Tipping him off

Had a demon emerged?

As the head constable's voice rang out, everyone was filled with curiosity.

The three Masters rose immediately, with almost no hesitation.

"Young friend Qingxiao, an urgent matter has arisen. Let us have a proper chat another day."

Master Qi left those words behind and followed the officer away.

The other two Masters did the same.

"Take care, Masters."

Xu Qingxiao had wanted to tell them to stay safe, but thought better of it. At their level, they knew when to advance and retreat. They needed no reminder from him.

Still, Xu Qingxiao was rather curious. Why summon the Masters when a demon emerged?

To condemn it with tongue and pen?

To write essays cursing the demon?

If that really was the case, I could give it a try too.

Zhou Ling had said before that the Confucian Dao in this world did not turn tongues into spears and lips into swords, so Xu Qingxiao truly could not imagine how Confucian scholars slew demons.

He could only wait until the Masters returned and ask them.

But before Xu Qingxiao could say anything, another figure passed through the crowd and came straight up to him.

It was Li Xin.

"Brother Qingxiao, something urgent has come up. Come with me."

Li Xin spoke with a solemn expression, as though something major had happened.

Xu Qingxiao asked no questions. He rose and followed Li Xin away. Wang Ru wanted to follow, but Li Xin spoke up.

"Brother Wang Ru, I can only discuss this with Brother Qingxiao alone. Please forgive me."

The matter was too important for Li Xin to let anyone else listen in, so he could only ask Wang Ru not to follow.

"All right. Brother Qingxiao, I'll wait for you at the inn."

Wang Ru knew when to step back. Li Xin was the Prefectural Lord's son, and he had come specifically to find Xu Qingxiao. With how tense he looked, it had to be something important.

Wang Ru did not follow.

Li Xin pulled Xu Qingxiao along, leaving the Bailu Academy and taking turn after turn. About a quarter of an hour later, they arrived at a private residence.

"Brother Qingxiao, this is my private residence in the prefectural capital. Let's talk inside."

Li Xin invited Xu Qingxiao in.

"All right."

Xu Qingxiao stepped into the residence without hesitation.

Li Xin entered and closed the door. The residence was rather desolate. Though it showed signs of cleaning, there was no trace of anyone living there. It was probably an empty property bought to wait for its value to rise.

"Brother Xu, this matter is of grave importance. I had no choice but to bring you here. Please forgive me."

Li Xin began with an apology, treating Xu Qingxiao with great respect.

"You're being too formal, my friend. With how urgently you came, it must be important. But I don't understand-what exactly is the matter?"

Xu Qingxiao had a guess, but he could not be certain, so he asked.

At that, Li Xin wasted no words and answered directly.

"Brother Xu, do you know Cheng Lidong?"

He asked the question.

"Yes."

Upon hearing that name, Xu Qingxiao knew his guess had been right.

What troubled Xu Qingxiao, however, was why Cheng Lidong still was not dead. It seemed the odds were against Wu Yan.

"Do you have a grudge against him?"

Li Xin asked again.

"None whatsoever."

"But Lord Cheng, Cheng Lidong, visited Ping'an County some days ago. At the time, I had reached the most desperate point of my life. Yet Heaven left me a path out, and I was fortunate enough to survive."

"Lord Cheng, however, has insisted that I practiced some so-called unorthodox art. Brother Li, to tell you the truth, I didn't even know what an unorthodox art was back then."

"Only today did I learn what unorthodox arts were. The whole thing has left me deeply speechless."

Xu Qingxiao did not speak evasively. Instead, he was very direct, presenting the air of someone unafraid of suspicion.

Hearing that, Li Xin nodded at once, then continued.

"Brother Xu, of course I believe you haven't practiced an unorthodox art."

"But Cheng Lidong has offered some groundless pretexts. He said you were terminally ill and beyond treatment, yet suddenly recovered on your own, with no satisfactory explanation. So he insists that you practiced an unorthodox art."

"He asked my father to order your arrest and interrogate you under torture."

Li Xin explained.

Xu Qingxiao's heart tightened. This fellow really was ruthless. Even after he had come to Southern Yu Prefecture, Cheng Lidong still would not leave him alone?

He has no evidence whatsoever, yet he keeps hounding me?

Does he just hate the sight of me?

But Xu Qingxiao did not immediately ask Li Xin what decision his father had made.

Instead, he gave a cold snort.

"I have no taste for fighting over personal gain, but that doesn't mean I'll let others slander me. Brother Li, could you help me? I wish to meet the Prefectural Lord and confront Cheng Lidong face-to-face."

"No, I'll go find Brother Wang Ru right now and have him gather the scholars. I'll confront Cheng Lidong before everyone."

"Everything I do leaves my conscience clear. We scholars may lack even the strength to truss a chicken, but hot blood still runs in our veins."

Xu Qingxiao was furious. Of course, it was an act.

He was not afraid of a confrontation, either. The other man had no evidence, after all. His current behavior was merely a performance for Li Xin.

A normal person's first reaction to a false accusation would be to demand a confrontation. That was only natural. If their first reaction was anything else, it would suggest a guilty conscience.

Sure enough, seeing Xu Qingxiao's fury made Li Xin even more certain that Cheng Lidong had accused an innocent man.

"Brother Xu, I think the same. But rest assured, my father sees every detail clearly. His first reaction was that it was impossible."

"However, because this involves unorthodox arts, the law left my father no choice but to let Cheng Lidong investigate. But he may only investigate in secret. He is forbidden to arrest, detain, or interrogate you."

"After issuing those instructions, my father specifically sent me to find you and let you know in advance. Brother Xu, my father values you highly. After all, you're a great talent of our Southern Yu Prefecture. Please rest assured: if Cheng Lidong dares falsely accuse you, my father will be the first to object."

Li Xin's words made their stance clear: without conclusive evidence, Cheng Lidong could forget about making trouble for him.

Hearing this, Xu Qingxiao inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Outwardly, he first offered his thanks, then quickly returned to his anger.

"Cheng Lidong has slandered me like this just to earn merit. I cannot swallow this insult. Besides, even a secret investigation displeases me greatly. An accusation like this is like filthy sewage-you dare neither touch it nor go near it."

Xu Qingxiao remained indignant, and this time it was no act.

Just imagine: he was reading peacefully, studying diligently, occasionally attending banquets, singing songs and enjoying delicious food, when someone suddenly ran up and said-

"Shorry, I'm a cop. You're under arresht."

Who would still be in the mood to read and study?

As the saying went, guard against petty villains, not gentlemen. Cheng Lidong was clearly a petty villain. From the moment he had interrogated Xu Qingxiao in Ping'an County, Xu Qingxiao had known that this fellow would stop at nothing to achieve his ends.

Li Xin nodded at those words, agreeing with Xu Qingxiao.

Any other matter might have been manageable, but an accusation of practicing unorthodox arts really was sewage. The description was perfectly apt. Anyone who touched it was sickened. If you had not practiced one, it was disgusting; if you had, it was even worse.

But soon, Li Xin continued.

"Brother Xu, I sympathize with your plight. But there is a way to resolve it."

Li Xin's words piqued Xu Qingxiao's curiosity.

"How?"

Xu Qingxiao asked.

"An examination title."

An examination title?

Xu Qingxiao grew curious.

"Yes. If you held an examination title, someone of Cheng Lidong's rank couldn't touch you. Under Great Wei law, scholars who hold such titles are neither subjected to punishment nor thrown into prison."

"Unless it is a major case. And even then, it wouldn't fall to Cheng Lidong to handle it. It would take someone at least at my father's level."

"Brother Xu, let me give you another piece of inside information. His Majesty places exceptional importance on this year's Prefectural Examination. The top thirty-three candidates may be granted examination titles as a special exception. Of course, that means the top thirty-three across all the prefectural examinations in Great Wei combined."

Li Xin revealed a secret.

Xu Qingxiao understood at once.

Normally, one had to go to the capital for the imperial examinations and pass before earning an examination title. In previous years, passing the Prefectural Examination was equivalent to obtaining an entry ticket to the capital examinations.

The commandery examination, meanwhile, was a local civil service examination. Passing it did not confer an examination title, but it allowed one to become an official. Such appointments were restricted to that commandery, whether in its counties or prefectures, and could not cross commandery boundaries.

Some people knew they could not pass the imperial examinations and therefore took the commandery examination instead. Others tried the commandery examination first, then went on to the imperial examinations after passing. If they failed, they could return to serve as officials; if they passed, they would rise above the masses.

For this Prefectural Examination to grant examination titles was truly unprecedented.

But then again, a woman becoming emperor was unprecedented too. On closer comparison, it was not all that remarkable.

"I understand. But whether I can even pass the Prefectural Examination is still in question, let alone place in the top thirty-three. That will be rather difficult."

Xu Qingxiao nodded.

He did not have much hope for this Prefectural Examination, though.

When it came to poetry and lyrics, Xu Qingxiao could borrow from literary works. At worst, he could make a few revisions.

But writing essays?

Xu Qingxiao knew his own limits.

Absolutely not.

"Brother Xu, you're mistaken. If you can compose such a celebrated lyric as Man Jiang Hong, your essays must surely be astonishing as well."

"To tell the truth, even if you took first place, none of us would be surprised."

Li Xin began showering him with extravagant flattery.

Xu Qingxiao smiled and offered a few modest remarks, the general gist being: I couldn't possibly, I couldn't possibly-I think you're far more capable.

Li Xin was flustered, and all his responses amounted to: I couldn't possibly, I couldn't possibly-Brother Xu is the truly amazing one.

After a round of mutual flattery, there was nothing else to discuss.

This was the reason Li Xin had been so eager to find Xu Qingxiao. Earlier, Xu Qingxiao had been reading in the library, and Li Xin had not dared disturb him. After all, even the Masters had left him alone; it would have been improper for Li Xin to interrupt.

Now that he had said his piece, Li Xin did not intend to delay Xu Qingxiao any further.

The Prefectural Examination was the day after tomorrow. Getting back to prepare was the proper course.

They said their farewells. Just before leaving, Li Xin suddenly mentioned that his father would host a banquet after the Prefectural Examination for the talented candidates who had taken it, and invited Xu Qingxiao to attend.

Xu Qingxiao was no fool. He knew what this meant, but agreed without hesitation.

Once they had parted-

Xu Qingxiao headed toward his lodgings.

His pace was fairly brisk, and he did not let his mind wander.

The Prefectural Lord of Southern Yu Prefecture had permitted Cheng Lidong to investigate him secretly. Presumably, he was being watched at every moment.

It was even quite possible that the other man had witnessed Li Xin tipping him off just now.

But that did not matter. If he had seen it, so be it. Whatever else Cheng Lidong might be, he was only a provisional company commander. Before the Prefectural Lord, he was still a minor figure.

After parting with Li Xin, however, Xu Qingxiao did not want to appear burdened with worries. If Cheng Lidong really was watching him from the shadows, such behavior would only strengthen his conviction that Xu Qingxiao had practiced an unorthodox art.

Cheng Lidong, oh, Cheng Lidong.

This man must die.

Otherwise, I will never know peace.

On the street, Xu Qingxiao made that resolve.

But in the very next moment-

A familiar figure appeared not far away.

It was-

Cheng Lidong.