Misunderstanding

"Wei Yuan, Cousin." Xue Xiangling was slightly stunned when she saw him, then gave a curtsy in greeting. Her beautiful eyes immediately flicked toward Zhao Feng, and her delicate brows furrowed faintly.

"What a coincidence today, Cousin Xiangling. Let me introduce you to—"

A teasing smile played on Wei Yuan's lips. Today was the perfect chance to tell Cousin Xiangling that Zhao Feng had successfully broken through the barrier and see how she reacted.

"Cousin, Xiangling has urgent business to attend to. Please excuse me. Farewell." Xue Xiangling cut him off, then left with her maid.

"This girl... she has no manners at all." Wei Yuan stood there at a loss for words, looking awkwardly at Zhao Feng. He had been praising Xue Xiangling for being refined and courteous just moments ago, yet she had acted so rudely today.

"Junior Brother Zhao, don't take it to heart."

"If that girl knew you'd reached Dark Force, she'd definitely regret it," Wei Yuan said.

"Not at all, Senior Brother. Come on, let's drink."

Zhao Feng had not expected to run into the blind date who had refused to meet him here. He had initially felt rather awkward, but her storming off instead made him feel relieved.

Xue Xiangling and her maid left and boarded their carriage.

"Miss, that man beside Young Master Wei just now seemed to be Zhao Feng," the maid said.

"I know." Xue Xiangling's expression remained calm.

"Did Young Master Wei deliberately bring him to see you? It seems he still hasn't given up," the maid said.

Xue Xiangling looked displeased. Although Zhao Feng was fairly decent-looking, the gap between their circumstances was still far too great. She had clearly already refused him, so what was this persistence about? She did not know whether it was her cousin's idea or Zhao Feng's own.

Wei Yuan and Zhao Feng found seats by the window and sat down.

Wei Yuan called over a waiter and ordered a table full of dishes.

They included two Treasure Fish, braised tiger meat, and sliced boiled bear meat. Those dishes alone cost dozens of taels of silver.

"Try this wine. I stored it here at Hongxing Tower." When the waiter brought over a jug of wine, Wei Yuan poured Zhao Feng a cup.

The wine was amber-colored, and a strange fragrance rushed into his nose, making the power of his qi and blood seem to stir within him.

"What wine is this?" Zhao Feng asked in surprise.

"It's called Eight Treasures Wine. It's brewed from eight precious medicinal ingredients and can strengthen one's foundation, nourish one's vitality, and enhance qi and blood. Give it a try."

Zhao Feng did as he said and took a sip. The rich wine entered his mouth and slid smoothly down his throat. After it reached his stomach, a wave of heat rose from his dantian, and it seemed as though his qi and blood had strengthened somewhat.

"Good wine!" he could not help but praise.

"This wine is rarely available. There's a greater supply in the prefectural city. I stored three jars in total, and I'll give you one," Wei Yuan said with a smile.

"Then I'll gladly accept," Zhao Feng said without standing on ceremony.

"I've heard there's another kind of wine brewed with the blood of exotic beasts and rare medicinal herbs. That is the true treasure wine. It has extraordinary effects in strengthening one's foundation, nourishing spiritual power, and increasing qi and blood. Only the sects and powerful families in the prefectural city can get their hands on it," Wei Yuan said.

The two ate, drank, and chatted.

"Junior Brother, let's forget what happened just now. My Cousin Xue simply has poor judgment. In a few days, I'll help arrange another marriage for you with a lady from a prominent family," Wei Yuan said, slightly tipsy.

"Senior Brother Wei, I truly am not in a hurry to seek a match. I want to wait until after the martial examinations before considering it," Zhao Feng declined.

"The martial examinations? Right, that truly is important. We all need to start focusing on preparing for them." Wei Yuan nodded. Other than their eldest senior brother, Shi Mao, all of Huo Shan's disciples would be taking the martial examinations for the first time. It concerned the reputation of the martial arts school and their master, Huo Shan, so several core disciples needed to strive to make the list.

Of course, it was even more for themselves. As descendants of the five great families, they faced fierce competition within their own clans as well. Wei Yuan belonged to a branch of the Wei Family that was not particularly valued, and Wang Yu and Zhou Xue were in similar situations. Otherwise, they would not have chosen to study under the Huo Family Martial Arts School instead of one of the other popular elite martial arts schools. The martial examinations were their best chance to prove themselves and make their families see them in a new light. As long as they made the list, their families would value them more and resources would be directed their way.

Even if they failed, they still needed to achieve good results and make a showing, at the very least.

"By the way, Senior Brother Wei, how much do you know about the martial examinations?"

"I naturally know a little. The martial examinations are divided into the county examination, held in one's home county. Those who pass become Martial Scholars. Then comes the prefectural examination, held in the prefectural city. Those who pass become Martial Graduates. After that is the metropolitan examination, which is held in the capital. Those who pass become Martial Presented Scholars," Wei Yuan said.

"Our dynasty values martial prowess. Passing as a Martial Scholar grants one semi-official status. The entire family becomes exempt from all taxes and corvée labor, and the person himself does not need to bow when meeting officials. If one passes as a Martial Graduate, one gains official status. Not only is the entire family exempt from all taxes and corvée labor, but one also receives a tax exemption for three hundred mu of farmland. Others can register land under one's name, and one need only collect the rent. There is also a fixed stipend from the court, along with countless other privileges."

Hearing Wei Yuan say this, Zhao Feng began calculating. His reasons for taking the martial examinations were, first, to lessen his family's burden, and second, to make traveling the martial world more convenient and make it easier to search for his elder brother's whereabouts.

By that measure, passing as a Martial Scholar would already be enough to meet his needs.

"Senior Brother Wei, what exactly is tested in the martial examinations?" Zhao Feng asked.

"The county examination tests two subjects. The first is archery and horsemanship, meaning mounted archery and foot archery. The second is arena combat. The results of both are combined for an overall assessment," Wei Yuan said.

Mounted archery and foot archery—Zhao Feng's heart stirred. His archery had already reached a high level of mastery, so he was surely capable of earning high scores in those two events. That would give him more confidence in the second event, the arena matches.

As the two ate and chatted, Zhao Feng suddenly heard a commotion downstairs, mixed with curses and shouts.

"Zhao Sheng, you've already been expelled from the Zheng Clan Martial Hall. How dare you still wear our martial hall's training uniform and go around swindling people?"

"We told you to return the uniform, yet you actually ran away with it?"

Several disciples of the Zheng Clan Martial Hall surrounded Zhao Sheng, shouting aggressively.

"Senior Brother Yu, for the sake of our past friendship, please let me keep this training uniform as a memento." Zhao Sheng was utterly different from how he had been more than half a year ago, when he had looked down on Zhao Feng and his father. Now he was filthy and bedraggled as he pleaded.

"Zhao Sheng, you're no longer a member of the martial hall. Isn't it inappropriate to call me Senior Brother? I'm only refraining from hitting you out of consideration for our past ties. Hand over the training uniform and save us from hurting our friendship," Senior Brother Yu said impatiently.

"Senior Brothers, I treated you to meals more than once in the past. Why must you press me so hard? Just let me take the training uniform with me," Zhao Sheng pleaded.

"Get lost!" Senior Brother Yu lost his patience and kicked him to the ground.

"You were the one who insisted on treating us to meals. What does that have to do with us? You're no longer part of the martial hall, yet you stole the training uniform. Are you trying to cheat people with it? You deserve a beating!"

Several disciples from the Zheng Clan Martial Hall rained punches and kicks on Zhao Sheng as he lay on the ground, beating him until he wailed miserably.

Zhao Feng looked down coldly from the second-floor window, then shifted his gaze away.

"What, you know him?" Wei Yuan was used to such things and asked casually.

"No."