Unbelievable

Fang Xiao's gaze sharpened.

"Chu Ming?" Chief Constable Hou was taken aback. The name sounded familiar.

Suddenly, his expression changed. "What did you just say? Who?"

"Dad..." Hou Wuchun jumped, unable to understand why his father was reacting so strongly. "Chu Ming. His name is Chu Ming."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chief Constable Hou turned to Fang Xiao. "Brother Fang, is your young master also called Chu Ming?"

"Yes." Fang Xiao nodded, feeling helpless. It seemed he could no longer keep the young master's martial arts training a secret.

But given the young master's steady temperament, he shouldn't have gotten into a fight with anyone.

"Did your young master take the Academy Exam today, too?" Chief Constable Hou asked.

"Yes." There was no point hiding it, so Fang Xiao didn't bother.

Smack—

But the moment he nodded, Chief Constable Hou slapped Hou Wuchun on the head.

"You little brat, if you're going to make excuses, at least come up with a convincing one. That Chu Ming is so frail he gets winded just walking. He won't live much longer—"

He suddenly stopped, realizing he might have said the wrong thing.

That young master wouldn't live much longer, but he couldn't say that in front of Fang Xiao.

Hou Wuchun clutched his head and crouched on the ground, his face contorted with pain. The moment before he'd been sent flying flashed through his mind.

So frail he got winded just walking?

He'd been like a fierce tiger charging down the mountain!

"Dad, we're not talking about the same person, are we...?"

Seeing this, the woman helped Hou Wuchun up, her heart aching. "Chief Constable Hou, if you simply don't want to help, then my son and I have truly suffered eight lifetimes of bad luck..."

Chief Constable Hou felt his head throb. This woman was making him lose face.

"Enough!" he snapped, eyes stern and authoritative. "Tell me exactly what happened!"

The Catching Yamen fell silent at once, the atmosphere taut.

The woman stopped making a scene. Hou Wuchun stopped pretending.

"Speak!" Chief Constable Hou was satisfied. His voice rang with even more authority.

Hou Wuchun stammered, "Dad, that Chu Ming came first in the Academy Exam and met with the Registrar alone. I remembered what Mom taught me, so I went over to make friends with him. Who knew he'd come charging out carrying a stack of books half his height, like a tiger, and then I got sent flying."

"..."

When he finished, the Catching Yamen grew even quieter.

Chu Ming had come first in the Academy Exam?!

And he'd sent Hou Wuchun flying, even though Hou Wuchun had practiced martial arts and was more robust than boys his age?!

Chief Constable Hou pictured the frail, pale boy who'd been panting in the courtyard.

Did that make any sense?

At the same time, Fang Xiao's gaze sharpened, surprise flashing in his eyes.

The young master had come first in the Academy Exam?!

He calculated the time. It had been less than twenty days since he'd helped the young master sell his travelogue and buy three books of poetry and prose.

The young master's incredible memory was true, and so was the fact that he'd deliberately mentioned the Academy Exam to get the young master to take it. But he'd never expected him to come first.

And what was this about a private meeting with the Registrar?

"Registrar... Could it have been Lord Feng?"

As Fang Xiao puzzled over it, the woman, still slumped on the ground, began to wear an increasingly animated expression.

"Wuchun, why didn't you say so sooner? Chu Ming came first in the Academy Exam. He's bound to be an important figure in the future. Why would you go and block his way?"

"Mom?" Hou Wuchun shot her a questioning look. This wasn't what they'd agreed on.

The woman acted as though she hadn't noticed. She got to her feet with practiced ease, straightened her clothes and her slightly mussed hair, then stood beside Chief Constable Hou. "You must be Brother Fang. Hou Ping often mentions you at home."

She looked every bit the gentle, virtuous mother.

Hou Wuchun tugged at the back of her clothes, only to get a backward kick in response.

"A few days ago, I asked Hou Ping to invite Brother Fang over for a meal, but he wouldn't. So I had no choice but to come myself."

"Mom, didn't you say you'd stand up for me? Why are you inviting people over for dinner now?"

"Shut up!" The woman turned on him with a scowl, then faced forward again with a kindly smile.

"How about tonight, then? Brother Fang, bring young master Chu Ming along. I'll cook myself..."

"Madam!"

Chief Constable Hou couldn't take it anymore and cut her off. "Brother Fang, it's getting dark. Let's leave it at that for today."

Fang Xiao nodded. "I appreciate your kindness, Madam, but there have been frequent murders in Wheat Valley Alley lately. I still need to go and investigate."

"It's only a meal..." The woman tried to persuade him, but Fang Xiao didn't dare look back. He hurried away.

A small courtyard at the end of West Street.

"Grandpa Fang is back."

"Mm."

"Young master, dinner's ready."

Chu Ming closed Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy, stretched, and went into the main room.

Steaming dishes covered the wooden table. One glance, and he was hungry again.

"Young master." Fang Xiao greeted him discreetly.

"Go ahead, go ahead."

Chu Ming waved a hand and took the seat of honor. Only then did Xiao Shan and Fang Xiao sit down.

They were servants, but he couldn't be bothered with all the elaborate formalities. He just wanted to sit down and eat with them.

One meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of soup—that was dinner, just as Chu Ming had specifically requested.

Otherwise, the old meal of steamed buns with thin rice porridge left him hungry before midnight.

The lamplight was dim. Chu Ming kept his head down and ate.

Xiao Shan didn't touch the dishes. After only a couple of bites of rice, she put her chopsticks down.

She wanted to save the food for the young master.

Fang Xiao ate only rice, leaving the dishes untouched.

When they were nearly finished, Fang Xiao finally couldn't hold back.

"Young master, how's your Tiger Python Body-Forging Technique coming along? Have you used up the medicinal soup? Should I prepare some more tomorrow?"

"It's going all right." Chu Ming finished two bowls of rice, then downed a bowl of soup. His stomach felt much better.

"Young master, you have exceptional talent, but you can't rush your progress. You must keep taking the medicinal soup. With your insight, I'm sure it won't be long before you refine a second strand of Qi and Blood Power."

A second strand of Qi and Blood Power?

Chu Ming kept eating.

After he'd optimized the Tiger Python Body-Forging Technique, he'd nearly refined a fourth strand of Qi and Blood Power.

After speaking, Fang Xiao served Xiao Shan some soup, then asked as casually as he could, "Young master, you took the Academy Exam today, didn't you? How did it go?"

"It went all right."

All right?

Fang Xiao's brows twitched. Was the young master planning not to share the good news with him and Xiao Shan?

"When are you planning to go to Baiyuan Academy, young master?"

Chu Ming lifted his eyes slightly to look at Fang Xiao. He hadn't expected the steward to already know about the Academy Exam. "In a few days."

With his academy token in hand, he could go to Baiyuan Academy whenever he wanted.

But he didn't plan to go in the next few days.

Baiyuan Academy was a new and unfamiliar environment. He needed to prepare properly.

More than anything, he wanted to build up his strength. He planned to refine five strands of Qi and Blood Power before going.

He'd already refined more than half of his fourth strand. He could finish it in the next couple of days, and the fifth would take only another three to five days.

Each strand he refined was twice as powerful as that of an ordinary martial artist. Five strands would make him equivalent to a martial artist with ten strands of Qi and Blood Power.

Ten strands meant the late Blood-Revitalization Realm. In Baiyuan County, that counted as a real expert.

By then, whether facing the Chu Family or some unknown danger, he'd be better equipped to handle it.

Also, before entering Baiyuan Academy, he wanted to read more of Poetry, Politics, and Military Strategy.

That would free up time for him to borrow books from Wenlan Garden and use them to broaden his knowledge.

"Huh? Young master, you're going to Baiyuan Academy?" Xiao Shan's face changed at once. "Wasn't it only the top three in the Academy Exam who could go...?"

As she spoke, she suddenly realized something. "Young master, did you place in the top three?!"

"Mm." Chu Ming's gaze fell on the rice beside Xiao Shan that she'd barely touched. He stood up and said, "I'm full."

With that, he left and returned to his room.

"Young master..." Xiao Shan's eyes reddened.

"Don't just stare at it. Eat."

"I saved it for the young master."

"The young master saved it for you."

"Really?"

"Mm."