Veterans of a Hundred Battles

With a swish, the gleaming blade stopped precisely at the man's throat, reflecting his face deathly pale...

"From the Zhang Family?"

"Yes! My master's father is the Minister of War! If you dare kill me, your whole family will be exterminated—chickens and dogs alike!"

"So you really are from that old thief Zhang's family. Then... very good!"

Slash! The blade passed, and a head flew!

With a sweep of Lin Su's hand, his long saber cut across the sky. All four horses toppled at once, their heads severed.

Four horses, four men—all slain!

Lin Su helped the old man up. "Sir, you were dragged into this because of me. Come with me. I'll treat your injuries!"

It took more than an hour to return from the riverbank to the Lin Family. The main reason was that Lin Su had forcibly activated a War Poem, greatly draining his energy and leaving his strength far below normal. With an injured man in tow, their progress was slowed even further.

When they reached the gate, astonishment appeared on the old man's pale face. "This is the former Marquis of Dingnan's Estate."

"There is no longer a Marquis of Dingnan. There is only the Lin Residence. Sir, I am Lin Su, the Lin Family's third son."

The old man was jolted. He turned over and knelt. "Deng Zhongtang pays respects to the Young Master!"

"Sir..."

The old man slowly raised his head, tears and snot streaming down his face. "This old man is Deng Zhongtang. Back then, I was also one of General Lin's subordinates. I followed the general into battle at Chishui City, Dongzhou. But this old man was skilled only in naval warfare, not land combat, so when the general guarded the Southern Territory, I did not follow him."

Lin Su's heart stirred. "Chishui City, Dongzhou... one hundred thousand naval soldiers died on the battlefield. Four hundred and three survived, and every one of them was crippled. Sir..."

The old man pulled his right leg free from its tightly wound bandages. It had only a stump left; his foot was nowhere to be seen.

Lin Su stared at that severed leg for a long while, his blood boiling in his chest. "From today onward, this is your home! Uncle Deng, let's... go home!"

The estate gates opened wide. The old steward came over carrying a lantern, and when he saw Lin Su, he was greatly startled. "Third Young Master, you..."

Lin Su directly reached out and covered his mouth. "Don't wake my mother. Take this old man to the guest room, find a doctor to treat his wounds, and look after him properly."

"Yes!"

Lin Su turned and entered his room. The instant he stepped inside, a shadow flickered by the door. Lin Jialiang appeared behind him. When Lin Su turned around, he met his brother's exceedingly grave expression. "Third Brother..."

A bitter smile appeared on Lin Su's face. "Second Brother, let me offer you a warning learned through painful experience: when taking examinations in the future, you really can't hand in your papers early. Ghosts will come out..."

"Handed in early? You handed in early? How early?" Storm clouds churned across Lin Jialiang's face. When he had suddenly seen Lin Su tonight, his heart had sunk straight to the bottom. At this hour, Lin Su should have still been struggling through the examination at Qiankun Academy. How could he have suddenly returned home?

Now he understood. His third brother had handed in his paper early.

"Three hours!"

"Three hours early? You... you..." Lin Jialiang was beside himself with anger. Then his brows furrowed. "That's not right. Even if you handed it in three hours early, you should only have left the examination hall tomorrow morning..."

"I never said I handed it in three hours early. I only spent three hours on it..."

Lin Jialiang nearly jumped.

"Don't worry. I'm guaranteed to pass. No problem!"

"You... what are you using to guarantee that? You... I'll go find Mother right now... Ah, forget it. Let her sleep peacefully for one night! If I wake her over this now, she won't be able to sleep at all. Third Brother, I know you're only testing the waters by taking the examination this year, but this attitude of yours is simply too... Forget it. You've had a hard journey. I'll have Xiao Tao bring you some water. Wash up and rest... Ah..."

With a long sigh, he left the room.

About five minutes later, Xiao Tao entered. She helped him remove his clothes and prepared bathwater. Lin Su sat in the tub and let out a satisfied breath. Suddenly, he crossed both hands over his lower body and looked above his head, then around the room...

He found nothing unusual. Was Dark Night not watching him?

Still, it wasn't safe enough!

"Dark Night! How about we agree on a bottom line?"

There was no reply. Nothing stirred in the room, nor in the distant pavilion.

"You can watch me if you want, but there are three times when you absolutely cannot. First, when I'm bathing. Second, when I'm relieving myself. Third, when I'm sleeping..."

In the shadows of the distant pavilion, Dark Night bit her lips tightly. A bottom line? Bathing, relieving himself? Who was watching him bathe or relieve himself? Disgusting. Boring!

Wait...

Sleeping? He knew she had been watching him while he slept? Last night, you got up in the middle of the night and wrote a disgraceful little essay. You bastard, did you do that deliberately to humiliate me?

Dark Night was furious.

Lin Su comfortably stretched out his legs. "Also, don't forget our agreement. If I pass, you'll prove something to me—prove that you're a woman..."

He was still hung up on that tune. The fury in Dark Night's belly finally exploded completely. Her eyes snapped open, and a flash of light gleamed...

With a soft slash, Lin Su's bathtub suddenly split in two. Bathwater flooded the floor. Lin Su sprang up violently, lightning-fast, and used his clothes to cover his lower body, shouting in exasperation, "Do you have any bottom line at all...?"

Dark Night smiled silently.

She just loved seeing Lin Su furious and flustered beyond all measure...

Xiao Tao rushed in from outside. The moment she entered, she was shocked. The Third Young Master was naked, holding a garment in his hand, with his butt hanging out...

"Ah..." Xiao Tao immediately covered her face with both hands.

"Go out first!" Lin Su curled himself up and hid behind the screen.

Xiao Tao turned around, her face red. Looking at the water flowing past her feet, she was somewhat startled. "Young Master, what happened?"

"I probably got up too early today and got fucked by a ghost!" Lin Su stamped his foot resentfully. "Forget it. Don't prepare another bath for me. I'm washed already..."

The night passed without further incident, but the storm still came the next morning.

Lin Jialiang had not slept all night. When Madam Lin awoke, he gave her his report.

The moment Madam Lin heard it, she jumped straight up. Her first reaction was to find the family rod. That brat had turned the heavens upside down, hadn't he? He had gained a little skill and thought he could soar into the sky, daring to drop the ball on something as important as the imperial examination. She might be able to endure it, but her ancestors for eight generations could not! How could she let him off without teaching him a lesson...

Lin Jialiang grabbed her at once and spent a long while trying to persuade her.

Forget it, Mother. Third Brother was only going to get a feel for the atmosphere. Did you really expect him to thoroughly study the classics and pass smoothly in just a month or two? Besides, he had spent all that time working himself to the bone over the Wine Factory. He single-handedly turned around the estate's livelihood—how could he have had the leisure to study?

Madam Lin's chest heaved sharply, but her expression gradually calmed. At last, she released a long sigh. "Second Son, if your third brother simply were not cut from that cloth, Mother would not hold such hopes. But he is a genius! Sitting atop a mountain of gold, yet refusing to value himself—how can Mother not be angry? Call him here. Mother will set rules for him now. For the next three years, he must study diligently according to Mother's arrangements! If he cannot pass the Provincial Examination three years from now, Mother... Mother will no longer acknowledge him as her son!"

"Mother, Third Brother encountered danger on the river when he came home yesterday. He nearly didn't make it back. He has only just fallen asleep..."

What? How did that happen? Madam Lin was immediately led astray. Was he hurt? Did you call a doctor?... He's really fine? I'll go take a look...

Madam Lin entered Lin Su's room. Lin Su was sleeping deeply on his bed. She quietly tucked his blanket around him, then lightly waved her hand for everyone to leave.

The moment she left, Lin Su opened one eye.

When had he ever been asleep?

He simply did not want to discuss the examination any further with his mother and brother. The results would be announced that afternoon anyway, so why waste more breath?

At Qiankun Academy, the Golden Bell rang five times. The Provincial Examination officially ended.

A crowd of students walked out of the examination hall, wearing all manner of expressions.

Some were high-spirited, while others were dejected and soul-lost...

Zhang Haoyue belonged to the former. With a flick of his hand, his folding fan opened, and wind seemed to rise beneath his feet...

"Brother Zhang, how did it go?"

"Not too well. The second poem was truly rather difficult. Fortunately, I have studied the affairs of the Four Kingdoms quite extensively..."

"As the son of the current Minister of War, Brother Zhang truly enjoys blessings bestowed by heaven when answering questions like these..."

"Heh heh. In the future, I can also discuss military and state affairs more often with Brother Li. It may be quite helpful in the metropolitan examination hall..."

"Many thanks for Brother Zhang's support!" The student surnamed Li beamed with delight.

Writing policy essays was, in truth, participating in government and discussing state affairs.

The imperial examinations tested literary talent, but even more so one's ability to discuss governance. Literary talent might be bestowed by heaven, but knowledge of military and political affairs depended on one's social circle.

People like Zhang Haoyue were born into families of high officials. Those they associated with were all descendants of political figures. Influenced by what they saw and heard every day, they became familiar with military and state affairs even if they had not intended to.

But where could the children of ordinary families go to learn about major military and state affairs? When it came to such matters, they were completely in the dark.

Thus, in the field of policy essays, children from ordinary families could not compare to the children of Aristocratic Clans. This was also the key reason why the children of Aristocratic Clans almost monopolized the imperial examinations.

If children from ordinary families wanted to greatly improve their policy essays, there was only one way: squeeze into their circle.

As the group walked on, Zhao Ji was ahead of them. Even more students surrounded Zhao Ji. Why? Because he too was a child of an Aristocratic Clan. His father, Zhao Xun, held the office of Grand Master of the Left, half a rank above even the Minister of War.

Furthermore, he was recognized as the rising Literary Way Genius among Quzhou's younger generation, the hottest candidate for top scorer in this Haining Provincial Examination.

Yet Zhao Ji's expression was somewhat strange.

That expression gave Zhang Haoyue an inexplicable thrill. Could it be that he had done poorly?

Heaven and earth bear witness: the world of scholars was complicated too. Though Zhao Ji and Zhang Haoyue had a close friendship and called each other brothers, if the other had performed badly in the examination, they would absolutely feel a spark of excitement...

"Brother Zhao, did it go well?"

"What does well or poorly matter? Everything was as expected..." Zhao Ji said. "That kid handed in his paper early."

Handed in early?

Lin Su?

How early had he handed it in?

Less than three hours after the examination began, he handed in his paper and left the hall...

Hahahaha! All the students burst into laughter.

Not only the twenty-three people who had made a wager with Lin Su—even the other students whose own examinations had gone to hell inexplicably felt excited. So I'm not the only piece of trash. There's someone even more worthless than me. At least I managed to finish the whole examination. Unlike a certain someone, who opened the questions, saw them, thought, Oh, I can't do these, and directly gave up and left...

Come on, let's go back. We'll head to the Lin Residence first. Don't let that kid slip away. Starting a wager and then running off before it is settled is exactly the sort of shameless thing that kid might do.