The Prodigal Son

After a brief discussion, the people of the Confucian Temple and Academy finally accepted Qin Yu's "challenge".

Twenty li!

It's just a mere twenty li.

This requires no special skills, only patience and willpower.

If they can't even do this, and Qin Yu points his finger at them and calls them trash, they won't have the face to refute him.

"Run!"

"Don't let Qin Yu look down on you!"

"Even if we don't fight for our own pride, we must protect the reputation of the Confucian Temple and Academy!"

"Yes! Run, all of you run forward! No one is allowed to give up..."

They encouraged each other and expressed their determination before rushing towards the Qin residence.

Everyone was holding their breath.

Even if it kills me, I absolutely cannot let Qin Yu look down on me!

Thus, a perplexing scene unfolded on the streets of the imperial city.

The group from the Confucian Temple and Academy had dark faces and ran forward recklessly.

Behind their procession, Qin Yu sat in a carriage, as if he were herding a flock of ducks.

"What happened?"

"Who are these people? Are they just bored and have nothing better to do?"

"They seem to be people from the Confucian Temple and Academy. I wonder what they're doing."

"Why do they look like they're fleeing from disaster? Are they being chased?"

"What nonsense! This is the imperial city! Who would dare to chase them down in broad daylight?"

As people ran past at full speed, passersby stopped to watch and discuss the scene.

However, the hundreds of people at the Confucian Temple and Academy were completely oblivious to these strange looks and their discussions.

Everyone put in their best effort and kept running forward.

At first, everyone had plenty of energy and didn't feel any strain while running.

But as the distance grew further, some people gradually couldn't keep up and fell behind in the group.

"Hang in there, don't let Qin Yu look down on you!"

"To prove myself!"

When they saw that someone was about to give up, others immediately came forward to cheer them on.

However, sometimes, cheering someone on is not very effective.

If your body can't handle it, no amount of encouragement will help.

When they were halfway there, the hundreds of people from the Confucian Temple and Academy split into two groups.

One team consists of people who are skilled in martial arts, have some martial arts background, or are physically strong. So far, they have been running relatively easily.

The other group, however, had already fallen hundreds of feet behind the group in front, and that distance was still widening.

Even though the group lagging behind encouraged each other, their legs felt like they were filled with lead, growing heavier and heavier, and increasingly uncontrollable.

Their breathing was already erratic, their lungs felt like they were about to explode.

Qin Yu and Qi Dachui rode their horses between the two groups of people.

As the distance between the two sides grew further and further, and the person in front had not made any adjustments, Qin Yu couldn't help but feel secretly disappointed.

At this rate, let alone 80% of the people arriving at the Qin residence, it would be good if even 30% arrived!

To this day, no one has stepped forward to adjust the pace of the group or formulate a follow-up plan.

He even suspected that the people from the Confucian Temple and the Imperial Academy hadn't heard him clearly, thinking that as long as they ran to the Qin residence within the stipulated time, they wouldn't be considered useless, and in the end, they would have to blame the people behind them for dragging them down.

After running for nearly a mile further, Hou Zhixing, who was running ahead, finally began to realize that something was wrong.

Hou Zhixing looked back and noticed that their numbers had dwindled significantly. A sudden jolt went through him, and he sped to the front of the line, shouting, "Stop! Everyone stop! Many people have fallen behind!"

After Hou Zhixing kept shouting, the line in front finally stopped.

When they turned around and looked behind them, they suddenly realized something was wrong.

Qin Yu wanted 80% of the people to come to the Qin Mansion!

What good would it do if they arrived at the Qin residence a quarter of an hour early with such a small number of people?

"Someone behind us is falling behind; we have to stop!"

"Let's take a break and discuss our next move! If we keep going like this, it'll be like admitting to Qin Yu that we're useless!"

"Yes! We can't keep running like this..."

"We can each take one person! Let's try to get as many people as possible to the Qin residence within the allotted time!"

"No, this won't do; it will only drag everyone down!"

"We should slow down the overall pace and run together with those behind us..."

The group quickly gathered together to discuss the matter.

However, with so many people offering conflicting opinions, it was impossible for everyone to reach a consensus.

But everyone knows that the time left for them to discuss is extremely limited. If they continue to discuss like this, they probably won't reach a conclusion by this time tomorrow.

"Stop talking! Listen to me!"

At this moment, a student named Liu Shizhao stepped forward and said, "It's not a good idea for so many of us to discuss this. In my opinion, we should elect three people to come forward and let them discuss it! The final result will be based on the conclusion reached by the three of them!"

"good!"

Immediately, people began to echo this sentiment.

Soon, everyone reached a consensus and quickly elected Liu Shizhao, Hou Zhixing, and two others to represent them in the discussion. They also elected Liu Shizhao as the temporary leader, and if they could not reach an agreement in time, his opinion would prevail.

He then took over issuing orders, and everyone else simply followed them.

The three lived up to expectations and quickly agreed on the follow-up plan.

Wait until the others start running together, and then lend a helping hand when needed.

If anyone has enough energy, they can carry someone on their back and run together!

However, you can only carry someone for a short distance. Once the person on your back has recovered, you must immediately get off and run on your own.

If someone really can't keep going, they should give up!

They only need to ensure that 80% of the people arrive at the Qin residence within the stipulated time.

After they finished discussing it, the people behind them gradually caught up.

"Quickly, bring everyone along, as we agreed before!"

Liu Shizhao quickly instructed everyone, "Ma Pingchuan, Yang Zhaoji, and He Ju, the three of you are responsible for counting the number of people. Make sure the number is kept above 80%! Yang Xu and Chen Kang, the two of you are responsible for leading the way. Be mindful of your speed..."

Following Liu Shizhao's instructions, everyone quickly sprang into action.

Some people went forward and carried those who couldn't run anymore on their backs, while others helped those who could still run to continue running. Those who really couldn't run any further were simply abandoned.

Seeing that the people in front were starting to help those behind, and that everyone had a clear division of labor, Qin Yu finally smiled.

Although he was still unclear about what had happened between these people, he knew that someone must have stepped forward to coordinate and manage the situation!

Otherwise, these people could not have made such a big change in such a short period of time.

It seems that my method is quite effective!

Hopefully, these people won't let me down!