Chang'an City, Gold and Silver Platform.
The chess game has begun.
His Majesty, the emperor of the Daqian Dynasty, holds the white title, and the second master of the Suzaku Academy, the royal power, holds the black title.
"Can you pass the preliminary test by drawing your sword?" Qianhuang Luozi asked with a chuckle.
Mr. Er said calmly: "Drawing the sword means justice."
"Haha~, the academy represents justice?" Emperor Qian laughed.
The second gentleman raised his eyebrows and said proudly: "The academy represents truth."
"Then what do I stand for?" Emperor Qian dropped his son again.
Mr. Er said: "Secular."
"Secular." Emperor Qian was silent for a while and said, "But the Academy is not truly transcendent."
"That's because the secular world still needs academies." Mr. Er said calmly, "If you have read the history of the Nineteen States before the establishment of the Daqian Dynasty, you should understand that no dynasty can last forever.
Without Zhuque Academy, do you think your Daqian Dynasty would be so stable? "
Emperor Qian smiled and said to himself, "How can I know if I haven't tried it?"
"What Mr. Second said is absolutely true. With the academy here, we can do great things in Chang'an." Emperor Qian smiled and said, "So, I plan to help Mr. Second once."
"Oh?" The second gentleman raised his eyebrows slightly, dropped the black ones, and swallowed two white ones.
Emperor Qian dropped a white stone and swallowed a black stone, "The world of the next thirty years will belong to Wang Quan with a smile."
Mr. Er smiled, looked up at Emperor Qian, and said word by word: "The Jianghu, the imperial court, and even the nineteen states are all under the academy."
…
Ping'an Square, Changlai Inn.
To participate in the Zhuque Academy examination, no external help is allowed.
Meng Xiaochuan left before dawn.
At dawn, Zuo Chong also left.
The two people left in the direction of Suzaku Academy.
In the hotel lobby.
Chu Xiu took his time and ate the meat buns prepared for him by the innkeeper "Cold Noodle Man".
"You don't seem to be in a hurry at all." The proprietress sitting at the next table, drinking clear porridge, glanced at Chu Xiu.
Chu Xiu said while eating: "Just arrive at Suzaku Academy before sunset, why be in a hurry?"
"You are at the top of the Fuyao Ranking. The test given to you by Suzaku Academy will definitely not be easy." The 'cold-faced man' said solemnly.
Chu Xiu smiled, "I'm honored."
The landlady snorted: "It would be interesting if you didn't even pass the first test."
"I'm not the only one who is embarrassed." Chu Xiu said leisurely.
"It's better to hurry up." The cold-faced man said, "If you make those who test you wait too long, they may not be in a good mood."
"Then two more cages of meat buns."
'Cold-faced man': "..."
Boss lady: "..."
After eating two more cages of meat buns and drinking a bowl of clear porridge, Chu Xiu stood up.
Behind him was a bookcase containing various poisonous wines.
On the left side of the waist is a wooden sword that is always carried with him;
On the right side of his waist, there are two bent torches.
It can be said to be fully armed.
"Both of you, thank you for your hospitality these days." Chu Xiu looked at the 'cold-faced man' and the landlady and thanked him sincerely.
The landlady curled her lips and said nothing.
The 'cold-faced man' hesitated a little, "Master Chu is leaving this time and you don't plan to come back?"
Hearing this, the landlady was startled.
"After passing the preliminary examination, I should live at my aunt's house."
Zuo Chong's injury has basically recovered, and after the initial trial, the two no longer need to live together.
The landlady and the 'cold-faced man' were both silent.
"Then you have a good journey." The cold-faced man said slowly.
Chu Xiu's head tilted slightly, and this sentence seemed a bit awkward.
"gone."
Chu Xiu smiled freely and walked away.
After leaving the inn gate and standing on the street, Chu Xiu looked back and glanced at the unique plaque.
"after……"
Just when Chu Xiu was about to say something with emotion, he glanced at the right side of the street, where three tall men in coir raincoats were standing with swords in their hands, their eyes as cold as ice.
"Coir raincoat, black knife..."
Chu Xiu looked over and found that the clothes of these three people were exactly the same as those of the three dead men who committed suicide at Chang Lai Inn.
Death warrior!
"Is this a test, or..."
Chu Xiu walked over.
The proprietress and the 'cold-faced man' both walked to the door of the inn. Just as the proprietress was about to remind Chu Xiu that he was going in the wrong direction, she saw the figures of the three big men in raincoats.
"They..." The landlady's face changed slightly, and she recognized this outfit.
Chu Xiu stopped a foot away from the three big men in coir raincoats and asked directly: "Dead soldiers?"
The big man in the coir raincoat standing in the middle said calmly: "They are dead soldiers, but the decision is up to you whether there will be dead people in this mission."
"Oh?" Chu Xiu raised his eyebrows slightly.
"If you leave alone, those two people in the inn will die."
"You three leave together, we won't move."
The big man in coir raincoat stated his intention directly.
Chu Xiu thought for a while and asked, "The people who sent you here want me to take them both to take the preliminary examination together?"
"The Vermillion Academy exam, if two people go together, it is four times more difficult than if one person walks alone." The big man in the coir raincoat in the middle said directly, "Three people go together, and it is eight times more difficult than if one person walks alone."
Chu Xiu raised his eyebrows slightly, "Aren't you afraid that I will kill you directly?"
"Even if you have the ability, if you kill us, other dead soldiers will come." The big man in coir raincoat had no expression on his face.
"That's right." Chu Xiu nodded and asked tentatively, "Can you tell me who sent you here?"
"The owner's surname is Li."
Chu Xiu turned around and left, returning to the door of the inn.
"Did you hear that?" Chu Xiu looked at the landlady and the 'cold-faced man'.
The two nodded.
"I suspect this is a test from the academy." Chu Xiu pondered.
"Test?" The landlady frowned.
Chu Xiu said: "The so-called test usually focuses on choice. Different choices will lead to different results."
"What are you going to choose?" asked the 'cold-faced man'.
Chu Xiu smiled and said: "I don't choose, you are the one who has to choose."
"Us?" The landlady and the 'cold-faced man' looked at each other.
"If you choose to follow me, the difficulty of my preliminary test will be eight times that of the original." Chu Xiu said leisurely, "If you choose to stay, you will probably be killed."
"On the one hand, he sacrifices himself for righteousness and fulfills me."
"On the one hand, it's to survive and hurt me."
"Tsk, this test is really good."
Chu Xiu grinned brightly.
The landlady and the 'cold-faced man' were a little hesitant at first, but when they heard Chu Xiu's last two words, their faces turned dark.
"It's obviously you who has been causing trouble for us all this time." The landlady glared.
Chu Xiu said leisurely: "So, the choice this time is yours."
The landlady snorted secretly and looked at the 'cold-faced man'.
"Master Chu, please wait a moment, we need to pack some luggage." The 'cold-faced man' said slowly.
"good."
Chu Xiu nodded.
The landlady and the 'cold-faced man' returned to the backyard of the inn.
"Do you really want to go with him?" the landlady asked in a low voice. Although she often felt unhappy with Chu Xiu, she still didn't want to implicate Chu Xiu in such serious matters as the general examination.
The 'cold-faced man' said calmly: "He is the one who wants to take part in the examination; naturally this test is also his."
"What do you mean?" the landlady said thoughtfully.
The cold-faced man said: "Either he goes alone and doesn't care about our life or death; or he takes us to Suzaku Academy.
We come to pack to give him time to choose. "
The landlady completely understood.
"At this time, this bastard still wants to take advantage of us." The landlady cursed in a low voice.
The 'cold-faced man' stopped and looked at the landlady, "If he chooses to walk alone, we may really die!"
The face of the landlady suddenly changed.
After a while.
The 'cold-faced man' and the landlady each carried a small package and walked out of the inn.
"I think we should get to know each other again." Chu Xiu, who had been standing outside the inn, said with a smile.
The 'cold-faced man' and the landlady were both startled.
"My name is Chu Xiu. I studied under the Taoist Master of Wine and come from Yuding Temple in Shuzhou." Chu Xiu introduced himself.
The landlady and the 'cold-faced man' were silent.
A long while.
"My name is Zhu Yourong." The cold-faced man said slowly.
The landlady's delicate eyebrows frowned slightly and she glanced at the 'cold-faced man'.
Zhu Yourong is the real name of 'Cold-faced Man'!
After hesitating for a moment, the landlady also announced her real name: "My name is Mo Shaoyun."
Chu Xiu stretched out his right hand and said, "Put your hand on mine."
"Why?" Zhu Yourong asked calmly.
"A sense of ritual." Chu Xiu said concisely and concisely.
Zhu Yourong glanced at the landlady.
The landlady's eyes moved slightly, and she quietly put her right hand on the back of Chu Xiu's right hand.
There was a touch on her fingertips, and the landlady's pretty face blushed imperceptibly.
Zhu Yourong stretched out his hand and put it on the landlady's right hand.
Snapped!
Chu Xiu's left hand directly covered Zhu Yourong's hand. He smiled and said: "From now on, the three of us must work together to overcome all crises!"
The expressions of Zhu Yourong and the landlady changed.
Especially for Zhu Yourong, his original "cold face" seemed to be congested.
