Lu Anran took a moment to take a look. He saw that the man had thin eyebrows and long eyes. He was somewhat handsome, but the anger between his eyebrows was quite strong, which ruined his handsomeness.

He plays with the fan and pretends to be elegant, but elegance cannot be faked.

For example, Yun Qi, even if he is not holding a jade bone fan, his actions, raised eyebrows and chuckles have a charm of their own.

Some people can't pretend no matter how hard they pretend, like the person in front of me.

"Oh, it's so early, come on, come on, make way, make way, brother, can you hold a seat for me here?" Another voice sounded, smiling and familiar.

Lu Anran glanced over with his peripheral vision, and saw a cyan shadow in the middle of the crowd, which jumped out unusually.

—

From Maozheng Station to Chenshi, I gradually became tired, showing some impatience, and more of a confusion.

"It's been more than an hour, why haven't you seen anyone from Jixia Palace?"

"The admission notice said that we will gather here at the beginning of the year, but nothing else was said."

"At least come here and give me some explanation."

"Just wait a little longer."

…

They are all a group of nobles, and it is rare for them to be treated coldly. What's more, this group of people have been treated coldly together for the first time in history.

But facing Jixia Palace, no matter how many complaints there are, they can only be suppressed.

However, someone soon found the target of the ridicule, pointed to the other side of the mountain and said: "Hey, look at them, aren't they also planning to enter Jixia Palace? Do they have admission stickers, hahaha——"

The mountain breeze blew through the forest, rustling the music. The heavy shadow in the mountains fell on the group of lonely students, half-shaded and half-dark.

Suddenly being mentioned, many people's faces showed some embarrassment and embarrassment. Some of them straightened their chests, like pine and cypress, proud of frost and snow, seeing that they were fresh and elegant, and their character was not diminished.

"If you dream of rising to the top, a chicken will turn into a phoenix, dream faster."

"You can't say that. Jixia Palace pays attention to fairness in recruiting students. There are also students from poor families. I don't know how much they weigh."

"Brother is right. It's boring anyway, so it's good to watch a joke."

Among the many voices, only the jumping green shadow waved towards the opposite side and praised: "My husband must have high ambitions and dare to be the first in the world."

The man waving the fan looked down upon this with great disdain: "Hey, it's just nonsense."

"Eh? Brother, where did the word 'blind trick' come from?" The two of them were seven or eight years apart. The man's ears were good, so he turned this way and said.

Lu Anran saw clearly that this man had red lips and white teeth, as bright as a jade tree, and as bright as the morning sun. He made a fist salute to others, with a solemn smile and a clear and cheerful expression.

The man swinging the fan raised his eyes for a moment, not looking at the other person, "Everyone knows that 'the first is kindness, the second is frugality, and the third is not daring to be the first for the world.' Don't you think the word 'no' makes you uncomfortable?"

Lost."

The green shadow swayed slightly, took two steps forward, and said with a laugh: "How dare I ask my brother, 'Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, three gives birth to all things.' One is inaction, the second is action, and the third is virtue.

The four are the world. Is it inaction or action? Virtue comes first, or does the world come first?"

The man waving the fan was choked, his face twitched, he threw his sleeves and hummed: "You talk nonsense, I don't know what to say!"

The man in green wasn't angry either, he was still laughing and joking. No matter who he met, he would quickly become friendly with them.

At about the same time, a person walked out from the mountainside and saw the situation below, but the people below suddenly didn't realize it.

‘Dong——’ is long, simple, magnificent, and Xiao Su.

As the bell rang, everyone immediately shut up and became silent, only to realize that there was someone standing above them.

The visitor was dressed in a white shirt, hunting in the wind, looking like an expert from outside the world, with a touch of immortality.

Lu Anran raised his head, unable to see his face clearly, when he heard the man say: "The assessment begins!"

Until the people left, the students below still stood there inexplicably.

If the content of the assessment is not even mentioned, how can we assess it?

Besides, they have all received admission stamps, so why do they need to take assessments?

The disciple who was the first to ridicule the poor students even threatened to say: "Shouldn't the people who are being assessed be those poor people who have settled down? It has nothing to do with us."

Lu Anran looked up at the towering mountain, lowered his eyes and thought for a few breaths, then took steps and started walking up.

Everyone saw this woman's behavior and looked at each other, wondering what she wanted to do.

At this time, a burst of horse hooves came through the ground, and when they reached the crowd gathering place, they were strangled and raised their necks high, making a long and high neighing sound.

A woman in purple clothes jumped down from the horse, wearing gold embroidered boots, a purple skirt with scattered flowers, and a brocade-trimmed fur cloak. She was neatly dressed and not lacking in nobility. She raised her chin and swept the audience away, her eyes full of arrogance.

"Princess Ding'an, Princess Ding'an."

"Why is she here too?"

Except for a few people in the palace, Princess Ding'an is definitely the most noble person in the world. Even the concubines who are not of high rank can't compare with her. Logically speaking, she doesn't need to come here.

When Princess Ding'an saw that no one was moving, a trace of satisfaction appeared on her face, and she said with great arrogance: "They are all here? No one is going up the mountain, right?"

"Zi Sangyan, why don't you go through the back door and come here to enjoy the wild wind?" Qingying jumped out again.

Princess Ding'an glanced sideways, with a flash of disgust in her eyes, "Su Zhi, if you don't speak, no one will think you are mute."

"If you have a long mouth, you just have to say it, haha."

Only then did the others realize that the cheerful green figure dancing around turned out to be the second son of Su Guogong's family, Su Zhi.

Someone hurriedly said flatteringly: "Princess, there is a woman who went up the mountain just when you came here."

Princess Ding'an's brows jumped, she grabbed her horsewhip and threw it to the ground fiercely, saying, "It's all my father's fault!" She walked briskly up the mountain.

The others looked at each other again, what is going on?

Someone saw the door and said: "Go up the mountain first?"

"That's right! Isn't Jixia Palace just on the mountain?" It's useless for them to waste time here.

Su Zhi touched his chin and said to himself: "Hmm? Assessment? Is this what you mean?"

The group of people suddenly dispersed, rushing forward in a hurry.

—

Lu Anran walked very slowly, step by step very steady, but it always felt like the sky was high and the mountains were far away, and he could never reach the end.

There are dense trees all around, with countless roads branching off, and branches and vines blocking the way, making it difficult to see which is the correct road.

I thought in my mind that the Jixia Palace is all-encompassing, one of which is the Qimen Dunjia, which is good at life-death, magic, and formations. It seems ordinary here, so I'm afraid there is some kind of formation.

She doesn't know how to break the formation, so she can only follow her instincts, go wherever there is, and turn to the right when she encounters a turn.

After walking like this for several hours, she seemed to have some realization——

The so-called assessment tests one’s character and perseverance a priori.

After all, not everyone has the patience and willpower to keep walking aimlessly like this. On a seemingly repetitive and endless road, people's emotions will calm down from the initial excitement and excitement, and gradually become irritable, fearful, and retreat.

meaning.

Furthermore, it was so quiet all around. Apart from the sound of the wind blowing in the forest, not even the chirping of insects could be heard. It was really terrifyingly quiet.

Lu Anran always wondered whether a venomous snake would suddenly appear, or a wild beast would pounce, to add some fun. Fortunately, the journey was uneventful, and he actually reached the darkest place.

Coming out of the forest, there is a flat open space, more than three feet, and further forward, there are stone steps, one by one, with different heights and different widths.

Looking down, there are light clouds, the wind blows, and the green trees are in bloom.

It turned out to be halfway up the mountain.

She took out a small bag from her arms, with a few pastries wrapped in an apricot flower handkerchief. The corners were peeling off after being covered for a long time, but the shape of a cat's paw in the middle was still lively and cute.

Take a bite and you'll hear a groan, take another bite and it'll turn into a moan.

Lu Anran chewed her mouth, put away the remaining cakes, and looked in the direction she came out just now.

After silently counting to thirty-two, a figure groaned and slowly crawled out. A drop of blood fell out with each step, and when it came to Lu Anran, it had already dropped into a red line.

Lu Anran fluttered her eyelashes up and down, looking at the young man who suddenly appeared without saying a word.

He was covering his left leg with one hand, limping, and kept shouting "ouch, ouch, ouch". When he reached the steps next to Lu Anran, he seemed to be unable to hold on, and fell down, already sweating profusely.

,exhausted.

Blood came out from between the fingers and was still dripping.

"Girl, girl..." The young man took a few breaths and frowned, "I broke my leg while climbing the mountain. Can you bandage it for me?"

Lu Anran said sincerely: "Your hand is still there."

The man seemed not to have expected Lu Anran to say these words. He opened his eyes wide in surprise and said sadly for a while: "You are a girl, but you have no mercy. I am so injured that I cannot move."

After a long sigh, the man discussed: "How about this, how about you heal my injury and I show you a clear path?"

Lu Anran: "You know the formation."

"If you know a little bit about it, you can get out of this dense forest."

Lu Anran nodded, and when he thought he must compromise, he walked away.
To be continued...