Chapter 29 Immortal Seal in the Painting
Shao Yanzhe was holding the jade hairpin pen, about to input some literary energy to explore, when someone called out to him.
"Brother Shao, Lord Sun is looking for you," Liu Mingyuan said, jogging over and panting.
Upon hearing this, Shao Yanzhe immediately put away the jade hairpin pen: "Okay, I'll go right away."
"I wonder what business Lord Sun has with me?" He stood in front of Sun Heqing, bowed, and asked.
Sun Heqing sat in the chair, his face somewhat pale, presumably due to the sonic impact from the giant spider that had previously caused him some injuries.
He gestured for Shao Yanzhe to sit down, and after dismissing everyone else, he said, "Scholar Shao, you should be prepared. I'm afraid that the Yun woman is in grave danger."
Shao Yanzhe nodded, his fingers, hidden in his sleeve, gently caressing the jade hairpin pen in his hand, his expression somewhat unpleasant.
"I know, there's still no news of them. They must have perished together with that spider."
Upon hearing this, Sun Heqing sighed, his expression somewhat complicated: "This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so narrow-minded and hadn't set aside my prejudices to intervene, things certainly wouldn't have come to this. I wouldn't have just stood by and watched my benefactor die."
It's true that people become more stubborn with age, less and less like today's young people. It just so happens that I'm also getting old and it's time for me to retire. I have a seal that I acquired by chance in my early years, which has a remarkable effect on stimulating literary talent.
As he spoke, he pulled out a seal from his waist that was a size larger than his thumb. The seal was entirely black, with a crouching xiezhi carved on the top. Its single horn was menacing, and its beastly eyes were slightly open, as if it were scrutinizing something.
The seal has a warm, jade-like sheen on its surface, making it clear at a glance that it is no ordinary object.
Shao Yanzhe was about to refuse, but Sun Heqing didn't wait for him to speak and forcefully shoved the seal into his hand.
"Take it if I give it to you, don't be so hesitant, what kind of behavior is that! If you don't want it, then just throw it away!"
After he finished speaking, he stood up, walked over to an official, and the two began to talk quietly.
Shao Yanzhe glanced helplessly at Sun Heqing and had no choice but to accept the seal.
Shen Jingzhou patted Shao Yanzhe on the shoulder to comfort him, and then told him his plans.
"Brother Yanze, don't be sad. The two young ladies saved us with their lives. I've decided that when I get home, I'll set up a memorial tablet for them and burn incense every day, hoping to gather their souls and one day bring them back to life!"
Shao Yanzhe cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Brother Shen!"
"No need for thanks. My life was saved by the two young ladies, twice in fact. It was simply what I should do!"
“That’s right! The two young ladies not only saved Brother Shen, but also me! Setting up a memorial tablet is not a difficult task for me!”
"Yes! I would do the same!"
"And I am one of them!"
"This one absolutely cannot be missing from the next one!"
As the scholars gradually gathered around him and he listened to their promises, Shao Yanzhe felt a mix of emotions and didn't know what to say for a moment.
At this moment, a richly dressed man slipped in from the outside; it was Chen Yunhe.
The folding fan in his hand had long since been thrown away to some mysterious place. He patted his chest and guaranteed, "I will definitely participate in this! When we get back, I will definitely have my father set up two longevity tablets for the two young ladies at Longhua Temple!"
Longhua Temple is the largest temple here, and you'll need to spend a lot of money to set up a longevity tablet there.
Chen Yunhe left after saying that.
After that, more and more people spoke out and made commitments.
Shao Yanzhe knew that these people had made a great decision to set up longevity tablets for Yun Weiyue and Yun Suqing. In this era, setting up longevity tablets for ghosts meant that the ghosts could freely enter their homes without being affected by the talismans or anything else in the house.
"Thank you all!" he quickly bowed and expressed his gratitude.
Sun Heqing handled the rest of the matter, and the scholars who attended the Deer Cry Banquet were soon allowed to leave.
After carrying Xuan Yao back to Wenyuan Academy, Shao Yanzhe began packing his things, planning to set off for the provincial capital the next day to participate in the upcoming provincial examination.
After he finished packing his luggage, he looked up and saw the wall behind the desk where scrolls had obviously been hung, and immediately thought of Yun Weiyue and Yun Suqing.
He sighed softly, never expecting that last time would be their last farewell, making the whole thing feel like a dream.
But the occasional pain, numbness, and itching sensations within his body made him realize that he was indeed living in reality.
Shao Yanzhe sat down at his desk, hesitated for a moment, then took out the jade hairpin pen he had picked up earlier from his sleeve and gently placed it on the desk in front of him.
He thought for a moment, then infused the jade hairpin pen with some literary energy, and then whispered to the pen in front of him, "Miss Weiyue? Miss Suqing? Are you inside?"
After a long while, he did not receive the response he expected.
The jade hairpin pen on the desk remained untouched, and the anomaly they had witnessed before seemed to be nothing more than an illusion.
Shao Yanzhe was slightly disappointed. It seemed that it was just wishful thinking on his part. Yun Weiyue and Yun Suqing must have paid a heavy price to protect them from such a dangerous situation. It wouldn't be surprising if they even lost their lives.
However, based on the faint light seen on the jade hairpin pen earlier, they made an unrealistic guess that the two people's souls were possessing it because they were too weak.
There was no response at all. Disappointed, he couldn't help but remind himself to be realistic. This wasn't a TV drama where the screenwriter would leave the supporting characters with a sliver of hope.
Shao Yanzhe originally intended to keep the jade hairpin pen to himself, but it wouldn't be appropriate if others saw it.
After thinking for a moment, he called Xuan Yao over and hung the jade hairpin pen around its neck as an ornament.
Fortunately, the jade hairpin pen is not very big, only slightly shorter than a finger, so wearing it around its neck will not affect its movement.
"You must take good care of this jade hairpin pen and be careful not to break it," Shao Yanzhe instructed.
Xuan Yao twisted his neck slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable, but finding it didn't cause much of a problem, he simply ignored it.
It gently rubbed against Shao Yanzhe's palm, its smooth, soft fur brushing against his hand as it moved. Then, with agile steps, it leaped onto the windowsill, lazily lay down, and occasionally yawned, looking quite content.
Upon seeing this, Shao Yanzhe smiled and then took out a seal from his sleeve, the very one that Sun Heqing had given him earlier.
He carefully admired the majestic figure of the crouching xiezhi on the seal, then turned the seal over and saw four characters engraved in seal script on the seal face, the content of which was "nourish qi and connect with the spirit".
After playing with it, he found a silk ribbon that was about the same color as his clothes, carefully threaded it through the hole between the seals, tied a pretty tassel knot, and then hung it around his waist.
Shao Yanzhe glanced down at it and thought it was alright. He didn't have a jade pendant, so he decided to use the seal as an ornament.
Finally, he took out his money bag and counted the few taels of silver on the table, and couldn't help but feel worried.
The provincial examination is just around the corner, but there are still quite a few places where money will be needed.
With the help of the tutor, the bulk of the guarantee fee could be waived.
But in addition to that, there are also travel expenses and food and lodging expenses, which together amount to at least five taels of silver.
After that, we also need to prepare scientific research equipment, such as a test basket, tarpaulin, food and water, which will take about 300 grams.
All things considered, to take the provincial examination in the provincial capital, one would need to prepare at least ten taels of silver.
Shao Yanzhe only has three taels of silver left, and he is still short seven taels.
He couldn't help but feel worried. He had just passed the imperial examination this month and, as the top scorer, had been selected as a subsidized student, receiving two dou of rice or two liang of silver each month. However, this would only be given next month, so he couldn't expect it this month.
He stroked his chin thoughtfully, his gaze falling on a stack of Xuan paper on the table, and he rekindled his idea of copying books.
The bookstore owner was up to no good. He hadn't originally planned to continue dealing with him, but now he was desperately short of money, and the two had already signed a contract, in black and white. Even if there was some ulterior motive, with the contract in hand, there was nothing he could do.
With that in mind, he spread out the Xuan paper, picked up the brush, and began to write on it.
As his calligraphy appeared one character after another on the Xuan paper, the eyes of the Xie Zhi (a mythical beast) curled up on the seal hanging in the air emitted a faint white light, silently accelerating the gathering of literary energy.
At first, Shao Yanzhe did not notice, but after he finished copying five books, he found that the literary energy gathered in his body was significantly more than before.
He put down his pen, thought of something, and took the seal hanging from his waist into his hand. He could clearly feel that the seal was slightly warm, and he also sensed a strange energy in the eyes of the crouching xiezhi. He immediately confirmed his guess.
He hadn't expected that the seal Sun Heqing had given him would be so effective; simply copying articles had given him ten percent more literary flair than before.
Wearing this seal while writing would likely enhance the literary quality of the work.
With an idea in mind, Shao Yanzhe took out another sheet of Xuan paper, recalled a problem he had solved before, and began to work on it again.
He has made considerable progress during this period, and the article he wrote this time is a significant improvement over his previous ones.
The article was written in one go, with neat handwriting and a clean page. The idea of the article was also novel. As soon as the last stroke was finished, the article in front of me rose up with white light mixed with golden light spots, which was more than three feet high. It can be regarded as a superior work.
The faint light shining in the eyes of the crouching xiezhi on the seal was even brighter than before.
Shao Yanzhe could clearly sense that the amount of literary energy in his body had increased by at least 30% compared to before.
"This thing is truly a treasure!"
He picked up the seal. If we were to judge this thing by the standards of game equipment, although it couldn't compare to a divine artifact, it had such a function that he wouldn't trade it for a divine artifact.
While he was admiring the seal, he didn't see that the jade hairpin pen hanging around Xuan Yao's neck suddenly emitted a faint white light. The light lasted only a short time, as if it were reflecting sunlight.
After Xuan Yao changed his posture, the faint light on the jade hairpin quickly disappeared.
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