"Shaoqing? Shaoqing?" Sun Yuanjing called several times.
"What did the Taoist priest say?"
Sun Yuanjing: "...It's nothing. It's just that going to the Demon Shop to catch demons may not be easy."
He sighed and said something from the young man who had just become a god.
"Don't worry, I have a solution."
*
The next day, at noon, Tokyo Yaobang.
The scorching sun high above their heads made the monsters unable to open their eyes, so they either covered it with their hands or lowered their heads to avoid it.
The monsters were wilted by the Yang Qi, and Boss Xiong warned them implicitly, asking them to obey the arrangements of the mortal officials of Dali Temple and Daolu Academy.
"Let a few adults check it out early, so you can go home early!"
After he said these high-sounding words, he stopped caring and hid in the shade of a nearby tree, letting the mortals brought by the Dali Temple Minister play with him.
The fox servant also came over and brought a jar of preserved fruits with both hands.
"The master of the workshop really lets these mortals come to the demon workshop to cause trouble?"
There is a big market in Yaofang on the fifteenth day of every month. Whenever the big market comes, the market is overcrowded, so the Yamen has set aside a piece of land on the north side specifically for the big market, but it is just empty on weekdays.
At present, in the open space of the market, the demon servants have arranged all the tables and chairs that Zhong Heqing asked for, and arranged them in rows, leaving gaps between them, filling most of the open space.
The sun was rising, and the wolf-dog monsters were dizzy and dizzy from the sun. Their tempers were also raised, and they all bared their teeth to express their opinions.
Boss Xiong doesn't care, he just watches the excitement.
But before they could start making a fuss, the young minister of Dali Temple, who was wearing a crimson official robe, spoke.
"Everyone, please take a seat."
He asked them to sit down gently.
When the demons saw it, they couldn't help but put out the fire and sat down one after another.
The owner of the shop, Xiong You, curled his lips.
They sat down, and Zhong Heqing ordered a group of officials to distribute paper and pens to the hands of the demons.
Demons are different from humans. If you want to live a stable life, you have to spend a lot of time cultivating to maintain the demon elixir. It is like a farmer with his face turned to the loess and his back to the sky. He has never touched a pen and paper in his life.
Now paper and pen were given to them, and they looked back and forth, not knowing how to get them.
There was chaos in the clearing again. Sun Yuanjing couldn't help but look at Zhong Heqing a few more times, but thinking about what he said that day, he already had a solution, he remained silent.
The sun was rising higher and higher, approaching three quarters of noon, and many demons could hardly sit still under the scorching sun. Zhong Heqing, on the other hand, took his time and spoke.
"Thank you for your hard work. There is only one thing for you to come to Dali Temple today." He smiled politely with everyone, "I would like to ask you to write a few lines."
As soon as the words fell to the ground, there was an uproar among the monsters.
"Writing? We don't even know what this... character looks like, so how can we write it?"
"Don't say I can't write, I don't even know how to hold a pen!"
All the demons were in an uproar and started laughing again, and another demon said, "My lord, Mr. Wu, isn't this embarrassing the demons?"
As soon as they made a fuss, the bear owner, who was eating candied fruits under the shade of a tree, quickly stretched his bear's head and looked this way.
"What kind of joke is this?"
The fox servant couldn't stop laughing, "Maybe you are the young minister of Dali Temple, and you want the monsters to write their own testimonies? How many of them can hold a pen?"
Although Friend Xiong didn't think that the young minister would let the demons write their own testimonies, most of the demons were illiterate, so these pens and papers given to them were of no use.
He was laughing at the joke, and the people who gathered around him after hearing this also muttered and watched the fun.
But Zhong Heqing didn't seem to notice the demons' sarcastic smiles. He first motioned for the Taoist priests to disperse among the rows of tables and chairs, and then nodded with Liao Chun, the chief minister of Dali Temple.
Liao Chun took the order and stepped forward with courage.
"Quiet! The exam is about to begin."
take an exam? !
As soon as these words came out, all the monsters were stunned.
Liao Chun ignored it and opened the scroll in his hand.
"This exam lasts for an hour. During this period, you are not allowed to whisper or exchange answers. Each person, ahem, each demon can only answer in front of his or her own desk. This exam is divided into three questions. After you have answered them all, you can get up and go to the shade of the tree to rest. Take a break, otherwise you cannot leave until the exam is over."
Liao Chun read out the title in one breath.
The question is very simple:
Memorize sentences 1 to 5 of "Hundred Family Surnames"; sentences 5 to 10 of "Three Character Classic"; and sentences 10 to 20 of "Thousand Character Classic".
Any private school kid can answer such a question. But the monsters in the open space turned into a mess.
"Who can do this?!"
However, Zhong Heqing did not give them a chance to make a noise, and turned to look at Sun Yuanjing.
Sun Yuanjing took the order and stepped forward with all the Taoist priests, and suddenly recited the formation spell.
In an instant, in the open space of the market, the Vajra Array appeared in front of you.
The monsters, together with the tables and chairs, are separated by small barriers one by one. Their respective spaces are self-contained. No sound from inside can be transmitted out, and no sound from outside can enter.
The sun shone brightly in the clearing, and it was as silent as night for a moment.
As soon as this battle broke out, those who had just been easy to tease and look down upon did not dare to speak out.
Even Master Xiong put down the candied fruit jar in his hand and was stunned for a while.
The exam has just begun.
The monsters lost their arrogance and scratched their heads while holding their pens. Some of them had not yet figured out the ink after a long while. Some of them could barely answer a few words on the first question "Hundred Family Surnames", but when it came to the second question "Three Character Classic" I was in a dilemma, counting my fingers to figure out where to start the fifth sentence.
The first two questions have already stopped most people.
The rude demon broke his pen in anger.
I won’t write anymore.
The young minister of Dali Temple, who was standing at a high place, had a panoramic view of all the demons.
Three quarters of an hour slipped quietly under the intense sun.
Not many people in the field wrote on paper, and after the second question, it became even more difficult to do so.
But there are also some monsters who are not so manic or worried, and answer all three questions word by word.
At this moment, two or three elderly demons began to stand up and hand in their papers one after another. The Taoist priest took them to the shade of a tree to rest and have tea.
The other monsters scratched their heads when they saw someone leaving.
Some simply wanted to hand in the blank papers and leave, but they couldn't leave until they finished answering the questions.
Several more people finished answering the questions and turned in their papers.
In a barrier of the examination room, there sat a tall, thin young man in gray clothes. He was slowly writing the answers in his hand. He had already written the first two questions. He quietly looked at the demon in the examination room. He would answer now. Four or five people left the room without asking, and two others also got up.
The bright sun was really making the demon uncomfortable. After thinking about it, he simply answered all the questions and stood up.
Soon a Taoist priest looked at his answer sheet, released him from the barrier, and led him to the shade of a tree aside.
As he walked, he looked into the crowd and immediately saw the girl with two strings of locust flowers in her hair, and her mother and brother beside her.
He nodded and told them not to worry, and followed the Taoist priest to the shade of the tree.
The shade of the tree was also surrounded by a barrier, but everyone who had finished answering the questions took a break to have tea, and no one took it seriously.
Time passed by bit by bit, and the monsters who couldn't answer the questions were in mourning, but they were trapped in the barrier and couldn't make a sound.
As the hour came to an end, they became more and more agitated. There were demons questioning them silently in the barrier, and some wanted to break through the barrier and come out.
Doesn’t it make me a suspect if I can’t write an answer?
What kind of solution is this to solving a crime?
Contrary to them, the demons under the shade of the trees who answered the questions were much calmer, and some were already discussing what to do in the evening.
The incense burned to the end and the exam was over.
All the monsters looked towards the center of the clearing.
Most of the demons didn't answer the questions. Could it be that all these demons were captured by mortals?
Even Master Xiong stood up, but at this moment, all the barriers in the field suddenly fell down.
All the demons looked forward and saw the young minister of Dali Temple who had tormented them for an hour, and spoke apologetically.
"Thank you for your hard work. This case has nothing to do with you. Please leave."
As soon as the words fell, the entire open space fell silent.
At this moment, the shade of the tree where the demon who answered the question had rested and enjoyed the shade suddenly lit up with a ray of yellow light, and another barrier appeared outside the barrier.
Friend Xiong's eyelids twitched, and the candied fruit jar in his hand dropped with a bang.
"This... Mr. Shaoqing, they are all demons who answered the question correctly. Why did you trap them?"
All the demons and the few demons under the shade who answered the question were confused and looked at the young minister of Dali Temple.
Zhong Heqing walked forward slowly.
"Everyone should have heard that an old private school gentleman died unexpectedly outside Tokyo. Some people saw a student with a strange face appearing next to him, but this student disappeared and no one knew who it was. The old gentleman has been dead until now. None of them have ever shown up.”
He spoke slowly, his eyes falling on the barrier under the shade of the trees, especially after passing by the crowd, he landed on the tall and thin young man in gray clothes.
The young man's face was beaded with sweat on his forehead, and his lips were gradually turning white.
Zhong Heqing looked at him steadily.
"If the murderer is this student, then a student who has studied with Mr. Du for more than a year, and under his earnest guidance, will be able to answer these three simplest questions no matter what, right?"
Zhong Heqing's question fell, and the demon group surrounding the open space suddenly burst into loud exclamations after a moment of silence.
"That's right! We demons don't know a few words, but if we really studied with that private school teacher, how could we not be able to write it?"
"I thought I was going to arrest the demon who couldn't write, but I didn't expect it was completely the other way around!"
And the rude wolf demon who was so angry that he broke his pen just now was looking at the mortal young minister in crimson robes in disbelief.
"Good guy...how does this mortal's brain grow? It's quite useful!"
The demons were amazed.
Boss Xiong swallowed three times in a row.
There were more than a hundred wolves, dogs and monsters just now, but now that they have been sorted out, there are less than ten left.
Not to mention that there are still mortals who have met students, but there are none. After just a round of torture, you should be sure, right?
Friend Xiong looked at the young man he had underestimated and stomped on the ground with his paws.
The fox servant quickly helped him, "Master, what should I do?"
His fox tail was tied into a knot, and he did not expect that things would change so quickly, "The young master is so powerful, he is more cunning than the immortal elders of our fox tribe!"
But Boss Xiong didn't care who was more cunning. He just watched as the mortal Taoist priest took out the rope to tie up the demons and tied up all the nine demons under the shade of the tree.
Some chaotic sounds broke out from the crowd of monsters watching the excitement, but they were quickly suppressed.
The crimson official uniform of the Shaoqing of Dali Temple is extremely bright in the sunlight.
Zhong Heqing watched the Taoist priest bind the demon away. He turned his head. Unexpectedly, a figure outside the crowd suddenly fell into his eyes——
The woman crossed her arms and looked at the noisy crowd, her long eyebrows slightly raised, and her eyes showed some interest.
It turns out she is there too.
The girl who had saved him was of a profound nature, and she was in and out of the demon shop, so she was obviously not a mortal.
But his inexplicably familiar feeling towards her was not accidental.
The man frowned slightly.
But before he could finish his thoughts, a group of people crowded by on the roadside, blocking his sight.
... ...
Jiuji saw this last scene as soon as she arrived at Tokyo Yaobang.
At present, the demon crowd is talking about this "exam" repeatedly.
"Then Shaoqing actually came up with such an idea. Are ordinary people's brains so easy to use?"
Jiu Ji blinked.
His brain is somewhat useful, but just don't use it on her.
After Jiuji thought about it, she felt that she had to speed up even more.
She made a prototype this morning, sneaked into his study and looked up it for a long time, and finally found the name.
Li Xian changed her name many years ago and is now called An Sanniang.
At this moment, Jiuji entered the crowd and asked again using "An Sanniang". As soon as she asked, someone raised her finger and pointed directly.
"You're looking for An Sanniang, isn't she right there?"
She looked along and saw an elderly woman, holding a boy with her left hand and a girl with her right hand. All three of them had pale faces and looked closely in the direction of the suspected demon kidnapped by the Taoist priest. .
Jiuji's eyelids twitched and she heard the passerby beside her say.
"Ah, how come An Sanniang's eldest son was kidnapped by the mortal Shaoqing of Dali Temple?"
