Chapter 38: Stealing the Show

"Go ahead and head back!" instructed Luo Chuan, the chief of the Exorcism Bureau, to his guard.

"As you command, sir." The guard retreated respectfully.

Once the guard was out of sight, Luo Chuan picked up a document from the table and started pursuing it with mild interest.

The first thing he noticed was the scroll with Ma Qin's answers.

Ma Qin got around sixty percent right, thirty percent wrong, and left the rest of it blank.

Princess Zhao Ning, Xiao Wanjun's comment on the scroll was remarkably simple— "Read".

Luo Chuan let out a slight smile.

All of this was well within his expectations.

He understood Princess Zhao Ning, Xiao Wanjun, very well and knew she was a woman of efficiency.

Anything unworthy of her attention wouldn't be granted an extra second.

Then, Luo Chuan set aside Ma Qin's exam scroll and began to review the one belonging to Gu Xu.

His neat and elegant handwriting filled each answer line, almost identical to the standard answers. There wasn't a single flaw to be found.

Even the most obscure and challenging questions were answered in elaborate detail by Gu Xu.

Luo Chuan knew that in order to reach such a level of accuracy on this test, one had to have a thorough mastery of thousands of books.

If he wasn't a master of celestial divination, he might have suspected that Gu Xu had smuggled the answers into the examination hall.

Luo Chuan chuckled and flipped the paper over.

Princess Zhao Ning's feedback was just as brief as before, with only a single sentence—

"There's a vacancy for a senior official in my palace, I wonder if the chief is willing to part with him?"

"So, Xiao Wanjun wants to steal our people from the Exorcism Bureau?" Luo Chuan shook his head lightly, talking to himself.

The senior official, in an administrative role in a prince or princess's palace, offered guidance and corrections to the prince or princess's mistakes and commanded other bureaucrats.

It could be considered as the secretary-general or steward of a prince or princess's palace.

As the saying goes, "In front of the Prime Minister's gate, even a seventh-rank official appears important."

As Princess Zhao Ning held real power in the court, at this time, her popularity was at its peak, like the midday sun.

The senior official in her palace, though of a low rank, was almost seen as an unofficial prime minister in the eyes of the public.

Although it was unclear why Princess Zhao Ning took such interest in Gu Xu after only reading one of his scrolls...

If Gu Xu was not a practitioner from the Exorcism Bureau, but on a secular development path, becoming a senior official in the princess's palace would be like a meteoric rise for him.

"Xiaojun, later, you go to the princess's palace and relay my response to Princess Zhao Ning— 'No'," Luo Chuan turned his head and instructed Shangguan Jin by his side.

"Yes," Shangguan Jin replied immediately.

"Also, regarding Gu Xu's performance in this assessment, make sure to keep it confidential, especially from the Imperial Tutor" Luo Chuan continued, "The Imperial Tutor has been desperately looking for a talented disciple to inherit his Talisman Dao. If he discovers that we have a genius of Talisman Dao in the Exorcism Bureau, he will definitely try to poach him.

"But since Gu Xu has joined our Exorcism Bureau, he belongs to us for life. I won't allow others to take him away so easily."

Shangguan Jin nodded again and again.

She was used to seeing the chief's usually calm demeanor.

To her surprise, at this moment, he showed an unusual level of attention to the young man named Gu Xu!

This made Shangguan Jin even more curious about Gu Xu.

"I can't wait to meet this little prodigy from Yishui County!" she thought to herself.

.......

In Yishui County, at the Exorcist Bureau's office.

Today, Shi Xiaohan was once again without an assignment.

She sat alone on the railing of the corridor in the back garden of the bureau, her legs dangling in the autumn wind. Her bright apricot eyes stared at the ground, so bored that she began to count the ants.

"…One, two, three, four…ten…twenty… It's been so long, why hasn't Gu Xu come out yet... twenty-five… thirty..."

During this time, quite a few people had come over to greet her enthusiastically and tried to strike up a conversation with her.

But Shi Xiaohan remained cold and unresponsive.

She knew these people were only showing her such kindness because of her family background and her father, who served as a fifth-rank official in Laizhou.

Deep down, Shi Xiaohan harbored a sort of naive girlish sentimentality.

She hoped that those who wanted to befriend her were not attracted by her family background, wealth, or appearance, but by shared interests and intellectual companionship.

"I wonder how Gu Xu performed in today's assessment…" She silently thought to herself.

"She didn't know how Gu Xu performed in today's examination…" she silently pondered.

Although she always had great confidence in Gu Xu, his competitor, after all, had ten years of demon-slaying experience— Gu Xu might struggle in the practical aspect of the exam.

At that moment, a wave of boisterous noise erupted from the crowd in the distance.

"They're out!"

Hearing this voice, Shi Xiaohan instantly jumped up, and then pushed her way through the bustling crowd, trying to get closer to the direction of the Exorcism Bureau's main hall.

"Make way, make way!" she kept shouting.

The crowd was far too dense.

Officials from the capital, officials from the neighboring county's Exorcism Bureau, and officials from the Yishui Exorcism Bureau, were all tightly packed in this not-so-large courtyard.

This made Shi Xiaohan's hairpin, due to the repeated bumping, inadvertently fall to the ground.

But she was completely unaware of this.

At this time, she finally saw Gu Xu coming out from the Exorcism Bureau's main hall.

The young man appeared elegant with his clothes fluttering, his demeanor graceful, like an orchid in the breeze.

Even in the face of all the attention, he remained calm, with a gentle smile and peaceful eyes.

The morning sun was slowly rising.

The golden brilliance shone on him, illuminating his handsome and fair face.

At this moment, he was the center of attention, stealing the entire show.

"Ah, it would be good if I were a little taller…" in the crowd, Shi Xiaohan thought to herself quite gloomily.

Because she wasn't tall enough, even standing on her tiptoes, Shi Xiaohan could not see over the crowd in front of her to get a clear view of the scene.

Being a well-known "Heartless Ghost Slayer", a second-stage practitioner who cut down demons as if chopping vegetables, she felt a strong sense of powerlessness at this moment.

Meanwhile, Gu Xu's die-hard fan, Wang Yang, had directly climbed onto a stone stool in the courtyard and shouted to Gu Xu: "Brother Gu, how did it go?"

Gu Xu smiled gently and said, "Chief Luo asked me to wait for a bit."

"With Brother Gu's astonishing talent, a promotion is definitely a nailed-on thing. We'll all be waiting for your treat tonight!" someone in the crowd teased.

Gu Xu gave a slight smile, but didn't respond.

At this point, he turned his head and immediately noticed Shi Xiaohan in the crowd— she was standing on her tiptoes.

The petite girl had messy hair, and bright eyes, looking up with anticipation, like a fluffy little bird waiting to be fed.

"Ah, this silly girl, didn't even notice her hairpin had fallen." Gu Xu shook his head slightly, making a quiet comment.

Then he walked directly towards where Shi Xiaohan was.

The crowd dispersed to the sides, making a way for him.

He bent down, picked up the fallen hairpin from the ground, and wiped off the dust with his handkerchief.

"Don't move." he said softly.

"Okay." Shi Xiaohan stood still, not moving an inch, her gaze completely focused on him.

He carefully pinned the hairpin back into her hair.

Her black hair was giving off a faint fragrance.

"Okay," he smiled gently, "you fixed my headscarf, and I fixed your hairpin. We're even now, neither of us owes the other anything."

"No, you still owe me several meals!" Shi Xiaohan furrowed her eyebrows slightly.

She seemed to transform from a cute and naive little bird into a fiercely adorable little creature.

"I'll repay you, I'll repay you."