Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Xia Fan woke up when the sun shone into his window.
Without bumps from the carriage and disturbing mosquitoes, he slept exceptionally well that night, and all the previous fatigue brought about by the journey had vanished.
Even the fox demon that appeared last night seemed like a dream…
Hold on!
Xia Fan leaped out of bed, jumped onto the old wooden table, and looked out of the window.
Then, he smirked.
He saw that the plate on the windowsill was empty.
It seemed that it wasn’t an illusion.
Since the braised beef was taken away, did that mean that the other party had accepted the agreement?
He suddenly looked forward to that night.
After putting on his robe and washing up at the well in the backyard, Xia Fan went to the lobby and spent two coins to buy a bowl of steamed corn bun.
One couldn’t blame him for not being frugal. Ever since he could sense and induce Qi, his appetite had become much bigger. Although he didn’t grow physically, the amount of food he ate increased by several times. If he didn’t eat enough, his bodily functions and Qi-inducing efficiency declined significantly.
This was the same for other mystics.
Xia Fan attributed it to the fact that conservation of energy was always expressed in strange ways in certain areas.
“Good morning, Brother Xia!”
Suddenly, someone shouted behind him.
Without turning around, he could tell who the person was by his voice.
Indeed, Wei Wushuang’s familiar face appeared in front of him. “You don’t mind if I sat beside you, right?”
“Sure.” Xia Fan blinked. It seemed that Wei Wushuang didn’t hold a grudge on him for taking the beef away.
Along with the steamed corn bun, there was a huge plate of breakfast, which included rice porridge, beancurd, and pancake.
Xia Fan figured out why Wei Wushuang was slightly plump. It wasn’t easy to grow fatter with the energy depletion of a mystic.
“Brother Xia, you’re right. I’ve thought about it all night and have decided.” Wei Wushuang didn’t begin eating right away but said seriously.
“Decided what?”
“The official position of the Privy Council… is not suitable for me.” He paused. “I’m not underestimating the need to eradicate harm and ensure safety for the people, but once I think of the terrifying creatures and demons, I lose all my appetite…”
“Hmm???” Xia Fan looked at the scrumptious breakfast on the table… Then, what was that?
“I was forced by my father to come for the mystic examination, I didn’t think it through. Even if I passed the examination, I probably wouldn’t end up in a good state. So, I plan to stay in the teahouse or inn during the mystic examination until the examination is over.” Wei Wushuang’s tone became more light-hearted as he spoke. “I don’t have to compete with others nor do I have to go and dig the ghost fire at the graveyard late at night. As long as I persevere until the last day, I will be able to account to my father when I return. Of course, without your wake-up call, I wouldn’t have made up my mind so quickly. Even though I might be perceived as a coward by you, I still want to say thank you in person—”
“Coward? I never said that.” Xia Fan smiled and interrupted him. “In fact, you’re quite brave.”
“Brother Xia, you don’t have to comfort me…”
“I’m not comforting you. I think the courage needed to be honest with yourself is not at all less than the courage needed to face the evil spirits directly. Quitting the examination has nothing to do with your courage. Ultimately, you would end up becoming a low-tiered mystic assigned to a remote place. You would be better off being a son of a wealthy family.”
Wei Wushuang looked at him for a while before laughing softly. “To be honest, not many people think like you. As long as one is accepted by the Privy Council, one would still be an official despite an mystic’s low rank. Meanwhile, a businessman is always a businessman. However, I think you make sense.”
He seemed to have put down his burden. He took a bite of the pancake and said, “Brother Xia, if you don’t pass, come to the Big Bowl Grain Shop and look for me. I mentioned that I will give you a good treat.”
Xia Fan rolled his eyes. “Shouldn’t you be wishing me all the best?”
“I would like to, but this test is not as simple as it seems,” Wei Wushuang said while eating. “Yesterday, someone had already asked about the general situation of Qing Shan Town. There’s indeed a ghost fire land, but the scale is pitifully small. Based on common sense, if all hundreds of candidates were able to collect a whole bottle of spirit fire, at least a mass grave would be needed. Yet, I heard people say that the place only has dozens of graves.”
“That’s too little…” Xia Fan was shocked.
“Indeed, even if every grave produced spirit fire, it’s not enough for hundreds of candidates. At this rate, there will inevitably be conflicts.” Wei Wushuang sighed. “Perhaps this is the intent of the examiner. Without fighting with others, one will not get the qualification. As for those who are not from wealthy backgrounds, it’s so unfair…
“Besides that, the seven days of expenses from food and housing is also a constraint. Although I think that you have figured this out long ago, you only have half of what others have from the start. It’s not your fault if you can’t pass the examination, please don’t force yourself.”
“Indeed,” said Xia Fan frankly. “I had planned to finish the examination in three days, but it seems that it’s not possible now. If your news is accurate, the battle will last until the last moment.”
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to assist you further.”
Wei Wushuang also had no intention to hide or evade. They weren’t close enough, after all. Although Wei Wushuang was grateful, he would definitely not risk staying in the wild and save his money for Xia Fan to finish the examination.
“It’s alright. I’m grateful for your willingness to share the information with me.” Xia Fan thought. “The beef, too.” Then, Xia Fan continued, “I didn’t have a plan before this, but it seems that not all hope is lost now.”
“You have a way to raise money?” said Wei Wushuang surprisedly.
“Probably.” Xia Fan nodded and asked, “Oh right, did you have a nightmare yesterday?”
“Nightmare?” Wei Wushuang took a bite of the beancurd. “I don’t recall… I usually don’t dream.”
Xia Fan’s gaze froze and suddenly felt insecure. “Urgh, let me rephrase that. If you had a nightmare and dreamt of a blood-red moon and monsters all around the town, will you be afraid?”
Wei Wushuang thought and replied, “Of course! That’s a scene from the purgatory, right? I think I would faint from fear if I was in that situation.”
No way… So exaggerated? Xia Fan was stunned. “That’s just a dream…”
“Dreams are an important omen,” he said seriously. “Although I don’t dream, I know that dreams are an extension of one’s consciousness, especially so for those who induce Qi. You definitely must not take the indication of dreams lightly.”
So, that was it… Xia Fan was enlightened.
It was a world where consciousness could act on the matter, which meant that dreams were no longer ordinary deep brain activity. To measure dreams simply from the degree of frightfulness was equivalent to thinking about new problems with knowledge from the past. It was merely a stubborn behavior.
“That’s good.” He smiled and said, “I simply wanted to try it initially, but after hearing from you, I think it’s more or less steady.”
“Really?” Wei Wushuang put down the pancake and said, “Can you show me? Oh, I’m not trying to take advantage, I’m just very curious.”
Xia Fan pointed behind him and said, “Come with me, while it’s still early.”
…
In front of the suspension bridge that connected the Qing Shan Town to the outside world, Xia Fan waited for a candidate who was carrying a backpack and was walking hurriedly.
“Brother, please excuse me,” he stepped forward and said with a respectful hand gesture. “I’m Xia Fan, a candidate from Feng Hua County.”
The other candidate looked at him suspiciously before stopping and saying, “I’m Chu, from the You state.”
“Nice to meet you!” Xia Fan looked back at the suspension bridge and pretended to speak with a regrettable tone, “After crossing this bridge, this examination will be a failure.”
The other candidate obviously turned unhappy when he heard that, as though Xia Fan’s words provoked him. “What does this have to do with you?”
“I’m not trying to mock you, nor do I want to ask you about the reason you left,” said Xia Fan calmly. “I’m waiting here to make a connection with you.”
“Cut to the chase.”
“I hope you can lend me your unused money and help me out.”
“Are you crazy?” The man said in disbelief, “Why should I help you?”
“If I can pass the mystic examination, I will repay you with ten times the amount.” Xia Fan disregarded the sarcasm in the man’s words and said, “Even if I fail, I will repay you the amount you lent me. This is the IOU1 for proof, what do you think?”
Then, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket. The paper which was about the size of his palm was supposed to be used for a talisman, but he had turned it into an IOU.
The other party looked at him for a moment before laughing out loud. “Do you think you are a genius of the Luo family? If you can pass… Hmph, how can you promise that?”
“The passing rate of the mystic examination is not low.”
“Still doesn’t mean you will pass, get lost!”
Xia Fan turned sideways and made a gesture to let the man leave.
The candidate with the surname of Chu glared at Xia Fan and walked onto the suspension bridge without turning back. “Since we met by chance, let me caution you. This place is strange. If you’re not capable, leave early before you lose your life!”
“Uh… Brother Xia, your method is this?” After the other man left, Wei Wushuang came out from the back of the tree and asked with an odd expression.
“Indeed,” said Xia Fan without changing his expression.
“Loaning money in the Qing Shan Town… It’s quite hard.”
“This is not ‘loaning money’.” Xia Fan narrowed his eyes and looked afar. “Back back into hiding, another person is here!”
Wei Wushuang could only go back into hiding.
The same thing happened for the second and third candidates.
However, the fourth candidate was different.
He took Xia Fan’s IOU and passed him five taels of silver.
The seventh and tenth candidates too.
Wei Wushuang was shocked beyond words as he watched from behind the tree. He couldn’t understand why someone would lend Xia Fan money despite not knowing him. He also could not understand why Xia Fan was able to meet so many candidates who gave up even though it was only the second day of the examination!
How did he know that they would leave Qing Shan Town?
Until the 36th person, the situation changed again.
“Sorry, you’re too late.” The person laid out his hands. “The Fei family bought all my money, medicine, and paper. I have nothing besides two sets of clothes now.”
“Bought? What did they use to buy it?”
“Gold,” said the other party. “They say that as long as I pass the invoice to the servant waiting outside the town, I will be able to receive the same amount of golden leaves.”
“Is that so? Then, I wish you a smooth journey.”
After saying goodbye, Xia Fan shouted to Wei Wushuang, “Come out, let’s go back to town.”
“You’re not waiting anymore?” Wei Wushuang poked his head out and asked.
“Hmm, there’s no use waiting. The other candidates who walk by will probably be the same as the candidate earlier on.” Xia Fan looked up in the sky. “It has merely been an hour… No wonder they’re from wealthy families.”
“I don’t understand.” Wei Wushuang ran over and asked.
Xia Fan held the heavy money bag and said, “You can ask.”
“If you say this is not considered as loaning money, what is it?”
“This…” Xia Fan smiled. “This is called a risky investment.”