The Bell Rings

The echo of the copper bell had long since faded, but the chatter among the crowd continued.

"The Hu clan of Qingqiu is the same as the Hu clan of Qingqiu."

"That last move must have been a real steal for Teruno Mune this year."

"I don't know what the Hu family was thinking, sending their genius to Terunomune."

Among the crowd were envious people, sour grapes, and people just joining in the fun.

Hu Zhaoying wasn't too smug. He walked back to Hu Yanshan's side, his tail tucked behind his robe, the tip of which twitched slightly.

Hu Yanshan glanced at him.

"how?"

"I haven't disgraced the Hu family."

After Hu Zhaoying finished speaking, he glanced at the dense crowd present and said, "I hope someone with good talent will emerge in the same period, otherwise the days ahead will be very boring."

As he was thinking this, the deacon in front flipped through the register and called out, "Next... Toad?"

The mountain gate was quiet for a moment, then someone realized what was happening.

"What's the name?"

"Toad? Is that a name or an insult?"

"It must be a demon."

The toad squeezed through the crowd, its mouth twisted in a smirk: "Quack, who do you think you are?"

It touched the guarantee letter in its arms, then touched it again; the paper was folded very neatly.

"It's nothing special, it's just touching the bell."

It hummed and walked towards the front of the platform, its branch legs tapping on the stone steps, making a "tap-tap" sound.

After taking two steps, it turned back to look at Shen Gui.

Shen Gui stood at the edge of the crowd, his clothes clinging to his body in the mountain wind. He didn't give them any attention, just watched quietly.

When I turned around again, I was already on the stage.

Lai Ge Bao didn't immediately touch the copper bell. Instead, he first bowed to the butler with his short hands. He didn't quite imitate the gesture. His hands were too short and his body was too round. It looked a bit comical no matter how you looked at it.

When it was opened, I heard from the villagers that we should learn etiquette and respect others.

The assessment is a very important matter, so Lai Ge Bao felt that he should take it seriously and had to take it seriously.

Not even showing one's face can hardly be considered respect.

So it began to uncover the tattered cloth used to cover its ugliness.

The next moment, laughter erupted from the audience.

When Lai Ge Bao heard this, its lips twitched, but it still folded the cloth neatly and placed it at its feet, then laboriously untied the stick tied to its leg.

Once the tree branch was removed, its entire body shrank by half, and its two hind legs, which were already short, leaned crookedly on the table.

Some people laughed so hard they slapped their thighs.

Without looking down, the toad straightened the stick and pushed it to the side, afraid of blocking the next person being tested.

Shen Gui watched its actions and nodded slightly.

Hu Zhaoying saw it too.

The ease in his eyes lessened slightly, and he said in a low voice, "This little demon has a pretty good temperament."

Hu Yanshan hummed in agreement: "His character is considered very good among wild demons."

"I hope it will achieve good results," Hu Zhaoying said.

On the stage, the deacon put down the roster, speaking in a calm tone.

"Place your hand on the copper bell, do not activate demonic energy, do not use external objects, let nature take its course."

Toad nodded quickly.

"Quack, let nature take its course, I'm the best at letting nature take its course."

It hopped twice before it could reach the edge of the copper bell.

The copper bell rang gently.

"bite."

The sound was very soft.

It was as if someone had tapped the rim of a glass with their fingernail, and the laughter from the audience stopped.

The toad's eyes lit up immediately. It looked up at the copper bell, then at the spirit lamp next to it used to assess one's aptitude.

only...

The lamp did not light up.

The copper bell stopped ringing.

The wind blew through the mountain gate, causing several small flags to flutter beside the platform.

Toad waited for a while.

I waited a while longer.

It asked softly, "Hasn't it started yet?"

The deacon did not answer.

Lai Ge Bao moved his hand up and down, and gently rubbed the bell's surface with his palm.

"bite."

The copper bell swayed slightly again, and then there was no further reaction.

There was no ringing bell, no ordinary person's unexpected rise to fame, only the laughter from the audience that reignited their excitement.

Laughter erupted in waves, the voices tinged with superiority—the smugness of an ordinary person seeing someone even more mediocre than themselves.

The bumps on the baby's face are a bit darker in color.

It didn't let go, but instead placed its other hand on top, as if afraid it had touched the wrong place.

The deacon said, "One hand will suffice."

"Oh." It quickly withdrew its other hand.

And so on.

The copper bell was quiet and still.

The spirit lamp remained quiet.

Hu Zhaoying, who had been somewhat expectant just moments before, now had his tail drooping and shook his head: "What a pity."

The deacon flipped through the booklet and wrote at the back: "Inadequate aptitude."

Lai Gebao hurriedly asked, "Then, is the light broken? There were too many people just now, it must be tired after using it for a long time, I know, things need to rest after being used for a long time."

Someone shouted from below, "Do you think the spirit lamp is like your two branches? It gets tired?"

"It's far from perfect, you may leave." The steward frowned, but didn't scold it; he simply closed the booklet.

The toad asked, "How much is 'a lot'?"

The steward said, "The requirements for a beginner disciple are at least to make the copper bell ring with a clear and melodious sound for a moment and to make the spirit lamp light up. You only touched a little bit of the spirit, which does not count."

The toad slowly closed its mouth, and after a while, it asked again, "What about the good demon certificate?"

The deacon paused for a moment.

This little demon went up the mountain checking records all the way; it's obvious to everyone what he's after.

When the Zhaoye Sect recruits demons, they also vouch for qualified demon disciples, who are then added to the government register and given a certificate of good demon status.

But the prerequisite is that you can get started.

The deacon said, "Come back in three years."

"Will I be able to change it in three years?"

"We'll test again in three years. If you pass, we can talk again."

The deacon looked at it, but there was no hope left.

"Quack, I'll come back in three years." Toad slowly took his hand off the copper bell.

It crouched down to tie the tree branch, then draped the cloth back over its body.

It wasn't draped properly; it was askew on her shoulder.

Someone in the audience urged them on.

"Hurry up, there are still people behind us."

"I went up there for half a day and only heard the sound of a mosquito, but I was reluctant to come down."

Toad didn't say a word.

It tightened the knot for the third time, tugged at it to make sure it wouldn't fall, then picked up another branch and bowed to the deacon, saying, "Sorry to bother you."

The deacon glanced at it and, as if possessed, added a few more words: "Work hard to hone your demonic energy; there's a chance in three years."

"Okay!" Lai Gebao turned around and walked off the stage.

Halfway there, someone next to me said in a sarcastic tone, "Little demon, don't be upset, there's actually another way."

"What's the backup plan?" Lai Gebao immediately looked up.

The man was a young boy who hadn't passed the test. He laughed and said, "Why don't you just not become an entry-level disciple? You can become a core disciple directly and still get a good demon certificate."

The toad's eyes light up very quickly.

"Really? How do I do it?"

"It's simple, just have the sect leader or an elder accept you as a disciple."

The people around were stunned at first, then burst into laughter.

"Yes, yes, let Sect Master Lu take you in."

"Perhaps Sect Leader Lu likes toads."

"..."

Toad stood on the steps.

It stared at the boy for a long time.

Then it understood.

They're just playing with themselves.

Lai Ge Bao didn't retaliate with insults, but simply uttered a soft "Oh".

"That's quite difficult."

Upon hearing this, the laughter subsided somewhat.

A few people wanted to tease him further, but for some reason, the words just wouldn't come out.

Lai Gebao stepped down from the stage.

It walked through the crowd and stood before Shen Gui.

Shen Gui looked down at it.

Lai Gebao first took out the guarantee letter from his arms and held it with both hands: "Brother Shen, I'm sorry."

Shen Gui did not answer.

Lai Gebao pushed his hand forward again: "I've let you down with that guarantee."

Fearing Shen Gui's comforting words, it quickly added, "It's alright, I expected it. Ordinary is the norm, right? Where do so many extraordinary talents come from?"

The toad grinned, but its eyes didn't dare to look at the gray-clad figure in front of it.

Shen Gui reached out and touched the stone pendant under his clothes.

The stone pendant was very quiet.

There is no heat.

There was no light.

Shen Gui withdrew his hand, while the toad in front of him was still holding the guarantee.

"Take it."

"Quack?"

"It's still useful."

Lai Gebao paused for a moment, then laughed again: "Brother Shen, don't try to fool me. I know I'm not good enough. That steward just said I'm far from it, not just a little bit, but a lot."

Shen Gui said, "As I said before, my talent used to be mediocre."

"Don't try to fool me, frog. I may look stupid, but I'm actually quite clever."

"I'm not lying to you."

Toad blinked, still not quite believing it.

But when Shen Gui said those words, they didn't sound like words of comfort.

Shen Gui was always a man of few words.

So little that even Lai Gebao sometimes wonders if his senior is just too lazy to bother with people.

Therefore, such a person probably doesn't need to make up a sentence to comfort themselves.

Lai Ge Bao put the guarantee back into his bosom, folded it, and flattened it.

"Then I'll keep it for now."

"Um."

Lai Gebao's mood improved. "I'll come back in three years."

The testing in front of the mountain gate is still ongoing.

Some people went up, and some people came down.

Some were overjoyed, some cried on the spot, and some were scolded by their elders for wasting so much travel money.

Gradually, the first round was coming to an end.

The disciples of the Teruno sect began to organize the roster, leading those who had passed the preliminary test to the left and persuading those who had not passed to the right.

Those who failed left one after another.

At first, some people refused to leave, but when they saw the steward's face darken, they had no choice but to pack their bags and go down the mountain.

"Senior Shen, let's go." Lai Gebao patted the crumbs off his hands. "I've saved up some copper coins. I can't afford to treat you to plain noodles, but I can treat you to tea."

"Okay," Shen Guihui replied.

Toad took two steps forward, then looked back at the platform, where the copper bell hung, swaying gently in the wind.

It looked around for a while, then decisively turned around.

"Quack, let's go~"

But it had only taken two steps when the people in front of it suddenly stopped.

Then some people started to back away.

The toad stood on tiptoe, but couldn't see anything.

"What's wrong? Can we take the test again?"

No one answered it.

Soon, the sound of horses' hooves came from below the mountain path.

There was also the sound of armor plates colliding.

"Click."

"Click."

The crowd seemed to be cleaved in two by an invisible knife, retreating to both sides.

Soldiers from the government rushed in.

One team after another, their armor cold and hard, their waist knives pressed against their hips, their boots worn through mud and water, all perfectly aligned.

The disciples of the Zhaoye Sect also changed their expressions. The steward on the platform put down the roster and ran towards the stands.

At the end of the crowd, a black-topped official car slowly came to a stop.

The carriage curtain was lifted.

A middle-aged man in a scarlet official robe stepped down. He had a goatee, gentle features, but he didn't stop walking.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!" The surrounding guards bowed their heads in unison.

The powerful voice overwhelmed the mountain wind, making the identity of the newcomer self-evident.

The Prefect of Beiyang Prefecture, Shi Qijiang.