Chen Yan stayed for ten days before returning to Fucheng. Gu Yu spent the next days preparing for the exam.
Gas extraction is fundamental, which determines one's upper limit, and skill cultivation is the key, which is a guarantee of safety. In addition, he also used his family's treasury to refine a dagger from offerings.
Nothing too surprising, just sharper and tougher than ordinary fine steel swords.
In the small world, everyone is a magician. Martial arts and martial arts are small ways, and few monks specialize in them. That's why the mansion is very strange. Seeing him gesticulating in the yard every day, and pulling Cao Huazhang into battles from time to time, it feels like a waste of time.
waste time? Hehe, it's funny!
A few months passed in a blink of an eye, and the autumn exam has arrived.
Luming County belongs to Xichuan Prefecture, Xichuan Prefecture is next to Lutai Prefecture, and the Taoist temples of the two prefectures are all affiliated to Honzhuzhi. The temples of Zhenyang Kingdom hold an assessment every spring, and those who fail to pass are expelled, and recruited again in the fall of that year.
Therefore, the autumn exam is not held every year, and the quota must be vacated. And Luming is Wang County, according to regulations, there should be one temple master, one majesty, one teacher, twelve disciples, a total of fifteen people.
Weiyi is responsible for supervision, the eighth-rank Taoist official; teaching is responsible for enlightenment, and the ninth-rank Taoist is also the lowest level.
In the early morning of this day, the Chen residence got busy early.
Accompanied by Chen Jing himself, he took a carriage to Luming Temple ten miles south of the city. He wasn't very confident, but seeing his youngest son's eyes slightly closed, with the presence of the old god, he looked confident.
After a journey, the carriage arrived at the temple. The scale is not small, and there is no so-called main hall and side hall, because the Tao here is not a religion. It's just a few yards nestled together, with classrooms, residences, dining halls, conference halls, alchemy rooms, equipment rooms, nearby spiritual fields, animal gardens, and more like a college than an arena.
"Master, Master, here we are!"
After the coachman greeted them, Chen Jing and Gu Yu got out of the carriage, and saw a lot of carriages parked in front of them, and some people in shabby clothes looked eagerly.
"There are two places, one from the poor family and one from the noble family. The content of the test is different, so you don't need to worry about them. The biggest opponent is still Xu Jie."
Chen Jing took his son's hand, repeated the instructions he had said so many times, and did not let go until he reached the gate.
"The father went back to rest temporarily, and the child went in."
Gu Yu bowed to Chen Jing and strode forward.
Not long after, a little Taoist came out and shouted: "The time has come, the idlers should retreat and close the door!"
"Boom!"
The two thick wooden doors closed slowly, covering everyone's eyes.
But Gu Yu came in and was led to the atrium. Looking around, there were more than 50 people who took the exam, ranging from white-haired old men to young children with long hair, and their styles were very inconsistent.
Because in principle there is no age limit, as long as there are local squires, scholars, Lizheng, monks, etc. as guarantees, you can participate. Of course, whether people accept it or not is another matter.
The crowd stood in two distinct groups, and Xu Jie was in it. When he saw Gu Yu, he didn't dare to make noise and provoke him, but he squinted his eyes, revealing a strong sense of sarcasm.
Tsk, like a dog!
Gu Yu smacked his mouth and ignored it.
After a while, a disciple came out, called twenty people's names, and went into a big room on the right. He heard from Chen Jing that Taoist temples are willing to give opportunities to ordinary people like these illiterate and poor families.
Generally, it is based on qualifications, roots, and clean family backgrounds. Those who are outstanding can become candidates to compete for the rare spots.
Not long after they entered, some disciples came out to roll their names, and the remaining thirty or so people were taken to another big room. There are many tables and cases inside, and the cases are covered with scrolls of pen, ink and paper.
A thin female Taoist priest stood in front, with warm eyebrows and friendly attitude. The disciple introduced: "This is the teaching and learning of the original view, Taoist Master Xun Yu."
Everyone hurriedly saluted.
"This assessment is divided into two sessions. The first one is the literary test, which lasts for a long time. After the test, I will review it in class. You can find your own seats."
She explained briefly, without any special procedures, and everyone sat down.
Following the burning of the incense sticks, Xun Yu closed his eyes and sat upright, showing his demeanor even more in the curling smoke, like a living Bodhisattva. But everyone below trembled in their hearts, and felt a soft breath sweeping across the audience, there was no secret at all.
"Concentration period?"
Gu Yu glanced at her for a few times, then ignored her, and looked down at the paper. The questions were not large, but very complicated. Some asked about the history of Zhenyang, some asked about the essentials of practice, and some asked a question that had been debated for a century, so that they could write their own opinions.
However, there is one thing, which is relatively basic, similar to the boy's test in the imperial examination.
He had heard from his father earlier that the essay test was specially prepared for people like himself, and he had studied it thoroughly over the years. After all, the Chen family is a county magistrate's family and has its own reserves.
Gu Yu had rehearsed many times before, and wrote after a little thought.
Most of the candidates around were also like this, their speed was fast, and then they stopped one after another, as if they had encountered a problem.
"Heh, it's interesting, to actually ask about Qi Yuan's attitude towards courtship..."
Gu Yu looked at the last question and couldn't help laughing.
The test papers were issued by a senior scholar in Benzhuzhi, who is a senior teacher and is also responsible for the education of the jurisdiction. Zhenyang Kingdom is far away from wars and has been safe for hundreds of years. The people and monks are like domestic pets, and have lost their sense of crisis.
There are many people who support Qiyuan Kingdom's marriage proposal, but few who oppose it. As a result, this Gao Shi wrote it clearly in the test paper, probably one of the few people who is willing to think.
He picked up his pen and thought for a while before writing a few sentences.
After checking it again, the incense was almost burnt out, many people got up to hand in the papers, and Gu Yu also handed in. Everyone didn't leave, they were still sitting where they were and waiting.
I saw Taoist Xunyu holding the test papers, flipping through them one by one, nodding and frowning from time to time. Suddenly, her eyes stopped, staring at a paper without moving.
There was a short passage written on it:
"A certain person is a vicious rat, who destroys his house and seeks a good cat. He hates the fishy ointment and sleeps with a blanket. The cat is full and safe, so he will not eat rats, and even play games with rats, and the rats will benefit from violence."
This is a very popular story in Zhenyang Kingdom, which is similar to the idioms and allusions of Xia Kingdom.
It is said that a man hated mice so much that he spent all his wealth to get a good cat. He feeds it with delicious fish, and sleeps it with a soft blanket. Since the cat is full and comfortable, it does not want to catch mice, and even plays with them, which makes the mice more rampant.
Xun Yu looked at it for a long time before turning his gaze upwards, and his name was written on the front of the scroll: Chen Yu.
She glanced at a boy sitting upright at the table before turning over the test paper.
It didn't take long for her to finish reviewing, and said: "Zhang Juan, Ou Shun, Gu Feng...for the sake of my servant, you all go home."
He ordered five in one breath, and the faces of the five people turned pale immediately, but they didn't dare to argue, they reluctantly gave a salute, and staggered out the door.
…
After the literary examination, everyone returned to the atrium.
Most of the other group of people had already left, and there were still five people present, ranging from four or five years old to twelve or thirteen, all of them were timid and fearful.
"snort!"
Xu Jie looked down on them very much and deliberately pushed away a girl who was covered in patches. The girl staggered and almost fell, the circles of her eyes turned red immediately, but she held back her tears.
"One out of five is really lucky!"
"That is, why are you treating us so harshly?"
"The higher ups need to balance power and promote poor families..."
"Shh, don't talk too much!"
A group of people muttered and complained, and the five shrank in the corner, not daring to speak back.
Gu Yu watched from the sidelines, and he was a son of aristocratic family. He had been reading since he was a child, and he took off from the beginning. The other party is poor and poor, and they are incomparable in all aspects, but the imperial court and Chongxuanyuan are willing to give them a chance.
He thought it was interesting, and turned his thoughts a lot, and suddenly raised his eyes, Taoist Xun Yu stood on the stone steps in front of him at some point.
"Two people in a group, the ones whose names are called come in with me."
"Shan Tao, Kong Li!"
"Liu Yu, Wen Huan!"
A group of people went in, and came out after a while, either dejected or anxious, but no one was happy. Soon at the end, Xun Yu took a look and said, "Xu Jie, Chen Yu!"
"exist!"
The two looked at each other, and Xu Jie raised his eyebrows very subtly, as if he was determined to win.
Gu Yu felt weird, followed Xun Yu into the inner hall, and saw two Taoists sitting inside. One is very old, with gray hair, and it is obvious that his life is coming to an end. Another middle-aged man looked very serious with a straight face.
"This is Laozi Wu, the master of this temple, and Guo Kejing, the majesty of this temple."
"Meet the two seniors!"
Gu Yu and Xu Jie bowed down together, and Xun Yu also sat on the third chair, but the three of them jointly reviewed it.
"Get up!"
Old man Wu closed his eyes and said nothing, as if he had fallen asleep. Guo Kejing waved his hands, and said in a rigid and indifferent tone, "Xu Jie, Xu Mansion, Tianshui Lane, Luming County?"
"exist!"
Xu Jie hurriedly stepped forward.
"At the age of eight, I learned the low-grade method of gas collection. It has been four years now, and I have also learned fifteen ways of talisman..."
Guo Kejing inquired one by one according to the materials at the time of registration, and Xu Jie should be all of them.
Afterwards, he turned to Mr. Wu, "My Lord, please!"
"..."
At this moment, Lao Tzu Wu moved, but he didn't open his eyes. Instead, the flesh in the center of his forehead split open, revealing a golden divine eye. This eyeball stared at Xu Jie, and released a golden glow across his body, which disappeared in an instant.
Immediately, the divine eyes sank into the flesh, and the forehead became smooth again.
"It is indeed engraved with fifteen runes, the inner energy is surging, the accumulation is quite deep, and the aptitude is..."
Mr. Wu paused for a moment before giving his evaluation: "Above the middle class!"
Hiss!
Gu Yu was greatly surprised, what kind of technique is this, could it be a supernatural power? You can even see a few runes engraved!
"Having such cultivation at such a young age is really a talent to be made."
Guo Kejing nodded, as if appreciating it very much, and then turned to Gu Yu.
"Chen Yu, at the age of seven, he learned the low-grade Qi gathering method, and in the past two years, he has practiced the seven ways of talisman..."
"Exactly."
Same as before, after the question and answer, Mr. Wu opened his eyes again, and the golden light swept away. Gu Yu only felt his soul tremble, and he couldn't help being more and more surprised when he was seen clearly inside and out.
But Lao Tzu Wu was slightly puzzled, and said: "The true energy is thin, but it is relatively pure, and there are indeed seven runes."
"How is your qualification?" Guo Kejing asked.
"Both middle and upper class."
After Wu Laozi finished speaking, he stopped talking.
Guo Kejing, on the contrary, seemed to be in charge, and commented: "There are 50 candidates in this autumn examination, and the examination has been completed. Xu Jie is diligent, studious, devoted to Taoism, and has excellent qualifications. , in terms of qualifications, they should also be selected."
He looked at Gu Yu again, and said, "Chen Yu, you have a bad temper, lazy and wandering, not enough to enter my door, you go home!"