Hell Emperor

Chapter 20 Nan Linghe-Imperial Examination
When Xia Wei woke up, it was already dawn, and the ghost in Ye Jie's arms was shaking. Someone in the underworld was calling him.

Saying goodbye to Xia Wei, Ye Jie returned to the underworld. Following the call in the ghost order, he soon arrived at the basement door of Aunt Meng's wine country.

At the entrance, there was a huge stone door. Ye Jie pressed the ghost order against the stone door and heard a click. The stone door slowly opened, revealing the downward steps. Walking down the steps, you will see a lot of discarded debris piled up against the wall of the basement. There is also a large row of heavy wooden boxes in the corner. The light is dim and a bit... There was a cold and damp atmosphere, a few spots of mildew were exposed on the old masonry of the walls, and there were even spider webs hanging above the head.

The stone door closed again behind Ye Jie with a muffled sound, and the surrounding area became even more secretive and quiet, giving people an invisible sense of security. No matter what happens here, it will not be spread to the outside world, and even the Shukuchi Stone cannot be used here.

In the basement, Nan Linghe turned her back to Ye Jie and was busy at a wooden table. Ye Jie walked over and found that she was concentrating on sharpening ink.

Seeing Ye Jie coming, Nan Linghe smiled, quickly put down what he was doing, stood in front of him, unconsciously twirled a strand of hair with his fingers, and leaned forward slightly:
"Brother Jie, you are finally here. You don't know how messy it was when I first came to the basement. It took me a long time to clean up this space. I want to think about it... what kind of furniture should I buy? Hmm... But everything is so expensive. A stone platform for speeding up the flow of spiritual energy costs fifty thousand Yin De. Ugh... when will we be able to afford it?"

At the end of the sentence, Nan Linghe frowned, her eyes lost their brightness and showed a bit of sadness. She looked at the empty basement without any furniture nearby and couldn't help but pursed her lips.

"Is this our contact point?" Ye Jie looked around. The basement was more spacious than he thought. It could accommodate many large equipment used to practice skills and improve cultivation, such as the exercise machine that Xia Wei lifted not long ago. The bronze cauldron of power, or the power stone platform that Nan Linghe said accelerated the flow of spiritual power, but those were too expensive and I couldn't afford it.

Nan Linghe tilted his head: "What contact point? Isn't this our home?"

"Home..."

Ye Jie was silent. For him who has lived without a fixed place for sixty years, this is a very new word. He finally changed the topic and said: "Now that you have received three recommendation orders, you only need to If you pass the imperial examination today, you will become an official ghost servant, are you ready?"

Hearing Ye Jie mention this matter, Nan Linghe felt worried and frowned: "But I still don't understand anything. What if I can't pass?"

Ye Jie comforted her and said: "Don't worry. Being able to get three recommendation orders from different ghosts has already shown your ability. The imperial examination is just a formality. You can pass as long as you can read... Wait, you can't …”

Thinking of his illiterate apprentice Xia Wei, Ye Jie's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Nan Linghe was also illiterate?
But Nan Linghe stroked his chest and breathed a sigh of relief: "It turns out that you can pass by reading, that's great! I'm still worried about what to do if I can't pass..."

Hearing this, Ye Jie nodded happily, reached into his arms, took out two dice, and handed them to Nan Linghe: "Generally speaking, there are seven questions in the imperial examination. As long as you can answer three questions correctly, you will pass. The imperial examination What is being tested is your thinking ability, but don’t worry, I have prepared a magic weapon for you. If you don’t know the answer to the question, just ask the dice, I believe in your luck!”

Nan Linghe took the two dice as if he had found a treasure and examined them carefully. He saw that each dice had six sides, one side was blank, and the other five sides had one to five dots respectively.

After putting away the dice, Nan Linghe suddenly felt confident. He packed his pen and ink, and headed to the Gui Cha Imperial Examination Hall under the leadership of Ye Jie.

The imperial examination took a stick of incense, and after Ye Jie sent Nan Linghe to it, he took advantage of this time to return to the basement of the wine country and quickly pack it up.

At the same time, Nan Linghe was sitting in the examination room, feeling uneasy. Despite Ye Jie's repeated warnings, she was now the only one left to face it, still a little at a loss.

"Hey you!"

Just when Nan Linghe was feeling uneasy, a shout came from the seat next to her, which made her turn her head sideways: "Are you calling me?"

"Yes, it's you. You look like you know some knowledge. I'll bring you the test paper later. Do you understand? If you dare not take it, I'll make it look good for you!"

Looking around, she saw a boy wearing a blue bellyband, tapping his fingers on the table impatiently and staring at her fiercely.

"Ah!" Nan Linghe exclaimed, lying on the table with his head in his hands, and ignored the man's shouts.

"Are you deaf?" The boy was furious, and was about to come over to teach him a few words, when he saw in front of the crowd, a monster with a horse head, a burly body covered with rich dark red hair, and a monster with an overwhelming aura walking over. , every step he takes is like a heavy drum beat, making all the wandering souls tremble.

"I'm the invigilator of Ma Mian. You're lucky. After the exam is over, I'll give you a lesson!" the boy said harshly.

"Ugh..." Nan Linghe cried sadly. He didn't expect to suffer such a blow as soon as he arrived at the examination room. It wasn't until the examination papers were handed out that he calmed down, took out his pen and ink, and encouraged himself in his heart, "Let's finish the examination questions quickly. ... If he fails to pass the imperial examination, Brother Jie will be disappointed..."

Looking at the questions on the examination paper, Nan Linghe was shocked. She couldn't know the first question.

[First question: The five elements refer to __, __, __, __, __. 】

"The Five Elements... what are the Five Elements? Brother Jie seems to have told me about it, but I don't remember..."

Nan Linghe scratched his hair, with a bit of confusion in his eyes, and his thoughts were chaotic. No matter how he recalled it, he couldn't find the answer, so he had to sigh and look at the next question.

[Second question: Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are collectively called ___. 】

"Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth? It sounds so familiar. What are they?"

Nan Linghe felt a sense of powerlessness and self-blame in her heart. Time gradually passed. The more she thought about it, the blanker her mind became. In the end, she could only continue to move her dull gaze downwards.

[The third question: __, __, water, fire, and __ are collectively called the five elements. 】

"Five elements? Why the five elements again? What exactly are the five elements...wait..."

Suddenly, Nan Linghe was stunned. He looked at this question and the previous questions, and a bold idea came to his mind.

"Could it be that... metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are the five elements? If that's the case, then everything makes sense!"

As if she had found a treasure, she hurriedly filled in the blanks in the first few questions. Seeing the boy on the side peeking, she blocked the answers with her left hand.

"you!"

Seeing this, the boy's nose was almost crooked with anger, and he couldn't help but make a fist gesture towards Nan Linghe. Nan Linghe ignored him and continued to complete the remaining test questions.

"Sure enough, as Brother Jie said, as long as you can read and write, you can pass. If you can pass seven questions and three questions, I have passed it now... But what if I make a mistake? What if metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are not the five elements? I just failed to live up to Brother Jie’s expectations, so I’d better finish the following questions quickly and try to get more answers..."

[Fourth question: There is a troll in Dongsheng Shenzhou, which needs to feed on one living person every day. Currently, there are seven heads, eight bodies, twelve arms, and twenty-two legs, which can feed it for at least ___ days? 】

Nan Linghe scratched his head, and the fourth question suddenly became more difficult. "A monster eats one person a day. The head, body, arms, and feet... isn't it just enough to make a human being? At least it can satisfy its hunger, which means choosing the smallest number... No, a human has at least two arms and two feet, and Just cut the last two numbers in half...seven, eight, six, eleven, so the answer is six!"

Nan Linghe showed a hint of understanding. Just as he was about to write it down, Ye Jie's confident words echoed in his ears: "If you don't know the answer to the question, just ask the dice."

Thinking of this, she quickly took out two dice from her arms and threw them on the table. They made a crisp sound. Even the proctor Ma Mian glanced at her, but didn't say anything.

"Huh? Why don't there be any dots on the two dice?"

Nan Linghe scratched his head and didn't understand what was going on. He looked at the question again and wrote on the fourth question: Six.

[Fifth question: There are zombies in Hezhou, Xiniu. It takes one stick of incense time for three zombies to eat three people. It takes ____ time for nine zombies to eat nine people. 】

"Hmm... one stick of incense will make three people, three sticks of incense will help nine people."

Nan Linghe had the answer in his mind and threw the dice again, only to see that one dice had no dots and the other dice had only one dot.

"It seems that the magic weapon Brother Jie gave me doesn't work..." Nan Linghe puffed up his mouth and wrote on the fifth question: Three sticks of incense.

[Question Six: There is a one-legged mandrill in Luzhou, Beiju. He goes to the market to buy shoes. A pair of shoes sells for eight copper coins. Does he need to pay __ copper coins? 】

"A pair of shoes costs eight copper coins. If you have one foot, just buy one, and it will definitely cost four coins."

Nan Linghe showed a determined expression and threw the dice, but saw that both dice were four, and then nodded with satisfaction, it was indeed like this!

[Question 7: During the reign of King Guang, he ended the troubled times, pacified the people, promoted water conservancy, established the imperial examination, soared the dragon in the sky, wiped out the barbarians, made the ____ rivers clear and the sea flowing, and the world was peaceful. 】

"Why isn't it an arithmetic question? Master Guangwang... who is it? Brother Jie seems to have never told me..."

Nan Linghe blinked, with a bit of doubt in his big eyes. Seeing that the answering time was about to end, he hurriedly glanced at the stem of the sixth question and wrote: Beijulu.

When it was time to hand in the papers, Nan Linghe was waiting with an uneasy mood. The papers would be reviewed by the invigilator on the spot, and the results would be available soon.

"Zhao Xiao, you answered four questions correctly and passed."

"Wu Xing, you answered one question correctly and failed."

"Thank you Xinyu, you answered seven questions correctly, passed perfectly, and will be rewarded with a thousand virtues."

"..."

As each name was called, the wandering souls nearby had different expressions, some were happy and some were sad.

The invigilator Ma Mian's review made Nan Linghe secretly feel uneasy. At this moment, she suddenly noticed a gaze as cold as needles coming from the side. The gaze was full of hatred and made her whole body uncomfortable.

Nan Linghe shrank his neck and looked back cautiously, only to see the boy with the blue bellyband staring at her with gnashing teeth. His fierce eyes wanted to eat her alive.

"What's wrong..." Nan Linghe couldn't help but ask.

"It's all your fault that I only answered one question correctly! I waited for ten years to get three recommendation orders, and I didn't become a ghost this time. It's all your fault! You will definitely pay the price for this. !" The boy growled.

"Nan Linghe, you answered three questions correctly, and you pass."

Just when Nan Linghe was at a loss, the words of the proctor Ma Mian made her feel happy. She finally passed the imperial examination.

After getting the test paper back, he didn't bother to check it carefully. Seeing that the boy was still staring at him, Nan Linghe didn't dare to stay any longer, so he quickly packed up his things and left the examination room quickly.

On the way, she kept looking back, only to see the gloomy boy following closely behind, obviously not planning to let her go easily. She started running quickly, but no matter how fast she ran, she could not escape the terrifying figure behind her.

"Brother Jie, where are you..."

Nan Linghe took out the ghost order that Ye Jie gave her and tried to contact Ye Jie on the other end. However, this time, there was no response from the other end.

Seeing that she could not contact Ye Jie, Nan Linghe was anxious. There was a fork in the road ahead. On the left was a broad avenue with no obstructions. On the right was an uninhabited secluded alley with many hiding places. She hurriedly got into the alley. Lane, ready to find opportunities to avoid the boy's tracking.

After hiding in the alley, Nan Linghe leaned against the wall, slowed down his breathing, and hid without even daring to breathe. She listened carefully until she heard the sound of soft footsteps gradually disappearing, then she breathed a sigh of relief and walked out slowly.

"Where do you want to go?"

As a burst of cold words came, Nan Linghe's heart was in her throat, but she saw the boy blocking her path in front of the alley. She exclaimed and ran towards the back of the alley. However, before running very far, there was no road ahead, and there was a dead end in front of her.

"How could this happen..." Nan Linghe was stunned and turned around, only to see the boy approaching gradually.

"If you dare to offend me, you are doomed! As long as you do not become an official ghost servant for a day, you will not be protected by the precepts of the underworld. Even if I make you lose your soul, I will only deduct a little bit of yin virtue at most." There was a bit of cruelty in his words. He stretched out his hand, and the black soul-breaking arrow condensed in his palm, pointing straight in the direction of Nan Linghe.

"No...wu..." Nan Linghe cried out and covered his eyes with his hands, unable to bear to look at the coming attack.

The soul-crushing pain did not come for a long time. Nan Linghe mustered up the courage and looked secretly, only to see a dark rope tightly binding the boy's figure. Under the rope, the boy's soul-breaking arrow had just been condensed. It dissipated, and the body was paralyzed and unable to move.

At the other end of the rope, a tall and thin figure wearing a black robe also appeared in Nan Linghe's eyes. Seeing that person, Nan Linghe finally burst into tears and smiled: "Brother Jie, you are finally here..."

Ye Jie smiled apologetically at her: "Sorry, I'm late. You go back to the wine country to rest first. I have something to say and need to have a good talk with him."

(End of this chapter)