Ye Fan returned to his old home in the south of the city with the great honor of winning the top spot in the martial arts department of the Ten Academy Joint Examination, as well as aches and pains all over his body and mental fatigue.
He didn't care too much about his winning the first place in the martial arts department.
What really makes Ye Fan excited is the "Martial God Performing Martial Arts" function in the book "Shang", which is so powerful that it is unimaginable.
However, he found that activating a "Martial God's Martial Arts" consumes more mental energy than he imagined.
And the physical consumption is no less than the mental consumption.
After all, performing a magical basic martial arts skill, even though it was only three moves, required a high degree of mental concentration and muscle concentration. It required almost mobilizing the power contained in every inch of muscle on his body to unleash such a magical skill at that level.
"It's amazing! This is just an entry-level "Basic Three" martial arts skill. With just one punch, one kick, and one step, all the martial arts students and examiners were shocked and dumbfounded."
"It's just that it consumes too much."
"Wouldn't it be more terrifying if I were to perform elementary martial arts?"
"I have to try my best to improve my cultivation!"
"Otherwise, it will be impossible to activate martial arts above the basic level and perform martial arts exercises."
Ye Fan was so tired that he didn't even want to move a little finger. He was looking forward to showing off his elementary martial arts after his cultivation level increased greatly.
He threw himself on the bed and lay down happily, taking a break to recover from the excessive loss of mental and physical strength.
I don't know how many hours passed, but Ye Fan was sleeping in a daze.
Then I heard a loud voice of a rough duck shouting outside the door, "Xiao Fanzi! Xiao Fanzi! Are you there? Your Uncle An Cai is here to see you!"
When Ye Fan heard this familiar voice, he suddenly became excited.
He didn't care about sleeping anymore, so he quickly stood up and ran outside the house.
Outside the house, I saw a fat middle-aged man from a wealthy family wearing silk and satin, holding a little fat man about ten years old in his hand, pointing at the old house covering an area of one acre, as if he himself Just like the owner of this old house.
Their proud expressions are almost the same, they are obviously a father and son.
Ye Fan's face suddenly changed slightly, and he was full of compliments. He smiled and said to please: "Uncle An Cai! Why are you here? I told you that you and Brother Hao were coming, so I could prepare some small dishes and wine to entertain you. Uncle Ancai! You came suddenly and I didn't prepare anything. How embarrassing!"
"Don't call me Uncle Ancai, and don't feed me this ecstasy soup!"
The fat middle-aged country squire waved his hand and said proudly, "Uncle Ancai has taken good care of you these years! When your father and mother passed away four or five years ago, you were still young and had no money to bury your father and mother. , I lent you the twenty taels of silver for the second set of coffins, right? Three years ago, because of your difficulty in getting into Nanchen Martial Arts Academy, I lent you another ten taels of silver to support your studies. Uncle An Cai is interested in you! Now that you have graduated from Nanchen Martial Arts Academy, it's time to pay back the money. The receipts are all there, including the principal and interest. Over the past four or five years, there have been at least a hundred taels of silver."
"so much!"
Ye Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly raised his hands and said with a smile on his face, "Uncle Ancai, please give me some time. I will raise all the money as soon as possible and return it to you in a few days!"
"Okay, Xiao Fanzi! You're such a poor person, how can you get the money to repay it? Even if you become a robber, your little arms and legs can't steal a few taels of silver. I think your shabby house is probably worth it. More than twenty taels of silver. I'll be generous and let you use this house to pay off your debt!"
The middle-aged fat man said disdainfully, "It just so happens that my brother Hao has reached the age to apply for the top ten junior martial arts academies. I am going to build a house in this city so that he can practice martial arts and study in peace. Anyway, after you graduate from Nanchen Martial Arts Academy, If you have to get out, you won't have any use for this old house."
He is a rich man from a nearby town, also named Ye. He is a distant relative of the same clan as Ye Fan. He has always wanted to buy a house in Luyang City.
When Ye Fan's parents passed away, Ye Ancai lent some money to Ye Fan and signed a written note, intending to take over Ye Fan's old house when Ye Fan didn't pay back the money.
Later, Ye Fan was admitted to Nanchen Martial Arts Academy, and he might become prosperous one day. He immediately changed his mind and lent some more money to Ye Fan to study and prepare for long-term investment.
Unfortunately, Ye Fan has always been at the bottom of the Nanchen Martial Arts Academy. There is not much future after graduation, and there is no hope of entering a higher academy. This makes him quite disappointed as he is preparing for long-term investment.
It just so happened that his own son was also in his teens, and he planned to send him to one of the top ten junior martial arts academies in Luyang City to study, so he thought about Ye Fan's old house again.
"That's it! Xiao Fanzi, this house belongs to my father now. You poor and shabby settler, get out of here as soon as possible!"
Brother Hao, a little fat man, was only ten years old. He was wearing a little local wealth hat, holding a dog's tail grass in his mouth, rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at Ye Fan.
"you!"
Ye Fan suddenly felt angry.
He is not that poor boy now.
As he currently ranks first in the martial arts department of the Luyang Prefecture's Ten Academy Joint Examinations, he can certainly not leave Uncle An Cai behind, or even cause them great misfortune.
But when I think about it, Uncle An Cai borrowed my parents' coffins, and Uncle An Cai borrowed his first year's tuition when I entered Nanchen Martial Arts Academy.
Even if Uncle An Cai didn't have any good intentions, for him who was desperate at the time, these two emergency sums of money were still a favor.
He had to accept this favor.
When Ye Fan thought of this, he couldn't help but softened again, and said with a smile, "Uncle Ancai, please give me some more time. This house is an old house passed down by my family and cannot be sold! I will borrow your old money to live there." It will be paid back in a few days."
"Repay? This is hundreds of taels of silver. If you want to pay it back in just a few days, you are just dreaming! Don't even think about it. How much money can a poor warrior like you earn from working hard in a month? Three coins, Or five taels of silver? After deducting your food and clothing expenses, there is not much left. You don't plan to raise the one hundred taels in thirty or forty years and pay it back, right? At that time, the compound interest will be more than one hundred taels. Two, that's over a thousand taels of silver. Your children and grandchildren can't even pay it back, so you think it's useless?"
Uncle An Cai suddenly tightened his face and laughed wildly.
Ye Fan blushed and was speechless for a moment.
Hundreds of taels of silver are indeed a huge pressure for him at the moment, and it really can't be solved in a few days.
He hasn't figured out how to earn the one hundred taels of silver yet.
While the two were talking, at first night, more lights gradually appeared in the city.
At this moment, a low-key and luxurious carriage with eight divine white horses slowly stopped in the streets and alleys in front of Ye Fan's old house.
"Mr. Ye, is Mr. Ye here?"
From the car, a maid in green stepped out and looked up at the door of the old house, interrupting Ye Fan and Uncle An Cai's conversation.
"Who is this girl looking for?"
Facing this maid who was obviously from a wealthy family, Uncle An Cai's expression changed, and his originally proud expression suddenly became calmer.
He, Ye Ancai, was just a rich man from a small town near Luyang City. The rich and powerful families in the city, even the stewards and maids of the rich families, had always looked down on country gentry like them.
When Uncle An Cai heard the maid in green ask about Mr. Ye, he couldn't help but show doubts and pointed at Ye Fan, "There is no Mr. Ye here, only my nephew Xiao Fanzi."
The woman in green glanced at the fat middle-aged man who was obviously dressed as a rich man, ignored him, and then looked at Mark.
"This young master, are you Ye Fan?"
Seeing how ordinary the young man in front of her was, her eyes showed suspicion.
But when I think of some legends about this young man who is the number one in the martial arts department, I realize that he is indeed an ordinary person.
"I'm Ye Fan! Girl, are you looking for me?"
Ye Fan was startled for a moment and nodded.
"As expected, it's Young Master Ye. My lady invites you! Please get on the carriage!"
The woman in green clothes smiled sweetly.
Ye Fan glanced at Uncle Ancai. The property dispute between him and Uncle Ancai has not yet been resolved.
"Dad! Why is there such a beautiful sister looking for Xiao Fanzi?!"
Little Fatty Brother Hao opened his mouth wide in surprise, and the piece of dog tail held in the corner of his mouth almost fell off.
Uncle An Cai was coming back from his surprise. He raised his hand and gave him a big chestnut on the head, scolding him, "No matter how big or small, you can call me Xiao Fanzi. You must call him Brother Fan!"
"Brother Fan!"
Brother Hao was stunned, rubbing his head and yelling aggrievedly.
"Xiao Fanzi! Since there is a lady who wants to invite you, you should go and do your work first. Uncle An Cai is not in a hurry! It's all trivial matters for me. I'll come back to you later!"
Uncle An Cai turned to Mark, with a smile on his face.
The low-key luxury carriage pulled by eight white horses, even a country rich man with poor eyesight, he could recognize that it was a carriage of a standard that could only be ridden by the eight wealthy families in Luyang City. And you must be an eldest lady or a young master or above to be qualified to ride a carriage of this level.
The owner of this kind of family actually sent such a high-standard carriage to specially treat Mark. It was an extremely respectful courtesy.
He, a rich man from a rural town, would not dare to delay other people's business.
"Okay! Uncle Ancai, I'll talk to you about that later."
Ye Fan felt a little relieved, glanced at the carriage, thought for a moment, and then followed the woman in green into the luxurious carriage.
Entering the carriage, he immediately smelled a faint scent of a girl's fragrance inside the carriage.
Obviously the real owner of this carriage is indeed a girl. And she is also a young lady from eight wealthy families.
The woman in green also got on the carriage and sat down next to Mark. She was very close and looked at Mark from time to time.
Ye Fan's mind flashed, and he sighed in his heart, this maid in green is of good looks, quite dignified and beautiful, just for a maid, this wealthy family is really extraordinary.
A coachman drove a carriage toward the bustling streets of the city.
"Mr. Ye, why don't you ask which lady invites you? Do you think you will get on the carriage of a rich lady?"
The woman in green looked at Ye Fan, showing a hint of contempt, and couldn't help but said, "Hmph, it seems that this time the Luyang Mansion Ten Academy Joint Examination, the martial arts department ranked first, and the rumored genius boy from a poor family is no more than That's it. He's just a person who follows the trend and climbs the dragon and the phoenix."
Ye Fan glanced at her lightly and said:
"This carriage is low-key and luxurious, with no obvious features inside or outside. But there are only eight wealthy families in the entire Luyang Mansion who dare to use this carriage.
If other people use it, it is an identity transgression. In Luyang Mansion, no other family dares to use a carriage of this size.
The interior decoration of the car is white and simple, with a light girlish fragrance. The owner of the car is a young girl, and she prefers plain colors to colorful ones. She should be a girl with a calm temperament.
In the entire Luyang Mansion, only Mu Bing, the daughter of the president of the mansion, Mu Fengshan, met this condition.
But she and I have never met each other, and she will definitely not come to me if nothing happens. Besides, men and women are not intimate. Even if she wanted to see me, she would not use this carriage to pick me up to avoid suspicion.
I think it was Dean Mu who wanted to find me, but she just used her carriage. Dean Mu is looking for me, how dare I not go? Does this have anything to do with what you say about following the crowd? "
After Ye Fan finished speaking, he smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly.
"How do you know!"
The woman in green looked horrified.
It is indeed Dean Mu who wants to send a carriage to pick up Ye Fan, the martial arts genius from a humble family who shocked the whole city, to go to the banquet tonight.
But Miss Mu was very curious about the young man who came from a poor family and was the number one in the martial arts department, so she took the initiative to propose to the dean that she would send her maid to pick up Ye Fan.
Before setting off, she had already followed the lady's instructions and removed all obvious signs in the carriage, hoping to see what kind of person this poor boy who had topped the list for the first time in hundreds of years was like.
Ye Fan only took one look at the carriage and guessed what the owner's purpose was. This insight was terrifying.
She didn't dare to say another word.
Ye Fan closed his eyes and rested his mind.
Actually, he didn't speculate that much.
Shang just said to him that according to the Luyang Mansion's practice, after the assessment on that day, there would be a celebration banquet in the evening for the top ten martial arts students in the martial arts department.
At this time, a luxury carriage of this size came to pick him up. Except for the one sent by Dean Mu, it was impossible for anyone else to come to pick him up.
Ye Fan has no time to think about anything else now.
What he is worried about is that if there is no good banquet, there will be some accidents at tonight's banquet.
...
Seeing Ye Fan getting into that luxurious carriage and leaving with his own eyes, Uncle An Cai was filled with doubts.
"What a surprise! I was in town before and heard a martial arts student studying at Nanchen Martial Arts Academy say that during the three years that Xiao Fanzi was in Nanchen Martial Arts Academy, he was always at the bottom and was bullied."
"After finishing the martial arts exam today, he should be leaving Nanchen Martial Arts Academy with no future. Why did something unexpected happen suddenly and a young lady from a wealthy family came to pick him up?... Look at him like this , he doesn't look like a pretty boy who can rely on his face to make a living, right?"
Uncle An Cai, full of doubts, pulled the confused Brother Hao towards the Luyang Mansion. I want to see how many names Ye Fan got in the exam.
The biggest event in Luyang Mansion today is the martial arts department exam in the Mansion.
Although it was already dark, at this time, at the gate of the mansion, the streets on both sides were still brightly lit, crowded with people, and busy with traffic.
Thousands of candidates, parents, and others are joining in the fun.
At the gate of the mansion, a list of 500 admissions from the martial arts department was posted.
There are two red lists in total.
One of them is from the top to the top ten, with eye-catching large characters on it.
The other one is from the top 11 to the 500th, and the handwriting is much smaller.
Those martial students, their parents, and relatives who found their names on the list were all very happy. They went to nearby restaurants in groups to hold banquets and celebrate all night long.
But those martial arts students and their parents who failed were all dejected and went to a nearby tavern to drown their sorrows and get drunk.
Uncle An Cai squeezed in the crowd, poked his head around, and looked at the second list of five hundred names several times.
As for the big red notice, he didn't even look at it.
Ranking among the top ten martial arts schools in Luyang Prefecture, even a fool knows that is impossible. At the bottom of the top 500, there might still be a chance.
"Hey, it's strange, there's no Xiao Fanzi's name on it either!"
Uncle An Cai scratched his head. He couldn't find Ye Fan's name from where he was.
Brother Hao's eyes were as wide as a gong. He pointed at the red envelope with large characters and screamed, "Dad, look, Brother Fan... His name is at the top, he is the most powerful martial artist in Luyang Mansion." Department candidate!"
Uncle An Cai was stunned, and immediately turned nervously to look at another red list with large characters.
Boom!
The name Ye Fan is impressively at the top of the big-character red list.
Uncle An Cai felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He was stunned, lost in thought, and in disbelief.
"Ye Fan, number one in the martial arts department!?... When did the smoke come out of our Ye family's ancestral graves? Xiao Fanzi actually took the first place in the martial arts department of the top ten martial arts schools in Luyang Prefecture!"
"Go quickly!"
Uncle An Cai woke up suddenly.
He originally wanted Ye Fan to be successful, so he funded Ye Fan's education with ten taels of silver.
Unexpectedly, Ye Fan broke out and soared in the joint entrance examination of the ten colleges.
He quickly pulled Brother Hao and ran to the Ye family's old house, thinking about what he could do to restore the relationship that was almost at a standstill.