In the inn, there was a sudden silence.

Wei Yuan clutched the small basket, tears almost rolling down from his eyes.

The man with the full beard opened his mouth several times, yet held back his words.

Finally, the man with long narrow eyes reached out, pushed the book "Great Li's Splendor Record" in the bearded man's hand, and said with a smile, "Brother, do you believe that after this autumn examination, many names in the Great Li's Splendor Record will be rewritten?"

The bearded man gritted his teeth and said, "I don't know about others, but I'm sure that after the autumn examination, Master Chen's ranking will certainly climb higher."

The man with long narrow eyes nodded, "Naturally, Master Chen's magical skills are profound. After becoming a scholar, his combat power will inevitably enhance, and his ranking will naturally continue to rise."

Bearded man: ...

The onlookers: ...

For some reason, even though this man was praising Chen Xu, everyone felt inexplicably stifled listening to it.

The man with long narrow eyes stood up with a smile, glanced at the crowd, and finally said, "Enough, just joining in the fun.

Gentlemen, when we evaluate things, we mustn't just look at a list or listen to a few rumors. We must consider many factors and analyze the essence.

Only then can we avoid blindly following others and truly see things clearly."

He laughed, stepped away from the crowd,

And politely walked out of the inn's main hall to the large door, seemingly about to leave.

However, unexpectedly, the ground at the entrance silently bulged with a small earth spike. The timing of the small spike was extremely clever. Just as the man with long narrow eyes was about to step, it suddenly sprang upwards.

Bam!

Caught off guard, the man with long narrow eyes felt a sharp pain in his toe, as if he had inexplicably kicked something.

He wanted to employ his skills to maintain balance, but the intense pain in his toe was electric, instantly stabbing every nerve in his body as if real and unreal.

The man with long narrow eyes screamed in pain, unable to react and losing control, he lunged forward and fell heavily to the ground.

"Ouch, so painful!" he shouted.

"Pfft!" Inside the inn, uncontrollable laughter echoed.

Only the waiter, holding back his laughter, ran over, helping him while comforting, "Dear guest, what happened to you? Get up, get up, are you alright?"

The man with long narrow eyes said angrily, "There is something on the ground making the path uneven. How can one run a business like this? You can't even maintain the floor properly, call your shopkeeper..."

Ha, such arrogance, the waiter was displeased.

He immediately chuckled coldly and released his hand, looking at the ground and saying loudly:

"Uneven path? Dear guests, judge for yourselves, look at this floor, where is it uneven? Clearly, it's all stone tiles, completely flat, isn't it?

Ha, some people are blind and just have to blame the road for being uneven.

Though I'm just a waiter, I can't bear such grievances. Call him, go ahead and call our shopkeeper!

Let this gentleman know that our inn is backed by someone with the surname Gao.

This guest, with his shameless accusations, intends to blackmail or what?

See for yourself, if our shopkeeper really comes, this matter won't be easy to settle."

The waiter's sharp words indeed infuriated the man with long narrow eyes, he insisted he had kicked something, but a glance at the floor revealed smooth stone tiles.

There was no hint of a bump to be seen.

Not to mention a bump, there wasn't even a speck of debris.

One could see how immaculately the floor was cleaned, to say it was as clean as a mirror wouldn't be an exaggeration.

In the inn, everyone's gaze also landed on the floor at the entrance. Without waiting for the man with long narrow eyes to speak further, everyone started shouting:

"This person really must have a problem with his eyes, he clearly fell by accident, yet he blames the floor for not being flat.

How much flatter can this floor get?

Are we supposed to lay a carpet on the ground so the gentleman can walk comfortably?"

The remark sparked another round of laughter.

The man with long narrow eyes on the floor was too embarrassed to stay, hurriedly getting up and pointing at the crowd ——

He left with anger on his face, holding back his pain and quickly walking away.

As soon as he left, the crowd burst into laughter again.

Amidst the laughter, some couldn't resist adding a few jibes: "This guy sure made a show of himself, talking big and acting knowledgable.

Hey, in the end, it turned out to be nothing.

Just a pompous paper tiger!"

Listeners laughed, and someone echoed, "Exactly, just so so. Hahaha..."

In the midst of laughter, no one noticed that in Chen Xu's small basket, a little hedgehog meekly shrunk its little hand.

But after a moment of contrition, listening to the crowd mocking the earlier man with long narrow eyes, the little hedgehog raised its head again.

Ahem, it wasn't up to any mischief.

It was expressing itself, seeking emotional release.

Chen Xu smiled slightly, just reaching out to gently tap the little hedgehog's forehead.

Wei Yuan quickly poked his head out of the basket and said softly to Chen Xu, "Brother Chen, I believe in you. No matter how strong the opponents in this autumn examination are, I believe you'll be the one to top the list."

Chen Xu whispered, "Thank you, Ah Yuan. The opponents are indeed very formidable, this journey, I'll probably have to borrow your books to read more.

As the saying goes, sharpening your skills just before battle is better than not sharpening."

Wei Yuan hurriedly said, "Brother Chen, it's not about last-minute sharpening, it's about steadily building up strength. But there's no need to borrow my books, read whatever you want!

Whatever you like, as long as I have it."

His words were firm and passionate.

Chen Xu smiled again.

Yet no one knew, after the man with long narrow eyes left the inn, an invisible shadow silently followed him.

This unseen figure was naturally Chen Xu's Puppet Daoist Soldier.

Because he saw this man indeed had great insight, different from ordinary city folks, Chen Xu had the Daoist Soldier silently follow him for a while.

During the following, he saw this person first furrow his brows in anger, then repeatedly exhibited a look of confusion, then later shook his head vigorously—

Finally, he entered a large mansion through a small side door.

When he entered, the gatekeeper familiarly greeted him, "Uncle Dayan, have you returned from a walk?"

The man named Dayan with long narrow eyes waved absentmindedly and said no more.

Until he entered the courtyard, twisting and turning.

Dayan entered an elegantly arranged courtyard, where he met a middle-aged man dressed as a steward under the veranda of the courtyard.

The man named Dayan with long narrow eyes waved absentmindedly and said no more.

Until he entered the courtyard, twisting and turning.

Dayan entered an elegantly arranged courtyard, where he met a middle-aged man dressed as a steward under the veranda of the courtyard.

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