He wanted some peace and quiet, so he thought of going to the very back. But when he got there, he found that almost everyone showing their faces or gathering in small groups were older candidates. Just by looking at them, you could tell they were repeat examinees who had failed in previous years and kept trying.
Most of these people had not built good connections in their own prefecture. They could not, or did not want to, find a suitable official vacancy to fill. Yet they refused to give up, so they continued taking the metropolitan examination in hopes of one last shot.
These types, who could neither secure a post through connections nor pass the exam after repeated attempts, did not want to mix with the newcomers. They also did not want to compete or fight with the new arrivals, nor did they want to see the arrogant, overconfident attitude of those who had no idea how high the sky was. As experienced people, they quietly and willingly chose to live at the very back.
Seeing the rejecting looks from these people, Yu Qing felt that staying at the back was not suitable either. He turned around and walked back, looking left and right until he finally chose a spot in the middle section. He picked a building with hardly anyone living in it, went up to the second floor, and casually moved into a room.
He had just tossed down his things and had not even sat down when cheerful footsteps came from the corridor outside.
The footsteps were one heavy and one light, clearly two people. Yu Qing turned to look. A figure flashed at the doorway, and a scholar appeared.
This scholar looked striking enough to hurt the eyes.
Dark face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, not very tall but extremely sturdy, with a back like a tiger and a waist like a bear. He did not look like a reader at all. He looked more like a farmer. His skin was clearly tanned from the sun.
Yet he was dressed in full scholar’s attire. At first glance, the contrast was quite refreshing.
At the edge of the doorframe, a head poked in to look inside. It was a timid and handsome young boy with a somewhat dirty face, obviously the scholar’s book boy.
“A Shi Heng?” The dark-faced scholar glanced at the name tablet hanging by the door and clearly froze. “Why did you come here?”
Yu Qing’s heart skipped a beat. His nerves tightened. Could this be someone who knew A Shi Heng?
The dark-faced scholar stared at the person inside the room, then stepped through the door and cupped his hands with a smile. “Greetings, Brother Shi Heng. I am Xu Fei.”
Yu Qing remained wary and returned the greeting. “Brother Xu, greetings. Does Brother Xu have business here?”
Xu Fei turned and pointed at the boy behind him. “My Chong’er said someone had moved into this building again, so I specially came over to say hello. Oh, right. A few days ago when I first arrived and was looking for a room, I think I saw Brother Shi Heng’s name hanging at the door of a room in the building in front. I wonder if I remembered wrong.”
Yu Qing said calmly, “You must have remembered wrong.”
Xu Fei laughed heartily, raised his hand to pat his forehead in an embarrassed manner, then his eyes suddenly lit up. He stared at the sword lying on the table, strode past Yu Qing, grabbed the sword, drew half of it out with a swish, and gave an excited “Hey!” “Heavy sword! Brother Shi Heng also practises martial arts to strengthen the body?”
Yu Qing felt a bit annoyed by this uninvited visit. He immediately pushed the hilt, sheathed the sword, took it back, and asked, “Anything else?”
“Uh…” Xu Fei froze. He could see the other person did not welcome him. He hesitated, then finally gave up and said, “Brother Shi Heng, I came to let you know in advance. I practise my skills morning and evening, so there might be some noise. I am afraid it will disturb you. If I cause any bother, I apologise here first.” He cupped his hands and bowed.
Yu Qing said, “It is fine. I am a bit tired and want to rest first.”
He had already issued the order to leave. What else could Xu Fei do? He could only withdraw awkwardly.
In the evening, there came a knock at the door. Yu Qing, who had shut himself in the room, recognised from the footsteps that it was Xu Fei. He asked, “What is it?”
Xu Fei outside the door asked in a careful, probing tone, “Brother Shi Heng, would you like to go to Chenxiang Study for a meal together?”
Yu Qing said, “No need.”
Xu Fei asked, “Shall I bring some back for you?”
Yu Qing said, “I am not hungry.”
He wanted to keep his distance from everyone. He did not want to leave a deep impression on anyone. Even he himself did not know how he had endured these past days.
There was silence outside for a while, then the heavy footsteps faded away.
That night, there was no disturbance from any so-called practising.
The next day, Yu Qing left Chaoxi Garden early. While there were few people around, he went to Chenxiang Study and ate a full meal, then packed a bunch of food to take back.
On his way back, when he reached the ground floor, he heard the whoosh of breaking wind. In the morning light, he saw flashing knife gleams. Xu Fei was holding a large chopping blade, swinging it back and forth, sweating profusely. It looked quite proper.
But in Yu Qing’s eyes, it was just an ordinary martial practitioner. No internal energy had been cultivated. It was enough to deal with ordinary people, but still far from a true realm.
In plain words, this Xu Fei had not yet reached any real level.
The publicly recognised realms were, from highest to lowest: “Half-Immortal”, then “Mysterious Scholar”, and finally “True Martial”.
Mysterious Scholar and True Martial were each divided into three grades: lower, upper, and high.
Yu Qing’s own cultivation was at the upper True Martial grade, simply called upper martial grade.
To compare how wide the gap was between Yu Qing’s upper martial grade and Xu Fei’s strength, one could use this standard: the basic standard for lower martial was to defeat ten elite battle-hardened soldiers. Upper martial was to defeat ten lower martial. High martial was to defeat ten upper martial.
As for the highest Half-Immortal realm, as the name suggested, it was equivalent to half an immortal. That was already a legendary existence. Throughout history, those in the world with such power could be counted on one’s fingers. No one could clearly say who was higher or lower, so this realm had never been subdivided. It was simply called Half-Immortal.
Still, Xu Fei’s knife practice surprised Yu Qing somewhat. Most scholars carried swords as mere accessories. How could a reader be swinging a big chopping blade? Was he not afraid of disgracing the scholarly name?
Noticing that Yu Qing had returned, Xu Fei stopped, held the blade upside down, strode over, and greeted cheerfully, “Brother Shi Heng, interested in a friendly spar with swords and blades?”
“The sword is just an accessory I carry. I do not know how to use it.” Yu Qing tossed out the words and walked away.
Xu Fei scratched his head and watched the man go upstairs.
The young book boy Chong’er came closer, rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, and said in a clear voice, “Young master, this person is so aloof.”
Xu Fei sighed. “It must be those other fellows who bullied him too much. He probably feels bad inside. Otherwise he would not have moved to this nearly empty building. And he does not even have a book boy. Clearly his family is not well off… He hid in his room all day yesterday and did not even eat. Let us try to be understanding.”
Chong’er’s big eyes blinked. He nodded, his gaze filled with sympathy.
Yesterday, after thinking they had recognised the wrong person, when they returned from dinner they heard people discussing where the top provincial graduate Zhan Muchun was staying. Xu Fei could then confirm that the room he had seen before definitely did not belong to the top graduate. He realised he had not remembered wrong. A Shi Heng really had been in that room. Moving here clearly meant he had been forced out by others.
To suffer a loss and say nothing, silently hiding in a corner, even skipping dinner. One could imagine his mood. And with no book boy to look after him, the master and servant both felt sorry for him.
So the two felt no resentment at all towards Yu Qing’s coldness. Instead, they grew even more sympathetic.
Back in his room, Yu Qing had no idea he had already left a deep impression. He tossed the packed food aside, lay flat on the bed like a corpse, and passed the time in a daze.
He idled away half the morning. Feeling bored and having nothing to do, he simply changed out of his clothes and took them down to the well behind the building to wash.
When he arrived, someone was already at the well. It was none other than Xu Fei’s book boy Chong’er, squatting there washing clothes.
Their eyes met. Yu Qing tossed down his clothes and drew water. After drawing it up, Chong’er timidly said from the side, “Young master, why not go back and review your books? Chong’er can wash them for you along with mine. Once they are dry, Chong’er will bring them to you.”
Yu Qing said coldly, “No need.” He also squatted down to wash.
So Chong’er lowered his head and said nothing more.
Yu Qing could sense the book boy stealing glances at him from time to time. He also occasionally glanced at the boy and noticed that his face was actually quite handsome, with bright eyes and watery gaze. But it always seemed impossible to get it clean. From the first time he saw him yesterday until now, the face remained dirty.
Also, he was too thin. Small frame, tanned dark as well.
The sun rose to noon, then gradually sank westward. The sky slowly darkened. Another day passed.
On a starry night, after finishing his practice and sheathing the blade, Xu Fei took the towel Chong’er handed him to wipe his sweat. He also looked up at the room where Yu Qing lived. It was pitch black, not even a lamp lit.
“Did he skip lunch again? And dinner too?”
“He never came out at all.”
“If this goes on, how can his body take it!”
Only two candidates lived in this building. Just these two households.
Late at night, when it was time to rest, a constable suddenly appeared downstairs and shouted, “Examinees in the building, please come out and listen. There is important news.”
After shouting several times, he quickly drew out both Xu Fei and Yu Qing.
Facing the two, the constable said, “Tomorrow morning, the prefectural governor will come to visit everyone. So breakfast will be served one hour earlier tomorrow. Do not be careless. After the meal, everyone must assemble and prepare. Please take this seriously, both of you.”
Hearing that the highest official of Liezhou was coming, Xu Fei was slightly startled. He respectfully cupped his hands and said, “Understood!”
Yu Qing also cupped his hands in response…
At sunrise, in the prefectural capital of Liezhou, at the heart of government, in the official residence of the prefect, a distinguished guest sat in a pavilion. Prefect Lu Jiwei personally accompanied him.
The guest had a long ink-black beard, a lean and refined face, and an extraordinary bearing. He was Liezhou’s renowned gentleman, the foremost spiritual plant master of Liezhou, Di Zang.
As Liezhou’s top official, Lu Jiwei had a square face, large ears, and a nose like a hanging gall. His bearing was equally impressive. One look and you could tell he had long held authority over others.
While the two knelt on mats sipping tea and chatting idly, a servant hurried over to report, “My lord, Mr Yu Qi has arrived.”
“Oh!” Lu Jiwei and Di Zang exchanged a smile. Lu Jiwei waved his hand. “Invite him in quickly.”
Soon after, the servant led in a man wearing a black cloak. The visitor had an eagle-like nose and a long face, with greying hair and beard. He gave off the air of an eccentric expert, and indeed he was one. He was also a renowned gentleman of Liezhou, the foremost demon-dissecting master of Liezhou.
Prefect Lu Jiwei laughed heartily and cupped his hands. “Mr Yu Qi, we have finally awaited your return.” He gestured for him to sit.
Yu Qi nodded in greeting to the spiritual plant master Di Zang. The latter asked, “I heard from Lord Lu that Brother Yu went to Youjiao Port?”
Youjiao Port, as the name suggested, was a trading port hidden in a dark corner.
It was a gathering place for the underworld black market, a chaotic mix of dragons and snakes, a no-man’s-land with its own rules and a special status in the martial world.
“Exactly. I only returned from Youjiao Port last night.” After kneeling and sitting, Yu Qi asked Lu Jiwei, “I just got back last night, and you already sent someone with a message to meet today. May I know what instructions you have?”
No servants were attending at the scene. Lu Jiwei personally poured tea for the two. “With the scholars gathering in the prefectural seat and soon heading to the capital, I plan to visit the academy today to see them. If the two masters are free, why not come along?”
Yu Qi and Di Zang glanced at each other, clearly a bit surprised. What would they be doing at such an occasion? Especially now, when demons were rampant. Could it be that someone intended harm towards those candidates?