A Twist at Every Turn!
Just as he was about to leave, he ran into a crow; after dealing with the crow, he ran into Yan Xiangma. When he finally made it to the examination compound, the two gatekeepers stopped him again and refused to let him in--
Li Mu Yang felt that his life was terribly bitter. What deity had he offended in his previous life? Every step of the way had been full of bumps and snags, nearly driving him to death.
Li Mu Yang was just about to beg the two gatekeepers to let him in when a stern shout rang out behind him: "How can you talk like that?"
Li Mu Yang turned around and saw Zhao Mingzhu, dressed in plain clothes with a solemn expression, striding quickly toward him.
Zhao Mingzhu stormed over to Li Mu Yang, fixed him with a piercing gaze, and said, "Li Mu Yang, do you have even the slightest sense of time? What day is it today? Today is the Literary Examination—the day when a thousand armies cross the Single-Plank Bridge, the day that marks a watershed in your future life—and yet you were late on the first day of the exam. What on earth were you thinking? Have you ever thought about taking responsibility for your own life?"
"Teacher Zhao--" Li Mu Yang clenched his fists, and his face turned awkward. There was no way to explain what he had gone through to anyone else, but that did not mean he had no resentment in his heart.
Whenever there was even the slimmest chance, he refused to let it slip away. Once he realized he no longer had to sleep in a daze every day, once he discovered that he could actually take in some of what he studied, he worked harder than anyone. He fought harder than anyone. He got up before dawn to read and worked through problems until the dead of night. Apart from three meals a day and brief periods of sleep, he devoted all his time to reviewing and studying.
But in Zhao Mingzhu's eyes, was he merely an inferior student unwilling to take responsibility for his own life?
When you gave something everything you had, when you racked your brains and managed to achieve even the slightest result, only for those people to glance at it disdainfully and say, "So what?"—that was far more painful than having a bucket of icy water poured over you in the dead of winter.
A chill that pierced to the bone!
"Li Mu Yang--" Zhao Mingzhu brushed back the hair by her ear and thoughtfully sized up the student before her. This was the first time she had seen him since he packed his schoolbag and left last time. She could no longer understand this student; he differed greatly from everything she had previously learned about him. "I know you want to prove yourself, and I know you've worked hard enough. Your mother came to the school to see me. She told me how much time you spend studying every day. I admit that your former laziness and habit of sleeping in class made me prejudiced against you. But this time, you must do well. Go and make our eyes fall out of our heads. Go and make every person who knows you look at you with new respect."
"Teacher Zhao--" Li Mu Yang's fists loosened, the muscles in his body relaxed, and he looked at Zhao Mingzhu with astonishment and gratitude. He had never expected to run into Zhao Mingzhu at this time and in this place, much less that she would hurry over and say such things to him.
His heart felt soft, and warmth spread through his body. This feeling of being acknowledged—it was truly blissful.
Zhao Mingzhu turned toward the two gatekeepers and said, "Open the gate and let the candidate in."
"No, we have regulations. Candidates can't be admitted at this hour--"
Zhao Mingzhu pulled a black identification card from her pocket and held it out to the two gatekeepers. "I'm a member of Jiangnan City's Ceremony Institute for the Literary Examination. I'm going to report the two of you to the Ceremony Institute for deliberately making things difficult for a student, affecting his state of mind during the exam, and maliciously destroying his future--"
"When did we ever do anything like that?"
"You're still going to deny it? I just heard you mocking and belittling this student. You ridiculed him for not being able to get into a good school, and you advised him to give up as soon as possible--"
The two gatekeepers exchanged glances. The tall, thin one was quicker on the uptake. He hurried over to unlock the gate, grinning ingratiatingly as he said, "Let the child in to take his exam first. We can slowly clear up this misunderstanding afterward, but the examination time won't wait for anyone. We can't delay the student's precious time any longer--"
Zhao Mingzhu glanced at Li Mu Yang and signaled for him to hurry inside.
Li Mu Yang bowed deeply to Zhao Mingzhu and said, "Teacher Zhao, thank you."
Zhao Mingzhu waved her hand and said nothing more.
"This student is yours, isn't he?" the tall, thin gatekeeper said obsequiously. "He looks like an excellent student at first glance. He'll surely make the honors list and achieve a good score."
Zhao Mingzhu raised her head toward Li Mu Yang's retreating figure and said, "Every student who studies hard and refuses to give up is a good student."
By the time Li Mu Yang reached the examination hall, many students had already completed half the paper.
The invigilator raised his brows when he saw him, looking distinctly displeased, but still pulled an examination paper from the lectern and handed it to Li Mu Yang.
Li Mu Yang smiled at the invigilator in acknowledgment, then walked lightly to his own desk.
Li Mu Yang spread out the examination paper but did not begin answering immediately.
As he opened his writing case and arranged his draft paper, brush, and inkstone, he calmed his turbulent emotions.
If not for that experience, he probably would not have had the slightest expectation for this examination.
What posture would his former self have adopted to face this exam?
Even if he had made it inside, he would have done nothing more than collect the paper and sleep through it.
But today's Li Mu Yang was different from before.
Even though he had gone through so many things, even though he had only half as much examination time as the others, he was already far, far stronger than before--
He was no longer the old Li Mu Yang.
Li Mu Yang picked up his brush and solemnly wrote his name in the name field: Li Mu Yang.
--
When Li Sinian awoke, she saw a man looking at her with eyes that blazed like flames.
Li Sinian was badly startled. She shouted at the strange man, "Who are you? Where is this place?"
"Miss, you're awake? This is your home, and I'm Yan Xiangma." Yan Xiangma smiled broadly. He waved his hand and said, "Quickly bring over the detoxifying decoction I prepared for the young lady. You were afflicted by Bewildering Poison. Even though you've regained consciousness, I'm afraid there's still residual poison in your body. You need to use this decoction to drive out and purge the toxins completely."
"All right." Li Da Lu agreed and personally carried a bowl of medicinal decoction out of the kitchen.
Li Da Lu carried the decoction over to Li Sinian and said, "Miss, please drink this."
Yan Xiangma coughed lightly twice.
Li Da Lu immediately turned around and said, "Young Master, are you feeling unwell? Don't tell me you were also afflicted by Smoke Barrier Poison?"
As he spoke, he carried the decoction over and said, "Young Master, drink this bowl first. You can't let the poison damage your body--"
Yan Xiangma secretly decided that he would stuff this idiot into a sack and send him to the Beast Forest as soon as he got the chance.
Yan Xiangma glared viciously at Li Da Lu, tucked his fan into his sleeve, took the bowl of decoction from the tray, and said, "Since the young lady is unable to move, I'll do the honors and feed it to you--"
"Get lost." Li Yan and Li Sinian shouted at the same time.
Li Yan called out to Li Sinian, saying, "Sinian, don't drink their medicine."
Seeing her father lying slanted in the distance, Li Sinian asked anxiously, "Dad, are you all right? Are you hurt? What about Mom—she's all right too, isn't she?"
"I'm fine, and your mother is fine too. Don't drink his medicine." Li Yan warned her again. "This man's origins are unknown."
"Dad, I know." Li Sinian stared warily at Yan Xiangma, wearing the adorable expression of someone saying, Don't hide it anymore. I know you're a bad guy.
"I've already explained it several times. I'm Yan Xiangma, son of Uncle Yan, the lord of Jiangnan City. I'm Cui Xiaoxin's cousin and Li Mu Yang's—sworn brother. At a moment of crisis like this, Li Mu Yang entrusted you to me because he trusts me utterly. Otherwise, how could he possibly feel at ease handing you over to me while he went off to take his examination?" Yan Xiangma looked at Li Sinian and explained earnestly.
"Hmph." Li Sinian snorted coldly and clenched her fist. Fortunately, her strength was returning bit by bit. She quickly used the breathing method her master had taught her to regulate her qi and hasten her recovery. If this lecher dared to lay a hand on her, she would blast him with a Breaking Fist--
"You were afflicted by the crow's Bewildering Poison. You absolutely must use the decoction to purge the toxins from your bodies, or you may suffer lasting aftereffects. I truly have your health in mind and harbor no ulterior motives toward you. You have to believe me and drink this decoction without worry. I swear on my honor that there's absolutely no poison, sleeping drug, or anything of the sort in it. I, Yan Xiangma, am one of Jiangnan City's Five Exemplary Young Men. I would never do anything so despicable and shameless--"
"Your honor? I don't even know you, so how would I know whether you have any honor?"
"Such wisdom at such a young age. I'm truly impressed, Miss." Yan Xiangma lifted the bowl of decoction and said, "Since you don't believe in my character, then allow me to set an example for you."
With that, he tipped his head back and gulped down the entire bowl of pitch-black decoction.
Yan Xiangma held up the empty bowl for Li Yan and Li Sinian to see and said, "The decoction has entered my stomach. As you can see, I'm perfectly fine—"
Gurgle--
A loud sound came from Yan Xiangma's stomach.
Yan Xiangma turned to Li Da Lu and said, "I told you to prepare a detoxifying decoction, didn't I?"
"Young Master, that is precisely what I brewed."
"Then why does my stomach feel—a little uncomfortable?"
Li Da Lu broke into a wide grin and said, "Young Master, don't panic. That means the decoction is taking effect. It's expelling the poison from your body. All you need to do is empty your bowels—Young Master, what's wrong? Your complexion doesn't look very good."
"Where's the latrine?" Yan Xiangma asked through clenched teeth.
"---"
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