Suddenly, a large number of ancient seal characters appeared on the smooth pages of the book. Each line recorded in detail the good deeds that Feng Bingwen had done. Feng Bingwen, who was already familiar with the book, skipped over the events below and looked at the top line.

warding off evil, performing good deeds, five!

"..."

Feng Bingwen remained silent. Since birth, he had been the model child in the village, the kind of child that everyone else wanted. He would do whatever the adults said as long as it was reasonable, and he basically never caused trouble or made a fuss.

His two elders told him not to go to the back of the village, and he always remembered that. But the kids he was playing with that day got carried away and ran straight to the back of the village without a care. He was afraid they would cause some trouble, so he followed them.

As it turned out, those guys were fine, but he was the one who suffered. He lay in bed for a whole day and night, had nightmares, and felt terrible.

Looking at the records in the Heavenly Book, wow, wasn't it him who shielded those friends from evil?

only

"What's the point of this anyway?"

Turning the page again, looking at the little bit of good deeds he had painstakingly accumulated since birth, Feng Bingwen felt helpless. At first, he was very excited, but now he had to relax.

This celestial book seemed to have existed since his birth. He discovered it by chance when he closed his eyes and focused his breath unintentionally. At first, he was extremely excited, thinking it was an extraordinary treasure.

After seven years of searching, he still hadn't found any use for it. Well, when he did some good deeds, whether intentionally or unintentionally, this heavenly book would record them and add a little bit of merit to his record.

And that was it. This scroll of heavenly book seemed to be just a simple record. The good deeds he accumulated did not bring him any benefits. He was still an ordinary naughty child, with the slightest difference being that he would have some strange dreams.

"It's good to live a peaceful and stable life!"

Despite his small stature, Feng Bingwen is very content.

"Go to sleep!"

After glancing once more at the meager amount of merit, Feng Bingwen calmed his mind, freeing himself from any distracting thoughts, and soon fell into a deep sleep, breathing evenly.

Oh oh oh—

Accompanied by a piercing rooster crow, the sun rose in the east, and sunlight streamed through the window, falling onto the bed and illuminating a thin child with clear, bright eyes.

"Hmm~"

Feng Bingwen sat up in bed, stretched comfortably, and then obediently dressed himself.

When he was still old enough to remember things, his grandfather tried to teach him to recite poems and prose. Although Feng Bingwen could memorize them quickly, he subconsciously felt that it was inappropriate to do so, and he did not want to go to school so early.

While studying can indeed change one's destiny and bring honor to one's ancestors, isn't he still too young? Why is he torturing himself so early? The title of child prodigy may be dazzling in the early stages, but it will be a very heavy burden later on.

Moreover, when participating in the imperial examinations, there's no need to aim for the highest rank like Jinshi or Zhuangyuan. Passing the Xiucai exam is enough to ensure a comfortable life, and passing the Juren exam guarantees a life of plenty for three generations.

His ambition was modest; he would be content to become a scholar who passed the imperial examinations.

Nowadays, Feng Bingwen is a free man, and children his age don't need to go to the fields to help.

When he grew a few more years older, some of the kids he played with from wealthier families were sent to the county middle school, while others went to the fields with the adults to learn how to farm.

"Brother Wenzi!"

The noisy sounds came from beside him. Feng Bingwen, who was lost in thought, looked up and saw a big, painted face grinning as it approached him, proudly showing him its spoils.

"Ergou, you've gotten yourself all dirty again. When we get home, your mother is definitely going to beat you!"

If Feng Bingwen remembered correctly, this guy was clean when he left home in the morning, but in less than half an hour, he was covered in dust.

"Hehe, it's nothing, Brother Wenzi. Look at this sparrow I caught, isn't it pretty?"

Upon hearing that he would be beaten when he got home, the mud-covered little guy instinctively shrank back. But seeing his current disheveled state, he didn't care anymore. Since he was going to get a beating when he got home anyway, he might as well have some fun now.

"It really is beautiful!"

Feng Bingwen examined the sparrow held in the hand of his mud-monkey-like companion. It was not much different in size from ordinary sparrows, but the little sparrow's tail feathers were a bright, deep purple, shimmering with a magnificent purple light under the sunlight.

Chirp!

The sparrow, clutched in the child's hand, trembled slightly and cried out in panic, looking extremely frightened.

"Brother Wenzi, do you want it? If you do, it's yours!"

The mischievous boy grinned and generously extended his hand forward, but there was a hint of reluctance in his eyes.

"You rascal, I usually have to beg you to release the toads before you agree. Why are you so enlightened today? Tell me, what do you want from me?"

Feng Bingwen smiled at the mischievous child; at such a young age, even if he had thoughts, he couldn't hide them.

"Brother Wenzi".

The mischievous boy hesitated for a moment, seemingly embarrassed, but then, remembering something, he finally spoke.

“My father wanted me to go to the county school to learn to read and write.”

"That's great news!"

Feng Bingwen nodded in approval. In this era, even if one could not pass the imperial examinations, as long as one could read and write, one could find a decent job. If one was clever, one might even be able to make a living as a lowly clerk in the government office.

“But my mother said there wasn’t enough money, so my father asked me to ask you if your grandfather could talk to the academy and see if the tuition could be paid in grain?”

"I see!"

Feng Bingwen pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded under the nervous gaze of the mischievous child.

"Okay, I'll go home and ask Grandpa if he can come up with a compromise so you can go to school."

"Thank you, Brother Wenzi, this bird is for you."

Without waiting for Feng Bingwen's reply, the mischievous boy handed the purple-tailed sparrow in his hand and ran off to show it off to the other children.

"So excited to go to school..."

Seeing his friend's innocent and romantic look, Feng Bingwen couldn't help but laugh, but soon the chirping of birds drew his attention back to his hand, where he examined the unusual sparrow.

Well, apart from the few pretty feathers on its tail, Feng Bingwen didn't see anything special about the bird. It was just that the bird's eyes looked like two black crystals, so moist that they seemed to be dripping with water.

"Let's go, lest we get caught again. Not everyone is as kind-hearted as me!"

The child released his hand, and the purple-tailed sparrow flapped its wings and flew into the sky. It circled once, seemingly giving Feng Bingwen a serious look, before flapping its wings and flying away again.