Chapter 53 The Trial of the Thousand Silk Mound
"Only seven days?"
Shao Yanzhe raised an eyebrow in surprise; reading is not something that can yield results in a short period of time.
He couldn't help but think of his previous experience, which he considered a dream. Those scholars who were punished couldn't possibly improve in just seven days.
Especially for scholars who need to practice calligraphy, it takes years of practice to master it.
The woman nodded: "That's right, it's seven days. Actually, I heard from others that originally, people who were marked only needed to pass the test within three years, but for some reason, the time has been getting shorter and shorter, until it has been shortened to the current seven days."
Shao Yanzhe frowned slightly. He inexplicably thought of Mr. Liu's two completely different states during the day and at night, and wondered if it was related to this.
"Okay, I understand. Is there any other information? For example, how to unlock the mark, and what is the test?"
The woman glanced at him speechlessly, seemingly rolling her eyes.
"How could a little ghost like me possibly know these things?"
"All right."
The woman asked cautiously, "I've told you everything I know, can you let me leave now?"
Shao Yanzhe paused in stroking Xuan Yao's head, then looked up at her.
Xuan Yao, who had been enjoying the moment with his eyes half-closed, slightly opened them, making his originally somewhat cute eyes sharp and seemingly carrying a hint of murderous intent.
The woman involuntarily shrank her neck, fear flashing in her eyes.
Shao Yanzhe stared at her and asked, "How many humans have you killed?"
The woman frowned and pondered for a long time before answering uncertainly, "I think there are only twenty?"
After she finished speaking, she looked at him expectantly and said, "I've answered you. Can you let me leave now?"
Shao Yanzhe's expression was enigmatic, but he nodded slightly: "Okay."
As soon as he finished speaking, the balloon burst.
The woman's head shot out rapidly, and just as her figure disappeared into the darkness, a dark shadow darted up.
"ah!"
The woman's head emitted a sharp, mournful wail in the darkness, then abruptly stopped.
Soon, Xuan Yao emerged from the darkness, his eyes filled with disgust. He kept rubbing his front paws on the ground, and you could vaguely see some dark red liquid remaining in his paws.
Shao Yanzhe picked up Xuan Yao in one arm, took him to wash up, and then returned to the room.
After all that fuss, he was really tired. As for the rest, he'd better wait until tomorrow!
The next day, Shao Yanzhe was awakened by a scream. He opened his eyes, his eyelids were unusually heavy, he hadn't slept enough at all.
But it was quite noisy outside, so he got dressed and went outside to see what was going on.
The noise was coming from the courtyard. He walked over, and his mind slowly cleared. He felt like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't remember what it was.
He walked through the archway and saw several people gathered around the courtyard wall.
"What's going on? What are you all doing gathered here?" he asked while fastening his belt.
Zhou Jiming turned to look at him, his eyes still filled with lingering fear: "I just went out to use the restroom, and I never expected to see a dead snake!"
Shao Yanzhe paused as he fastened his belt, then remembered something he had forgotten.
After he finished cleaning up the bloodstains on Xuan Yao yesterday, he forgot to deal with the woman's head.
A guilty look flashed in his eyes. He walked over and glanced at it, then quickly looked away with disdain.
"That's probably a little toy that Xuan Yao caught. I'll deal with it."
As Shao Yanzhe spoke, he plucked a leaf from a banana tree beside the courtyard, placed it next to the dead woman's head, wrapped it in the leaf, and threw it away.
When I returned, I saw them sitting at the stone table in the courtyard, looking rather strange.
He couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong with you? You all look a little worried."
Zhou Jiming frowned and said, "I think I had a dream yesterday, and I can still remember the contents of the dream clearly. I told a few of you about it, and I didn't expect that you had the same dream. It seems that we had the same dream!"
They had all had experiences with ghosts and monsters, and when something was obviously unusual, they immediately guessed that it was the work of ghosts and monsters.
"Brother Shao, did you have any dreams yesterday?" Liu Mingyuan asked from the side.
Shao Yanzhe also found a seat and shook his head, saying, "I didn't dream about it."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiming and the others relaxed slightly. Yesterday, they had acted together with Shao Yanzhe. Since he didn't have a similar dream to theirs, it was probably because they had gone out together during the day and had similar experiences, so their dreams were similar as well.
They had just thought that when they heard what Shao Yanzhe said next.
"However, I did experience it firsthand."
Everyone was puzzled: "What do you mean?"
Shao Yanzhe smiled slightly and said, "What I mean is, it wasn't a dream, but a real experience."
Upon hearing this, their expressions changed slightly, but they quickly calmed down.
"How did Brother Shao find out?" Su Yuheng asked.
Shao Yanzhe explained what happened last night.
Su Yuheng's face paled slightly upon hearing that the dead snake had been a bewitching monster in life, as did the others.
"If that's the case, what should we do next?" Su Yuheng asked anxiously.
Zhou Jiming slammed his fist on the stone table, saying with some regret, "If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have gone out so casually. I would have been better off staying at home and studying."
Shao Yanzhe glanced at him and said, "It's too late to talk about this now. After we go there today, we'll find out from Mr. Liu what the test is."
"Will this work? I'm afraid he won't tell us, will he?"
"That's right, he probably won't tell us, and it would be troublesome if our questioning caused him to go berserk again."
"Yes! This matter needs to be considered carefully."
"Why don't we ask other scholars for their opinions?"
“I think it’s feasible. They’ve been there longer than us, so they probably know more than we do.”
"Also, it's best to ask him questions from a distance, so that even if he goes berserk, you can escape further away."
Shao Yanzhe listened to their discussion with a smile, wanting to say that they were worrying too much, but he didn't say it aloud and just listened quietly.
Based on his experience dealing with ghosts, he said that although these ghosts were human in life, they prefer to be straightforward after becoming ghosts. In his opinion, they should just say what they mean.
"Brother Shao, what do you think?" Zhou Jiming turned his head and asked.
Shao Yanzhe nodded: "Yes, yes, you've covered everything very well."
However, I have my own way of dealing with ghosts and monsters.
Before that, he needed to test whether the Mr. Liu during the day and the Mr. Liu at night were the same person.
So, when Shao Yanzhe stood in front of Mr. Liu, he suddenly spoke.
"Mr. Liu, are you a willow tree spirit?"
Zhou Jiming, Liu Mingyuan, and the others who were watching closely couldn't help but twitch their lips. They hadn't expected Shao Yanzhe to be so direct. Didn't they say they should be more tactful when they were discussing it?
They looked at Mr. Liu, their hearts immediately leaping into their throats, waiting for his next reaction.
The other scholars who heard this also slowed down their movements, appearing to be reading, but secretly listening intently.
Mr. Liu, who thought he was going to ask a question about the Four Books and Five Classics, was taken aback, his eyes full of doubt: "Why would you ask such a question?"
Shao Yanzhe answered calmly, "I had a dream yesterday. In the dream, Mr. Liu seemed to be a different person. He looked like a willow tree and punished more than a dozen scholars after reading our exam papers."
Mr. Liu smiled and shook his head: "I am not a willow tree spirit. I think you must have been studying too hard and your mind was too tense, which is why you had such a strange dream. Your knowledge is very good, and it won't hurt you to relax a little."
Shao Yanzhe gave him a meaningful look, but did not point out the flaws in his words, and instead asked other questions.
"Mr. Liu, what conditions do you think are necessary for someone to graduate from your tutelage?"
Mr. Liu stroked his beard and answered without hesitation, "Of course, it's enough to pass the imperial examination!"
Immediately, those who heard his answer were shocked, and their faces turned pale.
It’s over!
Shao Yanzhe couldn't help but think of the exam paper he had taken back then, which was completely modeled after the provincial examination paper. Now this was really troublesome.
"What should I do? It would be easier to die than to pass the imperial examination!" Liu Mingyuan cried with a mournful face.
He was incredibly lucky to pass the provincial examination this time; it would have been impossible for him to pass the metropolitan examination!
Zhou Jiming was even more so; he probably wouldn't even pass the imperial examination.
Chen Yunhe nodded in agreement. He felt that it was incredibly lucky for him to pass the provincial examination and become a Juren. As for becoming a Gongshi, he might have a sliver of hope if he waited another three years.
Shao Yanzhe, Wen Yanqing, and Su Yuheng exchanged a glance, feeling somewhat helpless.
They certainly don't need to worry about failing the imperial examination, but we can't just ignore their lives either.
"Then it seems we need to find other solutions," Shao Yanzhe said.
"What's the solution?" Everyone looked at him.
Shao Yanzhe stroked his chin thoughtfully: "No rush, let me find out about Mr. Liu tonight first."
Zhou Jiming said with a conflicted expression, "Then Brother Shao, you must be more cautious and not be too reckless."
He had just asked Mr. Liu such a direct question, and he was worried for Shao Yanzhe.
Liu Mingyuan and Chen Yunhe, who were standing to the side, nodded in agreement.
Su Yuheng and Wen Yanqing remained silent. They had now realized that Brother Shao had his own ideas about how to act, and he often achieved good results.
In that case, they'd better not say anything more.
The group spent the whole day with Mr. Liu, trying to remember what he said, before heading back together.
Because of what happened, Liu Mingyuan and the other three decided not to go back to their own places, but to stay together for the time being.
Zhou Jiming had already bought the house where Zhou Jiming and Shao Yanzhe lived, and he hadn't collected rent from anyone else.
In his words, if he accepted their rent, it would be an insult to him.
The others had no choice but to give up, but they took turns watching Zhou Jiming read, determined not to let him die because he failed the test.
For a moment, Zhou Jiming was caught in the agonizing task of memorizing the text.
Shao Yanzhe and the other six only rested for a short while, and after eating, they gathered together to study.
They wrote down everything Mr. Liu said today, and each person received a copy, trying to make sure everyone could memorize it.
Of course, this only applies to Liu Mingyuan, Zhou Jiming, and Chen Yunhe.
Shao Yanzhe held the book, reciting and thinking at the same time: if they didn't sleep, would they avoid going to Mr. Liu's place?
Of course, he knew the probability was low, but he still had to try.
At midnight, the dark sky was dotted with stars, a gentle breeze blew the clouds as they drifted by, and all was quiet.
The six people who were reading in the room suddenly tilted their heads and slumped onto the table, looking as if they had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
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