Chapter 38 Learning the Soul of Peony
Shao Yanzhe put down his brush, let out a soft breath, and finally finished writing!
He reached out and picked up the poem that filled an entire sheet of Xuan paper, scanned it from beginning to end, and nodded in satisfaction.
These poems...
"So bad!"
A woman's voice, clearly tinged with disdain, lingered in my ear.
Shao Yanzhe was in a state of perfect optimism about his own poetry, so when he heard someone belittling it in this way, he immediately became indignant.
"My poems are bad? Come on, you try writing one if you dare!"
"Hmph! Watch closely!"
The person who made the sound picked up a calligraphy brush that was placed aside, dipped it in some ink, and began to write on a blank sheet of rice paper.
She lifted the brush lightly, and with a reverse stroke, she wrote a few lines of flowing cursive script on the Xuan paper, the ink gradually spreading into a pale blue hue.
Shao Yanzhe read the poem from beginning to end, his eyes growing brighter with each reading. The poem not only depicted the joy of children enjoying spring outings but also expressed the melancholy of the fleeting nature of time. It used a joyful scene to express sorrow, creating a profound and evocative atmosphere. It was truly a fine poem.
"What a wonderful poem!" he exclaimed, then looked up at the person who wrote it, his expression instantly freezing.
"Madam Yin?" he asked hesitantly.
Suddenly stiffening, his neck slowly turned to look at the others, and he saw three others sitting opposite the fire, huddled together, shivering like a bunch of chicks, looking very pitiful.
No, he's the most pitiful one, since Madam Yin is right next to him.
"Well? Now you admit that the poems you wrote were terrible, right?" Madam Yin put down her brush, raised an eyebrow at Shao Yanzhe, her eyes bright and carefree.
Shao Yanzhe was stunned for a moment, thinking that this must have been how she looked during the time she was under her father's protection before her death.
Then he bowed and said, "I admit it! Compared to this poem, my other poems are worlds apart."
At this moment, he finally realized how terrifying the person in front of him was in poetry. If he had even a tenth or a twelfth of Lady Yin's level, he wouldn't be scratching his head over the test poems at all.
"snort!"
Upon seeing this, Madam Yin slightly raised her chin, her gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on Leng Zhijie, who was tied to the well railing, a look of disgust flashing in her eyes.
"Dafu!"
Dafu, who had somehow appeared behind Madam Yin, bowed and replied, "Yes."
Behind Dafu followed ten pale-faced, thin men dressed as scholars. Their cold eyes stared at Leng Zhijie, making them look somewhat eerie.
"He's now in your hands," Madam Yin said, looking at Leng Zhijie.
"yes!"
Dafu and the ten men dressed as scholars responded in unison, all curtsying smiles at Leng Zhijie.
Leng Zhijie couldn't help but shiver. In the dim light of the lanterns, he finally saw the familiar yet unfamiliar faces of these people.
"Brother Leng, it's been a long time." A scholar stepped forward, bent down, and released Leng Zhijie from the well railing.
"You! You! It's you! You weren't already..." Even after being released, Leng Zhijie didn't think of running away.
He looked at the man with evasive eyes, avoiding his gaze, and then met the eyes of the other ten people who had surrounded him. The more he looked, the more familiar their faces became.
"Yes, thanks to you, I am already dead." The scholar grinned, revealing a big smile, but his eyes were filled with sorrow.
"Yes, thanks to Brother Leng, we're all dead now!"
The people who gathered around had expressions similar to the scholar's, and Leng Zhijie trembled with fear.
"Come with us, Brother Leng."
As they spoke, they reached out to pull Leng Zhijie.
Leng Zhijie immediately grabbed the well curb with both hands, turning what he had previously considered an obstacle into something that could save his life. He gripped the well curb tightly with both hands until his knuckles turned white, and some of his fingernails even broke due to the excessive force, from which bright red blood flowed.
But one man is no match for ten people and twenty pairs of hands. He was pried open by their fingers and lifted up by them.
"Madam, we'd be afraid of offending your eyes, so we'll go and take care of it ourselves." Dafu stood before Madam Yin and bowed as he reported.
After Madam Yin nodded, they quietly left with Leng Zhijie.
Looking at Leng Zhijie struggling with her mouth covered, Liu Mingyuan couldn't help but shudder. This was too pitiful!
Then, he smiled slightly.
Shao Yanzhe and the other three watched as Leng Zhijie was taken away, without feeling any pity for him. They knew that Leng Zhijie had brought this upon himself, after all, he was the one who had killed those people.
"Do you want to live?" A clear, crisp voice drew their attention.
They turned their heads and met Madam Yin's cold eyes. Their hearts skipped a beat, and then they nodded hastily.
"Of course I want to live!"
They certainly didn't want to end up like Leng Zhijie.
"Very good." Madam Yin nodded in satisfaction.
Her naturally cold gaze fell on Shao Yanzhe: "You used your literary energy on me yesterday?"
She asked aloud, but her tone was certain, as if she already had the answer.
Shao Yanzhe nodded: "Yes."
Madam Yin smiled at him and said, "Then whether you live or die depends on you."
Shao Yanzhe felt pressured under the gazes of the other three. He asked, "What do you mean? Is it related to my literary talent?"
Madam Yin nodded: "That's right. In fact, ever since I started killing people, my thoughts have become uncontrollable and extreme, and my thinking is not very clear. My instincts have taken control of my body."
As if recalling memories of that period, her eyes glazed over for a moment before quickly clearing.
She continued, "But today, I regained my senses. The malevolent energy that could affect me was suppressed by a force that is the same as the energy in your body. Therefore, I do not want to return to my previous state."
She looked up at Shao Yanzhe and said, "Therefore, you need to frequently infuse my body with spiritual energy. I can guarantee that as long as I am of sound mind, I will not attack you or your three companions."
After pondering for a moment, Shao Yanzhe nodded and said, "Okay, no problem! But are you sure my literary energy won't harm you?"
Yesterday, due to the urgency of the situation, what he did was actually a form of attack, just like a skill in a game that inflicts a negative buff on the enemy.
Although the attack power is not high, since it is a negative buff, it will definitely cause some negative damage to the enemy.
Madam Yin asked him to give her literary energy frequently, but over time, that might actually damage her soul.
Madam Yin's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded with great certainty: "No, just do as I say."
"good."
Since Madam Yin herself said there was no problem, Shao Yanzhe wouldn't say anything more.
Madam Yin said, "Now give me some literary flair."
Shao Yanzhe nodded, then took out the jade hairpin pen, waved his hand, and the literary energy formed an article similar to yesterday's, which entered Madam Yin's body.
Madam Yin allowed the literary energy to enter her body. She narrowed her eyes and felt the faintly turbulent evil energy within her body being soothed by the literary energy. Now she was truly certain that Shao Yanzhe's literary energy had brought her back to her senses.
When Madam Yin opened her eyes, Shao Yanzhe asked, "Madam Yin, is it alright?"
Madam Yin nodded: "That's fine, but I prefer poetry."
Shao Yanzhe paused as he put away the jade hairpin pen. His mind raced, and he tentatively asked, "Madam Yin, you saw my poem just now. Compared to yours, it's worlds apart. If I were to use poetry to inspire literary talent, you would surely find it distasteful."
As he spoke, he observed Madam Yin's expression, and only continued speaking when he found that she did not show any displeasure.
"I think it would be better to wait until my poetry skills have improved before switching to classical poetry to stimulate my literary talent."
Madam Yin nodded: "Alright."
Shao Yanzhe continued, "Then, may I trouble Madam Yin to offer some guidance on my poems? This would help me improve my poetry writing skills more quickly. What do you think, Madam Yin?"
Madam Yin gave him a meaningful look. She was intelligent and immediately saw through his little scheme.
However, compared to the benefits it could bring her, she wasn't too bothered by this.
She nodded slightly in agreement: "Okay."
So, in the days that followed, Shao Yanzhe helped Madam Yin suppress the malevolent energy within her body that could erupt at any moment. After writing a few poems, he would seek Madam Yin's guidance.
His poetry writing skills improved at a rocket-like speed; looking at his earliest poems now, they are simply appalling.
At the time, Madam Yin's assessment was spot on; it was truly terrible.
But even with such a rapid pace of improvement, in Madam Yin's eyes, Shao Yanzhe was like a piece of rotten wood, with nine out of ten orifices open, and the poems he wrote were full of artifice.
Finally, when Shao Yanzhe came to seek guidance again, she did not offer any suggestions on how to improve.
She put the poem aside and asked, "If you were to write a poem about peach blossoms, what would be the first thing that comes to mind when you see peach blossoms?"
Shao Yanzhe answered instinctively, "Peach."
Madam Yin choked up as she was about to speak, looking at him with a complicated expression.
Immediately, she composed herself, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, give it a try. Use your strongest thoughts as a basis and write down your truest feelings. The biggest difference between writing poetry and writing an article is that poetry expresses your strongest emotions at the moment, without having to carefully consider allusions. Now, write a poem on the theme of peach blossoms."
Shao Yanzhe nodded, pondered for a moment, then picked up his brush and wrote a five-character, six-line regulated poem on the Xuan paper, and then showed it to Madam Yin.
Madam Yin reached out and took it, nodding and saying, "Not bad, the tonal patterns are strict, the two middle couplets are perfectly matched, and what's even more remarkable is that this poem seems to have gained a bit of spirit, making it much better than the previous poems."
As she spoke, she looked up at Shao Yanzhe and asked, "Have you figured it out?"
Shao Yanzhe seemed to have figured something out about how to write poetry. He nodded and said, "I understand!"
“Continue composing poetry,” said Madam Yin.
"yes!"
With a clear direction, Shao Yanzhe made rapid progress in composing poetry. After just two or three days, Madam Yin no longer frowned when she saw his poems, and sometimes even praised him.
"Brother Shao, the provincial examination will begin in three days. It will take us another day and a half to get to the provincial capital. Time is really running out," Liu Mingyuan, who had been working himself to the bone on exam papers these past few days, reminded him.
Shao Yanzhe nodded: "I know."
So, after listening to Madam Yin's instructions, he didn't beat around the bush and directly expressed their desire to participate in the provincial examination.
Madam Yin looked at him, her expression unreadable, and for a moment it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Shao Yanzhe was not afraid. He began to explain his thoughts: "However, please rest assured, Madam Yin, I will not go back on my promise and will continue to help you suppress the raging evil energy within you."
Madam Yin's expression softened slightly. Just as she was about to say something, she heard him say this.
Shao Yanzhe: "Therefore, we can only dig up Madam Yin's remains and take them with us to the provincial capital."
Zhou Jiming, Liu Mingyuan, and Chen Yunhe huddled together, trembling.
He said it!
He actually said it!
Madam Yin's expression froze: ? ? ?
All I wanted was your literary talent, and you want to dig up my bones?!
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