"Sis, you don't look well."
Shen Yang, standing at the entrance of the examination hall, looked at Shen Xue had a pale face, and was immediately puzzled. Yesterday, his cousin had been radiant, so why did she look like she had caught a cold today?
He ate a bowl of meat worm noodles in the morning, and felt warm all over and full of energy. He remembered that his cousin had eaten a lot, and the meat worms were very nourishing. She also drank a bowl of ginger soup in the morning. According to medical theory, this is the time when a person should be most energetic, but his cousin was in this state.
"It's nothing." Shen Xue forced a smile. Her pale face looked rather eerie even in broad daylight. She herself hadn't expected that the puppet would absorb so much essence this time. She almost couldn't get up this morning!
That thing is getting weirder and weirder. I'll only use it this once. I won't need it anymore after I pass the test. My basic calculation skills aren't bad. What I lack is meditation ability. In this environment, as long as I can get into the academy, I can catch up even if my meditation talent is a little lacking.
"Cousin, take it easy," Shen Yang said with some concern. "Especially during your lunch break, don't take a long nap. You're clearly in a state of qi and blood deficiency. A long nap at noon could cause your qi and blood to stagnate in the afternoon, affecting your exams."
"Okay, thank you for reminding me, Brother Yang." Shen Xue showed gratitude.
"All candidates, admission exam!"
Hearing the urging voices outside, Shen Xue looked at Shen Yang: "Study hard on the exam. If you can stay in Liuzhou, stay. This is a rare opportunity."
"I know, cousin, you too."
After saying goodbye, Shen Xue followed the guards to the examination site of the Earth Academy. It was a very spacious place with a bright view and wide spacing. The rooms were even equipped with cooling ice jade. This treatment was much better than that of the students taking the imperial examination in the capital. In the capital, if you accidentally drew a bad number, many students would faint from the smell in the examination room.
Despite such favorable conditions, Shen Xue's face turned even paler.
Already weak and lacking in energy, she was suddenly struck by the icy cold air, feeling her hands and feet go cold and her whole body become drowsy.
Answering the questions was more difficult than she had imagined; the meditation test outside the hospital had almost exhausted her strength.
This scene was witnessed by a young boy in feathered robes. He frowned slightly, but still raised his hand voluntarily.
"Does this young master have something to discuss?"
The exam papers have already been handed out, so why isn't this young master answering the questions properly? What kind of trouble is he causing now?
"Sir," the young man in feathered robes said with a gentle smile, "This young lady in front seems to be unwell. She probably can't withstand the cold of the ice jade. I wonder if the examination hall could provide her with two warm jades separately?"
The officer hesitated for a moment, glanced at Shen Xue, whose face was deathly pale, and finally nodded. "I'll go apply. You guys wait a moment."
Shen Xue immediately showed gratitude and turned to say, "Thank you, young master."
The young man in feathered robes smiled slightly, but lowered his voice and said, "If you can, young lady, it's best to avoid worshipping those evil things. Some things may seem to bring short-term benefits, but in reality, they can be quite deadly!"
Shen Xue's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. Who was this young man? How did he immediately recognize that she was worshipping something foreign?
The young master in feathered robes didn't say much, and began to examine his own exam paper. After all, it was an examination hall, and whispering was to be kept to a minimum. The other person seemed to be a pitiful person, so he only gave her a few pointers. Whether she listened or not was up to her.
The young man in feathered robes was none other than Murong Bingyun. He had originally planned to go to the Mystic Academy, but after discussing it with several other disciples, they decided to divide the tasks. He chose the Earth Academy and happened to sit behind Shen Xue.
He could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Shen Xue's condition.
He had seen the other person the day before the exam. At that time, the other person was full of energy. Especially in Liuzhou, a place with abundant spiritual energy and nourishing food, the most common occurrence was nosebleeds due to the person's inability to tolerate the nourishment. He had never seen anyone become weaker and weaker as they ate.
It's obvious that the other person's vital essence was drained, leading to a weakened state of qi and blood.
He had seen this phenomenon quite often in the Northern Desolation Kingdom.
The Ancient Desolation Kingdom has a high rate of demon infiltration because the government leads the way in worshipping and sacrificing to demon gods, and this practice naturally spreads among the common people. Many people with weak self-control are easily tempted by some inexplicable demons and privately perform sacrifices and worship in exchange for extraordinary power.
After all, for ordinary people, this way of gaining special abilities simply by worshipping and offering sacrifices is too easy and natural, much like usury in the private sector!
However, the outcome is usually not good!
Those demons, who are small in number and whose origins are unknown, initially have very low requirements. They only need a small amount of your essence and blood to meet some of your needs, which makes the price acceptable to you.
But once you fall into their trap and start to depend on them, things get complicated. Their demands will become increasingly higher, and the temptations they offer will become increasingly greater. He has seen many tragic cases. Some mothers initially just wanted to become more beautiful so that their husbands wouldn't go out and fool around. But later they became trapped in it, unwilling to lose their enviable beauty, and in the end, they gave their husbands their hearts and souls to the demons they were worshipping!
People always get caught up in these desires and end up becoming the kind of person they never dared to imagine themselves to be!
"Hey, little girl, I brought you some warm jade, and I also had the kitchen heat up some cloud beast liver soup for you. It's very good for replenishing blood." About fifteen minutes later, the tall soldier returned and handed her the warm jade and a bowl of meat soup.
"How can you be so weak at such a young age? Study hard! In Liuzhou, which family doesn't raise a child like you to be healthy and chubby?"
Shen Xue was taken aback. Looking at the soldier's incessant lecturing, a warmth inexplicably warmed her heart. She took the soup and softly said, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me, do your best on the exam, Jiangnan Academy is not easy to get into."
"Um"
"Ahem!" The examiner, standing on the platform, coughed a few times, staring at the incessantly chattering soldier with displeasure.
Seeing this, the soldier smiled sheepishly, "Alright, focus on the exam. That kid over there too!"
"Thank you, General Xie," Murong Bingyun said with a smile, looking up.
The atmosphere here was indeed better than in any other city he had ever seen.
There's a saying in the Central Plains: "When people are well-fed and clothed, they know honor and shame." Only when people are free from worries about food and clothing will they pursue more things. The people here are generally peaceful, mainly because they live a good life.
Unlike the Ancient Desolation Kingdom, where everyone was wary of one another, pedestrians were incredibly indifferent, and most of the people were inherently cruel and belligerent—now that I think about it, wasn't it all forced upon them by their environment?
If only the Northern Wasteland could be like the south of the Jiangnan.
Murong Bingyun shook her head, sighed, and focused her attention on the exam paper. There would always be a chance; first, she had to get into this academy.
But he didn't notice that in front of him, in Shen Xue's backpack, there was a strange wooden puppet that had been staring at him intently ever since he entered!
--
"Hey, do you really need to be so serious?"
At the same time, two important figures entered Shen Xue's room. If anyone in Liuzhou had any experience, they would be quite surprised to see these two, as they were both very important people.
After several of the Shen Family patriarchs passed Underworld, Seventh Master Shen Seventh Master Shen is now practically the rightful face of the family. Thanks to the Shen Family's active participation in the development of Jiangnan and their various subsidies for small-scale merchants willing to go out to do business, they have won a good reputation. The Shen Family's reputation is now significantly better than it was a few years ago.
The second one is Wei Gongcheng, the ruler of the Underworld in Liuzhou!
Wei Gongcheng is the first Underworld lord in the Jiangnan region and currently the only City God god who is not from the Shen Family. His status is even among the top in the Underworld of the Shen Family family nobles. This is mainly because he has done a very good job as the first model. Under his management, the entire Liuzhou Underworld is very orderly and peaceful. Because he is fair in his dealings, the resentment of the underworld spirits is also very small. Many of them praise the goodness of the Underworld in their dreams, which makes the yin and yang magnetic field of the entire Liuzhou quite stable. Even a proud person like Second Master Shen admires Wei Gongcheng for this.
They come here to learn from us whenever they have free time.
These two individuals, usually busy and important, came to Shen Xue's residence together today.
Clearly, things are not simple.