ATPnovel Chapter 210 News
Chapter 210 News
The man who was reading the girl's palm and predicting her marriage was none other than Zhou Mingxuan, a martial arts scholar from Jiangdong, whose handsome appearance and demeanor were so dashing that he could have won the top three prizes in the imperial examinations.
Yang Silang and he became acquainted during their boat trip.
Because most of the women he knew along the way were unfortunate, he also suspected that he was being plagued by bad luck.
Yang Silang suggested that he simply not go into the city, but find a temple outside the capital to stay overnight. This way, he could focus on his studies without being distracted by those unfortunate women in the city.
Zhou Mingxuan thought this made sense, so he took his pageboy Xiao Qi and didn't go into the city, but instead stayed overnight outside the city.
In response to Zhou Mingxuan's complaints, Yang Silang laughed.
"Brother Zhou, I'm doing this for your own good."
"We haven't seen each other for a while, and the first thing you do when we meet is tell a woman's palm."
"But you can predict others but not yourself. I see your face is red and your forehead is pink. You haven't gotten through this 'female tribulation' yet."
"You still dare to mess with women? Aren't you afraid of having bad luck in the exam?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Mingxuan slapped his thigh and let out a long sigh.
"Brother Yang is indeed insightful."
"It wasn't my intention; I've been in contact with women too frequently lately."
"It's been a long time since I've seriously practiced martial arts."
"Come on, let's talk while we drink."
The group took their seats and began by enjoying a three-wheeled drink.
Wang Daniu asked curiously.
"Young Master Zhou, didn't you go to stay at a temple outside the city?"
"How could I possibly have the opportunity to interact with so many women when I'm surrounded by a group of monks?"
Zhou Mingxuan blushed, looking embarrassed, but still stood aside and told his assistant Xiao Qi the truth with a pout.
It turned out that the group of them had wasted some time on their way to the capital because of the war and unrest in Jiangbei Province. By the time they arrived in the capital, most of the candidates from other provinces had already arrived.
Yang Silang didn't find it difficult to find lodging because he had Master Fu's keepsake.
Zhou Mingxuan toured around outside the city, finding that almost all the hotels, temples, and monasteries were full.
"Finally, we found a temple called Shuiyue Nunnery and settled down there," Xiaoqi said.
Yang Silang frowned upon hearing this.
"This 'Water Moon Nunnery' doesn't sound like a Buddhist temple."
Xiao Qi said.
"Who says it isn't? This is a nunnery."
"We knocked on the door because it was dark and we couldn't see clearly."
"Originally, they opened the door and refused us, but my young master went up and smiled, and then let us stay, but only for one night."
Yang Silang was speechless.
This is the ultimate male succubus charm.
Zhou Mingxuan hurriedly explained.
"Xiao Qi, I wasn't just laughing, I begged for a long time."
In the end, the master and servant settled down at Shuiyue Nunnery, living in the outer courtyard, and were explicitly forbidden from entering the back courtyard behind the Buddhist hall.
Zhou Mingxuan, however, was very polite and prepared to find another place to stay the next day.
The next day, after searching around outside, they still found nothing.
So Zhou Mingxuan went to the abbot and begged to stay another day.
And so, day after day, the two of them settled down there.
Moreover, thanks to Zhou Mingxuan's presence, the incense offerings at Shuiyue Nunnery have actually improved, with significantly more female believers coming than usual.
However, Zhou Mingxuan was not comfortable living there either.
The nuns in the capital were much more knowledgeable and daring, and every now and then a nun would go up to him and chat about Buddhism.
Zhou Mingxuan remained true to himself and did not do anything out of line, but he was disturbed and found it difficult to concentrate on practicing martial arts. Instead, he passively learned a lot of Buddhist knowledge.
"Brother Zhou..." Yang Silang was speechless. "You're too honest."
"If you can't find a suitable place to stay, you can come to me."
"I've already taken the young lady from the Fu Family Inn as my apprentice, so she should have a place to stay. Even if she doesn't, I can still clear out a room for you in my courtyard."
Zhou Mingxuan was overjoyed to hear this.
Actually, he had wanted to find Yang Silang for a long time, but he was still a little embarrassed when he remembered that he had offended the women in the cabin with his inappropriate words.
Yang Silang, seeing his expression, seemed to know what he was thinking and said calmly.
"By the way, I've actually been having some bad luck with women lately."
"Oh? Brother Yang, what's wrong with you?"
Yang Silang said expressionlessly.
"My concubine saw the prosperity of the capital and packed her bags and ran away."
"Ah..." Zhou Mingxuan was stunned and felt a pang of sympathy—it turned out that Brother Yang was not doing so well either.
The two chatted for a few more minutes, and the topic turned to the imperial examinations that would take place in a little over a month.
Zhou Mingxuan immediately began to speak eloquently.
He has been having trouble finding a place to live lately, so he's been traveling around a lot, often going into the city to get acquainted with the scholars in the provincial guild halls.
Of course, he couldn't get in touch with the scions of aristocratic families.
He only interacted with ordinary candidates for the imperial examinations. Because of their low social standing, they were most concerned about the examinations and knew about even the slightest developments.
"The chief examiner this time is Vice Minister Hua of the Ministry of War, the two deputy examiners are the left and right vice ministers of the Ministry of War, and there are three censors supervising the examination."
"Furthermore, as per previous practice, His Majesty will appoint a chief executive officer to oversee the matter."
"The preliminary examination consisted of two parts: an outdoor horse stance shooting with knives and stones, and an indoor essay writing test."
"After the exam, the list of successful candidates will be posted. Those who pass will be called Gongshi, and the top scorer will be called Huiyuan."
"During the final imperial examination, His Majesty personally attended and set up a martial arts arena in the square outside the Hall of Preserving Harmony for a contest."
"However, only the top thirty tribute students are qualified to compete in the arena, and His Majesty will then determine the rankings of the top three."
"If I am fortunate enough to become a tribute student, even if my ranking is poor, I will still be granted the title of Jinshi. At that time, as long as I can stand in the square outside the Hall of Preserving Harmony, I will have won!"
Zhou Mingxuan's face was full of anticipation.
Even if someone has practiced martial arts for many years and is guaranteed to become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), most Jinshi do not have the qualifications to wield swords and spears in front of His Majesty.
after all.
There are only thirty spots available, which isn't even enough for those aristocratic families to allocate.
Where is there room for children from poor families?
Yang Silang found it very boring. He had traveled two thousand miles to come all this way, only to end up being a background figure for others. He was really unhappy about it.
If it weren't for the need to learn the Five Elements Power to break through to the Golden Marrow Grandmaster level, anyone could take the martial arts exam.
"Who are the top contenders for the top three spots?" Yang Silang asked.
Zhou Mingxuan smiled.
"Who else could it be?"
"There are also four great families in the capital, including the Jie family of the Wei and Jin dynasties."
"It's not even enough for the four families to divide it among themselves."
Strictly speaking, there are actually five great families in the capital, because the largest family in Shuntian Prefecture is actually the imperial family.
"There's a rumor, I don't know if it's true or not, that because the world is in turmoil, His Majesty intends to appoint more scholars to the imperial examinations."
"The number of people in the first tier remains unchanged, the number of people in the second tier is 150, and the number of people in the third tier is 300."
"I heard that the top three scholars, the first-place runner-up of the second-place scholars, and the top scholar of the imperial examination will be able to enter the royal first-class secret realm."
"The rest of the second-class members will enter the second-class secret realm, while the third-class members will go to the secret realm where royal resources are depleted, so as to get some royal aura."
Yang Silang raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
"Oh?"
"Doesn't that mean we all have a chance to be among the top three and receive the title of 'Jinshi'?"
Zhou Mingxuan's face showed excitement.
"That's exactly right."
"My martial arts skills are not good, but I am a Steel Dirty Grand Martial Master. As long as I can make it onto the list, that's fine."
"It's a pity for you, Brother Yang. With your Grandmaster cultivation, you could actually compete for a place in the top thirty."
"However, no matter how well you perform in the initial tests of swordsmanship, stone-picking, and horseback archery, the essay section accounts for half the score, making it too easy to manipulate."
The military examinations are now just a way to distribute rewards to aristocratic families and to win over a group of students from poor families. Forget about fairness and impartiality; backroom deals and score manipulation are the norm.
Yang Silang waved his hand and laughed.
"I wouldn't dare. If you offend a powerful family, no matter how famous you are, you'll end up with no good outcome."
"I'd be perfectly content if I made it into the top three."
The group drank a few more glasses of wine, and the conversation revolved around the martial arts examination.
Zhou Mingxuan recounted several major incidents that the candidates had caused in the capital.
Of course, something that spreads extremely widely is definitely not a good thing.
Some candidates, after getting drunk, caused trouble and burned down the inn where they were staying, and were thrown into jail; others, after drinking too much, ran naked in the street and were stripped of their academic honors for being immoral; still others, after drinking with courtesans, fought each other over women, dismantling the pleasure boat and sinking it to the bottom of the river, becoming drowned rats.
He spoke with great enthusiasm.
"Of course, I also heard that a scholar from Jiangnan Province, who was a Grandmaster, hooked up with a stupid woman and together they tried to scheme against a wealthy man's daughter and seize her property. In the end, the owner hired another scholar to help him, and the scholar signed a life-or-death contract and lost his life."
"This is what they mean by 'those who do many unrighteous deeds will surely perish.'"
"I wonder who this righteous scholar is, with such remarkable martial arts skills."
"The government kept this matter very well under wraps."
Wang Daniu laughed and pointed at Yang Silang.
"Look... that person is far away, yet right before my eyes, it's my fourth brother."
"The wealthy owner you mentioned is the innkeeper who's going to take you to check in."
"By the way, his daughter is now Fourth Brother's top disciple, so you're not allowed to flirt with her."
Zhou Mingxuan's mouth dropped open, utterly dumbfounded.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill...
Zhou Mingxuan and Xiao Qi returned to Shuiyue Nunnery to pack their luggage, and a group of nuns bid him a reluctant farewell.
By the time they found the Fu Family Inn again, it was already dark.
After Yang Silang made the arrangements, he was able to move in smoothly and settle down in his neighbor's courtyard.
Fu Hongying offered to waive Zhou Mingxuan's accommodation fee, but Zhou Mingxuan insisted on paying.
Yang Silang simply made the decision on the side, letting Zhou Mingxuan pay half price, but he had to accompany Hongying to spar twice a day. The two of them were both steel-dirty martial arts masters, so they were perfect opponents.
And so, another six or seven days passed.
Early that morning, as dawn broke.
Yang Silang struck the drum and cleared his throat.
"Tang Sanzang bestowed the title of Sandalwood Merit Buddha upon the Great Sage, who also became the Victorious Fighting Buddha."
"Bajie became the Clean Altar Messenger, Sha Wujing was conferred the title of Golden-bodied Arhat, and the White Dragon Horse also became the Bodhisattva of the Eight Heavenly Dragons."
"Thus, the five saints all attained enlightenment and shared in ultimate bliss."
He talked for more than ten days and finally finished telling the whole story of "Journey to the West".
Across from her, Hu Jiaoniang sighed, slowly recovering from the lingering aftertaste of the story.
She let out a long sigh.
"These people have had it tough too; they've all achieved enlightenment."
"Apart from Tang Sanzang, the others are all demons, yet they can become Buddhas and Arhats."
"We, the demon cultivators, are pitiful; we still do not know where the road ahead lies."
Yang Silang remained silent, unsure how to respond.
You've become a demon immortal, regarded by the world as an immortal being. How am I supposed to know where your future lies?
Do you want to transcend worldly affairs and enjoy eternal life?
Hu Jiaoniang didn't expect Yang Silang to give any answer.
She didn't comment on whether the story was good or bad; she simply asked Yang Silang.
"So, Mo Xinlian didn't hear the whole story."
"Am I the first person to have heard this entire Journey to the West story?"
Yang Silang was speechless. This damned competitive spirit!
He answered honestly.
"Your Majesty, Mo Xinlian indeed did not hear the whole story."
"She's very active; she ran off halfway through the conversation."
"You are indeed the first person to hear this story."