The next morning, Xia Fan woke up the moment the sun shone into the window.
Without the bumps of the carriage and the disturbing mosquitoes, he slept particularly soundly this time, and the fatigue caused by the previous travel all the way was gone.
Even the fox demon that appeared last night seemed like a dream—
etc!
Xia Fan jumped off the bed, jumped on the old wooden table, and looked out the window.
Then he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.
I saw that the plate on the windowsill was empty.
It seemed that it was not his hallucination.
Since the braised beef has been taken away, does that mean the other party has accepted the agreement
He suddenly looked forward to tonight.
After putting on his outer robe and washing himself briefly by the well in the backyard, Xia Fan came to the lobby and ordered a steamed steamed bun for two coins.
This can't be blamed on him not being economical. Since he can sense and induce qi, his appetite has increased a lot. The body has not grown much, but the food eaten has doubled several times. As long as you don't eat a full meal, your body's functions and qi-entraining efficiency will be significantly reduced.
This is the same for other alchemists.
Xia Fan attributed it to the fact that energy conservation is always expressed in strange ways in some places.
"Good morning, Brother Xia!"
Someone suddenly shouted from behind.
Even without looking back, he could tell who the other party was.
Sure enough, Wei Wushuang's familiar face soon appeared in front of him, "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
"It doesn't matter." Xia Fan blinked. It seemed that this fellow villager didn't seem to take his behavior of stealing beef to heart.
Along with him, there was a large plate of breakfast. In addition to steamed buns, there were also rice porridge, tofu puffs and pancakes.
Xia Fan seemed to know where the other party's fat figure came from - considering the consumption of the alchemist, it is really not that easy to become fat.
"Brother Xia, you are right. I thought about it all night and have decided." Wei Wushuang did not start eating immediately, but said seriously.
"What has been decided?"
"The official position in the Privy Council... is not suitable for me." He paused, "I'm not saying that it's not good to eliminate harm for the people and protect the safety of the country. It's just that when I think about facing the terrible evil monsters, I can't even eat. …”
"Huh???" Xia Fan glanced at the sumptuous breakfast on the table... So what is this
"I came here just because my father forced me to do so. I didn't have the appropriate awareness. Even if I passed the exam, the outcome would probably not be much better. So I planned to stay in a teahouse or hotel during the exam period until the end of the exam. ." Speaking later, Wei Wushuang's tone became lighter and lighter, "You don't have to fight with others, and you don't have to dig ghost fire graves late at night. As long as you persist until the last day, you can give an explanation to your father when you go back. Of course, Without Brother Xia’s wake-up call, I wouldn’t have made up my mind so quickly. Even if I’m considered a coward by Brother Xia, I still want to say thank you in person—”
"Coward? I didn't say that." Xia Fan interrupted with a smile, "On the contrary, you are not cowardly anymore."
"Brother Xia, there is no need to comfort me..."
"It's not a comfort. In my opinion, the courage required to be honest with oneself is no less than facing evil spirits. Exiting has nothing to do with courage. It's just that it is better to be a rich man than to be a low-level alchemist in a remote place. There’s a better future.”
Wei Wushuang stared at him for a while and then chuckled, "To be honest, there are not many people who think like you. Once hired by the Privy Council, an alchemist is an official no matter how young he is, and a businessman is still a businessman. But I feel that, What you said is not unreasonable."
As if letting go of his worries, he picked up the pancake and took a big bite, "Brother Xia, if you haven't passed the exam, come to me at Dawanliang Store. I told you that I would treat you well."
Xia Fan rolled his eyes, "Shouldn't you wish me smooth sailing at this time?"
"I think so, but this assessment is far from as simple as it seems." Wei Wushuang said while eating, "Yesterday someone already asked about the situation in Qingshan Town - there is indeed a ghost fire place here, but the scale is very small. Poor. According to common sense, if you want hundreds of candidates to collect a whole bottle of spiritual fire, you need at least one mass grave. However, I heard people say that there are only dozens of graves scattered in that place."
"This is too little..." Xia Fan said in surprise.
"Indeed, even if spiritual fire is generated in every tomb, it will only be enough for a hundred or so. If this continues, conflicts will inevitably happen." The fellow countryman sighed, "Perhaps this is the examiner's original intention, not to fight with others. , don’t expect to get the qualification to pass the test. It’s just too unfair to those disciples who are not from aristocratic families... "
"In addition, seven days of food and accommodation expenses are also a constraint. Although I think brother has already realized this, you only have half of other people's funds at the beginning. If you fail, it is not a limitation of your ability. Don't force yourself. .”
"Indeed." Xia Fan said calmly, "I originally planned to use three days to solve the problem, but now it seems that three days is not safe. If the information you heard is correct, this fight will probably last until the last moment of the exam. .”
"It's a pity that I can't help you further."
Wei Wushuang didn't mean to hide or avoid it. The relationship between the two was still shallow after all. He was grateful to the other party. He took the risk to live in the wild and saved the money for Xia Fan to complete the exam. He couldn't do such a thing that was detrimental to himself and others. Do.
"It doesn't matter, your willingness to share information with me is enough reward." And the braised beef, Xia Fanxin said. "If it were yesterday, I really wouldn't have any good ideas, but today it may not be hopeless."
"Do you have a way to raise money?" the other party asked in surprise.
"Probably." Xia Fan nodded, "By the way, did you have any nightmares last night?"
"Nightmare?" Wei Wushuang took a bite of the tofu, "I have no memory... I basically don't dream."
Xia Fan's expression froze, and he suddenly felt unsure. "Well, let me ask you another question. If you had a nightmare, dreaming of a blood-red moon and monsters all over the ground, would you be afraid?"
Wei Wushuang thought for a while, "Of course! That's a scene only seen in purgatory! If I were in that scene, I would probably faint from fear."
Isn't it...such an exaggeration? Xia Fan was stunned, "But that was just a dream..."
"Dreams are very important omens." He said seriously. "Although I don't dream much, I also know that dreams are an extension of consciousness. This is especially true for Qi-inducing people. You must not take the instructions of dreams lightly."
That's it... Xia Fan suddenly realized.
This is a world where consciousness can have an effect on matter, which means that dreams are no longer ordinary deep brain activities - simply measuring dreams based on their degree of horror is tantamount to using past common sense to think about new problems, which is nothing more than seeking a sword in a desperate situation.
"That's good." He said with a relieved smile, "I just wanted to give it a try before, but now that you've said it, I feel like I'm basically sure of it."
"Really?" Wei Wushuang put down the pancake in his hand, "Can you show me something? Oh, I don't want to take advantage, I'm just very curious -"
Xia Fan pointed behind him, "Follow me. It's still early."
…
Qingshan Town, in front of the suspension bridge connecting the inside and outside of the mountain.
Xia Fan waited for a candidate who was carrying a bag and walking in a hurry.
"Brother, please stay." He stepped forward and said with cupped hands, "I am Xia Fan, a candidate from Fenghua County."
The other party looked at him suspiciously and slowly stopped, "Chu, Youzhou."
"Nice to meet you!" Xia Fan looked back at the suspension bridge behind him and said with pretense of regret, "After passing this bridge, this military examination will be considered a failure."
Probably because he mentioned the pain point, the other person's expression became obviously unhappy, "What does this have to do with you?"
"I don't want to ridicule you, nor do I want to ask why you left." Xia Fan said in a gentle tone, "The reason why I am waiting here is just to form a relationship with you."
"Speak directly if you have anything to say."
"I hope you can lend me your unused money to help me."
"Are you crazy?" the man said in disbelief, "Why should I help you?"
"If I can pass the military examination, I will definitely pay back ten times the amount I borrowed." Xia Fan ignored the irony in his words and acted as if he didn't hear it. "Even if I fail, I will pay back the part I borrowed as an IOU." As proof, what do you think?"
After that, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket - this palm-sized paper was originally used to make talismans, but now he had written it into an IOU.
The other party looked at him for a moment, then laughed out loud, "You think you are a genius of the Luo family. If you can pass - ha, what can you do to guarantee this?"
"The pass rate for the military examination is not low."
"It's not your turn then, get out of the way!"
Xia Fan turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation.
The candidate surnamed Chu glared at him and walked onto the suspension bridge without looking back, "Since we happened to meet you, let me warn you that something is not right about this place. If you don't have two brushes, it's best to leave as soon as possible to avoid losing your life! "
"Uh... Brother Xia, is this what your method is?" Seeing him walking away, Wei Wushuang emerged from behind the big tree where he was hiding and asked with a strange look on his face.
"That's right." Xia Fan said without changing his expression.
"Borrowing money in Qingshan Town... I'm afraid it's a bit difficult."
“This is not ‘borrowing money’. He squinted his eyes and looked into the distance, "You continue to hide, someone else is coming!" "
Wei Wushuang had no choice but to shrink back.
The second and third candidates were still like this.
But something different happened with the fourth.
He took Xia Fan's IOU and handed five taels of silver into the latter's hands.
Then came the seventh, then the tenth.
Wei Wushuang, who was secretly observing all this behind the tree, was dumbfounded. He didn't quite understand why someone would lend money to Xia Fan based on just a casual relationship. What's even more confusing is that it was only the second day of the exam, and Xia Fan could wait at the suspension bridge entrance for so many people who had given up taking the exam!
How did he know that these people were leaving Qingshan Town?
When I was thirty-six years old, the situation changed again.
"Sorry, you're late." The man spread his hands, "The Fei family bought my money, medicine bag, and chips. Now I have nothing on me except two sets of clothes."
"Buy? What do they use?"
"Gold." The other party said bluntly, "They said that as long as I give the certificate to the waiting servant outside the town, I can immediately exchange it for the same amount of gold leaves."
"Really? Then I wish you a smooth return."
After saying goodbye to this person, Xia Fan shouted towards Wei Wushuang's position, "Come out, we can go back to town."
"Aren't you going to wait?" the latter asked, sticking out his head.
"Well, there's no point in waiting any longer. The candidates who will cross the bridge next will probably be as penniless as that person." Xia Fan raised his head and looked at the sky, "Have you reacted in less than an hour... As expected. He is a disciple of aristocratic family."
"I don't understand." Wei Wushuang ran over and said impatiently.
He shook the slightly heavy money bag in his hand happily. "you can ask."
"You said this is not a loan, so what is it?"
"This..." Xia Fan smiled slightly, "This is called venture capital."