Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 107: Intensive Work, Mantis Catches Cicada

The night was quiet, and Chen Xu watched the hedgehog demon leave.

He had just learned a lot, which made him feel peaceful and happy.

My spiritual perception spread unconsciously in all directions, but suddenly I heard a shrill cat cry: Meow——

A piercing sound came from the alley behind the inn.

Chen Xu's mind followed the flow and sensed that place, and he suddenly felt an indescribable sense of chaos coming towards him.

Oh no, it’s a demon puppet!

This aura was exactly the same as the demonic cat puppet that Chen Xu had encountered in the mouse hole.

Chen Xu immediately focused on the Yuan and kept his mind calm.

I saw a dark shadow whizzing past under the window, and the shadow nimbly jumped onto the opposite wall. Suddenly, it turned around and let out a shrill cat cry.

A pair of eyes flashing with bloodshot looked straight at Chen Xu.

It is indeed a demon puppet.

But the cat had black spots all over its body, sparse brown hair, and a black bell hanging around its neck. When it suddenly jumped, the bell made a tinkling sound.

The ringing sound had a strange dizzying effect. When Chen Xu sensed it, he found that perhaps because of his powerful spirit, the dizziness did not affect him.

But Chen Xu immediately pretended to be drowsy, holding his forehead with his hand and staggering.

"What's going on? I feel dizzy." He whispered, raised his hand to close the window, and then staggered a few steps while stroking his forehead.

The oil lamp was knocked over, and Chen Xu's sleeve brushed across the lamp, and the wick went out.

He fell back onto the bed and seemed to fall into a sleep.

This was of course an act. They were just one or two demon puppets, and Chen Xu was not actually afraid.

But he did not forget that before in Shejun Ruins, when the demon puppet was killed, it actually released a strange curse seal that could mark the enemy.

Chen Xu's heart was pounding. He had just sent the hedgehog demon away, but now he saw the magic puppet again.

I wonder if the two are related?

Demonic Puppet, are you here to hunt down the Hedgehog Demon?

Fortunately, Wei Yuan knows the art of earth escape, so it should not be easy to catch it.

Considering that the two rat demons in his home were also being hunted by the magic puppet, Chen Xu couldn't help but wonder whether the "big man" behind the magic puppet was focusing on hunting down all the spiritual demons in the world?

Killing the demon puppet will be marked with a curse, which is the biggest problem Chen Xu is currently facing when facing the demon puppet.

He had to find a way to deal with this mark.

Tonight was supposed to be peaceful and joyful, but the appearance of the demon puppet once again made Chen Xu feel a strong sense of crisis and urgency.

He couldn't help but worry about the two rat demons at home again, and just hoped that the college entrance examination would end quickly so that he could pass the exam and return home.

At night, Chen Xu always remained vigilant.

He sank his consciousness into the smoke-filled kitchen. There was a wonderful thing about this sinking, it did not affect Chen Xu's perception of the outside world.

If there is a crisis, with Chen Xu's current spiritual strength, he will often wake up immediately.

Chen Xu practiced hard in the fireworks kitchen repeatedly, and tried to draw the newly learned water-avoiding talisman and bless it on his Niwan Daobing.

There is no way to solve the problem of the magic puppet mark for the time being, but the problem of the Niwan Taoist soldiers being afraid of water is solved by the water-avoiding talisman.

It was also a pleasant surprise.

There were still a few spiritual foods in the kitchen that had not been processed by County Magistrate Feng. Chen Xu took the opportunity to pick out the [Danyu Spiritual Rice] and cooked it into porridge.

It’s true. When you’re tired of cooking, you read. When you’re tired of reading, you practice. When practicing gets boring, you cook again.

Making fire, drawing water, and blowing air are also forms of spiritual practice.

Once you make progress in your spiritual practice, anxiety will often fade away.

The third day was the day when the results of the provincial examination were announced. Wu Zhengze stayed in the inn and did not allow the students to crowd to see the list. He only sent a few coachmen to copy the list.

One of the coachmen was also Wu Zhengze's personal attendant, and he could read and write.

Wu Zhengze said to the students: "The more tense the situation is, the more you need to stay calm.

You are not allowed to go because the place under the list is crowded. If you get hurt accidentally and it affects your performance in the examination, who can you complain to?

What he meant was that he believed that the several students from the county school who came to take the exam should be able to pass the provincial exam.

It has always been like this. The Jichuan County School is different from ordinary local clan schools and private schools.

If the students do not even have the confidence to pass the provincial examination, the teachers of the county school will not allow them to take the examination at all.

Of course, the provincial examination is easy, but the academy examination is difficult.

Indeed, the attendant who copied the list returned with a beaming smile on his face: "All passed, all passed! Master Chen truly took first place!"

He also vividly described the anecdotes that happened under the list.

"Some people are jealous and say that Master Chen was able to win the title of "Scroll-worm-ringing Bell" because he wrote good poems for the examination paper.

In fact, his performance in the first two rounds might not necessarily be better than that of other talented people in Yunjiang Prefecture...

Hey, what happened?

When Mr. Chen's three test papers were posted, everyone was stunned.

In the first round, there were over a hundred questions, and I didn't miss a single one! In the second round, there were supposedly extremely difficult math and law questions, and I got every one of them right.

Those who had spoken outrageously immediately covered their faces and ran away in disgrace."

The follower described the story vividly, and Wu Zhengze smiled slightly.

This night, some are happy and some are sad.

Some people failed the provincial examination many times in a row, and they cried and got drunk, making their relatives feel sad.

Some people barely made it through, but they were both happy and worried.

I was afraid that if the provincial examination was so difficult, what would happen to the imperial examination? So I declined all complicated matters and just studied hard behind closed doors. Even if it was just to sharpen my sword before the battle, I would still sharpen it thoroughly.

There were also a few who were ranked higher and strong enough, and their original goal was to take the first place. However, there was only one first place, and it was taken away by Chen Xu early on.

"Jichuan County, Chen Xu!"

For a moment, sighs were heard from several courtyards.

There are also those who grit their teeth, feel helpless, work hard and hope to surpass others.

Cui Yunqi and Cui Jingxian analyzed: "The provincial and academy examinations are held every year. This year is not a big year, but there are a few people who need attention.

Zhang Mingyuan from Zhuxi County could recite the Four Books by heart at the age of eleven, and Zhou Zhuo from Yunheng County could write poetry at the age of seven. Although he was unable to write the "Qingyan" poem, his literary talent was praised by the world.

Wei Tang is a loser. But their illegitimate son, Wei Song, is known for his scheming and is no ordinary person.

These people are all in the top ten of the list this time. They are not strong rivals, but they are worth keeping an eye on."

While he was speaking, he had actually already sent out a lot of people.

On the one hand, he protected Chen Xu from a distance, and on the other hand, he kept a close eye on the Wei family.

"Wei Tang was castrated. In my opinion, he deserved it. I don't know how many decent women he has harmed over the years. Otherwise, how could others not be castrated in the ghost market?

Now Wei Tang is completely ruined, and his father is using him as an excuse to blackmail the Wang family.

It is inevitable that Wei Song will dominate the Wei family from now on. He is a treacherous man, so be careful."

Cui Jingxian listened and couldn't help but hesitated and said, "Yun Qi, are you saying that Wei Song might attack Brother Chen?
He can't be that stupid, right? Brother Chen is in the spotlight right now. Wei Song dares to do this. Isn't he afraid that he will be targeted by everyone after being found out? "

"When villains gain power, they tend to become arrogant. Don't overestimate their character.

Being the first in the academy exam was a very nice title, especially Brother Chen, who had won first place in the prefectural exam by hitting the bell with a scroll beetle.

How awesome would it be to defeat him?

If Wei Song wants to completely suppress Wei Tang and gain the right to speak in the Wei family, he may do something stupid.

In short, it’s better to be careful.”

What Cui Yunqi didn't tell Cui Jingxian was that his men had actually already stopped many people who came to visit Chen Xu "because of his fame" outside the inn.

He also secretly instructed the innkeeper to guard the inn well and not allow anyone to disturb Chen Xu's peace.

Time flows by like mercury pouring out.

For several days, Chen Xu had been studying hard behind closed doors with his classmates at the county school. Mr. Wu continued to give him special lessons, and Feng Yuanbai often came to teach him at night.

And just as the hedgehog demon Wei Yuan had said before, he never came again.

Chen Xu never detected any trace of the demon puppet again.

If he had not truly learned the water-avoiding talisman and the mysterious fire was still being nurtured, the encounter with the little hedgehog in the book box that night would have seemed like a dream.

As the little hedgehog said, "some evil ghosts will come to the human world in human skin", Chen Xu has never encountered this.

But Chen Xu still kept this matter in mind and was secretly vigilant.

On April 11, the Imperial Examination Hall was closed again.

The chief examiner of the Imperial College this time was the academician Su Quan, and there were three deputy examiners.

The first was the prefect Ding Qian, the second was the Tiannan Dao provincial government official Zhao Ji, and the third was the former Ministry of Rites Langzhong Sun Heling who had retired.

During the provincial examination, there were more than 3,700 candidates.

By the time of the college entrance examination, there were only 740 candidates left.

The top 20% of the total number of candidates will enter the academy examination, and this year there are a total of 82 scholar quotas in Yunjiang Prefecture.

If you say it is low, it is not low, but if you say it is high, it is definitely not high.

On April 16th, the sky was still in chaos.

Before dawn, before the sun came out, the students had already set out early and rushed to the Imperial Examination Hall.

This time, Wu Zhengze personally escorted them. He sat in a carriage in front with Chen Xu and Xu Wenyuan.

In the middle carriage sat another teacher, Yao Qing, and three other students.

Wang Mochuan was in the last carriage.

The sound of horse hooves was heard up ahead, and through the carriage curtains, one could seem to hear the hustle and bustle of the entire street.

The annual imperial examination is about to begin again, and people from all directions are pouring into the Imperial Examination Hall like rivers converging into the sea.

Those who are taking the exam, those who are sending off the exam, those who are just watching the fun...

People hold lanterns and walk under the faint starlight in the sky, rushing towards another year of fierce competition.

The cars were moving slowly, but the crowds of people were surging and the atmosphere was chaotic.

Suddenly, something went wrong, and I didn't know where it went wrong.

A carriage on the road ahead suddenly fell to the ground. With a hissing sound, the horse pulling the carriage suddenly broke free from the reins and rushed towards the carriage where Chen Xu and others were, neighing loudly.

not good!

Wu Zhengze's face changed. He pulled open the car curtain, put his hand on his waist, and was about to take out the pen.

Suddenly, a slender figure in tight clothes rushed out from the side, and shouted: "You evil beast, how dare you run around like that!"

The figure in tight clothes jumped up and sat on the horse's back in an instant. He raised his fist and hit the horse's head. The horse neighed sharply and staggered as if it was about to fall down drunk.

Just as the riot was about to subside, Cui Yunqi's guards and others were escorting a disheveled old woman away from the street.

"Go, take this man away and find out his background..."

Cui Yunqi stared at the horse that was about to fall on the street, and just casually pointed at the old woman who was being escorted by the guards.

Unexpectedly, because of this negligence, the old woman suddenly broke free from the suppression of the crowd and rushed into the crowd like a ghost.

Then, she cried out loudly: "Good man, please save me and my family! I really can't survive, help me..."

With a bang, she fell in front of the carriage that Chen Xu was riding in.

(End of this chapter)