Chu Ming nodded slightly. After thinking it over, he understood that there was no way to hide his identity from the Registrar of Baiyuan County. He might as well admit it outright.
If the other man really meant him harm, then...
Qi and Blood Power surged through his body, but his expression barely changed.
Registrars were civil officials, and their martial prowess was nothing remarkable.
Lord Feng looked rather slender, not at all like a martial artist who had trained in the ways of the warrior.
Feng Yuan tapped his fingers against the tabletop and chuckled softly. "So, have you been lying low? Or, after losing your mother's protection, did you deliberately hide away in this remote border town to stay alive?"
He had read Chu Ming's Academy Exam paper. It was almost entirely correct, which showed that the young man knew his stuff.
And with the astonishing results of the memory test, Chu Ming was clearly exceptionally talented.
Yet someone with such talent had once been known as a good-for-nothing young master who cared only for pleasure. Combined with what his mother had suffered in the Chu Family, Feng Yuan had reason to believe the boy had been lying low all along.
Lying low?
Something stirred in Chu Ming's heart.
Looking at it from the other man's perspective, his behavior really did fit that kind of persona.
"You were right to lie low. The Chu Family's waters run deep indeed. It's no small feat that you managed to get out alive." Feng Yuan picked up the teapot, poured a cup, and held it out to him. "Would you like some?"
Chu Ming respectfully accepted the tea, but only held it in his hands without drinking.
He was a little thirsty, but he didn't dare drink it.
Until he figured out what this Registrar had up his sleeve, he wasn't letting his guard down.
"Heh, so cautious, and talented too. Very good, very good."
Feng Yuan's smile grew broader. Chu Ming's refusal to drink the tea he had personally poured didn't upset him in the least. Instead, he looked at the boy with admiration.
At the same time, he became even more certain that the young man before him had been lying low all along.
"Was it part of your plan when the Chu Family, for the sake of appearances, quietly sent you down to this remote border town, giving you a chance to enter officialdom?" Feng Yuan continued asking.
"..." Chu Ming remained silent.
This Registrar really knew how to let his imagination run wild. If the original Chu Ming had possessed such foresight and cunning, how could he have ended up here?
Still, if the man wanted to imagine things, let him. It sounded good, and would save trouble.
"Very good." Feng Yuan took Chu Ming's silence as confirmation. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "But you still underestimate the Chu Family."
"Though the Chu Family is one of Baiyuan County's wealthiest merchant families, and has no one in the court, their methods still surpass your imagination."
"Do you think you can evade the Chu Family's eyes and ears by hiding in this tiny Willow Town, secretly taking first place in the Academy Examination, then slipping into Baiyuan Academy to study?"
"It's just like plugging your ears and stealing a bell."
Feng Yuan slowly rose to his feet, clasped his hands behind his back, and faced the pavilion's entrance, turning his back on Chu Ming. He stood tall as the breeze lifted his robe.
Chu Ming furrowed his brow slightly. He had thought about what the Registrar was saying long ago. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent most of his time training in martial arts.
With my current strength...
Words appeared on the panel.
[Wind-Slapping Palm (Perfection)] [Tiger Python Body-Forging Technique (Minor Accomplishment)] [Progress: 11/100]
In the ten days before the Academy Exam, aside from memorizing the contents of three books of poetry, he had devoted all his remaining time to martial arts.
After being deduced and optimized, the Tiger Python Body-Forging Technique had leapt forward twice in progress, and he had become much faster at training. Three complete strands of Qi and Blood Power had condensed within him, and he was currently condensing a fourth.
Moreover, the Qi and Blood Power condensed by the optimized Body Forging Technique was much thicker—twice as strong as that first strand had been.
That meant the Qi and Blood he could actually use was equivalent to six ordinary strands.
Under the Sword Gourd Spiritual Sense's inner inspection, the damaged foundation of his meridians had not only healed but grown even stronger.
His palm technique had reached perfection, and its power was astonishing.
According to Steward Fang, the Chu Family had dozens of martial artists in the early Blood Activation Realm—those with three or fewer strands of Qi and Blood Power. They also had over a dozen martial artists with four strands, whose upkeep cost a great deal of silver every month.
As for martial artists with five strands of Qi and Blood Power, the Chu Family had only two.
The Chu Family still posed a threat, but Chu Ming could now handle them to some extent. On paper, his strength even surpassed that of those martial artists.
"I wonder why the Registrar is telling me all this?" After thinking it over, Chu Ming decided he ought to find out what this Registrar really wanted.
Feng Yuan turned around and narrowed his eyes at the boy, whose expression remained as indifferent as ever. His tone suddenly took on a hint of severity. "With that attitude, I could charge you with disrespect."
"You're an official of high rank and great authority. Can't you charge anyone you want?" Chu Ming replied unhurriedly.
If Feng Yuan truly intended to charge him, he wouldn't be wearing that deliberately stern expression now.
"Heh, that composure and resolve really do make you a fine prospect." Feng Yuan relaxed his brow and chuckled softly. "I'll personally help cover up the fact that you came first in the Willow Town Academy Exam."
Chu Ming's heart stirred. He replied in a low voice, "Thank you, Lord Xie."
"You call that thanking me? Aren't you going to bow?"
"Oh. Thank you, Lord Xie." Chu Ming did as he was told.
"..." Feng Yuan's face darkened slightly as he looked at the calm young man, who still showed no excess of emotion. A strange feeling suddenly came over him.
It was as if he had done something worthy of praise, only to receive a lukewarm reaction.
First, he had praised Chu Ming. Then he had emphasized that the Chu Family was no simple family and pointed out the danger Chu Ming was in, before offering him a helping hand.
By rights, the other party should have been overflowing with gratitude.
But the young man before him had offered nothing more than a cold thank-you, as though he didn't particularly care.
"The Chu Family has a long reach. Though they're merchants, they're closely connected to quite a few powerful figures. Helping you cover up the fact that you're about to enter Baiyuan Academy will likely take a lot of effort..."
Feng Yuan emphasized it once more.
"I'll pretend I never heard you say that." Chu Ming found it amusing. The Registrar's approach might fool a sheltered young man who had never seen the world, but as for him...
Still, Feng Yuan was an important figure in Baiyuan County, so Chu Ming couldn't make his indifference too obvious.
The reason he had reacted so coolly to Feng Yuan's offer to cover things up came down to two considerations.
First, his strength was growing by leaps and bounds every day. Before long, the Chu Family wouldn't be worth worrying about.
It would be best if he could keep things hidden. If he couldn't, he had ways to deal with that too.
The second was that Lord Feng held a high position, but a verbal promise couldn't be taken as fact.
He had been in this world for less than a month. He wasn't going to trust someone he had met only once so easily.
Feng Yuan heard his words and froze. Several breaths passed before he returned to normal.
"Fine. For the sake of that stubborn streak of yours, I, Feng Yuan, will offend people if I have to, but I'll help you keep this under wraps."
Stubborn streak?
Chu Ming lifted his eyes slightly and looked at the middle-aged man.
What was that complicated expression on his face? Had he not gotten the recognition and gratitude he wanted?
"Thank you, Lord Xie."
This time, Chu Ming put some feeling into his voice and clasped his hands in front of him, doing his best to look grateful.
Whatever the other man's intentions, he still had to play along. Feng Yuan was, after all, an important official.
"Good, good!" Feng Yuan seemed quite pleased. At last, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Then he gestured toward the pavilion's entrance, and two people came over from the distance.
"Come, let me introduce you." Feng Yuan looked at the somewhat taller of the two boys. "This is Xu He. He studies at the Middle Academy of Baiyuan Academy, and he's your senior."
"And this is Xiang Changgu, who came first in the Jade Town Academy Examination. He wrote out three complete passages from Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy from memory and is about to enter Baiyuan Academy's Upper Academy. He's younger than you."
Before you continue