Chapter 87 The Destruction of the Soul-Suspending Silk

Shao Yanzhe felt a sudden darkness before his eyes. When he could see again, he found himself in an unfamiliar room, which looked like a study.

A bookshelf stands against the wall of the study, filled with books. In front of the bookshelf is a desk with a sheet of Xuan paper half-written on it.

He stepped forward, glanced down at the Xuan paper, and saw the familiar characters written by Liu Mingyuan.

It seems that this study must be Liu Mingyuan's own study.

Just then, a faint commotion could be heard outside the study.

As Shao Yanzhe walked to the door of the study, he could vaguely hear conversations outside.

"Mingyuan, why are you out drinking and carousing again? The imperial examination is just around the corner, why don't you study more?" A strange man's voice rang out.

"So what if I drink with women? It didn't stop me from passing the imperial examination before I drank with women!" Liu Mingyuan's nonchalant voice rang out.

"Alright, Dad, stop talking. It's just the imperial examination, right? It's very easy for me! Just relax and wait for the good news that I'll pass the exam!"

Liu Mingyuan's voice grew closer with each step, and Shao Yanzhe involuntarily took a few steps back.

The next moment, the door in front of them was pushed open from the outside, and Liu Mingyuan appeared before them.

Shao Yanzhe was about to greet him when he realized that the man seemed not to see him at all. After closing the study door, he walked straight to the desk and sat down without looking to either side, his eyes fixed on the half-written sheet of Xuan paper in front of him.

Suddenly, Liu Mingyuan reached out and grabbed the Xuan paper on the table with his five fingers, clenching it tightly in his palm until his knuckles turned slightly white.

He crumpled the Xuan paper into a ball, and then, as if venting his anger, threw it far away.

Then, he laid another layer of Xuan paper on the table, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write on it.

Before Shao Yanzhe could get close enough to see what he had written, Liu Mingyuan threw the pen aside with a grim expression and crumpled the Xuan paper into a ball and threw it away again.

After this happened several times, a pile of crumpled paper pieces of various sizes were scattered on the clean ground.

Finally, Shao Yanzhe couldn't stand it anymore and tentatively spoke up, wanting to know if Liu Mingyuan could detect his presence.

"Brother Liu?"

He called Liu Mingyuan's name several times, but Liu Mingyuan did not respond.

He took out the jade hairpin pen and sent a stream of literary energy towards him.

Liu Mingyuan froze, and his eyes, which had been filled with resentment and anger, suddenly lit up.

"Brother Liu?" Shao Yanzhe spoke again.

Upon hearing this, Liu Mingyuan abruptly looked up: "Brother Shao?"

Then, as if remembering something, he looked dejected and asked, "Did my father ask you to come and talk to me?"

He slumped in his chair, his face shrouded in darkness, and said softly, "What's the point of trying to persuade me? Isn't this just a waste of your time?"

He sighed and sank deeper into his chair: "Brother Shao, you are intelligent and diligent, so it is only natural that you will pass the imperial examination."

"And me? I'm not that smart to begin with, and I'm incredibly lazy. Asking me to study seriously every day would be worse than killing me!"

As he spoke, he suddenly stood up from his chair: "I just like to play, I just don't like to study!"

Why do you insist on forcing me to study?

"Is it impossible to live without taking the imperial examinations?"

He stared at Shao Yanzhe, seeking an answer.

Shao Yanzhe shook his head and gave him the answer: "Of course not, you can live even if you don't take the imperial examination."

There are countless paths in the world, and taking the imperial examination is not the only one!

Upon receiving the answer to this question, Liu Mingyuan suddenly stood up.

Really?

Shao Yanzhe affirmed again: "Really!"

Liu Mingyuan paused, his gloom vanished, and his eyes suddenly gathered starlight.

"Oh no! Oh no! The master has been arrested and thrown into jail!"

Hearing the noise outside, Liu Mingyuan became very anxious, so he stood up, opened the study door, and went out.

"What's going on?" he asked, grabbing the servant who had brought the news.

The messenger arrived disheveled and anxious, saying, "Young master! Master went out to buy you books but accidentally bumped into a nobleman and was thrown into jail by him!"

"How could this be!"

Upon hearing this answer, Liu Mingyuan's expression turned uncontrollably panicked. He seemed to vaguely remember that there was once a person who had accidentally offended a scholar, was arrested, and eventually died in prison.

He was terrified at the thought of the dying man becoming his father.

"Brother Liu, calm down, your father will be alright!"

Shao Yanzhe wanted to offer some words of comfort, but he knew perfectly well that in reality, before Liu Mingyuan left to take the imperial examination, his father was still living a good life and there had been no accidents.

But Liu Mingyuan here seemed to have forgotten this point; he only wanted to rescue his father from prison.

At this point, Shao Yanzhe was once again excluded and could only watch helplessly as he tried to pull strings, sought help in vain, and watched his father fall ill in prison before taking his last breath.

He was deeply affected by this, and after failing the imperial examinations several times, he hanged himself when he was old and frail and no longer able to take the exams.

At this moment, Shao Yanzhe finally understood why Liu Mingyuan hadn't struggled when he was hung up by the white silk ribbon.

Only then did he fully understand that Liu Mingyuan's obsession was not about taking the imperial examination, but about gaining power, wanting to use the power in his hands to fight against power, and not letting himself and his family have to bow down because of the other party's power.

What he wanted was very simple: fairness.

But even this simple request is difficult to achieve in a world where imperial power reigns supreme and bureaucracy and literary refinement are intertwined.

The easiest path was to take the imperial examination and become a member of the world's power structure!

But Liu Mingyuan knew that he had only average talent for studying and could only rely on lingering among women to numb himself. It wasn't that he couldn't pass the exam, but that he disdained to take it.

Shao Yanzhe sighed, watching Liu Mingyuan become young again, reliving the experiences that were only slightly different from before.

He forcefully joined in again, standing in front of Liu Mingyuan, listening to his bewildered question, but no longer going along with him. In any case, no matter how well Liu Mingyuan answered, it wouldn't be able to pull him out of his recurring obsession.

If that's the case, he took a different approach, allowing himself to have an obsession far stronger than this one!

In response to Liu Mingyuan's question, Shao Yanzhe smiled gently.

Do you know why you need to take the imperial examinations?

Liu Mingyuan shook his head blankly and asked, "Why?"

"Because it's all the fault of this world!"

Liu Mingyuan was even more confused: "What do you mean?"

Shao Yanzhe said, "Do you think you're wrong?"

Liu Mingyuan shook his head firmly: "No mistake!"

Shao Yanzhe: "If that's the case, then it's the world's fault!"

Liu Mingyuan's expression wavered for a moment, then he nodded emphatically and said, "You're right. I'm not wrong; it's the world's fault!"

As he spoke, his face was full of understanding, and starlight slowly ignited in his eyes.

It's all the world's fault that he had to take the imperial examination!

Shao Yanzhe sensed the changes in his surroundings and felt satisfied. It seemed that his method had worked, and the obsession that had trapped Liu Mingyuan was gradually crumbling.

It seems that after some time, this obsession will completely shatter, and Liu Mingyuan will be able to break free from it.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Destruction is indeed easier than construction."

He's not a spiritual mentor, so asking him to enlighten Liu Mingyuan and help him break free from his obsession is really asking too much of him.

Fortunately, he had a flash of inspiration and came up with such a good idea.

"Huh? What's going on? This human's obsession is even stronger?" The white silk outside noticed something and floated over to check on Liu Mingyuan.

Xuan Yao tilted his head slightly and let out a puzzled meow: "Meow?"

Bai Ling was extremely puzzled: "The obsession that trapped this human is disappearing, but he is instead starting to generate another, even stronger obsession. It's really strange."

Xuan Yao changed his posture: "So, will he be able to wake up?"

Bai Ling replied, "Of course, since the obsession that trapped this human has already crumbled."

Xuan Yao nodded: "In that case, nothing else matters."

Bai Ling: ……

No, aren't you even a little bit curious about the reason?

Xuan Yao: Not curious.

Curiosity killed the cat.

:)

On the other side, Shao Yanzhe broke free from his shattered obsession and returned to that dark space.

He glanced around and spotted a sphere three times larger than the one Liu Mingyuan had just been emanating from. He walked toward the sphere that was emitting a white light.

I just peeked out, wanting to see whose obsession this sphere is, and it's so big.

But as soon as he got close, he was involuntarily sucked in.

"Wen Yanqing! Do you want to die?!" A furious voice rang out.

Shao Yanzhe opened his eyes, a look of confusion flashing in them. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but he had never seen the owner of the voice so angry before.

He thought for a moment, then walked toward the direction from which the sound came.

He was in a garden, and the sound came from a courtyard connected to the garden, with a circular archway between them.

He had just reached the vicinity of the archway when he heard another sound.

"Aheng, I don't want to hide it anymore. I want to walk openly and honestly with my true identity," Wen Yanqing said calmly.

The owner of that angry voice was Su Yuheng. Upon hearing Wen Yanqing's words, his anger inexplicably vanished.

"Yanqing, you know very well what you'll face if you reveal your identity. Jingzhou, you should try to persuade him!"

Shao Yanzhe raised an eyebrow. All three of them were there, but he couldn't be sure who the owner of this Obsession Orb was.

Or is this three-times-sized ball of obsession a fusion of the three people's balls of obsession?