Chapter 877 Song Zhian's Kindness
White mist appeared.
As the ten people entered the main hall, some of them looked worried and kept turning back to look at Senior Sister Yuan, who was standing at the entrance of the hall.
Senior Sister Yuan said coldly, but then offered a hint:
"Go in, don't look back, go as deep as you can... This is the third test."
She paused, then added:
"Don't worry, with Lady Liu in charge, she will protect you. Go forward with peace of mind, and maybe... you'll have a dream."
Apart from Ouyang Rong and Song Zhian, the other nine people breathed a slight sigh of relief and began to walk into the hall, letting the surrounding white mist gradually thicken.
After passing the second challenge, Lu Jinghong was in high spirits, looking at the white mist ahead, eager to try his luck:
"Is this the third challenge, a test of mental fortitude? Let's split up..."
"Wait, wait a minute."
Song Zhian, who had unknowingly ended up at the back of the line, suddenly spoke up.
Ouyang Rong, Sha Ergou, and Yu Xiaoniangzi all turned around.
Song Zhian glanced at the other five people, having already left them behind, and followed Senior Sister Yuan's instructions to walk deeper into the area.
The other five people were probably strangers to each other and not familiar with the five of them, so they naturally acted independently.
Sha Ergou glanced at Song Zhian, who remained silent, and couldn't help but ask:
"Is Miss Song afraid of the fog? Should we talk to Senior Sister Yuan about it?"
"Need not."
Song Zhian seemed to snap out of her daze, turning her gaze away from the white mist ahead and waving her hand:
"Listen to me, this third test will, without a doubt, be a competition to see who can go the furthest."
Lu Jinghong's eager movements faltered, and he asked in confusion:
"What do you mean? Could it be that there's something dirty inside, like those rude, smelly monkeys from Momotani?"
"No, but there is definitely something fishy about it."
Seemingly noticing Senior Sister Yuan's gaze from outside the hall, scrutinizing them as they hesitated, Song Zhian deliberately crouched down, bowing her head as if to tie a knot in her trailing skirt to prevent a fall. At the same time, with her back to the hall entrance, she lowered her voice and said:
"I've heard that this white mist can cause people to enter strange dreams, and the dreams vary from person to person. But if you get trapped in a dream, your steps will slow down, or you might even stop in place..."
"So, my guess is that if you want to get good grades, you have to stay awake and try to postpone falling into a dream state in order to achieve the best results."
"When you go inside, don't let your guard down, and try to stay alert."
Lu Jinghong pondered: "Stay awake?"
Sha Ergou muttered, "Dreaming? In broad daylight, they expect us to dream? Haha, that's just a pipe dream."
Ouyang Rong glanced at the pretty young woman in front of him who was stalling for time and calmly analyzing the situation for them.
Miss Yu, slightly flustered, hurriedly put away the bag of pastries:
"Oh? Why didn't you say so earlier, Sister Song? Then I'll eat less, because I'll feel sleepy if I eat too much."
Upon seeing this, everyone's lips twitched slightly.
Song Zhian suddenly turned her head and asked Lu Jinghong:
"Do you still have the cooling balm I gave you this morning?"
"Cooling balm?" Lu Jinghong was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously replied, "I...I've used it all up."
He fumbled with his sleeve, then suddenly realized what was happening and looked up sharply, asking:
"Wait, Miss Song, you mean... to use it to refresh and stay awake?"
Song Zhian lowered her eyes slightly and said, "Mm."
"But we're out. Miss Song, do you have any left?" Lu Jinghong looked embarrassed and said with a hint of self-reproach, "I should have saved some. Anyway, the second level wasn't too difficult..."
He turned his head and glared at Sha Ergou with displeasure:
"It's all your fault!"
Sha Ergou asked in surprise, "Why blame me? It wasn't me who used it."
Before Lu Jinghong could speak, Song Zhian stood up, interrupting them.
"Alright, there's no time to argue, we need to go in."
With her back to the palace entrance, she fumbled in her sleeve and, in front of everyone, took out a small, bright green blade of grass.
Ouyang Rong noticed that the roots of the green grass were covered with wet, fresh mud, as if they had been picked not long ago. He wondered if Song Zhian had picked them on the way.
The green grass has six leaves.
The beautiful young woman from Jiannan Road picked the leaves one by one and handed them to Ouyang Rong and his companions, her voice calm:
"It's okay if you don't have cooling balm. In my hometown, this is called butterfly grass. The leaves are very sour and bitter. When I was a child, there was a war in my hometown. I saw soldiers chewing the leaves of this grass to keep themselves awake while traveling at night. But you can't eat the roots; they can easily cause bloating..."
“I just happened to pass by and saw it, so I picked one. Let’s each take a piece and try to stay alert so we can get into the main hall.”
Ouyang Rong glanced at Ye Zi, then at the calm and composed Song Zhian, and suddenly remembered that when they met at the cave entrance after the second level, this Miss Song seemed to have been staring at the outside of the cave.
Moreover, Song Zhian and Yu Xiaoniangzi happened to be at the very end of the line. Logically speaking, it's not such a coincidence. There should be quite a few young ladies in their batch, so they shouldn't be at the very end, unless... they deliberately delayed.
It seems that Song Zhian had already heard some rumors about the third level and began to prepare countermeasures according to local conditions.
The fact that Song Zhian was able to figure out the rules and come up with the best solution in such a short time shows that she was even more thoughtful than Ouyang Rong had thought of before.
Ouyang Rong glanced at Song Zhian, who was distributing leaflets, and silently took one.
Lu Jinghong's face lit up with joy as he took the leaf:
"Thank you very much, Miss Song. You are so thoughtful."
Sha Ergou and Yu Xiaoniangzi quickly accepted the leaf, the latter nodding like a chick pecking at rice:
"Sister Song is amazing, so amazing."
She looked down at the leaves again, muttering to herself, "By the way, if it tastes sour and bitter, should we eat it with some dessert?"
Everyone: ...
There were six leaves in total. After everyone took one, Song Zhian had two leaves left.
Apart from the oblivious Sha Ergou, Ouyang Rong and Lu Jinghong's eyes fell on the extra green leaf.
Lu Jinghong immediately spoke up: "Perfect, Miss Song, take one more piece..."
Song Zhian suddenly turned her head and faced the silent, taciturn young man, saying:
“Brother Liu, you can take this extra piece. Although you performed very well in the first round and were decent in the second round, your bone age is a major weakness. Brother Sha has a younger bone age, so the requirements for entering the Bamboo Hall are not as strict. As for Young Master Lu, it seems that you are already guaranteed admission.”
“As for Yu Meimei and me, I’ve estimated the scores of the other people several times, so we shouldn’t have too much to worry about. So here’s an extra butterfly leaf for you to keep and try to do better in the third round.”
Ouyang Rong didn't move, his reaction seemingly as wooden as ever.
Lu Jinghong used his sword sheath to block the leaf offered by the delicate hand from the awkward young man, and couldn't help but speak:
“But Miss Song, the Yue Maiden’s assessment is also very important to you. You were just one breath away from being accepted as a disciple by the Queen in the first round. You were able to analyze the secret of the third round of assessment and even took out this butterfly leaf to give one to each of us. That’s already generous enough. You should keep the extra leaf…”
Song Zhian shook her head and stuffed the extra butterfly leaf into Ouyang Rong's hand.
She chuckled softly:
"I almost missed the first round, but that's just fate. Now, it seems that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, that tattooed girl will also excel in the third round, and there's a high chance she'll take first place. I estimate it will be difficult for her to compete for first place. There's no need to be so stubborn. Heh, from another perspective, this trip into the Sword Swamp has given me the opportunity to witness a once-in-a-decade prodigy in person, and to be in the same batch as him. It's an honor... Let's not talk about this anymore. Brother Liu, do your best."
Song Zhian offered words of comfort, but her tone and demeanor left no room for refusal, directly deciding the distribution of the butterfly grass.
Lu Jinghong hesitated for a moment, then sheathed his sword and glanced at the taciturn Brother Liu, then at Song Zhian.
He gritted his teeth and handed the butterfly grass he was clutching in his palm to Song Zhian:
“Miss Song, then you may use this piece of mine, and I will not need it…”
Song Zhian firmly shook her head:
"Young Master Lu, please take this. One piece is enough for me."
Sha Ergou couldn't help but interject:
"No need, Young Master Lu. How about giving it to Brother Liu or me..."
Young Master Lu's expression changed slightly. Before he could answer, Song Zhian suddenly stepped forward, walked past the crowd, and waved her hand:
"Alright, let's do it my way. Hurry up and go in. We can't delay any longer. Senior Sister Yuan is coming in."
The four of them realized what was happening and immediately followed Song Zhian's footsteps, heading towards the white mist ahead.
The other five, besides them, had disappeared into the white mist, their whereabouts unknown, or perhaps, how far they had gone.
After walking only a few steps, one can clearly feel that the surrounding white fog is getting thicker and thicker, as if the deeper one goes, the thicker the white fog becomes.
Although for some person, this meager concentration of white fog is nothing compared to the "questioning session" last night.
But for Song, Lu, and Sha, it was an extremely strange and novel thing.
At this moment, they realized that if they were far away, they could not see their companions at all.
So the five of them huddled together and stood very close to each other.
All they could see was a vast expanse of white. The five of them remained silent and continued walking forward.
Lu Jinghong suddenly spoke up by yawning.
Sha Ergou seemed to be tired of looking, so he rubbed his eyes and his eyelids drooped slightly.
Ouyang Rong noticed that Song Zhian's pace had gradually slowed down.
She stopped, took out a leaf, and rubbed it between her palms.
Song Zhian first dipped some green juice in her eyes and under her nose, seemingly to stimulate her five senses, then poured the leaf fragments from her palm into her mouth and held them in her mouth with gritted teeth.
Without waiting for anyone, Han Ye Xiao Niang strode forward and plunged into the hazy white mist, disappearing from sight.
Seeing this, Lu, Sha, and Yu followed suit, smearing green juice on their faces and holding leaves in their mouths. They didn't bother with polite farewells and rushed into the white mist one by one.
Taking advantage of the stimulation from the butterfly leaves and before fatigue set in, the four ran as far as they could.
Sha Erge was the last one to run forward, after Ouyang Rong. Before running, he couldn't speak, but he still emphasized "hmm" a few times to Ouyang Rong, as if to remind him of something.
Ouyang Rong understood what he meant.
Seeing that everyone else was rushing off and no one was paying attention to him, Ouyang Rong continued to walk forward in a "dull and slow" manner.
He looked down at the two butterfly leaves in his hand. Instead of smearing the juice on his face, he put the two leaves in his mouth and slowly chewed on a small part of the leaf tip.
The juice tasted incredibly sour and bitter, making one frown.
With his hand on the bamboo tube at his waist, Ouyang Rong walked unhurriedly through the white mist, his eyes clear and bright, unlike the "drowsy and unbearable" feeling of his four companions.
If I'm not mistaken, the Hall of Mental Cultivation should be divided into inner and outer areas. The assessment is currently being conducted in the outer hall area, which is presided over by the Sixth Lady.
The difficulty was far less than the white mist in the inner sanctuary that was almost condensing into water droplets.
After experiencing the truly "nourishing" white mist, Ouyang Rong felt no drowsiness whatsoever when faced with these simplified versions of the white mist, which would otherwise induce a dreamlike state.
He even had a vague, unwavering premonition that if he summoned the projection of the "Humble Scholar" at this moment and used the "Hundred and Eight Bells," even just one ring would instantly dispel all the white mist in the outer hall, allowing the group of young men and women undergoing the assessment to escape the illusion...
After walking for a short while, Ouyang Rong suddenly stopped and squinted at the view.
He saw a figure.
A still, motionless figure.
Ouyang Rong approached, looked at her, and recognized her... She was a strange girl among the ten people. At this moment, her face was shrouded in mist, and he could vaguely see that she was standing in place with her brows furrowed and fear showing on her small face from time to time.
Ouyang Rong ignored her and continued walking forward.
Along the way, he paid little attention to the other unfamiliar young men and women, passing by several one by one.
Before long, he finally spotted a familiar figure.
He raised an eyebrow, and after seeing who it was, his expression showed a slight surprise.
This was not the person he initially guessed would be the first to stop among the four: Song, Lu, Yu, and Sha.
The person standing silently before me was Song Zhi'an.
Based on his past observations, this Miss Song's willpower should be among the strongest...
At least it won't be lower than the other three.
But the facts are right in front of us.
Everything has a cause and effect.
Ouyang Rong leaned closer and observed carefully. He noticed that the young lady Song had a troubled and hesitant look on her closed face, wondering what difficult dream she had encountered.
Ouyang Rong continued walking forward and soon encountered an acquaintance again.
Lu Jinghong.
His face was filled with terror, and his arms, which were holding the sword, trembled slightly.
It was as if they had encountered some terrifying scene.
Ouyang Rong continued walking forward.
They encountered Sha Ergou.
The short-haired young man was in tears, his dark face showing a sorrowful expression.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips and raised his hand to press down his felt hat.
For some unknown reason, he continued forward.
Sure enough, after walking ten steps, he saw Yu Xiaoniangzi's back in front.
Lady Yu seemed to be sleepwalking, or perhaps she had just fallen asleep. With her eyes closed, her hands outstretched, she murmured something as she slowly moved forward...
Ouyang Rong smiled.
It's unclear whether the distance she walked while "sleepwalking" was compliant or not.
But regardless, the fact that they've come this far still speaks volumes.
However, the order in which the four people were assessed was somewhat unexpected.
Ouyang Rong didn't go any further. He had already calculated that Yu Xiaoniangzi was the ninth person, and there was one person left: himself.
Ouyang Rong turned around once, then looked back at the road he had come from.
He had a leaf in his mouth and stroked his chin.
After a while, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly turned back and walked towards Song Zhian, who was standing motionless in place...
(End of this chapter)
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