Heaven's Formula

Before he had time to dodge, the group behind had already noticed him. "Two is just two, we have a lot of people, so surround them!"

As soon as the words fell, the two of them had surpassed Wei Wushuang, blocking Xia Fan's retreat in one step.

Now he didn't even have the chance to pretend to see the scenery.

Looking at the five people who were surrounded and tightened, Xia Fan pulled out his wooden sword with a headache, "Wait, who can tell me what's going on?"

"Be careful...he, they are robbing candidates!" Wei Wushuang, who was out of breath, finally replied, "I, I was tricked out by them using the excuse of exchanging new news, and I didn't find out that something was wrong when I got there—— "

"Tell you to hurry up, you have to let others see your flaws." The leading man in the yellow shirt glared at his accomplice, then turned his head and smiled at Xia Fan, "Actually, we don't want to make it too stiff, as long as you hand over the money and the medicine bag , I can let you go."

"Have you run out of money?"

"There's still a little left," the other party didn't mean to hide, "but it won't last until the end of the scholar's exam. The place where we can dig the spirit fire is now occupied by the family, and we can only wait for the opportunity in the next few days."

"If I give you the money, what should I do?" Xia Fan pointed to himself.

"You?" The four of them looked at each other with funny expressions on their faces, "Brother, how about coming back in three years? This time, let me wait."

"Even if we don't know each other?"

"Hey, don't pretend to be stupid. What does this have to do with recognition?" The short man who was scolded by the man in the yellow shirt took a step forward, "Don't you understand at this point? The examiner obviously didn't intend to let everyone They all pass the test smoothly, and whoever has the bigger fist can stay in Qingshan Town longer! Our brothers can only gather so many people, and eat some shrimps left by the disciples of the aristocratic family."

"That's right, it's impossible for someone like you to pass the scholar's exam." The man in the yellow shirt said unabashedly, "Even if you can hide today, you can't hide tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The current Qingshan Town is no longer a safe place. , There are people like us everywhere, and even as far as I know, there are people who plan to attack the family. The so-called meeting is fate, and it is better to leave it to us than to take advantage of others."

Xia Fan couldn't help but think of the scene he saw in the lobby before.

So that's the case... He suddenly realized, is this the reason why the atmosphere is not right.I am afraid that quite a few people have noticed that the reference candidates who are still in Qingshan Town are gradually changing from candidates to hunters or prey.Not to mention inquiring about news, even normal communication has become a risky thing.That's why everyone sat far apart and didn't say a word.

As for the gaze he cast when he walked into the lobby, I'm afraid that there was both defense and scrutiny--to see whether he could become an ideal prey.

"Brother, why are you talking nonsense with him?" Another "horse-faced man" with a long face impatiently waved the wooden sword in his hand. Wearing clothes is considered our kindness."

"Brother, I remember this guy!" Someone suddenly said, "Yesterday he was the one who played tricks on everyone in front of Fei Nian! If it wasn't for him, the people behind wouldn't have any intention of retreating. I'm afraid this guy is with the Fei family , can't let him go easily!"

"You heard that too?" The man in the yellow shirt said with a look of embarrassment, "My words are still valid. If you hand over the money and medicine kit, I will let you go. But it will be hard to say later, don't make it difficult for me .”

"Hey, how many can you deal with?" Xia Fan lowered his voice and glanced at Wei Wushuang.

"I, I don't know... I've never fought with anyone..." The latter replied tremblingly, completely without the naturalness when dealing with him at the beginning.

It's not that he didn't doubt whether this encounter was a true coincidence, but judging from Wei Wushuang's reaction, it would be too realistic if it was acted out.

"Forget it, if someone hits you later, you should cover your face, understand?"

"Just cover your face?"

"That's right, as long as your face is fine, no one will know that you have been beaten violently."

"Huh?" Wei Wushuang couldn't help being taken aback.

And Xia Fan has already taken out the medicine bag from his arms.

"If you don't eat the toast, you'll have to pay for it yourself!" The man in the yellow shirt understood everything when he saw the medicine bag, "Brothers, give it to me!"

"Idiot, at such a close distance, you still want to prepare alchemy?" The horse-faced man took the lead, screaming strangely and pounced forward with his sword raised, "You want to die—"

Before he finished speaking, Xia Fan threw the medicine bag towards his face.

The package was scattered, and the dust in the sky collided with him.

"This is...cough cough...what kind of technique?"

His answer was a blow to the head.

With a muffled sound, the horse-faced man was directly knocked to the ground, and there was no further movement.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the crowd, Xia Fan held his breath and aimed at the opponent's neck, waist, crotch and other vital parts, ensuring that he would lose his combat effectiveness with one blow.

This is also the first principle of street fights that master cheap taught him - the first to win, and the second to suffer.Affected by entraining energy, the alchemist's reaction and speed already surpassed the average person's. Whether he calculated with his heart or not, he was considered invincible in all the long streets in the past ten years.Coupled with the "talent" of being open-minded and often able to draw inferences from one example, even the master praised him as a natural fit for the world.

Compared to Xia Fan, who had experienced combat experience, the others were obviously inferior, or they didn't pay attention to the contents of the bag at all, but all of them stared wide-eyed, wanting to see what medicinal materials he took out.

This undoubtedly strengthens the power of spreading ashes.

"Brother, this, this does not seem to be alchemy, but ordinary ash!"

"Cough cough, I don't care what it is, give it to me...cough cough...fuck that guy to death!"

Although all candidates were only allowed to carry one medicine bag before entering Qingshan Town, there was no prohibition on changing the contents of the medicine bag or making new medicine bags.Naturally, Xia Fan wouldn't just bring a bag of dust to blind his eyes. The second principle of fighting is to stay still, move like thunder, and never stop fighting until the enemy is completely subdued.

After the second bag of ashes was scattered, there was no one standing around him.

Yellow Shirt Man is no exception.

He was hit in the neck with a clean slash and passed out on the spot.

From the shot to the end, it took a total of ten seconds.

Wei Wushuang implemented his suggestion very well. The moment the fight started, he crouched on the ground with his head in his arms. Apart from being covered in dust, he basically didn't take a few blows.

"Get up, it's over," Xia Fan said.

Wei Wushuang then carefully let go and stood up. After looking around in surprise for a week, he looked at Xia Fan in disbelief, "You... are so powerful?"

"It depends on the opponent, and these people... probably are doing 'robbing' for the first time." Xia Fan leaned over and grabbed one of them on his shoulders, "You also carry one on your back, we have to hurry up, lest they wake up again."

"Wake up again?" Wei Wushuang's face changed, "Brother Xia, you don't mean to make them..."

"What are you thinking?" Xia Fan rolled his eyes at him. "Murdering candidates will immediately disqualify them. I just want to throw them over to the bridge. Of course, after a thorough search."

Having money is not the trigger for failing the exam. If this group of people wake up and would rather live in the wild for revenge, it will be very troublesome.It's better to send them across the bridge directly. As long as they cross the boundary, they will not be able to step into the examination room again, which can be regarded as a once and for all method.

"So that's how it is." Wei Wushuang breathed a sigh of relief, "By the way... when I was brought to the end of the alley by them, I saw two people lying there. They should be the candidates who were cheated before. Do you want to return the money? them……"

"No need." Xia Fan interrupted, "They will naturally understand what happened when they wake up, and they won't be able to find us. It might be better for them to quit now—if they can't even handle this situation, consider On the contrary, the sergeant has harmed them."

Wei Wushuang lowered his head slightly, and the look in his eyes was complicated for a moment.

"You should also think about whether it would be better to leave early." He didn't shy away from the other party's feelings, but said bluntly, "It's only the third day, and the influence of money and silver has reached this point. I'm afraid the conflict will intensify in the future. One thing that person who lied to you is right, Qingshan Town is no longer a safe place."

Chapter 14 Night walk

After dealing with all five people, the whole morning was basically wasted.

The situation mentioned by the man in the yellow shirt is gradually becoming a reality—in order to compete for the opportunity to stay in Qingshan Town, candidates began to attack each other, and this situation even appeared at the gates of hotels and teahouses.

If it weren't for one of the rules that says "no interference with the villagers' daily life", Xia Fan doubts that this group of people would regard the store as a place of battle.

"It's a good thing they won't make a fuss in the teahouse," Wei Wushuang said with lingering fear, "It seems that the examiner is lenient."

"Not necessarily so." Xia Fan shook his head.

"Brother Xia, why did you say that?" He asked in surprise, "It is clearly stated in the exam rules that candidates are not allowed to—"

"It is not allowed to interfere with the life of the villagers, but there is no rule against smashing hotels and teahouses."

"This..." Wei Wushuang couldn't turn the corner for a moment.

"Think about it," Xia Fan lowered his voice, "If you caused trouble outside the hotel and smashed one or two tables and chairs, what would the store do?"

"As long as you lose money, unless you don't have enough money—" He was also stunned at this point.

"That's right." Xia Fan slightly raised the corners of his mouth, "If you can pay enough money, the shopkeeper would like you to smash all the old tables, and the government won't deal with such trivial matters. If you change it to Qingshan Town, it will be equivalent to causing trouble It’s not a violation, it’s a violation only if you don’t have money to pay for.”

Wei Wushuang was speechless for a while.

Xia Fan didn't continue talking, he knew that with the other party's knowledge, he would definitely be able to think of what this meant.

The reason why no one has done anything now is nothing more than two reasons.

One is that everyone has not realized this yet, and the other is that the money in their hands is not enough.

If you don't realize it now, it doesn't mean that no one will realize it in the next few days; similarly, if you don't have enough money now, it doesn't mean that it will be the same in the next few days.As candidates continue to be eliminated, those currencies will gradually be concentrated until they form a "giant". This trend is almost inevitable.

In the last day or two, I am afraid that there will be a lot of money in the remaining candidates, even if a few tables are smashed, or the door and bed of the hotel, they can afford compensation.

Faced with the spiritual fire that is definitely not enough, getting it from other candidates has become their only choice.What will happen then, Xia Fan can imagine when he closes his eyes—whether it is day or night, whether in a tea house or in a hotel room, the entire Qingshan Town will become a hunting ground.It can be said that whoever can gather more money can completely take the initiative.

Wei Wushuang's expression changed.

Such a development of the situation is obviously the worst kind for him.

In other words, it is the worst kind for every candidate.

Trust and cooperation will no longer exist, and even those impromptu gangs must always be on guard against attacks from within—after all, what the examiner wants is a jar full of spiritual fire, and he doesn't care where the jar comes from.

After bowing his hands to Xia Fan, the fellow countryman left with a distraught expression on his face.

He found a side table on the second floor of the teahouse and sat down, ordered some food, and watched the situation at the other end of the hotel while eating.

At this moment, the core content of the Shikao seems to have surfaced.

It's just that Xia Fan still has a lot of doubts in his heart.

No matter how you look at it, this rule is too beneficial to the disciples of the aristocratic family.Compared with the temporary cliques, they are undoubtedly much more stable internally. What's more, the quota allocation may have been determined before the exam. maximum profit.

Although connections and family background are also part of strength, but in this way, the selected alchemists will also have a family background, and the Qi royal family should not expect to see such a result.

Of course, the political purpose of the examination is not something he needs to think about right now—no matter what the above considerations are, it has nothing to do with him. His current priority is to get a bottle of spiritual fire as soon as possible to ensure his qualifications.

……

At midnight, it was dead of night outside.

Xia Fan interrupted his qi training and sighed slightly.At this point, the fox demon has not yet appeared, and nine out of ten have confirmed my guess - she will not come again.

With a trace of regret, he began to prepare for tonight's business.Shi Kao is allowed to bring two sets of clothes, except one is a common burqa, and the other is a night suit made by himself.Different from the loose clothing popular in this era, the latter fully followed the principle of simplicity and ease of use. There were no buttons, and the sleeves, body and cap were integrated. A layer of cowhide was sewn on the wrists, elbows and chest to improve durability.

The clothes are not pure black, but navy blue fabric—theoretically speaking, the most suitable color to blend into the night is dark purple, but limited by the dye level, he can only settle for the next best thing and choose the less rare dark blue.As for black...it looks most like night, but once in a place with light, a mass of moving "shadows" can easily attract attention, and the hiding effect is not even as good as gray.

Taking a deep breath, Xia Fan jumped out of the window and climbed up to the second floor against the wall.

Unlike the smooth concrete walls, the wooden house has many protruding wedges on the outer edge, which is naturally suitable for climbing. Even a half-baked guy like him can easily climb several floors.

He had spent the whole afternoon observing the residences and movements of the disciples of the aristocratic family, and finally selected a room closest to his residence as the target of action.

Now the spiritual fire collection area is occupied by the Fei family, Luo family, and Wei family in turn, and only these three families can get the spiritual fire with certainty.

And Xia Fan's plan was to steal a bottle of spiritual fire source from them!

Although it is not clear who lives inside, the people wearing the Luo family's blue robes have entered and exited the house many times, and all of them are highly vigilant, and they will look around before entering the door.Considering that the disciples of the aristocratic family may also be attacked, Xia Fan speculates that the other party's countermeasure should be to collect the spirit fire and keep it in a centralized place, rather than handing it over to individuals to carry.

At the same time, he also noticed that the corridor outside this house connected a total of six houses, four of which were rented by the Luo family.If someone wants to break through head-on, with just a call, the Luo family can quickly occupy the corridor and form a line of defense that is difficult to overcome.

The aristocratic family doesn't even know the content of the exam, let alone know the layout of Qingshan Town in advance. This is undoubtedly their own idea based on the situation on the spot.

Occupying a high corner of the inn, taking care of each other, easy to defend but difficult to attack, I have to say that the thinking of the disciples of the aristocratic family is indeed more sophisticated than most of their peers.

But Xia Fan didn't intend to confront the tough from the very beginning.

He moved to the edge of the window of the house little by little, untied the cloth belt around his waist with one hand, and wrapped it around the protruding eaves beams to fix himself in mid-air. At the same time, he took out a hairpin and pierced the window paper from the corner. Gently poked into the house.

This special hairpin is thin at the front and thick at the back, and is hollow inside, through which you can barely see the situation in the room.Xia Fan scanned for a week and found that the Luo family had specially arranged for two people to watch the night, which further confirmed his guess.

Without further ado, he took out the medicine bag, filled a portion of the mixed herbs into the hairpin, lit it with a fire, and carefully blew inward.

This herbal medicine made from Datura flowers, Aconiti officinalis, Night Peony, Phantom Mushroom and Winter Fern is the proud work of his master.When they are ignited, the smoke is soft and elegant, colorless and odorless, and those who smell it will feel extremely peaceful and have the effect of relieving pain and calming the mind.If you smell it for a long time, you will unconsciously fall into a lethargic sleep, and you will not wake up until dawn. Its hypnotic effect is far better than those sweating medicines and Baibudao in the black market.

Xia Fan has personally tested it a few times, and it turns out that this is probably one of the few things his master didn't brag about - even alchemists, it's hard to detect its existence, even before the master was fainted by his medicine, he didn't do it If there is any reaction, he even said that he slept soundly afterwards.

This is also the biggest reliance of his plan.If he didn't have this thing, he would never dare to spend a lot of money on the first day.

In fact, only a small handful of ingredients in Xia Fan’s medicine bag are related to alchemy, most of which are medicines for wounds, drugs for fascination, and antidotes. He has a little success in human kung fu.

It can be seen from this that it is the only truth to put it where you are young and positive, and you will have output when you are alive.

After blowing for about half an hour, no sound could be heard in the house.

Although the Luo family has arranged for people to watch the night, they are all teenagers after all. It is unrealistic to ask them to stay at the door with high concentration for several hours.Before Xia Fan lit Mixiang, the two of them were already drowsy, and Mixiang just gave them a little push.

Xia Fan flipped open the window latch with ease, covered his mouth and nose with a damp cloth, turned over and entered the house.

This wing room is much larger than the one he rented, and the inner and outer rooms are separated by gauze curtains, the outer one is the living room, and the inner one is the bedroom.

He pushed aside the gauze curtain, searched around lightly, and soon found the target of this trip.

Just as he expected, the Luo family collected all the spirit fires they had collected here, and hid them under the bed very uncreatively.By the dim candlelight in the outer room, he could see at least twenty porcelain vases stuffed under the bed, each with a string tied to the mouth.

This is probably the last defense method of the Luo family, right?

Although I can't see where these ropes are connected, in all likelihood, as long as the bottle is moved, the mechanism connected by the ropes will be triggered.Xia Fan guessed that the end might be something like a bell, which could immediately alert the Luo family that their bedroom was invaded.

Of course, this doesn't bother him at all. After all, he has studied mathematics, physics and chemistry, and he is not afraid to travel all over the world.Cut two strips of cloth from the corner of the bed sheet, roll them into a rope shape with local materials, and then tie the two strips separately between the thin rope and the bed frame according to the parallelogram law of force, so that the resultant force direction is consistent with the rope.After completing these preparations, Xia Fan cut the string.

The rope that had lost its restraint shrank back slightly, but was quickly pulled by the taut cloth and maintained in its original position.

So far, there is no obstacle to take out the porcelain bottle.