Chapter 28: Someone is Waiting for Brother Xiao

Winter has arrived.

The weather is getting colder and colder.

Every morning when Xiao Mo wakes up, he can see a thin layer of frost coating the branches outside.

Lately, Xiao Mo has been reading every single day.

He reads from day until night, and after a night's sleep, he gets up to continue reading.

Xiao Mo felt that even during his previous life, he had never worked this hard for the Gaokao.

As for his daily life and the expenses for brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, Xiao Mo had saved some silver previously, which was barely enough to get by.

The village chief also sent food every day, saving Xiao Mo the time and expense of cooking for himself.

One morning, Xiao Mo woke up early and felt that it was much colder than usual.

He dressed himself and went out of the room to wash up.

The moment he opened the door, Xiao Mo saw the world wrapped in silver; large, goose-feather flakes of snow were drifting slowly from the sky. As a cold wind blew past, Xiao Mo couldn't help but shiver.

"Brother Xiao, I've brought your food!"

A young girl's voice drifted in from outside the courtyard.

The little girl was chubby, running toward him while clutching a food box.

"Xiao Ying, thank you."

Xiao Mo took the food box and patted her head.

The girl who delivered the food was the village chief's second daughter—Wang Ying.

Originally, the village chief wanted his eldest daughter, Wang Yan, to deliver the food to Xiao Mo.

However, four years had passed, and Wang Yan had transformed from a nine-year-old girl into a young maiden in her blossoming years, her figure gradually developing.

To avoid any suspicion, Auntie Chen had sent only the three-year-old Wang Ying to deliver the meals.

In any case, everyone in the village knew them, and the two houses were not far apart, so there would be no danger.

Still, three years ago, when Xiao Mo learned that Auntie Chen was pregnant again, he had been quite surprised; the village chief was truly in his prime.

Xiao Mo took out a bun and handed it to Wang Ying. The chubby little girl was not polite and accepted the large bun from her older brother. The one large and one small sat on a stone, nibbling away bite by bite.

"Brother Xiao, I noticed that whenever you eat, you keep looking at that mountain. Is there something on that mountain?" Wang Ying raised her round little head and asked curiously.

"That mountain..." Xiao Mo looked up, gazing at the distant, dark mountain covered in thick white snow. "There is someone waiting for Brother Xiao."

***

"Sister, eat a little more."

"Xiao Qing, I can't eat anymore."

"Just one more!"

"I've already eaten so many mice..."

"Sister, just a little more."

"I really can't eat any more!"

Inside the cave, Xiao Qing brought two dead mice to her sister.

The two snakes, one white and one green, had bulging bellies and looked a size larger.

Ordinary snakes would have long since entered hibernation.

However, once the snake clan develops intelligence and embarks on the path of cultivation, the duration of hibernation shortens; the higher the realm, the shorter the hibernation.

Even so, Xiao Qing had started feeling drowsy three days ago.

But Xiao Qing was worried about her sister and was forcing herself to stay awake.

"Xiao Qing, go to sleep quickly. Sister is truly fine," Bai (the white snake) advised, seeing her sister's head nodding with sleepiness.

Xiao Qing shook her head vigorously. "But Sister, how can I not worry about you? No snake molts in the winter..."

At this moment, Bai Ruxue's clear vertical pupils looked as if they were covered by frosted glass. The edges of the white scales on her belly were curling up, resembling the cracks in a dried riverbed.

Fine cracks appeared on the scales of her snout, like parched pottery, and the transparent mucus she secreted coated her entire body, giving off a waxy reflection.

"It's fine. Sister is a snake that can take human form; I'm not like ordinary snakes."

"But Sister..."

"No 'buts.' Go to sleep immediately, or Sister will be angry," Bai said, feigning anger.

"I won't—"

*Thwack!*

When Xiao Qing stubbornly refused to sleep, Bai secretly curled her tail around a stone and, taking advantage of her sister's distraction, tapped her from behind.

Xiao Qing's eyes rolled, and with a "thud," she collapsed.

"Xiao Qing, see you in the spring."

The tip of Bai's tail brushed Xiao Qing's head, and then she also lay down beside her sister, her head facing the cave entrance.

"What is he doing right now?"

"He is probably still reading..."

Looking at the heavy snow outside the cave, Bai's thoughts gradually drifted, and sleepiness began to creep in.

"It has been so long since I last saw him..."

"Will he forget me?"

Bai curled her body into a ball.

"After I molt, will I be able to grow up?"

"I suppose so?"

"What kind of expression will he have when he sees me after I've grown?"

"Will I be as tall as him?"

As the drowsiness grew heavier, Bai's last thought was like a kite with a broken string; she lost consciousness completely and fell into a dream.

Inside the cave, the two snakes lay tightly against each other.

Outside, the heavy snow blew through the mountain forests.

After an unknown amount of time, the wind and snow grew lighter.

Until the sky cleared.

Spring arrived.

On this day, Xiao Mo was set to travel to Qingshan County to participate in the examinations.

The country Xiao Mo lived in was called the State of Qi.

The child examinations in the State of Qi were different from those of ancient China.

In the State of Qi, the child examinations could be taken every year, with three rounds of testing required each month, but all three rounds were held in a single location.

This was done to reduce the burden on candidates, so they did not need to travel back and forth between counties and prefectures.

Passing the first two rounds made one a *Tongsheng* (Child Student).

Those who passed all three rounds became a *Xiucai* (Scholar).

If one failed to become a *Xiucai*, they could continue to take the exams the following year without needing to retake the first two rounds.

Passing the *Xiucai* exam meant attaining a certain social status.

A *Xiucai* of the State of Qi could refuse to kneel before officials, was exempt from corvée labor and corporal punishment, and could open private schools or act as a scribe for documents, but they could not be exempt from land taxes.

Furthermore, because the number of *Xiucai* in the State of Qi was increasing, jobs like running private schools and scribing were becoming highly competitive.

In the current State of Qi, there were many poor scholars—the village chief being one example.

"Village Chief, I'm leaving." At the village entrance, Xiao Mo bid farewell to the village chief's family.

"Take this travel money." The village chief stepped forward and handed a bundle to Xiao Mo.

Auntie Chen huffed and turned her head away, but she said nothing.

Ignoring his wife, the village chief instructed Xiao Mo, "Study hard. There is no need for great pressure. With your talent, you should be able to pass. I will await your good news."

"Yes." Xiao Mo bowed to the family and turned to walk away.

This year's child examination was held in Qingshan County. Fortunately, it was not far from Shiqiao Village, only a day's journey away.

After arriving in Qingshan County, Xiao Mo had a good sleep.

Two days later, Xiao Mo sat for the examination.

There was no age limit for the child examinations.

There were children as young as eight or nine, and elders as old as fifty or sixty...

These elders had been taking the exams for many years, yet they remained merely *Tongsheng*.

If the competition for the child examination alone was this fierce, the subsequent provincial and imperial examinations were even more unimaginable.

One of the tasks of the "Hundred Generations Book" was "To Enter the Imperial Court as an Official"—this was truly not easy.

"It couldn't be that I'll be taking exams my whole life without ever becoming an official, could it?"

Xiao Mo thought to himself.

(End of Chapter)