Unparalleled Duo
Chapter 52 - 52 35 At a Glance

52: Chapter 35 “At a Glance 52: Chapter 35 “At a Glance Xue Tui, from Shaoxing, Zhejiang.

From a young age, he was more intelligent than most, recognizing characters at three, composing poetry at five, forming well-structured sentences at ten, and passing the imperial examinations as a Juren at just twelve.

What did it mean to be a Juren in the Ming Dynasty?

If one were to draw a comparison, it was akin to being accepted into a top university like those ranked 985 today…

That is to say, he entered a prestigious university at the age when most are just starting middle school.

However, there’s an old saying…

Life is unpredictable.

Before he turned thirty, Xue Tui had participated in the imperial examinations five times during spring, yet, not to mention becoming the top scholar, he didn’t even get a nomination.

As he grew older, his failures in these examinations increased, and the surrounding voices of praise and envy gradually turned into mockery and ridicule.

Generally, when a talented individual faces constant setbacks, their character can become distorted; those who adjust their attitude are the minority, and Xue Tui was clearly not one of them.

His personality began to become perverse, and he drifted apart from his former friends…

He secluded himself, engaging in rigorous study day and night until the year he turned thirty, when he resolved to take the imperial examination in the Capital one last time.

Unfortunately, he failed again.

And upon returning home, he discovered that during the months he was away for the examination, his parents had both succumbed to sudden illnesses; his wife, not wishing to disturb his exams, hadn’t written to inform him.

The dual blow of failing the examination and losing his parents left Xue Tui so debilitated that he himself fell gravely ill.

After recovering, he observed three years of mourning for his parents…

During this time, his family’s finances gradually depleted.

Having no other choice, since one must eat to live, he considered finding a way to earn a living.

But Xue Tui, aside from his literary skills, was incapable of physical labor.

So he thought, being a scholarly Juren, surely leading a small county academy wouldn’t be a problem, right?

There was a big problem…

Who was Xue Tui?

The local ‘child prodigy,’ the standard to which other parents held their children.

So, imagine how many scholars in his village hated him?

And scholars often come from wealthy, powerful families, perhaps with ancestors who had been officials, and it’s more than likely that some peers who lagged behind academically were now in office themselves…

Could these people show Xue Tui any kindness?

After another month or so, having sought many connections and spent the last of his silver, a dejected Xue Tui came to realize that he could no longer remain in his hometown.

Struggling to provide for his wife and children, Xue Tui had no choice but to sell his ancestral property and, with his family, set out for a new life; after several moves, he finally arrived in Luoyang.

It was here that he met the benefactor of his life, the owner of Bogui Building, whose identity will be revealed later…

But let’s continue with Xue Tui for now.

Upon arriving in Luoyang, Xue Tui made a living by selling calligraphy and paintings at the market, though business was barely sustainable and he often dealt with local hoodlums looking for extortion opportunities, sometimes going several days without earning a penny.

That year, his family nearly subsisted on the sporadic income from his wife’s laundry and sewing jobs.

It was not enough to consistently feed even the children.

At that time, Xue Tui often thought about how his wife, who had also come from a well-matched noble family, had fallen so low with him, and he felt profoundly guilty.

It was during these hardest times that Xue Tui’s character underwent another transformation—he became more pragmatic.

If his wife, who hadn’t washed a single dish before the age of twenty-five, could now toil till her hands were full of cuts and callouses, why couldn’t he, Xue Tui, shed his own costly pride and dignity?

From that point, he began writing the kind of vulgar poems and flamboyant texts he once found distasteful, painting images of erotic spring palaces and beauties that were more in line with popular taste…

He set aside his personal pursuits, prioritized his family’s quality of life, and used this as motivation to indulge his talents.

Until one day, he was noticed by the discerning owner of Bogui Building, who invited him to serve as a consultant at the Wisdom Immortal Pavilion, thus ending his previous way of life.

From Xue Tui’s lifelong experiences, it is clear that he is not an impractical, pedantic scholar; his character, though haughty, could also be tactfully yielding on appropriate occasions.

To put it in modern terms—he became quite a schemer.

At the moment, his description of Taoist talismans as “easy as flipping one’s hand” to Huang Donglai and Sun Yixie was undoubtedly a compliment with ulterior motives, setting them up so that even if he presented a super difficult challenge later, they wouldn’t have an excuse.

Now, Sun and Huang were not so easily deceived…

To compare your minor skills in courting favor with those of a master like Sun Yixie?

Does Huang Donglai, who is constantly teased by Brother Sun, not see what you, Xue Tui, are trying to do?

“Heh…

It’s hard to say,” mused Huang Donglai with a smile after a moment’s thought, “We still need to see what Mr.

Xue’s question is before making any judgments.”

“Ha!” Sun Yixie, having just shown his face, was in high spirits at this moment.

Hearing this, he playfully elbowed Huang Donglai, joking, “Hey, Brother Huang, that’s unlike you, aren’t you usually the one bold enough to make judgments?”

“Get lost~” Huang Donglai, having no need_manners when talking to Sun Yixie, retorted, “It’s one thing for others to say it, but why the hell are you stirring things up here?

Did you gorge yourself on fish?”

“Heh…” Sun Yixie chuckled sheepishly, “Alright, alright, I’ll stop, the next round is all yours, I’ll just watch Brother Huang perform.”

Their conversation, filled with curse words, sounded completely natural coming from them, not at all jarring.

But upon closer examination of the information revealed between their lines, it was clear that they were well aware of what Xue Tui was up to, even hinting at it indirectly.

Xue Tui, listening on the side, was also secretly alarmed…

During his years in Bogui Building, he had encountered many so-called “young heroes,” but most of these teenagers and twenty-somethings were overly flamboyant and straightforward, always prone to exaggeration…

A little flattery, and they would easily step into a trap.

But these two young men were not only capable but also worldly-wise in their behavior—never faking certainty when pressured, and even when flattered, they left themselves an out in their responses.

Such young men were rare in Xue Tui’s experience, and it piqued his interest.

…

Moments later, Xue Tui led the two to a study on the second floor; the room was surrounded by bookshelves, filled not only with books but also adorned with many ancient calligraphy, paintings, and ornamental plants.

On the south side of the room, there was a desk, already equipped with paper, ink, brush, and inkstone.

Just as the three of them arrived in the room, before they had settled, Xue Tui suddenly turned and said, “Gentlemen, I’ll get straight to the point…” He intended to catch them off guard, “Today’s ‘First Glance,’ please look here…”

With those words, he gestured grandly toward an object on the third shelf by his side.

Indeed, the “First Glance” was essentially an exercise in “identifying objects.”

Of course, the objects chosen for such a test were not common, but rather rare treasures, unique, or extremely rare throughout the entire Great Ming—thus the main challenge of “First Glance” was not just visual acuity but also knowledge.

At that moment, what Xue Tui showed Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai was one of the many cherished collections of Bogui Building’s owner.

Who knew…

before he could even put on a challenging expression, Huang Donglai looked at the object and said, “Isn’t that a telescope?”

At that, Xue Tui nearly choked on his own blood…

The “First Glance” challenge was supposed to be the most difficult of the three; “First Grade” might be passed through guessing, “First Word” could be somewhat subjective, but “First Glance” was the sort where you either “know it or you don’t, and can’t guess if you don’t.”

Additionally, today Xue Tui had specifically chosen an exotic curiosity recently acquired by the owner from foreign lands overseas—something virtually unknown throughout Great Ming.

Unexpectedly…

the opponent had merely glanced from afar, without even coming closer to confirm, and yet had correctly named the item.

“Mr.

Huang…

Have you seen this before?” Xue Tui asked in amazement.

Was Huang Donglai going to be trapped by such a question?

What could Brother Huang possibly respond with?

Should he reveal that he is a transmigrator or concoct a story about a past journey to the Netherlands in this universe?

“Well…

uh…” Huang Donglai gave a dry laugh and bowed his hands in salute, “I must beg your pardon, but I cannot say.”

His response was perfectly appropriate, as he was under no obligation to answer such potentially personal questions.

In the world of Jianghu, if someone didn’t want to discuss something, there was no need for pretense; a clear indication of “inconvenience in telling” was enough, and it wasn’t considered a loss of face for the other party.

“Oh…

heh, it was impertinent of me,” Xue Tui quickly realized his gaffe, apologized with a smile and a bow, and swiftly changed the subject, “Well then, since ‘First Glance’ posed no difficulty for either of you, let’s move straight on to the third challenge, ‘First Word.'”

Technically, to pass “First Glance,” one would need not only to name the object but also describe its primary function; however, Xue Tui did not press for something as silly as asking “What are the uses of a telescope?” because the functionality of a “telescope” was already implied in its name, making such a query unnecessary.

Thus, Sun and Huang passed the second challenge without breaking a sweat.

But regarding the third challenge, “First Word,” they were still rather anxious…

because, based on their conjecture, this challenge might actually require a genuine “battle of wits.” The reputation they had just established as “well-informed” could vanish in this challenge, replaced by a “nurtured” persona instead.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.