"I spit," Samuel Thompson said, "Today I can complete a full cycle of qi. You better catch up soon—if the two of us can go cultivate immortality, we won't have to suffer this damn hardship anymore."

Henry Thompson sighed and said, "Easier said than done."

A month without rain—Fujian, Guangdong, Guizhou, scorched earth stretching for thousands of miles, and it looked like another year of famine. Who knew how many young men like these two brothers were hoping to pass the Shangling exam by luck, to escape the mortal world and live the life of immortals.

As the sun reached its zenith, Samuel Thompson said, "Let's go find The Carter Brothers for lunch."

—Of course, there was no food at The Carter Brothers's house; they had to bring it themselves. It had been like this every day for the past two months.

When they arrived, Evan Carter was practicing swordplay under a tree.

A three-foot poplar branch, swirling into a slanted sword flower. The two brothers watched from outside the door for a long time, but it was just the most basic five moves: point, thrust, chop, hack, and lift—no new sword techniques to be seen.

—In truth, it wasn't that Evan Carter was unwilling to practice other moves; this little fool's body was simply too frail. After two months of regular meals and water, there was still no improvement. Even swinging a tree branch left him gasping for breath, let alone practicing complex sword techniques.

He felt a bit dizzy, and just as Henry Thompson and Samuel Thompson came looking for him, he put down the branch and went back inside.

These days, the two brothers often came to see him. Sometimes they asked about qi flow or acupuncture points, sometimes they just came to play—come to think of it, this was the first time anyone had ever come to play with him.

In his previous life, when he was six or seven, he saw other kids with friends and felt envious, wishing for one or two playmates. But it never went beyond wishing. For as long as he could remember, he had followed his master—supposedly, his master had taken him from an orphanage. As for how this old man, who insisted on keeping long hair and wearing a Daoist robe in modern society, managed to adopt a child, Evan Carter could never figure out. So he always believed the old man had stolen him from the orphanage.

After being "stolen," from a very young age, he started memorizing sword manuals and learning cultivation techniques. The things other kids talked about... he didn't understand at all. He hadn't even seen a television. So he didn't know how to talk to people around him, or what to say. Kids always played in groups—if you didn't have friends at the start, you never would.

Later, after graduating elementary school and entering middle school, he could finally just about keep up with modern life, but by then he was already so withdrawn that he no longer wanted to interact with people. Over time, he became very good at talking to himself, but turned mute in front of others.

Here, life in the village was simple and monotonous. The two brothers were honest and cheerful, always laughing and joking in front of him. Gradually, he got used to them. As long as they didn't get too close physically, Evan Carter could get along with them just fine. It was a rare experience.

A few more peaceful days passed, and soon it was time for the Shangling exam.

The auntie sent the three of them to the village entrance and said to Henry Thompson and Samuel Thompson, "You two little rascals, I don't care how you do on the exam, but don't you dare lose Little Evan!"

Samuel Thompson grinned and said, "Don't worry, Ma, we'll keep a good hold on him!"

Evan Carter watched this scene and thought for a moment. He'd never gotten lost before, so he didn't know why he gave the auntie the impression of being easy to lose. He felt a bit bewildered: "......"

The auntie turned her gaze to Evan Carter, looking very worried. "Look at you! Always with that 'nothing gets through to me' look! Of course you'll get lost the moment I let go!"

"He's listening!" Samuel Thompson defended him. "He just doesn't know how to make expressions, so he looks a bit dazed!"

The auntie spat, then walked a few steps ahead and said to Evan Carter, "Stay close!"

Being too close made Evan Carter a bit stiff, but he nodded silently.

Only then was the auntie satisfied. She waved her hand and let them go.

Ning'an Prefecture was a small county; from the southern outskirts to the city center was only a dozen or so li. They each rode a gray donkey, walking side by side along the dirt road. Evan Carter had an extra bamboo hat—this was something the auntie had specially prepared, knowing he was in poor health and afraid he'd faint from the sun.

As Evan Carter rode along on the donkey, he looked at the scenery by the roadside.

When they first entered the city, the streets and alleys on both sides were sparse, the houses low and old, mostly ramshackle wooden and mud buildings—not very bustling. After passing through a paifang archway and entering the inner city, they finally saw some imposing government offices, and shops gradually appeared along the street, selling melons, fruits, and snacks, with vendors shouting back and forth, creating quite a lively scene.

As they neared the exam site, the place was truly bustling with people and traffic, the noise of the crowd deafening. The exam site was actually a large open square, dozens of zhang across, paved with blue bricks.

Looking over the sea of heads, Evan Carter saw a tall bamboo pole standing ahead, with a blue banner hanging high, bearing the large characters "Shangling Exam." The participants sat on the ground around the bamboo pole, using it as the center.

Samuel Thompson: "This is really shabby."

Henry Thompson nodded.

Evan Carter agreed as well.