Chapter 3 Celestial Maidens in the Painting
A meow with a hint of ferocity rang out.
As Shao Yanzhe was writing intently with his head down, his hand trembled, and a large blot of ink smeared across the paper.
He put down his pen, walked to the study window, peeked out, looked around but found nothing, and then turned back with some regret.
The moment he turned around, his movements froze, his pupils trembled, and for a moment he didn't know what expression to make.
In his pupils, a figure in white slowly emerged from the scroll. Her white gauze dress fluttered gracefully with her movements, and under the dim light, she looked like a fairy under the moon.
At that moment, Shao Yanzhe's brain completely froze, and he just stared blankly at the lady who had emerged from the painting.
Seeing his performance, a smug look flashed in the eyes of the lady who emerged from the painting. With the posture she had just displayed, no man could resist her.
She landed lightly on the ground, bowed gracefully to Shao Yanzhe, her eyes darting around as if she were a little shy. She turned her head slightly to look elsewhere and said, "Young master, the night is too short, why not join me in a romantic encounter?"
Her voice rose slightly at the end, as alluring as a hook, and a strand of black hair twirled between her fingers as she looked at him with captivating eyes.
The oil lamp on the lamp stand suddenly emitted a crisp crackling sound, bringing the stunned Shao Yanzhe back to his senses.
Shao Yanzhe: ...
Different species, thanks for the invitation!
He looked somewhat dazed. Had he really seen that right?
Is the lady in white in front of me really from a painting?
If he hadn't been certain that he was in ancient times, he probably would have suspected that the scene he just witnessed was a projection.
Therefore, this ancient world is not an ordinary world, but a world full of ghosts and monsters!
Shao Yanzhe: Trembling.JPG
Beautiful Lady: Doubt.JPG
"Young Master?"
The lady, who was seen as a ghost by Shao Yanzhe, asked a question out of confusion, bringing Shao Yanzhe back to his senses.
"Sorry, I can't! I still need to study!"
Shao Yanzhe screamed inwardly, "What human being could have such thoughts when facing ghosts and monsters?"
He's no good at it anyway!
It would be better to let him read a book!
The lady opposite her froze. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation. She looked the scholar up and down. He was pale, had dark circles under his eyes, and was thin. Well, it was really possible that he was no good.
She lowered her eyelids, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the Xuan paper on the desk. In a single glance, she had read all the contents.
Her expression instantly turned serious, and she pointed to a certain spot on the page with her slender finger: "You wrote this incorrectly."
"Something's not right?" Shao Yanzhe asked instinctively.
That shouldn't be the case. Although he is a modern person, he reads books and practices calligraphy in his spare time. The content he just wrote on Xuan paper to familiarize himself with the original owner's handwriting was a policy essay that the original owner had just finished writing. In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with it.
The lady, whose expression had changed drastically, said seriously, “Look at this question: ‘A gentleman is ashamed of his words exceeding his actions, while a petty person is unscrupulous.’ The first half comes from the Analects, and the second half comes from the Doctrine of the Mean. These are two independent sentences, but you have pieced them together into a cause-and-effect sentence, distorting the original meaning of Confucianism’s ‘relationship between words and actions’ and ‘contrast between gentlemen and petty people.’”
As she spoke, she reached out her right hand to pick up the calligraphy brush that was placed to the side, and gently gathered her hanging sleeves with her left hand, and began to write on the rice paper.
Shao Yanzhe hesitated for a moment, but eventually walked over and looked down at the words written on the rice paper.
The characters on the Xuan paper were in the official script style, which he was very familiar with, and the top part was the introduction to the title.
"A gentleman is ashamed when his words exceed his actions; this is not merely self-deprecation, but truly..."
As he looked around, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
After he finished writing everything, he looked at the lady with admiration and praised her without hesitation: "Sir, you are a man of great talent! I am ashamed of my own shortcomings. If you were to take the imperial examination, you would surely be the top scholar!"
Then, he saw the ancient lady, who had been serene and scholarly, suddenly turn grim. The brush in her hand shattered, a gust of wind swept through the room, and her long, flowing hair was scattered in all directions. Her black pupils suddenly turned bright red.
Her face contorted in pain, and she suddenly became soaking wet, with filthy water stains flowing on the ground.
"The imperial examination?"
How did you know I almost became the top scholar in the imperial examination?
Are you mocking me?
The lady's resentment erupted, causing the temperature in the study to drop sharply, and a layer of white frost to appear on the floor.
"Hiss! No, no, no! I didn't, I didn't! I really didn't mean that!"
Shao Yanzhe kept backing away, trembling all over, unsure whether it was from fear or the sudden drop in temperature.
"quibble!"
"Men are all the same!"
"Die, all of you!"
The lady ignored her. With a forceful movement of her right hand, the half-broken brush shattered into pieces. Then, with a flick of her wrist, a new brush appeared in her hand.
The handle of this calligraphy brush is made of very translucent white jade. Combined with the softness and hardness of the brush head, it is easy to tell at a glance that this brush is a high-quality jade handle and mixed-hair brush.
The next moment, the lady held a brush in her right hand and gently touched it in front of her, and a large amount of text flowed from the tip of the brush.
“When sages discuss people, they value substance over words. A gentleman is ashamed of talking more than doing, while a petty person is sick of being fearless. … These are the two wheels of a gentleman’s chariot.”
After reading these words, Shao Yanzhe's eyes lit up. This policy essay was more concise and fluent than the one the lady had written before.
Then, the black characters suddenly converged and, with the movement of the lady's brush tip, transformed into an ink-black sword blade that flew towards Shao Yanzhe.
"Wait! I don't quite understand this phrase, 'a petty person who has no scruples.' Can you explain it to me..."
Before Shao Yanzhe could speak, the lady's face suddenly darkened: "What are you talking about! I want to kill you right now!"
"I'll tell you after you die!"
As soon as she finished speaking, her movements suddenly quickened, and the dark blade stabbed straight towards Shao Yanzhe's neck and chest, among other vital areas.
"Meow!"
After a meow, a dark shadow suddenly darted in through the study window, landing right on Shao Yanzhe's head. It then swiftly jumped onto his shoulder, its black tail lightly sweeping across his face, scattering the dark sword blades.
The black cat glanced at the unharmed Shao Yanzhe before turning its gaze away, looking arrogant.
"Tsk! Foolish two-legged creature, why didn't you dodge just now? Did you want to die that badly?"
Shao Yanzhe was taken aback. He turned his head to look at the black cat and immediately recognized it as the same black cat he had fed with fried small fish in the county town.
"The cat actually spoke!"
His shock was mixed with a touch of numbness, so the world ultimately became something he couldn't understand.
Then, I remembered to answer its question: "It's not that I didn't want to dodge, it's that my legs are numb and I can't move!"
Black Cat: ...
"You stinky cat! Get out of here!"
The lady's dark eyes were fixed on the black cat. Their strengths were not much different, and if they really fought, it was hard to say what the final outcome would be.
The black cat perched on Shao Yanzhe's shoulder, its eyes flashing with disgust as it stared at the lady: "You stinking painting devil, the stench on you is suffocating me! Get out! You're not welcome here!"
"Then let's die together!"
After the lady finished speaking, her body surged with resentment, and she directly used the jade pen to draw a circle in mid-air.
The next moment, countless streams of ink gushed out from the circle.
The black cat's eyes were filled with solemnity. With a powerful kick of its hind legs, it pushed Shao Yanzhe backward, sending him flying out of the study window, before rushing forward to meet him.
Shao Yanzhe grimaced and stomped his foot hard before peering through the window.
The entire study was filled with black mist. He squinted, trying to see what was happening inside.
Suddenly, a white shadow flashed by, followed closely by a black shadow.
"You stinky cat! Go to hell!"
"You filthy painter! Die, you damned devil!"
Instantly, shouts and curses erupted from the study, interspersed with occasional angry meows from a cat.
Shao Yanzhe was a little worried about the black cat. After all, the lady was likely a ghost, and even if the black cat could talk, it was probably only just entering the realm of demons.
He could only pray in his heart that the black cat would be alright.
The black cat scratched the lady's face with its claws. While dodging the lady's attack, it inadvertently saw the foolish human peeking out the window, and became even angrier.
What is this two-legged creature doing?!
Why isn't he running away yet?!
The lady fighting with it also saw Shao Yanzhe outside the window. Her eyes darted around, and after making a gesture as if to attack the black cat, she quickly flew towards the window while the black cat was dodging. With a flick of her jade pen, she left an obstacle for the black cat.
Seeing that things were not going well, Shao Yanzhe turned and ran.
"Go ahead and run! If you run again, I'll break your legs!"
The lady let out a sinister laugh. Even if the operation failed today, she would still kill this despicable human who dared to mock her!
Soon, the man and the ghost were evenly matched.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shao Yanzhe saw the thin gauze fluttering like white butterflies beside him. He suddenly turned his head and met the pale, distorted face of the lady.
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