Chapter 45 The Peony Soul Appears

The scholar surnamed Liu glanced anxiously out the window. A bright red setting sun painted the surrounding clouds crimson, creating a magnificent scene.

If he had seen such a beautiful view in the past, he would have had a table of fine wine and food prepared, invited a few close friends, and enjoyed composing poems and sipping tea together.

But now, he desperately wanted the sunset to disappear quickly so he could complete his plan.

His stern gaze swept around from time to time, landing on the scholars who were contemplating poetry.

None of these people will escape!

Finally, his gaze fell on the man named Shao Yanzhe, a fleeting look of resentment in his eyes.

If the scholar had been imprisoned according to his original plan, he wouldn't be in this predicament.

Originally, he could have passed the imperial examination and become a scholar!

Just before, he quietly approached the list of successful candidates in the provincial examination and was pleasantly surprised to see his name, Leng Yanshan, at the very end.

Unfortunately, he quickly realized that his original identity was gone.

Sure enough, not long after, a constable came forward and sealed his name on a piece of paper.

Leng Yanshan has completely gone mad!

He studied diligently for over a decade, all in order to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar.

Now, his name appears on the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations, but all of this is ruined because of a scholar!

Leng Yanshan's furious and resentful gaze fell on the first item in the list.

Shao Yanze!

Shao Yanze!

He harbored an intense and overwhelming resentment towards Shao Yanzhe, surpassing that of anyone else.

When he found the person, he discovered that Shao Yanzhe was being flattered by other scholars who had also passed the imperial examinations. This scene really irritated him, as this should have been his own achievement!

Leng Yanshan stared venomously at the scene in the restaurant, his gaze settling on the lone scholar.

He recognized the man; they often gathered together to compose poems. He tried to recall, but he didn't see his name on the list.

I couldn't help but feel a little smug. Haha, he actually failed the exam!

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his soul, and his vision went black.

Once the excruciating pain subsided, he realized that his soul had been outside for too long. If he couldn't find a suitable body to inhabit before dawn the next day, then the only thing waiting for him was for his soul to be scattered.

After a moment of panic, Leng Yanshan turned his attention to Shao Yanzhe, who was being flattered by everyone.

After looking him up and down, he realized that although the poor scholar was dressed simply, he was actually quite handsome, much better looking than the body he had taken over before.

With such looks, she would be more than qualified to marry a princess in Kyoto.

He couldn't help but recall how he had failed to compete with another young man for the princess's hand in marriage, and in the end, he had to reluctantly marry a merchant's daughter for money, which made him extremely resentful.

That pretty boy, thanks to Princess Shang, is already a third-rank official, while he isn't even a scholar yet!

Leng Yanshan felt a surge of excitement when he thought of Princess Shang. He carefully considered that the current emperor still had a young daughter, whom he heard was very fond of.

He calculated his age and realized he was almost of marriageable age. If he could win the little princess's favor, his future would be limitless.

So, first of all, he needs to acquire a body that is reasonably good-looking.

Having made up his mind, Leng Yanshan immediately approached the departing scholar surnamed Liu and, taking advantage of the fact that the scholar was drunk and asleep at the alley entrance, temporarily took over his body.

Then, he controlled the body of the scholar surnamed Liu and entered the restaurant, sitting in a secluded spot, waiting for the sun to completely set.

Finally, only the tip of the setting sun remained.

Leng Yanshan waved his hand under the table toward Shao Yanzhe, and the yin energy swept over, blowing over the brush holder and causing the ink to fall into the inkstone. The splashed ink landed on the Xuan paper where a line had been written, and quickly spread across the paper.

"Oh dear! What a pity! Waiter, bring another sheet of Xuan paper!" Zhou Jiming felt a little regretful upon seeing this and quickly called someone over.

When Xiao Er was summoned, he hurriedly ran over with the brand-new Xuan paper. As he passed a corner, he felt the tray with the Xuan paper in his hand become heavier. He looked down in confusion but did not find anything wrong, so he assumed it was just his imagination.

He didn't notice that behind the corner he had passed, a scholar with his eyes closed was sitting there.

Shao Yanzhe paused in his hand gesture, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the corner behind the waiter, his eyes flashing slightly.

He glanced at the beam above his head before slowly getting up and cleaning up the mess in front of him.

At this moment, the waiter, who was carrying Xuan paper, jogged over and respectfully put down the tray. He placed the brand-new Xuan paper in the tray, cleaned up the ink-stained Xuan paper and put it back in the tray, and then left with a bow.

"Brother Shao, please!" The scholar surnamed Zhou picked up the brush and placed it in Shao Yanzhe's hand. The poem he had just read was truly brilliant, and he was now eager to see the next line.

As for the poem he had half-written, he casually tossed it on the ground.

Seeing this, the scholar who was struggling to write poetry stopped trying and joined Shao Yanzhe to watch him compose.

Shao Yanzhe glanced at the scholar surnamed Zhou, reached out and took the brush, dipped the tip in ink, and neat characters appeared on the rice paper.

"What a beautiful poem!"

Everyone gasped in amazement.

Just as everyone was admiring the Xuan paper with the five-character, six-line poem written on it, the surrounding air suddenly turned cold, and a hideous ghost face suddenly appeared on the Xuan paper with the poem written on it.

"Hehehe, what a great poem, hahahaha!"

The ghostly face let out a series of ghostly howls, opened its mouth, and swallowed the verses whole.

"tasty!"

As he pondered the verses, his resentful eyes swept over the scholars around him, filled with malice.

"Ah! A ghost!"

A scholar cried out in alarm and retreated in fear.

The other scholars, seeing this, also looked terrified and hid. They tried to leave through the door, but found it was locked from the inside and couldn't be opened.

"Open the door! Open the door now!"

The scholar who wanted to leave pounded on the door, and another scholar even kicked the door.

The door, which should have been kicked open, remained motionless and suddenly became incredibly hard.

"What happened?"

The crowd was terrified, while the hideous ghost face chewed and detached itself from the Xuan paper.

A wisp of black mist swirled above the rice paper, slowly transforming into a figure whose face was obscured.

His malicious eyes swept around, and anyone who met his gaze instinctively lowered their head, afraid to meet his eyes. This feeling of being feared was quite wonderful.

He took a deep breath; the fear in the air was so delicious that it made him suddenly appear a fraction larger.

Finally, he turned his attention to his target and paused.

The poor scholar, whom he had expected to cower in fear, now stood before him, looking up at him with no fear in his eyes, but rather with scrutiny, as if what lay before him was not a terrifying ghost, but some strange object.

Looking at him like that, Leng Yanshan's face immediately darkened.

Shao Yanzhe, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he hadn't noticed, asked, "Are you Leng Yanshan?"

Although it was a question, his expression was very confident.

"You actually knew?" Leng Yanshan bent down and stared at him, trying to see the hidden fear on his face, but to his disappointment, the person in front of him was not afraid of him at all.

He suddenly laughed, and an invisible energy emanated from his body, enveloping the entire restaurant. From the outside, the restaurant appeared very quiet, just like the other buildings nearby that were closed for the day.

Not far from this restaurant, across the street, was a three-story teahouse. It was also quiet inside, but unlike the other teahouse, a private room on the third floor by the window was brightly lit, where two men in long gowns were sitting on either side of the tea table, enjoying their tea.

They glanced at the restaurant across the street, their eyes indifferent.

"Brother Zhu, how many do you think will survive?" the man in the indigo robe asked, putting down his teacup.

"I won't guess." The man in the blue robe opposite me answered without even looking up, his tone extremely indifferent.

The man in the indigo robe curled his lip in boredom, his eyes fixed on the restaurant across the street, a restaurant that appeared empty to the average person.

At this moment, the restaurant was unusually quiet, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the center, filled with fear and curiosity.

Facing Leng Yanshan, whose face was obscured, Shao Yanzhe was not as calm as he appeared. However, having dealt with too many old foxes in his past life, he knew the importance of never revealing weakness.

The same applies now; if he were to show fear or apprehension, it would only make Leng Yanshan on the other side even happier.

With an extremely calm expression, he curled his lips into a mocking smile and said, "What a pity, you actually ran away ahead of time. It's a pity I didn't get to experience the feeling of being beheaded. Such a rare opportunity, what a pity!"

His palms, which were loosely clenched, were already sweating, but he dared not show it, and could only attract Leng Yanshan's attention.

He must cooperate with Madam Yin to get rid of him!

Leng Yanshan, who was already somewhat insane, was so enraged that he almost lost his mind. He sneered and was about to make a move.

Suddenly, the entire restaurant was filled with red peonies.

Leng Yanshan was completely immersed in the sea of ​​peonies, their delicate fragrance penetrating his soul, causing him to involuntarily succumb to their allure.

It seems that he went through a process of studying and taking the imperial examinations with great talent, passing all the tests and becoming the top scholar in the Dayong Dynasty. He was also favored by a princess, had beautiful wives and concubines, was highly valued by the emperor, was appointed as the chief minister, and became a person second only to the emperor.

He enjoyed it so much that he didn't want to wake up.

Now!

Shao Yanzhe seized the opportunity and gently flicked the jade hairpin pen he had been holding in his hand, causing his internal energy to rapidly generate literary characters.

These literary characters spun and leaped, forming a chain that bound Leng Yanshan.

Then, with a slight flick of his pen, the chain suddenly tightened.

Leng Yanshan, who was bound, sensed the danger, but the illusion created by the peony fragrance was too beautiful for him to leave.

With a flick of her wrist, Madam Yin produced a large red peony with a branch. She then threw the peony, its sharp branch carrying a strong wind as it flew straight toward Leng Yanshan's heart.

As long as the peony branches touch Leng Yanshan's heart, they can quickly take root and grow on him.

It uses yin energy as nourishment, absorbing as much yin energy as possible from Leng Yanshan until his soul is destroyed before it stops growing.

Just as the peony was about to pierce Leng Yanshan's heart, a bamboo leaf shot in from outside the restaurant, carrying the peony deep into the wall.

At the same time, the domineering energy remaining in the bamboo leaves completely shattered the literary energy chains binding Leng Yanshan.