In the following week, nothing exciting took place in Sun Mo's life. He also gradually got to familiarize himself with this game character's identity.
This character was also called Sun Mo. He had become a recommended-candidate [1] at the age of 20 and was now teaching in a school in a county. He came from a poor family and had a wife who was his childhood friend.
The two of them were very lovey-dovey. Other than teaching, Sun Mo would spend the rest of his time at home revising his studies. He planned on heading to the capital to take the imperial examinations the year after the next, trying to get the advanced-scholar[2] title.
Sun Mo sat by the window, looking at the overcast moon, a little lost in his thoughts. What was the condition to clear this stage?
His character's background was too simple, and Sun Mo was unable to detect anything from it.
"Is it to bring prosperity to this Song Dynasty? Or to overthrow it?"
[1] A qualified graduate who passed the triennial provincial exam.
[2] A graduate who passed the triennial court exam.
[3] An entry-level licentiate who had passed the college exam. They enjoyed officially sanctioned social privileges such as exemption from statute labor, access into local government facilities, and limited immunity against corporal punishments. They were further divided into three classes according to exam performance.
[4] A character in the classic Chinese novel 'The Plum in the Golden Vase' and a minor character in the 'Water Margin'. In both novels, he is murdered by his adulterous wife, Pan Jinlian. A well-known figure in Chinese culture, he represents the quintessential cuckold.