Chapter 24 The Fairy in the Painting Takes Action
Shen Moyuan lowered his eyes slightly, looking at Shao Yanzhe with a murderous glint in his eyes.
Despite being stared at by Shen Moyuan's dark eyes, Shao Yanzhe was not threatened by the murderous intent within them.
He cupped his hands in greeting and said righteously, "I discovered this by chance, and only after extensive investigation did I find out the truth. I saw the talent of the eldest daughter of the Yun family in just a few words in the county annals, and I couldn't bear to let her talent be forgotten. That's why I'm taking this opportunity to seek justice for her!"
As he spoke, he looked at Sun Heqing, who was still sitting, and bowed to him, saying, "My lord, I have not slandered Lord Shen. The records in the county annals are all true. Please take a look!"
Shen Moyuan suddenly looked at Shao Yanzhe. Sun Heqing was his political enemy, and if he were to be seen by him, he would be finished.
His eyes flashed with ferocity: "Shut up! Guards, arrest this man who dares to slander an official of the imperial court!"
After waiting for a long time, he found that no officers or soldiers obeyed his orders and stepped forward.
He turned to look around and found that the soldiers stood there like puppets, surrounded by a layer of black mist, as if they were isolated by the mist.
Following Shen Moyuan's gaze, everyone else subconsciously looked at the soldiers, especially those who were close to them. After noticing that something was wrong with the soldiers, they all instinctively moved away from them.
"W-what happened? How did they turn into this?"
"This must be the work of a ghost!"
"What! How could ghosts and monsters possibly get in here!"
Shen Moyuan withdrew his gaze, his eyes flickering, and then pointed at Shao Yanzhe, saying, "Was it you! Was it you who brought the ghost in!"
Shao Yanzhe, who was being pointed at, looked completely innocent. When everyone looked at him, he immediately put on an angry expression and pretended to be wronged, saying, "Lord Shen, without any evidence, you can't make baseless accusations! How could I possibly bring ghosts in!"
Shen Moyuan's drooping fingers touched the spider pattern on his sleeve, and his expression turned ugly after a moment.
The spell originally used to control Yun Weiyue has failed!
Could it be that the ghost that appeared here is Yun Weiyue?
It must be that bitch Mo Ying who betrayed him and let Yun Weiyue go!
Hmph! This treacherous maidservant must not be allowed to live!
He knew all too well how much Yun Weiyue resented him. He was absolutely certain that if she were to escape his control the moment she was released, she would come after him!
Realizing this, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat, looked around warily, and placed his fingers on the spider mark on his arm, ready to summon Mo Ying to protect him at any time.
Since Mo Ying has already shown signs of betraying her, this is a good opportunity to let Yun Weiyue get rid of her and alleviate her resentment.
"Gentlemen, we'd better gather together. There's strength in numbers. Even if there really are ghosts causing trouble, we have a lot of people here, and the ghosts will definitely be afraid!"
As soon as Shao Yanzhe said this, the bewildered scholars spontaneously gathered around him.
Instantly, everyone at the banquet gathered together, leaving Shen Moyuan standing alone.
Shao Yanzhe's eyes darted around, and he said to him, "Lord Shen, could the ghost causing trouble at this Deer Cry Banquet be Yun Weiyue? Is she here to take revenge on you?"
Shen Moyuan glanced at him but didn't say anything. Now was not the time to pay attention to such a despicable person. He could vaguely sense two murderous gazes falling on him.
With his current official rank, he can control a considerable amount of literary energy, and he wouldn't be at a disadvantage even if he faced Yun Weiyue.
However, his gaze shifted to the scholars and officials gathered together, and his eyes darkened for a moment. These people knew his secret, so they shouldn't blame him for being ruthless!
He instantly summoned Mo Ying.
As soon as Mo Ying appeared, she glanced at Shen Moyuan and knelt down in front of him with a frustrated expression: "Master!"
Resentment flashed in her eyes, but due to the restrictions imposed on her, she had no choice but to obey his orders, and the resentment in her heart grew stronger.
Her strength was still too weak; it was simply not enough to break through that restriction!
"Get up! Kill them all!"
She suddenly looked at the people present, a fierce glint flashing in her dark red eyes, and the resentment in her heart radiated towards them.
The scholars and officials who had gathered together couldn't help but gasp in surprise when they saw Mo Ying appear.
"It really is a ghost!"
"Why does it seem like she's following Lord Shen's orders?"
"Could it be that Lord Shen was the one who orchestrated all of this?"
"Could it be that what Scholar Shao said was true, and Lord Shen wants to kill him to silence him?"
"What! Yun Weiyue really exists? Then why don't I have any memories of her?"
"Perhaps Lord Shen used some means? After all, he can control ghosts and monsters now, so it's not surprising that he used some means to make us forget Yun Weiyue."
"What should we do now? This monster looks extremely powerful. Can the adults here handle it?"
Immediately, everyone's hopeful eyes fell on Sun Heqing and the others.
Sun Heqing and the others looked solemn. They were all people who had gone through the imperial examinations and inevitably encountered ghosts and monsters in their daily lives. Therefore, they could roughly distinguish the level of ghosts and monsters.
The monster in front of me looks weak; it must have been injured before.
But she was already quite strong. If they really faced her, they could barely protect themselves, but it would be difficult for them to protect others.
"Shen Moyuan! How dare you collude with ghosts and monsters to murder an official of the imperial court!" Sun Heqing questioned, his face grim.
Shen Moyuan smiled and said, "As long as you're all dead, no one will know that I killed you!"
Everyone's faces immediately showed fear. They hadn't expected to encounter such a thing just by attending a Deer Cry Banquet.
Shen Moyuan reveled in the fearful gazes directed at him, then turned to Mo Ying: "What are you all standing there for! Kill them!"
Mo Ying obediently floated towards those people, her fingernails suddenly becoming long and sharp.
Seeing that she was about to kill someone, Sun Heqing had no choice but to join forces with several other officials to step forward and block the crowd.
Shen Moyuan looked at them leisurely: "Blame it on the fact that you know too much!"
"Hmph! Shen Moyuan, you did evil, fine, but why make excuses!"
Shao Yanzhe wasn't going to tolerate him. He continued, "If I'm not mistaken, were the scholars who died at Wenyuan Academy and other academies your doing?"
"So what? Even if you found out, you still wouldn't be able to get out alive!" Shen Moyuan said.
"What! Brother Wenhua's death was caused by Shen Moyuan!"
"Damn it! Brother Li was actually killed by Shen Moyuan!"
"And Brother Zhang too!"
"And Brother Qian!"
After everyone put their heads together, they estimated that about fifty people had died as a result of Shen Moyuan's schemes, and that was only the number in recent days.
Shen Moyuan chuckled and said, "They weren't particularly talented to begin with, so it's their honor to make some contributions for me. It just so happens that I'm about to be promoted to Vice Minister of Revenue, so I'll use you all to celebrate."
As he spoke, he gently patted the poetry collection in his hand. His gaze towards Shao Yanzhe and the others was devoid of any warmth, as if they were merely inanimate objects that could not evoke any emotion in him.
"Brother Shao, what should we do now?" Liu Mingyuan quietly approached Shao Yanzhe and asked.
Shao Yanzhe had previously hinted, intentionally or unintentionally, that some unexpected events might occur at this Deer Cry Banquet, advising them to avoid attending if possible.
But they only thought that something like what happened at the teahouse last time would happen, and they never expected that they would encounter ghosts and monsters.
Because of Shao Yanzhe's previous reminder, they guessed that he might know something, so they came over to ask for a solution.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at the four of them, then watched intently as Sun Heqing and the others fought against Mo Ying. He quickly realized that they were no match for Mo Ying.
If Sun Heqing were thirty years younger, he could have defeated Mo Ying, but now that he is older, his physical strength is simply not up to par, and he will eventually be defeated due to physical exhaustion.
“We are currently in the Ghost Realm, and leaving won’t be easy,” Shao Yanzhe explained.
"Ghost Realm? Could it be like the illusion during that exam?" Su Yuheng asked, frowning.
Shao Yanzhe: "That's right, we're trapped inside. The master of this ghost realm hasn't come out yet. If we want to get out, we'll probably have to help her take revenge."
Su Yuheng: "Revenge? Help her kill that Shen Moyuan?"
Shao Yanzhe: "Of course not. I think she would definitely prefer to get rid of Shen Moyuan herself."
Su Yuheng: "Then how can we help? Brother Shao, please don't keep us in suspense. I think the master of this Ghost Realm is Yun Weiyue. It seems that the current situation was planned by the two of you. You just need to tell us what to do."
Shao Yanzhe didn't admit it either. He casually gave a perfunctory answer and then told them, "Yun Weiyue is currently under Shen Moyuan's control. It's only temporarily suppressed, but as soon as she appears, Shen Moyuan will find that she hasn't broken free of his control. Therefore, I need to help her break free of control first."
Liu Mingyuan snapped his folding fan shut and then slapped it onto his palm: "Brother Shao, do you have a way to help Yun Weiyue break free from control?"
Shao Yanzhe nodded: "I've been observing Shen Moyuan and noticed that he always reaches into his sleeve from time to time. I think the thing that controls the ghosts should be in his sleeve. I plan to go and look for it."
Upon hearing this, Liu Mingyuan and the other three subconsciously looked at Shen Moyuan opposite them, only to find that he had his hands in his sleeves the whole time. Recalling his previous appearance, he had not done so, so they knew that Shao Yanzhe's guess was probably not wrong.
"What do you need us to do?" Liu Mingyuan asked, squinting.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at them in surprise: "I don't need you. You just need to protect yourselves. I'm saying this to put your minds at ease and prevent you from accidentally ruining my plans."
As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and said, "Now, you all get out of the way, I'm going up!"
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