Chapter 39: Something is Wrong...

The bitter cold of the twelfth lunar month brought heavy snow, a sign of a prosperous year to come. In the North, the snowfall this year was exceptionally fierce; many homes would be crushed under the weight of the drifts if left unswept for just a single night. To the local farmers, however, such a storm was a rare blessing. Last year had been a bountiful one, and this auspicious snow, soaking deep into the earth, promised another harvest to come.

Yet, for the scholars traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations, the weather was far less kind. The Spring Palace Examination was held in the third lunar month, and for those coming from the North—especially the regions near Youyun—the journey to the capital took over a month. With the heavy snow blocking the roads, many feared missing the exams and had departed before the New Year, braving the biting winds and sleeping in the open, a truly miserable ordeal.

If they were lucky, they could reach a courier station, but if not, they were forced to take shelter in wild mountain temples. It was not uncommon for those of frailer constitution to perish along the way.

On this occasion, a group of scholars traveling together had been trapped in the wilderness. It was nearly midnight when they finally caught sight of a temple, and they urged their carriage forward with palpable relief.

Those qualified for the Spring Palace Examination held the rank of *juren*. Even if they came from poverty, they usually had the support of local gentry, so they were not without carriages. However, in the bitter cold of the North, sleeping in a carriage without a fire for warmth was a dangerous gamble. Fortunately, one of their companions was an older *juren* who had sat for the triennial examinations three times before and recalled this very temple standing in the desolate mountains.

"We owe a great debt to Brother Yang for remembering this place; otherwise, we would have been in grave trouble tonight," one of the scholars said, brushing the snow from his clothes with a lingering sense of fear. The snow was terrifyingly heavy; in the time it took to walk a few steps, a man could almost turn into a snowman. Without a place to shield them from the wind and snow, things could have ended very poorly.

"Indeed..." the other men, dressed in the garb of scholars, echoed, all expressing their gratitude to the middle-aged man leading them.

"We are fellow students, why stand on ceremony? Come, let us enter the temple, light a fire, boil some soup, and give the horses some warm water. The journey is long; we cannot afford for the men to fall ill, nor the horses to fail us."

"Brother Yang is right..."

The scholars quickly instructed their drivers to lead the horses into the temple. They dared not leave the animals out in such a storm.

As they approached, they saw several carriages already unloaded outside the temple, and their hearts leapt with joy.

"Someone is here?"

The scholars felt a sense of relief. In such a desolate wilderness, staying in a god’s temple could be unsettling; the more people there were, the better.

The middle-aged scholar leading them paused, muttering, "This is quite curious. Very few people would know of this place. Eh?"

"What is it, Brother Yang?"

"It is an official's carriage." The man surnamed Yang pointed to the carriages outside. "The jade plaque of warding, carved with a mandarin duck—only a seventh-rank county magistrate is entitled to such a thing. It must be a magistrate returning to the capital for his performance review."

"Oh, what a coincidence! I wonder if it might be a fellow student from a previous session?"

"Regardless, we must go in and pay our respects. Perhaps we can catch a bit of the luck of a senior *jinshi*."

"Haha, Brother Du is right."

Their spirits improved significantly. If it were an official returning to the capital, they could travel in his company. Such officials were usually protected by government runners, and common mountain bandits would know better than to cross them. It would save them much trouble along the way, and such a meeting was a rare opportunity to build a connection in the officialdom.

Of course, the primary relief was the sense of safety. For some reason, when they had first seen the abrupt appearance of the temple, the scholars had felt an inexplicable unease. Even the drivers had remarked that the horses seemed unwilling to approach, making the place feel somewhat sinister.

Had the storm not been so fierce, they would have preferred to travel through the night rather than stay here. Now, with a formal government official inside, the unease in their hearts dissipated.

"Who goes there?"

From a distance, a voice rang out from the temple entrance. The tone was full of vigor and not particularly polite, yet it only made the scholars feel more secure.

They usually disliked such crude, boorish soldiers, but in these circumstances, these tall, imposing men were a welcome sight.

"Officer, we are scholars on our way to the capital for the examinations, coming from Qi County. The storm is too fierce, and we wish to rest here for the night."

The guard at the door softened his frown upon hearing this. As a man of arms, he had a keen eye and could see they were indeed scholars in long robes, accompanied by carriages and drivers. He nodded and said, "So you are *juren* gentlemen heading to the capital. My apologies. Please, come in quickly; the wind and snow are heavy."

The group bowed in return. "You are too kind, Officer."

A fire had been burning in the temple for some time. As they entered, the rush of warmth made them shiver, a sensation so pleasant they almost groaned aloud.

Looking closely, they saw that besides the guards, there were women, children, and elderly people inside. It appeared to be an entire family traveling to the capital.

The scholars realized this was not a magistrate returning for a routine review, but one returning for a promotion.

*A rare opportunity,* they thought. *We must make his acquaintance.*

"Junior Qi Xuan, pays his respects to your lordship..."

"Junior Luo Yi, pays his respects to your lordship..."

They bowed one after another, and even the eldest, Yang Jie, followed suit: "Junior Yang Jie, pays his respects to your lordship."

As they bowed, they observed the man in official robes. He looked no more than twenty-two or twenty-three. To be a capital official at such a young age was truly enviable. Among them, the eldest, Yang Jie, was already thirty-five, and whether he would pass this session was still in question. Many of the others were sitting for the exam for the first time, with only a three-to-five-tenths chance of success.

The young official did not put on airs and rose to return the greeting. "Gentlemen, please, no need for formalities. Come, gather by the fire to warm yourselves. Old Liu, serve them some ginger soup to ward off the cold. We cannot have the future *jinshi* of our Great Jin falling ill."

The scholars were delighted and bowed again, smiling. "We accept your kind wishes, my lord!"

"Which academies are you all from?"

The man inside was Zhang Rui and his family. Meeting a group of students made Zhang Rui feel more at ease; after all, he too had felt a sense of unease upon finding a temple in such a desolate wilderness. The presence of scholars suggested this was a common resting place for travelers, which theoretically meant it should be safe.

"Reporting to your lordship... we are all from the Yuzhang Academy in the North."

"So, fellow students from Yuzhang Academy." Zhang Rui smiled and nodded. He had certainly heard of Yuzhang Academy; it was as famous as the White Deer Academy in the South, and most of the talented youth in the North studied there.

"My lord, your accent does not sound like that of a Northerner."

"Indeed... I am from the South. I was serving in Fuchuan, and now that my three-year term is up, I am returning to the capital."

"Fuchuan?" Yang Jie seemed to recall something and quickly asked, "Are you Magistrate Zhang?"

"You know me?" Zhang Rui looked at him with curiosity.

"Oh, I have only heard my teacher speak of you," Yang Jie said with a smile. "Fuchuan was embroiled in a major affair. It is said that the magistrate saved a prince and was recommended to the capital."

The other scholars’ expressions changed. They had heard that a major incident had occurred in a county on the edge of Youzhou, one involving the Crown Prince. They had not expected the man before them to be that very magistrate.

"A stroke of luck, nothing more." Zhang Rui smiled, looking at the scholar named Yang, a flicker of something unreadable passing through his eyes.

"You are too modest, my lord. To achieve such merit in a situation like that is certainly not mere luck. May I be so bold as to ask... are you one of *those* people?"

At these words, the scholars’ expressions stiffened. "One of those people" was a common term used in the academies to categorize people.

In the academic world, there were two types of people: the students from respectable families who studied only literature and relied on the classics, and the "others." While the latter also studied the classics, they did not rely on them for their standing. Though they were all scholars, they belonged to two different worlds from the very beginning.

*No wonder a mere seventh-rank magistrate has a whole squad of guards,* they thought. *He is a practitioner!*

"You could say that..." Zhang Rui took a sip of the hot tea beside him, unperturbed.

The scholars exchanged glances and stopped speaking, their earlier enthusiasm gone. High-minded scholars generally disliked these colleagues who dabbled in the occult, even if they knew that the true power of the imperial court lay in the hands of those who commanded such dark arts.

Especially now, in the middle of the wilderness, meeting a practitioner who might be harboring who-knows-what, they feared they would not sleep soundly.

"This temple is in a remote location. I discovered it by chance just now. How did you find it?" Zhang Rui asked, sipping his tea slowly.

Seeing that he was still willing to talk, they found it hard to be cold. Before anyone could speak, Yang Jie cut in, "We also found it by chance."

The other scholars were taken aback and exchanged glances, but none contradicted Yang Jie. Though they did not know why he would lie, they certainly did not want to expose him in front of a practitioner official.

"Is that so..." Zhang Rui nodded slightly, looking down at the tea cup in his hand, a flicker of cold light in his eyes.

"Your name is Yang Jie, correct? Is this your third time sitting for the examination?"

"I am ashamed, my lord. This is indeed my third time. If I do not pass this time, I intend to return home and open an academy."

Zhang Rui nodded, then suddenly looked at the others. "Aside from him, are you all sitting for the examination for the first time?"

At this, Yang Jie’s expression changed. He was about to speak, but was silenced by Zhang Rui’s icy gaze. The other scholars, not understanding the situation, answered cautiously, "How did your lordship know?"

"I guessed," Zhang Rui replied nonchalantly, but his eyes grew colder.

Yang Jie was lying. He had deliberately led his companions to this temple. It was not his first time here; he had likely been here many times, and perhaps had even brought his fellow students here before.

In the current situation, he had intentionally steered the conversation to make the others distance themselves from Zhang Rui because of his status as a practitioner—that was clearly suspicious.

In the middle of the wilderness, to deliberately offend a practitioner while knowing he was one—this was either the act of a fool or a man with a sinister motive.

This was why Zhang Rui had allowed them to misunderstand his status; with that reputation, this strange fellow should have been wary.

As he had suspected the moment he entered this temple, his instincts were right. This place... something was wrong.