Chapter 38: Harming Others and Oneself

Walking out of the examination hall, Zhang Xingyu let out a long breath.

Judging from the morning's exam, someone had definitely instructed the examiner to deliberately make things difficult for him, wanting him to fail the assessment.

Who could it be?

Finding the little fatty and Hu Siping, Zhang Xingyu told them about his encounter that morning.

"Xingyu, could it be that someone is out to get you?" Hu Siping frowned and said.

"I feel that way too. A few days ago at Qixia Shan, those guys were clearly ill-intentioned. Today, the invigilator deliberately made things difficult again. Putting these two things together, it shouldn't be a coincidence." Zhang Xingyu thought for a moment and said softly.

"Who could it be? We haven't offended anyone, have we?" Hu Siping was very puzzled.

"Who else could it be? It must be that group of people in blue clothes. Hmph, to dare to make things difficult for Brother Xingyu, I must make them pay!" The little fatty said angrily upon hearing this.

"Don't act rashly. Let's get to the bottom of this first. The most important thing now is to pass the exam." Seeing Zhu Dafu clenching his fists, Hu Siping hurriedly persuaded and stopped him.

"Are we just going to let them bully Brother Xingyu? If we don't stop them, who knows what kind of underhanded tricks they'll use against Brother Xingyu next?" The little fatty was indignant.

"Dafu, Fourth Brother didn't mean that. Listen to Fourth Brother, don't act rashly for now. At worst, I'll just be more careful." Zhang Xingyu thought for a moment and said to the little fatty.

"Brother Xingyu, what if they come up with more tricks to sabotage you?" The little fatty loosened his fists, but the worry on his face did not diminish.

Zhang Xingyu smiled and patted his shoulder: "As the saying goes, soldiers come to block, water comes to cover. It's not that easy to sabotage me, Zhang Xingyu."

In the afternoon, the exam was meditation, in groups of one hundred.

This exam was held in a courtyard of the recruitment center.

In the center of the courtyard stood a two-meter-high stone platform, with a transparent hourglass placed in the middle.

Around the stone platform, squares were drawn neatly.

Each square was about two square meters in area, with an examination number written inside.

Zhang Xingyu entered the examination hall and soon found the little fatty and Hu Siping.

"Be careful later, surviving this half-hour is victory!" Hu Siping whispered to Zhang Xingyu.

Zhang Xingyu nodded.

The three found their examination numbers, sat cross-legged, and waited quietly for the exam to begin.

Just as Zhang Xingyu sat down, someone came to the spot behind him.

This was a burly man with a stubbly face, broad shoulders and a thick waist, looking fierce.

He grinned at Zhang Xingyu, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and then sat down on the ground with a thud.

Just as this person sat down, someone else came in front of Zhang Xingyu.

This person was a thin bamboo pole, with thin arms and legs, a sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked face, and eyes that darted around.

He glanced at Zhang Xingyu expressionlessly, then sat down on his own as if nothing had happened.

After this person sat down, another young man came to Zhang Xingyu's left.

This was a refined-looking young man, gentle and handsome, with a face that always wore a friendly expression.

He nodded kindly to the people around him, then gently wiped the dust off the ground before sitting down softly.

Not long after he sat down, a beautiful and charming woman came to Zhang Xingyu's right.

This woman had a melon-seed face, a high nose bridge, a smile at the corners of her mouth, and flirtatious eyes.

She blinked her big eyes at Zhang Xingyu, then giggled and sat down.

These people are truly odd.

Zhang Xingyu thought to himself.

No.

The refined man on the left and the charming woman on the right look so similar, could they be siblings?

Having siblings sitting on his left and right, this is too much of a coincidence.

Zhang Xingyu couldn't help but become vigilant.

Before long, an examiner paced into the hall and walked straight onto the stone platform in the middle.

"Silence!" the examiner shouted loudly.

In an instant, the examination hall became dead silent.

"Now announcing the rules for this exam."

"One, the assessment time is half an hour."

"Two, during the assessment time, candidates must sit quietly in their positions, must not stand up, must not walk around, must not talk, must not fight; violators will be treated as failures."

"Three..."

After finishing the rules, the examiner flipped the hourglass on the stone platform and loudly announced the start of the exam.

Zhang Xingyu opened his eyes wide, pricked up his ears, and sat quietly in his position.

After ten minutes or so, seeing no movement from the people around, Zhang Xingyu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Hopefully, his worries were unnecessary.

On the stone platform, the examiner glanced at everyone, then stood up and walked out of the courtyard.

Just as the examiner stepped out of the courtyard gate, the thin bamboo pole in front of Zhang Xingyu made a move.

He nimbly took a small wooden box from his bosom, carefully opened the lid, and threw it towards Zhang Xingyu behind him.

Zhang Xingyu was on guard.

Seeing something flying towards him, he leaned back, and the box brushed past his chest, flying towards the burly man behind him.

The burly man was dreaming of making a fortune and didn't expect the box to hit him.

A centipede fell out of the box and landed right on his ferocious face.

"Ah."

His face was bitten by the centipede and immediately swelled up like a purple sweet potato bun.

"Slap."

The burly man slapped his face, turning the centipede into a pulp of meat.

In the examination hall, everyone turned to look at the burly man, all puzzled.

"Brother, your face was bitten by something, it's swollen very badly." Zhang Xingyu offered his concern.

The burly man covered his cheek and didn't speak.

"Brother, if you were bitten by a poisonous insect or ant, you must seek medical treatment in time, otherwise, there might be a danger to your life." Zhang Xingyu reminded him earnestly.

"I..."

The burly man covered his face, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't.

"Brother, if you fail the exam, you can come back next year; if you lose your life, you can never get it back." Zhang Xingyu advised sincerely.

The burly man looked hesitant, struggling internally.

A moment later, he stood up and rushed in front of the thin bamboo pole in one stride.

"Bamboo Pole, hurry up and take out the antidote, are you trying to kill me?" The burly man grabbed the thin bamboo pole's collar and roared.

"No, I didn't bring the antidote." The thin bamboo pole stammered.

The burly man was furious upon hearing this, raised his big palm, and slapped the thin bamboo pole hard on the face: "You didn't bring the antidote, and you dared to throw it around? Bamboo Pole, if I die, you damn well won't live either!"

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

The burly man slapped the thin bamboo pole several times in a row, leaving him bruised and bleeding.

"Da, Dazhuang, I didn't mean to harm you, I just..." The thin bamboo pole wanted to explain.

"Slap!"

Before he could finish, the burly man slapped him again.

On the side, the refined young man frowned and persuaded: "It's useless to beat him to death. If you want to live, you must go find a doctor quickly."

These words hit home for the burly man.

He threw the thin bamboo pole heavily to the ground and ran out of the examination hall.

The farce ended, and the examination hall returned to tranquility.

Zhang Xingyu, however, dared not lower his guard.

"Oh my, my head is so dizzy."

Zhang Xingyu turned to look and saw the charming woman clutching her chest and calling out softly.

"Miss, if you're dizzy, why are you clutching your chest?" Zhang Xingyu smiled softly.

"I'm dizzy, and my chest hurts too. Little brother, help me, I'm in so much pain I can't stand up." The charming woman pleaded while casting flirtatious glances at Zhang Xingyu.

"Miss, if you're dizzy, lie down for a while; if your chest hurts, rub it. We are men and women, it's really not convenient." Zhang Xingyu shook his head and refused.

This kid, how is he so unromantic? Looks like I have to use my ultimate move. The charming woman thought to herself.

She reached out and touched her black, beautiful hair, then asked in a coquettish voice: "Little brother, do you think sister is pretty?"

Zhang Xingyu nodded: "Beautiful!"

Who is Beautiful? The charming woman was puzzled. However, she didn't have time to ask this question now.

"Little brother, where do you think sister is the most beautiful?" The woman asked while touching her chest.

Zhang Xingyu's eyes lit up. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and muttered: "Big breasts are good for breastfeeding, round hips are good for childbearing. In our village, women like you are the best looking."

This guy is so vulgar, I don't know which mountain village he came from. The woman thought to herself.

Although she was unhappy, she still touched her chest and continued to seduce: "Little brother, I think my eyes are the most beautiful. Look into my eyes, aren't my eyes the best looking?"

"Can't look. Sister, you have peach blossom eyes, at a glance you're the type to have an affair." Zhang Xingyu shook his head and refused.

"You." The woman was so angry she almost fainted.

The next moment, she no longer cared about her image, lifted her skirt, and stood up.

She leaned her body towards Zhang Xingyu and held his head with both hands: "Little brother, look into sister's eyes, look into sister's eyes."

At this moment, her pupils were intertwined with black and white, like a huge whirlpool, as if to swallow everything in front of her.

"What's there to look at in eyes, not looking." Zhang Xingyu immediately shifted his gaze downwards.

Nose, very straight. Chin, very sharp. Neck, very thin. Chest, very white.

Truly a stunner, it's a pity I'm taking an exam right now.

Even if you want to throw yourself at me, I absolutely cannot accept.

Charm failed.

The charming woman was anxious. She shouted loudly at the refined young man sitting opposite: "Brother, come help!"

The refined young man stood up and wanted to come over to pull Zhang Xingyu, but was thrown away by someone.

I don't know when, a purple-robed old Daoist had already arrived in front of the three.

"You two, violated the examination hall rules, assessment failed."

The old Daoist said coldly to the two siblings.

"He also spoke, he should also be considered a failure." The charming woman pointed at Zhang Xingyu.

The old Daoist glanced at her: "There is no rule against talking in the exam."

Just then, the examiner in charge of the exam ran in hurriedly.

"Master Proctor, why are you here?" The examiner asked weakly while saluting the old Daoist.

"I am the Proctor, shouldn't I be here? Look at what you've turned this examination hall into!" The old Daoist glared at the examiner and reprimanded him.

The examiner hurriedly explained: "Master Proctor is right to reprimand me. I had an urgent need just now, so I went out to relieve myself."

After speaking, he turned his head and roared at the two siblings: "You two, actually took advantage of my absence to break the rules of the examination hall, get out now."

Seeing the examiner angry, the charming woman and the refined young man hurriedly fled with their heads in their hands.

"Hmph!"

The Proctor flicked his sleeve, didn't look at the examiner again, turned around, and walked away. ===== CHAPTER 39 =====