Return to Qingshan County

At this moment.

As the waiter finished speaking, the three of them, Wei Tu, finally felt their hearts settle as they left the Prefectural Yamen.

With the title of Martial Scholar, the three of them were now "martial registered" and no longer "civilian registered," making it difficult for Prefect He to deal with them.

"From now on, the sky is high for birds to fly, and the sea is wide for fish to leap. If we can get through this year under Prefect He, the four of us have a bright future."

As the eldest brother, Kou Liang patted Wei Tu and the other two on the shoulders to boost their morale after Fu Zhizhou had given the congratulatory money and seen off the manager and waiter of Xuan He Tower.

All feasts must come to an end.

As it neared noon, the four left Xuan He Tower, bid each other farewell, and exchanged contact information.

They would meet again someday.

After the Dao Examination, Martial Scholars who had obtained their titles could report to the local authorities and be appointed officials by the county yamen.

The four of them had no intention of staying in the Prefectural City of Qing Feng Prefecture for long.

However, since Wei Tu and Wei Fei were not only from the same prefecture but also from the same county, they agreed to travel together when they departed.

"Third Brother, is what you said at the Prefectural Yamen true?" Wei Fei clicked his tongue and asked, "You were really just a groom before?"

If Wei Tu's background was humble, then his guess during the County Examination's Martial Arts Examination was wrong. Wei Tu had not cheated in the Sparring Match; he had simply been lucky enough not to encounter a difficult opponent.

Later, Wei Tu's results in the Prefectural Examination and Dao Examination undoubtedly proved this point.

"It is indeed so."

Wei Tu nodded.

Wei Fei, hearing this, wanted to inquire further about how Wei Tu had achieved such accomplishments in martial arts cultivation from his humble background. However, seeing Wei Tu's reluctance to elaborate, he shut his mouth in disappointment.

"Third Brother is from the same county as me. I can find out more when we get back. He's not an unknown person,"

Wei Fei mused.

As they neared the Dan Residence on the outskirts of the Prefectural City, Wei Tu and Wei Fei parted ways, agreeing to leave the Prefectural City together in three days and return to Qingshan County.

"Brother Wei, people from the Imperial Academy have already come to our home to congratulate you. You placed twelfth in the Dao Examination and became a Second-class Martial Scholar."

As soon as Wei Tu met Dan Yangong, Dan Yangong excitedly told him this news.

"That's a Second-class Martial Scholar!"

Dan Yangong sighed with emotion.

Among literary scholars, there were also classifications like Martial Scholars, divided into First-class Scholars, Second-class Scholars, and Third-class Scholars, each with different treatment.

He had studied for many years and only managed to achieve the status of a Second-class Scholar, just like Wei Tu.

Now, Wei Tu, after only three years of martial arts cultivation, had achieved what he had now. This made him incredibly emotional.

"Thank you for your congratulations, Brother Yangong." Hearing Dan Yangong's words, Wei Tu also smiled, cupped his hands, and bowed.

There are four great joys in life.

A timely rain after a long drought, a wedding night, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, and success in the imperial examinations.

Achieving the title of Martial Scholar fell precisely into the last of these joys, success in the imperial examinations.

Afterward, Dan Yangong led Wei Tu into the living room, and they chatted for a while.

At this point, Dan Yangong also asked about the summons from the Prefectural Yamen the previous night.

He pondered for a moment and said, "I heard from Zhang Li that you weren't the only Martial Master summoned by the Prefectural Yamen last night. When you left the Prefectural Yamen afterward, you left with several other Martial Masters. One of them was named... Fu Zhizhou?"

Zhang Li was the servant from the Dan Residence who had waited for Wei Tu at the entrance of the Prefectural Yamen last night.

"This matter..."

After uttering these words, Wei Tu fell silent for a moment before shaking his head at Dan Yangong.

Indicating that he could not speak about it.

The matter concerning Wu Yun Tower was of great importance and a secret of the government, potentially involving Innate Realm Martial Masters.

Legendary Innate Realm Martial Masters not only had lifespans of up to two hundred years but also possessed various mysterious abilities, such as mental secret techniques...

According to Fu Zhizhou, Innate Realm Martial Masters could easily deceive ordinary people's will using mental secret techniques, forcing them to reveal what they knew.

After leaving the Prefectural Yamen, Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou's group had discussed the events at the Prefectural Yamen.

During this discussion, Fu Zhizhou did not hide anything and revealed some of what he knew about Innate Realm Martial Masters.

Wu Yun Tower might harbor an Innate Realm Martial Master.

And the government also had them!

Because of this, the four agreed that they must not reveal what they had witnessed at the Prefectural Yamen last night to outsiders, not even to their closest friends or parents and elders.

For now, the matter of the Martial Scholar undercover at Wu Yun Tower had not been exposed, but what about the future?

If it were to be exposed, the dozen or so Martial Masters who went to the Prefectural Yamen last night would surely face consequences and be personally interrogated by Innate Realm Martial Masters dispatched by the government.

Their friends and family would also suffer the same fate.

Therefore.

For everyone's safety.

Wei Tu and Fu Zhizhou, along with the other two, had to bury this matter deep within themselves and could not reveal it to anyone lightly.

"Is this matter more important than when Brother Wei… that Huang Family incident… during the County Examination?"

Seeing Wei Tu's expression, Dan Yangong was slightly surprised and quickly made some guesses about the importance of the Prefectural Yamen's affairs.

He was a clever man and immediately changed the subject, asking about the three Martial Masters who had left the Prefectural Yamen with Wei Tu.

Regarding this.

Wei Tu had no reason to hide anything and told Dan Yangong everything about becoming sworn brothers.

"This is a good thing," Dan Yangong expressed his approval. "Four people sworn to brotherhood, working together, is better than one person fighting alone."

The two chatted until evening.

Wei Tu, at the appropriate time, mentioned his intention to take his leave and return home, saying, "I will be returning home in three days. If Brother Yangong or Mistress have anything you wish to send to Master, please prepare it as soon as possible, and I will take it with me..."

"That's thoughtful of you," Dan Yangong replied, nodding.

As he spoke, his eyes twinkled with a smile, and he looked at Wei Tu with increasing satisfaction, feeling that his "suspicion" towards Wei Tu on New Year's Day was utterly baseless.

A scholar, without leaving his home, could know what was happening in the world.

Dan Yangong had seen many people who, after rising in status, became dismissive of their former benefactors. It was rare to find someone like Wei Tu, who maintained his original intentions and was neither arrogant nor impatient.

"I will inform my mother and wife now and see if they have any letters for my father..."

Dan Yangong stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to Wei Tu, and turned to leave the living room.

Three days later.

Wei Tu and Wei Fei rode fast horses together towards Qingshan County.

On the way.

Through their conversation, Wei Tu learned some details about Wei Fei's family and background.

Wei Fei was openly the young master of the Wei Family in the county town, but in reality, he was an adopted son of the Green Tiger Gang Leader in the county town.

This was the first time Wei Tu had heard about the gang forces in Qingshan County's town, and he couldn't help but ask a few more questions.

"When I was in the county town, I didn't hear about the Green Tiger Gang or any other gangs. Is it because these gangs operate in secrecy, or..."

Wei Tu asked casually.

- The Li Residence had certain restrictions on servants and maidservants leaving the premises. They could only go out after requesting leave and stating their destination. Therefore, he knew very little about the specific forces within the county town.

"The government is powerful, so how would the gangs dare to oppose it? Our Green Tiger Gang is just a group of thugs kept by the Yamen..."

"If we appeared openly in the county town, it would be an insult to Magistrate Chen."

Wei Fei tightened the reins of his horse and stopped for a moment on the official road, a self-mocking expression on his face as he spoke.

PS: Please keep reading, dear readers. We didn't get a recommendation slot this week... sob sob