Chapter Sixteen: Lord of Reports!

"What?!"

Failed the exam?!

Zhou Liang, who had been preparing to watch his "other self" rejoice at passing the provincial examination, was left completely stunned.

How was that possible? His literary talent was undoubtedly at the level of a provincial graduate, and the questions were even examples he had practiced himself back in the day. How could he have possibly failed?

Stung by the news, Zhou Liang felt the world go black.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Zhou Liang clenched his fists in a fit of rage. Although this was merely a simulation for his character, he had invested a great deal of expectation into it. As a perennial failure who had sat for the exams time and again, passing had long ago become an obsession. Despite his claims of indifference, could he truly be indifferent?

He cared far too much; he was desperate to advance.

In a sense, he was no different from Fan Jin, only while Fan Jin went mad from success, Zhou Liang went mad from failure. The reason he had abandoned the exams in the past was that his mental state had completely shattered. He had been certain of his ability to pass, yet he failed repeatedly. Anyone would go insane under such circumstances!

And now, at the moment of his greatest confidence, the simulator had delivered another "cyber-failure," triggering his PTSD.

"There’s definitely something fishy going on!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, until he was actually laughing in frustration.

"I’ve tolerated failure in the past, but I won't stand for this!"

"How could I have failed?!"

It wasn't just arrogance; it was obvious that something was wrong. Failing a high-stakes exam was one thing, but who had ever heard of a reincarnated person failing? A reincarnated person failing an exam was like a time traveler failing to win the lottery—it was suspicious to the core.

"Report them! I must report this!"

Zhou Liang had a premonition that once this failure was investigated, it would not only expose the trickery in the simulation but also shed light on why he had failed so many times in his own life, finally resolving his deep-seated obsession.

[“Report them! I must report this!”]

[You don’t know where your confidence comes from, but your immediate reaction is that you’ve been sabotaged!]

[So, the day after the results are posted, you decide to get to the bottom of it, but your master simply sighs...]

[He knows this mindset all too well; he has seen countless examples: a failed candidate who refuses to believe it is a matter of his own ability, stubbornly insisting that someone has framed him.]

[If it were anyone else, that might be one thing, but in your case, couldn't you simply not have been good enough?]

[Why bother?]

[He sighs inwardly... but since you refuse to give up until you see the truth, he doesn't try to dissuade you further. He decides to let the facts speak for themselves, hoping to show you exactly where you stand.]

[Without another word, he takes you to the Xi'an Prefectural Office to request an inspection of your examination papers.]

[The officials at the office are not surprised; they are well-accustomed to overconfident candidates like you. The most effective way to deal with such people is to let the facts speak...]

[The official immediately produces your paper and begins to explain why you failed, pointing out your errors and where your analysis was lacking...]

[But the more sense he makes, the worse your expression becomes... and not just yours—even your master’s expression turns grave!]

[You can no longer hold back: "My lord, what you say is correct... but this is not my paper!"]

[The official: ?]

[It truly is not your paper. Although the name on it is yours, the content is entirely different from what you wrote... It is clearly someone else's work!]

[This has nothing to do with the system. While the "you" in reality acted as a ghostwriter, you were essentially a human search engine, providing the answers while you yourself took the test. You remember exactly what you wrote, and the handwriting is yours; there is no question of you forgetting your own work.]

[This is someone else's paper!]

[Upon hearing your words, the official freezes, then frowns, as if he has realized something...]

["You are mistaken; this is your paper."]

[His tone turns icy.]

["I..."]

[You are trembling with rage. Just as you are about to argue further, your master suddenly reaches out to cover your mouth, nodding apologetically to the official: "This paper is indeed my disciple's... the boy has a poor memory, my lord, please do not take offense! Please do not take offense!"]

[The official’s expression softens, and he offers some encouragement: "...Although your foundation needs improvement, the answers on this paper are actually quite good, and you are so young... study hard, and you will surely pass in the future."]

[Your master says nothing more, bows again, and drags you away.]

["Master! That really wasn't..."]

[On the way out of the office, you try to argue, but your master sighs helplessly: "I know... that was not your handwriting."]

["Then why..."]

[Your master shakes his head and retorts: "I know it wasn't your paper, and then what?"]

["Where do you plan to report it? To the Prefect of Xi'an? The Provincial Administration Commissioner?"]

["Child, do you remember the gatekeeper who was selling official ranks?"]

[The gatekeeper?]

[You are stunned, thinking of that man who seemed to be baiting people... Could it be that he wasn't baiting, but actually selling them?]

["It seems he wasn't joking; he really dares to sell them."]

[Your master speaks in a low voice: "Provincial graduate status is strictly regulated by the imperial court and cannot be granted out of thin air... So, think about it: where does his supply come from?"]

[You freeze, suddenly realizing: if it cannot be granted out of thin air, they must be swapping it with someone else's paper.]

[And the one swapped this time happened to be yours...]

[Seeing your blank expression, your master attempts to console you: "Don't be sad. In fact, this is a good thing!"]

["At least this proves that you truly have the ability to pass the exam. Consider this a test run; you will surely pass next time!"]

["I don't believe you could be so unlucky as to be picked by them every single time, could you?"]

Zhou Liang: Hah!

"Damn it..."

Zhou Liang couldn't help but swear out loud.

The truth was finally laid bare. Just as he had suspected, his "other self" didn't fail because he was a bad ghostwriter, but because there was a snake in the grass sabotaging him!

More importantly, he finally understood why he couldn't pass despite having the ability of a provincial graduate.

It wasn't that he wasn't good enough; it was that he was being fleeced by an invisible hand! They were targeting him specifically, picking him clean...

"This godforsaken Divine Emperor Ming! I’ll turn you upside down sooner or later!"

A furious Zhou Liang swore a solemn oath!

At this moment, the resentment of all the failed candidates—Huang Chao, Zhang Yuan, Hong Xiuquan, and even a certain Austrian artist—merged with his own.

What to do if you can't pass?

Then you fight a second war!

[Not unlucky enough to be picked every time?]

[Your heart grows heavy: Perhaps you might pass next time, but... what would be the point?]

[The old man calling himself "Li Laiheng" has likely already brought those rebels to ambush your home. Once news of your failure spreads, or if you don't return soon, they will kill your entire family as promised! You have no second chance...]

[Thinking of this, your gaze finally hardens. Looking at your master, who is still trying to persuade you to endure, you shake your head.]

["Master, please forgive me."]

[To his confusion, you say sternly: "I still believe that this world is not entirely dark, and that the Ming bureaucracy is not entirely filled with corrupt officials... Even if it is truly that rotten, I refuse to submit!"]

["I must report this!"]

[Your master covers his face in frustration: "Why don't you understand!"]

[“You must realize that since these people dare to treat this as a business, they must have connections to the higher-ups, just like our relationship with the magistrate... The people at the Xi'an Prefectural Office are clearly in league with them. Who can you report this to?”]

[You blurt out: "The Provincial Administration Commissioner!"]

["And what if the Commissioner is also their protector?"]

[You don't hesitate: "Then I will report it to his face! Even if he kills me afterward, I will make him give me an explanation!"]

["I am not afraid of death!"]

[You aren't afraid of death?]

[Your master is speechless: "Well, I am!"]

[He already regrets taking you as a disciple. He had only done so for profit, and now that he hadn't gained much, you were determined to poke a hornet's nest... You dying was one thing, but he didn't want to die!]

[So, that very day, he severed your master-disciple relationship and took a carriage back to Northern Shaanxi alone...]

[You: ...]

[Wait... the boat of friendship capsized just like that?! A righteous cut-off?!]

[You are at a loss for words...]

[But it is understandable. After all, your relationship was built on a community of interest, and now that you were about to provoke an enemy—one that could not be easily defeated—it would be foolish of him not to cut ties!]

[He was always that kind of person.]

[You sigh, then firm your resolve and walk step by step toward the headquarters of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission, and toward the end of your life...]

[Just as you had once reported your master to the magistrate for embezzling rewards and faking a prodigy to scam money, you stop in front of the Commission and take out your "brick to knock on the door": two letters of commendation personally written by the Prefect of Northern Shaanxi!]

["Little boy, what do you want?"]

[The Provincial Administration Commission is far more imposing than the magistrate’s office, and the guards at the door are fully armed soldiers. Seeing you approach, they bark a challenge.]

[You hold out the Prefect's letters and shout.]

["I have letters from the Prefect of Northern Shaanxi!"]

[Sure enough, upon hearing the word "Prefect," the guards become serious!]

["I am a candidate for this year's provincial examination, the top scholar of Northern Shaanxi from last year, and I have written two articles that were highly influential in the region!"]

["I have come to report lawless men to the Commissioner!"]

["The provincial examination is unjust; someone swapped my paper! They sold my status as a provincial graduate to someone else for 100,000 taels of silver! I applied to the Xi'an Prefectural Office for an investigation, and that clerk twisted the truth, insisting that a failed candidate's paper was mine!"]

["Commissioner! Please investigate the examination! Please punish the Xi'an Prefectural Office! Please grant justice to the candidates of Shaanxi!"]

[The words are spoken, and the earth shakes!]