Chapter 472
Chapter 472
Two hours later.
Madman Nan, along with ten beggars, was caught by Hamu and Muyeol while trying to climb over a wall to escape. They were all thrown before Shen Lang. Madman Nan clung to Shen Lang's leg and wailed.
“Young Master Shen, I can’t do it! I came here for a meal, not to die. We’re all wanderers of the martial world, so if you let me go today, I will never forget your great kindness!”
The sight of such a handsome middle-aged man clinging to Shen Lang's leg and sobbing made him look all the more pathetic, and Hamu looked down on him even more. Ning Zheng was also furious.
‘He kept saying he was a talent fit to rule the world, and now he’s trying to run away? What does he take me, Ning Zheng, for? He’s nothing but a wandering beggar, yet he shows no gratitude for the high regard Shen Lang and I have shown him. Does he think we’re fools?’
Ning Zheng had initially held out hope for Shen Lang’s plan, but seeing Madman Nan’s behavior, he felt it was a lost cause. Still, he didn’t want to be responsible for the deaths of eleven innocent lives. Ning Zheng spoke coldly.
“As the saying goes, ‘A melon plucked before it is ripe is not sweet.’ If you do not wish for this, I will not force you. I will go and plead your case to my Royal Father!”
Upon hearing this, Madman Nan immediately kowtowed.
“Thank you for your boundless grace, Your Highness. I will surely repay you in the future. Farewell!”
With that, he tried to flee again, but a second later, he was hoisted up by Hamu and thrown back to the ground. Shen Lang said to Madman Nan.
“Play the madman all you want. But you’re over thirty—how much time do you think you have left? Who else can you pin your hopes on?”
Madman Nan flinched but quickly resumed his shameless act, grabbing Shen Lang’s thigh and begging loudly.
“Young Master Shen, please let me go. I really can’t do it. It was all a bluff, just a way to fool people. I’ve never once made an accurate prediction when telling fortunes. I’ve read many unorthodox and frivolous books, but I’ve never had any formal schooling or training for the imperial examinations. The examinations in the capital are notoriously difficult; I probably couldn’t even pass the prefectural level, let alone place in the top three! You could kill me, and I still wouldn’t succeed. Besides, the other ten are half-crippled and have never practiced martial arts in their lives. Is it possible for them to pass the military examination in just a month and a half? Young Master Shen, are you not dreaming an impossible dream?”
Ning Zheng said, “Shen Lang, that’s enough. Is there any need for us to force them?”
Seeing Madman Nan act so despicably made him want to strike the man dead. Without another word, Shen Lang tossed him an incredibly esoteric text. It was divided into two parts, totaling several thousand characters.
“Light the incense!”
A stick of incense was lit.
“Madman Nan, you have until this stick of incense burns out to memorize all five thousand characters. If you fail, I will have you castrated. Muyeol, draw your blade!”
Muyeol wordlessly drew his scimitar and placed it over Madman Nan’s groin. In that instant, Madman Nan nearly wet himself from shock, wishing he could retract his organ into his stomach.
“Young Master Shen, please stop! You’re going to kill me!” Madman Nan pleaded.
“You don’t have much time. If you can’t memorize this before the incense burns out, you will be castrated. I always keep my word.”
At that moment, Madman Nan grabbed the text from Shen Lang and began reading at a dizzying pace. The five thousand characters were bound in a thick volume of about twenty pages, and the text was exceedingly abstruse. A stick of incense would burn out in less than half an hour. A normal person would struggle just to read it all in that time, let alone memorize it. It was an impossible task. Even a genius would need at least a full day. But then, Madman Nan entered a different state. His lips moved as he read silently, his eyes darting rapidly across the pages. With Muyeol’s blade resting on his family jewels, his entire body trembled.
***
As expected, the incense stick burned out in less than half an hour. Shen Lang snatched the twenty-page text from his hands.
“Time’s up! Recite it all. If you can’t, you will be castrated.”
Madman Nan closed his eyes and began to recite at a rapid pace.
“A discourse on cause (故). A minor cause is that which, though present, does not necessitate an effect, but without which the effect will not occur. It is a part, like the end of a branch. A major cause is that which, when present, necessitates an effect, and without which the effect will not occur. It is like seeing something and having it appear. A discourse on the part (體). It is one of two, like the end of a thread. A discourse on the faculty of knowing (知材). To know is to have the capacity to perceive things, and thus one must know them. It is like the eye’s ability to see things clearly. A discourse on deliberation (慮). Deliberation is the mind’s pursuit through its capacity for perception, though what is sought is not necessarily obtained, like glancing at something with the eyes…”
He recited with incredible speed and clarity, and in about fifteen minutes, he had flawlessly recited all five thousand characters without a single mistake. At that moment, Ning Zheng was dumbfounded.
‘Can such a genius exist in this world? To memorize five thousand characters in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.’
Next, Shen Lang gave him several arithmetic problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, with numbers of varying digits thrown out at random. No matter how difficult the problem, as soon as Shen Lang posed it, Madman Nan gave the correct answer in no more than four or five seconds. Ning Zheng was utterly astonished. Madman Nan’s talent was astounding. And Shen Lang was even more incredible for discovering a genius like him among a group of beggars.
It wasn't just Ning Zheng who was shocked; Shen Lang himself was filled with admiration. He, too, could memorize five thousand characters in half an hour, but that was because he had a computer in his brain. Madman Nan, on the other hand, possessed a truly innate photographic memory. He was truly remarkable. Shen Lang was humbled.
After reciting everything, Madman Nan looked utterly pathetic and said, “Young Master Shen… may I go relieve myself and, while I’m at it, change my trousers? I was so scared I really wet myself.”
Shen Lang waved him off. Hamu took Madman Nan away so he could wash himself and change his pants. While relieving himself, Madman Nan said to Hamu.
“Lady Hamu, you see, with a man’s tool, it’s not about the appearance or even the stamina. What’s important is the technique. Do you understand the art of using a small force to overcome a great one? I’m sure you’ve heard many rumors about me, Lady Hamu. They are all true. But my uninhibited nature is just a mask. Do you want to know the real me? You are welcome to come to my quarters in the dead of night. We can talk about our pasts and look toward our futures together!”
Hamu glanced at him with disdain and said, “Don’t waste your breath. You probably couldn’t even reach inside me.”
***
“Young Master Shen, although I am a supreme genius with a photographic memory, I truly never had a proper education. I’ve only read unorthodox texts unrelated to the examinations. Asking me to take the exam is truly out of the question. I really won’t be able to pass.”
“The civil service examination mainly tests policy essays and poetry. I have already prepared a thousand policy essays and several thousand poems. If you spend the next month or so memorizing them, you’ll have no problem with the exam.”
“Memorizing them will be useless. Isn’t the chance of them being relevant too low?”
“You’re a genius, not Jin Mucong. If you’ve memorized a thousand policy essays, are you telling me you can’t even adapt them? As they say, memorize three hundred poems, and even if you can’t compose poetry, you can certainly recite it.”
At that moment, Jin Mucong, who was diligently copying policy essays nearby, looked up at his brother-in-law.
‘Brother-in-law, why bring me into it when you’re lecturing someone else?’
In the past, Jin Mucong had used the same method to take the examination but had failed miserably. That was because he had only memorized a few dozen essays before taking the test. Now, his brother-in-law had prepared a thousand for this madman. It was infuriating.
“Madman Nan, can you memorize a thousand policy essays in a month?”
Madman Nan nodded. “I can!”
“Then after memorizing a thousand essays, can you skillfully adapt them to write an excellent policy essay on any given topic?”
“I may not be able to write a once-in-a-century masterpiece, but I can write well enough to pass the examination!”
“See? Then what’s the problem?”
Madman Nan dropped to his knees again, clutching Shen Lang’s thigh.
“Benefactor, I may be able to do it, but what about my brothers? You can’t just memorize martial arts. It’s impossible without ten years of practice.”
The military examination in the State of Yue mainly tested four disciplines: weightlifting, mounted archery, foot archery, and mounted combat. It was true that one could not succeed without a decade of practice. Shen Lang turned to Big Dummy.
“Big Dummy, have you ever learned archery?”
Big Dummy shook his head. “Nope!”
“Muyeol, place a lit candle two hundred paces from here.”
Muyeol went out and lit a candle two hundred paces from the building. Fortunately, since most of the Marquis Zhenyuan’s estate had burned down, the skeletal remains of the buildings had been cleared to create a large open space.
“Big Dummy, shoot your arrow and extinguish that candle.”
“Okay!”
Big Dummy nodded, casually picked up a bow, and fired without even seeming to aim.
*Swoosh!*
A moment later, the arrow struck the candle flame from two hundred paces away, extinguishing it. This time, it was Madman Nan who was left speechless.
‘He’s never even learned archery, yet he’s this incredible?’
“At a certain level, an innate bloodline tramples over everything else. Madman Nan, your brothers possess such a bloodline. Surely you’re not telling me you didn’t know?”
Madman Nan stared at Shen Lang in disbelief, then shook his head.
“Young Master Shen, I truly did not know.”
“You really didn’t know? Is that why you spent over a decade searching for them, gathering them one by one to keep them by your side and protect them?”
Madman Nan shook his head. “I… I don’t know anything.”
“I don’t know how many people like you there are, but you are all geniuses! People like Nan Ou and Chou Touhuan were taken in and raised by noble families, but people like you become beggars and vagrants, wasting your entire lives.”
Madman Nan wailed.
“It’s too late. Young Master Shen, it’s too late now. They’ve all been ruined. That bloodline caused deformities in their bodies. They’re all half-crippled now.”
Shen Lang stepped forward and patted Madman Nan on the shoulder.
“It might not be too late! I will think of a way! You just focus on your part. Memorize the policy essays well and prepare for the examination in a month and a half. Leave your ten brothers to me. I will find a way to activate the bloodline within them. Trust me. In a month and a half, I will have you create a miracle unprecedented in history! I will make you all shake the State of Yue to its core! I will make your glory shine for all to see!”
Madman Nan suddenly looked at Shen Lang, a flash of excited, fervent light in his eyes.
“Then what about the one person? The ten captains are gathered, but what about the commander?”
“He, too, is facing an unprecedented ordeal. If he overcomes it, he will become an invincible commander. But if he fails, he will be useless!”