Chapter 66 The Past of the Thousand Silk Mound
Shao Yanzhe wanted to carefully perceive the changes, but the sudden appearance of an unfamiliar scene made him give up for the time being.
Before me was a familiar environment, and in my line of sight was a willow tree with its branches swaying in the wind.
Soon, a figure walked over from a distance.
After the man approached, he recognized him as Liu Fusi, or more accurately, Liu Fusi in his youth.
He looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old at the time, with an innocent look on his face.
He stood nearby, occasionally gazing at the mountains and scenery, and reciting poems.
The subject of most of the poems is this willow tree.
After Liu Fusi left, a figure appeared under the willow tree. The person's face was blurry, but his figure looked very similar to Xiao Liu's.
Shao Yanzhe then guessed that what he was seeing now was Xiaoliu's memories.
The next scene flashed by quickly; Liu Fusi came and went.
Finally, Xiao Liu met Liu Fusi when he appeared. The two had a pleasant conversation and eventually became friends.
In the time that followed, every time Liu Fusi appeared, the sorrow in his eyes grew deeper and deeper.
"Fusi, what's wrong? Is something bothering you?" Xiaoliu finally asked.
Liu Fusi sighed and said, "I started taking the imperial examinations at the age of fifteen, and only passed the preliminary examination at eighteen. I only passed the county-level examination at twenty-one. Three years after three years, I still failed to pass the provincial-level examination. Little Liu, do you think I am very stupid? Is it possible for me to pass the provincial-level examination in this lifetime?"
Xiao Liu shook her head and said, "Of course not! Fu Si is exceptionally talented! Someone must have sabotaged you, which is why you failed the imperial examination!"
Liu Fusi asked doubtfully, "Really?"
"Of course it's true! With your talent, you're sure to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar!"
"You're right. My classmates can't write poetry as well as I can, and they don't study as hard as I do every day, but they've all passed the imperial examinations. I'm the only one left. They didn't invite me to their recent gathering. They must look down on me because I'm still just a novice scholar!"
"They are not your friends! Only I am your friend! Whether you are a scholar or a graduate, I will be your friend!"
"Xiaoliu, you're so kind! Only you wouldn't look down on me."
"Of course! That's what friends are for! Don't worry, you'll definitely pass the imperial examinations!"
"good!"
In the years that followed, Liu Fusi's appearance gradually matured, his hair turned gray, and wrinkles appeared on his face, yet he still failed the imperial examination.
At this moment, facing the still young Xiaoliu, his eyes were filled with resentment.
Why can't I pass the imperial examination?
"Fusi, you will definitely pass the imperial examination!"
Leaning on his cane, Liu Fusi said blankly, "Why can't I pass the imperial examination?"
The still-young Liu said, "Fu Si, you will definitely pass the imperial examination!"
Finally, Liu Fusi leaned against the trunk of the big willow tree, looking resentful, and asked, "Why can't I pass the imperial examination?"
He closed his eyes before Xiaoliu could answer him.
The resentment and unwillingness he felt after death remained, transforming into Liu Fusi.
Xiao Liu willingly allowed Liu Fusi to occupy his willow tree body.
Liu Fusi's obsession remains passing the imperial examination, but he is no longer human and cannot participate in the examination.
He watched the scholars coming and going under the willow tree, praying for success in the imperial examinations. Some of them actually passed, which made him even more unwilling to accept defeat. So he established an academy, selected suitable people, and taught them using his own methods, enabling more people to pass the imperial examinations.
He became even more resentful and desperately wanted to obtain a human body to participate in the imperial examinations.
He learned a method from Xiaoliu: only by sacrificing a thousand people could he possibly be reborn.
He used his reputation to attract more scholars, kidnapping one or two each time, then three or four, then four or five, and eventually more than a dozen. Over the centuries, he had killed over a thousand, simply because a thousand people were too mediocre and more intelligent scholars were needed to fill the gaps.
Shao Yanzhe sighed. The method Xiao Liu gave Liu Fusi was not well-intentioned to begin with. During the years he spent with Liu Fusi, he was also influenced by his obsession and became obsessed with passing the imperial examination. He also wanted to take the imperial examination and see for himself what magic it had that made Liu Fusi so concerned.
He took advantage of Liu Fusi's resentment and obtained a human body cleanly, without getting any blood on his hands.
Later, he discovered the special nature of Shao Yanzhe's literary talent and began to exploit it.
As long as Shao Yanzhe actively sends his literary energy into that eye, he can directly shed his demonic aura and transform into a human form, so that no one will notice.
Only then did he destroy the body that Liu Fusi had painstakingly created, forcing and enticing Shao Yanzhe to voluntarily contribute his literary energy.
However, Shao Yanzhe had no trust in someone he had just met.
Although he didn't see anything wrong with Xiao Liu at first, his similar face to Liu Fusi always made him wary of Xiao Liu.
Xiaoliu's subsequent behavior made him feel even more that something was wrong with him.
In particular, his suspicions reached their peak after Xiaoliu easily subdued the black willow tree that Liu Fusi had possessed.
"Oh no! I can't see! Am I blind?!"
"Waaaaah! I can't see it either!"
"I still need to study for the imperial examinations! I can't go blind!"
"Hehehe! I'm blind! My parents definitely won't force me to take the imperial examinations anymore!"
"No! If I go blind, won't I be unable to see the girl?"
Shao Yanzhe was brought back to his senses by the noisy, howling sounds. He squeezed his eyes shut and the images slowly appeared before him.
Upon seeing the situation before him, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. The power of this explosion of literary energy was probably comparable to that of a cannonball.
The once flat ground has now sunken in, creating a large pit that is more than ten meters deep.
Seeing that the scholars were about to fall into the pit, he quickly called out a warning: "Careful! Don't move!"
But his warning came too late; the surviving scholars lost their footing and tumbled down the slope.
One after another, more than a dozen scholars fell in.
Shao Yanzhe had no choice but to bring the person out.
At this moment, the scholars' eyes saw something again.
Zhou Jiming leaned closer to Shao Yanzhe, his face full of astonishment: "Brother Shao, did you really do this?"
The scholars around him also looked at him with amazement, their ears perked up, ready to listen.
Shao Yanzhe shook his head: "How could that be? It's probably the collision between literary energy and those other energies that caused such great power. After all, I'm just a scholar who passed the imperial examinations. I have no ability to cause such great damage."
Zhou Jiming nodded in realization: "That's more like it! I've never seen anyone in Kyoto put on such a big show."
The other scholars were somewhat disappointed upon hearing this, but deep down they felt a sense of relief.
The group first found a place to rest.
Shao Yanzhe looked at Zhou Jiming and the others and asked, "What's going on with you guys? Why didn't you go back?"
Zhou Jiming looked down at his somewhat transparent body, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
“Mr. Liu gave us a test. Then, that space suddenly broke open. After we came out of that space, we came straight here and just happened to see you being thrown out of the ground.”
Shao Yanzhe nodded, guessing that it was probably Xiaoliu who had done it.
They rested for a while and were about to leave when they saw people from the government office rushing towards them from afar.
Upon seeing this, they stood up and went to greet the people from the government office.
Han Yuzhang dismounted and stopped in front of the disheveled scholars. His gaze swept over the huge pit behind them, his eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.
"This is...t?"
Zhou Jiming immediately stepped forward to explain to him, recounting the entire process.
Han Yuzhang's gaze immediately fell on Shao Yanzhe, and when he looked at him, his eyes were filled with admiration.
"Excellent! He is brave, resourceful, and highly capable! If he passes the imperial examination one day, he will surely serve the Dayong Dynasty!"
Seeing Shao Yanzhe receive praise from the prefect, the scholars couldn't help but look at him with envy, but there was absolutely no jealousy.
"Thank you, Lord Han!" Shao Yanzhe bowed and expressed his gratitude.
"Alright, you must be very tired. Leave the rest to me. You can go back and rest."
"yes!"
Han Yuzhang watched the scholars leave, then led the government soldiers to the large pit. Compared to the scene in his memory, it was truly astonishing.
"Sir, that willow tree is gone just like that. How are we going to explain this to the people in the city?" someone asked as they stepped forward.
Han Yuzhang narrowed his eyes and said, "Just say that a sudden thunderbolt struck today, and the willow tree was killed by the thunder."
"yes"
He stayed there for a while, and after finding nothing wrong, he took some people back to the government office, leaving the rest to be handled by those who remained.
He had just dismounted when the steward of the government office rushed over: "Sir, the gentleman from last time has been waiting in the front hall for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
Han Yuzhang paused as he handed over the reins, his gaze unconsciously sweeping over the interior of the government office, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.
He hadn't expected that the people from Tianluo Zhao wouldn't leave.
"Very well, I will go there now."
Han Yuzhang entered the front hall, cupped his hands in apology, and said repeatedly, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, sir!"
The person sitting in the front hall was the same person Shao Yanzhe had encountered before. He sat steadily, showing no intention of getting up.
He accepted the apology from Prefect Han Yuzhang without any qualms.
Han Yuzhang didn't care about his attitude.
"I wonder what brings you here, sir?" he asked.
The man asked with a stern face, "Who destroyed that willow tree outside Jiangzhou City?"
Han Yuzhang's eyes flashed, and he replied, "I don't know, but judging from the depth of the pit, it seems that the willow tree demon had a conflict with other demons and was killed when it was no match for them."
"Besides the willow tree demon, are there any other demons around here?"
"I do not know."
"That's true, he's just an ordinary person."
After saying this, the man got up and left.
Han Yuzhang watched him leave, then sat down in the main seat, picked up the teacup next to him and took a sip. His eyes were vacant, and he was somewhat worried, wondering if Shao Yanzhe could evade the detection of Tianluozhao.
On the other side, the man left the government office and headed straight out of Jiangzhou City, arriving at the place where the willow tree demon had originally been.
By this time, the place was completely deserted.
He dismounted, walked to the large pit, looked at it, then took a spider out of his sleeve, carefully placed it on the ground, and watched it crawl away.
Soon, the spider crawled back, quite consciously climbing onto his sleeve, and finally onto his palm.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again: "It's literary talent!"
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