Chapter 4 The Fairy in the Painting is Injured
Shao Yanzhe was startled and stumbled, falling to the ground, but he managed to dodge the lady's grabbing hand.
He scrambled away from the ladies, his once clean clothes now stained with filth. The fabric, washed many times, was incredibly fragile and tore into small strips with the slightest pressure.
In just a few dozen meters, the edges of his clothes became fringed, and the fabric on his arms and legs also tore in several places.
With his current appearance, if he sat on the street, he would look exactly like a beggar.
Shao Yanzhe glanced around and, relieved not to see any white gauze, breathed a sigh of relief.
As a result, he met the gaze of the lady who suddenly appeared in front of him, her eyes seemingly smiling yet not smiling.
And, the black bamboo poles with sharp edges, arranged in a split pattern in front of the lady.
Shao Yanzhe's eyes widened suddenly, his pupils reflecting the bamboo as sharp as steel needles, and only one sentence echoed in his mind.
It’s over!
He instinctively closed his eyes, but the pain he had imagined did not occur. He only felt as if he were passing through a cold mist, which made him shiver involuntarily.
Shao Yanzhe sensed something was wrong and turned to look behind him, just in time to see the black cat retract its right front paw from the back of the lady's neck.
A red circular pattern appeared on the back of the lady's originally fair neck, and in the center of the circle was a somewhat complicated character.
He took a close look and quickly recognized the character as the seal script form of the character '封'.
Just as he was about to approach and examine it, the suspended black cat suddenly lost its balance and fell to the ground.
Shao Yanzhe instinctively lunged forward, becoming a cushion for the black cat.
The black cat slammed onto his back with a thud. The weight was heavier than he had imagined, and Shao Yanzhe's vision went black. Was his spine broken?
Fortunately, he wasn't in such bad shape; his spine wasn't broken. He managed to grab the black cat and sat on the ground to check on it.
The crescent moon overhead cast a soft glow, preventing the view from being completely obscured.
After finding that there was nothing obviously wrong with the black cat's limbs, tail, and head, Shao Yanzhe breathed a sigh of relief.
His heart leaped into his throat when he saw the black cat's wet mouth, and at the same time, a distinct smell of blood wafted into his nose.
His expression immediately changed, and he wore a pained look as if his parents had died.
"Kitty! Kitty, don't die! Waaaaah! What will I do if you die!"
Then, Shao Yanzhe got a claw punch on the face.
"You stupid two-legged creature! Even if you die, I, the cat, will not!"
Looking at the energetic black cat, Shao Yanzhe ignored his aching face and immediately smiled with delight.
"Thank goodness! I'm so glad you're alright!"
He happily hugged the black cat, his face beaming with genuine joy.
The black cat he was holding paused for a moment when it saw the expression on Shao Yanzhe's face, a hint of guilt flashing in its golden and black eyes.
It never expected that this foolish two-legged creature was actually worried about it. It even hit the two-legged creature, and it wasn't angry at all!
However, it was also because the two-legged creature cursed it to die that it took action.
That's right!
It's all the two-legged creatures' fault! Humph!
"Hmph! Let me go!"
As the black cat spoke, it stretched out its two front paws and pushed Shao Yanzhe's arm.
"Okay, I'll put it away now."
Shao Yanzhe gently placed the black cat on the ground.
The black cat glanced at him, glared at Shao Yanzhe fiercely, and as it turned around, it lashed its tail hard against Shao Yanzhe's calf, seemingly venting its anger.
Shao Yanzhe didn't care. He followed the black cat to the motionless lady.
"Crouch down!"
The black cat raised its head and gave the command.
Shao Yanzhe obediently squatted down.
The black cat was very satisfied. It quickly jumped onto Shao Yanzhe's shoulder and then gently tapped his shoulder with its tail, signaling him to stand up.
Shao Yanzhe slowly stood up, trying to keep his upper body still.
The black cat's two eyes, one gold and one black, sized up the lady, a smug glint in its slightly narrowed pupils.
"Meow!"
It called out to the lady, its voice brimming with smugness.
Hmph! It's eaten fried small fish from two-legged creatures!
Don't even think about anyone trying to harm two-legged creatures!
Shao Yanzhe also looked at the lady with curiosity in his eyes. The lady in front of him had paler skin, darker pupils, longer hair, and more water on the ground. Was she really a ghost?
He thought this to himself, and then asked the question aloud.
The black cat meowed in dissatisfaction upon hearing his question.
"Hmph! It's just a facade!"
After it finished speaking, it pounced on the lady and scratched her face with one claw.
The next moment, the lady's skin shattered, revealing the rotting skin underneath, a mixture of blue and red, and through the rotting skin, one could see the stark white bones below.
"hiss!"
Shao Yanzhe was so frightened that he took several steps back and looked away, but because it was the first time he had ever seen a ghost, he couldn't help but look back.
"Pshaw! Coward!"
The lady laughed out loud when she saw Shao Yanzhe's appearance.
"You stinky cat! I advise you to let me go, or you'll regret it!"
"Meow!"
The black cat hissed angrily, then quickly ran towards the study.
Seeing this, Shao Yanzhe glanced at the lady and quickly followed.
When he ran into the study, he saw the black cat standing on the desk, staring at the blank scroll hanging on the wall. Then, with a powerful leap, it jumped towards the scroll and gripped it tightly with its claws.
The lady's cries of extreme pain came from outside.
Shao Yanzhe was startled and subconsciously looked towards the lady, only to see her fall to the ground and then turn into a cloud of black mist and drift over.
He instinctively dodged, his gaze following the movement of the black mist, and saw it drift into the blank scroll.
A lady reading a book appeared in the originally blank scroll. He wondered if it was just his imagination, but she seemed somewhat listless compared to the ones he had seen before.
Suddenly, he noticed something extra on the scroll.
He took a few steps closer and saw a line of small characters appear in the previously empty lower right corner.
[Painted for my wife, Weiyue, in the spring of the third month of the first year of Xirui. By Shen Moyuan of Qingxi]
Shao Yanzhe stared at the last three characters, 'Shen Moyuan,' feeling that they looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen them before.
Suddenly, the black cat started vomiting, interrupting Shao Yanzhe's thoughts.
Shao Yanzhe walked a few steps quickly and saw the black cat lying on the ground, its body twitching from time to time, and dark red liquid flowing from its mouth, mixed with some fragments.
"What's wrong with you?!"
Shao Yanzhe knelt helplessly in front of the black cat, wanting to reach out but afraid of hurting it again, so he didn't dare to touch it.
But the black cat's eyes were tightly closed, and it couldn't answer his question at all, which made him a little impatient.
Suddenly, he felt a gaze piercing him. He looked up sharply and met a pair of eyes full of malice.
The owner of the eyes is the lady in the painting.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at her, remaining calm and not intimidated by her.
Seeing his completely different appearance, a hint of surprise flashed in the lady's eyes.
Then she saw the scholar stand up, walk towards the lamp stand, reach out and pick up the oil lamp, walk towards her, and finally stand in front of the scroll, staring at her quietly.
Under his gaze, the lady inexplicably felt a sense of danger.
Immediately, she realized how ridiculous her earlier thought was.
Shao Yanzhe stared at the lady with his dark eyes and said politely and earnestly, "You and the black cat are both ghosts. You must know what's wrong with the black cat and how to cure it. Can you tell me?"
The lady chuckled lightly, looking at him mockingly, and said, "Of course I know! But why do you think I'd tell you? I was just injured by that stinky cat, how could I possibly instruct you to save it!"
She flicked her sleeve lightly, staring casually at Shao Yanzhe, "I advise you to take advantage of this little bit of time and escape quickly, because once I get out, no one will be able to save you."
Shao Yanzhe seemed not to hear him. Instead, he took a few steps forward and moved the oil lamp he was holding forward slightly.
Is this scroll painting important to you?
The lady frowned at him, confused about his intentions: "What do you want to do?"
Shao Yanzhe smiled, his eyes looking at the oil lamp in his hand, his curled little finger trembling slightly. Soon, he raised his eyes to look at the lady.
"I just want to know if this scroll, as a vehicle for ghosts, is fireproof."
As he spoke, he moved the warm yellow flame of the oil lamp in his hand toward the lower right corner of the scroll.
"You dare!"
The lady's face instantly darkened. She suddenly reached out to grab Shao Yanzhe's neck, but her fingertips turned charred the moment they left the scroll.
She shuddered, abruptly pulled her hand back, and glared at him fiercely.
"You'll see if I dare!"
As soon as Shao Yanzhe finished speaking, the flame on the oil lamp came into contact with the scroll.
The lady screamed and tried to stop Shao Yanzhe.
Seeing a burnt yellow patch appear on the white paper in the lower right corner of the scroll, Shao Yanzhe moved the oil lamp away.
"Excuse me, could you tell me how to save the black cat?"
Shao Yanzhe smiled as he looked at the lady. If you disregarded his tattered long robe, he would indeed be a peerless gentleman, a handsome and refined scholar.
The lady gritted her teeth, thinking to herself that all men were indeed hypocrites with the hearts of beasts!
Then, she thought of something and her eyes flashed slightly: "Yes, that stinky cat became like this because evil energy entered its body. It is a spirit cat that has become a spirit by absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Its power is very pure. When it destroyed the scroll just now, the evil energy in the scroll entered its body. The conflict between the two energies, one good and one evil, caused it to be seriously injured."
As she spoke, a smug smile appeared on her lips, and her anger subsided considerably.
She continued, "To eliminate the evil energy from the stinky cat's body, you need a pure power similar to the one within it to slowly deplete that evil energy."
Shao Yanzhe frowned slightly and asked, "Where can I find pure energy? I can't possibly go looking for another spiritual creature, can I?"
Let alone whether there are other spiritual objects here, even if there are, it's probably impossible to find them in a short time.
Judging from the current situation of the black cat, it won't be long before it's caught up in the situation.
The lady gently stroked the pages of the book with her left hand, watching Shao Yanzhe intently, as if she were enjoying a good show.
"No need for that trouble, we can get pure positive energy to heal this black cat right now."
Looking at the lady's expression, Shao Yanzhe wondered what she was up to.
However, he is not afraid.
Where is the pure energy?
The lady spoke: "It's on you."
A note from the author:
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