However, after the two chatted, Ning Caichen was surprised to find that Qin Bai was indeed a scholar.
Although the self-certifying document was a bit old, it didn't look like it was fake, and he was still the head of the Hangcheng case.
In Hangzhou, a place with many literati, it is really remarkable to be admitted as the first scholar at the age of less than fifteen.
At least Ning Caichen felt ashamed of himself, which made him even more curious as to why Qin Bai chose to stay in a ravine for fifteen years despite his promising future.
Moreover, both of them were obviously going for the scientific examination. They carried a book basket on their backs and would read the Four Books and Five Classics by candlelight from time to time, or memorize the contents silently.
The other party was holding a hammer in his hand, and the package on his back was full of weapons. He spent most of his time wiping the weapons, but Ning Caichen took Qin Bai's test and could answer almost all the questions.
For Qin Bai, he was a man of two generations, had excellent memory, and had a more efficient learning method in his previous life, so the road to the imperial examination was not difficult.
He chose to be admitted as a scholar when he was fourteen years old purely because he was from a poor family. It would be too exaggerated if he was under ten years old.
The history of this world is very weird now. The Tang Dynasty existed for more than two hundred years longer than Qin Bai remembered before it became the Song Dynasty.
If you think about it carefully, the background of Liaozhai should be the Qing Dynasty, but in fact it is still the Song Dynasty, and Song Huizong Zhao Ji has already proclaimed himself emperor.
He just thought that the wheel of history had accidentally gone astray. He just wanted to focus on his official career. He originally thought that he would rise to the top with a plug-in.
Qin Bai had great plans, but the system that suddenly appeared when he was fifteen disrupted everything.
Thinking of this, he unconsciously tightened his muscles. He was wearing clothes found in the village, which were slightly ill-fitting and almost fell apart.
Ning Caichen couldn't help but feel a little frightened as he walked behind. He just hoped that he and Qin Bai were not in the same examination room, otherwise the pressure would be too great.
The two of them walked slowly, and after walking for several days, they finally got out of the mountain road.
Next, you only need to walk along the official road to reach the next town. In the past few days, Qin Bai has been looking for passers-by to find out if there are any temples nearby.
"Brother Qin, do you believe in Buddhism?" Ning Caichen couldn't help but asked curiously.
Qin Bai glanced at him, threw out a small stone in his hand, and penetrated the head of a wild rabbit not far away.
"Do you think I look like it?"
"Too."
Ning Caichen smiled sarcastically and couldn't help but touch the bump on his forehead. There were still traces of his brain collapse a few days ago. If he applied more force, he wouldn't be like this wild rabbit.
Qin Bai picked up the wild rabbit in his hand and said, "I've eaten too much meat. Can't I change my appetite by eating something vegetarian?"
Ning Caichen always felt that the other party was bluffing him. Could it be that being a bandit now could really make a fortune every day?
He didn't dare to say anything for fear of offending Qin Bai, but after getting in touch with him during this period, he found that the other party seemed difficult to get along with, but in fact he took good care of him.
Moreover, Qin Bai would be much safer. Even now, the image of beating the demon to death with a hammer is still in his mind.
The sky is gradually getting darker, and the autumn wind brings a slight chill to people's bones.
Zhou Bai collected a lot of lamp oil from the village, took some out and lit a torch, which could last for more than half an hour and allow them to walk more at night.
"Brother Qin, lighting a torch is a little too conspicuous in the dark..." Ning Caichen couldn't help but remind him.
"Afraid of a soft ball."
Qin Bai stretched out his fist and punched the air. There was a muffled sound, causing a group of birds on the tree to rush away.
"What do you know? I'm just trying to achieve something."
On the system panel, there are quite a few achievements related to walking in the dark with a torch. Although he is not signing in now, after completion, it will still reduce the time required to sign in at Lanruo Temple.
Ning Caichen knew that the other party was talking nonsense again, so he quickly shut up, otherwise he would have been pestering him to explain, and he might not be able to stop for most of an hour.
The two of them thought they would have to spend the night in the wild again tonight, but before the moon came out, they saw an inn standing next to the official road in the distance, with extremely conspicuous lights.
"I can finally have a good rest." Qin Bai's eyes lit up. After all, the place he was in was a mountainous area. The humidity was too heavy at night. No matter how strong the bonfire was, his clothes would inevitably be wet when he woke up in the morning.
Seeing this, Ning Caichen said with some embarrassment: "Well, Brother Qin, I don't have any extra burdens on me, and I don't know if the remaining scientific examinations will be enough."
"I have money. It was found in the village."
Qin Bai took out a fist-sized bag from his arms, which was filled with broken silver.
He glanced at Ning Caichen faintly and said, "Since I asked you to stay here, remember to say a nice word to me when you get to the temple."
"Ah?" Ning Caichen scratched his head: "I do recognize a few Buddhist temples, but they are not here. There is a Meigu Temple near my home, and the incense is quite strong."
"It's okay, just remember." Zhou Bai quickened his pace. Roadside inns like this usually closed early, and he was afraid of not being able to catch up.
When we got closer, we could roughly see what the inn looked like.
Both floors are made of wood, and there is a musty smell due to the rain, and dots of white mushrooms can be seen on the walls.
The plaque is a bit old, with the four characters "Banqiao Inn" written on it.
Qin Bai looked around and saw a small bridge by the river in the distance, which should be Banqiao.
Through the window paper, you could see many guests in the inn enjoying wine and conviviality, so the two of them opened the door and walked in.
The inn is not big, there are only seven or eight wooden tables in the lobby, and there are three tables of guests, all of whom are traveling businessmen.
After they saw Qin Bai, they fell into a brief silence. The height of two meters was a bit too intimidating, and the hammer in his hand made people restless.
"What's wrong? There's no room for the two of us in such a big inn?" Qin Bai said with a raised eyebrow.
Ning Caichen was afraid that he would be angry, so he quickly explained to these people: "This good friend of mine is just a blacksmith, so please don't take it too seriously."
The inn was now lively again, but the voices couldn't help but become a little softer.
One of the drinkers obviously drank too much. He stood up unsteadily and shouted towards the back room: "Sister, we have a guest."
At this time, a woman walked out. She was about thirty years old. Her appearance could not be said to be very gorgeous, but she was still beautiful.
Sanniangzi was not surprised by Qin Bai. Anyway, her eyes lit up and she invited the two of them to the wooden table.
"What do you two want to eat?" He said and put his hand on Qin Bai's shoulder.
Qin Bai calmly blocked her hand, and then threw the hare on the table.
