The Golden Roll! (Seeking daily reads)

At the Outer City yamen, a public notice and four official lists were posted on the wall.

Two bailiffs maintained order, while the street was already packed with a crowd, jammed so tight not even a drop of water could trickle through.

"I passed! I passed! Seventh on the Civil List! I have official status now! Mother! Mother!" A scholar in plain cloth squeezed through the throng, suddenly losing his composure and shouting in excitement before stumbling toward his home to share the good news.

The expressions of those around him were mostly filled with envy.

The simple words "passed the exam" were enough to change the fate of an ordinary person, or even an entire family.

Soon, sighs of lamentation began to ripple through the crowd.

After all, those who truly passed were the tiny minority; the rest had all failed.

Shen Pan stood among the crowd, his gaze falling upon the four lists.

Two of them featured gold-leaf borders and were stamped with a large official seal, making them the most eye-catching.

Those were the Gold Lists for those who had passed with high honors. Only the top ten of both the civil and martial examinations each year were qualified to have their names inscribed upon them.

In other words, in each county every year, only twenty people in total could attain this official status; the remaining candidates were merely there to make up the numbers.

As for the other two lists, they were written on ordinary paper in smaller script, listing the names of the next ninety candidates.

These were known as the Scatter Lists, or the Silver Lists.

Those on the Silver List held no official status, but their scores were still respectable. Some were only a hair's breadth away from passing, and having their names posted served as both encouragement and a decent resume for these candidates.

Even without official status, they could use this to find paths and livelihoods while waiting to test again the following year.

Shen Pan skipped the Civil List entirely, his gaze landing on the Martial List.

The Gold List contained only ten names, written in large characters that could be scanned at a glance.

When he saw his own name right there, his clenched fist finally relaxed.

He was, after all, only eighteen and had not yet reached his capping ceremony. Even though he had been confident, he still felt a touch of nerves the moment the results were revealed.

Shen Pan, third on the Martial List!

The second was that Internal Breath expert in his thirties, Xu Hong!

As for this year's top of the Martial List...

"Brother Zhao, you really are first! First on the Martial List!"

Li Gou'er stood outside the crowd and spotted the name at the very top of the Gold List at a single glance.

He might not recognize his own name, but he certainly recognized Zhao An's.

His loud voice drew the sidelong glances of many people.

First on the Gold List—in this small county town, that was an incredible achievement!

Zhao An was burly and tall, standing out in the crowd like a crane in a flock of chickens.

Many people from the Outer City recognized Zhao An and swarmed over to offer their congratulations, one after another.

The notoriety Zhao An had once held among his neighbors had, in reality, already faded by more than half.

After all, it was thanks to Zhao An that they were no longer being exploited or bullied by the vicious gangs and had enjoyed a few days of peaceful life.

Furthermore, Zhao An had not committed any more evil deeds, which was the key to his improved reputation.

Zhao An cupped his hands and offered a few simple responses.

"Congratulations, Brother Zhao." Li Tianhuai offered a strained smile, cupping his hands in a bow toward Zhao An.

Seeing the disappointment in his expression and glancing back at the Civil List, Zhao An realized the name of this scholar from a humble background was missing.

"It is no matter. I shall simply test again next year," Li Tianhuai said to Zhao An with a sigh.

"Mn, test again next year." Zhao An patted him on the shoulder.

A few days later, the county yamen sent officials to deliver the official identity documents to Zhao An's small courtyard.

With this, Zhao An was officially a Martial Student endorsed by the government!

Possessing this status meant he could enter the bureaucracy, was exempt from taxes and corvée labor, and did not even have to kneel when meeting the County Magistrate!

Of course, if he did not wish to remain a minor official, he could continue to take the prefectural exams to start his career at a higher level.

Zhao An, however, had no plans to pursue further official status for the time being; having the background of a Martial Student was enough.

It would save him quite a bit of trouble in his daily life.

For instance, a Martial Student had the authority to suppress violence and maintain peace!

Even the Chief Constable and bailiffs of the Outer City yamen would not dare to provoke him without cause.

In this way, if he encountered common Red Names committing evil in the Outer City, he no longer needed to hesitate—he could simply cut them down and be done with it.

"You two, from now on, go patrol the streets and alleys every day. If you see any arrogant thugs throwing their weight around or bullying the neighbors, write it all down," Zhao An instructed Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi.

"Brother Zhao, what is this for?" Li Gou'er asked, puzzled.

"Exercising my authority as a Martial Student," Zhao An said calmly.

He planned to patrol the city at regular intervals, harvesting any Red Names that spawned, and he would not let the various gangs roaming the streets off the hook either.

Since he was using Soul Slaves more frequently and consuming them rapidly, he naturally had to find ways to replenish his stock, while also keeping an eye out for those who carried Virtue Fruit on their persons.

If there was an opportunity to obtain Virtue Fruit, he would not let it slip by.

Now that he held an official title, he was considered a semi-legitimate figure recognized by the government, making it easier for him to gain the trust of the common folk, which in turn helped him acquire Virtue Fruit.

Outer City Yamen.

Zhao Ke sat alone in a side room, drinking sullenly, turning a deaf ear to the constables under his command who were busy rolling dice.

"What's the matter, Brother Zhao? Why so gloomy? I heard you've recently been cozying up to that young lady from the Yu Family in the Inner City. Is that true?" Lu Yixiu walked into the side room and couldn't help but strike up a conversation upon seeing Zhao Ke.

"Don't put it so crudely. It's called mutual affection, a meeting of hearts." Zhao Ke, already somewhat drunk, replied irritably.

"If that's the case, shouldn't you be riding high right now? Why drink these sorrowful cups?" Lu Yixiu asked.

"If you become a pair with that Miss Yu, you'll surely be able to secure a post in the Inner City in the future."

Zhao Ke shook his head and muttered gloomily, "It's not that easy. That Old Master Yu clearly looks down on me; the dowry he demanded is at least five hundred taels of silver. Where am I supposed to find that much money!"

Lu Yixiu understood upon hearing this and immediately said, "That's nothing to worry about. Don't you still have a good younger brother?"

"That's Zhao An, the number one on this year's Martial List! I heard even the County Vice-Magistrate's Fan Family sent him gift money. A mere five hundred taels is nothing but a wave of the hand for your brother."

"Hmph! Don't mention that ingrate!" Zhao Ke slammed the table and let out a heavy, cold snort.

He grew angry just at the mention of Zhao An.

Forget about asking for five hundred taels; the day he tried to host a banquet to celebrate Zhao An, he was met with a cold shoulder. In his eyes, it was clear that Zhao An was trying to sever ties with him.

He had completely forgotten who it was that had kicked Zhao An out of the house and left him to fend for himself back then.

"I thought you could be living the high life following your own flesh and blood, Brother Zhao." Seeing Zhao Ke's exasperated expression, Lu Yixiu couldn't hold back a sneer.

"Lu Yixiu, did you come here today specifically to make a fool of me!" Zhao Ke glared and said coldly.

"How could that be?" Lu Yixiu hurriedly wiped the smile from his face.

"I'm actually here to point you toward a path, Brother Zhao. I guarantee you'll be able to get that dowry money and marry that Miss Yu as you wish!"

Zhao Ke was stunned, not expecting Lu Yixiu to say such a thing, and then frowned as he asked, "You have a way to earn five hundred taels?"

Subconsciously, he felt that if such a good thing existed, how could it possibly fall into his lap?

"If you don't believe me, come with me and you'll see." Lu Yixiu downed the wine on the table in one gulp and stood up.

"For real?"

"For real!"

Zhao Ke looked deeply at Lu Yixiu before finally standing up.

Mainly, he was truly out of options.

A massive sum of five hundred taels was something he could never scrape together on his own in a short time; he had no choice but to trust Lu Yixiu.

The two walked out of the Yamen one after the other, heading to a remote area in the Outer City.

The small courtyard here was dilapidated, the ground scorched black, littered with unkempt dead leaves and a dry well.

A man was sitting there motionless, having built a small fire.

On the fire, a few dead rats were being roasted.

"You're telling me this person can give me five hundred taels?" Zhao Ke felt it was absurd, his face showing signs of annoyance, assuming Lu Yixiu was playing him for a fool.

The person before him had several knife scars on his face and was disheveled and filthy, looking every bit like a beggar.

How could someone like this have any money?

"Look closely! Who is he!" Lu Yixiu whispered.

Only then did Zhao Ke focus his gaze.

Suddenly, his pupils constricted, his eyes widening as he involuntarily took two steps back.

"This person... is the Third Master of the Black Wind Stronghold!!"

"He... wasn't he dead?!"

"It is indeed Lord Yang Yi," Lu Yixiu said with a grin.

"The day the new County Magistrate sent troops up the mountain, the three masters faked their deaths; they are all still alive."

"You're colluding with the Black Wind Stronghold?!" Zhao Ke finally understood, staring at Lu Yixiu in disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that. Since you've come today, you're the same as me."