On the fourth day at dusk, the examination ended.
Fen Ling arrived early in the morning and stood guard the entire day. All other examinees had trickled out, but there was no sign of Xiao Liulang. This made him uneasy.
Just as he was contemplating asking those inside about his friend, he saw Xiao Liulang emerge, his expression icy.
Fen Lin hurried to meet him and found his face pale. "What happened?" he asked. "Are you feeling unwell? Or did the exam go poorly?"
"Nothing." Xiao Liulang said dismissively.
Fen Lin gathered from the sound of his voice that it was not a health issue. "I overheard some of the students who finished saying that this test was especially difficult. Don't get discouraged; you may have done better than they did!"
"Let's return to the Inn." Xiao Liulang turned and headed towards the Inn.
Fen Ling hesitated, at a loss for words.