Chapter 83: Conflict in the Examination Hall

Yan Yuanqing could hardly hold back his laughter—how could this person be so amusing? The answer sheet was sitting right there, yet he wouldn’t even lift it for a glance? Just as Yan Yuanqing was about to leave, the chief examiner called him back.

"Wait a moment. Come here and sign your name to confirm that this paper is yours. What you did is simply too egregious—it must be announced publicly as a warning to others!"

"To prevent anyone else from doing the same," the chief examiner said, his tone commanding and overbearing—so much so that Yan Yuanqing found him rather repulsive.

"Why should I listen to you? You’re just a proctor, aren’t you? And even if I did hand in my paper early on purpose, you plan to spread my name around? Isn’t that going a bit too far?"

"Too far?" The chief examiner laughed coldly. "You disrupted the examination order and deliberately wasted such a good opportunity, bringing disgrace to our National Association of Traditional Medicine. No matter how we handle you, it wouldn’t be excessive!"

Before the examiner could finish, Yan Yuanqing strode forward, flipped his answer sheet over, and pressed the examiner’s head down, forcing him to look at the contents of the paper.

"Open your eyes and look carefully. Do you think what’s written here was done carelessly?"

The examiner struggled, but Yan Yuanqing’s strength was overwhelming—there was no escape. At first, the examiner wanted to curse him, but when his eyes caught sight of the answer sheet, he froze as though spellbound, unable to move.

Yan Yuanqing ignored the man and left the examination hall directly. It wasn’t long before a staff member wearing an armband approached him.

"Mr. Yan, the president would like to see you," the staffer said.

This surprised Yan Yuanqing. He hadn’t expected what had just happened to have reached the association president so quickly. Since the president wished to meet him, he knew he ought to show respect. Without hesitation, he followed the staff member up to the higher floors of the association’s building, finally entering an office.

An elderly man sat behind the desk, greeting him with a warm, smiling gaze.

"You must be the one recommended by that old fellow Yuan Hongyu?" The old man’s expression was kindly, and his voice put one at ease.

Yan Yuanqing nodded gently; his attitude became more respectful toward this elder. No matter what, the man before him was a senior.

"I truly don’t know when that old fox Yuan Hongyu took on an apprentice. He once told me he’d never do so in this lifetime, that no one was worthy in his eyes."

"I even advised him, while he’s still got some years left, to at least take on a final disciple, but he refused. I never imagined—ha!—that he’d secretly found himself a student!"

As soon as the old man finished, Yan Yuanqing spoke softly.

"President, you may have misunderstood. I am not Yuan Hongyu’s apprentice."

"Oh? Not his apprentice? Then what is your relationship with him?" the president asked, clearly curious.

Yan Yuanqing smiled faintly. "We have a master-disciple relationship!"

A trace of displeasure flickered across the president’s face.

"Young man, are you making a joke of me on purpose? Do you think that because of your connection with Yuan Hongyu, you can do as you please—even stir up such a conflict with the chief examiner?"

"Don’t you realize that if word of this gets out, no matter how well you scored, you’ll never be admitted to our Association of Traditional Medicine? I called you here to make things easier for you in passing the assessment, and this is how you treat my goodwill?"