I proved immortality through the imperial examination.

Chapter 9 The Wonderful Uses of Sacred Icons
Jiang Kun originally wanted to shamelessly lower the price to forty coins, but he didn't expect that Xue Xiang, that big fool, would sell them at a drastic price.

"Fine, we'll definitely be able to reach an agreement on the 20th."

Jiang Kun was so happy he almost laughed out loud. "But Brother Xue, your family spent sixty spirit stones to get the Flying Fish Mark, and you're selling it for twenty. How are you going to explain that to your family?"

He wasn't concerned about Xue Xiang, but rather afraid that the Xue family would cause trouble and create negative public opinion.

Xue Xiang looked dejected. "Of course I won't tell my family. I'll just come out every day and pretend to be at work."

Besides, twenty spirit stones are enough to last for several years.

With my abilities, if I dedicate myself to running the store, why should I be afraid of not making a fortune?

"High!"

Jiang Kun was completely relieved. At this moment, he no longer looked at Xue Xiang as an idiot, but as a complete fool.

"By the way, you gave me five spirit pieces in two separate transactions, which together amount to one spirit stone. Did you reduce the amount?"

Xue Xiang continued to act foolishly.

Jiang Kun patted his chest and said, "Hey, we're brothers, what's yours and mine? It won't even cost a spirit stone or two."

Please wait here for a moment, I'll be right back.

An incense stick later, Jiang Kun returned with a money pouch in his hand, which he tossed to Xue Xiang, saying, "I have accomplished my mission. Please count it."

Xue Xiang tucked the money pouch into his sleeve. "Who else could I not trust? Of course I could trust Brother Jiang. What a joke!"

Jiang Kun patted Xue Xiang on the shoulder and said, "I don't know why, but I just feel a connection with you, Brother Xue."

“Who isn’t? Okay, I have something to do at home, so I’ll head home first. We’ll get this deal sorted out in the next day or two.”

Xue Xiang patted Jiang Kun on the shoulder and then turned and left.

Jiang Kun quickly caught up, "Brother Xue, let's get a receipt."

Xue Xiang was taken aback for a moment, then raised his eyebrows. "You brought paper and pen?"

"How about we borrow it from Lao Xie?"

Jiang Kun pointed to the gatehouse, feeling inexplicably guilty.

"Haha, receipt. I never thought that Brother Jiang and I would need this thing."

Xue Xiang's voice turned cold, "Hit me? I'll definitely hit you."

With that, he walked towards the gatehouse without looking back.

Jiang Kun was somewhat bewildered by Xue Xiang's disfiguring acting skills, fearing that this big fool might cause some trouble if he got angry.

Considering his past experience of easily manipulating Xue Xiang over the past year, he gritted his teeth, rubbed his face, stepped forward, put his arm around Xue Xiang's shoulder, and laughed, "Just kidding. You're so magnanimous. What kind of receipt do we need?"

"So clueless about jokes, that's hilarious."

"I told you I wouldn't misjudge people."

Xue Xiang patted Jiang Kun on the shoulder, "We're brothers for life."

"Brothers!"

………………

With forty spirit stones in his pocket, Xue Xiang seemed to float back home on clouds.

Liu Mei, dressed in a green dress, was poking at the icicles on the roof with a bamboo pole. She misjudged the force and knocked over a tile, about to be hit by it.

Xue Xiang rushed forward and grabbed her around the waist.

"How old are you? Don't you know how to be careful?"

Xue Xiang released his hand.

Liu Mei rolled her eyes, her face flushed, and a tingling sensation came from the plump buttocks that had been in contact with Xue Xiang's waist and abdomen.

"Brother, quickly check the words I copied!"

The little guy rushed over with a notebook in hand.

Xue Xiang picked her up and glanced at the notebook. "All correct. Here's a bag of malt candy for you."

He pulled out a bag of animal-shaped malt candies, and the little guy's laughter and shouts almost pierced the roof.

By the time Xue Xiang replaced the roof tiles, the hot pot was already on the table.

After winter set in, the Xue family ate hot pot more often, and their standard of living improved dramatically, as evidenced by the little guy's increasingly chubby face. Green moss, red peppers, and green vegetable leaves, after a quick dip in the mutton soup, were bursting with flavor in their mouths.

After finishing his meal, Xue Xiang greeted his mother and went to his room to read. His mother smiled so much that her faint crow's feet almost disappeared, assuring him that she wouldn't come to his room to disturb him.

Sitting down at his desk, Xue Xiang took out a portrait of the Confucian sage Kang Guangling and pushed it aside. He gazed quietly into Kang Guangling's eyes, and slowly a hazy realm seemed to appear before him.

Xue Xiang took the "Zhengyan" and slowly read it aloud. After half an incense stick's time, he had read five pages, but the hazy field remained unchanged.

"Am I so bad at reading that I can't move the saints in this painting?"

Xue Xiang was speechless for a moment, then simply closed the book and couldn't help but complain, "What does 'a gentleman's duty to righteousness is nothing more than sacrificing one's life' mean? It's just about sacrificing oneself to achieve righteousness. Why make it so convoluted? The sages here are far inferior to Confucius."

As soon as he finished speaking, the hazy space suddenly began to ripple.

“There’s a reaction.”

Xue Xiang was startled and immediately realized that it must be the four words "sacrifice oneself for righteousness" that had moved the portrait of the sage.

Xie Haiya once said that the effects of images of sages and saints can only be realized after one has read and gained insights from the books.

Clearly, the image of the sage reflects his understanding of "sacrificing oneself for righteousness" from his studies.

Suddenly, the hazy field enveloped Xue Xiang. Xue Xiang hurriedly took out the Nebula Box, took out a bundle of spiritual silk, and pulled out a strand, which then scattered into ten strands.

Xue Xiang activated the Spirit Guiding Technique, and the spiritual threads immediately transformed into a hazy light, disappearing into Xue Xiang's body.

Immediately, a stinging pain, like being pinched by ants, came over me.

Xue Xiang was overjoyed.

This pain was many times less intense than the agony of drawing spirits into my body before.

In just over ten breaths, the spiritual threads in the Nebula Box were completely exhausted.

Normally, it would take Xue Xiang the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to refine ten spiritual threads.

Seeing this as a rare opportunity, Xue Xiang quickly continued to guide the spirit into his body.

This time, he simply put a bundle of spirit threads (one hundred strands) into the Nebula Box.

As the Spirit Guiding Technique was activated, gushing spiritual energy once again flowed into his body.

Half an hour later, the strand of spiritual thread was completely consumed.

His body finally began to feel fatigued, and Xue Xiang stopped refining the scroll. He then closed the scroll, and the hazy field disappeared.

"As expected, it's good to have a powerful backer. In less than an hour, I've accomplished what I did in ten days."

Xue Xiang was greatly encouraged.

After pausing his cultivation, Xue Xiang began to organize the spirit stones.

Unlike usual, he didn't place all the spirit stones on Liu Mei's forehead.

The main reason was that the amount involved was too large, totaling forty spirit stones, and he was afraid of frightening Liu Mei.

He stuffed the bag of spirit stones Xie Haiya gave him into the hole under the bed, and carefully examined the bag of spirit stones Jiang Kun gave him.

He poured out the spirit stones, took the bright red money bag, and went to find Liu Mei.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, Xue Xiang grabbed two fried dough sticks and two tea eggs and went out.

He didn't go directly to Jiufen Mountain, but instead headed towards Beifang, which was the area where printing workshops of Yunmeng City were concentrated.

If you're determined to start a newspaper, it's still necessary to understand the relevant printing details.

After spending most of the day in Beifang and making some basic plans, Xue Xiang headed towards Jiufen Mountain.

When he arrived, Jiang Kun was already waiting outside the Plum Blossom Hall with his men.

"Brother Xue, let me introduce you. This is Secretary Jiang from the Second Academy. He's here specifically for our business."

Jiang Kun held Xue Xiang's arm affectionately.

"I have met with Secretary Jiang."

Xue Xiang bowed respectfully. The Second Academy was responsible for system reorganization, specifically personnel transfers.

Jiang Kun summoned the people from the Second Academy, undoubtedly because of the matter of the Flying Fish Label's adulteration. Secretary Jiang nodded arrogantly, "I'm pressed for time, let's proceed with the formalities first."

As he spoke, he handed over a document and asked Xue Xiang to fill it out as required.

(End of this chapter)