Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 35 Luxurious Ideal

It was getting dark.

Lu Qubing walked back to the classroom with a tired look on his face. The students he met along the way bowed to him one after another.

He could only force a smile and return the greetings to these people.

After entering the house, he finally stopped pretending and sat on the bed with a sad face, instantly deflated.

"It's tiring. I didn't expect that managing a county school would be so difficult."

"No wonder those priests in the past liked to stay in the other courtyards and never go out!"

"Some things are better left alone. Once you pay attention to them, the trouble will only increase."

Listening to Lu Qubing's complaints, Liu Taozi put down the book in his hand and asked, "Can I get the license tomorrow?"

Lu Qubing looked at him and said, "You can take the exam when you are full-term. If you want to take the exam when you are full-term, you can indeed leave the county school tomorrow."

"But do you really want to go now?"

"You can also wait for the full forty days. Wouldn't it be great to prepare for ten more days?"

Lu Qubing explained seriously: "The county's affairs have not affected the scattered officials. The number of places is limited, and the competition for this exam will definitely be fierce."

"Although we are good friends, I can't help you with this matter. Are you sure you want to leave the county school tomorrow?"

Liu Taozi nodded.

"Leave tomorrow."

Lu Qubing suddenly fell silent.

"Well, you have your own ideas, so I won't dissuade you."

"Brother Taozi, would you like some wine?"

"Don't eat."

"Okay, don't delay tomorrow's work."

"Well, although I can't help you speak, I can help you review a little bit."

"I have seen the exams in the past and know what they test on."

Lu Qubing picked up a book beside him and said, "I will test you for them first. If you fail, you can stay for another ten days. How about that?"

"it is good."

"A word is settled!"

The next day.

The sky was not yet bright, as if covered with a layer of light black silk satin.

A lone star can be seen twinkling in the sky.

The wind blew up the fallen leaves, which spun several times, then flew over the wall of the law school and landed gently on the ground.

In the front yard, four people stood in the middle, and the rest of the students stood around, watching quietly.

Lu Qubing held the birth cards in his hand and handed them out to them one by one with a solemn face.

Liu Taozi stood in the middle. He was tall and strong, and the people on his left and right subconsciously kept some distance from him.

Lu Qubing handed him the birth card indicating his status as a ‘graduate’.

His expression was quite complicated, but he said nothing.

After dealing out the four people's birth cards, Lu Qubing looked at them solemnly.

"In two days, you will be able to go to the county government office to take the exam."

"I hope you can all pass the exam and make the hard work of these few days worthwhile."

"Once you pass the exam, I hope you can be a good official, treat people with kindness, and don't do anything immoral."

Lu Qubing bowed slightly to them.

The four returned the favor.

Liu Taozi picked up her things and was about to leave.

"Brother Peach!"

Someone spoke immediately.

The students around hurried forward and surrounded Taozi, most of them with reluctance in their eyes.

The county school and the outside world are two different worlds.

Even though there are no old people left in the county school now, Taozi's heroic deeds have been passed down from generation to generation.

He built a vassal state himself.

From that day on, things in the classroom became different.

The law school, which had always been patient and endured humiliation, raised its head and clenched its fists. No one dared to break into the school and force them to strip and dance anymore.

No one dared to use them as horses to play the game of "human horse and bamboo spear" anymore.

The current situation is all caused by resistance.

When senior students talk about this man to the new students, they call him the backbone of the law school.

But now, this strong heart is leaving.

In addition to feeling reluctant, everyone also felt a little bit scared.

This dream-like life will not disappear with the departure of liver and gallbladder, right?

Liu Taozi glanced at everyone and said, "Study hard."

"only!"

Liu Taozi walked out again, Lu Qubing followed him, and the other three students who were leaving followed behind them.

Everyone in the Law School followed Taozi all the way and sent her to the gate of the county school.

Lu Qubing waved his hand, "Okay, let's all go back to school! It's not like he'll never come back!"

When the new chief priest gave the order, no one dared to disobey.

Lu Qubing followed Taozi out of the door, and the two of them walked towards the east city gate.

"Brother Taozi, although we have known each other for a short time, I have already regarded you as a close friend."

"I have never seen anyone as brave as you in my life. Having you by my side also strengthens my courage."

"Now that you are leaving the county school, I really feel sad to see you go."

Lu Qubing's words were disjointed and incoherent, unlike his usual eloquent style.

Taozi remained silent, just listening to his chatter.

The two of them walked to the East City Gate, and Lu Qubing finally stopped and looked into the distance. "Brother Taozi, we'll say goodbye for now. If you have time in the future, come to the county school to see me."

Liu Taozi nodded slightly.

"By the way, the situation at the county government office is very complicated. It is completely different from the county school."

"If you want to be a village official, it must be because there is a shortage of people in the countryside, and you can recruit from the county's scattered officials. Otherwise, you have to wait for orders in the county government."

"The officials in the county are easy to deal with. They have nothing to do with you. It's mainly the clerks. These people are fierce and domineering. They kill people without knives. They have many ways to torment newcomers."

"You must be careful and not be reckless. You must not do that again. Anyway, you must be careful not to offend them."

Speaking of the county government, Lu Qubing was worried. In his opinion, the gloomy and terrifying atmosphere of the county government would hardly accommodate someone like Taozi.

As he was speaking, Taozi raised her head and looked upwards without saying a word.

Lu Qubing followed Taozi's gaze upwards.

A cold wind blew, and the heads hanging on the city gate swayed in the wind.

From one side of the city gate to the other, it was now filled with heads.

There were more than a dozen heads.

Lu Qubing was also left speechless by this bloody scene.

Before he could open his mouth to express his feelings, Taozi quickly walked out of the city gate.

Taozi recognized one of the men, the waiter from the restaurant.

After walking out of the city gate, Taozi took big strides and headed towards home.

His speed is much faster than before.

If Lu Zhizhi is still there, we will never be able to catch up.

The road was empty and the whole world was strangely silent. Occasionally, an evil bird would make a sound and fly across the sky.

The weeds grew quite rapidly, and at one point they occupied the official road. The road was full of potholes, and debris left behind could occasionally be seen on both sides.

Taozi was walking on a small path, a path that few people dared to walk on.

Wild beasts are roaming around and thieves are rampant.

The branches and leaves of the trees on both sides were tangled together, covering the path, and various noises came from the bushes on both sides from time to time.

As Taozi strode past, countless animals were startled out of the bushes.

Suddenly, Taozi stopped, jumped, and landed beside the bushes on the left. He stretched out his hand and grabbed a person out of the bushes.

Taozi's hand directly covered the other person's head, almost pulling him out.

"Ouch!"

The man felt pain, "Brother Taozi! It's me! It's me!"

Liu Taozi saw who was coming and then let go.

Zhang Erlang covered his head and said, "Brother Taozi almost pulled my head off."

"What are you doing here?"

Zhang Erlang was immediately alert. He looked around and said, "Brother Taozi, I came here specially to wait for you. Xiaowu said you would be back today, so I hid here early in the morning."

Liu Taozi frowned and pulled Zhang Erlang into the dense forest.

"What happened?"

"A few days ago, my grandfather was lost."

Taozi was stunned and remained silent.

Zhang Erlang continued, "Just like my mother and my eldest brother, they were all alone at home, and then they disappeared."

"I suspected that it was the green-eyed Hu Li who did it, so I went to look for him."

"It doesn't seem to be him."

"He followed me to my house and searched around and found some donkey dung."

"Brother Taozi, I seem to be in trouble."

Zhang Erlang glanced at Taozi and said timidly, "He asked me what I was doing on the second day of last month, and I said I didn't remember."

"He also asked some other questions, such as when you left home to go to the county school. Although he didn't say it explicitly, I think he wanted to harm Brother Taozi!"

"So I kept an eye on him! I saw him go to the next county town and come back with two strong servants!"

“But the next day, the two men disappeared.”

"That Hu Li rarely went out, and he was always drunk."

"Are there any outsiders coming again?"

"Never."

Liu Taozi narrowed his eyes and pondered.

Zhang Erlang became even more panicked. He trembled and said, "Brother Taozi, I really didn't mean it."

A big hand covered his head again, and Taozi rubbed his head.

"No problem."

"Ji Lang, how old are you this year?"

"I don't remember, but I should be less than twenty."

"Your elder brother is the same age as me, and you are not even fifteen yet."