Inspector

Inspector

That night, inside a large tent outside Qingshan Town.

With a swish, the tent flap was thrown open, and two figures—one tall, one short—walked in.

Proctor Shen Chun, standing guard beside the table, looked over by candlelight. Both wore jet-black, high-collared robes and half silver masks—the standard attire of Bureau of Military Affairs officials. Three red lines were embroidered on the tall man's shoulder, the mark of a regional Sentinel within the Bureau, equivalent to a third-rank official in the Six Ministries.

Clearly, he was the Inspector Shen Chun had been awaiting for so long: Lord Ba Xingtian.

But the other person... Shen Chun secretly shifted his gaze to the shorter figure. He had never heard that two Inspectors would be overseeing this examination. Moreover, the black robe bore only a single white line, a rank equivalent to a novice Fang family practitioner. By rights, such a person was not qualified to enter the Scholar Examination grounds at all.

But since even his direct superior had said nothing, Shen Chun decided it was best to pretend he had seen nothing.

"Whew, this mask is suffocating," the tall man said. The first thing he did upon entering the tent was yank off his silver mask and toss it aside. "Is there any wine?"

"Lord Ba," Shen Chun said helplessly with cupped hands, "there is only tea here."

"Tch." The other man spat, then sat down at the table. His burly frame made the chair creak as though it were about to fall apart. "Then bring a pot of tea. Cold!"

The shorter person neither removed the mask nor spoke, merely taking a seat beside Ba Xingtian.

That meant the two were, at least in status, equals.

Shen Chun could not help feeling an added measure of respect for the latter. Though the person had said nothing, he still poured a cup of cold tea for them.

Though the Bureau of Military Affairs chiefly handled strange and sinister incidents and differed somewhat from the proper officials of the Six Ministries, an official was still an official. One needed basic discernment. Otherwise, one might offend someone without realizing it, get assigned to die in the line of duty, and not even know where to seek justice.

Ba Xingtian lifted the entire pot to his mouth and drained it dry.

Afterward, he let out a long breath, casually wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and finally got to business. "How is the Scholar Examination going overall?"

"Reporting to you, my lord," Shen Chun immediately replied, "Qingshan Town was assigned four hundred and twenty-seven examinees. Four hundred and one have actually arrived. Everything has proceeded smoothly thus far, and no abnormalities have occurred."

"Even Qingshan Town has four hundred people?" Ba Xingtian looked pleased. "Looks like the Bureau of Military Affairs will be seeing quite a few new faces this autumn."

"With so many people, won't the passing standard be raised?"

"It would already be difficult enough not to lower it." He shook his head. "Last year's locust plague is still having an effect, while Qi State and Gao State are stirring restlessly. People are needed everywhere. The higher-ups have put us under considerable pressure too."

This already touched upon affairs of state, so Shen Chun could not say more and merely nodded. The greater the disaster, the more frequently Evil Spirits appeared. Sometimes the harm they caused even exceeded that of armies clashing in war, and Fang family practitioners were needed to confront all of it. But if people could not even pass the examination, how could anyone expect them to accomplish anything when faced with such grave threats? Training a Fang family practitioner was not cheap, either. He did not believe lowering the standards would truly solve the problem.

Ba Xingtian did not dwell on the matter. He pointed at an open roster on the table. "Those crossed-out names... are they people who have already been eliminated?"

"Yes!" Shen Chun replied. "There are nine so far."

"Nine? Eliminated on the first day?" The shorter person finally spoke. The voice was unexpectedly light, and by the sound of it, the speaker could not have been very old.

At such an age, to stand as Lord Ba's equal? Shen Chun suddenly grew curious about the person's identity.

"The reasons are all written in the notes. They were too eager to seek clues and spent all their silver in a single afternoon. Only at dinner did they realize the value of money. A Fang family practitioner cannot last until the seventh day on an empty stomach, so they chose to withdraw from the examination."

"Spineless fools," Ba Xingtian judged. "If they had none themselves, they could have robbed someone else's!"

"If they had your strength, my lord, naturally they could have." Shen Chun smiled. "This subordinate thinks that choosing to withdraw at least showed some self-awareness. Those who think they can tough it out will only make their failure uglier."

The shorter person picked up the roster and flipped through it. "So all those with less silver are facing elimination?"

"Reporting to you, my lord, they are more likely to be eliminated than the others." Shen Chun answered this question more seriously than Ba Xingtian's. "When Fang family practitioners carry out missions, they often encounter unforeseen circumstances. Only those who can reasonably and fully make use of the resources at hand have a chance to turn danger into safety."

"Is that so? But this person started with only half a pouch of silver. Isn't that somewhat unfair?"

Following the finger, Shen Chun saw the name Xia Fan written in that column. Compared with the neat row of ten taels belonging to the other examinees, his less than five taels stood out sharply.

"We can only ensure that the rules are fair in broad terms. Besides, whether one prepared sufficiently reflects how seriously one takes the matter." He paused. "Furthermore, this person has spent no less than anyone else. That proves he has not noticed that he is in an extremely disadvantageous position. It would be normal for him to be eliminated."

The shorter person nodded, seeming to accept his explanation.

Shen Chun, however, found it somewhat regrettable. He still remembered the examinee named Xia Fan. After all, examinees unable to scrape together ten taels of silver were exceedingly rare these days; it was impossible not to notice him. When the crowd had snickered under their breaths, he had not been affected in the slightest. He had handled himself with remarkable maturity, and his temperament was worthy of praise.

Yet in just one night, he had spent nearly all the silver in his possession. He had even chosen the most expensive dinner, as if he had no idea his wealth was only half that of others, without the slightest hint of vigilance.

It could only be said that Shen Chun had misjudged him.

"What is there to discuss about such incompetents?" Ba Xingtian waved a large hand. "Let's talk about the top three candidates this time instead. Who do you think they will be?"

The shorter person also flipped the roster to the very front. Shen Chun noticed that the person lingered noticeably longer on each page, as if trying to memorize the names of the examinees.

"Barring unforeseen circumstances, Fei Nian of the Fei Clan, Fang Xiandao of the Fang family, and Luo Qingqing of the Luo Family will be the top three at the Qingshan Town examination site," Shen Chun reported word by word.

"One from each family?" Ba Xingtian smiled with amusement. "You are a qualified Proctor after all."

"You flatter me, my lord." Shen Chun cupped his hands and lowered his head. After many years of proctoring examinations, he had long understood that the Scholar Examination was not merely selecting talent—it was also distributing benefits. Besides, those three truly possessed outstanding talent and had begun cultivating qi earlier than the other examinees. Their performances could not possibly be poor. Whether publicly or privately, it would be difficult to find fault with the arrangement. "Of course, the final results will still be decided by you, my lord, after the examination ends."

"Is there not a single one from outside the great families?" the shorter person suddenly asked. "Not necessarily among the top three. Even among the top ten, or top twenty?"

"This..." Shen Chun hesitated. He seemed to hear a trace of dissatisfaction in the person's tone. "The roster's order does not represent the actual results. The final ranking still depends on their performance during the examination..."

"Heh, it is normal if there are none." Ba Xingtian laughed and cut him off. "Think about it. If two are equally promising seedlings, one is born poor and can only begin reading and recognizing characters at ten, while the other recognizes characters at three and senses qi at five—which has greater prospects? If the former were stronger than the latter, that would be giving the word 'genius' far too much credit."

The shorter person said nothing more, as if lost in thought.

The Inspector cleared his throat and rose to his feet.

There must be an important matter to instruct him on. Shen Chun hurriedly stood as well and clasped his hands before him.

"I do not care about the examination rankings. Handle them as you see fit." With his back to Shen Chun, Ba Xingtian said, "More important than the Scholar Examination is eliminating hidden dangers. You should understand why the Bureau of Military Affairs sent us to supervise this place."

Shen Chun's heart skipped a beat. He licked his lips before cautiously asking, "Because of the Listener?"

"Hmph. So you know of it as well." Ba Xingtian's tone suddenly darkened. "Ten years ago, merely knowing that word would have been a grave crime for a Proctor."

"This subordinate has overstepped..."

"It is nothing. There is no secret that will never leak—unless everyone who knows it is dead." Ba Xingtian waved a hand, returning to his previous careless tone. "They want people to keep their mouths shut while staying on guard at all times. Where in the world is there such a good deal? If you discover anything unusual, good or bad, report it to me immediately."

"Yes, my lord!" Shen Chun lowered his head in assent. "But... this subordinate has only heard others mention the term Listener. I know nothing of their characteristics or how they should be identified. Could you give me some more detailed clues, my lord?"

"There are none. Because a Listener is not one person, but a kind of person."

Ba Xingtian pinched up a Talisman and casually flicked it. A faint breeze swept past, and the insect chirping around them immediately vanished without a trace.

Shen Chun realized it was a Sound-Isolation Talisman.

"In truth, I do not know much about Listeners either. Only the four directors of the Bureau of Military Affairs know the details."

"Even you... cannot?"

"I only know that they can hear certain... inconceivable things. For instance, secrets that should be known to no one in this world, or arts never seen before." Ba Xingtian spoke slowly. "But more often, what they hear is incomprehensible gibberish. That is where the name Listener comes from."

"Gibberish?"

"The sort of words that mean nothing much when viewed separately, yet become meaningless when put together. So they usually do not live long. Either they are murdered, or they fall into madness. But before they go mad, they can cause astonishing destruction. If an uncontrolled Listener appears in Da Qi..."

"What would happen?"

Ba Xingtian looked deeply at him. "The nation could fall."

Shen Chun shuddered involuntarily.

He was beginning to regret asking about it.

"Though anyone capable of sensing qi could become a Listener, the likelihood is greatest between the ages of ten and twenty. After all, that is when most Fang family practitioners can steadily master the absorption and use of qi. That is why the Bureau of Military Affairs begins watching from the Scholar Examination." Ba Xingtian fixed his gaze on him. "Do you understand now?"

"Yes! This subordinate will spare no effort!" Shen Chun bowed.

"There is no need to worry so much." The Inspector patted Shen Chun's shoulder with a hand as broad as a fan. "I am merely following convention. As far as I know, there has not been a suspected Listener in the past ten years, which is why restrictions on the information have been loosened. Watch them if you must, but you still need to focus on properly administering the Scholar Examination."

After hearing this, it would be difficult to ignore the matter again. Shen Chun smiled bitterly to himself. His only consolation was that he had already passed thirty and was unlikely to have a day when he went mad. But that shorter person...

He could not help glancing at the person—judging by the voice, they were likely under twenty, clearly within the high-risk range. Yet from beginning to end, there had not been the slightest reaction, as though the matter of Listeners did not concern them at all. Such composure could no longer be described merely as calm and unruffled.

Who exactly were they?

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Chun ultimately pressed that question deep into his heart.