…
The birds soared up high into the sky, and the lonely clouds drifted leisurely across the skies.
Within craggy mountain stones, on a thousand feet high cliff, a huge golden hall was stood. On the outside, which was decorated with pristine white jade tiles established among the lush green trees, countless gifted scholars and beautiful ladies dressed in white walked about.
In front of the huge golden hall, a piece of pitch-black tablet stood proudly in the mountains, on it imprinted two large words - "Heaven Dao"!
"Missus, there’s a message from the constabulary!" Behind the large hall, outside a quiet wooden attic, a lady dressed in a green long skirt, a green jade hairpin in her hair, waited carefully outside the doorstep.
"Speak!" Within the attic, a crisp voice sounded out. Even though it was only one word, but when it entered people’s ears, it sounded as clear as the cries of a hundred birds.
"Ten days later, it would be the Duan King’s twenty-year-old celebration feast, the Lord wishes that Missus would attend!" The lady instantly replied.
"Reject!" The voice sounded once again from within the attic, as usual, there was only one word.
"Yes, Missus!" When the lady heard this, she didn’t dare to ask any further and quickly withdrew.
After the lady backed away, a faint sigh came from within the attic. "Sigh… Father Lord’s method of dealing with things are always so extreme. People said that me achieving the Double Dragon Roll Champion was to assist my father, yet who would know that this was only to protect him!"
…
In the Northern Mountain Village, within a small stone courtyard, a huge animal hanged on a huge wooden rack. Below the animal, a bonfire was burning strong, and a rich aroma wafted in the air.
"Houde, these ingredients are about to be finished. You need to ask that child Zhengzhi to get more for me, else you will have nothing to eat next time!" Beside the bonfire, a man with a few strands of silver hair laughed as he swallowed down a bowl of wine.
"Ha ha… you have to tell him this yourself, I can’t make this decision!" Fang Houde, sitting beside the man, was also holding a bowl of wine at this moment. Except, one of his arm was completely made out of a certain white coloured metal.
"Dad, Uncle Yangping!" At this moment, a rather indolent voice called out from outside the courtyard.
"Ah, Zhengzhi is here! Quick, quick sit down and accompany uncle to drink!" When the man with a few strands of silver hair heard this voice, his eyes instantly lit up and hurriedly walked out to welcome him in.
This was the previous Northern Mountain Village hunting squad deputy captain, and now the village chief of the Northern Mountain Village, Zhang Yangping.
"Accompany you to drink? I have no interest in that… here, ingredients!" Outside the courtyard, Fang Zhengzhi, wearing a coarse blue robe, instantly revealed a look of disdain after hearing Zhang Yangping’s words, and casually threw a huge bag of ingredients to Zhang Yangping.
Zhang Yangping instantly caught it with both hands, as if it was treasure, and beamed even more delightedly.
"Ha ha ha… Zhengzhi indeed knows me well!" Zhang Yangping quickly kept the ingredients and pulled Fang Zhengzhi to sit down beside the bonfire. "Zhengzhi, I have discussed with your dad, and the entire village had agreed. From now on, you will be the captain of the hunting squad!"
"Captain? Isn’t it deputy captain?" Fang Zhengzhi asked curiously.
"Houde, look at your son, ha ha ha… how can he be a deputy captain? Of course he must be a proper captain! Furthermore, please don’t run off outside again, after all, I am already old, there are some matters in the village which you have to familiarise yourself with sooner or later!" Zhang Yangping laughed, his expression looked if he was blaming Fang Zhengzhi. Yet, he was secretly analysing the change in Fang Zhengzhi’s expression.
"Uncle Yangping, why don’t you consider Brother Li?" Fang Zhengzhi’s expression didn’t change much, and continued to smile faintly.
"That kid, how can he compare to you!" Zhang Yangping waved his hands.
"I admit I can’t compare to Brother Zhengzhi, but I definitely can win you!" An unconvinced voice came from within the stone house, then, a youth with a tough and stocky build walked out, his hands carrying two jugs of wine.
"Ah, stupid boy, you dare to act tough in front of your dad? Come, let’s compare today!" When Zhang Yangping heard this, he instantly stood up and received the jug of wine from the youth and prepared to pour.
"Stop acting Uncle Yangping! I know the reason why you called me here today!" Fang Zhengzhi eyed the people in front of him, twitched his mouth and felt rather helpless.
"Ha ha…" Zhang Yangping laughed, a somewhat awkward expression appearing on his face. "That Law of Dao examination is too difficult, furthermore you self-studied these few years. Look at those people in the Southern Mountain Village, they had studied for so many years, yet nobody was able to pass the capital’s Law of Dao examination!"
"That’s right, Brother Zhengzhi! No matter how powerful you are, even if you are not able to pass the theory examination, it would still be useless!" At this moment, the stocky youth at the side urged.
"How about, wait another two years?" Zhang Yangping probed.
"If I didn’t remember wrongly, two years ago, Uncle Yangping seemed to have said that same thing?" Fang Zhengzhi walked up to the bonfire and slid his hand across the prey, and a huge chunk of meat ended up in his heads.
Placing it in his mouth and chewing, his mouth filled with oil.
"Even though that’s true, but, you have also seen, there were many bouts of continuous droughts these few years, the animals on the Cang Ling Mountain also seemed to have become lesser and lesser. Furthermore, the population of the village has been increasing…"
"That’s why there is a greater need to participate in the Law of Dao examinations. As long as I can pass, then we can be exempted from tax!" Fang Zhengzhi interrupted Zhang Yangping’s sentence midway.
"But there’s no way you would be able to pass? The Law of Dao examinations, from the county examinations, to the capital examinations, at least a few months is required to finish the examinations. If you leave, I am afraid that the village…" A look of worry appeared on Zhang Yangping’s face.
"Uncle Yangping, here is a silver note, it will be able to support the village for a while!" When Fang Zhengzhi finished speaking, he fished out a hundred tael silver note and handed it over.
"This is? A hundred taels?!" Zhang Yangping received the silver note from Fang Zhengzhi’s hands, his face full of doubt. Then, looking at the note, his jaws instantly dropped, his face filled with disbelief.
"Ha ha ha… actually, Brother Yangping need not worry. I still have some savings at home, if the village comes to any harm, you just have to tell me!" Fang Houde looked at the silver note on Zhang Yangping’s hands, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi, a smile appearing on his face.
"Aye…" Zhang Yangping sighed.
Fang Zhengzhi knew, from this sigh onwards, his journey towards the Law of Dao examinations had officially begun.
For these eight years, the village had been constantly against him participating in the Law of Dao examinations.
Fang Zhengzhi also didn’t forcefully participate. After all, he could leave easily, but his parents in the village would be scolded. Even though after the examinations, the scolding towards his parents would disappear, but when he thought of the scene eight years ago when his parents were exiled from the Southern Mountain Village, he couldn’t bear to let his parents suffer like that anymore. Not even for a day!
As such, he had to seek Zhang Yangping’s agreement!
And in order to ensure that his parents or the village would have any fantasies, even when he occasionally entered the city, he would never ask about matters related to the Law of Dao examinations.
Anyway, Fang Zhengzhi felt that as long as he participated, he would definitely pass. Rules? Were they even important?
...
On the second morning, news of Fang Zhengzhi intending to participate in the Law of Dao examinations spread like a wild gust of wild throughout the entire Northern Mountain Village. Each and every household began to discuss the news, even the Southern Mountain Village across the mountain had also received the news.
"Fang Zhengzhi is going to participate in the Law of Dao examinations, did you know?"
"How can I not know! I heard that in order to participate in the Law of Dao examinations, this child Zhengzhi had even specially donated a hundred taels of silver to the village!"
"A hundred taels? That’s incredible!"
"But the Law of Dao examinations is impossible to pass, sigh… but since Zhengzhi is so determined, and wants to take a look, we can treat it as him taking some time off to go see the world!"
"Obviously it is to see the world! What else? Don’t tell me he still can pass? Ha ha ha… if self-studying can make one pass the Law of Dao examinations, I will instantly finish eating the entire patch of pumpkins at my house!"
"Ha ha ha, your pumpkin patch contains a few thousand pounds of pumpkins, can you finish eating it?"
"I promise I will finish it in a day, ha ha ha…"
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