The Golden List Bears His Name

The bloodstink above the Training Ground had yet to fade, and the body that had been carried away had taken all the clamor with it.

The final, once the center of everyone's attention, had become rather dull after Jin Shijie, the overwhelming favorite to win, had "unexpectedly" dropped dead.

Chen Ping was slumped without a shred of dignity beside a pillar in one corner of the arena, his face as pale as paper and dried blood still clinging to the corner of his mouth.

Whenever an examiner or runner passed by, he would let out a timely, heartrending cough, as though he might cough up his lungs.

"Chen Ping, can you still fight?"

The proctor asked as a matter of routine, frowning.

"M-my lord..."

Chen Ping's voice was faint as a thread. One hand clutched his chest while the other trembled as he waved it,

"My... my internal organs feel like they've all been knocked out of place. Young Master Jin's blade aura was too overbearing... I admit defeat. I can't... I can't compete for first place."

He spoke with such heartfelt sincerity that anyone watching would have taken him for a man at death's door.

In truth, the long spring inner energy within him flowed smoothly. Those minor injuries to his flesh and skin had long since healed almost completely. If he really had to fight, he could leap up and twist the remaining opponents' heads off.

But he had already brought the heavens crashing down by killing the eldest young master of the Jin Family in full view of the crowd. If he foolishly went on to compete for the top scholar title, Jin Zhenshan would truly kill him on the spot, regardless of the consequences.

A man had to know when to advance and when to retreat.

In the end, with Jin Shijie dead, another scion of an aristocratic clan had lucked into first place. Chen Ping, "gravely injured," was ranked third in this Imperial Military Examination—the Tanhua.

Even third place meant a fortune beyond his wildest dreams for a household servant with no backing whatsoever.

"Announcing—the Imperial Military Examination results!"

At the County Magistrate's resonant shout, two runners unfurled a red notice and hung it high on the Training Ground's screen wall.

The setting sun's glow fell across the black characters on the red paper. Chen Ping narrowed his eyes and found his own name among them.

Group D, Chen Ping.

In that instant, the clamor around him faded into the distance.

Chen Ping felt lighter than he ever had before. As the two inked characters settled into place, an invisible shackle shattered deep within his soul.

His deed of sale, his status as a bondservant—the mountain that had weighed on him and left him gasping for breath for the past three years.

From this day onward, he was no longer the bookboy in Lin Manor, beaten and berated at anyone's whim. He was no longer a lowborn wretch whose life was worth less than a blade of grass.

He was now a military juren of the Liang Dynasty, an official with an earned title!

"Whew..."

Chen Ping let out a long breath, his eyes reddening. This was true liberation.

But the thrill of freedom did not last long.

A bone-chilling cold suddenly swept over him.

Chen Ping didn't need to turn around. Thanks to the keen senses granted by the Longevity of Pine and Crane, he could tell exactly where that gaze came from.

Jin Zhenshan was carrying his son's corpse in his arms, walking step by step toward the Training Ground's exit.

As he passed Chen Ping, the famous master of Iron Palm Hall in Qinghe County came to a halt.

He didn't attack. His expression was frighteningly calm. Only the deep-set hollows of his eyes burned with the ghostly flames of a hatred almost tangible.

"Impressive work, young man."

Jin Zhenshan's voice was hoarse and low.

"We've got a long road ahead. We'll... take our time."

With that, he didn't linger. He led the Jin Family's people away with long strides.

His lonely retreating figure radiated a madness that chilled the blood.

Chen Ping hunched his shoulders, acting as if he were scared witless, and lowered his head with a shiver.

But in the shadow cast by his bowed head, his gaze remained perfectly clear.

"A long road ahead?"

Chen Ping sneered to himself.

"You old bastard, you're already over fifty, and your vitality's starting to wane. I'm only twenty, and I've got the power to live forever. You want to see who outlives whom? I'll live long enough to piss on your grave."

With the Jin Family gone, the mood on the Training Ground changed abruptly.

The crowd that had previously avoided him and mocked him from the sidelines now turned into flies scenting blood and swarmed around him with a buzz.

"Oh, Tanhua Chen! I always said you had an extraordinary frame and were destined for greatness!"

A merchant who had just been calling Chen Ping a scoundrel now put on a beaming smile and bowed with cupped hands.

"Juren Chen, I'm from the Li Family in the east of the city. My youngest daughter is just sixteen, and she admires heroes..."

"Lord Chen, here's a VIP card from my establishment. Come drink anytime, and it's on the house!"

Several powdered matchmakers even waved their handkerchiefs and tried to throw themselves at Chen Ping. Their pungent perfume nearly made him vomit for real.

Chen Ping wore his trademark honest, simple smile as he returned their greetings and paid them polite lip service.

"Likewise, likewise. You're all too kind. I was just lucky, that's all. Just lucky..."

His facial muscles had stiffened from smiling, but deep in his eyes lay a thick layer of scorn.

That was the way of the world.

When you were a puddle of mud, everyone wanted to trample you. When you were a piece of gold, everyone wanted to bask in your shine.

Even if that gold was still spattered with blood.

Just as Chen Ping grew tired of being surrounded and was about to escape under the pretext of relieving himself, a figure as broad as an iron tower shouldered rudely through the crowd.

"Make way! My brother's hurt. Quit crowding him!"

Tie Niu limped his way in. He didn't care that Chen Ping was still pretending to be sick; he flung his arms around him and burst into loud sobs.

"Brother Ping! You're alive! Thank goodness! I thought that Jin fellow had really hacked you to death! Waaaah..."

The man was incredibly strong. His embrace squeezed Chen Ping's ribs until they hurt, nearly making him cough up blood for real.

But Chen Ping didn't push him away.

In a Training Ground full of schemes and hypocrisy, only this big fool's tears were warm, salty, and real.

"Easy... easy..."

Chen Ping patted Tie Niu's broad back, warmth rising in his heart as he murmured,

"Tie Niu, we've made it through. I'll remember what you did for me today, brother. I'll repay you handsomely someday."

After finally calming Tie Niu down, a clerk from the county office came over at last.

"Juren Chen, here's your Official Credential and your waist token. Please keep them safe."

The clerk was unfailingly respectful as he presented a tray with both hands.

With trembling fingers, Chen Ping picked up the heavy Bronze Waist Token.

The token felt cool to the touch. A tiger pattern of the Liang Dynasty was engraved on one side, and the words "Qinghe County Military Juren Chen Ping" on the other.

As his fingertip traced the uneven lines, a sense of security unlike anything he had ever known welled up in Chen Ping's heart.

With this token, the Jin Family wouldn't dare openly kill him with private force unless he committed the grave crime of treason.

This was his protective charm, the first layer of armor he had against a world that devoured people.

By the time the gathering dispersed, dusk was closing in.

Chen Ping turned down everyone's invitations to banquets and walked back to the city alone.

The setting sun stretched his shadow long, making him look forlorn and solitary.

But he wasn't lonely. If anything, he felt utterly at ease.

At the Training Ground's gate, he stopped and looked back at the arena stained red with blood, then toward the imposing county office in the distance.

Those high walls he had once looked up to seemed nothing special now.

"Goodbye, Chen the bookboy."

He said it silently to himself, then turned and strode into the thickening darkness.

By the time he returned to the dilapidated little house in Rat Alley, the moon had climbed above the treetops.

Chen Ping didn't let passing the examination go to his head. Standing outside his door, he first surveyed the surrounding shadows as if nothing were amiss, making sure no tail was watching him.

Then he gently pushed the door open and quickly scanned the gap beneath it.

The black hair he had wedged there was still in place.

Next, he checked the incense ash on the window latch. It hadn't been disturbed either.

Everything was safe.

Only after he had shut the door and fastened the heavy iron lock did Chen Ping's strength desert him. He slid down the door and sat on the floor.

"Whew... whew..."

He gulped down breaths in the darkness, sweat instantly soaking through his back.

The events of this single day had been more harrowing than the past twenty years of his life combined.

He had brushed shoulders with death in the arena, kept his composure under Jin Zhenshan's murderous intent, and feigned courtesy amid everyone's flattery...

Every minute and every second had drained his mental energy at a furious pace.

He sat slumped on the floor for a long while. Only when his breathing had steadied did he slowly get to his feet and light the tiny oil lamp.

Its dim yellow glow drove back the darkness and gave him a little sense of security.

Chen Ping pulled the gambling house voucher from his chest. It was damp with sweat and crumpled.

When he saw the words "Bet on Chen Ping to make the top ten, fifty taels," a blazing light suddenly flashed in his weary eyes.

Ten to one.

Fifty taels would become five hundred.

With what he had looted before, plus what the Jin Family steward had "given" him, his wealth would approach a thousand taels.

In this county town, that was enough money to drive people mad.

With money, he could buy better medicinal ingredients and advance the Longevity of Pine and Crane to the fourth layer. He could live with more dignity in this chaotic world.

Tomorrow would be the real moment of harvest.

Chen Ping carefully smoothed out the voucher, tucked it into a worn-out book, and then blew out the oil lamp.

In the darkness, he lay on the hard wooden bed and gazed through a hole in the roof at the bright full moon in the sky.

Moonlight flowed like water, falling softly across his face and bringing to mind the woman who had secretly slipped him Osmanthus Cake in the Inner Kitchen at Lin Manor.

Chen Ping smiled tenderly and murmured,

"Yun Niang, I did it."