"Although Mr. Fu has done some righteous deeds and has ability and responsibility, his scholarship is rather mediocre."
Chen Shi stayed overnight at the Scholars Academy, and Hu Feifei, who was also from the countryside, stayed as well. It was still early to sleep, and since they had made some money, they decided to visit the night market.
The night market in New Township County was even more lively than during the day. The streets were crowded with people, and there were various stalls on both sides offering all kinds of food. Chen Shi, Hu Feifei, and Heiguo walked along, eating as they went, carrying all sorts of food. When they couldn't carry anymore, Heiguo stood up to help.
"Chen family brother, don't you think your dog is a bit strange?"
Hu Feifei glanced back and saw the dog walking on two hind legs, taller than an average person and more stable, carrying things in a way that didn't seem like a dog at all.
Chen Shi looked back and didn't find anything unusual. He said, "Aren't you walking on two legs too? What's strange about that?"
Hu Feifei was speechless.
After wandering around, they were full and waddled back to the academy.
Chen Shi was getting more puzzled and asked, "Feifei, where is the godmother in the city?"
Since entering the city, he had been looking for the godmother of New Township County, but after all this time, he still hadn't found her.
Hu Feifei, looking like she was ten months pregnant, was holding her waist with one hand and carrying food with the other, struggling forward. She shook her head and said, "There's no godmother in the county or provincial city."
Chen Shi was greatly puzzled, "Without a godmother, how can we drive away evil spirits? Can't they just enter the city as they please?"
Hu Feifei explained, "Though there's no godmother, there are treasures guarding the county. The Ten-Thousand Souls Banner is such a treasure. It protects the county, and whenever evil spirits come near, it automatically unleashes its power to destroy them. The Ten-Thousand Souls Banner is extremely ancient, with a history of over a thousand years in New Township County. The spirits inside have become incredibly strong. No evil spirit dares to approach the county anymore."
"I see."
Chen Shi suddenly understood and asked, "But why did the county magistrate and his wife, who are evil spirits, enter the county and not die under the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner?"
Hu Feifei was stumped and shook her head, "I don't know about that. Our fox clan's leader is also an evil spirit but has entered the city many times without the banner reacting. The leader is highly skilled and can hide his aura, but Magistrate Geng doesn't have such abilities. How did he manage to enter the city?"
Chen Shi asked, "Do you think Magistrate Geng was eaten by an evil spirit, which then took his place, or was he an evil spirit all along?"
Hu Feifei thought for a moment and said, "I think Magistrate Geng is an evil spirit. I'm too full to walk, let's find a place to sit and digest."
Chen Shi looked around and saw a railing by the river, so they sat on it together.
Hu Feifei leaned lazily on his shoulder.
Chen Shi felt a slight movement in his heart and asked, "Feifei, it's dark now, where's your hairpin? Does it really glow?"
Hu Feifei, full of energy, pulled out the hairpin from her hair, covered it with her hands, and said with a smile, "Take a look."
Chen Shi leaned in and was surprised, "It really glows."
Hu Feifei, pleased with herself, bit the hairpin, wrapped her hair with her hands, and inserted the hairpin, laughing, "This hairpin has a talisman engraved on it. It absorbs sunlight during the day and releases it at night, sparkling. Chen family brother, do you have any fun stories? Tell me."
Chen Shi shared his amusing experiences in the mountains, making the fox girl laugh uncontrollably, "Stop, my stomach hurts from laughing. Help me rub it."
Chen Shi rubbed her belly, and indeed, the laughter-induced discomfort eased as her belly warmed up and the air escaped.
After resting for a long time, they got up and returned to the academy.
Fu Leisheng was waiting for them. Seeing them return, he said, "I'm going home to rest. You two will have to make do at the academy for the night. Chen Shi, when the True God descends, you need to remain pure and not lose your essence. Remember this."
His words were meaningful, and Chen Shi was solemn, pondering their meaning.
Fu Leisheng left.
The two rested for a while, then tidied up to make a sleeping area. After all, this was an academy, a place for students to attend classes, with no beds, so they had to sleep on the floor.
Chen Shi took out bedding from the cart, giving half to Hu Feifei and keeping half for himself.
They wished each other goodnight and got into their respective beds.
The dog stood guard outside, and apart from the sound of crickets, there was no other noise.
The bustling night market of the county town seemed to drift further and further away from them.
Hu Feifei crawled out of her bed and said with a smile, "I can't sleep. Chen family brother, tell me more about the mountains. I rarely go into the mountains while training with my fox clan sisters."
Chen Shi sat up and told her stories about the various happenings on Heavenly Yang Mountain, the strange rules, the mountain spirits, the great black serpent, the six-thousand-year-old Granny Zhuang, and many mischievous porcelain dolls.
Hu Feifei moved her bedding closer to him, snuggled in, and listened to him speak, her eyes shining in the dark.
"Chen family brother, what do you want to do after you pass the exams?"
The fox girl asked.
"What to do?"
Chen Shi was a bit lost. He thought carefully. His initial goal for taking the exams was to become a scholar, return home as a lord, and make life comfortable for his grandfather.
But now his grandfather had gone to the underworld, and it was unknown when he would return.
Now, taking the exams seemed like a wish he wanted to fulfill.
"After I pass the exams, I want to go back home and be a lord, so I can rightfully oppress the villagers."
Chen Shi said, "What about you?"
Hu Feifei placed her hands on her chest, holding the edge of the quilt, her eyes sparkling, and said with a smile, "My goal in taking the exams is to find a pleasing scholar and develop a touching romance between a human and a fox."
Chen Shi asked, "Have you found one?"
"Not yet!"
Hu Feifei said with some disappointment, "Our academy is full of little kids, too immature for my taste. Once I become a scholar, there will surely be better scholars."
As they talked about the future, Hu Feifei's voice gradually grew softer until she fell asleep.
Seeing this, Chen Shi also snuggled into his bed and soon drifted into dreamland.
The day of the county examination finally arrived.
The venue for the county examination was the Confucian Temple in the county town, where Master Confucius was worshipped.
The area by the wall was divided into separate compartments, and all the private school students from towns and villages in New Township County gathered at the temple.
There were over a hundred people from the county town alone, and even more from the towns, with hundreds of people, including elderly men with white hair, coming to take the county examination.
The first session was the literary exam.
Chen Shi and the students from the Scholars Academy were separated into different compartments. Once everyone was seated, writing materials were distributed to prevent cheating.
The chief examiner was Tian Huayi, a stern young official. He first paid respects to Master Confucius, then to the God of Culture, and announced the start of the exam.
"Today's topic is a discussion. Zengzi once said: 'When a bird is about to die, its song is sad; when a person is about to die, his words are kind.'"
Tian Huayi announced the topic, his voice booming, "In the examination hall, no discussions, no talking, no cheating. Offer incense to the mirror, inspect every detail."
Two examiners lifted a large mirror, taller than a person, with incense burning in front of it, passing by each compartment.
The incense burned, and its fragrance drifted towards the mirror, which seemed to have a spirit, absorbing the incense qi and emitting a soft orange glow.
Suddenly, the two examiners stopped and signaled to the bailiffs.
The bailiffs immediately approached the compartment.
The student inside was terrified, screaming, but still couldn't stop writing furiously.
The bailiffs sneered and pulled off the student's black hat.
On the student's head sat a three to four-inch tall white-haired mouse, holding a fine brush, with a board and paper in front of it.
The white-haired mouse was focused, writing vigorously, interpreting the exam topic.
Whatever it wrote, the student wrote.
Seeing it was discovered, the white-haired mouse hurriedly dropped the brush and tried to leave. But it was too late.
It was caught by the bailiff on the left.
The other bailiff dragged the student to Chief Examiner Tian Huayi.
Tian Huayi glanced at the white-haired mouse and sneered, "So it's a Wisdom Mouse daring to cheat here. Bold indeed. Take him away and give him ten lashes."
The bailiffs dragged the student away.
The two examiners continued to carry the mirror, inspecting each compartment.
Chen Shi sat in his compartment, excited, "When a person is about to die, his words are kind. This topic, Scholar Zhu has explained many times. It's a topic I'm well-versed in."
He wrote as if inspired, quickly completing the two-hundred-word essay, signed his name and academy, dried the ink, and got up to submit his paper.
At this time, other students were still writing, some struggling to start.
Tian Huayi saw him being the first to submit and was surprised. He took the paper, glanced at the academy, and smiled, "It's from my mentor's Scholars Academy. My mentor is dedicated to scholarship and seems to have another talented student."
Other examiners praised, "A great teacher produces great students. How could he not have taught someone as talented as Master Tian?"
Tian Huayi read further, and his smile gradually stiffened. He suddenly closed the paper, took a deep breath, and calmed himself.
"Is there a traitor from my mentor's school?"
He thought to himself.
"No, I must see my mentor. This is a serious matter. If it leads to execution, it might implicate my mentor and me."
Chen Shi walked out of the Confucian Temple, and Fu Leisheng was waiting outside. Seeing Chen Shi come out, he was very surprised and quickly approached.
"Chen Shi, you finished so quickly? How did it go?"
Chen Shi, feeling proud, smiled, "I've thoroughly studied Master Confucius' classics. This county examination was a breeze."
Fu Leisheng was about to ask what he wrote when suddenly, a bright red light descended from the sky, straight into the Confucian Temple, filling the air with an exotic fragrance.
"A divine descent, a divine descent!"
Fu Leisheng stared at the light in a daze, then exclaimed, and there were also exclamations from inside the temple. Many examiners were startled by the light, saying, "A True God has descended. Which student has received the divine favor?"
From the sound of it, this divine descent was extraordinary.
Chen Shi's heart was pounding as he watched the straight beam of light.
The fragrance in the air grew stronger, making one feel as if floating on clouds.
A divine descent, fully known as a True God's descent.
In the Spirit Shrine Realm, after building a spirit shrine, a small cultivator would hold a grand ceremony to the heavens. The Heavenly True God, receiving the incense qi, would send down a beam of light, bestowing a divine fetus.
Once the divine fetus settled in the spirit shrine, the cultivator officially entered the Divine Fetus Stage, opening the possibility of reaching the next realm and forming a golden core.
However, divine descents usually occurred after the county examination's ceremony. For a divine descent to happen out of the blue during an exam was extremely rare.
No grand ceremony was needed, and a spontaneous divine descent often indicated someone with exceptional talent and literary fortune.
Fu Leisheng murmured, "Who could this person be?"
Just as he said this, someone hurried over and bowed, "Mr. Fu, Master Tian requests your presence."
Fu Leisheng quickly followed the person, entering the temple through the back door.
Tian Huayi was already waiting at the back door. Seeing him, he skipped the pleasantries and said urgently, "Mentor, something big has happened at the Scholars Academy. Both a traitor and a genius have emerged from the academy."
Fu Leisheng was both surprised and pleased, quickly asking for details.
Tian Huayi said, "The student who received the True God's descent is from the Scholars Academy, named Shen Yusheng. This student, during the literary exam, received the True God's favor and was bestowed a divine fetus. We don't know its grade yet, but it won't be lower than the second grade. This is a genius. Congratulations, mentor. As for the traitor..."
He took out Chen Shi's paper and handed it to Fu Leisheng.
"Please take a look, mentor."
Fu Leisheng glanced at it, his face turning ashen.
"This is going to send me to the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner."
Tian Huayi quickly asked, "Mentor, what should we do?"
Fu Leisheng gritted his teeth, "I'll write one for him. No matter what, we can't let the academy be implicated."
Tian Huayi hesitated and said, "If you write for him, he'll surely pass as a scholar. Once he becomes a scholar, he'll take the autumn provincial exam. If he causes a bigger scene in the provincial capital, won't it be even worse?"
Fu Leisheng quickly took out writing materials and said, "Once he passes as a scholar, I'll expel him from the Scholars Academy. When he takes the provincial exam, no matter what trouble he causes, it won't be related to our academy."
Tian Huayi lowered his voice and said, "Mentor, this is cheating."
"Cheating is better than facing the Ten-Thousand Souls Banner. If his paper is submitted, it might implicate you too."
End of Chapter.