Martial Arts Secret Realm: Only I Can Know the Plot?

The next day, Sun Fan accompanied Shen Zhaoyuan in reading as usual.

Shen Zhaoyuan was particularly excited today because Sun Fan had finally agreed to guide him in writing policy essays.

"Brother Sun, what do you think of this piece I wrote?" Shen Zhaoyuan handed over the article he had spent all night writing, his face full of anticipation.

Sun Fan took it and read it from beginning to end.

To be honest, it's not bad. It's decent, the arguments are clear, the evidence is sufficient, and the writing is fluent. But it's just "not bad"—good among scholars, average among those who passed the provincial examination, and not good enough among those who passed the imperial examination.

"Brother Shen," Sun Fan put down the article, "do you want to hear the truth?"

Shen Zhaoyuan nodded.

"This essay, if submitted to the prefectural examination, would rank in the top ten," Sun Fan said.

Shen Zhaoyuan's smile froze.

"But I can't get into the top three," Sun Fan continued, "let alone be number one."

Shen Zhaoyuan's face fell.

Why?

"Because your writing lacks 'vitality'," Sun Fan said.

"gas?"

"Yes." Sun Fan stood up, walked to the bookshelf, pulled out a book, opened it, and pointed to a passage. "Look at this one. Both are about governing a country, and his arguments and evidence are similar to yours. But when you read it, you feel his writing is more powerful than yours—why?"

Shen Zhaoyuan leaned over to take a look, then shook his head.

"Because his essay contains the 'I'," Sun Fan said. "Every sentence is what he wants to say, not something someone taught him. Your essay also contains the 'I,' but that 'I' is hidden—you're afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid of offending people, afraid the examiner won't like it. So you write in a very steady, watertight way, but it also lacks soul."

Shen Zhaoyuan was stunned.

He had never thought of it that way.

"Policy essays are not like the eight-legged essay." Sun Fan put the book back. "Eight-legged essays have a format and rules, and you just follow them. Policy essays are different—policy essays are for you to say what you want to say. What the examiners want to see is not your writing style, but your knowledge, your breadth of vision, and your demeanor."

He turned to Shen Zhaoyuan and asked, "In your opinion, where are you inferior to Ling Tuisi, that student?"

Shen Zhaoyuan opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"You're no worse than him," Sun Fan said. "You just don't dare to write. He does."

Shen Zhaoyuan remained silent for a long time.

"Brother Sun," he suddenly spoke, "could you... teach me to write?"

Sun Fan looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Aren't I teaching?"

Shen Zhaoyuan also laughed, but he seemed a little embarrassed.

The two chatted for a while longer, then Sun Fan, seeing that it was getting late, got up to say goodbye. As he reached the door, Shen Zhaoyuan suddenly called out to him.

"Brother Sun."

Sun Fan turned around.

Shen Zhaoyuan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I heard you went to the Ling residence yesterday?"

Sun Fan felt a chill run down his spine, but remained outwardly calm.

"I've gone," he said. "Lord Ling invited me for tea."

Shen Zhaoyuan looked at him with a complicated expression.

"Brother Sun, Ling Tuisi is... not a simple man." He lowered his voice. "Be careful when you deal with him."

Sun Fan nodded: "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Shen."

As Sun Fan stepped out of Shen Zhaoyuan's courtyard, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Shen Zhaoyuan knew that he had gone to the Ling residence—which meant that the Shen family had spies in the Ling residence.

interesting.

Two days later, Sun Fan went to the Ling residence again.

This time, Ling Tuisi's attitude was noticeably warmer than before. He personally greeted Sun Fan at the door, took his hand, and led him inside, saying, "Young Master Sun, have you made up your mind?"

Sun Fan nodded: "I've thought it through."

"Good!" Ling Tuisi laughed. "I knew Young Master Sun was a wise man."

The two entered the study, and Ling Tuisi personally poured him tea.

"Since Young Master Sun has made up his mind, then I won't beat around the bush." ​​Ling Tuisi sat down, his smile fading, and said seriously, "I would like to ask Young Master Sun to do something."

"Please speak, Lord Ling."

"In Jingzhou City, there is a group of people who appear respectable on the surface, but secretly they collude with bandits, bully and monopolize the market, and wreak havoc on the area." Ling Tuisi's voice was low. "As the prefect, I cannot sit idly by. But these people are powerful and deeply entrenched, and I do not have solid evidence to take action against them."

Sun Fan frowned: "Who are these people Lord Ling is referring to...?"

"The Shen family," Ling Tuisi said directly.

Sun Fan paused for a moment.

"What Lord Ling means is..."

"I need someone who can get close to the Shen family." Ling Tuisi stared into his eyes, "to help me find out about the Shen family's shady dealings."

Sun Fan remained silent for a while.

"Lord Ling," he began, "the Shen family has treated me well."

"I know," Ling Tuisi nodded. "So I'm not asking you to harm them. I'm asking you to investigate them—to find out if they've done anything illegal. If they have, bring it up; if not, even better. I have a clear conscience, and so do you."

Sun Fan remained silent for a long time.

"Lord Ling," he finally spoke, "I agree. But I have one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"I want to see Chu Huai'an," Sun Fan said. "Now."

Ling Tuisi looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Alright." He stood up, took a token from his waist, and handed it to Sun Fan. "This is my token. You can take it and go to the prison anytime. But there's one condition—you can only see Chu Huai'an, not anyone else."

Sun Fan accepted the token and bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Lord Ling."

Ling Tuisi waved his hand: "Go ahead. When you see your classmate, come back and tell me how he is."

Sun Fan nodded and turned to walk out.

As he walked out of the Ling residence, he looked down at the token in his hand.

It is made of bronze, with the three characters "Jingzhou Prefecture" engraved on the front and the character "Ling" engraved on the back.

It's quite heavy.

The prison was behind the prefectural government office, separated by a small alley.

When Sun Fan arrived, it was almost dark. The jailer at the gate looked at his token, and without saying a word, opened the gate and let him through.

The prison was gloomy and eerie, filled with the smells of mildew and blood. Torches were stuck in iron rings on the wall, their flames flickering and casting long, short shadows.

A jailer led him inside, past rows of cells, where some prisoners lay motionless, while others leaned against the wall, staring at them with empty eyes.

Upon reaching the innermost part, the jailer stopped and pointed to the second cell on the left.

"This is the one."

Sun Fan looked inside.

The cell was covered with hay, and a young man sat in the corner, hugging his knees and looking down. He was wearing a tattered prison uniform, and his hair was disheveled, obscuring his face.

"Huai'an?" Sun Fan called out.

The young man looked up.

He had a round face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes, and did look honest and simple. But his complexion was poor, his lips were chapped, and he had heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"You...who are you?" He looked at Sun Fan blankly.

Sun Fan glanced back at the jailer.

The jailer showed no sign of leaving.

Clearly, this was the prefect's order; he couldn't allow Sun Fan to roam freely in prison.

He had to keep a close eye on Sun Fan and report every word and action of Sun Fan in prison to the prefect.