The capital’s first snow fell silently and without fanfare.

Overnight, the grey-tiled roof and the quiet courtyard of the Penglai Inn were blanketed in a layer of soft, lonely white.

Outside the window lattice, the world had grown quiet, leaving only the occasional soft rustle of accumulated snow falling from tree branches.

Inside the room, the weak warmth emanating from the charcoal brazier barely held back the chill seeping through the cracks in the doors and windows.

Xu Qing placed an oil paper package on the table containing two still-warm wheat cakes, then sat down himself, spreading open the notebook he never parted with. His brow was knit with the weariness and focus that came after a day spent gathering information outside.

“Brother Su, eat something first to tide you over.” He rubbed his hands, reddened from the cold, his voice dropping very low. “Today’s harvest was substantial.”

He sat down, opened that ever-present notebook, and began reporting the day’s results.

“I went to several large bookshops and also mingled at a few teahouses in the southern part of the city, listening to the idle chatter of old, failed Xiucai.”

Xu Qing’s voice was kept very low, but his speech was rapid, as if reciting a long-memorized essay.

“The chief examiner for this year’s Metropolitan Examination is, in all likelihood, Wang Deyou, the Minister of Personnel. This man is of the mature and prudent faction. Having served as an official for decades, he believes ‘avoiding mistakes is an achievement in itself’ and most detests students whose writing is dangerously eccentric or whose arguments are extreme.”

He turned a page, pointing to a few names on it.

“Of the capital’s three major literary societies, the ‘Bamboo Grove Society’ belongs to the upright official faction. The ‘Western Garden Gathering’ mostly consists of scions of meritorious nobles, with the shadow of the Yongchang Marquis Manor behind them. The literary style they champion is one of resplendent diction and majestic momentum, yet the core must align with practicality.”

Su Ming listened quietly, occasionally nodding once.

Xu Qing took a sip of cold tea and continued, “I sought out and read their exemplary essays from the past two years. To sum it up, if you want to catch Lord Wang’s eye, your essay must be well-balanced and steady. If you want to be appreciated by the other grading officials, your literary talent cannot be mediocre.”

He looked at Su Ming, a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

“Brother Su, with your talent and learning, if you just slightly temper the sharp edge of that flood control policy discussion and polish its literary flair a bit more, competing for a top-three position in the First Class is not out of the question!”

Su Ming picked up a wheat cake and slowly chewed it.

“No.”

He uttered a single word.

The anticipation on Xu Qing’s face instantly froze, turning into bewilderment. “Why? Brother Su, ten years of arduous study are all for that single moment of achieving a place on the golden list and bringing glory to one’s family. Hiding your abilities like this, isn’t that… tying your own hands?”

“It is Teacher’s warning.” Su Ming raised the banner of Zhou Wenhai, his tone steady. “Teacher said the waters in the capital run deep, not comparable to Qingshi Town. As newcomers, we should not seek merit, but only seek to avoid mistakes. First, secure our footing, discern the direction of the wind, then plan for other things later.”

Hearing it was Zhou Wenhai’s instruction, Xu Qing stopped arguing. The confusion on his face slowly dissipated.

Lin Yu was feeling quite content within the ring.

Once the strategy was set, the two began preparing for the long winter ahead.

The prices in the capital made every purchase Xu Qing made feel like a precise calculation.

Following Lin Yu’s suggestion, Su Ming spent the majority of their budget on old books.

He didn’t buy those popular contemporary essay collections. Instead, he specifically sought out historical records from previous dynasties, discarded legal case studies, and a geographical miscellany titled *Records of Extraordinary Mountains and Rivers*.

In Xu Qing’s view, this was to broaden knowledge and strengthen the foundation of scholarship.

He didn’t know that Su Ming’s true purpose was to search for traces of another world within these piles of old paper.

With heavy snow sealing the doors, Su Ming entered a period of complete dormancy.

He stayed in the small inn room every day, studying behind closed doors.

He no longer practiced his own sharp, forceful calligraphy style, instead imitating the currently most popular ‘Guan’ge’ style.

Stroke by stroke, it was neat, rigid, utterly devoid of personality, like a standard mask.

And when no one was around, he would sit cross-legged in meditation, circulating the *Aura Concealment Art* over and over.

The capital’s Dragon Qi was like a massive whetstone, suppressing his outwardly projected spiritual sense, yet it also forced him to withdraw all his mental focus inward.

His control over his own aura, heartbeat, and even every subtle expression reached a whole new level.

Now, with just a thought, he could become the most inconspicuous lodger in the inn.

One afternoon, the door was gently knocked.

“Tap, tap, tap.”

Su Ming opened his eyes. All the aura about him instantly became peaceful and ordinary, like a common scholar who had just woken from a nap.

“Who is it?”

“It is I, Liu Ji, a student from Jingzhou. I have long heard of Brother Su’s great reputation and have come specially to pay a visit.” The voice outside the door was very enthusiastic.

Su Ming opened the door. A fair-skinned, amicably smiling young man stood in the doorway.

The two sat down as guest and host. This Liu Ji, acting like an old acquaintance, chatted about the scholarly atmosphere in Jingzhou, the prices in the capital, his words witty.

After chatting for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, he shifted the topic, asking as if by chance, “Brother Su studied under Teacher Zhou of Qingshi Town. I too have heard of Teacher Zhou’s great name. It is said that back in his days at the Hanlin Academy, he was a top-tier iron-boned remonstrating official. I wonder why he retired and returned to his hometown?”

Here it comes.

Su Ming’s mind was crystal clear, but his face showed just the right amount of appropriate bewilderment and respect.

“Brother Liu, you flatter me. Regarding my teacher’s affairs, we juniors truly dare not recklessly discuss them.”

A flicker of disappointment passed through Liu Ji’s eyes, but he smiled again. “It was presumptuous of me. It’s just that I heard Teacher Zhou’s memorial, the *Memorial on Rectifying Canal Transport Malpractices*, offended the Yongchang Marquis Manor, and that’s why…”

Su Ming immediately interrupted him, a trace of alarm on his face.

“Brother Liu, such major court matters, how would a mere commoner like me know of them? My teacher has also never spoken to me of these things.”

He picked up his teacup, making a gesture of seeing a guest out.

“It’s getting late. I still need to review my lessons, so I won’t keep Brother Liu any longer.”

The smile on Liu Ji’s face stiffened for a moment before returning to normal.

He stood up to take his leave, flawless and watertight, as if it had truly been just an ordinary visit.

Xu Qing pushed the door open right after he left, his expression unpleasant.

“Brother Su, that man just now, I’ve seen him before.”

Xu Qing lowered his voice. “The day before yesterday, outside the teahouse frequented by that Western Garden Gathering crowd, I saw him getting down from a carriage belonging to a retainer of the Yongchang Marquis Manor. His demeanor was extremely respectful.”

Su Ming nodded, not surprised.

Lin Yu snorted from within the ring.

*Trying to play mind games with my disciple? You’re still too green. Our ‘Three Questions, Three Don’t Knows’ divine technique is the core secret art of the Way of Survival.*

Late at night, in the quiet, Su Ming opened the yellowed pages of *Records of Extraordinary Mountains and Rivers*.

The book’s pages were filled with annotations left by previous readers, the handwriting scribbled and messy.

When he turned to the chapter describing a place in the northern frontier called “Black Wind Abyss,” Lin Yu’s voice suddenly rang in his mind.

“Stop! This page!”

Su Ming focused his gaze. Next to that passage of text, there was a line of extremely small annotations written in vermilion ink.

“‘Strange light beneath the abyss, thunderclaps unceasing, suspected of a demonic creature being executed by Heaven.'”

“Heh, interesting.” Lin Yu’s voice carried a thread of excitement. “‘Demonic creature being executed by Heaven’—that phrasing sounds just like a cultivator failing a tribulation. Disciple, note down this place name. This is definitely not a baseless rumor. After the exams, we might go take a look.”

Without changing his expression, Su Ming used his fingernail to scratch an extremely shallow mark next to the three characters “Black Wind Abyss.”

The New Year approached.

The capital’s streets and alleys were decorated with lanterns and streamers, filled with a festive atmosphere.

But this bustle had nothing to do with the scholars staying at the Penglai Inn.

With the Metropolitan Examination drawing near, an intangible pressure weighed on everyone’s hearts, making even the air in the inn’s main hall feel particularly oppressive.

A few other scholars also from the south, feeling they got along well with Su Ming and Xu Qing, pooled some money to set up a table at the inn, treating it as an early New Year’s celebration.

During the meal, a scholar named Zhang Rui, having drunk a few cups of wine, his face flushed red, began criticizing current politics.

“Now, with the war situation in the northern frontier unclear, the court is still arguing over those stale, moldy matters of ritual and law. It’s truly harming the state!”

Another looked worried.

“I’ve heard that the number of successful candidates for this year’s special examination seems to be fewer than in previous sessions. Ah, our futures are so uncertain.”

Su Ming just listened quietly. Occasionally, when someone asked him something, he would only discuss questions of classical meaning, absolutely never touching on any specific person or event.

The meal was eaten with everyone’s minds in different places.

Just a few days before the New Year, a minor incident stirred up quite a ripple within the capital’s scholarly circles.

An old compiler from the Hanlin Academy, while overseeing the compilation of a historical record from a previous dynasty, was caught by a rival in a minor error.

It wasn’t any major, principled mistake, merely changing one character in the name of a former dynasty imperial clansman to avoid taboo related to some insignificant noble of the current court.

This matter could be made big or small.

But under the instigation of interested parties, it ultimately resulted in the old compiler being fined half a year’s salary on the grounds of “imprecise scholarship, deceiving the imperial hearing,” and he was also demoted to serve as an assistant instructor at the Imperial Academy.

When the news spread, the entire upright official scholarly community was on edge, everyone fearing for themselves.

The day after this incident happened, Su Ming went to the courtyard to collect his laundry.

He discovered that on the sleeve of his old, washed-out robe, there was a new, half-inch-long slit.

The cut was very fine, as if accidentally snagged by a withered tree branch in the courtyard.

But when he reached out to touch it, the cut was clean and even, clearly made by a sharp blade.

Su Ming stood in the cold wind, holding the damaged robe, saying nothing.

This was a silent warning.

Lin Yu’s voice also turned cold. *”They’re telling you they’re watching you, that they can cut you anytime. Today on your clothes, tomorrow, it could be on your future, or even… your neck.”*

That night, in Su Ming and Xu Qing’s room, the oil lamp burned late into the night.

“…If there’s an emergency, I’ll place half a roof tile on the windowsill. If you see it, don’t ask anything, immediately go to the Fushun Teahouse in the Mule and Horse Market and find that Manager Zhang.”

Su Ming told Xu Qing about the escape route Professor Liu had given him.

Xu Qing nodded heavily, committing every detail to heart.

Spring arrived.

The Ministry of Rites officially promulgated the regulations for the Metropolitan Examination. The main gate of the Examination Hall was plastered with densely packed notices for examinees.

The atmosphere in all the inns across the capital suddenly grew tense to the extreme.

Su Ming and Xu Qing went to familiarize themselves with the area outside the Examination Hall one last time.

They discovered that the number of patrolling soldiers around the Examination Hall had doubled compared to half a month ago.

Moreover, among those ordinary soldiers were mixed some plainclothes individuals with sharp eyes and vigorous, fierce auras.

Their positions seemed casual, yet they subtly blocked all the key intersections.

*”They’re from the Capital Garrison, and also… Imperial Guards.”* Lin Yu’s voice sounded in Su Ming’s mind. *”This deployment doesn’t look like it’s to prevent cheating among examinees, more like it’s to guard against assassins.”*

Xu Qing also sensed something was off. He tugged at Su Ming’s sleeve.

“Brother Su, look over there.”

Following the direction of his finger, they saw that outside the gate of the most imposing villa next to the Examination Hall, carriages and horses bustled, servants swarmed like clouds.

An extremely luxurious carriage was parked at the entrance. On its side, that eye-catching “Wei” family crest shone painfully bright in the sunlight.

“It’s the Young Duke of the Wei Duke’s house. I heard he’s also taking the exam this session,” Xu Qing whispered.

Su Ming withdrew his gaze, his expression calm.

The final night before the exam.

The capital did not sleep.

Countless scholars were making their final preparations, some burning incense in prayer, others studying through the night.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep