Every time he heard about the scholar’s exam, Brian Carter would always feel a surge of indescribable emotion deep inside. Although he had long accepted this as reality, he still couldn’t ignore the strangeness that arose from the collision of two sets of common sense.

That’s right—in this world, all sorts of anomalies that once existed only in strange tales and legends had become commonplace phenomena. They were by no means confined to some remote mountain hollow, tomb, or desolate wilderness, but instead had a real impact on every aspect of people’s lives. To deal with these sinister events, each dynasty established a Privy Council, selecting relevant talents to safeguard the peace of their regions.

And the method of selection was a public examination. Anyone admitted would become a fangshi—not only gaining official status, but also enjoying the same treatment as regular officials. Over time, the scholar’s exam gradually became the third largest national exam after the civil and military exams. Moreover, since the Privy Council was not part of the Six Ministries but was instead under the direct control of His Majesty the Emperor, its influence in recent years had already surpassed that of the military exam.

Like the civil exam, the scholar’s exam was also held once every three years, but its format was not a multi-stage selection divided into autumn and spring sessions—anyone interested could apply and register before the summer exam, and passing the identity check was enough to qualify. The exam usually lasted several days, after which the results would be determined.

According to what Brian Carter had heard before, the admission rate for the scholar’s exam was about fifty percent, seemingly much more lenient than the civil exam. But considering the responsibilities of a fangshi, this was reasonable. After all, far fewer people took the scholar’s exam than the civil exam, and it was only held once every three years. If the requirements were raised any higher, the Privy Council would inevitably face a shortage of personnel, which would in turn affect the safety of various regions.

Still, there were always distinctions in exam results. Fangshi who barely passed, even if they gained official status, would not be assigned to good places. The problem was, even if civil officials were sent to poor regions, at worst their lives would just be a bit more frugal, and with time and experience, they might eventually rise up. But the Privy Council was different—no one could avoid dealing with all kinds of anomalies, and it wouldn’t be surprising if someone died in the line of duty.

With this difference, it was no wonder William Grant was worried about his ranking.

“The scholar’s exam is voluntary. If you don’t sign up, you wouldn’t have these troubles,” Brian Carter said indifferently. The other party clearly wasn’t the type who needed to take risks—he always had some spare money in his pocket, could afford to eat out from time to time, and could live quite comfortably even without being an official. There was no need for him to take such chances.

“Don’t laugh at me, brother. I was forced here by my father,” William Grant said with a helpless grin. “He said that no matter how successful you are in business, you’re still just a merchant, and compared to a proper official, that’s a world of difference! He also said that if I didn’t come, I’d be letting down my ancestors, letting down the talent bestowed by heaven, and even the rice I eat. Of course, the main reason is still that whip in his hand…”

Brian Carter couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. “You’re not the eldest son in your family, are you?”

“You can tell?” William Grant took a gloomy sip of tea. “My father has three sons and two daughters. I’m the second.”

So he really was a biological child.

But his own situation wasn’t much better—during his stay in Fenghua County, his master not only lost all their travel funds, but in an attempt to quickly recover the losses, gambled away another sum of silver, almost losing himself in the process. Now his master was being held at the gambling house, waiting for him to pass the scholar’s exam, collect his salary, and go back to ransom him. It was as humiliating as it could get.

If it weren’t for the fact that his cheap master had taken in an orphan like him and cared for him for over ten years, Brian Carter would have long since left him behind.

He shook his head, temporarily pushing aside these unpleasant memories, and decided to get straight to the point. “You invited me for tea—what is it you want to discuss?”

“Eh? Oh, nothing much…” William Grant was momentarily stunned, then scratched his head and said, “I just thought, since we’re both from Fenghua County, maybe we could look out for each other. If you run into trouble, I could help out a bit.”

“That’s all?” Brian Carter asked calmly.

“Of course, I have no other intentions.” After being stared at for a moment, William Grant coughed twice. “Alright, if we could help each other out in the upcoming scholar’s exam, that would be even better. Naturally, only within the rules—I absolutely have no intention of bribing you with a bowl of tea!”

“You mean… cooperation?”

“Yes, cooperation.” William Grant nodded repeatedly. “I think this scholar’s exam is quite different from the other two. Maybe working together doesn’t count as cheating.”

“And why do you think that?” Brian Carter slowly sipped his tea.

“Take the autumn exam, for example. When you enter the exam hall, you’re searched from head to toe, and once inside, there are partitions. After entering, you’re not allowed to make noise, let alone talk to anyone. In fact, even going to the restroom requires an invigilator to accompany you. But look at this place—” William Grant glanced around the teahouse, “we’re already inside the exam venue, yet we’re allowed to chat freely, even eat and talk at the same time!”