Chapter 20: Nanlinghe - Imperial Examination
When Xia Wei woke up, it was already daybreak. The ghost messenger in Ye Jie's arms shook, and someone in the underworld was calling him.
After bidding farewell to Xia Wei, Ye Jie returned to the underworld. Following the call in the ghost messenger's order, he soon arrived at the basement door of Aunt Meng's Winery.
At the entrance was a massive stone door. Ye Jie pressed the Ghost Messenger's Order against it, and a click sounded. The door slowly opened, revealing a staircase leading down. Walking down the steps, he found a basement filled with discarded debris piled against the wall, and a row of heavy wooden boxes in the corner. The light was dim, and the air was cold and damp. Spots of mold appeared on the old masonry walls, and cobwebs hung overhead.
The stone door closed behind Ye Jie with a muffled sound, and the surroundings became even more secretive and quiet, giving people an invisible sense of security. No matter what happened here, it would not be transmitted to the outside world. Even the Earth Shrinking Stone could not be used here.
In the basement, Nan Linghe was busy at a wooden table with her back to Ye Jie. When Ye Jie walked over, he found that she was concentrating on grinding ink.
Seeing Ye Jie coming, Nan Linghe smiled and quickly put down the work in his hands. He stood in front of him, unconsciously twisting a strand of hair around his fingers and leaning forward slightly:
"Brother Jie, you're finally here. You have no idea how messy this basement was when I first came here. It took me ages to clean it up and finally clear out this space. I'm thinking... what furniture should I buy? Hmm... but everything is so expensive. A stone platform that speeds up the flow of spiritual energy costs 50,000 Yin De. Wow... when will I be able to afford it?"
At the end of her words, Nan Linghe frowned, her eyes lost their brightness and were filled with sadness. She looked at the empty basement without any furniture nearby and couldn't help pursing her lips.
"Is this our contact base?" Ye Jie looked around. The basement was more spacious than he thought. It could accommodate many large instruments used to practice martial arts and improve cultivation, such as the bronze tripod that Xia Wei had lifted up not long ago to exercise her strength, or the stone platform that Nan Linghe mentioned to speed up the flow of spiritual power. However, those were too expensive and he could not afford them at all.
Nan Linghe tilted his head: "What contact base? Isn't this our home?"
"Home..."
Ye Jie was silent. For someone who had lived a life of wandering for sixty years, with the world as his home, this was a very new term. Finally, he changed the subject and said, "Now that you have received three recommendation orders, you only need to pass the imperial examination today to become an official ghost messenger. Are you ready?"
Hearing Ye Jie mention this, Nan Linghe felt worried and frowned: "But I still don't understand anything. What if I can't pass?"
Ye Jie comforted her, "Don't worry. The fact that you've received three different ghost messenger recommendation orders already demonstrates your ability. The imperial examination is just a formality. You can pass as long as you can read... Wait, you can't..."
Thinking of his illiterate disciple Xia Wei, Ye Jie's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Nan Linghe is also illiterate?
Nan Linghe patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "So just knowing how to read is enough to pass the exam. That's great! I was still worried about what to do if I didn't pass..."
Hearing this, Ye Jie nodded with satisfaction. He reached into his pocket, pulled out two dice, and handed them to Nan Linghe: "Generally speaking, the imperial examination will have seven questions. As long as you can answer three correctly, you will pass. The imperial examination tests your thinking ability, but don't worry, I have prepared magic weapons for you. If you don't know the answer to a question, just ask the dice. I believe in your luck!"
Nan Linghe took the two dice as if they were treasures and examined them carefully. He found that each dice had six sides, one side was blank, and the other five sides had one to five dots respectively.
After putting away the dice, Nan Linghe suddenly felt confident. He took his pen and paper and went to the Ghost Messenger Imperial Examination Hall under the guidance of Ye Jie.
The imperial examination would take the time of an incense stick. After Ye Jie sent Nan Linghe away, he took advantage of this time to return to the basement of the wine country and quickly pack up.
At the same time, Nan Linghe was sitting in the examination room, feeling uneasy. Despite Ye Jie's repeated warnings, she was now the only one left to face it, and she was still a little at a loss.
"Hey, you!"
Just when Nan Linghe was feeling uneasy, a shout came from the seat next to her, causing her to turn her head involuntarily: "Are you calling me?"
"Yes, that's you. You seem to know a bit of knowledge. Bring the test paper over here later. Do you understand? If you dare not take it, I will make you pay!"
Following the sound, she saw a boy in a blue bellyband tapping his fingers on the table impatiently, staring at her fiercely.
"Ah!" Nan Linghe exclaimed, holding his head with his hands and lying on the table, ignoring how the man shouted.
"Are you deaf?" The boy was furious and was about to come over to teach them a lesson, but he saw in front of them a monster with a horse's head and a human body, with a burly body covered with thick dark red hair. He had an intimidating aura and walked towards them. Every step he took was like a heavy drumbeat, making the wandering souls tremble with fear.
"It's the invigilator, Horse-faced, you're lucky. After the test, I'll let you see how powerful I am!" the boy said harshly.
"Woo..." Nan Linghe cried, having no idea he would suffer such a blow the moment he arrived at the examination room. It wasn't until the test papers were handed out that he regained his composure. He took out his pen and ink, and mentally encouraged himself, "I better finish the test quickly... If I don't pass the imperial examination, Brother Jie will be disappointed..."
Looking at the questions on the test paper, Nan Linghe was shocked. She didn't know the answer to the first question.
【Question 1: The five elements refer to __, __, __, __, and __.】
"Five Elements... What are the Five Elements? Brother Jie seemed to have told me about them, but I don't remember..."
Nan Linghe scratched his hair, his eyes filled with confusion. His thoughts were in a mess, and no matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn't find the answer. He could only sigh and look at the next question.
【Question 2: Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are collectively called ___.】
"Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth? Sounds so familiar. What are they?"
Nan Linghe felt a surge of powerlessness and self-blame in her heart. As time passed, the more she thought, the blanker her mind became. In the end, she could only lower her dull gaze further downwards.
【Question 3: __, __, water, fire, and __ are collectively known as the Five Elements.】
"Five Elements? Why the Five Elements again? What exactly are the Five Elements... Wait..."
Suddenly, Nan Linghe was stunned. He looked at this question, then looked at the previous questions, and a bold idea emerged in his mind.
"Could it be... that gold, wood, water, fire, and earth are the five elements? If that's the case, then everything makes sense!"
She was so excited that she quickly filled in the blanks of the first few questions. Seeing the boy next to her peeking, she used her left hand to cover the answers.
"you!"
Seeing this, the boy was so angry that his nose was almost crooked. He couldn't help but make a fist gesture towards Nan Linghe. Nan Linghe ignored him and continued to complete the rest of the test questions.
"Just like Brother Jie said, as long as I can read, I can pass. If I can pass by getting three out of seven correct, I'd have passed by now... But what if I get it wrong? What if gold, wood, water, fire, and earth aren't the five elements? I'd disappoint Brother Jie. I'd better finish the next few questions quickly and try to get as many correct answers as possible..."
【Question 4: There is a man-eating monster in Dongsheng Shenzhou that needs to eat a living person every day. It currently has seven heads, eight bodies, twelve arms, and twenty-two legs. How many can it feed for at least ___ days?】
Nan Linghe scratched his head. The difficulty of the fourth question suddenly increased.
"A monster eats a person a day. The head, body, arms, and legs... wouldn't that just make up a human? At least enough to feed it, so we have to choose the smallest number... No, a human has at least two arms and two legs, so we have to halve the last two numbers... Seven, eight, six, eleven. So the answer is six!"
Nan Linghe showed a look of enlightenment. Just as he was about to write it down, Ye Jie's confident words echoed in his ears again: "If you don't know the answer to a question, ask the dice."
Thinking of this, she hurriedly took out two dice from her arms and threw them onto the table. They made a crisp sound. Even the invigilator glanced at her, but did not say anything.
"Huh? Why are there no dots on either dice?"
Nan Linghe scratched his head, not understanding what was going on. He looked at the question again and wrote down "six" for the fourth question.
Question 5: There are zombies in Xiniu Hezhou. It takes one stick of incense for three zombies to devour three people, and it takes ____ time for nine zombies to devour nine people.
"Hmm... one stick of incense means three people, three sticks of incense means nine people."
Nan Linghe had the answer in his mind and threw the dice again, but saw that one dice had no dot and the other dice had only one dot.
"It seems that the magic weapon Brother Jie gave me is not effective..." Nan Linghe pouted and wrote on the fifth question: three incense sticks.
Question 6: There was a one-legged mandrill in Uttarakuru. He went to the market to buy shoes. A pair of shoes cost eight copper coins. How many copper coins did he need to pay?
"A pair of shoes costs eight copper coins. If you have only one foot, you can buy one, which would definitely cost four copper coins."
Nan Linghe showed a determined expression and rolled the dice, only to see that both dice were four. He then nodded with satisfaction. It turned out to be true!
Question 7: During the reign of the Palace Master of Guang Wang, he ended the chaotic world, appeased the people, developed water conservancy projects, established the imperial examination system, and soared like a dragon in the sky, annihilating the barbarians. The rivers and seas of ____ continent were clear and peaceful, bringing peace to the world.
"Why isn't it an arithmetic problem? Who is the Lord of Guangwang Palace? I don't think Brother Jie ever told me..."
Nan Linghe blinked, with a hint of doubt in his big eyes. Seeing that the time for answering questions was about to end, he hurriedly glanced at the stem of the sixth question and wrote down: Beijulu.
When it was time to hand in the paper, Nan Linghe waited anxiously on the side. The test paper would be marked on the spot by the invigilator, and the results would be out soon.
"Zhao Xiao, you answered four questions correctly. You passed."
"Wu Xing, one correct answer, failed."
"Xie Xinyu, you answered seven questions correctly, passing perfectly. I will reward you with 1,000 Yin De."
“…”
As names were called one by one, the wandering souls nearby had different expressions, some were happy, some were sad.
Nan Linghe was secretly uneasy about the invigilator's comments. At this moment, she suddenly felt a cold gaze as sharp as a needle coming from the side. The gaze was full of resentment, making her feel uncomfortable all over.
Nan Linghe shrank her neck and looked back cautiously, only to see the boy in the blue bellyband staring at her with gritted teeth. His ferocious eyes seemed to wish he could eat her alive.
"What's wrong..." Nan Linghe couldn't help but ask.
"It's all your fault. I only answered one question correctly! I waited for ten years to get three recommendation orders, and I didn't become a ghost catcher this time. It's all your fault! You will definitely pay for this!" the boy growled.
"Nan Linghe, you answered three questions correctly, and you passed."
Just when Nan Linghe was at a loss, the words of the invigilator Ma Mian made her happy. She finally passed the imperial examination.
After getting the test paper back, Nan Linghe didn't have time to check it carefully. Seeing that the boy was still staring at him, he didn't dare to stay any longer. He quickly packed up his things and left the examination room.
On the way, she kept looking back, only to see the gloomy boy following closely behind her, clearly not intending to let her go easily. She ran quickly, but no matter how fast she ran, she couldn't shake off the terrifying figure behind her.
"Brother Jie, where are you..."
Nan Linghe took out the ghost messenger order given to her by Ye Jie and tried to contact Ye Jie on the other end, but this time, there was no response from the other end.
Seeing that she could not contact Ye Jie, Nan Linghe became anxious. There was a fork in the road ahead. On the left was a wide avenue with no obstructions on the road. On the right was a deserted and quiet alley with many hiding places. She hurriedly went into the alley, ready to find an opportunity to avoid the boy's pursuit.
After hiding in the alley, Nan Linghe pressed herself against the wall, slowing her breathing and not daring to breathe. She listened until she heard the sound of footsteps gradually fade away. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and slowly walked out.
"Where do you want to go?"
As a burst of cold words came, Nan Linghe's heart was in her throat, but she saw a boy blocking her way in front of the alley. She screamed and hurriedly ran to the back of the alley. However, she didn't run far before the road in front was gone, and there was a dead end in front of her.
"How could this happen..." Nan Linghe was stunned and turned around, only to see the boy gradually approaching.
"If you dare to offend me, you are dead! As long as you have not become an official ghost messenger, you will not be protected by the rules of the underworld. Even if I kill you, it will only deduct a little bit of your good karma." There was a hint of cruelty in the boy's words. He stretched out his hand, and the black soul-breaking arrow condensed in his palm, pointing straight in the direction of Nan Linghe.
"No... Woo..." Nan Linghe cried out, covering his eyes with his hands, unable to bear to look at the impending attack.
The pain of being torn apart did not come for a long time. Nan Linghe mustered up the courage and took a secret look, only to see a pitch-black rope tightly binding the boy's body. Under the restraint of the rope, the soul-breaking arrow that the boy had just condensed dissipated, and his body was paralyzed and unable to move.
At the other end of the rope, a tall and thin figure in a black robe also appeared in Nan Linghe's sight. Seeing that person, Nan Linghe finally smiled through his tears: "Brother Jie, you are finally here..."
Ye Jie smiled at her apologetically: "Sorry, I'm late. You should go back to the wine country and rest first. I have something to talk to him about."
