“Trying to leave? Dream on!”
The Red-Clothed Woman suddenly appeared behind Xuan Yao, swinging her right hand to send a dark ink blade slashing toward it.
“Don’t get distracted, I’ll handle her!”
Yun Weiyue flashed in front of the Red-Clothed Woman, her brush-wielding right hand sweeping horizontally to release an identical ink blade.
The two ink blades collided violently before dissipating together.
Yun Weiyue and the Red-Clothed Woman stood facing each other in a standoff.
The Red-Clothed Woman stared at Yun Weiyue with an unreadable expression, slightly lowering her gaze to avoid direct eye contact: “Do you truly intend to oppose me?”
Yun Weiyue’s face remained expressionless, though her left hand hidden in her sleeve clenched slightly. The feelings rising within her made her reluctant to confront the person before her.
Yet she absolutely couldn’t allow Shao Yanzhe to be killed. Not only because of their master-disciple bond, but simply because Shao Yanzhe had promised to help her get revenge – she wouldn’t stand by and watch him be killed.
Though the Red-Clothed Woman before her might be her sister, she couldn’t bring herself to openly declare opposition.
Thus, she found herself caught in a dilemma.
The Red-Clothed Woman opposite seemed to understand Yun Weiyue well, knowing she wouldn’t actually harm her. Disregarding Yun Weiyue, she shifted position to intercept the Mystic Cat.
But Yun Weiyue blocked her again, staring down at the brush in her hand: “I truly don’t wish to oppose you, but I also won’t let you kill that wretched cat.”
The Red-Clothed Woman’s head throbbed from the voices in her mind, her already fragile sanity completely shattered by Yun Weiyue’s actions.
Her eyes suddenly turned blood-red, filled with violence: “Damn it! All of you deserve to die!”
“Go to hell, all of you!”
The ghost domain instantly plunged into darkness as overwhelming resentment erupted from the Red-Clothed Woman, her long hair whipping wildly in the turbulent energy.
Swinging her brush, she released countless ink blades scattering in all directions.
Facing this indiscriminate attack, Xuan Yao – who had been trying to break the ghost domain – immediately abandoned its efforts. It retreated with Yun Weiyue before Shao Yanzhe, erecting a protective barrier.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Countless ink blades slammed against the barrier maintained by the two. Both cat and ghost felt pressure far greater than anticipated, realizing the seriousness of their situation.
Only now did Yun Weiyue understand that the Red-Clothed Woman had been using only one-third of her power during their previous fight.
“Meow! We can’t hold this for long! What should we do next?” Xuan Yao flicked its tail irritably. Not only were its injuries not fully healed, but even at full strength it wouldn’t be a match for the Red-Clothed Woman.
What trouble!
All the two-legged creature’s fault!
Complaining internally, it strained to maintain the protective barrier, preventing the ink blades from harming the human behind them.
“Don’t worry, Shao Yanzhe is almost ready.”
Yun Weiyue glanced at Shao Yanzhe, who was radiating Literary Qi, recognizing this as the final stage. He would soon awaken from his beginner state, and then they wouldn’t need to defend this position so desperately.
“Meow!” Xuan Yao’s spirits lifted immediately.
Sure enough, the faint glow resembling Literary Qi around Shao Yanzhe gradually faded away.
The Red-Clothed Woman opposite noticed this and knew she absolutely could not let Shao Yanzhe complete the initiation. Instantly gathering all her ink-black blades, she launched an attack toward them.
Xuan Yao and Yun Weiyue, caught off guard, were struck by the sudden fierce assault on their protective barrier. The powerful recoil sent a shock through their entire bodies.
The internal organs in Xuan Yao’s body, which had not yet fully healed, were affected again. He involuntarily spat out a mouthful of blood and could no longer sustain the protective shield.
Yun Weiyue fared just as miserably—her entire soul became unstable, suddenly turning into a wisp of thin mist before solidifying once more.
“I’ll leave the rest to you.”
With those words, her form transformed into a black mist and vanished into the painting scroll on the desk.
“Alright.”
Shao Yanzhe replied, carefully rolling up the scroll and tying it with a string.
Only then did he bend down and emerge from the examination cell. He crouched to check on Xuan Yao, then retied the scroll to its body.
Standing up, he looked toward the Red-Clothed Woman opposite. He could see the turbulent resentment surging within her and understood that she must have died filled with grievous injustice.
But he also knew that a vengeful spirit harboring such resentment would not be easily reasoned with. His only option was to leave this place now and find another solution later.
With this thought, he drew out the last remnants of Literary Qi from within him, holding it in his palm.
Just as the Red-Clothed Woman appeared before Shao Yanzhe, he directly channeled the Literary Qi from his palm into her body.
The resentment within her immediately swarmed forward, tearing at and devouring the Literary Qi to strengthen itself.
As a result, the resentment inside her grew unstable, forcing her to focus on suppressing it first.
Seizing this opportunity, Shao Yanzhe picked up Xuan Yao and made his escape.
“Can you still break through the ghost domain now?” he asked Xuan Yao.
Xuan Yao nodded: “Meow!”
“Good, break it now!”
As soon as Shao Yanzhe spoke, Xuan Yao’s attack landed on the weakened area of the ghost domain it had previously struck. The already fragile boundary of the ghost domain was instantly torn open, creating a rift.
At that very moment, the Red-Clothed Woman suppressed her resentment. Her ghostly figure flickered in and out of sight, each appearance bringing her closer to them.
Sensing the chilling aura drawing nearer behind him, Shao Yanzhe did not hesitate and immediately slipped through the rift.
In that instant, his vision blurred, and countless chaotic images flashed rapidly before his eyes.
“Eh? Shao Yanzhe?”
“Shao Yanzhe is out!”
“Quick, go find the Fuzi!”
Noisy voices suddenly erupted. Shao Yanzhe shook his head and looked around to find himself surrounded by many scholars.
Soon, he realized he had returned to the schoolroom of Wenyuan Academy.
The Xuan Yao in his arms twisted free of his hold and, taking advantage of everyone’s focus on Shao Yanzhe, slipped through the crowd and quietly left the area.
Shao Yanzhe noticed Xuan Yao’s departure but did not stop it. Given the earlier rumors, it was indeed unsuitable for it to appear before everyone.
Soon, the Fuzi arrived.
He stared at Shao Yanzhe with evident delight, looking him over from head to toe. Seeing that he only appeared somewhat disheveled, the Fuzi finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Stepping forward to stand before his student, he reached out and gently patted Shao Yanzhe’s shoulder. “It’s good that you’re safe.”
Shao Yanzhe could tell the Fuzi was genuinely concerned about him and hurriedly expressed his gratitude: “Thank you for your concern, Fuzi. This student is unharmed.”
Fuzi looked at him with a beaming smile, clearly in high spirits. “Good, you must be tired. Go back and rest quickly! We can discuss other matters later.”
“Right, Brother Shao, you’ve been gone for three days. You must be exhausted and hungry. Go get something to eat to fill your stomach!”
“Exactly, returning from that place must have taken a lot of effort. Brother Shao, you should rest more.”
“It’s almost noon, so the dining hall’s food should be ready. Brother Shao, hurry along!”
The surrounding students all nodded in agreement. None of them could believe Shao Yanzhe had returned alive and assumed he must have suffered greatly.
Shao Yanzhe, visibly moved, thanked everyone. “Thank you, Fuzi, and all of you. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Good, go ahead!” Fuzi and the students nodded.
After bidding farewell to Fuzi and the others, Shao Yanzhe returned to the dormitory where his original self had lived. He washed up and changed into clean clothes.
Just as he finished tidying up, he noticed a strange noise coming from the window—it sounded like something scratching.
He quickly recognized it as the sound of Xuan Yao scratching at the door or window from outside.
He strode over and had barely pushed the window open when Xuan Yao slipped in through the gap.
Still carrying the scroll on its back, it leaped lightly to the floor and then jumped onto the bed, lazily settling down.
“How are you all?” Shao Yanzhe asked.
Xuan Yao let out a haughty meow: “Meow!”
As a mighty cat demon, how could anything possibly trouble him!
Yun Weiyue’s somewhat weak voice chimed in: “I’m fine, no need to worry.”
Shao Yanzhe felt somewhat relieved. “I’m going to get something to eat. Xuan Yao, what would you like? I’ll bring it back for you.”
Xuan Yao immediately perked up: “Meow, meow, meow!”
Yun Weiyue translated for him: “Dried little fish!”
Shao Yanzhe smiled and patted Xuan Yao’s head. “Alright, I’ll definitely bring some back for you.”
Then, he turned his gaze to the scroll. “Wait a bit. After I rest, I’ll gather some Literary Qi for you.”
Yun Weiyue: “Okay!”
Xuan Yao: “Meow!”
Shao Yanzhe then headed out to the dining hall. By this time, most students had already eaten, and only a few people were scattered inside.
Glancing at the nearly depleted dishes, he didn’t mind and casually picked some food.
Fortunately, there were still small river fish today, fried until golden brown on both sides and smelling delicious.
Shao Yanzhe quickly grabbed an empty bowl to scoop up the small river fish, afraid they would run out if he delayed.
The cook watching his movements flashed a look of satisfaction. This young man knew what was good—these small river fish had been bought fresh that very morning, lively right before being cooked. He had fried them slowly over low heat with lard until they were golden and crispy, even the bones fragrant and crisp.
Unfortunately, the other students didn’t appreciate them, complaining that the fish were too small and picking out the bones wasted study time. Thus, while other dishes were nearly finished, the small river fish remained untouched.
He had originally planned to keep them for himself to enjoy with wine later, but surprisingly, someone with good taste showed up.
“If you like them, you can take all the small river fish. No one else seems interested anyway,” he reminded.
Shao Yanzhe was overjoyed at the offer and quickly expressed his thanks, packing up all the small river fish to take away.
“Meow~”
Xuan Yao purred contentedly while eating the small river fish, its eyes narrowed in blissful immersion, completely lost in the delicacy.
It declared that small river fish were the most delicious food!
It truly hadn’t followed the wrong two-legged creature!
Shao Yanzhe watched it eat with satisfaction, his eyes also filled with laughter. After watching for a while, he walked over to the scroll, picked up a brush, and began writing articles.
Having been forced by the Red-Clothed Woman to write before, his articles were now both fast and well-written. In just half an hour, six articles brimming with rich Literary Qi were produced.
He went to the charcoal brazier in the corner, lit the articles, and began offering Literary Qi to Xuan Yao and Yun Weiyue.
After burning the articles, he clapped his hands and stood up. Remembering how burning articles for himself had been ineffective before, he curiously asked, “Why can’t I obtain Literary Qi by burning articles for myself?”