Chapter 130: The Great Knockout Tournament, Head-to-Head Duels

The final count revealed that eleven people had overlapping reports. The twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth from the end also overlapped. Perhaps this situation occurred every year, as the patrol officers for each row simply recorded their respective examinees without any sign of panic.

The inspection began.

First, they measured the starting and ending segments to see if the vertical length carved was a "one-fen distance." Those that met this condition were immediately measured for straightness using a plumb line. The plumb line was made of an unknown material—extremely thin, flexible, and elastic—held taut by two craftsmen at either end. Any carved line that did not reach the plumb line or exceeded it was judged as unqualified. If an examinee had ten unqualified segments, the inspection stopped, and they were eliminated.

If there were errors in the starting or ending segments, they would shift toward the middle until they found a qualified segment to measure with the plumb line.

*Caw!*
*Caw!*

A flock of cranes flew over the examination grounds, but the examinees were far too busy to admire them. The results were announced: twenty-one people failed. Those who had passed the grade but reported late were filled with frustration and wept openly.

Each disappointment, each realization of "lacking the skill," no matter how much they felt unwilling, introspective, or regretful, elimination was final. Most of them no longer had the qualifications to retake the exam. This was different from the apprentice craftsman exam; the slots for prospective master craftsmen were limited. Being eliminated in the second round clearly signaled a lack of talent; who would trust them or waste opportunities on them again in the future?

The remaining one hundred and twenty examinees were led by patrol officers to re-align themselves: fifteen per row, eight rows in total. They were allowed two quarters of an hour to rest in place.

During the break, patrol officers moved back and forth, carrying square wooden boards. The edges of the boards appeared to be two feet long. Wang Ge’s position had changed; she was now in the second row, fifth from the west. Strangely, the boards for the examinees in the first row were placed behind them.

Since it was a rest period, the examinees looked around in confusion; the boards for the third, fifth, and seventh rows were arranged in the same way as the first.

What was going on?

In the examiners' area:

The rank of the examiners for the prospective master craftsman exam was the same as in the apprentice exam; the deputy examiners were all intermediate craftsmen. Over a dozen years in a single county, there were only so many intermediate craftsmen. Examiners Gu, He, and Liu had also served as deputies during the previous September’s apprentice exam, but they were not local residents; Magistrate Huan had invited them from other commanderies and counties.

Examiner Liu remarked, "When Shanyin County held this assessment, the maximum number of failed examinees per section was only five. The gap between our two counties is truly vast!"

"It is the seat of the commandery, after all," Examiner Gu deflected the topic. "I wonder where your training tools came from when you were young. The one I used was self-made by my grandfather. He bought two sheng of millet from different grain shops, picked out all the medium-sized grains, and then eliminated those that were not consistent in length. After that, he carved the distance on a wooden tablet, took the most frequently occurring segments, and created the wooden ruler that my Gu family still uses today."

"Haha, I must confess, Examiner Gu, the ruler passed down by my ancestors was made in the same way."

Examiner Liu added, "I heard that when the Directorate for Palace Manufactures verifies distances, it is even more tedious. They select five thousand medium-sized millet grains, eliminating them one by one until they reach an average, which is defined as the most standard distance."

*Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong!*

Five drumbeats announced the end of the break.

"Second examination zone, third assessment begins. It will also be divided into two halves; the first half is... the rule of circle-making."

As soon as the examiner finished speaking, many examinees, including Wang Ge, felt a secret sense of doubt: this was not the exam they had heard about. Wasn't the third task supposed to be making a "writing handle"?

The patrol officers stepped in, each carrying a rattle-drum at their waist. Walking between the rows, they spoke loudly, each in their own voice: "First (third, fifth, seventh) rows, turn around! Listen carefully to the rules. The first half is a one-on-one duel! The person facing you is your opponent. After three drumbeats, use the sharp needle on the other end of your carving knife to draw circles on the board. You have one quarter of an hour. The one who draws the most correct and regular circles wins. The winner does not need to take the second half of the exam. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

*Xua, xua, xua...* Countless gazes clashed, avoiding the bodies of the patrol officers. Wang Ge did the same, baring her teeth at the examinee opposite her as if they were competing to see who could kill the other.

"Note, the center point of the circle cannot exceed three. The diameter of each circle must not be equal. The smallest circle must have a diameter of at least three inches; violators will be eliminated. If more than three circles fail the standard measurement, you are eliminated. Overlapping lines will also result in elimination. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" They would rather lose to an opponent than draw messy circles. To draw as many as possible on the limited board without overlapping, one could only draw concentric circles around each center point.

The patrol officers returned to their positions.

The timing drum... *Dong!*

The patrolling officers and craftsmen took up their rattle-drums.

Wang Ge turned her carving knife around. She had always thought that the sharp, needle-like end was for more precise distance carving; she never expected it to be for drawing circles by hand.

Examinees who had used the sharp end for distance carving regretted it deeply, as the tips were either broken or worn dull.

*Dong!*

Wang Ge looked at the thick, square wooden board at her feet. The surface was lacquered, very smooth and flat. It was fortunate they weren't drawing on raw wood, as it would be nearly impossible to complete without a compass.

*Dong!*

All the examinees hunched over instantly; they were all clever people, and all of them chose to draw small circles.

*Clang, clang, clang...*
*Clang-lang-lang, clang-lang-lang, clang-lang-lang...*

The patrol officers' drums all sounded different.

Just as Wang Ge was about to draw her fourth circle, a craftsman began circling her: *Clang, clang, clang...*

"Damn official! You're just making the most noise yourself!"

*Clang, clang, clang...* The craftsman stretched out his arm, thrusting the rattle-drum into Wang Ge’s face, then moving it far and near, up and down, to her left and right.

The noise was one thing, but those two little drum-beaters with colorful tassels were flying around wildly—one green, one red. It was impossible to even pretend to be blind.

The beaters flew so close that she had to squint, and finally, the craftsman went to harass the next examinee.

The rules Xie Ju had told her were truly the gentle version.

And the even more infuriating part followed!

The sixteen patrol officers didn't just shake their drums; they began to sing. They all sang poems from the "Classic of Poetry," but hatefully, each sang something different, and each was full of emotion. Most of the examinees couldn't understand them; they just felt it was deafening.

The patrol officer walked toward Wang Ge. She had already drawn twelve concentric circles, one tightly nested inside the other. The red and green beaters danced before her face again, accompanied by the "lang-lang" noise. The officer was singing: "Where to live, where to dwell? Where have I lost my horse? Where shall I seek it? Down in the forest."

Wang Ge knew very little about the "Classic of Poetry." Her hand paused; the lyrics sounded familiar as if she had heard them somewhere before.

"Life and death, separation and meeting, to you I made a vow; to hold your hand, and grow old with you..."

Wang Ge thought: *So it was this poem.* She hesitated no longer, kept her eyes straight, and tried to narrow her peripheral vision as she drew the thirteenth circle.

Her opponent had just begun to gloat, but the officer rushed toward him. Wang Ge couldn't afford to worry about others; this was a one-on-one duel. Who knew if her opponent was a natural-born talent at drawing circles? She could not afford to be careless.

Drawing small circles by hand was a qualitative leap in difficulty compared to large ones. She was capable of enduring hardship, but human energy and time were limited; if one wanted to master other skills, the skill of drawing circles was bound to be weaker. She had practiced self-assessment for drawing circles by hand, but could only draw up to a radius of half a foot, and even then, she couldn't guarantee they would meet the standards every time.

She couldn't be rash; she couldn't gamble!

The drum for the half-quarter mark sounded. Her right hand was sore. She took a deep breath, switched to her left hand, and began to add circles within the tightly packed concentric ones.