Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 116 Reborn
"I see!"

Lu Beigu put down his pen.

Overwhelmed by immense joy and a sense of enlightenment, he quickly spread out a new sheet of paper, dipped it in ink, and began to write with flowing, dynamic strokes.

He dissected and absorbed the essence of that "Jiazhong" answer sheet, combined it with his thoughts from the previous night, and took the state exam questions of that year as an example. He began to try to imitate the thinking of these outstanding predecessors and reconstruct his analytical approach to the meaning of ink under the difficulty of the state exam.

"Now it's my turn to answer. How should I write it?"

The bottleneck that had troubled him for many days, those obscure and contradictory interpretations of the scriptures, were now, with the reference of these top-notch answers and the examiners' comments, like scattered puzzle pieces, being reassembled and pieced together by a powerful force, gradually presenting an unprecedentedly clear picture!
Time flies when you're focused.

As dawn broke, the two servants took the gourd lamp and fire extinguisher and went back to rest.

When the clerk came up again with the food box and water jug, Lu Beigu's thick notebook on his desk had been covered with many new sheets of paper, densely filled with annotations, insights, and diagrams he had redrawn.

Lu Beigu's eyes were bloodshot, but his spirit was unusually high, radiating an almost scorching light.

This isn't just working hard, it's risking your life!

"It's time for lunch," the clerk reminded him softly.

Lu Beigu then snapped out of his reverie and looked up at the minor official.

Thank you so much.

"It doesn't matter."

Lu Beigu got up and stretched his stiff neck and wrists. Lunch was still a simple meal of sesame cakes and pickled vegetables, but with the addition of a bowl of steaming vegetable soup.

He didn't start eating right away, but instead picked up the warm soup and sipped it slowly, letting the warmth soothe his tired stomach.

But his gaze still involuntarily drifted to the open exam papers and notes, his brain still working at high speed, digesting what he had just learned, and eagerly planning to tackle the afternoon's target: a policy essay question from Zizhou about the "well-field system" and "land limitation theory." The memorials and historical materials from the previous dynasty cited in the "Jia Xia" answer sheet could provide him with an excellent angle of entry.

The afternoon of the second day passed with the sound of pages turning.

Lu Beigu began to consciously engage in "thematic" reading.

Instead of following the order of year or state, he actively searched for past exam questions and model essays for relevant years and states, focusing on the dozen or so core exam points he had summarized, such as "the integration of the profound meanings of the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals", "the advantages and disadvantages of land system reforms in various dynasties", and "the style of memorials to the emperor in response to border disturbances".

His notes are more structured and categorized, as if he were building his own knowledge fortress, and these four layers of precious questions and annotations are the best bricks.

Outside the window, the sun's shadow was setting in the west.

As dusk once again enveloped the library, Lu Beigu's eyes, though weary, shone with a confidence born from his abundant knowledge and clear thinking, even brighter than the day before.

In these precious thirty-six hours, he has passed through the most difficult "barrier-breaking" stage. What remains is more efficient accumulation, polishing and consolidation. He has pried open a crack in the door to a higher realm, and the light behind the door is clearly reflected in his eyes.

Two servants came up again with a gourd lamp, a pump, and a hemp pole, illuminating this small corner of the study.

Lu Beigu faced the light, opened another test paper containing past exam questions, his eyes sharp as knives, ready to face another night of fierce battle.

The true transformation lies in this silent process of reading, thinking, and writing.

Time flew by as Lu Beigu absorbed his studies. On the morning of the third day, when the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) pierced the silence once more, he sat up without hesitation, immediately asked the servant to light the gourd lamp, and rushed to his desk again.

After two days of intensive reading, thinking, recording, and imitation, his brain seemed to have been re-tempered.

Previously, the ingenious solutions to questions required repeated contemplation to understand; now, a glance is enough to grasp their core. The subtle tendencies in the examiners' comments are as clear as if they were written in plain sight.

Lu Beigu no longer passively absorbed information, but began to actively deduce it. When faced with the same question, he would first try to come up with his own ideas and framework, and then compare his answer with the "lower-grade" or even "medium-grade" answer sheet to find the gaps and analyze why the examiner made such a judgment.

His notes were no longer simple excerpts, but rather a vast network that incorporated the essence of past exam questions, the examiner's perspective, and his personal insights, with every knowledge point embedded within them.

Regarding the integration of the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals, he summarized several common entry points and argumentation structures; for core issues in policy essays such as land system and border defense, he not only summarized the views of famous ministers throughout history, but also extracted the writing logic of memorials under different positions and the key to impressing examiners.

On the third day at noon, the official delivered the meal as usual.

When Lu Beigu took the food box, his gaze inadvertently caught the undisguised astonishment on the clerk's face. In just three days and two nights, the notes and scrolls on the desk had already piled up into a small mountain.

Although Lu Beigu himself had sunken eyes, longer stubble on his chin, and slightly wrinkled clothes from sitting for a long time, his eyes were surprisingly bright.

"Thank you." Lu Beigu's voice was a little hoarse. He ate quickly, but no longer as hastily as on the first day. Instead, he ate with an almost devout appreciation. The food turned into energy, quickly replenishing his body which was constantly running at high speed.

On the afternoon of the third day, he entered the final sprint stage.

He no longer pursues breadth, but instead focuses on in-depth refinement.

Lu Beigu selected a few extremely rare "top-tier" answer sheets from the densely packed examination papers. Only a handful had been produced over a decade and several prefectures, highlighting their rarity.

He looked at the answer sheets, scrutinizing each word and sentence. How did these essays structure themselves? How did the arguments progress step by step? How were historical facts used appropriately? How did the writing combine eloquence and elegance? How exactly were the "coherent flow," "far-sightedness," and "insight into current issues" praised by the examiners in their comments reflected in the lines?
He repeatedly compared and revised his own thoughts and the paragraphs he wrote down in imitation, striving to get as close as possible to that level.

The light outside the window dimmed again, signaling the arrival of the final night.

Two servants arrived on time, carrying gourd lamps and fire extinguishers, and sat silently in the shadows.

Lu Beigu took a deep breath and solemnly unfolded the latest exam paper.

This collection of questions is the most recent, and the selected policy essay questions are often closely related to current political and social issues, best reflecting the examiners' current evaluation preferences.

Under the dim light of the gourd lamp, Lu Beigu's progress in studying was like a silkworm gnawing on mulberry leaves—subtle yet resolute.

Time ticked by, and the accumulated fatigue in his body finally began to breach the dam of his will. His wrists ached, and his eyelids grew heavy, but he simply pinched his brow hard, took a sip of cold water, and kept his gaze firmly fixed on the words.

As the first rays of dawn on the fourth day pierced through the window and entered the fourth floor of the library, Lu Beigu slowly put down his pen.

The notebook paper next to the last policy essay answer sheet spread out in front of him was covered with dense annotations and reflections.

He neatly gathered up the papers from which he had taken notes.

That thick volume now weighs more than a thousand pounds!
Thirty-six hours a day, except for necessary sleep, there was almost no rest!
Lu Beigu sat there quietly, without getting up immediately.

Exhaustion washed over me like a tidal wave, every muscle screamed in pain, and my brain throbbed with pain from prolonged excitement.

However, an unprecedented sense of fullness and clarity rose from the depths of my soul, overwhelming all discomfort.

The doctrinal bottleneck that had once troubled him was now shattered and dissipated like a boulder split by a giant axe. In the past thirty-six hours, he had dismantled, reorganized, absorbed, and internalized those intricate test points, unpredictable question angles, and the examiners' veiled evaluation criteria in an almost frantic manner.

Looking back at those difficult problems now, the solutions are clearer than ever before, as if the fog has lifted and the path has become clear.

He was no longer the time traveler who relied solely on his modern memories and learning talent to navigate his journey.

The wisdom accumulated over the four floors of this library, a crystallization of knowledge jointly constructed by top scholars and examiners throughout the ages, has been forcibly imprinted deep in his mind, becoming part of his own knowledge and test-taking abilities.

Lu Beigu slowly stood up, moving his stiff and numb limbs, his bones making a slight "crackling" sound.

He took one last look around the dark yet sacred space, at the silent bookshelves, boxes, and scrolls.

"Time is up."

The clerk's voice rang out from the stairwell, carrying a hint of relief and barely perceptible admiration. Behind him followed the school official in charge of the keys.

Lu Beigu carefully organized all the items he had brought, gathering and neatly stacking the open papers and notes on the table, making sure there was no damage.

He bowed deeply to the school official, the clerk, and the two servants: "Student Lu Beigu thanks you all for your care."

The instructor's gaze swept over the thick stack of notes and manuscripts on the desk, then fell on Lu Beigu's bloodshot but unusually bright eyes. He nodded slightly, his tone much gentler than when he arrived: "Yes, remember the rules."

"I will remember this and never forget it," Lu Beigu replied solemnly.

The heavy wooden door opened again, and the light from the outside corridor suddenly flooded in, making Lu Beigu squint.

He stepped out of the fourth floor, and the wooden door behind him slowly closed and locked in the hands of the instructor, isolating him from that world.

As I descended the stairs, my feet seemed a little unsteady, yet each step felt exceptionally firm.

When he stood again in the relatively bright and open space on the first floor of the library, the morning sunlight was streaming in through the door, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees after the rain.

It rained last night.

Lu Beigu took a deep breath, the cool air filling his lungs and dispelling the stale smell in the library, which also refreshed his muddled mind.

A strong sense of hunger and a deeper sense of exhaustion finally swept over him without any resistance, reminding him that his body was nearing its limit.

However, an unprecedented power was surging within him.

The exams are just around the corner.

This time, he not only wants to get into the middle school, but also wants everyone to see that he is qualified to compete with geniuses!

(End of this chapter)