Even though Ning Qingtian already had a rough guess before coming down the mountain, when the old man truly said the words telling him to take the imperial examinations, Ning Qingtian still froze, his expression stiff and his head throbbing.

In contrast, Wu Qianlan, who had come down the mountain with him, felt a bit moved when she saw this old man showing such sincere respect toward her.

After spending these past few days in what was essentially a bandit den, she had almost begun to suspect that everyone under her rule had become rebels.

But now, seeing this, she realized that the Great Song’s centuries-long respect for scholars still had influence.

At the very least, even here in this remote Anqing Prefecture where imperial authority barely reached, there was still such an elder who regarded the imperial examinations with such seriousness, which already spoke volumes.

For a moment, her expression toward the old man became noticeably softer.

But Ning Qingtian knew nothing of her thoughts.

He just felt that this old man’s head probably wasn’t screwed on properly, though he couldn’t say that directly.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally stepped aside and pointed to his wife, introducing her, “Father, this is my wife, the chief of Shuipo Liangshan. We are bandits now!”

He emphasized the word bandits, hoping the old man would understand.

But clearly, his good intentions were like throwing a wink at a blind man.

The old man was completely unmoved, simply responding with an “oh,” nodding lightly, then looking at Ning Qingtian with confusion.

“She is a bandit. What does that have to do with my son? You were taken up the mountain by force, not willingly. I believe Her Majesty the Empress will not hold it against you. As long as you repent and return to the right path, having your name read at Donghua Gate will not be difficult.”

Ning Qingtian nearly collapsed.

Meeting a father who refused to listen to reason—truly bad luck.

He wanted to tell him, “Your son went willingly, willingly!”

But he was afraid that if he said the truth, this rigid, prideful old man would die from anger on the spot.

After all, his current goal was to grow the stronghold forces, eventually rebel against the emperor and avenge his wife.

Clearly, he could not reveal this to the old man.

Left with no other choice, he tried patiently persuading,

“Father, your son has already followed the path he married into. If word were to spread in the future, I fear that the foolish— Ah, I mean, I fear Her Majesty the Empress would not forgive me easily.”

He was originally going to say “the foolish emperor,” but upon remembering how respectful his father was toward the Empress, he swallowed the words back to avoid causing more trouble.

“You stop spouting nonsense to your old man! I fed you, clothed you, raised you, taught you to read and write—all so that you could take the exam and earn a proper title! What future can you possibly have being some worthless bandit!?”

Ning Qingtian did not expect that his repeated refusal had thoroughly angered the old man, who immediately erupted into curses.

Seeing how aggressive the old man was, Ning Qingtian nearly lost his temper as well.

He was no longer the original Ning Qingtian—he had no interest in imperial ranks or honors.

He had no desire to fight his way through a stampede of thousands for a single chance at success.

Now that he had transmigrated, especially after stepping onto the path of cultivation and gaining power…

He wanted to eat heartily, drink boldly, and divide gold by the handful.

He had not come to this world to be tied down again.

Having thought it through, Ning Qingtian no longer wished to entertain the old man.

He glanced at him and said, “If you want to take the exam, take it yourself. I have no interest in becoming a lackey for that foolish ruler.”

He had lost patience and no longer cared to act respectfully.

But Ning Qingtian’s attitude shattered the old man’s last shred of hope.

Unable to understand how his son had become like this, he pointed a trembling finger at him in outrage, “You—you unfilial child! Fine! Fine! Fine! Since you refuse to take the imperial examinations, then this old man has no reason to keep living! I will die right in front of you today, and let us see how you live with yourself after this!”

As soon as Ning Qingtian heard this, he simultaneously heard a “plop”—someone had fallen into the water.

Shouts of alarm came from the bandits nearby.

He jolted, whipping around, only to see that the old man had already jumped into the lake and was thrashing violently in the water.

Without time to think, Ning Qingtian immediately leaped in after him. Even if it had been a stranger drowning, he would have tried to save them—let alone his own father.

The icy autumn water shocked him the moment he plunged in, but thankfully he did know how to swim.

He quickly reached the old man.

The old man had already swallowed several mouthfuls of water, his consciousness blurring, but instinctively grabbed the approaching figure in desperation.

“Don’t move! I’m taking you up!”

Ning Qingtian snapped. In water, nothing was more dangerous than a panicking drowning victim—they could easily drag the rescuer down as well.

But the old man, hearing Ning Qingtian’s voice and recognizing him, struggled even harder, mumbling through choked breaths, “I don’t need your help… If you won’t take the exam… then this old man will die today…”

His flailing limbs made Ning Qingtian nearly lose his grip, and he couldn’t help mentally cursing.

Honestly, if he weren’t his father, Ning Qingtian would have shoved his head underwater and let him drink to his fill.

Meanwhile, the bandits onshore, under Wu Qianlan’s command, all jumped in. These men had lived on the lake since childhood—they were experts in water.

In mere moments, they reached Ning Qingtian.

They looked at him, waiting for orders.

“What are you staring at? Take him—get him out of here!”

At his yell, a few of them immediately took the old man from his arms.

“I won’t go up! I won’t go up—!”

The old man continued to struggle, but in the hands of these water experts, his resistance was like a child tantruming in an adult’s arms—useless.

In just a few moments, they dragged him ashore.

Once Ning Qingtian confirmed his father was safe, he climbed up too.

The old man sat shivering violently in the cold wind, yet still managed to glare viciously at him and threaten, “You may have stopped me from dying today, but tomorrow I’ll go to the prefecture, bash my head against the yamen gates, and force the officials to come wipe out this entire nest of bandits!”

Hearing this, Ning Qingtian felt his mentality collapsing.

Faced with such an impossibly stubborn old man, he genuinely started considering the consequences of killing him.