Ask Sword

  Chapter 89 Drawing the Sword

   It really came.

   Qiu Jinghuan looked at Li Ang who entered the examination room, smacked his lips in displeasure, and continued to study the wooden box-shaped Luban lock.

  This Luban lock has a square shape as a whole, the outer frame is made of pure wood, and there is a wooden sword handle on the top.

   In the middle of the frame, there are eight concave and convex wooden pillars.

  These wooden columns are spliced ​​with each other through the mortise and tenon structure in the middle part to form a whole.

   In the centers of the four sides except the top and bottom, tiny square holes are left, and the wooden pillars can be moved up and down, left and right by taking advantage of the space in the holes.

  In addition, the examiner also distributed paper and pens to the candidates,

   At the same time, it is also mentioned that the final exam results depend on the progress of unlocking the wooden box. If you really can't solve it, you can destroy the wooden box like you did in the retest—

  As long as the corresponding effect can be achieved, the exam can also be passed.

  Finally, the examiner especially emphasized that the paper and pen are only auxiliary tools for drawing pictures and guessing the structure of the wooden box, without any hidden tricks.

  The whole exam lasted for six hours,

  At noon and evening, people from the Ministry of Etiquette will bring in lunch and dinner. Candidates sit down to eat and cannot leave the examination room, but they can take advantage of this time to rest and chat.

   Time is abundant, but the problem is

  How to solve it?

  Li Ang stretched out his hand to flip the wooden sticks, and found that only two of them could be pulled at first.

  After moving the wooden strips, a space is naturally generated, allowing other wooden strips to move.

   But after a few steps, it will get stuck and cannot take out any one. You must go back a few steps, return to the original position, and continue to change other solutions.

  One life is two, two begets four, four begets eight.

  There are hundreds of possibilities in the first few steps alone, and every step in the future will lead to more changes.

   "It is equivalent to a Luban lock with an extremely complicated structure."

  Li Ang said silently: "The hilt itself is also a twisted wooden pillar, and to take out the hilt means to untie the Luban lock completely.

  Because of the interference of the wooden frame and the hilt, the specific structure of each wooden column inside cannot be seen clearly,

  It can only rely on the weak light shining into the hole, as well as listening to the position, spatial imagination, reasoning ability,

   to figure out the specific shape of the eight wooden pillars plus the hilt. "

  Li Ang let out a breath of foul air slowly, and thought in shock, "What's even more frightening is that drawing the shape of the eight wooden pillars plus the handle of the sword is just the beginning. It is still necessary to deduce a specific solution based on it.

  If there is any mistake in the deduction process, you have to go backwards and start all over again. "

   Is this really something that can be designed by humans?

  Looking around, Li Ang saw that all the candidates were spinning the wooden boxes.

  Some people had dull eyes, some looked annoyed, and some—specifically referring to the students recommended by the Ministry of Military Affairs—had already squatted on the ground silently, and began to beat the wooden box with fists.

   It's just the difficulty of the final exam, even more difficult than the re-examination,

  The material of the wooden box is also tougher than the exam papers during the re-examination.

   "The difficulty of smashing hard is not much easier than solving it completely,"

   Li Ang said silently: "The examiner said, 'The final test score depends on the progress of unlocking the wooden box',

   That is to say, the academy didn't expect anyone to be able to solve the wooden box completely, it just needs to be farther than others when the time limit ends.

   and the specific method.”

  The final exam of the academy must require the talent of spiritual veins.

  Xi Yangyu's words flashed in Li Ang's mind.

  Lingmai talent, Lingmai.

  He pressed his forehead with a serious expression, closed his eyes, and began to meditate and sense.

  The spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged through the whole body along the spiritual veins, and finally reached the head, touching the black silk thread dormant there.

   Unimpeded.

   "call"

  Although he has tried several times on the way to Chang'an, at this moment, Li Ang still feels tired and grateful.

  Aura fills the body, the scene in front of me seems to become suddenly clear, and I can clearly feel the feeling of every hair and skin being blown by the breeze.

   Feel the atmosphere?

   Li Ang slowly opened his eyes, and pressed his palm firmly on the wooden box.

  The aura in the body naturally penetrates into the wood block, and the seemingly smooth and clean surface of the wood shines with faint rays of light, forming the texture of the wood itself.

   And when the release of aura stopped, the light that lit up along the lines slowly faded away.

   "This is the reminder for the final exam."

  Li Ang's thoughts changed sharply, and he immediately picked up a pen to draw the wood grain pattern he saw just now on the paper.

  The frame of the wooden box itself does not emit light, only the eight wooden pillars and the handle of the sword will flash brightly.

   And the direction of their wood grain has a certain pattern.

  “Injecting aura can make the wooden box glow for a short time, illuminating the structure and changes in it,

  And, if I guessed correctly, the wood used in different boxes should all be dug from the trunk of a different whole tree.

  Although in the preliminary test state, the wood grains of the eight wooden pillars and the sword handle did not match each other,

  But if you move the wood blocks so that the wood grains fit each other, and let the wood blocks return to the form of complete wood,

  Maybe you can unlock half of the wooden box, or even completely unlock the wooden box. "

   Li Ang's spirit was shaken, and he continued to input spiritual energy into the wooden box, and copied and depicted on the paper.

   There was no fence set up in the examination room. After Li Ang made the wooden box glow, He Fanshuang, who was sitting behind him, also successfully found a way.

  The actions of the two were quickly noticed by others, and they all followed suit.

  The two academic professors at the back of the examination room nodded imperceptibly, looked at each other, and continued to drink tea.

  Illuminating the wooden box is only the first step, and there is still a long, long way to unlock it.

  ———

  Time passed quickly.

  The Haotian bell rang, and the professor of Xuegong walked to the front of the examination room, reminded that it was time for lunch, and took away the wooden boxes on each examinee's desk.

  Like everyone else, Li Ang's wooden box is far from finished.

  He rubbed his face. He hasn't rested for a quarter of an hour since yesterday.

   "Qiu Da, how far have you solved it?"

   "Just at the beginning, what about you?"

   "Same. How about you, Pei Silang?"

  The aristocratic teenagers were talking in low voices. Everyone in the examination room was making close progress. Pei Jing was the fastest one among them, and had already reached the twentieth step.

   And Leon.

   At least judging from the shape of the wooden box that was taken away, it has just started.

   "Looking at his exhausted, pale face, about to die, and being late in the morning, it doesn't mean that he knew he had no hope, so he went to Pingkang Fang for a night of fun last night, right?"

   "Oh, it's hard to say. I don't know if Xi Siye said that when he uses the spiritual vein, it will cause harm to the body? The little bit of spiritual energy used just now may have reached its limit."

   "Tsk, it's a pity, a pity. By the way, if he really fainted in the examination room, someone should carry him away, right?"

  Li Ang listened to the whispers in the corner, scratched his head helplessly, and really wanted to remind them that his face was pale and sleepy, due to staying up late and anemia.

  Noble boys, they didn’t chat for too long. When someone began to talk about their experience in a low voice, everyone glanced at the instructors at the back of the examination room—the two instructors closed their eyes and rested, as if they didn’t hear it at all.

   Can candidates really talk about progress during lunch time?

  Wouldn’t it be possible for the person who solved it first to tell others the secret of the method?

  The candidates’ hearts were pounding and they whispered.

   da.

  The sound of chopsticks poking the porcelain plate sounded, Li Ang turned his head to look, He Fanshuang was holding the chopsticks, Liu Yemei frowned slightly.

  She was the second examinee who thought of illuminating the wooden box with spiritual energy. Perhaps because she consumed too much spiritual energy, her face was also pale.

  “.”

  Li Ang thought for a while, and said softly: "One, the upper left of the front, set one. Advance and move two."

  He Fanshuang was slightly taken aback, looked up at Li Ang, and after a long time, said softly: "Two, the upper right of the front, set two. Move one to the left.

  The lower left side of the side, set five. Move out one. "

  Li Ang nodded, "Three, five on the lower left side, one on the right.

  Front lower right, set three, move one out. "

  The two breathed a sigh of relief at the same time with a tacit understanding, and began to talk in a low voice at an extremely fast speed.

  【One, front upper left, set one. Advance two. 】

   means, in the first step, the upper left corner of the front of the hilt is set as the No. 1 wooden block, and it is pushed inward by two squares.

  【Two, front upper right, set two. Move left one. On the lower left of the side, set five. Move out one. 】

   means, in the second step, set the upper right corner of the front of the hilt as the No. 2 wooden block, and move it to the left by one space. At the same time, the lower left corner of the side is set as the No. 5 wooden block, which is followed by the No. 2 wooden block to push out a distance.

  Because the two people are the same in the first few steps, they can tell where the other side is talking about.

  After a few rounds of comparison, you can report more simply.

   "Twenty-four, six, seven, three from the right."

   "Twenty-four, six, one from the right."

The conversation between the two went wrong for the first time. Li Ang's eyes lit up, and he didn't care about eating. He picked up the manuscript paper, scanned it, turned his head and said: "Twenty-four, six, seven, second from the right. Twenty-five, Five, last one."

  “.”

  He Fanshuang thought for a moment, then nodded, "Yes."

  The two talked quickly with words that other candidates could not understand,

  As the etiquette staff re-entered the examination room and took away the tableware, the proctor Xue Gong also walked to the front of the examination room and handed out everyone's wooden box.

   But this time, there was no sleepiness and hesitation in Li Ang's eyes.

I said,

   Pressed down heavily with his fingers, his fingerprints condensed on the wooden block.

I can,

   Wooden blocks collide with each other in the frame, making a clattering sound.

Admitted to,

  Aura penetrated into the wood grain along his body, and the dim light emitted illuminated his firm face.

  School Palace.

  Time passed bit by bit, and the faster and faster wooden blocks collided and crackled, causing the students and two instructors at the back of the examination room to raise their heads in astonishment and stare at Li Ang's back.

   Twenty-seven steps.

  Forty-nine steps.

   Fifty-two steps.

   Seventy-eight steps.

  The sound of the first wooden pillar being pushed out of the frame and falling on the table was like a thunderbolt.

  Qiu Jinghuan watched Li Ang's movements dully, his mind went blank.

  The second block,

  The third block,

  The fourth block.

  There were more and more wooden pillars on Li Ang's table. As he pressed the wooden box heavily on the table, the inside of the entire wooden box frame disintegrated suddenly, revealing the zigzag wooden hilt in the middle.

   "call"

  In the entire examination room, only the sound of his breathing remained.

   Untied.

   Li Ang let out a long sigh of relief, and looked back at the entire examination room.

  Qiu Jinghuan and the others looked dull, Pei Jing pursed her lips tightly, one instructor was holding a teacup with staring eyes, while the other instructor was holding a teapot in astonishment, not even knowing that the teacup was overflowing.

'Congratulations. '

  He Fanshuang, who was sitting at the back, said these two words silently, and pushed the wooden block for the last three times, untied the wooden box, and also stood up from his seat.

   "Professor, can we go?"

  Li Ang picked up the wooden hilt and said softly, "Who is this thing for?"

"ah?"

  One of the instructors responded subconsciously, and after realizing it, he coughed and said, "You can leave now that you have solved it.

   When going out, just hand over the hilt to Chen Jijiu. "

   "Thank you for teaching."

  Li Ang cupped his hands, and walked out of the classroom with He Fanshuang.

   "Leon!"

  The sound of slapping the table suddenly sounded, Qiu Jinghuan's lips trembled, and he pressed his palm on the table, "Did you explain the process of solving the problem to her just now, right?

  If you just walked out of the classroom now instead of after dinner"

   "Qiu Jinghuan, right?"

  Li Ang stopped, looked directly at the pale man, and said calmly: "I think you made a mistake.

  After I walked out of this room, I was already a disciple of the academy.

  What are you threatening me with,

  Why do you threaten me,

  How dare you threaten me. "

   After saying that, Li Ang no longer looked at the other party, held the hilt of his sword, turned and stepped out of the examination room.

  Breezy and sunny.

   The day when the broken sword was reforged, when the knight returned.

  (end of this chapter)