We said we would experience life, fairy, how did you become real?

A scholar from a small fishing village traveled to the capital of Beihai Prefecture to participate in the selection examination for Bailu Academy.

Baideng Temple on Zhaokong Mountain.

As darkness fell, fewer and fewer worshippers remained at Baideng Temple to pray for blessings.

Only after the sun had completely set and Abbot Huiming of Baideng Temple had seen off the last pilgrim did he close the temple gates.

Huiming entered the main hall of the temple.

Directly in front of the main hall is a huge golden Buddha statue.

In front of the golden Buddha statue, a woman dressed in a monk's robe knelt on a prayer mat.

She looked up and met the eyes of the Buddha statue.

At the girl's feet lay a round, fleshy ball with wings.

Its name is Chaos, it is without nature, and it is one of the four ancient evils.

A thousand years ago, when Huiming was still at Leiruo Temple, he saw the girl return with this ancient ferocious beast by her side.

"Thank you for giving a lecture to the people and the monks of Baideng Temple today."

Huiming, who looked like a seventy-year-old man, clasped his hands together and bowed to a girl who looked no more than sixteen years old.

"Hmm." The girl nodded and continued to gaze at the Buddha statue.

“Senior Sister.” Huiming took out a letter from her sleeve. “Master wants you to come back. He says he is about to die and wants to see you one last time.”

“Grandpa is lying to me again.” The girl lowered her head. “Monks don’t lie, but Grandpa has lied to me about going back four times.”

"."

Huiming was at a loss for words. His master was indeed quite different from ordinary monks.

Even so, his master is still the head of Buddhism and Taoism.

Huiming changed the subject: "An official just came to the palace. In four months, the King of Zhou will marry the Queen. If you are still here, I hope you can pray for her."

The girl did not answer.

Huiming did not press the matter further.

He stepped forward and placed his master's letter and the invitation from the Zhou Kingdom beside the girl.

Finally, Huiming clasped his hands in a respectful bow, chanted a Buddhist mantra, and then withdrew.

Once again, only the young girl remained in the main hall.

"Migu."

After an incense stick had burned, the chaos at the woman's feet awoke and flew to the girl's front.

"Awake?" the girl asked.

"Migu." The sphere seemed to nod as it swayed its body.

"We are currently at the Baideng Temple in the Zhou Kingdom."

"Migu".

"Yes, if we stay here for a while, I have a feeling that we might find him here."

"Migu Migu." The little Chaos happily spun around in front of the girl.

But after a short while, Little Chaos stopped, its wings drooping as if it were bowing its head, looking somewhat disappointed: "Migu."

"Even if I find him, what if he doesn't recognize me?"

The girl blinked gently.

"It's okay."

The girl reached out and gently stroked the little chaos.

Even if he doesn't remember me, it's enough that I remember him.

Chapter 102 Two hearts yearning for each other, both drenched in snow; in this life, we can be considered to have grown old together.

"So this is the capital of Beihai Prefecture, Xiao Mo. It's so lively here."

As soon as Bai Ruxue and Xiao Mo entered the Beihai Prefecture, they saw pedestrians coming and going on the street, and all kinds of small vendors shouting their wares on both sides of the street.

"It's quite lively." Xiao Mo nodded.

It was winter, and the entire town was covered in a thick layer of snow after a recent heavy snowfall.

But this did nothing to mask the town's hustle and bustle.

In Xiao Mo's mind, he compared the capital of Beihai Prefecture with that of three thousand years ago.

Three thousand years have passed, and although the name has not changed, the layout of the entire Beihai Prefecture has indeed changed a lot.

Overall, however, it has become more prosperous than before.

"Candied hawthorns! Candied hawthorns for sale!"

Not far away, an old man was shouting.

Bai Ruxue's eyes lit up, and she pulled Xiao Mo over, saying, "Xiao Mo, I want to eat this!"

"Sir, how much is one skewer?"

"Three coins a string."

"Give me a string of candied hawthorns," Xiao Mo said with a smile, handing over three coins.

A moment later, Bai Ruxue and Xiao Mo continued walking forward, but now they had a string of candied hawthorns in their hands.

Watching the woman beside him eat candied hawthorns, Xiao Mo couldn't help but smile, as if everything had returned to three thousand years ago.

Three thousand years ago, Ru Xue also accompanied me to the capital of Jiangnan Prefecture to take the imperial examination.

Today, Ru Xue accompanied me to the capital of Beihai Prefecture to participate in the assessment of Bailu Academy.

It seems that nothing has changed.

"What's wrong with Xiao Mo? Do you want some too? Here you go."

Bai Ruxue raised the candied hawthorn, her sleeve sliding down her delicate, lotus-like arm.

"No, you can have it." Xiao Mo smiled. "By the way, Ru Xue really likes candied hawthorns?"

"It's alright~" Bai Ruxue shook her head. "When I'm with you, I just want to eat candied hawthorns."

"why?"

"Silly Xiao Mo, don't you know that the inside of a candied hawthorn is sour?"

"What does this have to do with me being with you?"

"Of course it's related!" Bai Ruxue's eyes crinkled into a smile. "As long as I'm with you, the candied hawthorn doesn't taste so sour anymore!"

"..." Xiao Mo paused slightly, then looked at the woman beside him, his eyes softening. "In that case, eat more."

"Xiao Mo, eating too many candied hawthorns can get cloying." Bai Ruxue gently tugged at Xiao Mo's sleeve. "But whenever I want candied hawthorns, you're always there for me, okay?"

Xiao Mo reached out and patted the woman's head: "Okay."

Hearing Xiao Mo's reply, Bai Ruxue lowered her head and continued to eat the candied hawthorn in small bites, her cheeks flushed with a pretty blush.

soon.

Xiao Mo and Bai Ruxue found an inn to stay in.

After putting down her baggage, Bai Ruxue followed Xiao Mo to the local examination hall to register for the selection of Bailu Academy.

The prefect of Beihai Prefecture lent the examination hall to Bailu Academy, and the examination venue was also the examination hall in Beihai Prefecture.

The number of students who want to participate in the Bailu Academy selection process is neither too many nor too few.

There's no reason not to, because anyone with a certain spiritual root and who is also a scholar will generally choose to give it a try, and Bailu Academy generally welcomes all applicants.

It's rare, because there aren't many ordinary people who can cultivate themselves, let alone follow the path of Confucianism and Taoism.

Xiao Mo successfully registered and will go directly to the examination hall to take the test five days later.

Before we knew it, five days had passed.

On the day of the exam, Bai Ruxue personally escorted Xiao Mo to the examination hall.

"Don't be nervous during the exam."

"Ah."

"Xiao Mo, you must believe in yourself. You will definitely pass the test."

"knew."

"It doesn't matter if we don't pass the exam, we can always go to another academy."

"If all else fails, I'll help you bring over a few teachers from Confucian academies to give you private lessons."

On the way to the exam, Bai Ruxue kept talking to Xiao Mo, afraid that he would be heartbroken if he failed.

"Ru Xue, don't worry, I'm really fine. If I don't pass the exam, it just means I'm not capable enough," Xiao Mo said with a smile. "Besides, it's supposed to be my exam, so why do you seem more nervous than me?"

"I didn't," Bai Ruxue turned her head away.

"That's good." Xiao Mo stopped in his tracks. "Ru Xue, I'm going to take the exam."

Bai Ruxue then noticed that she and Xiao Mo had arrived at the gate of the examination hall.

The woman raised her head and looked earnestly at Xiao Mo: "I'll wait for you to come out."

Xiao Mo stepped back, bowed to the beauty, turned and disappeared into the crowd, entering the examination hall.

Standing on tiptoe in front of the examination hall, the girl gazed into the distance again and again.

Imperial Examination Hall.

An old man was sitting in a room.

Two disciples, a man and a woman, stood beside the old man.

"Jiuli, how many scholars are participating in the selection process of my Bailu Academy this time?"

Qi Daoming, a teacher at Bailu Academy, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked a question.

"Teacher, there are a total of 325 scholars participating in this selection," the girl named Shang Jiuli said playfully.

“Three hundred and twenty-five.” Qi Daoming stroked his chin. “That’s definitely more than usual.”

The man named Luo Yang calmly said, "It would be a great blessing if two out of these 325 disciples could pass the test."

Just as the three were chatting, an official in charge of helping them knocked on the door and came in: "Mr. Qi, all the scholars who participated in this assessment have arrived."

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Zhang." Qi Daoming smiled, put down his teacup, and stood up. "Let's go and meet the scholars of Beihai Prefecture."

"Yes!"

Luo Yang and Shang Jiuli bowed to each other and followed their master out of the room.

More than three hundred scholars stood in the large courtyard.

When they saw the old man walk out of the room, the noise gradually subsided, and all eyes turned to the old man.

"I will be presiding over today's assessment at Bailu Academy. My name is Qi Daoming. Greetings to all of you." Qi Daoming bowed.

"Greetings, sir." The crowd quickly returned the greeting.

"I never expected it to be this Mr. Qi."

"What's wrong with Mr. Qi?"

"You don't know this? Old Master Qi is the Chancellor of the Confucian Academy."

"Not only that, Mr. Qi is also the junior brother of the current head of the Confucian Academy."

"Why would Mr. Qi become a teacher at Bailu Academy?"

"It's nothing. Mr. Qi likes to travel around and study. It just so happens that Bailu Academy is short of some teachers, so he stayed."

Standing in the crowd, Xiao Mo heard the whispers around him and roughly understood the background of this Mr. Qi. It turned out that this old man was not just an ordinary gentleman.

"Today's assessment consists of three parts. The first part is to test your knowledge. Please take your seats." Mr. Qi gestured for you to sit down.