Borrowing a Tiger's Might

Faced with the young servant's shoving, Zhang Chen did not get angry. He merely took a silver ingot from his sleeve. "Is there truly no way?"

The young servant's pushing stopped, and his gaze fell upon the silver.

Zhang Chen stuffed the silver into the young servant's hand. Clutching it, the servant said with a bitter smile, "There really is no way! There is only one way to enroll: a letter of recommendation. If you cannot find someone to write one, there is simply no way for you to join the academy."

Zhang Chen scratched his head. Seeing this, he did not press the matter further and instead turned to head down the mountain.

"Perhaps there is a way!" the servant called out as he watched Zhang Chen's retreating figure descend the mountain.

Zhang Chen stopped and turned to look at the servant. The servant said, "Dean Zhou's son suffered a mysterious assault. Some days ago, Shangjia Medical Clinic delivered a ginseng root. That ginseng had miraculous effects and was unlike ordinary ginseng, so the dean mobilized all sorts of forces to search for the person who sold it. If you can find that person first, perhaps you can ask Dean Zhou to admit you into the academy."

Zhang Chen's heart stirred at those words. The ginseng he had sold back then was no ordinary thing. It had been nurtured by Innate Qi and possessed all manner of unimaginable effects.

"Do you know any information about the person who sold that ginseng?" Zhang Chen asked.

The servant pointed to a notice posted nearby. "Please look at that reward notice. It records the seller's distinguishing features."

Zhang Chen walked over to the notice. One glance was enough to make him grin. Were those not his own features written there?

With a