Chapter 1 Fat Sheep

It was the time for the provincial examination again. It was not even the morning hour and the sky was not bright yet. The outside of the examination hall of the Imperial Examination Hall in Xiping Prefecture, Liangzhou was already crowded with all kinds of people. There were clerks and runners who maintained order, family members who sent candidates to take the exam, passers-by who watched the excitement, and servants who accompanied them. There were thousands of people in the bustle.

Of course, the largest number was the candidates of all kinds. There were confident and high-spirited students, ignorant and naive children who followed the first test, calm and silent veterans in the examination hall, and even old scholars with white hair and beard who still had fantasies.

Among all these people, whether they were anxious, pretending to be careless, or talking with others, without exception, they kept an eye on the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall at all times. There was only one chance a year, and it was about to start, so they couldn't delay the business.

There was only one person in the whole scene who didn't care about it, but looked around, shuttled back and forth among the crowd, as if looking for an opportunity to take action. This was a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a shabby Taoist robe that didn't fit him well. He had a pretty face and a slightly thin body. His big eyes seemed full of spirit, making people feel close to him.

Suddenly, he seemed to have found his target. He walked a few steps forward and came to a fat scholar dressed in rich clothes. He bowed and said, "Little Taoist Qingyang is honored."

Beside the fat scholar, there was a servant with slanted eyebrows and eyes. Seeing someone blocking the way, he stretched out his hand and pushed, "Go, go, don't block our way in. If you delay our young master's exam, you, a poor Taoist priest, can't afford the blame."

It's not easy to meet a big fat sheep, how can you let him run away? Little Taoist Qingyang stood still and looked at the fat scholar.

The fat scholar had no prejudice against the young Taoist Qingyang. He looked at him sideways for a long time and said, "Why are you blocking my way?"

The young Taoist Qingyang took out a yellow talisman from his arms, held it in his hand and said, "I see that this young man is very talented and rich, and must be from a famous family. Here is a spiritual luck talisman, which is suitable for a young man of such status. This talisman can increase the luck of the owner and bless the owner to make his wishes come true. It only costs fifty coins to get it."

Increase luck and make your wishes come true? Where in the world is there such a good thing? The servant next to him stood up and said, "You little liar, you cheated our young master. If you don't get out of here, I will hand you over to the government."

Seeing that the servant was about to take action, the fat scholar grabbed him and turned to the young Taoist Qingyang and said, "Can this talisman really increase my luck and bless me to make my wishes come true?"

Being scolded by the servant, the young Taoist Qingyang thought that the business was going to fail. After hearing the fat scholar's words, he was overjoyed and said quickly, "Of course, this talisman was made by my master Songhe Zhenren after 7749 days. It is extremely effective and honest."

After getting the confirmation from the young Taoist Qingyang, the fat scholar also looked happy. He reached out and took the talisman from Lin Yang and hid it close to his body, then winked at his servant and asked him to pay. The servant didn't believe the talisman was useful, but seeing the young master's intention, he knew he had to buy it, so he reluctantly took out fifty big coins and threw them to Qingyang.

The deal was done so easily. The young Taoist Qingyang was ready to make further efforts. He took out another crude jade talisman from his arms, then took a small step forward and whispered: "In addition to the magic talisman, I have a better treasure, which is this champion talisman. As long as you get this jade talisman, I guarantee that you will be quick-witted in future exams, and you will be able to pass every exam as if you were assisted by God. It is not impossible for you to become the champion."

The fat scholar seemed to be a little tempted and asked: "How much is this jade talisman?"

The young Taoist Qingyang stretched out two fingers and said: "I will only charge you the cost price of this champion talisman, two taels of silver! It's not that I'm asking for too much, it's just that this champion talisman is too valuable. It took my master Songhe Zhenren several years of hard work to refine it. After it was opened, it was offered in front of the Three Pure Ones for decades. There is only one piece in the whole Liangzhou, and it is worth more than 200 yuan. Liancheng, if you really sell it at a low price, it doesn't match your status, right? "

The little Taoist Qingyang talked freely, but the fat scholar frowned and snorted coldly, saying: "Do you think I'm really stupid? For this young master, fifty coins are nothing at all. I bought your talisman purely to ask for a good start, but you still cheated me alone. It's really unreasonable. Get out, get out quickly while this young master hasn't lost his temper. "

The servant next to him had long disliked the little Taoist priest. At this time, he finally found an opportunity to attack. He pushed Qingyang and staggered, and said viciously: "You little bastard, if you don't get out, I will do it. "

Seeing that the other party turned his face, the little Taoist Qingyang knew that he could only do so. He didn't know how many times he had experienced this kind of thing, so he smiled and turned away from the crowd, walking towards the next target.

However, after getting out of the crowd, the young Taoist Qingyang had a piece of silver weighing half an ounce in his hand. When he saw a group of beggars on the street, he threw the piece of silver at them. The beggars obviously did not expect someone to be so generous, and they grabbed the piece of silver and ran away.

This was what he got from the servant before he left by using his empty hands. If you dare to push me, I will make you lose money. Qingyang's master, Songhe Laodao, wandered around the world, robbed the rich and helped the poor, and cheated and deceived people. He was both good and evil. Qingyang was influenced by his master since he was a child, and he did not feel any burden in doing such things.

At the first moment of the Mao hour, the candidates began to enter the examination room, and the talents outside gradually became sparse. When the sun was high, the candidates had finished entering the venue, and even the people who watched the excitement left one after another. The little Taoist Qingyang had no business at all.

But this opportunity to cheat money is rare, and the academician only has this once a year, and I don't know when the next time will be. He touched his arms, and the dozen or so talismans he brought this time were all sold out, and only one of the five jade talismans was sold, but overall, the income was not bad, at least it was enough for the master's wine money this year.

He turned his head to look at the tribute academy behind him, and then reluctantly left the city. In order to earn this little money, the young Taoist Qingyang set out for the city yesterday afternoon and camped on the street outside the Imperial Examination Hall. As the sun was getting higher and higher, if he didn't walk faster, he wouldn't be able to get home by noon.

The young Taoist Qingyang and his master Songhe Zhenren depended on each other for survival. The two lived in a small Taoist temple behind a small hill not far from the city. It was not too far from the city, but the mountain road was rugged and difficult to walk, and it took at least more than an hour to walk.