The literati of the world were shocked.
Xu Qingnian had composed an essay that was actually a standup essay.
This was something that no one had expected.
Even the three scholars in the South Yu House could not imagine it.
After all, no one could say whether the essay was good or bad.
The only thing that could be learned was that Xu Qingnian was really going to be famous this time.
The only thing that can be known is that Xu Qingnian is really going to be famous this time.
But the essay would have attracted a lot of controversy, and Xu Qingnian would have been pushed to the top of the list, perhaps with respect, but more questions and rebuttals.
Of course, if Xu Qingnian had openly said that the article he wrote was an explanation of Zhu Sheng’s intention, and that I strongly supported Zhu Sheng’s choice, then there would not be much of a problem.
Nowadays, 90% of the world’s literati are studying Zhu Sheng, and if you support him, then everything is not a problem.
But how exactly, no one knows.
Because Xu Qingnian seems to have evaporated into thin air, and he doesn’t know where he has gone.
No one will ever know.
Xu Qingnian, who is now the focus of the world’s literati.
At this very moment, he is on an official road, galloping his horse wildly.
The normal speed from South Yu Province to Ping’an County is five days.
However, Xu Qingnian rushed through the night and spent money to exchange a horse at a post station, so that he could reach Ping’an County in two days.
Along the way, Xu Qingnian also realised a problem.
If you have money, you can travel all over the world, but if you don’t have money, it’s hard to get around.
The price of a good horse was twenty taels of silver, and each time it was replaced, half a tael of silver was needed.
Xu Qingnian also wanted to buy a thousand-mile horse, and the price was not expensive, after all, this was the world of immortality cultivation.
But the problem was that a thousand mile horse cost five hundred taels of silver, who could afford it?
There was no choice but to switch horses one after another.
Good thing.
Two days later.
Xu Qingnian finally arrived in Ping’an County.
After arriving in Ping’an County, Xu Qingnian’s purpose was simple: to go directly to his teacher, and to see the rest of the people less often.
By virtue of his entry into the cla*s, Xu Qingnian took advantage of the darkness to sneak into Ping’an County.
As for the mounts, they had also been released.
Although there was some reluctance, there was nothing that could be done but to release it.
It was night.
The lights at Zhou Ling’s house had already been extinguished.
Xu Qingnian rolled over and arrived in the middle of Zhou Ling’s courtyard.
With the help of the moonlight, Xu Qingnian arrived at the main room and knocked on the door with a suppressed voice.
“Teacher, I have a visit from Xu Qingnian.”
Xu Qingnian knew it was a bit scary to pay a sudden visit at night, but there was nothing he could do, he had something to deal with after all.
It took four days to travel back and forth.
He didn’t know if Cheng Lidong would take the risk of coming to see him.
Even if he didn’t, he would have to go back earlier. It was impossible for him not to show up for the unveiling of the provincial examinations, right?
The good thing was that it would be some time before the list was unveiled, so I thought everyone’s enthusiasm would gradually cool down and they wouldn’t want to see themselves in a hurry, so there was still time to stay for a few days.
“Who is it?”
Zhou Ling’s voice rang out, looking very questioning.
“Teacher, when it’s really me, it’s important.”
Xu Qingnian continued to speak.
“Qingnian?”
The next moment, a rustling sound rang out, and soon Zhou Ling carried an oil lamp and came to the door of the room.
When the door to the room was opened, with the light of the oil lamp, Zhou Ling saw Xu Qingnian’s face clearly, and then could not help but marvel.
“Qingnian, why did you suddenly come back?”
“What’s happened?”
When he saw Xu Qingnian, Zhou Ling was indeed shocked, shouldn’t Xu Qingnian be waiting for the unveiling of the provincial examinations at Nan Yu Mansion?
How come she had returned for good reason?
“Teacher, is it convenient to talk?”
Xu Qingnian spoke, not directly stating the purpose of her visit.
“Go, go to the study.”
Zhou Ling didn’t say anything and walked directly towards the study.
Once he arrived in the study, Zhou Ling placed the oil lamp on the table and did not ask anything, but waited for Xu Qingnian to speak first.
“Teacher, the student has come here for two things.”
“One, I need the teacher to prepare some materials for me, which are written on this.”
“The second, the student wants to ask the teacher if he can know where the Bright Moon Mountain is?”
Xu Qingnian got right to the point and did not hide anything.
He handed the list of materials to Zhou Ling.
At the same time, he asked about the Bright Moon Mountain.
“Bright Moon Mountain?”
Zhou Ling’s brow furrowed as he pondered.
“I’ve never heard of such a place as Bright Moon Mountain.”
“Allow me to look into it properly.”
Zhou Ling had never heard of the Bright Moon Mountain at all, at the very least there was certainly none in Ping An County.
“I’ll trouble Teacher.”
Xu Qingnian nodded.
“It’s not really trouble.”
“Qingnian, you’re visiting unexpectedly, so I won’t ask anything more than that.”
“But you have made a name for yourself in the South Yufu this time, when did you make this Full River Red? And you were able to write a superb essay.”
“My master has really picked up a treasure.”
Zhou Ling did not ask why Xu Qingnian had come to Ping’an County, but instead brought up the matter of the Full River Red and the superb article.
“It is still the teacher who taught me well, and by chance, the work of a flash of light.”
Xu Qingnian said modestly.
“A flash of light?”
Zhou Ling was suddenly a little depressed, he knew that Xu Qingnian did not want to say it, but he did not pursue the matter in detail.
Instead, he opened his mouth and said.
“Nowadays, your name, Xu Qingnian, has spread throughout Great Wei, and some people even call you Xu Wangu, but Qingnian, you must remember that you must not be proud, and you absolutely must not be proud of yourself.”
“You Confucian into the eighth grade, will face the real difficulty of Confucianism, for the gentleman to establish his will.”
“If you have nothing to do these days, you must familiarise yourself with the meaning of the sages, so that you can clarify the meaning in your heart.
“Understand?”
Zhou Ling followed the instruction, and Xu Qingnian listened attentively.
“Teacher’s words, the student takes them to heart.”
Receiving Xu Qingnian’s response, Zhou Ling nodded in satisfaction, and then continued to ask.
“How many days do you plan to return? How about staying here with my teacher?”
“Around two or three days, staying would not be necessary, the student has other matters to attend to, so I will come back to see my teacher after two days.”
“I hope that teacher will not be blamed for the disturbance this evening.”
Xu Qingnian came and left as quickly as he could, he couldn’t delay, there were still some matters to be dealt with.
He had to investigate a few things clearly.
One, how did the Golden Crow Body Tempering Technique appear in Ping’an County.
Two, who had obtained the Golden Crow Body Tempering Technique.
Three, whether Wu Yan had come to Ping’an County for the purpose of the supernatural art, or whether he had other purposes.
These three things Xu Qingnian must figure out, if he could not, it would be difficult to solve the puzzle.
If you can’t solve the puzzle, going to meet someone in Changping County is undoubtedly an act of seeking death.
Knowing oneself and one’s enemy is the only way to win a hundred battles.
“Good, make sure to be safe.”
“Go.”
Zhou Ling nodded and told Xu Qingnian to be safe.
“En, the student bids farewell.”
Xu Qingnian did not say much and bowed towards Zhou Ling before leaving.
After Xu Qingnian left.
Not without a purpose, but he went straight to the magistrate’s house.
He wanted to know where the Golden Crow Body Tempering Technique came from.
There was only one way to do so, ask the magistrate.
But going directly to the magistrate would undoubtedly be blowing his own cover.
So Xu Qingnian planned to use the Dream Entrance Avatar to enter the magistrate’s dream.
However, it was impossible to say whether he could enter the magistrate’s dream or not, but it should be fine to try one more time.
Based on her previous experience of sneaking into Mu Nanliu’s dream, there should be a limit to the range of her dream entry technique, so perhaps the closer she was, the better.
So be it.
Two quarters of an hour later.
It was already ugly time.
It was already dark in the magistrate’s mansion, except for a few lanterns that were still lit, and all was peaceful.
Xu Qingnian climbed up to the eaves of the house. He knew that the magistrate lived in that room, so he sneaked up there and lay down directly on top of the eaves, making as little noise as possible.
And then he began to operate the Dream Entrance Avatar.
In an instant, a sense of drowsiness came over him.
When he opened his eyes, it was in a dream.
Soon, Xu Qingnian realised that it was not Li Xianling’s dream, but her wife’s dream, so Xu Qingnian woke up from her dream.
A second attempt.
Still not in the dream of the magistrate Li.
Third attempt.
Fourth attempt.
And so on until the fifth attempt.
Finally, Xu Qingnian sneaked into Magistrate Li’s dream.
It was in the courthouse.
Having the experience of entering his dreams before, Xu Qingnian was smart enough to change into a swallow and fly into the courthouse.
Inside the courthouse.
County Magistrate Li was walking around somewhat anxiously, while some of the rest of the constables and magistrates were talking about something.
“Master, don’t worry, this Xu Qingnian is now the first in the provincial examination and has written a superb essay, the court will definitely reward us in Ping’an County, and you, Master, are the first to get the credit, so you should at least be given a higher rank.”
“Yes, yes, Master, don’t be anxious, the court is on its way and will probably be here in a short time.”
“The Prefect has taken great credit, and he will definitely not forget you, perhaps you will soon be appointed as a great official in the South Yu Province.”
The sheriffs and magistrates took turns to speak, saying words of congratulations.
Xu Qingnian suddenly understood what kind of dream County Magistrate Li was having.
He was really laughing and crying.
However, when he thought about it, he was now famous in the Great Wei and had won the first place in the provincial examination.
So these days, he was probably thinking day and night about what reward he could get, and it was not strange to have such dreams.
Thinking of this.
Xu Qingnian immediately flew out.
He knew how to fit into the dream.
Outside Ping’an County, Xu Qingnian changed his appearance, but not his original form, but that of Great Confucian Chen Xin, and immediately afterwards, with a wave of his hand a faction of golden-armored iron hors*men appeared.
There were hundreds of them, with a murderous aura.
County Magistrate Li was waiting for his reward from the court.
And Xu Qingnian pretended to be a member of the imperial court to scare the magistrate and at the same time ask for the information he wanted.
This was Xu Qingnian’s idea.
With the appearance of the golden-armored iron hors*men, Xu Qingnian then changed into a general to follow him.
He headed directly towards the Peaceful County Magistrate’s office.
Dreams.
In itself, they are so strange that they do not need to be too reasonable, as long as they are not too outrageous, for a normal person, they may be forgotten once they wake up.
At the same time if there is an excessive act in the dream, the sleeper will wake himself up, just like falling from a high building, only to be awakened immediately.
Xu Qingnian could not yet maintain the dream state unchanged, so she could only blend into the dream and be as unobtrusive as possible.
Lest County Magistrate Li woke up with a start.
Soon, Xu Qingnian arrived in the middle of the magistrate’s office.
The magistrates were overjoyed.
The magistrate Li also hurriedly ran out from inside, with unconcealed joy in his eyes.
But when the magistrate Li saw the murderous golden-armored iron hors*men, he was inexplicably a little panicked.
“My humble servant Li Cheng, pay my respects to Your Excellency, I wonder if Your Excellency is?”
Li Cheng bowed towards Xu Qingnian, who had evolved Chen Xin the Great Confucian, respectfully, with a look of doubt in his eyes.
“This is Chen Xin Chen the Great Confucian, Li Cheng, as a scholar, you actually do not even recognise the great Confucian of the current dynasty?”
Xu Qingnian did not speak, but allowed the general beside him to speak.
When this was said, Magistrate Li was immediately shocked.
A great scholar?
Although he was also a scholar, though he had not entered the rank, let alone a great Confucian, even a reader who had entered the rank looked very honourable in his eyes, let alone a great Confucian.
“Student Li Cheng, pay my respects to Great Confucian Chen.”
Li Cheng said with excitement, but at the same time, he was even more in awe.
“No need to be polite.”
Xu Qingnian spoke in a calm tone.
“Magistrate Li, this time you, Ping’an County, have cultivated a great talent of the world, His Majesty is very pleased.”
“I will reward him with a thousand gold pieces and appoint him as governor, but there is one thing that His Majesty has asked me to investigate first, I wonder if Magistrate Li can cooperate?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
For an instant, Li Cheng looked dumbfounded.
The reward of a thousand gold pieces was a small matter.
The appointment of the governor’s post.
This happiness came too suddenly, didn’t it?
The governor.
What kind of official position was that?
How much better than a magistrate like him?
“Please ask Chen Ru, I will tell you everything.”
Li Cheng’s heart was beating out with excitement.
“Someone reported that Xu Qingnian was secretly practising a foreign art, His Majesty ordered me to investigate thoroughly, and the person who reported it said that the foreign art came from your Ping’an County.”
“I’m curious, how could this tiny county of Ping’an have a foreign art? I hope that County Magistrate Li will answer truthfully.”
Xu Qingnian asked.
The moment this was said.
Li Cheng was instantly enraged.
“Xu Qingnian cultivates the supernatural arts?”
“Your Excellency, you must not be deceived by the villain, this Xu Qingnian, I have seen him since he was a child, he is honest, and he has had wisdom since he was a child, he is a material for study, he definitely does not practice supernatural arts.”
“Was it Cheng Lidong who reported this? This villain, who wanted to forcibly capture someone to receive the credit, deliberately framed Xu Qingnian. If it wasn’t for my official’s hard work to protect Xu Qingnian, I’m afraid there would never have been this worldly article.”
“The first time I met Qingnian, I could see that he was a pillar of the country, a pillar of the Wei Dynasty, and if Xu Qingnian’s heart was not right, then everyone in the world was not right.”
Li Cheng said with great excitement.
When he heard these words, he was angry and hateful at the same time.
He saw that he was about to be promoted to a higher rank, but what he didn’t expect was to get into this kind of trouble.
He instantly thought that it was Cheng Lidong who was up to no good.
So he was all kinds of angry, hating Cheng Lidong and wanting to flay him alive.
Hearing these words from Li Cheng, Xu Qingnian was somewhat at a loss for what to say.
Good guy, in order to get a higher rank, this kind of words can be said?
He was really a wise man.
“Whether Xu Qingnian is good or bad, His Majesty will naturally find out, but I just want to know how Ping’an County came to have the foreign arts.”
Xu Qingnian still returned to the main topic.
“Back to your majesty, you may not believe me when I say it, this foreign art is considered to be picked up.”
Li Cheng said with some embarra*sment.
“Found?”
Xu Qingnian was a little confused, how could such a precious foreign art be found?
“Are you fooling this official?”
Xu Qingnian snorted coldly.
“I dare not, Your Excellency, calm your anger.”
“My humble servant knows that Your Excellency will definitely not believe me when I say it, but that is the truth.”
“To be more precise, it was picked up from a dead person, and the subordinate official believes that this dead person died violently from cultivating a foreign art, and as a result, it was obtained by the subordinate official.”
“At that time, when I got the magic, the first thing I did was to report to the court, and the court was about to send someone to get it, but before they could get it, it was burned clean by a fire.”
“But there is indeed something strange at this point, but the subordinate official really has no way to inquire, and I hope Your Excellency will understand.”
Speaking of this, Li Cheng was also a little curious.
For no reason at all, he picked up a copy of a foreign art.
And for no reason at all, it was burned clean by a fire.
It was impossible for you to say that there was no fishy.
But how a fishy, he could not guess, nor could he guess ah.
There was absolutely no way to start.
At this moment, Xu Qingnian was also a little puzzled.
The foreign arts were picked up.
How could it be picked up so coincidentally?
Xu Qingnian frowned.
Wait, all of a sudden, Xu Qingnian thought of something and could not help but immediately ask.
“When did you pick up this foreign art?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
“March 1st, before the hour.”
Li Cheng said without thinking.
The first of March.
“When did Wu Yan, the fugitive from South Yufu, appear in the middle of Ping’an County?”
Xu Qingnian continued to ask.
“The second day of the third month.”
Li Cheng continued to answer.
What a coincidence.
In an instant, Xu Qingnian’s heart was startled.
The whole thing had suddenly become odd all of a sudden.
And inexplicably a lot more complicated.
Ping An County, picking up a book of foreign arts for no reason.
It just so happened that Wu Yan came the very next day.
If you say it was a coincidence, Xu Qingnian really couldn’t believe it.
Why did Wu Yan come at this time?
And there was one more thing.
Why did Wu Yan know that the Golden Crow Body Tempering Technique would be hidden in the case library?
Boom.
As if it was a thunderstorm, it exploded in Xu Qingnian’s mind.
Yes.
This was something Xu Qingnian had always overlooked.
Why did Wu Yan know that the foreign arts were hidden in the case library.
He himself knew because he was in the system, and because he was bound to die at that time, and belonged to a flash of light, and also had the attitude of giving it a try.
But what about Wu Yan?
He appeared in the case vault, seemingly knowing that the supernatural arts were in the case vault.
Why?
Why?
How did he know?
The dark son!
The dark son!
The secret agent!
Wu Yan has a contact.
He was in Ping’an County.
And if he knows that the magic is hidden in the case library, he must be no ordinary person.
Who is it?
Who is Wu Yan’s secret agent?
Who was he?
In a flash, many things came to mind and were completely figured out.
Why would Wu Yan come to Ping’an County.
What one had envisaged at the beginning was that Ping’an County had the supernatural arts that Wu Yan needed.
But the point that one did not think of at that time was.
What made Wu Yan determine that there were supernatural arts in Ping’an County?
On what basis?
How could a small Ping’an County possibly harbour a supernatural art?
So it was clear that the magic had been deliberately brought out by someone, who had found a random person to be the scapegoat, and then logically appeared in the courthouse.
But a new question came up.
Why didn’t this person hand it over to Wu Yan directly?
Why not give it to Wu Yan directly?
Why?
Why?
When one question was solved, a new one immediately appeared.
Xu Qingnian’s brain was running extremely fast.
He could not think of a reason.
Obviously, he could have given it to Wu Yan directly, but he did not come forward, instead, he used the court to give the foreign arts to Wu Yan indirectly.
Hiss.
Why am I so stupid.
Suddenly, Xu Qingnian thought of the reason.
This concealed son, cannot reveal his identity.
To be more precise, this concealed son, probably did not know Wu Yan, or rather Wu Yan did not know him.
Both of them had been given arrangements from above.
Whatever the above told them to do.
They would do whatever they were told to do.
Right.
That was the only possibility.
Neither side knew who was who.
But who was this dark son?
“Apart from you, who knows that this foreign art is kept within the case library?”
Xu Qingnian continued to inquire.
“In reply to Your Excellency, the preciousness of the foreign arts is not known to anyone other than my subordinate.”
Li Cheng pondered for a while, and then gave this answer.
But this answer was obviously not what Xu Qingnian wanted.
But this answer was not questioned by Xu Qingnian.
Indeed, the foreign arts were of great importance, and he did not dare to guarantee that someone in the Yamen would not secretly make a copy.
So he didn’t dare to voice it out, and no one would say anything.
“Then who discovered this supernatural art?”
Xu Qingnian continued to ask.
“It was Zhang Ming, an errand boy in the Yamen, but he is dead, sacrificed while chasing the fugitive.”
Li Cheng replied.
Zhang Ming?
Xu Qingnian recalled this person as an ordinary errand boy.
Just like himself.
But indeed, he had died, but not by the Yin Underworld cold poison, but by being killed outright.
The clue was gone at once.
Not true.
It wasn’t that the clues were gone.
If someone had deliberately cut off the clues.
That would be a bit troublesome.
Xu Qingnian continued to interrogate him about some things, and after he had interrogated Li Cheng about everything he knew.
He gave him a reward of a thousand gold pieces and the official seal of the governor.
If Li Cheng felt that it was not enough, he could give him another jade seal.
The information was obtained and Xu Qingnian did not continue to dream.
At that moment, Xu Qingnian left with his men and horses, and when he left, Xu Qingnian left the dream quietly and without a trace.
Yin time.
It was still early in the day.
Xu Qingnian opened her eyes.
Waking up from her dream.
The night was thick.
Xu Qingnian was still careful to leave the roof above her house.
Leaving Ping’an County, she found a random place in the wilderness and began to contemplate.
The thoughts now were simple.
Firstly, Wu Yan had come to the South Yufu with a purpose, to take the Golden Crow Body Tempering Technique, find the handover person and give the item to the other party, but for some reason, he had not found this handover person, most likely because Cheng Lidong was chasing him too closely, after all, this guy was also a ruthless stubborn person.
Secondly, the handover person is from the White Cloth Sect, there is no doubt about it, the foreign arts should also be given to him by the White Cloth Sect, but who is this handover person? The first thing that is certain is that he is from the government office, when it is not entirely certain, only probable.
Thirdly, this handover person, did not know Wu Yan, to be more precise, he might have seen Wu Yan, but had not yet had the opportunity to identify himself, had not had any real contact with Wu Yan.
And what one has to do is simple.
Find this handover man.
Just find him.
Everything would be fine.
Xu Qingnian could be certain that the other party had not come into contact with Wu Yan.
Since they hadn’t contacted Wu Yan, then it was advantageous for themselves.
One could completely lie about being a disciple of the White Cloth Sect.
to deceive information.
As for whether he believed it or not?
Xu Qingnian had all the means.
But the question was.
Who was this handover person.
Xu Qingnian seriously pondered.
He closed his eyes and seriously began to contemplate.
All the scenes that had happened in Ping’an County during this period of time appeared in his mind.
Every single image, as if frozen in time, Xu Qingnian was looking for who it was.
An hour later.
Suddenly.
Xu Qingnian opened his eyes.
In his mind’s eye.
A silhouette of a person emerged.
