Chapter 169: The Written Exam Rankings and the Mountain-Climbing Staff
In the academy within the Green Leaf World, there was no distinction between day and night, and those inside could hardly feel the passage of time, unaware that the outside world had already entered the second day.
Approaching noon, vendors seized the opportunity to hawk their wares with all their might. Using those stone pillars as a boundary, the area outside was bustling to the extreme, with the fragrance of osmanthus cakes standing out most clearly among the smells of food.
The common folk who had come to watch the Grand Court Exam gathered around the outskirts of the detached palace, discussing the latest news that occasionally emerged from within. Though they could not see the thrilling scenes of the exam itself, their spirits remained undampened, and the atmosphere was still fervent. It must be said that the storytellers also deserved some credit for this.
On the streets outside the detached palace, every few dozen zhang, there would be a tea stall. In front of each stall, an ordinary table was set up, and storytellers in long gowns or padded jackets stood before their tables, spittle flying as they gestured wildly, endlessly recounting what was happening in the academy at that very moment. No one knew what connections these storytellers—or the bosses behind them—had with someone inside the palace, but events that had just occurred at the Grand Court Exam became the stuff of tales moments later, with remarkably little deviation.
At the southwestern corner stood a relatively quiet tea house, its decor quite elegant. But even this tea house could not escape the day's excitement. They had specially hired a storyteller to sit inside and had spent a considerable sum to buy the latest news from the detached palace. The storyteller, a gaunt middle-aged man with a clear countenance, slapped his wooden block and said, "Now, the story goes that the Qu River was so clear it could reflect a person's image. The examinees each displayed their own skills—some walked across the water, others transformed into drifting clouds—leaving that youth from the National Academy at the very rear. For a moment, both banks were silent as a graveyard, everyone wondering how that youth would cross the river. But who would have thought? Suddenly, a crane's cry came from the horizon, and a white crane returned..."
At this point, the storyteller slapped his block again, startling the attentive tea drinkers, before slowly continuing: "At that time, nearly a hundred examinees on both banks of the Qu River were as dumbfounded as you all are now. You were startled by this old man, but those examinees were startled by that white crane. Why? Because in the next moment, that youth from the National Academy, without a word of explanation, lifted the front of his robe, sat down on the white crane's back, and soared into the clouds, heading toward the opposite shore. Truly, riding a crane down to the south of the river—what a wondrous sight!"
A clamor of discussion erupted in the tea house.
The storyteller smiled and said, "You need not debate. You must know that those examinees participating in the Grand Court Exam, whether from sects or academies, have surely seen immortal birds and strange beasts. So why were they so astonished? Because no one thought that such a method could be used to cross the river. And what shocked them even more was that this white crane was no ordinary crane—it was the white crane of the Eastern Imperial Guard Mansion of our Great Zhou capital!"
The discussion in the tea house grew even louder. Many residents of the capital knew that the Eastern Imperial Guard Mansion kept white cranes, though they had been seen less frequently in recent years. Some recalled the widely circulated engagement rumor and wondered why that white crane would willingly carry the youth from the National Academy across.
"If you haven't forgotten, you should know that that white crane had already followed Miss Xu far away to the Southern Holy Maiden Peak. Why would it suddenly appear in the capital, ten thousand li away? Could it be that Miss Xu truly acknowledges that youth from the National Academy as her fiancé? And what reactions would the four outstanding disciples of Li Mountain Sword Sect present there have?"
At this point, the storyteller cleared his throat twice, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of warm tea. The tea drinkers in the building understood what this meant. Though one or two tea officials grumbled angrily, saying this was yesterday's story and how could he still tell it today to cheat money, most people dutifully tossed in their tea money.
Seeing the number of copper coins in the tea tray, the storyteller was quite satisfied. He cleared his throat and began to continue the tale of the Grand Court Exam. The tea drinkers listened intently, and no one noticed that a middle-aged man in a bamboo hat, having finished the remnants of his tea, left the tea house. This man's bamboo hat was pulled down very low, making his features hard to discern. After leaving the building, he blended into the crowd on the streets and disappeared in no time.
Some time later, this middle-aged man appeared at an inn four li south of the detached palace. He took two crimson pills from his bosom and swallowed them, coughing painfully for a good while before finally suppressing the injuries within his body. He walked over to the bed and lay down, pushing his bamboo hat aside, revealing two faint protrusions hidden in his black hair.
After noon, business at all the tea houses and stalls became even better, but the stories told by the storytellers no longer seemed as captivating. This was because the results of the Grand Court Exam's written portion had been officially announced. The managers or assistants of each tea house and stall had copied them down from in front of the detached palace and began explaining them to the tea drinkers.
The last place on the written exam rankings was a candidate named Zhang Tingtao from Star-Plucking Academy. The common folk had no impression of this name, so naturally, there wasn't much discussion—just a few jeers and some attacks on Star-Plucking Academy's educational philosophy before they moved on. Xuan Yuan Po's rank was very low, Tang Thirty-Six was in seventh place, Zhuang Huanyu was sixth, and the four scholars from Huaiyuan Academy performed excellently, all making it into the top ten. Of course, what people cared about most were the two names at the very top—Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng, ranked first and second respectively, with annotations beside both names: "Excellent."
Looking at the final written exam rankings, the onlookers buzzed with discussion, clicking their tongues in amazement. They pointed at the names of Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng, praising them endlessly. Some tourists who had come from other prefectures specifically to see the Grand Court Exam were puzzled by this, thinking that even if they were at the top, why were they being praised so lavishly?
Residents of the capital explained to these people that the written exam rankings of the Grand Court Exam only listed positions; only exceptionally outstanding exam papers were specially marked as "excellent." This "exceptionally outstanding" generally meant a perfect score. Since both Gou Hanshi's and Chen Changsheng's names were annotated with "excellent," it indicated that their answers were flawless. This was an extremely rare occurrence—it had been many years since the Grand Court Exam had seen such a situation.
Only then did the tourists from other prefectures understand the reasoning, but they were still puzzled. Since both candidates' written exam results were so excellent, presumably both were entirely correct, how were they ranked? Why was Gou Hanshi placed first while Chen Changsheng only got second?
No one could explain this question. Even the well-informed residents of the capital were curious about it, as were the examiners responsible for reviewing the results inside the detached palace.
The chief examiner of the written exam looked at the priest with a slightly cold expression, who had clearly come to cause trouble. He thought to himself, even if the Pontifical Council was unhappy that Chen Changsheng hadn't taken first place, did they have to be so obvious about it?
But under the leadership of Bishop Merisa, the Pontifical Council had been exceptionally assertive over the past year. Even though the chief examiner's rank was higher than the other's, he still had to explain cautiously.
"It's a matter of language standardization."
He looked at the several priests from the Pontifical Council responsible for reviewing the written exam results and said with a serious expression, "There's no difference in other aspects, but Gou Hanshi's language use is very rigorous and standardized, especially regarding specialized terms from the classics. He didn't even make mistakes in the taboo stroke omissions. Although Chen Changsheng's answers had no errors, his wording was too archaic. According to the standards set after the Great Compilation, points should naturally be deducted."
The written exam results had already been sent out of the detached palace and announced to the world, so there was naturally no changing them. Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng, who had both received "excellent" evaluations, became the objects of everyone's admiration. When, a little later, the candidates for the final round of combat were confirmed, people were even more shocked and discussed endlessly, because those two were still Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng. This meant that this year's top spot in the Grand Court Exam would inevitably be decided between these two.
One was the second verse of the world-renowned Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, the young sage of Li Mountain Sword Sect, Gou Hanshi, who had thoroughly studied the Daoist canon. The other was the first new student of the National Academy in many years, the key cultivation target of the old faction of the State Religion, and Xu Yourong's fiancé, Chen Changsheng. In terms of reputation, the two were evenly matched, and reaching this stage proved their respective knowledge and strength. However, there were still not many who favored Chen Changsheng.
The four major gambling houses had released the latest odds. Gou Hanshi was at one and one-third, while Chen Changsheng was at seven—a vast difference that could even be described as a sure win for Gou Hanshi.
Hearing the commotion coming from downstairs, Tianhai Shengxue's face showed a thoughtful expression. Although he had bet a lot of silver on Chen Changsheng earlier, he hadn't expected that youth from the National Academy to actually make it this far. But even he couldn't bring himself to believe that Chen Changsheng could continue to win.
The reason no one favored Chen Changsheng in the end was that people, including Tianhai Shengxue, knew that a threshold lay between Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng.
That threshold was very high.
That threshold was related to life and death, and even higher than life and death.
In the Zhaowen Hall, Bishop Merisa slowly opened his eyes, looking at the written exam rankings displayed on the light mirror. He remained silent for a long time, then smiled. With the support of Priest Xin, he struggled to stand upright and left the hall, heading toward the Qingxian Hall. He had originally only wanted to use the Grand Court Exam to help Chen Changsheng mature quickly, but he never expected that Chen Changsheng might actually pluck this plump and juicy fruit. If there was no hope, so be it. But since hope was in sight, he naturally wouldn't allow anyone to destroy it—no one, not anyone.
Deep within the detached palace, the divine crown on the table bore the weight of the sky falling from above the hall, radiating a dazzling brilliance. The divine staff on the platform reflected the shadow of the water pool, as if it were in the depths of the sea. Compared to these two divine artifacts, the green leaf in the clay pot seemed somewhat shabby. But the Pope did not look at the divine crown, nor at the divine staff. Instead, he gazed quietly at that green leaf, silent and lost in thought.
He stood with his hands behind his back, like an elderly gardener.
Not far away was that clear water pool. The wooden ladle floated gently on the water, like a small boat, ready to scoop water at any time. That water could be used to water the green leaf, or it could be used to bring down a rain.
In the place farthest from the capital, there was a wild mountain range. The forests stretched endlessly, white mist swirled, and the mountain paths were slippery and difficult to traverse, eerily quiet. If not for the occasional thud-thud sounds echoing along the mountain trails, it might have seemed even more sinister and terrifying.
Those thud-thud sounds were the noise of a wooden staff striking the wet stones of the mountain path.
Yu Ren supported himself with a walking stick, struggling to make his way up the mountain path. His and Chen Changsheng's master, the mysterious Daoist Ji, was walking ahead with his hands behind his back, as if he had no concern about whether Yu Ren could keep up.
The thud-thud sounds continued for a long time. The mist in the quiet forest grew thicker and thicker, and within it, many faint, rustling noises could be heard, as if many creatures had been drawn to this place by the sound of the staff.