Chapter 20
An Jin's bizarre rumors spread throughout the Imperial City like wildfire.
At first, only the scholars discussed them.
Then merchants joined.
Then officials.
Then noble families.
Soon, everyone was talking about the mysterious scholar who had somehow placed third despite apparently writing answers that sounded like the drunken diary of a madman.
The Emperor heard about it.
The Dong Family heard about it.
The Dugu Family heard about it.
Even Prime Minister Yen Pei heard about it.
Naturally, all of them became curious.
Just what kind of answer paper could cause examiners to argue for thirty minutes, break each other's noses, and award 247 marks out of 100?
Thus, requests for An Jin's answer paper flooded the examination office.
The Emperor received the original paper first.
Inside the Imperial Study, the young Emperor sat alone and began reading.
At first, he frowned.
Then he raised an eyebrow.
Then both eyebrows.
Then his entire forehead seemed to rise.
Question 3: How to catch corrupt officials in court?
Answer:
"Tell everyone to give gifts to the Emperor."
"Those who give too little are probably corrupt."
"Those who give too much are probably corrupt."
"Investigate both groups."
"Execute the corrupt ones."
"If an official is actually innocent, throw some dirt on him first so the Emperor's reputation won't suffer."
The Emperor stared at the answer.
Then stared at the ceiling.
Then stared at the answer again.
"..."
"This is nonsense."
"..."
"But why does it sound effective?"
A dangerous thought entered his mind.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon, he had developed three anti-corruption plans, two political schemes, and one method to bankrupt half the court.
The Emperor immediately closed the answer paper.
"No."
"I refuse."
"I am not learning politics from this man."
Five minutes later, he reopened it and started copying it outright.
Next came Prime Minister Yen Pei.
The moment he received the original answer paper from emperors hand, he locked himself inside his study.
Half an hour later—
BANG!
A loud sound echoed from inside.
The servants outside panicked.
"Prime Minister!"
"Prime Minister!"
"Are you alright?!"
Yen Pei slowly opened the door.
His face looked pale.
His eyes looked shocked.
His hair seemed slightly messier than before.
One servant nervously asked,
"My lord... what happened?"
Yen Pei held up the answer paper with trembling hands.
"A bomb."
The servant became terrified.
"A bomb?!"
Yen Pei nodded.
"A bomb exploded inside my brain."
He looked at the paper again.
"Every answer is nonsense."
"Every answer is ridiculous."
"Every answer insults common sense."
He paused.
"Yet somehow..."
"..."
"..."
"...it forms a complete logical system."
The servants immediately stepped back.
They knew the Prime Minister was no longer safe to approach.
-------
The Dong Family and Dugu Family received COPIES of original answer at roughly the same time.
Both families gathered their strategists, advisors, and scholars to analyze An Jin's paper.
After several hours, they reached the same conclusion.
"It's nonsense."
"Pure nonsense."
"Utter nonsense."
The Dong Family scholar added,
"I lost ten years of my lifespan reading this."
The Dugu Family scholar nodded.
"I almost lost my balls from scratching too much."
Since neither family got the original answer paper so none were affected by Ryo's mental influence, they judged the answers more objectively.
Thus, instead of studying the paper, they investigated An Jin himself.
Within a day, a report arrived.
Name: An Jin
Birthplace: Black Iron Mountain Village
Father: Dead during the Rebellion War
Mother: Sick for many years
Background: Poor scholar
Enemies: Dong Ji
Recent Events: Driven out of the city by Dong Ji ten days before the exam
Returned: On examination day
The Dong Family frowned.
The Dugu Family frowned.
Then both frowned harder.
That background was too clean.
Too ordinary.
Too normal.
It was suspiciously normal.
But after investigating repeatedly, they found nothing else.
Eventually, they could only set the matter aside.
Meanwhile, Ryo was completely unaware that half the empire was suffering brain damage because of his answer paper.
He was walking through a street while eating roasted buns.
Suddenly—
Ding!
A familiar sound echoed inside his mind.
The System spoke.
[Congratulations, Host.]
[Mission Completed: Pass the Imperial Examination.]
[Reward Conditions Updated.]
[Remaining Missions:]
1. Obtain an Official Position.
2. Heal An Jin's Mother.
Ryo nodded.
"Hmm."
"One mission completed."
"Two remaining."
Then he thought for a moment.
"I got third place."
"Getting an official position shouldn't be difficult."
"If someone tries causing trouble..."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"...then they can discuss the matter with my illusions."
The System chose not to comment.
It had learned from experience that whenever Ryo smiled like that, someone else's life became difficult.
Very difficult.
Ryo then asked,
"System."
"Yes, Host?"
"Where is An Jin's mother?"
The System immediately replied.
"Host, An Jin's mother is currently in Black Iron Mountain Village under Qingming Town."
"If you fly northeast at approximately six degrees using your current abilities, you can arrive in less than thirty minutes."
The System paused before adding,
"Of course, if Host wishes to enjoy the scenery, you can travel by carriage."
"It will only take four days."
Ryo looked ahead silently.
Then he looked at the sky.
Then back at the road.
Then back at the sky.
The System suddenly felt uneasy.
"Host?"
Ryo did not answer.
"Host?"
Still no answer.
The System became even more nervous.
"Host, surely you aren't comparing thirty minutes to four days?"
Ryo finally spoke.
"System."
"Yes?"
"You really do ask strange questions."
The System:
"..."
A short while later, Ryo left the Imperial City.
He walked into a deserted forest.
After confirming that nobody was nearby, he stretched slightly.
Then chakra gathered in his eyes and it truned into rinnegan.
The next moment—
WHOOSH!
His figure shot into the sky.
Birds scattered in terror.
Clouds parted.
Leaves flew everywhere.
Ryo flew northeast toward Black Iron Mountain Village.
Toward An Jin's mother.
Toward the completion of his next mission.
And toward whatever chaos would inevitably follow.
Chapter End