Chapter 29: Stinky Xiao Mo, I Don't Know You!
The format and content of the children's examination in Qi were similar to those in ancient China's Ming Dynasty, but there were also many differences.
The first round of the examination was relatively simple, testing the memorization of the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as annotations of some passages. Finally, a complete eight-legged essay was required based on a topic from the Four Books. The eight-legged essay emphasized eight parts, such as breaking the topic, inheriting the topic, and starting the discourse.
The second round of the examination was not difficult either. It involved memorizing longer passages of classics and still focused on eight-legged essays, though the difficulty of the topics increased and they were combined with the Four Books and Five Classics. The final part consisted of several passages from the Four Books and Five Classics, asking for one's understanding of these ancient texts without any format restrictions.
Xiao Mo successfully passed the first two rounds of the examination and was already a Child Scholar.
The third round of the examination would be held fifteen days later, allowing candidates to rest.
Xiao Mo thought for a moment and decided not to return to the village.
He would stay in Qingshan County to review and prepare for the third round.
At the same time, on She Mountain, north of Shiqiao Village.
Inside the cave, a White Snake slowly opened her eyes.
She felt her vision was blurry, and the things clinging to her body were very uncomfortable.
The White Snake rubbed and rubbed hard against a nearby stone.
After much effort, even losing a bit of her newly grown scales, the White Snake finally emerged from her shed skin.
"I'm so long..."
Bai Ruxue looked at her body, estimating it to be about seven feet long, and much thicker than before.
She transformed, turning into her human form.
The young girl ran out of the cave and arrived at a pool.
The pool was like a mirror, reflecting the girl's slender and graceful figure.
"Wow, I'm so tall! And I'm so beautiful!"
Spinning twice by the pool, Bai Ruxue's skirt fluttered, and she was very satisfied with her current appearance.
"I must be taller than him now, right?"
"The next time he sees me, he'll definitely be startled."
A faint joy filled Bai Ruxue's heart, and her mind was already fantasizing about Xiao Mo's surprised expression when he saw her.
She lightly skipped back into the cave; Little Qing was still sleeping.
"Little Qing, you need to grow tall too when you wake up!"
Bai Ruxue gently patted Little Qing's head, then skipped out of the cave again.
The young girl went to the path he always took to go up the mountain, still sitting on the same stone by the path.
She rested her chin in her hand, gazing into the distance, waiting for his return.
One day.
Two days.
Three days, four days...
Bai Ruxue waited and waited, repeatedly throwing pebbles.
She didn't know how many pebbles around her had been thrown.
She didn't know how many blades of grass around her had been pulled.
She didn't know how many passing mice she had eaten.
But he still hadn't returned.
"He wouldn't have forgotten about me, would he?"
"Will he still come back?"
"He will come back!" Bai Ruxue shook her head vigorously, clenching her small fists, and encouraged herself, "He said he would definitely come back to play with me!"
Another ten days passed, and Bai Ruxue still hadn't seen his figure.
"Stinky Xiao Mo, if you don't come find me soon, I'm going to be angry!"
On this day, the young girl said so.
But Xiao Mo still didn't return.
On the twentieth day of waiting for Xiao Mo, at sunset.
Bai Ruxue stood on the stone, her fair little hands cupped around her mouth, and shouted loudly towards the path down the mountain: "Stinky Xiao Mo! I'll give you one more chance! If you don't come soon! I'm really going to be angry!"
On the twenty-first day, the sun set, and night gradually covered the entire sky.
The young girl still stood on the stone, shouting: "Xiao Mo, I'll give you one last, last chance. If you don't appear tomorrow, I'm really going to be angry."
On the twenty-second day...
"Xiao Mo, I'm really, really, really angry, and you won't be able to coax me!"
In the mountain forest, the young girl's voice echoed.
On the twenty-third day...
"Xiao Mo! I'm never talking to you again!"
On the twenty-fourth day, twenty-fifth day...
Every day, Bai Ruxue would sit on that stone and wait.
When she left in the evening, she would definitely loudly scold Xiao Mo, her shouts echoing through the mountain forest.
"Xiao Mo... where are you?"
On the evening of the twenty-sixth day, as night fell completely, the young girl sat on the stone, her arms wrapped around her knees, burying her head in her thighs.
"Why haven't you come back yet?"
The young girl's crystalline tears slowly wet her clothes.
Above the night sky, stars twinkled, as if the Creator had sprinkled countless glowing grains of sand across the entire firmament.
The clear moonlight drifted down from the sky, outlining a faint halo around the young girl.
The young girl didn't know when she fell asleep.
The young girl also didn't know how many times she had cursed "stinky Xiao Mo" in her heart.
But she still waited there, not going anywhere.
He said he would come back...
"Chirp, chirp, chirp..."
On the morning of the twenty-seventh day, the sky was once again tinged with white.
Birds chirped in the mountain forest.
A lizard crawled to the young girl's feet, looked up, but sensing some movement, it quickly scurried away with a "whoosh."
On that small path, a man's figure appeared.
Xiao Mo walked forward step by step.
He should have returned earlier from this examination, but the newly appointed county magistrate insisted on having a meal with the newly successful scholars and holding various banquets.
Xiao Mo dared not refuse to give him Face.
The result was that after the examination results were posted, Xiao Mo stayed in Qingshan County for an extra six days.
"I wonder if she's gotten anxious waiting."
Thinking of the White Snake, Xiao Mo couldn't help but quicken his pace.
When he reached halfway up the mountain, Xiao Molooked up and saw a young girl sitting on a stone with her knees hugged, her small Face buried between her thighs.
The young girl seemed to be asleep.
Xiao Mo wasn't sure if it was Ru Xue.
Because from her figure, this young girl was a grown woman, not a young girl in her early teens.
Xiao Mo walked forward and called softly, "Miss?"
Hearing the sound, the young girl's shoulders trembled slightly, as if she had woken up.
When she lifted her gaze, Xiao Mo couldn't help but be momentarily dazed.
The young girl looked to be about sixteen. Her eyes were like a spring breeze brushing over tree branches, blossoming into a tree of vibrant flowers. The corners of her eyes naturally had a slight upward curve, like the most delicate curve at the tip of a peach petal.
Her pupils were a clear, moist ink color, yet deep within they seemed to hold a pool of water.
Long, thick eyelashes were like butterfly wings, casting a small, soft shadow beneath her eyes when they fluttered, further enhancing the shimmering light in her gaze, which held a unique clarity and innocence belonging to a young girl.
When her eyes shifted, three parts of natural charm would inadvertently emerge, yet they were firmly locked by that clear base color, leaving only a captivating liveliness and gentleness.
She looked at the man in front of her, still in a daze.
As the young girl clearly saw the man's appearance, her eyes became even brighter.
However, on the young girl's fair Face, there were faint tear marks, and the corners of her eyes were slightly red from crying.
"Ru Xue?" Xiao Mo asked.
Bai Ruxue's throat moved, wanting to respond.
But in the end, the young girl, as if in a fit of pique, turned her head, pouting her small mouth and resentfully said:
"I'm not Bai Ruxue at all."
"Stinky Xiao Mo, I don't know you at all."