Chapter 5 The Immortal in the Painting, Xuan Yao

"On my body?"

Shao Yanzhe asked in confusion. He looked himself up and down. There was nothing special about the original owner of the body. There was no birthmark or even a mole.

After carefully recalling the original owner's memories, apart from some fuzziness in the memories before the age of one, the memories from childhood to adulthood were all clear. The original owner was just an ordinary human being and could not possibly be some kind of spirit or deity.

“I’m not a monster, I’m just a human being,” he answered earnestly.

The lady's lips twitched slightly when she heard Shao Yanzhe's earnest reply.

"Who said you're a monster?" she retorted.

"Where exactly is this pure energy you're talking about in me? Stop keeping me in suspense!"

Shao Yanzhe glanced at the black cat; its breathing had become very heavy, and it seemed to be getting worse.

He felt agitated. After he finished speaking, he raised the oil lamp in his hand, the meaning of which was self-evident.

The lady sneered: "As a student, don't you know that from the moment you embark on the path of the imperial examination, you are naturally bound to the government? As long as you pass the imperial examination once, the trace of national fortune protection you already possess will increase, making you immune to all ghosts. Of course, this is just an exaggeration. The national fortune protection you currently possess only works on those wandering ghosts. To me, it's like a thin layer of paper."

After listening, Shao Yanzhe said thoughtfully, "So, the pure energy you mentioned is the national destiny within me?"

The lady nodded: "That's right."

Shao Yanzhe asked, "Then how can I use the National Fund on my body to treat the black cat's injuries?"

When the lady heard his question, she carefully observed his expression and realized that he didn't just want to know the method, but really wanted to share the fate of the nation with that black cat. She was stunned.

She assumed Shao Yanzhe was unaware of the importance of the nation's destiny, so she bluntly asked, "You should know how important the nation's destiny is to you. Are you sure you want to share your destiny with that stinky cat?"

"OK! Please tell me how, thank you!"

Shao Yanzhe nodded affirmatively.

After staring at Shao Yanzhe for a while, the lady told him the method with a complicated expression: "The method is actually very simple. Because the national destiny has a strong exclusivity, you need to write a decent article. Such an article will naturally have literary energy, which comes from you. Therefore, the article will carry some of the national destiny's energy. After that, you just need to ignite the article and silently chant 'stinky cat' in your heart. The energy in the article will be absorbed by the stinky cat."

Shao Yanzhe listened attentively, then solemnly thanked the lady: "Thank you for your guidance!"

He stood back at his desk, laid out a blank sheet of Xuan paper, picked up a brush with his right hand, and while thinking about the content of the article he was going to write, he slowly tidied the brush tip with ink.

Thanks to the guidance from the ladies, he realized that the original owner's writings contained many errors and the writing style was somewhat stiff. After all, he was a modern person and was not very good at policy essays.

After reading the two articles written by the lady, he roughly understood how to write policy essays. Combining this with the knowledge he had learned in the past, he began to try writing his first article.

The topic remains the same as before: "A gentleman is ashamed of his words exceeding his actions, while a petty person is unscrupulous."

Soon, he had an idea and began to write on the rice paper.

When sages and wise men discuss the differences in a person's character, they always verify it through their words and deeds.

...

...

...

...

...

May the world share this.

As Shao Yanzhe finished writing the last stroke, he picked up his brush and saw the eight-hundred-word essay suddenly burst into a white light, interspersed with some golden starlight.

His eyes widened in surprise. He had only ever seen such dazzling scenes in movies or TV series before; this was the first time he had ever seen one so close to reality.

The lady who had been keeping an eye on Shao Yanzhe's situation also saw this scene. A look of surprise flashed in her eyes. It wasn't that she hadn't seen this scene before, but rather that it was the first time she had seen an article written by a student with such a strong literary style.

Of all the articles written by scholars she had read in the past, those that possessed even one-fifth of the literary elegance she had now were considered quite good.

She concealed the surprise in her eyes and read the contents of the article on the Xuan paper word by word.

The more she looked, the more astonished she became. The essay written by Shao Yanzhe not only contained misinterpretations but also had a somewhat stiff style, which was very much in line with his status as a student.

Now, this article is different. It strictly follows the eight-legged essay format, with perfect parallelism, and makes extensive use of classical allusions. The writing is fluent, elegant, and dignified, and the logic is clear. It is a superior work.

If this essay were used in the provincial examination, it would undoubtedly be the top score.

She had only given Shao Yanzhe some guidance and written two policy essays as model examples, nothing more.

Now it seems that Shao Yanzhe has made such great progress that it's as if he's become a completely different person.

The lady stared at Shao Yanzhe, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

Isn't he a genius?

"So all you have to do next is set this article on fire and silently recite the black cat's name, right?"

Shao Yanzhe's voice interrupted the lady's thoughts, and she came back to her senses and nodded: "Yes."

Shao Yanzhe dragged a ceramic basin out from the corner of the study. This ceramic basin was the one that the original body used to burn waste paper.

He placed his completed policy essay into the basin, and was about to light it with the oil lamp in his hand when he paused, looked up, and asked, "What is the black cat's name?"

The lady chuckled lightly, flicked her sleeve, and turned her back to him: "Hmph! I don't know that stinky cat!"

Shao Yanzhe looked at the black cat, and unexpectedly met its eyes, one golden and one black. He looked at it with surprise and said, "You're awake!"

"Meow," the black cat meowed weakly.

"Um, the person in the painting just now said that my writing can heal your injuries, is that true?" Shao Yanzhe asked in a low voice.

He had just finished asking the question when he heard a cold snort tinged with anger, but he didn't pay it any mind and waited for the black cat's answer.

The black cat glanced at Shao Yanzhe and nodded slightly.

“That’s great, but I don’t know your name. Can you tell me?” Shao Yanzhe asked.

The black cat hesitated for a moment, then finally stretched out its paw and wrote two words on the ground.

Xuan Yao.

Shao Yanzhe glanced at it and nodded, saying, "Okay, I understand."

The black cat then wiped away the two words on the ground. It stared at the human's back, its pupils deep and its sharp, silver-hooked claws faintly visible.

"Tch! You actually told your name to a human! Aren't you afraid he'll come after you? You should know that for a spirit creature like you, not only is your demon core a great tonic for humans, but your flesh is too. Once he finds out, he'll definitely kill you, steal your demon core, and eat your flesh!"

The lady's voice echoed in Xuan Yao's mind.

Xuan Yao pressed his ears and shook his head, looking at the lady with a chilling, murderous gaze.

The lady was startled and took a step back, her back hitting the hard edge of the table behind her. She instantly became angry.

"Hmph! I'll watch you be torn apart and skinned alive by humans, all your value extracted!"

Xuan Yao shifted its gaze and looked back at Shao Yanzhe, who was burning the text, with its head resting on its forelimbs.

Hmph! I'm not stupid!

If the two-legged creature really had that idea, it would have left immediately and would never have been torn apart and skinned alive!

Soon, Xuan Yao closed its eyes and could clearly feel some special energy slowly emerging in its body.

It knew that these energies were unique to humankind, representing both cultural refinement and national destiny, which perfectly countered the malevolent energy within its body.

With these two energies, the malevolent energy within its body quickly dissipated, and all it needed to do next was slowly heal its injuries.

Shao Yanzhe watched as the white Xuan paper in the basin was completely burned to black ash. He even used a small wooden stick to stir it a few times to make sure the bottom was completely burned before he stopped.

He walked over to Xuan Yao and could clearly see that it was in much better condition, so he didn't disturb its rest.

He walked up to the scroll, sat down, and stared at the lady.

"Tell me, why are you targeting me?"

Upon hearing this question, the lady's eyes flickered slightly. She looked away and said, "Of course it's because of the literary energy you possess. As long as you are willing to give me the literary energy you possess, my strength will increase. When I am strong enough, it won't be impossible for me to enter the palace."

After listening, Shao Yanzhe remained noncommittal. He could tell that the lady was not lying, but he inexplicably felt that there was another reason.

The lady didn't want to talk, and he wouldn't get anything out of her no matter how much he asked. So he decided to put it aside for the time being and ask Xuan Yao how to deal with the lady once he felt better.

With the academy exam approaching, Shao Yanzhe needs to master the content to be tested within half a month. What the original owner of the body has is ultimately what the original owner of the body has.

Having the original owner's memories seems to be a great benefit to Shao Yanzhe, but in reality, it has caused him trouble.

Due to his humble origins and the limitations imposed by his environment, his knowledge, insights, and perspectives were all very limited.

Shao Yanzhe suppressed the original owner's memories to the deepest part of his mind before reviewing all the books he needed to study for the imperial examinations, such as the Three Character Classic, the Four Books and Five Classics.

Once he confirmed that the content was largely consistent with what he had learned, he took out a test paper that the original owner had taken before and began working on it.

He was focused on the exam paper and didn't see the ladies in the scroll behind him looking down at his writing.

Her face sometimes showed admiration, sometimes wore a mask of pain, and sometimes seemed to see the light.

She couldn't understand why some people's articles were of varying quality, with some offering insightful perspectives while others presented crude and inadequate arguments.

This caused her great distress.

From his writing, she could tell that Shao Yanzhe's writing was immature, but like a pearl covered in dust, with some guidance, he would surely become a top scholar in the future!

"Men are all ungrateful bastards!"

"I've already died once, must I also end up with my soul scattered to the winds?"

The lady's eyes gradually turned dark red, and her face became filled with a fierce aura.

"But can I really bear to let such a fine gem be tarnished?"

"If that's really the case, then what's the difference between me and that man!"

The fierce look on the lady's face gradually faded.

"The argumentation in your policy essay is truly crude! If you were to write this essay in the imperial examination, you would definitely fail!"

Her resolute voice rang out in the quiet study.

A note from the author: