However, Xia Fan did not leave the teahouse directly, but stopped at the corner of the stairs. He waited until the waiter brought the new braised beef, then stopped him and put the beef into his pocket.
Facing the guest officer's strange request, the waiter didn't have much doubt. After all, he had sat at the same table as Wei Wushuang before, and the latter was still sitting in his seat.
After "packing" the beef, Xia Fan walked out of the teahouse in a hurry - in this way, he even saved lunch.
Anyway, the fellow villager said that you are welcome and you can order whatever you want, and he also believed that Wei Wushuang would not mind if this plate of braised beef disappeared out of thin air.
To be honest, his opinion of this young boy is not bad, he has a good temperament, and he can face himself face to face despite being ashamed and annoyed. This is already rare, not to mention that his family is quite wealthy. If he wins over him, he will be able to live in Fenghua County Life must be much easier. It's a pity that what he told was the truth. Since he was forced to take the military examination by his family, there was no need to take that risk.
Master has repeatedly told him that dealing with evil spirits is a serious matter. If you are not determined and fully prepared, you must not get involved easily.
Judging from the fact that Master Jianyi usually only deals with little ghosts and ghosts and avoids the Privy Council alchemists whenever he encounters them, he most likely did not lie to himself.
In the afternoon, the proctor finally called everyone to the center of the town and informed them of the content of the assessment.
The theme is unexpectedly simple, as long as you pick up a bottle of the source of spiritual fire within a limited time.
The so-called spiritual fire is commonly known as "will-o'-the-wisp" among the people. After its source is dried and ground, it can be used as medicinal materials for several alchemy techniques. It is relatively easy to prepare.
Of course Xia Fan would not stand up and say that this phenomenon should be called phosphorus fire. What is burned is phosphine, which is produced from decaying human bones - because those powders can indeed cause some magical phenomena and are repeatable. The latter is the most important tenet in scientific experiments.
His common sense didn't work here, or in other words, it was operating in another form that he didn't know.
Precisely because spiritual fire is not rare and is very easy to collect, just bring a shovel and dig down, so as soon as the main examination content came out, there was a burst of excitement in the crowd.
No wonder the candidates were surprised, even ordinary people could easily do this as long as they were brave enough.
The invigilator ignored everyone's comments and opened the red silk beside him, revealing a notice board and a long table covered underneath.
There are a lot of porcelain bottles on the table, which are obviously the containers that Shi Kao will use.
The ink words on the notice board are further explanations of the assessment rules, but overall they are very concise, with only three.
"1. The examination period is seven days, and you are not allowed to leave Qingshan Town during this period."
"2. It is prohibited to interfere with the daily life of villagers."
"3. Do not harm candidates in the same period."
"Candidates who violate any of the above rules will be directly judged as unqualified!" the invigilator said loudly, "Then, the tenth period of Daqi Kingdom's military examination begins. I wish you all good luck in the examination!" After saying that, he turned around and left, completely unfazed. Let me explain it to you.
"Wait, seven days?" Everyone was in an uproar.
"Why does it take so long to do something that can be done in one day?"
“Wouldn’t that mean everyone can pass?”
"Whatever, just take the bottle away first."
This sentence seemed to remind everyone, and the scene suddenly became extremely chaotic. Those in the front could not get out after getting the bottle, and those behind could not squeeze in. Even during the pushing process, several porcelain bottles slipped from the edge of the table and broke into pieces. The candidates who had not yet received it were afraid that they would be disqualified because they did not have a bottle, so they pushed harder. Some people accidentally fell down, and it was about to turn into a stampede.
"Stop it all!"
Suddenly, a crisp voice echoed throughout the audience.
I saw a woman leaping onto the long table, pulling out the wooden sword from her waist, and making a gesture about to strike, "Whoever makes one more move, I will smash all these bottles!"
**Suddenly stagnated.
No one even questioned it—because they did discover that there was no rule against destroying containers. Once she really did that, it was another matter whether there would be public outrage, but it was already a certainty that they would not be able to complete the assessment.
"Junior sister, what are you doing?"
However, a young man wearing the same clothes as the woman stood up and said anxiously.
"Of course we are maintaining order." The woman showed a nice smile, and then pointed her sword towards the crowd, "That person over there, please help the person who fell down! And you, please help me. people!"
"Why should I listen to you?" someone asked angrily.
"Huh?" The girl lowered the sword in her hand a little.
The pressure instantly shifted to the protesters. Under the scorching gazes of everyone, the candidates who were called obediently extended their hands to the fallen ones.
"Very good! Everyone else, come forward one by one and come to get the bottles from me! Don't worry, there are several boxes of bottles behind this table, and the quantity is definitely enough. Brothers and sisters, don't stand there, come over and help me."
With a few simple words, a possible stampede was eliminated without a trace.
Xia Fan, who was squeezed into the crowd and couldn't move, was finally able to catch his breath. As he followed the flow of people, he looked curiously at the woman - she looked short, fifteen or sixteen years old at most, and her face was still... She hasn't shed her childishness, but she already has the foundation of beauty. In particular, a pair of big eyes are particularly smart, like a handful of clear springs.
And the brocade robe she wore was equally eye-catching. The light blue fabric is of great value at first glance. There are also a pair of feathers embroidered on each shoulder, and the lines are clearly visible, as if they are real. Looking at the candidates wearing the same clothes as her, she knew that these people were the "disciples of the aristocratic family" that Wei Wushuang called them.
"Are they... from the Luo family in Youzhou?"
"Suzaku Twin Feathers, you can't go wrong."
Hearing people around him talking in low voices, Xia Fan couldn't help but interject, "Hey, brother, is the Luo family very famous?"
"Have you never heard of the Luo family?" The man looked at him suspiciously. "They are a big family in the scholar examination. It is nothing to them to have qualified candidates every time. The top three will basically have a place for the Luo family."
"By the way, I heard before that the Luo family has many talented disciples of this generation, and one of the girls is even more talented. Could it be that she is the one you are talking about?" Another person answered.
"No way... This move is too reckless, it doesn't look like something done by a genius. Didn't you see that her senior brother is also extremely dissatisfied with this move?"
"Indeed, if she was not from the Luo family, this military examination would have ended here."
"Ha, she has offended so many people. Even if she is a disciple of a noble family, she may not be safe in the next few days."
Xia Fan disagreed with this statement. The reason why the other party was able to control the situation instantly had nothing to do with her identity. The key is that she has grasped the vitality of the candidates, and can use the power of four or two to shock everyone into motionlessness with just a few words.
Even an ordinary person can do this as long as he notices the key.
With the people maintaining order, the flow in the venue became faster. After a while, Xia Fan, who was at the back, received his own porcelain bottle.
At this time, the girl had already got off the table and was called aside by her senior brother.
Judging from the expressions of the two people, there seemed to be some dispute, but the man's face was not angry, but worried.
When passing them far away, Xia Fan heard a few conversations, and it was obvious that the two of them did not lower their voices deliberately.
"...You should know that we are not the only ones taking the exam..."
"The Fei family and the Fang family are watching us, as well as the people in the palace..."
"Brother, I know."
"Then why are you still doing this?"
"We will all enter the Privy Council Palace... and the biggest responsibility of the Privy Council Palace is to maintain the order of this world. There is nothing wrong with adapting in advance. Besides-" When she said this, she turned her head, as if she knew Xia Fan could listen. After hearing these words, she smiled at him and said, "We were in the center of the whirlpool at that time. If we just stood by and watched, we might also be affected by the chaos."
It seems that the little girl’s five senses are quite sharp.
Xia Fan added another comment after her insightful comment.
Since you didn't lower your volume, I certainly wasn't eavesdropping. After giving him a confident smile, he turned his attention back to the exam content.
The porcelain bottle in your hand is pure white, with the seal of the Privy Council on the bottom. It should be specially prepared for the Shikao. It is almost the size of a mineral water bottle. To fill it up, you will obviously need a lot of bone powder - no, the spirit fire. source. Considering that the number of people participating in this military examination is around four hundred, the total amount of spiritual fire sources is a bit staggering. It would be difficult to handle without a large cemetery.
The problem is that Qingshan Town is only so big. Even if all the residents are buried, they probably won’t be able to collect the number needed for the scholar’s examination.
Of course, since it is an exam, it is normal for some to be eliminated. It seems that the first thing to be tested in the assessment should be the candidate's information gathering ability.
Xia Fan also noticed that while most of the candidates were still questioning the content of the exam, a small group of people had quietly left the central area. I'm afraid these people have realized that whoever can find the spiritual fire land in Qingshan Town first will have the upper hand - and asking the locals or asking them to lead the way is a good choice.
But after thinking for a moment, he finally chose to go to the hotel first.
If the examination was only for one day, then he must have followed this small group of people, but the invigilator had given him seven days. In other words, they will most likely have to take care of the next food and lodging by themselves, and the small hotel is not big enough for everyone, so it would be good if it could accommodate a hundred people. It can be seen that guest rooms must be a scarce resource, and most candidates will probably have to live in those shabby rooms outside.
As a homeless person with rich experience in wandering, Xia Fan knows the difference between a comfortable house and a place that can only provide shelter from wind and rain. If mosquito harassment only makes people unintentional to sleep, then various poisonous insects and snakes are real threats. Moreover, they were now halfway up a mountain and surrounded by forests. The temperature and humidity between day and night could completely change due to a heavy rain. If you catch the cold, it will be difficult to return alive, let alone persist in completing the bachelor's degree exam.
So he decided to rent a house to live in first.