The Welcome Party
A modest welcome gathering was held. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure it counted as a welcome party—it was just us heading to a nearby tavern for a meal.
“Do you usually throw welcome parties like this?”
“W-well, I wouldn’t know? I was the last one to join, and there was nothing like this back then.”
Xu Shu made no effort to hide how reluctantly she’d been dragged along. Shi Tao, meanwhile, was already drooling over a fried sparrow she’d been craving for ages, clutching it in one hand.
“Wonjik and I both came from poor families, so we never had the means to host anything like a welcome party. But Young Master Ho said he’d treat us, right?”
“I never said I’d treat anyone—you two just decided that on your own… Anyway, since we’re here, dig in and enjoy.”
As a wanderer myself, my income wasn’t exactly stellar. But when I left Chen State, Liu Eun had slipped me a generous travel fund, so my purse was heavier than it had ever been.
“But… how did Young Master Ho end up as an auditor student? I talked it over with Guangyuan on the way here, and she said this has never happened before.”
I needed a moment to organize my thoughts before answering Xu Shu’s question. Knowing Chen Shen’s personality, he wouldn’t want it known that I’d secured my auditing privileges through means other than scholarship.
“I just rolled around on the ground begging him to take me as a disciple. I heard Chen Shen was seriously ill recently and made a dramatic recovery? When people escape the fear of death, they tend to do things they never would have before, right?”
“I-is that so?”
“Young Master Ho’s probably right. Wonjik knelt in front of the main gate for five days without eating or drinking just to become a disciple.”
Here Shi Tao spilled the details of Xu Shu’s admission process. Xu Shu flushed with embarrassment.
“As Guangyuan said, I half-begged Master even though I wasn’t qualified. He probably thought I’d give up after three days, but by the fifth he changed his mind, worried I might collapse.”
“There’s no way he accepted you for just that. He must have seen potential in you, Wonjik.”
“W-why would you think that? Master only showed me kindness, and I constantly worry him because I can’t keep up with the other students…”
“You think kids who roll around begging like you and me are rare? The others got turned away at the door without even getting auditing privileges, and the only one who earned disciple status was you, Wonjik. So you can have a little confidence in yourself.”
“…”
Xu Shu was left speechless, as if she’d never considered that angle. No one had ever told her such a thing before.
With Intelligence and Political Power only in the fifties, she was the academy’s underachiever, lagging far behind even Shi Tao beside her. But I was the only one who knew how she would grow in the future.
The truly impressive one here was Chen Shen. As expected of someone who’d raised countless talents—even without being able to see stats, he’d instantly recognized Xu Shu’s potential.
“What’s with this atmosphere… Like I said earlier, Wonjik already has someone, Young Master Ho? Focus on me!”
Shi Tao raised her voice, sulking just because I’d praised Xu Shu a little. Couldn’t she at least wipe the sparrow grease off her lips before saying that?
Nibble, nibble…
But Xu Shu seemed to have taken my words to heart. Unlike earlier when she’d been wary, she now lifted the fried sparrow with both hands and started eating, a slight smile curling her lips.
A sudden question occurred to me. Suppose Chen Shen and I were right, and she did have latent potential.
How was I supposed to unlock it? Wouldn’t I eventually have to seek out Sima Hui?
Even after lunch we still didn’t return to the academy. Shi Tao insisted on a walk and dragged me by the hand, so we ended up strolling along the riverbank.
“By the way, Wonjik? What did you mean earlier when you said Fengxiao doesn’t come to the academy much?”
“That? It’s not like she’s off doing something else. Fengxiao’s abilities are so outstanding that people from all over seek her out. Lately she’s been going to the Grand Administrator’s office to help calculate the collection and distribution of military grain. The Grand Administrator has sent his thanks several times, so Master doesn’t say anything about it.”
So Guo Jia, unable to contain her overflowing talent, was serving as a guest retainer for Yi Min, Grand Administrator of Yingchuan? Looking at her image alone, she didn’t seem the type to quietly recite classics at the academy anyway.
“Tch… It’s all just an excuse. She’s just trying to get in good with the Grand Administrator to snag the next recommendation right, isn’t she?”
“Recommendation right?”
Here Shi Tao offered a different theory. Xu Shu immediately picked up and explained.
“She’s talking about the Filial and Incorrupt recommendation. Actually, for the past few years Master’s disciples have been recommended one after another and gone to serve in the court. Then at the end of last year the Grand Administrator changed, and Fengxiao started going to the office right around then.”
I understood. In the Later Han, without civil service exams, appointments were made through the local selection and recommendation system.
Each commandery’s Grand Administrator or Chancellor recommended one person per year as Filial and Incorrupt; they would first build experience at court, then be sent back to the provinces. Yuan Huan had entered service that way.
“Don’t mind Guangyuan’s baseless talk. I don’t know much about the new Grand Administrator, but he’s someone who raised troops against Dong Zhuo out of respect for the law, so he wouldn’t use the recommendation right for personal feelings.”
“Hmm… I don’t think so. Think about it. As I just said, the local officials have rebelled against Dong Zhuo, completely severing the connection between the court and the commanderies. In that situation, would the old recommendation system still work?”
“…?”
Xu Shu and Shi Tao looked at each other in confusion. But I was right.
Yi Min himself had raised the banner of rebellion against the court—why would Dong Zhuo ever employ a talent recommended by such a man?
Conversely, any officials Dong Zhuo sent would be rejected by the local governors. In other words, the traditional local selection system had completely collapsed.
“From now on, each local official will normalize the practice of independent appointment—hiring officials directly within their own offices. They’ll submit a memorial to the Emperor as a formality, then later claim they’ll seek permission once Dong Zhuo falls—a self-serving legal interpretation.”
“I-I’ve never thought of that.”
“See! Guo Jia may be many things, but she’s good at reading the future, right? She knew this would happen and is currying favor with the Grand Administrator in advance!”
As Shi Tao said, it was fair to see Guo Jia as lining up early because she wanted an official post under Yi Min. But something felt off.
I’d never heard that Guo Jia started her career under Yi Min.
Hyah! Hyah!
Just then a group of riders came galloping from afar, kicking up a cloud of dust. Shi Tao’s eyes widened, and she pointed.
“Isn’t that Young Master Zhongli?”
“…?”
Young Master Zhongli—wasn’t he the academy’s sole male student, the only one among the pure white flowers? I turned to check the approaching group.
Two men and three women. Judging by their fine silk clothes and fine steeds, they were children of fairly wealthy families.
The one in the lead was a handsome young noble, not quite on Yuan Shao’s level but still quite dashing. He alone wore a feathered head ornament that made him stand out—so that must be Zhongli Su.
Neigh!!
The riders reined in right in front of us. Cough, cough… All that dust went straight into my mouth.
“Wonjik! I thought you’d be resting after dinner at the academy—what are you doing out here?”
“I told the dining hall I’d eat outside just for today. After that we went for a short walk…”
“What’s this, Young Master Zhongli! You only see Wonjik and not me?”
Shi Tao scolded Zhongli Su for acknowledging only Xu Shu before she’d even finished speaking. Zhongli Su laughed heartily and patted her head.
“Haha! Sorry. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Wonjik outside that I got carried away. But… is this person with you?”
Only then did he notice me brushing off the dust. Xu Shu promptly introduced me.
“This is Ho Ji, whom Master accepted as an auditor student today.”
“Auditor student…? I’ve studied under Master for several years and never heard of an auditor system. You there—where did you come from and what have you been doing?”
“Henei. Wandering self-cultivation.”
“…”
The guy I’d never met started speaking casually without so much as a greeting, so I answered the same way. Zhongli Su and his group were left speechless for a moment, as if wondering what kind of person this was.
“I heard the academy’s been in rough shape lately—is Master Chen accepting patronage or something? For a self-cultivating wanderer, those clothes look pretty high-quality.”
The man beside him spoke. Liu Eun had given me the silk clothes saying I’d be looked down on if I looked shabby—and he’d noticed.
“Please don’t say such things, Young Master Li. Master does not accept patronage.”
Xu Shu responded with a hint of anger at the tone that seemed to mock Chen Shen. But the man just laughed as if even that was amusing.
“Haha! I was just joking—why so sensitive? Su, your girlfriend’s got quite a temper, doesn’t she?”
“She’s not my girlfriend. ‘Not yet’…”
Zhongli Su revealed his relationship with Xu Shu with a sly smile. Xu Shu’s ears turned bright red as she tried to retort, but since he hadn’t actually called her his girlfriend right now, she had nothing to say.
“Were you having a welcome party or something? You should’ve called me. If I’d ordered the servants, setting up a drinking table would’ve been no problem.”
“We have class tomorrow—drinking? We just had a light meal and were walking it off.”
“So you’re heading back right away? Meaning you won’t be sticking with that guy anymore?”
“I-I suppose so?”
Not a boyfriend, huh? Yet Zhongli Su was already half-threatening as if he owned her, and Xu Shu couldn’t say a word, as if he had something on her.
“I was about to head in anyway. See you in class tomorrow.”
“Right. Best to get a good look at what kind of guy he is first.”
Zhongli Su made no effort to hide his hostility toward someone he’d just met. He spat as if he’d stepped in dung on the road, then mounted up and rode off with his group.
“Shi Tao? Who were those people earlier? Wonjik called the man with her ‘Young Master Li’?”
“That’s Li Xian, son of Li Chan who runs an academy in Xu County just like our Master. His grandfather Li Ying served as Inspector and General, and his great-great-grandfather Li Shu even held one of the Three Excellencies.”
Not quite on the level of the Chen clan, known as the Three Chens, but still a scholar family with considerable pedigree. So a kind of rival?
“He’s been close to Young Master Zhongli’s family since childhood, so he originally planned to go to their academy. But of course it was a step below our Master, so he came here instead.”
“Well, no need to turn down a free opportunity that rolls your way. Are the girls with them students from that academy?”
“I don’t know about the others, but the one in red is Du Xi—she’s pretty well-known. She came with me when I tried to become Master’s disciple, but she failed and only I got in.”
Shi Tao casually bragged that she was better than Du Xi. But if it was “Du Xi,” she was a fairly famous figure who appeared in the histories and the game.
The other two women were probably Zhao Yan and Fan Qin, who always went around as a set. In fact, they were excellent talents with both Intelligence and Political Power over seventy.
It was just that Chen Shen’s academy was ridiculously overpowered.
Anyway, with this I’d met every student except Guo Jia. Time to head back to the academy.
Tap… tap…
We returned to the academy. Xu Shu and Shi Tao prepared a place for me to sleep in a corner of the storehouse and even laid out a straw mat for comfort.
The sun had fully set and darkness had fallen. I stepped out of the storehouse to see them off.
“Thanks, both of you. So you sleep in the dormitory?”
“If you pass the lecture hall and go through the garden, you’ll find it. If anything happens, come knock on the door.”
“You can come visit anytime even if nothing’s wrong, Young Master Ho. I always have free time.”
The temperature difference was like looking at Sima Lang and Shang Lin. Of course, unlike Sima Lang, Xu Shu seemed to have a man spreading romantic rumors about her.
But something felt odd. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert on male-female relations, but Xu Shu’s behavior toward Zhongli Su went beyond simple shyness.
It was reluctant acceptance. Even if Zhongli Su openly flirted in front of others, she lacked the confidence to dare refuse him.
What on earth was the reason?
“Huh? A ghost!?”
But that wasn’t the problem. There was a ghost right in front of my eyes!
“Kyaa! What are you talking about, Young Master Ho!?”
Shi Tao seized the opportunity and clung to me, squeezing her eyes shut. Xu Shu also turned her head in shock.
It was a truly supernatural phenomenon. In the silent darkness, a woman’s head floated alone—a scene more spine-chilling than anything I’d seen in any horror movie.
And that head was bizarre beyond measure. I’d seen a few pale-skinned women, and Xiahou Yuan, whom Yu Xia had nicknamed “Snow,” was the same.
But this woman wasn’t just pale—she had the bloodless pallor of a corpse. On top of that, her makeup was so heavy that the intense complementary contrast of red and white made my eyes spin.
“Fengxiao…?”
“Huh? Guo Jia?”
I knew she died young, but she still had a long way to go before dying. Why had she appeared as a headless virgin ghost before even entering service?
Stagger… stagger…
Whatever it was—Guo Jia or just Guo Jia’s head—began slowly approaching. Even her gait was unnatural, like an infected zombie.
Thud…
But when she came right up to us, I could finally tell she was a living person. This girl had just been wearing pitch-black robes in the already dark night, so only her head was visible.
“Hehehe… Who are you?”
Even her voice was half-hoarse, doubling the terror. Better a ghost than a living person acting like this—it was scarier.
“This is Ho Ji, the new auditor student. You’ll be studying together starting tomorrow.”
Xu Shu introduced me briefly. Guo Jia tilted her head at the words “auditor student.”
“Why take on some auditor at a time like this… Don’t tell me you came aiming for a recommendation?”
“Ah… me? I only heard about recommendations for the first time today after coming here.”
“Is that so? Do you have any ambition for a recommendation?”
“…”
Was it the eerie atmosphere? Despite the heaven-and-earth difference in Intelligence, I sensed that answering “yes” to that question would cause a huge incident.
“None at all. Someone like me, a recommendation? What recommendation?”
“Hehehe… Good. When shall we have a drink? Just you and me, the two of us.”
“…”
This time, regardless of yes or no, I simply didn’t want to answer. But Guo Jia turned away before even hearing a reply.
Then she staggered off again… using her unique zombie-like gait back toward the dormitory.
“Th-this is a bit different from what I expected? I’m not the only one who finds this weird, right?”
“I was a little scared the first time I saw her too. But she’s not a bad person.”
Xu Shu reassured me not to worry. Well, I’d just been a bit startled by the sudden culture shock—I knew better than to judge people by appearances alone.
“But how should I put it… It’s pretty late right now, isn’t it? Does she really need to wander around in black clothes with that makeup?”
Xu Shu and Shi Tao would also need to wash their feet and get ready for bed once they returned to the dorm. So what had Guo Jia been doing to end up looking like that? Shi Tao answered.
“She probably came from the office? She thinks she’s being polite, but honestly I think it’s really not a good look. She was much prettier last year when she dressed simply—why is she like this?”
“She wasn’t originally like this? Why the sudden change?”
“To be precise, she went completely off the rails after ‘that incident’?”
“What incident?”
“Like I said earlier, our academy monopolized the Filial and Incorrupt recommendations for the past few years, right? Last year Fengxiao thought it was finally her turn, but she got pushed aside by ‘that person’ and it must have been a shock. She didn’t come to the academy for several days, and when she reappeared she was dressed just like that.”
I see. Guo Jia, true to her top-tier talent, had aimed for the Filial and Incorrupt recommendation, but after being beaten by a rival she despaired of her situation and turned dark.
Let’s see. Who could have pushed Guo Jia aside and taken that spot?
Given the timing, the person recommended last year would definitely be…
“Who else? Xun Wenruo—Xun Yu.”
“…”
I understood at once.