Chapter 57: Clever

The Seventh Young Master's study.

Facts prove that taking an exam can be relaxed and joyful, without pressure, even allowing one to focus on watching the drama—provided you are the proctor.

If you also happened to have just taken a monthly exam, you would, like Zheng Fa, feel a strange excitement of the wheel of fortune turning, where the dragon-slaying youth finally becomes the dragon.

He stood before the hall, with three low tables placed before him; behind the tables sat Gao Yuan, the Seventh Young Master, and the little sister Zheng Shan, the three of them.

The expression on each person's face was different.

Gao Yuan was tense yet filled with fighting spirit, looking as if he had a mind to make a big effort.

The Seventh Young Master was restless, looking left and right, as if he had never experienced such a situation.

As for the little sister Zheng Shan, she was not nervous at all; instead, her body twisted and turned, her eyes darting around as she curiously surveyed this unfamiliar study.

Giving the three of them a surprise exam was certainly not for fun, well, at least not entirely.

Since the Lady linked the success or failure of the Ascension Gate to the position of the Eldest Young Lady's personal attendant, the only thing Zheng Fa could do now was to improve the Seventh Young Master's attainment in the Dao of Talismans.

With only two months, he could only use a crash-course method to specially train the Seventh Young Master.

But this required the Seventh Young Master's cooperation; at the very least, he needed to study harder.

How to describe the Seventh Young Master's current study state?

... When he read books, his sleep quality was excellent.

In Zheng Fa's view, the Seventh Young Master was not stupid, but more than ten years of lazy and willful life had made it very difficult for him to study hard and with focus.

Asking him to study bitterly like Gao Yuan was indeed too much for this eldest young master who had been pampered since childhood.

The main purpose of this exam was to make the Seventh Young Master realize his current level, to make him feel shame and then courage, at least becoming diligent and upward-striving in the short term.

This method was the same as some teachers who, when students just returned to school after a holiday, would administer a sudden and extremely difficult exam—to make students give up nostalgia for the holiday, realize they were trash, and then tuck their tails and study.

Zheng Fa silently observed the Seventh Young Master.

Since morning today, the sunlight had been intense; those maids had all hidden inside the rooms, and the entire small courtyard was silent.

The Seventh Young Master's expression was more anxious than the temperature outside, constantly looking around everywhere.

Zheng Fa was very familiar with this look—students who were poor at studies entering the exam hall looked the same as pigs entering a slaughterhouse, both possessing a panic at the approach of doomsday.

The Seventh Young Master first looked at Gao Yuan, frowned and calculated for a moment, seeming to think Gao Yuan had studied better than himself, and his face became even more anxious.

He then turned his head to glance at the little sister Zheng Shan, and his expression became much brighter.

Seeing his face change back and forth, Zheng Fa knew what he was thinking—the Seventh Young Master seemed to think that no matter how poorly he studied, he couldn't be worse than a six-year-old child, and among the three, he could at least rank second.

Zheng Fa's evaluation of this was: naive.

He had brought the little sister Zheng Shan here specifically to deliver the final blow to the Seventh Young Master.

He knew very well the little sister Zheng Shan's level; in his view, the worst among the three should be the Seventh Young Master.

Gao Yuan was undoubtedly the best of the three; he originally had some foundation, struggled a bit with "Junior High Mathematics," but starting from "Elementary Mathematics" presented no difficulty, progress was fast, and he had already begun advancing to higher-grade knowledge.

Although the little sister Zheng Shan had no foundation, she was still temporarily full of interest in studying, her mind was simple, her brain was not stupid, and she learned not slowly.

As for the Seventh Young Master—he was older, his mind was complicated, he had not formed good study habits, was lazy and scattered, and fell asleep as soon as he saw a book; he truly did not study as well as the little sister.

Zheng Fa took out the exam papers he had prepared, handed them to the three respectively, and said, "One double-hour, begin."

Upon hearing this, all three buried their heads in the exam papers.

Gao Yuan and the Seventh Young Master used brush pens; the little sister Zheng Shan had not yet practiced writing large characters, so she used a charcoal pencil specially made for her by Zheng Fa.

For a time, in the study, apart from the sound of Zheng Fa's footsteps as he paced lightly, there was no other sound.

But the Seventh Young Master's focus on the exam did not last long; after one stick of incense, Zheng Fa saw him secretly lift his head, looking left and right.

Looking again at his paper, Zheng Fa understood immediately:

Good news: He finished what he knew how to do.

Bad news: There wasn't much he knew how to do.

To summarize: The donkey has exhausted its tricks.

The Seventh Young Master also seemed very uneasy; he quietly lifted his head and began observing his opponents on both sides again.

If Gao Yuan's full concentration made him feel uneasy in his heart,

then the little sister Zheng Shan's furiously writing was probably shattering the little confidence he already had.

He stared at the vast blank spaces on his exam paper, seeming to expect the answers to the questions to grow on the paper like crops in the field.

Just as his expression became more and more desperate, a childish light cough suddenly rang out in the study.

Zheng Fa narrowed his eyes, watching the little sister quietly lift her left hand, which was gradually becoming round.

Seeming afraid the Seventh Young Master couldn't see clearly, she specifically moved her exam paper a bit closer to the Seventh Young Master's direction.

To block Zheng Fa's gaze, the little sister tilted her small bottom to one side, leaning her whole body to the left, trying to conceal her little trick.

Zheng Fa helplessly shook his head; after the Seventh Young Master had caused trouble for Wang Gui, the little sister had a very good impression of the Seventh Young Master, and now she was actually starting to let him copy her answers.

The Seventh Young Master stared dumbfounded at the little sister's operation, his expression becoming extremely conflicted; Zheng Fa could even feel his dilemma—which was more shameful: failing to beat a six-year-old child, or copying the answers from a six-year-old child?

After a while, Zheng Fa saw the Seventh Young Master's head turn slightly; he must have been using his peripheral vision to browse the little sister's exam paper.

Zheng Fa did not expose the two of them; he just shook his head and showed a pitying smile toward the Seventh Young Master.

As expected, the exam results made the Seventh Young Master realize that the previously mentioned dilemma had an even more shameful answer: he copied, but still didn't pass.

Looking at the Seventh Young Master, whose face was gray and who seemed about to shatter, Zheng Fa gave a signal to Gao Yuan and Zheng Shan beside him; after the two silently left, he sat down next to the Seventh Young Master.

"Zheng Fa, am I very stupid?"

The Seventh Young Master suddenly spoke.

"Young Master, you are very smart." Zheng Fa shook his head; he was telling the truth; in his view, the Seventh Young Master's problem did not lie in his brain.

After offering a slight comfort, Zheng Fa began to coax the Seventh Young Master: "It's just that Young Master, you need a better study method."

But the Seventh Young Master was obviously not comforted; he was still doubting himself in his words: "I can't even beat your six-year-old sister; how can I possibly study the Talisman Arts in the future?"

"Actually, I have a secret technique that doesn't require learning math yet still helps the young master improve in talisman arts."

"Another secret technique? I can't learn it, not interested." The Seventh Young Master looked wounded.

"I'll teach it to you, not to them."

"Really?" The Seventh Young Master's eyes lit up.

"Yes, only you can learn it—they don't understand talisman diagrams," Zheng Fa said in an encouraging tone.

For the Seventh Young Master, failing a test meant nothing—he had always scored poorly in Mr. Shen's exams, and his mindset had long been hardened.

But losing badly in front of the other two, especially a six-year-old child, was what troubled him.

Hearing that this secret technique could only be learned by himself, the Seventh Young Master immediately regained his sense of superiority: "Then... is it easy to learn?"

"Rapid progress! Just let me train you intensively over the next two months—I guarantee your mastery of talisman arts will surge!"

"Really no need to learn this stupid math?"

"Absolutely!"

"I'll learn it! I knew it—you're the kindest to me, Zheng Fa!" The Seventh Young Master, crushed by the other two, instantly warmed to Zheng Fa and asked with interest: "What's the name of this secret technique?"

"The Sea of Problems—no, the Sea of Diagrams tactic."

"What sea?" The Seventh Young Master mumbled, as if unsure of the characters: "I've only heard of the boundless sea of suffering..."

Zheng Fa fell silent for a moment, then admired: "Young Master, though your hearing isn't great, your comprehension is excellent!"

"That doesn't sound like a compliment," the Seventh Young Master eyed Zheng Fa suspiciously: "Aren't you just trying to torment me after being scared by my mother?"

"How could I! This is my ultimate method—fast-acting, and I'm giving it only to you!" Zheng Fa swore solemnly.

Indeed, no one knows a child better than his mother—

This Seventh Young Master always had untimely flashes of cleverness.