"Should we stir up some more trouble?"
Now that Feng Bingwen has returned to the Feng family mansion, he is naturally not at peace, as the date of the prefectural examination is drawing near.
During the county examination, in a moment of impulsiveness, he wrote a policy essay that made many aristocratic families feel threatened, thus triggering a small test.
This test was very rewarding for Feng Bingwen. Although his knowledge of the Heavenly Book had been wiped out, he believed that a great benefit would soon come his way.
Well, compared to the nearly two hundred thousand merits spent on good deeds, the mere thousand evil calamities are nothing to worry about, not worth mentioning, and can basically be ignored.
"Let's do it!"
Without much hesitation, Feng Bingwen decided to write another policy essay for the prefectural examination, hoping to provoke the powerful families and clans into sending another group to test their abilities.
However, Feng Bingwen realized that he had underestimated the patience of the powerful families. He felt that he had displayed the full flair of a master calligrapher, and the words he expressed were something that anyone with a temper would find unbearable.
But as a result, he once again won first place in the prefectural examination. After winning first place, he patiently waited for several days in the small courtyard that his parents had specially arranged for him. However, everything was calm and peaceful, and no ghosts or monsters came to attack him. It was unusually quiet.
What's going on?
In the exquisite and elegant, antique-style courtyard, Feng Bingwen strolled around. He was currently participating in the prefectural examination and was naturally in Longchuan Prefecture.
Unlike other candidates who had to rent rooms in inns in the city, or even have to stay in woodsheds because they were short of money, Feng Bingwen was arranged by his parents to stay in a quiet and elegant courtyard when he first arrived in the prefectural city.
This small courtyard is not large, with only three courtyards and three entrances, covering less than three acres. Its only advantage is that it is very close to the examination hall for the prefectural examination, and one can reach the examination hall in no time.
Feng Bingwen didn't ask his parents how much effort they had put into this small courtyard. Although land in this prefectural city was incredibly valuable, and land near the prefectural examination site was so expensive that ordinary people would be dumbfounded just by looking at it.
However, when he occasionally paid attention to what his parents were doing, he knew that this amount of money was a small sum for them and not worth mentioning at all.
Therefore, Feng Bingwen only paid a slight distraction to such mundane matters before no longer caring about them. What he cared about now was his accumulated good deeds, which he had already exhausted.
There was no other way; for Feng Bingwen, good deeds were like savings in the hands of an ordinary person. If one had enough savings, one would have something to rely on no matter what one faced, and one would feel more calm and composed.
"I can't catch any fish!"
Feng Bingwen frowned and pondered for a moment. He felt that the content of the prefectural examination strategy was still too light for those aristocratic families. It was not as important as the land survey he wrote for the county examination.
"It seems the only option left is to bring up the tax system."
The boy narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't care how far he could go on the path of the imperial examination. As for winning first place twice, even though his family was overjoyed and his grandfather was ecstatic, he didn't care much.
"Bingwen, your father is going to the capital of Jingzhou to discuss business. Do you want to go with him?"
At this moment, Feng Bingwen's courtyard gate was pushed open by a woman accompanied by two beautiful maids. The young man turned his head and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
"mother!"
Looking at this woman dressed in gorgeous clothes, with beautiful black hair, bright eyes, and a calm and composed demeanor, Feng Bingwen was in a very good mood.
The Gene Era
"There's still over a month until the provincial examination. Isn't it too early to go now?"
“It’s not early. You can go earlier. You can explore the capital city. There are many novel things there that you’ve never seen before. You should also relax. You’ve been studying too hard these past few years. It’s time to unwind.”
Yu Xiulian stepped forward, extending her calloused and not particularly attractive hands to smooth the wrinkles in Feng Bingwen's clothes, while replying with a smile.
"Alright then!"
Feng Bingwen, upon hearing this, readily agreed. The autumn imperial examinations. The most important one was actually the provincial examination, which selected successful candidates for the imperial examinations; the prefectural, county, and county examinations were merely supplementary.
He passed the county and prefectural examinations and came in first place. Now he can be considered a student of the first level of the imperial examinations, a true scholar, and has the minor privilege of not having to bow to officials. But that's about it.
For ordinary people to achieve upward social mobility through education, they had to pass the provincial examination and obtain the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination). That would truly bring blessings to three generations, and with a little effort, they might even be able to create a family of scholars.
"Be careful on the road, your dad is a bit careless..."
Upon hearing Feng Bingwen agree to his proposal, Yu Xiulian's face lit up with joy, though her eyes dimmed slightly. However, she quickly rallied, taking her son's hand and launching into a long, drawn-out explanation.
Aside from his complaints about Feng Bingwen's father, who had abandoned literature for business, there were some extremely tedious and verbose instructions, as well as some everyday family matters.
Feng Bingwen listened patiently to his mother's instructions with a smile in his eyes, showing no sign of annoyance.
His hands, which were being held, emitted a faint five-colored light in the spirit world, which was unobservable to mortals, and silently merged into Yu Huilian's body.
This led to a fundamental change in the body of the already shrewd and capable mistress of the Feng family business, who became immune to all diseases and evil spirits, albeit incidentally.
There are many other matters that need not be elaborated upon. Three days later, amidst his mother's reluctant farewell, Feng Bingwen boarded a caravan led by his father and embarked on his journey to the capital of Jinglin.
The scenery along the way was beautiful. Although there were some dangerous moments, that was only for ordinary people. For Feng Bingwen at this moment, it was really boring.
There's no way around it. The country has been peaceful for a long time. Any slightly arrogant outliers will be suppressed before they can cause any trouble. Those who should be killed will be killed, and those who should be imprisoned will be imprisoned. They can't make any waves.
Ordinary merchants at most encounter wild animals. As long as there are a few people, they are basically fearless. Even tigers in the mountains can be easily hunted and killed, and their skins can be peeled off.
Therefore, almost no dangers occurred along the way, and the caravan, stretching for miles, soon arrived at Jinglin Capital, a large city built amidst the surrounding mountains.
"Young Master, we plan to rest for a while before entering the city. Would you like to come out and stretch your legs?"
Feng Bingwen, who was peacefully practicing his magic in the most luxurious carriage in the convoy, soon heard the questioning voice outside. He leisurely opened his eyes, and his spiritual sense swept across a radius of fifty miles, where he saw the majestic and imposing capital city that would seem imposing to ordinary people.
"No need."
Feng Bingwen naturally refused outright. For some reason, he had been feeling increasingly depressed these past few days.
It wasn't like this a few days ago, but as he got closer to the capital, he gradually felt as if something was being suppressed within him, and he found it increasingly difficult to meditate.
"yes."
The steward who came to inquire from outside the carriage assumed that the young master was shy and unwilling to show himself too much in public. After all, it was said that the young master had only grown up in the countryside and had little experience, so it was not surprising that he was a little afraid of people.
Rumble—
Just then, the peaceful earth suddenly trembled violently. The mountains rumbled, the trees shook, flocks of birds flew into the sky in panic, and wild beasts scattered in all directions.
"What happened?"
"It's just an earthquake, no need to panic. We're on level ground, everything's fine. Protect the goods."
"Don't startle the horse."
The sudden earthquake caused panic among most people, but fortunately, most of the caravan managers were hired by Feng Zichuan at high salaries. They were experienced and had encountered all kinds of unexpected events. They quickly reacted, calmed the crowd, and also calmed the frightened horses.
However, unlike the caravan that quickly returned to order, Feng Bingwen suddenly opened his eyes the moment the rumbling began. This time, he finally found the source of his restlessness these past few days.
"Capital, something is calling me!"
The moment the thought arose, Feng Bingwen couldn't sit still. He skillfully gathered the drifting water mist in the air, leaving behind a phantom clone that was identical to himself and could even react according to the external situation. In a flash, he had already passed through the carriage and merged into the ground.
Lesser Innate Five Elements Escape Technique!
Once he sank to the ground, Feng Bingwen was like a fish in water. Neither mud, sand, nor even mineral veins of extremely poor quality could stop him. All acquired elements of the Five Elements were as if they did not exist in front of him, and they were all passed through in an instant.
So, while his father's caravan was still resting outside the capital city, Feng Bingwen had already traversed most of the city and arrived at the source of the call he had sensed.
However, upon arriving at this point, Feng Bingwen finally encountered a hindrance—a place that even his mastery of the Lesser Innate Five Elements Escape Technique could not penetrate.
Feng Bingwen was not a stubborn person. If the road ahead was blocked, he would just take a detour. With a thought, he emerged from the ground and saw a deep and dark palace complex.
"Demon Slayer Bureau?"
As Feng Bingwen emerged from the ground, he immediately saw the plaque hanging at the main gate of the palace. He was all too familiar with its profound aura and the restrained killing intent within it, only the killing intent here was even more profound.
Who is it?
The entrance to a special institution like the Demon Slayer Bureau is usually deserted, so it's hard not to notice someone suddenly appearing on the bluestone-paved square.
However, before Feng Bingwen could reply, he saw a beam of dark yellow light suddenly erupt from the highest point of this special institution's headquarters, which was surrounded by palaces, transforming into a pillar of light that reached the heavens and the earth...
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