"The Heart-Testing Tower is upstairs. You can go up from here and go all the way to the top." Song Tingfeng brought him to the stairs and pointed upstairs.

"There are no requirements for this level, but remember to follow your heart. If you're too contrived, your score will be lowered."

"What's the use of the score?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"Why did you take the test for aptitude? The score is divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D, with better aptitude being easier to cultivate." Song Tingfeng raised his chin. "I am a B."

Zhu Guangxiao muttered, "I am a C."

"I am just a commoner..." Xu Qi'an silently played a joke and climbed the stairs alone. When he reached the second floor, he saw an ancient bronze mirror hanging on a red pillar facing the stairs.

His reflection was shown in the mirror.

Xu Qi'an's heart inexplicably trembled, and his muscles tightened uncontrollably before slowly relaxing.

Settling his thoughts and calming his mind, he let go of all fame, wealth, and desires.

"This mirror is problematic..." This thought flashed through his mind but was ignored.

"Force entry into the Sage Time..." This thought also settled.

He turned the corner lightly and came to the second-floor hall. A Buddha statue was enshrined here, with a plump figure and a dignified appearance.

Offerings were placed on the incense table, and the fragrance lingered.

A clerk stood in front of the Buddha statue and looked at him.

Xu Qi'an calmly looked at the Buddha statue for a few moments before turning to the stairs leading to the third floor.

The clerk watched his back as he left and lowered his head to write an evaluation on the paper.

...

The third floor enshrined the Taoist God, dressed in Taoist robes, holding a wooden sword, and standing on a cloud.

There was also a clerk in front of the statue, quietly watching Xu Qi'an's arrival.

After Xu Qi'an took a casual look and left, the clerk also picked up his pen and wrote an evaluation on the paper.

...

The fourth floor enshrined the Confucian sage, dressed in Confucian robes and hat, gazing into the distance.

A clerk stood in front of the sage statue, quietly watching Xu Qi'an.

This sage statue was identical to the one at the Yunlu Academy... Xu Qi'an thought to himself and left without any attachment.

He came to the highest floor—the fifth floor.

The fifth floor enshrined a man in a yellow robe, standing tall with his hands on a sword. His eyebrows were like swords, and his aura was imposing.

Xu Qi'an didn't know who he was, but the bright yellow dragon robe explained everything.

He was a king or even the founding emperor of the Great Feng dynasty.

When he arrived here, Xu Qi'an suddenly realized the true meaning of the Heart-Testing Tower. Testing aptitude was only part of it, and the real meaning was to test a person's moral character.

The purpose of the mirror was to prevent people from doing anything against their will, such as deliberately offering incense and worship.

...Oops, I didn't worship the Buddha, Taoist God, or Confucian sage. This means that I am a person who does not respect gods, does not worship Buddha, and does not care about the Four Books and Five Classics...

...It doesn't matter, but I must worship this person on the fifth floor. If I don't, I'm done... A person who disrespects gods, emperors, and parents is not tolerated in this era...

What is Nightwatcher?

It is an organization belonging to the emperor, responsible for espionage, protection, and other activities. They also gather military intelligence and work on reversing enemy generals."It can disrespect the three religions, but it cannot be disloyal to the emperor."

Therefore, the "heart-testing barrier" is a screening of moral quality.

Xu Qi'an is undoubtedly unqualified. He rushed up five floors without bowing once.

As a scum of society, I will probably be kicked out of the Nightwatcher's office... But the key is that the Nightwatcher knows about my framing of Zhou Li. Who knows if they will bring up old accounts because of it...

These thoughts flashed through his mind one by one, and then settled, automatically ignored.

Xu Qi'an struggled against the "wise mode" anxiously, forcing himself to kneel and bow to the king. Two consciousnesses were fiercely fighting against each other, his body stiff, muscles twitching and trembling.

The official standing in front of the king observed Xu Qi'an for a moment, then quickly left and went downstairs.

A few minutes later, the official returned and Xu Qi'an was still standing in the same spot, stiff and trembling all over, as if his limbs were cramping.

The official looked at Xu Qi'an like he was a rare animal and whispered, "I have exchanged evaluations with my colleagues downstairs."

The official continued, "When Wei Gong established the heart-testing barrier, he made it clear that if someone doesn't bow for five floors in a row, they are an unforgivable criminal."

...Brother, give me one more chance!

Xu Qi'an was extremely anxious.

"So Wei Gong gave another chance and set up a sixth level, but no one has ever passed that level." The official looked at Xu Qi'an curiously, "You are unique like a scorpion excreting dung."

"Relax your body, stop twitching." He said.

Xu Qi'an stopped fighting against his inner wise mode, adjusted his breathing, and successfully stopped his muscles from twitching.

It was then that he realized that his back was already soaked.

He followed the official around the statue of the king and went to a deeper area.

The sunlight filtered through the hollow windows, illuminating the wooden platform in the room.

There was a line of poetry carved on the wooden platform.

Killing a million enemy leaders, the blood on the sword still fresh.

Returning with a golden mace, no one in the court dared to speak.

The poem was quite domineering... Show me what it means.

Xu Qi'an glanced at the silent official, thinking of bribing him for information with some silver notes.

But then he realized that a mere official couldn't possibly understand the mind of a powerful eunuch. It was impossible.

Don't lead yourself astray, or you'll end up on a dead end.

Poetry battle? Impossible, the theme obviously wasn't about comparing poetry skills. The heart-testing barrier was related to thoughts and morality, so he had to start from this aspect.

Since it was a test of thoughts and morality, why did Wei Yuan put this poem here?

Xu Qi'an cleared his mind and actively used his brain.

The sixth level was arranged for someone like me, who has no lord or teacher and disrespects gods and Buddha. It was like a last chance.

Naturally, they wanted to dig out some precious thoughts and morality from me. If I don't have any, then I'm done for.

Precious thoughts and morality... Suddenly, Xu Qi'an thought of the couplet in the first-floor hall:

I wish to serve the dust and ashes with a sincere heart, without seeking personal gain.

And the duty of the Nightwatcher is to monitor the officials... Wei Yuan's poem also had the meaning of being loyal to the country and suppressing the officials.

Thinking of this, he suddenly understood the meaning of the powerful eunuch.This poem is not here for poetry battles, but for empathy.

If that heinous criminal without army or teacher truly has a wicked nature, he would not be able to resist his own conscience and write an empathetic poem.

On the other hand, it shows that he still has precious virtues. Wei Yuan is willing to give him a chance.

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

Xu Qi'an sighed and exhaled like a breath, reaching out his hand. "Prepare the ink and brush."

The clerk handed him a brush and laid out the paper on the wooden platform.

Xu Qi'an held the brush over the paper and closed his eyes.

Although I have no emperor in my heart and disdain for worshiping gods and Buddha, I am a true materialist.

But I am not a heinous criminal. I have righteousness in my heart and principles to follow. I have never exploited the common people or extorted them with my official position, even if it is the norm in society...

Even if I have tried hard to make money.

If you want empathy, I will write a poem as you wish.

Xu Qi'an wrote without any psychological obstacles, using an ugly font:

Your food and clothing come from the people's toil and sweat,

The common people are easily oppressed, but heaven is hard to deceive.

The clerk looked at the four lines on the paper in a daze.

He took the paper and stared at Xu Qi'an for a while before saying, "The questioning is over. You are free to go, but don't leave the yamen before the results come out."

"The qualifications of every Nightwatcher need to be personally judged by Lord Wei. I will send your paper to him."

He almost ran out of the room, and his footsteps echoed in the staircase as he quickly disappeared.

Xu Qi'an felt like he was about to collapse. He leaned on the wooden platform and breathed heavily for a moment before following the clerk downstairs.

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were waiting for their colleague on the first floor. When they saw Xu Qi'an coming down, they waved and smiled. "How many times did you kneel?"

His smiling face resembled a fox.

The clerk did not tell him about the process and result.

Xu Qi'an opened his mouth, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

Zhu Guangxiao's serious face furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "You don't look too good."

Not just not too good, I feel like I've been on the brink of life and death twice, more thrilling than a roller coaster... Xu Qi'an shook his head tiredly and said, "I want to find a place to sit down and have some tea, to rest."

Song Tingfeng raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Shall I get you a prostitute to massage your shoulders and legs?"

You sound like a street performer under a bridge... Xu Qi'an laughed and nodded. "Go to the Official Brothel Sector and invite Fu Xiang, the courtesan."

Song Tingfeng was taken aback and burst out laughing. "I had that dream when I was young too."

PS: For public chapters, we need to consider word count and the recommendation process. We can't update too much at once. Let's update after it's been published. 6-7k words per day should be the baseline. By the way, there are countless foreshadowings in the book, even more than in "Demon's Diary." You can try to find them.