the Night of Great Desolation until the last night, and a lot of things went wrong under panic.”
“Your Excellency is right.” Shen Chun naturally knew that the inspectors were talking about those in the Council who pretended to be townspeople and traded information with the candidates. They couldn’t only influence the exam’s direction but also obtain first-hand information from within the town to provide a basis for the examiner’s grading. “Such an examination venue is also closer to the real environment. The person who proposed it is undoubtedly a genius.”
“But there’s still something a little strange.” Ba Xingtian pointed to the location of the broken bridge in the sandbox. “The amount of information each candidate or group received should vary, but how come these people’s actions look like they all know about it?”
“According to my men’s report, Luo Qingqing of the Luo family took the initiative to tell all the candidates about their findings.” Shen Chun took out a note and handed it to him. “More than that, now their evacuation was also organized by her.”
“There’s still this matter?” The latter scanned through it quickly, then tilted his head and laughed. “The younger generation is fearsome! She’s already treating herself as the Privy Council’s mystic and is dealing with the local evil spirits incident!”
“That’s right, this person must have a promising future.” Shen Chun also showed a smile. “This time, she will most likely be a top performer.”
The short inspector didn’t laugh. He took the note silently and read for a moment. “Luo family, huh…”
“Why, not satisfied?” Ba Xingtian grinned. “I haven’t seen a young girl with such strong initiative in a long time. The Privy Council isn’t short of people who are proficient in spells and powerful in battle, but rather short of people who take the lead in planning. If she goes to the capital, I can guarantee that she will attract all parties to fight for her. You should consider it well, you don’t get such a favorable position every day.”
Consider… what? What exactly was the inspector talking about? Shen Chun vaguely sensed a hint of something wrong. Why should this top boss say such things to an inspector whose rank was far lower than his?
“But considering she’s a disciple of the families…” The short man put down the note, picked up the roster on the table, and flipped through it again. This time, he simply skipped the first dozen pages and started from the section of the scattered clans. “Invigilator Shen, what do you think of this person, Ma Ruxue…?”
“Skilled in inquiring about clues, unknown skill level in spells. From her current performance, she’s likely to drop out,” Shen Chun replied while quietly sizing up the other party. He detected that the Lord Inspector seemed quite biased against the disciples of the families and seemed to favor the scattered clans. But the problem was that these families were originally attached to the Privy Council and grew because of them. They were far from real families. As an official of the government, his attitude was a bit strange.
After asking several people in a row, the other side suddenly gave a soft “eek”.
“Didn’t you say this guy would be eliminated soon? How come he’s still in town… and not only has his money doubled several times, but he has even gotten the source of spirit fire?”
Shen Chun narrowed his eyes and found that the person the short man was referring to was none other than Xia Fan.
“This person is indeed lucky. According to the gathered information, he raised a lot of silver from the eliminated candidates, tiding over the crisis of an early exit. As for the bottle of spirit fire, it’s still unclear how he got it. But… apart from luck, he doesn’t have too many outstanding performances.”
“You don’t think he can pass?”
“Yes. A big indicator in the exam is the ability to negotiate, and the only one close to him is a fellow countryman. The fewer people you have as a partner, the less risk-resistant you are. Especially in high-risk events like the Night of Great Desolation, the likelihood of a person getting through it unscathed is slim to none. Of course, the possibility of him following the other candidates to quit together is also very high, which is also a wise choice.”
Speaking of this, Shen Chun secretly sighed inside. He had to admit that this candidate named Xia Fan was really a bit odd. He spent money freely when he only had five taels of silver at the start but started becoming cautious after obtaining over 20 taels of silver later on. If he spent these silvers to gather more candidates and form a small team, his ranking wouldn’t be what it was now.
The short man turned a few more pages and finally lost his patience. He threw the roster back on the table and patted his silver mask. “The families… are still better than nothing.”
Somehow, Shen Chun actually felt relief.
Suddenly, the other sides’ hands propped up on the table. He leaned forward and said, “By the way, I almost forgot to ask you. Invigilator Shen, have you found any signs regarding who may be the Listeners in the past few days?”
Shen Chun couldn’t help but take a step back. “No… of course not. If I found a clue, I’d have definitely reported it to the two lord inspectors at the first time!”
“Really?” The short man retracted his hand as if he was disinterested and said to Ba Xingtian, “Lord Ba, I have no further questions.”
The latter nodded and walked out of the big tent side by side with him, leaving only the puzzled invigilator inside.
Shen Chun couldn’t figure out for a long time why the other party’s tone wasn’t a reminder or warning when he asked that, but was laced with some… expectation?
…
“Senior sister, this is the list for tomorrow’s evacuation. I filled it in the order they reported it.”
Luo You’er put a paper full of names on Luo Qingqing’s table.
“Thanks for your hard work. Remember to make sure they leave the town in this order early tomorrow morning. The most crucial thing about this kind of thing—”
“It’s the order, I won’t forget it.” Luo You’er interrupted her. “You’ve said it many times.”
“That’s fine,” Luo Qingqing said helplessly.
“Then, continue with your work. I’ll leave you alone.” Luo You’er smiled and left the bedroom.
Luo Qingqing rubbed the corners of her slightly sore eyes, got up, and flicked the wick a little longer — the house was suddenly brighter, and at this moment, it was already dark outside the window.
Today’s assembly of the wooden kite didn’t go well, probably because it was stored for too long. Some mistakes were made in building its skeleton, but in any case, it didn’t affect its use. For safety reasons, she decided to postpone the release day until early tomorrow morning. As long as there was no heavy wind or rain, it wouldn’t be difficult to fly over a distance of less than five feet with a person and a rope.
Of course, flying over was only the beginning. To send so many candidates out of town, a few wooden kites alone were definitely not enough. They had to make a simple “bridge” with hemp rope. This rope bridge certainly couldn’t hold up too much weight, so each boarding must be strictly controlled, in addition to the problem of time and accident handling… It could be said that this action required planning, preparation, and execution very different from the past small fights.
She, as the initiator, must not make any mistakes.
It seems that today would be a sleepless night.
Luo Qingqing smiled bitterly but then felt some relief. At least, tonight, she didn’t have to worry about someone sneaking into her bedroom after sleeping.
To be honest, when she found out her room had been invaded in the morning, her heart had frozen.
Fortunately, the intruder didn’t do anything to her. Otherwise, she really didn’t know what to do next.
This also made it such that whenever Luo Qingqing closed her eyes, the other person’s appearance would involuntarily appear in her mind for a period of time.
She knew that it was a form of residual impression, and she could only wait for her brain to slowly forget that person. If she didn’t sleep tonight, she might relax even more.
When that person withdrew from Qing Shan Town and the examination continued, this matter may be considered to have passed. As for the future, Luo Qingqing wasn’t worried. She didn’t think she and the other party would ever cross paths again.
Just then, there was a knock on the door outside the house.
“What is it?” She returned to her seat and asked.
“Someone wants to see you.” Luo You’er probed in.
“Didn’t I say to direct any visitor to Senior Brother Fengqing?” Luo Qingqing furrowed her eyebrows.
Luo You’er showed a difficult expression. “This person is rather special, and he said he only wants to talk to you.”
“Who?”
“Xia Fan,” replied Luo You’er.