Winter had arrived.

The weather was getting colder and colder.

Every morning when Xiao Mo woke up, he could see the tree branches outside covered with a thin layer of frost.

During this time, Xiao Mo read books every day.

He read from morning until night, slept for a while, then got up to continue reading.

Xiao Mo felt that he hadn't worked this hard even during his college entrance exams in his previous life.

As for daily living expenses and the cost of writing materials.

Xiao Mo had saved some silver beforehand, which was barely enough.

The village chief also brought him meals every day, saving Xiao Mo the time of cooking and some expenses.

On this particular morning, Xiao Mo woke up early and felt that today was much colder than before.

After getting dressed, he went outside to wash up.

As soon as he opened the door, Xiao Mo saw the outside world draped in silver, with goose feather-like snow slowly falling from the sky. When the cold wind blew, Xiao Mo couldn't help but shiver.

"Big Brother Xiao, I've come to bring you your meal!"

From outside the courtyard came the voice of a little girl.

The little girl was chubby, running over while holding a food box.

"Little Ying, thank you," Xiao Mo said, taking the food box and patting her head.

The little girl delivering the meal was the village chief's second daughter, Wang Ying.

Originally, the village chief had wanted his eldest daughter Wang Yan to deliver meals to Xiao Mo but four years had passed, and Wang Yan had changed from a nine-year-old little girl into a young maiden in the prime of her youth, her figure gradually developing.

To avoid any impropriety, Aunt Chen had the three-year-old Wang Ying deliver the meals instead.

After all, everyone in the village knew each other, and the two houses weren't far apart, so there wouldn't be any danger.

However, three years ago, when Xiao Mo learned that Aunt Chen was pregnant again, he was quite surprised. The village chief really was vigorous in his old age.

Xiao Mo took a steamed bun and handed it to Wang Ying. The chubby Wang Ying wasn't polite and accepted the big brother's big bun. One big and one small sat on a stone, nibbling bite by bite.

"Big Brother Xiao, I noticed that when you eat, you always look toward that mountain. Is there something on that mountain?" Wang Ying raised her round little head and asked curiously.

"On that mountain," Xiao Mo lifted his head, gazing at the distant mountain covered with thick white snow, "someone is waiting for Big Brother Xiao."

"Sister, eat a little more."

"Little Green, I can't eat anymore."

"Eat one more!"

"I've already eaten so many mice."

"Sister, eat a little more."

"I really can't eat anymore!"

In the cave, Little Green carried two dead mice to her sister.

Two snakes, one white and one green, had round bulging bellies and looked like they had gained a whole circle of weight.

Ordinary snakes would have already begun hibernating.

However, when snake clans awakened their spiritual intelligence and embarked on the path of cultivation, their hibernation time would shorten. The higher their realm, the shorter their hibernation.

Even so, three days ago Little Green had also started feeling drowsy but Little Green had been worried about her sister and was persisting in staying awake.

"Little Green, go to sleep quickly. Sister is really fine," seeing her younger sister's snake head nodding drowsily, Little White persuaded.

Little Green shook her head vigorously, "But sister, how can I not worry about you? Which snake sheds its skin in winter?"

At this time, Bai Ruxue's clear vertical pupils were like frosted glass, the edges of the white scales on her belly were curling up like cracks in a dried riverbed.

Fine cracks appeared on the scales at her snout tip, like cracked pottery, and the transparent mucus she secreted enveloped her entire body, presenting an oily wax-like reflection.

"It's fine. Sister is a snake that can transform, different from ordinary snakes."

"But sister..."

"There's no 'but.' Go to sleep quickly, or sister will get angry," Bai Ruxue pretended to be angry.

"I won't..."

"Thud!"

When Little Green stubbornly refused to sleep, Bai Ruxue's tail secretly coiled around a stone, then took advantage of her sister's inattention to knock her from behind.

Little Green's eyes rolled, and she fell down with a "thud."

"Little Green, see you in spring."

Bai Ruxue's tail tip touched Little Green's head, then she also lay down beside her sister, with her head facing the cave entrance.

"What is he doing now?"

"He should still be reading."

Looking at the heavy snow outside the cave, Bai Ruxue's thoughts gradually scattered, and drowsiness gradually came over her.

"It's been so long since I've seen him."

"Will he forget me?"

Bai Ruxue curled up into a ball.

"After shedding my skin, will I be able to grow up?"

"I should be able to, right?"

"When he sees me after I've grown up, what kind of expression will he have?"

"Will I be as tall as him?"

As drowsiness grew heavier, Bai Ruxue's last thought was like a kite with a broken string. She completely lost consciousness and fell into deep sleep.

Inside the cave, two snakes snuggled closely together.

The heavy snow outside the cave swept through the mountain forest.

Not knowing how much time passed, the wind and snow grew smaller and smaller.

Until the sky cleared.

Spring arrived.

On this day, Xiao Mo was going to Qingshan County to take the examination.

The country where Xiao Mo lived was called the Qi Kingdom.

Xiao Mo's children's examination in the Qi Kingdom was different from ancient China.

The Qi Kingdom's children's examination could be taken every year, requiring three rounds of testing in one month, but all three rounds of examination were held in the same place.

This was done to reduce the burden on examinees, so they didn't need to travel back and forth between the county seat and the prefecture.

Passing the first two rounds of examination made one a child student.

Passing all three rounds of examination made one a scholar.

If one didn't pass the scholar examination, they could continue taking it the following year without needing to take the first two rounds again.

Becoming a scholar meant having a certain status.

Scholars in the Qi Kingdom could see officials without kneeling, were exempt from corvée labor and torture during interrogation, could establish private schools and write documents for others, but could not be exempted from land taxes.

Moreover, because there were more and more scholars in the Qi Kingdom, jobs like private tutoring and document writing had become very competitive.

Currently in the Qi Kingdom, there were many poor scholars, such as the village chief.

"Village Chief, I'm departing," at the village entrance, Xiao Mo bid farewell to the village chief's family.

"Take this travel money with you," the village chief stepped forward and handed a bundle to Xiao Mo.

Aunt Chen snorted and turned her head away, but didn't say anything.

The village chief ignored his wife and instructed Xiao Mo, "Take the exam well. Don't feel too much pressure. With your learning, you should be able to pass. We'll wait for your good news."

"Yes," Xiao Mo bowed respectfully to the village chief's family, then turned and walked away.

This year's children's examination location was in Qingshan County. Fortunately, it wasn't far from Stone Bridge Village, just a day's journey.

After arriving in Qingshan County, Xiao Mo had a good sleep.

Two days later, Xiao Mo took the examination.

The children's examination had no age limit.

There were eight or nine-year-old children, as well as fifty or sixty-year-old elders.

These elders had been taking the exam for so many years and were still "child students."

Just the children's examination alone was so fiercely competitive, not to mention the later provincial and metropolitan examinations.

One of the tasks in the Book of a Hundred Lives was "entering court to become an official." This really wasn't easy.

"Could it be that I'll spend my entire life taking exams and never become an official?" Xiao Mo thought to himself.