Li Xiulan awoke with the sun the next morning. The rays streamed in through the small window in the room, landing on her face and rousing her from sleep. Her mother had slept well on the bed; she, in the meanwhile, had fallen asleep sideways on the floor, the book she had been reading splayed face-down on the ground in front of her. Quite frankly, she couldn’t remember what it had even been about.

She stretched, feeling her bones crack in discomfort. She swung her arms back and forth to get some feeling back in them.

Perhaps sleeping on the floor wasn’t the best idea the night before the contest.

Looking up, she noticed that her mother was still asleep. Li Jing never slept in late, but it seemed that exhaustion had overtaken her. Li Xiulan felt a small pang of guilt in her stomach, but she quelled it immediately. Mama was a cultivator with great renown. She can certainly handle more than this.

Despite these thoughts, Li Xiulan found herself running down to the first level of the inn and buying two servings of food. She sprinted back up to the room and placed one of the dishes on the table next to the bed. She began to eat as quietly as possible, letting the smell of food wake her mother.

Li Jing’s eyes opened to see Li Xiulan perched on a chair in the corner of the room with a half-empty dish in her hand. Her gaze swept to the bedside table, seeing another still steaming. She sat up with a smile, accepting the food.

“Good morning, Xiulan. How are you feeling?”

“Could be better, could be worse,” Li Xiulan said with a shrug. “I think I’m as prepared as I’ll ever be.”

The two of them talked back and forth about the different books Li Xiulan had read over the month, going over every topic that might possibly be asked in the competition.

During the competition, contestants were not allowed to have any notes or books on them. In fact, the contest rules were so strict that every participant had to wear clothes issued by the committee running the competition so as to avoid contestants hiding cheating materials in the stitches of their clothes. As they talked, Li Xiulan tried to file every little fact into a recognizable, repeatable order, something she could find at a moment’s notice if needed.

As the morning went on, anxiety grew inside of Li Xiulan. Days upon days of work had gone into studying for this essay competition, but she still felt utterly unprepared. Once all her books and notes were taken away, could she really succeed? Even if she managed to recall every single fact she had learned over the month, could it possibly be enough to overcome the disadvantage of her inexperience?

She took a few deep breaths as she packed her books back into her bag, placing it in the corner of the room so it would be out of her mother’s way. She would not be here for the next few days to use it, after all. The essay competition took place in several different stages, and for the duration of the contest, the participants stayed in housing on the grounds where the competition was held. Her mother would remain in this room, anxiously awaiting the results without knowing what was taking place inside the contest hall.

It finally was time to go. The contest began just after midday, and the sun was about to reach its peak. Li Jing and Li Xiulan left together, walking side-by-side through the city until they came to the competition site.

It was a low building, but still enormous. The outer walls stretched far out of reach on both sides and went back further into the morning fog. From what Li Xiulan had heard, the test area consisted of many rooms that were connected in a square surrounding an internal yard where the testing took place. It had been hard to imagine such a place when she heard of it before, and somehow her mind couldn’t seem to comprehend it even when it was right in front of her.

The entire block was surrounded by people. Some were cheering on their family members as they entered and others were simply bystanders casting bets on who would make it to the end. “That one looks sharp. I bet he’ll make it to the finals.” “Him? Bah! He looks like a fool! He won’t even make it past the qualifying round.” “Look, another young one. What are their parents thinking? They don’t stand a chance.”

Li Xiulan swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling a lot more like sand than she would have liked. She tried her best to smile as she faced her mother to say goodbye.

“Well, mama, here I am,” she forced out. “So I guess… I’ll see you at the end.” She swallowed again. Why was her throat so dry today? It’s not like she was nervous. Certainly not.

Li Jing smiled. She ran her fingers through Li Xiulan’s hair before pulling her into a tight embrace.

“Good luck, my love,” she whispered next to Li Xiulan’s ear. Li Xiulan found herself blinking hard, her eyes wet. But she wasn’t crying. Certainly… certainly not. She gripped her mother’s clothes tightly.

“I don’t need luck,” she whispered back. “I have skill.”

Li Jing laughed, pulling away from the hug. Li Xiulan quickly wiped at her eyes, drying them off before they could be seen by the crowd.

“I know you do. Show them how hard you’ve worked.” She tapped her finger against Li Xiulan’s nose. “I love you.”

“I love you too, mama.” Li Xiulan tried to fill her voice with confidence. Even if she had no chance of winning, she was going to give it everything she had. Even if she trembled in fear at the thought of humiliating herself in front of so many of the world’s greatest minds, she was going to try.

Having said her goodbyes, Li Xiulan gave one final look at her mother before walking to the entrance of the exam hall. She had sent a letter at the beginning of the month stating her intention to compete, so she was allowed in with little fuss. She and the other contestants were swept inside to see an enormous lawn covered from end to end in writing desks.

Each desk was made of light wood and hung low to the ground. A basic, unmarked cushion was placed under each so that the contestants would have a place to kneel while writing. On top of the desk was a pot of ink, a quill, and a pile of parchment. The corner of each desk was labeled with a letter and a number, starting with the lowest number on the right and increasing to the left.

Looking over the competition, Li Xiulan found her hopes rising. Some of the contestants seemed even younger than her, and many others wore unconfident looks on their faces. She had expected to see wise, old monks competing, but she could only spot a few in the crowd. 

Li Xiulan did notice, however, that there were very few women besides herself. There was one aged woman standing against a pillar, looking about ready to collapse in an instant. There was also a group of a few young girls who appeared to be fighting with some boys who looked rather similar. Probably siblings, then.

She found herself looking all around, scanning for anyone else her age. Surely another young woman had entered? She couldn’t be the only one, right?

While Li Xiulan was distracted with her search, she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She jumped, whirling around to see a young girl around her age, sheepishly rubbing her arm with an awkward smile on her face. Li Xiulan’s heart soared.

“Hello, I'm t…t-erribly sorry to bother you, but I, um, I noticed that you were around my age, and there, there aren’t any others, so I, I…”

She seemed to have trouble getting her words out. The girl couldn’t even raise her eyes to meet Li Xiulan’s, but Li Xiulan didn’t mind. She was just excited to see another young woman taking on the essay competition. Something struck her as familiar about the girl, though.

Looking her up and down, Li Xiulan realized that the girl wore the gray robes of the White Snake sect. Although it was well hidden by the folds of her robe, the girl also had a silver sword sheathed at her side. Her dark brown hair was immaculately swept up into a bun, which was common for the White Snake wardrobe. Li Xiulan’s excitement rose even more.

“It’s no trouble at all. Actually, I was looking for others, so I’m really glad you found me. I’m Li Xiulan!” She gave a polite bow to finish off the statement, then raised her head and continued speaking before the girl could say a word. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but your robes look like they’re from the White Snake sect. Are you a cultivator?”

Li Xiulan’s eyes gave off a hungry shine. It was clear that she wanted more information, and the girl was feeling a little overwhelmed. She cleared her throat.

“Oh, um, yes, that’s right. I joined, um, a few years ago, I guess.” She shook her head as if trying to correct herself. “Um, my name is Song Fen. It’s nice t…t-o meet you.” Song Fen bowed her head in return, although Li Xiulan noticed that her hands were trembling a bit.

“It must be nice to be a cultivator. I’ve dreamed of it for years, but my mother won’t allow me to join any of the sects,” Li Xiulan said. “That’s why I’m here today, actually. My mother promised she would let me learn cultivation if I won the essay contest. Only from a tutor, though. She doesn’t want me to be a part of all the politics, I guess.”

Song Fen seemed surprised. “She told you you had to- to win? And you agreed?”

Li Xiulan laughed. “I was the one who offered the deal, actually. My mother won’t change her mind for anything short of a miracle.”

Song Fen was dumbstruck. She seemed to be trying to find the words to respond, but Li Xiulan imagined that all her brain was able to put together was something along the lines of “are you insane?” Li Xiulan decided to put her out of her misery and change the subject.

“So, what are you entering the contest for?”

Song Fen jumped a little. She nervously wrung her fingers.

“T…t-here- well, there’s no reason, not really. I just, just-” she paused, unable to continue. Li Xiulan patiently waited as she took a deep breath, nodding to encourage her. “I wanted to prove something, that’s all,” she finished. Li Xiulan nodded again.

“So in a way, we’re here for the same reason,” she said. Song Fen looked up and their gaze met for a brief moment. Her eyes were a beautiful autumn mahogany. 

“I suppose so,” Song Fen replied. A small smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, and Li Xiulan found herself smiling along. Li Xiulan had never really had the chance to talk to anyone her age back in the village, so Li Xiulan was overjoyed to have found someone. Especially someone who seemed so gentle.

Before Li Xiulan could ask another question, the sound of a ringing bell filled the courtyard. Everyone turned to the far end of the yard. There was a raised stand with a table, and in front of it were two men, one of whom was holding the bell. The other cleared his throat and silence fell over the pavilion.

“Welcome, contestants, to the annual essay competition. The qualifying round is about to begin. Please come to the front to select a tag for your seating arrangement. After everyone is seated, we will proceed with a short presentation of the rules.”

The two men stepped behind the table as a swarm of people pushed their way to the front, frantically grabbing numbers and trying to find their seats. Li Xiulan looked back at Song Fen, who watched the crowd with nervous anticipation. She was biting her lips, Li Xiulan noticed. She must not be used to large crowds.

“Want me to go get you a number?” Li Xiulan asked. Song Fen started in surprise.

“Oh! No, that’s fine, I can do it, thank you…” she began moving forward, trying to squeeze into the fray. After she had only made it a few steps, she was pushed back out of the crowd, unable to find another entrance. 

Before Song Fen could try again, Li Xiulan reappeared at her side, holding two seat tags in her hand like a magnificent prize.

“H-Huh? How did you- so fast!” Song Fen stuttered. Li Xiulan took one of the tags and handed it over to her.

“I’m small, but I’m still pretty good at shoving people out of the way,” Li Xiulan said, laughing. “Look, our seats are next to each other! That way you won’t have to be surrounded by strangers.”

Song Fen raised an eyebrow to that. Li Xiulan took notice.

“Oh, come on! We at least know each other’s names and faces. We’re not strangers anymore,” Li Xiulan teased. She knew Song Fen probably wouldn’t be comfortable around people much older than her. If she were Song Fen, she’d probably want to have her best chance for success, right?

Song Fen clutched the seat tag close. “Thank you,” she said, sounding more confident in those two words than in anything else she’d said that day. Li Xiulan felt a little proud; for her first interaction with a girl her age, it seemed to be going surprisingly well!

Realizing that most people had already taken their seats, Li Xiulan and Song Fen made their way over to theirs. Li Xiulan’s seat was in the eighth row, eight seats over. Song Fen was in the ninth seat.

When everyone finally had settled in, the man at the front returned again. Li Xiulan’s heart rate increased when she saw the scroll he held in his hand. This was only the qualifying round, but she couldn’t help but be excited when she thought of what would be coming up. The man lifted the scroll and unfurled it, preparing to read off the rules.

“Now that everyone is seated, we shall explain the nature of the competition, starting with the qualifying round. Over five hundred individuals are competing today, and after this first round, that number shall be cut to one hundred.”

Li Xiulan’s breath caught in her throat. She had never heard of so many people entering the contest… last year’s two hundred was record-breaking! In the very first round, she would already have to be in the top fifth of contestants to continue.

“Those one hundred individuals will have the privilege of staying in the pavilion for the remainder of the contest. Following the qualifying round, there will be three subsequent stages, each cutting the number of contestants in half. The final twelve contestants will then end with one extended essay about a randomly selected topic that will be judged by the citizens of Judian City. The winner will be announced by the end of the week. Are there any questions?”

Li Xiulan took a few deep breaths to calm her heart. So, she’d have to make it to the final twelve out of over five hundred to apply any of the skills she had been studying for the past month. That was, what, a two percent chance?

She looked over at Song Fen, who was shaking like a leaf. Her eyes were glued on the man as if waiting for him to sentence her to death. Somehow, seeing her like that made Li Xiulan’s nerves ease a little bit. Even if she didn’t win, she thought, maybe Song Fen would have a chance. Maybe, in the end, somebody’s dream would still come true.