Bang! Bang! Bang!
The heavy wooden door was pounded with fierce force.
Inside the wooden hut, Xie Man, hiding under a tattered quilt and fast asleep, was jolted awake. He rubbed his eyes and mumbled in a sleepy voice, “Coming.”
It was still chilly in the middle of the Revival Month.
After putting on his ragged clothes, Xie Man grabbed the leather coat he used as a second quilt and pulled it on. Then, he opened the wooden door.
Outside, Old Roger leaned against the wagon, a leather whip in one hand and a tobacco pipe in the other, puffing away.
“Hurry up, it’s getting late. You’ll be punished for being late.”
“I know.”
Xie Man closed the door behind him, hopped onto the wagon with nimble movements, but his expression was calm.
Xie Man leaned against the wagon railing, took a look at the dark sky, and closed his eyes to doze.
Based on his past experience, it would take another half hour to reach the inner castle. By the time they got there, the sky would be about to dawn.
Xie Man was an orphan.
According to Old Roger, he found Xie Man on a snowy day. Since he had no children of his own, he took Xie Man in and raised him.
All these years, Old Roger had been supporting them by collecting trash for the nobles and disposing of it outside the city. He had worked hard to raise Xie Man to the age of twelve.
Xie Man was full of gratitude for Old Roger.
Though he knew he and Old Roger weren’t related by blood, in his heart, Old Roger was his father.
Unbeknownst to them, the wagon had entered the inner city.
Long-formed habits made Xie Man wake up automatically.
From afar, he saw the towering and majestic castle, and his eyes couldn’t help but show a hint of envy and longing.
That was where the lord and the knights lived.
Xie Man had dreamt countless times of becoming a noble, living in a luxurious castle, enjoying a life of lavishness and superiority.
Or becoming a powerful knight, earning the Lord’s favor, and becoming his guard, gaining the privilege of living in the castle.
In the boy’s shallow understanding, that castle was the most beautiful place in the world.
But deep down, he knew very well that unless his work required it, a peasant like him would never be able to set foot in that castle in his lifetime.
Let alone live in it.
When he woke up, everything in his dreams would vanish, leaving only the cold reality behind.
Old Roger had told him that when he died, Xie Man would inherit the two wooden huts and the wagon, taking over the job of cleaning trash for the nobles. �
Xie Man thought, his future would be like that.
The wagon stopped at the castle gate. Xie Man hopped off after Old Roger and walked towards the tall guards at the gate.
In the past, when they entered the castle to dispose of trash, they would always be exploited by the guards at the gate and the stewards inside, demanding various favors.
But since the previous lord was executed and the new lord moved into the lord’s mansion, replacing a bunch of guards and stewards, they hadn’t encountered any exploitation.
Just this alone, Xie Man felt a favorable impression towards the new lord he had never met.
Over the past few months, the guards at the gate had become familiar with Old Roger and Xie Man.
When they arrived, they were simply checked briefly before being allowed to pass.
After spending the entire morning efficiently cleaning up the trash and loading it into the wagon, Old Roger and Xie Man were ready to transport the trash outside the city.
As they were about to leave, one of the guards suddenly stopped Xie Man, looked him up and down, and asked, “Little Xie Man, how old are you?”
Xie Man was stunned for a moment, but he answered truthfully, “Twelve years old.”
“Can you read?”
Xie Man nodded.
Peasants like him who worked for noble masters usually didn’t know how to read. However, because Old Roger had worked as an accounting apprentice for a shop when he was young, though the shop had gone bankrupt later, he had learned to read, and then he taught Xie Man.
Hearing Xie Man’s answer, the guard said with a smile, “That’s perfect. The lord issued a decree a while back, all teenagers in the territory who are twelve years old but not older than fifteen, who can read, regardless of gender or background, must go to the testing center for testing. You go there later.”
“Testing? What kind of testing?”
Xie Man was still confused, but Old Roger panicked first and said hurriedly, “Sir, Little Xie Man has always been diligent in his work, he hasn’t done anything wrong.”
The guard waved his hand and laughed, “Don’t worry, it’s a good thing. Lord Su Nan is recruiting apprentices for the entire Shining Light Territory. Anyone who passes the testing will be able to become his apprentice, and each month they will receive a gold coin subsidy.”
Old Roger and Xie Man were stunned, their eyes wide with shock.
They worked hard all month and earned less than ten silver coins.
But if they became this apprentice, they could get a gold coin every month?
Was there such a good thing?
However, Old Roger immediately felt hesitant.
Were there really such pie-in-the-sky opportunities in the world?
Wouldn’t they be tricked away and then forced to do something bad?
Seeing Old Roger’s expression, the guard knew what he was thinking and said with a laugh, “Lord Su Nan is a legendary Wizard. The decree was issued by the lord. Do you think those two gentlemen have nothing better to do than to trick you, a poor man?”
“If I didn’t see Little Xie Man being well-behaved, I wouldn’t bother to remind you.”
Old Roger quickly apologized with a smile.
Thinking about what the guard said, it made sense. The lord’s decree, how could it be fake?
After thanking the guard, Old Roger pulled Xie Man onto the wagon.
On the way back, Old Roger thought for a while and said to Xie Man, “When we get back after transporting the trash, you go home, wash up, change clothes, and then go to the testing center.”
Xie Man nodded vigorously, his eyes shining.
If he could become the apprentice of the Lord Su Nan that the guard mentioned, he would get a gold coin every month. Saving for a year or two, he could take Old Roger to the inner city, open a small shop, and no longer have to get up early and work hard cleaning trash.
Maybe he would even have the chance to live in that castle!
Thinking about it, Xie Man was extremely excited, wishing he could fly to the testing center right now.
After returning from outside the city, Xie Man ran home, washed up, changed into his best set of clothes, and then went straight to the place the guard mentioned.
The testing center was located at the boundary between the outer city and the inner city.
In front of the temporary wooden shed, hundreds of boys and girls around Xie Man’s age were lined up in a long queue.
Many were excitedly chatting, occasionally looking ahead in the line.
Xie Man noticed that these people were all dressed decently, even the worst had a clean set of clothes, unlike him, wearing a white, patched-up set of clothes.
Thinking about it, it made sense. In this era, those who could read usually came from good families.
People like him, outliers, were rare.
“Go to the end of the line and wait, don’t wander around.”
A nearby soldier noticed Xie Man and told him to join the line.
Xie Man followed orders, joining the end of the line, waiting quietly.
(End of Chapter)