Chapter 2 The Immortal in the Painting

Shao Yanzhe suddenly recalled what Uncle Li had said earlier and immediately understood.

Could these people really believe that the black cat was responsible for the deaths of those scholars at Wenyuan Academy?

"You've been wronged!" Shao Yanzhe looked at the black cat with sympathy.

What did the cat do wrong? It was just passing by the academy!

Noticing his gaze, the already wary black cat arched its back, its heterochromatic eyes flashing with ferocity and alertness. It grinned, revealing sharp teeth, and made a low, growling sound in its throat, as if warning him.

Foolish humans, stay away from me!

Shao Yanzhe didn't care about the black cat's wariness and intimidation. He had once kept a black cat that was also very wary of him when they first met and it even scratched him. But as they spent more time together, their relationship improved.

I had considered adopting the black cat, but it preferred the wild, so the adoption plan fell through.

Looking back now, I'm glad I didn't adopt that black cat. Now that he's dead, that black cat can live a good life too.

Shao Yanzhe looked at the black cat, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes, his gaze softening.

The black cat was clearly stunned when it saw his gaze, tilting its head slightly as it stared at him, seemingly wondering why he was looking at it with that kind of look.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shao Yanzhe slowly moved closer, took out a fried small fish from the paper bag in his arms, and slowly brought it near the black cat's mouth.

The black cat was startled, its gaze shifting back and forth between Shao Yanzhe and the fried fish, its expression shifting between baring its teeth and not baring them. When the fried fish was placed on the ground in front of it, and it noticed that Shao Yanzhe had moved a little further away, it finally approached the fried fish and swallowed it in a few bites.

It licked its lips, and its gaze toward Shao Yanzhe was no longer so fierce.

'Hmph! I'll let you off the hook for the sake of the fried small fish!'

When Shao Yanzhe saw the black cat's appearance, he immediately laughed. He squatted down and took out a few more fried small fish, waving them at it.

"There's still some fried small fish here, do you want some? Here, take all of these!"

The black cat followed the rhythm of Shao Yanzhe shaking the fried fish, its eyes darting around, savoring the lingering taste in its mouth, and slowly moved closer.

Shao Yanzhe looked at the black cat eating fried fish with its head down, and at its shiny black fur, and finally resisted the urge to pet it.

He stood up only after giving all the fried small fish to the black cat.

"Okay, I really don't have any left." He showed the empty paper packet to the black cat.

The black cat glanced at the paper package; it was empty. Disappointment flashed in its eyes.

'Human, you may step aside!'

It barked at Shao Yanzhe, flicked its tail, turned and walked away. It reached the corner of the wall and jumped onto the top of the wall in a few swift movements.

It squatted on the wall, licked the fur around its mouth, and lazily lay down, wagging its tail listlessly, completely ignoring Shao Yanzhe who was standing there.

Shao Yanzhe seemed unsurprised by this, merely chuckled, and turned to leave.

As his figure grew smaller and smaller, the black cat that had been lying on the wall stood up, stretched, and then narrowed its heterochromatic eyes, looking in the direction Shao Yanzhe had left. The shadow that had fallen to its feet seemed to wriggle slightly.

The black cat noticed this and bared its teeth at the shadow at its feet, which instantly fell silent.

Satisfied, it withdrew its gaze, took one last look in the direction Shao Yanzhe had left, and then its figure suddenly disappeared from the top of the wall, leaving only a few leaves drifting down in the wind.

People on the street saw the black cat disappear and quickened their pace to leave. The nearby vendors also quickly packed up and left, and the once bustling street suddenly became deserted.

On the other side, Shao Yanzhe arrived at a bookstore. He had just learned from the original owner's memories that all the silver he had saved was earned by copying books in this bookstore.

He was penniless and couldn't go without money for the next two weeks, so he planned to continue copying books at the bookstore to earn some money and improve his life.

"Mr. Zhang, it's been a long time! I hope your business is booming!" Shao Yanzhe walked up to the bookstore owner and greeted him with a smile.

Mr. Zhang, who was writing something, stopped what he was doing, looked up at Shao Yanzhe, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"So it's Young Master Shao. It's been a while. I thought..." He didn't finish his sentence, instead abruptly changing the subject, "By the way, did you come here to buy something or to continue copying books?"

Shao Yanzhe didn't delve into what Boss Zhang hadn't said. He probably just thought that he was one of the scholars who died at Wenyuan Academy, and that was nothing serious.

If he hadn't transmigrated, the original owner of this body would indeed be dead.

"I want to continue copying books, but I don't know if the bookstore still needs me to copy books?"

As Shao Yanzhe spoke, he glanced around and noticed that there weren't many people inside, only two or three scholars reading books.

He glanced at them and found them somewhat familiar. After a moment's recollection, he remembered that these people were students from Wenyuan Academy, although the original owner of this body was not familiar with them.

This situation worried him. With so few people buying books, would the bookstore still have books for him to copy?

"Of course I need it. Please wait a moment, young master, while I go get the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for copying the book."

Mr. Zhang went into the back room to get his things, while Shao Yanzhe waited at the counter.

Soon, Boss Zhang returned, carrying a roll of Xuan paper in one hand and a bamboo basket in the other. He placed the items on the counter.

"These are the books that need to be copied, and these are the writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Once you have finished copying them, just bring them over. The price will remain the same as before."

Shao Yanzhe glanced at the books he needed to copy and found that they were all books that scholars could use, so they were not difficult for him.

The price for copying books in the original body was not low. For example, a copy of the Three Character Classic, which has about 1,200 characters, was provided by the shopkeeper. After copying a copy, one could earn 70 coins.

It may not seem like much, but in ancient times, the average person could only earn a maximum of 50 coins a day.

If he were diligent, Shao Yanzhe could earn nearly 300 coins a day by copying three or four books, which would be more than enough for his comfortable life.

"Okay, I'll send it over as soon as possible."

"No rush, young master, you only need to send it within a month."

"Okay, thank you for your help, Mr. Zhang."

"You're too kind, you're too kind!"

Shao Yanzhe picked up his things, said goodbye to Boss Zhang, and then left the bookstore.

He hadn't gone far from the bookstore when a thin, scholarly-looking man bumped into him.

The scholar looked thin, but he was quite strong. Shao Yanzhe was immediately knocked back a few steps, and the Xuan paper in his hand fell from his arm to the ground, the outermost layer immediately covered with a layer of dust.

The scrolls the scholar was holding fell to the ground, but he seemed not to have reacted, standing there blankly for a while before stiffly squatting down to pick them up.

Shao Yanzhe glanced at the thin scholar, gently patting the dust-covered Xuan paper, and found his expression somewhat strange.

Just then, a faint stench of decay wafted into his nose, causing him to frown uncomfortably.

"Here you go, as compensation."

Suddenly, the scholar opposite him stuffed a scroll into Shao Yanzhe's arms, said a few short words, and left with the scrolls in his arms.

Shao Yanzhe called out to the thin scholar several times, but he did not respond and soon disappeared into the crowd.

He glanced down at the scroll in his hand, reached out to untie the rope binding it, and opened the scroll. He found that the paper inside was brand new and not an ancient painting. He figured it must have been painted by the scholar not long ago, and its value was not very high.

Not far from him, on a wall, hidden among the leaves, two eyes, one golden and one yellow, glared fiercely at Shao Yanzhe, baring their teeth and making threatening, gurgling noises.

But when Shao Yanzhe looked in this direction, she hid herself and didn't let him see her.

Shao Yanzhe withdrew his gaze, thinking he had just misjudged the situation. He packed up his things, glanced at the sky, and hurried back.

Fortunately, they didn't walk for long before they met Uncle Li, who was driving an oxcart.

"Young man Shao, come on, get in the car. I was wondering why I hadn't seen you. Why did you leave early?" Uncle Li glanced at the herbs in Shao Yanzhe's hand and couldn't help but gasp. That must be worth a lot of money!

As a resident of Qingshan Village, he knew everyone's situation. He knew that Shao Yanzhe probably didn't have much money left after buying these herbs. Since the car was mostly empty, he decided to do a good deed and give him a free ride.

"Hey, Old Li, how can you be so kind as to give people a free ride!" A plump woman sitting in the car glanced at Shao Yanzhe with a disdainful expression, clearly dissatisfied with Uncle Li's actions.

Uncle Li immediately put on a stern face: "Zhao Xiaohua, I didn't give Shao a free ride. He paid for the round-trip charter when he came. Logically, I should only give him a ride, otherwise you won't have a ride."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaohua immediately fell silent, looking away as if she hadn't heard him.

"Young man, what are you standing there for? Get in the car!" Uncle Li urged.

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Li," Shao Yanzhe quickly said.

Riding in an oxcart was much faster than walking. Shao Yanzhe would occasionally glance at the scenery along the roadside and listen to the faint sound of bells, feeling quite content.

By the time he got home, it was completely dark.

He put his things in the study, then made himself some food to fill his stomach before returning to the study to start copying books.

He carried the oil lamp into the study, and as he stepped inside, the lamp suddenly shook violently, the wick crackling and popping.

The shadow behind Shao Yanzhe swayed violently with the flickering light of the oil lamp, like a gigantic, menacing creature that might pounce at any moment.

He reached out and shielded the flames, which slowly subsided. Only then did he carefully enter the study, place the oil lamp on the lamp stand next to the desk, and begin to look through the books he needed to copy.

The next moment, the scroll rolled out from a pile of Xuan paper. As it rolled, the rope binding the scroll fell off, and the rolled-up scroll unfurled with inertia, revealing the picture inside.

Shao Yanzhe glanced over instinctively and saw a beautiful woman holding a book outlined in black lines on the scroll. She was wearing a white gauze dress, and behind her was a bookshelf filled with books, exuding an elegant and refined air.

"I didn't expect this painting to be so good! I've struck gold!"

As he spoke, he reached out and picked up the painting, his gaze sweeping around before finally settling on the empty wall behind the desk.

There used to be a painting on this empty wall, but the original owner sold it for money, so it's perfect to hang this scroll in my hand on it.

After hanging it up, Shao Yanzhe nodded in satisfaction, then turned around and took out the outermost sheet of Xuan paper. He dipped his brush in ink and began to write on it.

He didn't copy the book, but instead used discarded paper to familiarize himself with the original owner's handwriting. He had the original owner's memories, and although his handwriting was not quite the same at first, after writing about four or five lines, his handwriting was already eight or nine parts similar to the original owner's.

Shao Yanzhe was so engrossed in writing that he didn't notice the oil lamp flame on the lamp stand slowly changing from its original warm yellow to green.

Behind him, on the scroll hanging on the wall, the woman in white who should have been looking at the book in her hand now had her eyes off the book and was staring at his back with a strange smile on her lips.