Xuan Yao, who was eating small river fish, paused mid-action. With a small river fish dangling from its mouth, it tilted its head and looked at Shao Yanzhe, its heterochromatic pupils—one gold and one black—filled with confusion, as if it hadn’t clearly heard what he had just said.
“Meow?” it instinctively called out in puzzlement.
Even Yun Weiyue, who was recuperating, couldn’t resist. She transformed into a palm-sized figure, emerged from the scroll, and stood on the painting paper, scrutinizing Shao Yanzhe as if she had never seen him before.
Shao Yanzhe stared at them in confusion, unable to understand why his earlier statement had caused such a strange reaction.
“What’s wrong?” he asked curiously.
Yun Weiyue gently sat on her brush, controlling it to fly in front of Shao Yanzhe.
She chuckled softly before speaking: “You ask what’s wrong? How could you come up with such an idea? Burning paper offerings for yourself? Hahaha!”
Shao Yanzhe said matter-of-factly: “So what? It’s just burning paper offerings for myself, why make such a fuss?”
In modern times, so many people burn paper offerings for themselves, hoping to become the wealthiest in the underworld after death.
He had only burned an article for himself, which wasn’t a big deal.
Yun Weiyue flew past Xuan Yao and lightly inhaled above a small river fish, drawing in the aroma of the food.
“Meow!” This made Xuan Yao cry out at her in dissatisfaction.
Yun Weiyue didn’t mind. As a ghost now, she couldn’t eat anything and could only smell the fragrance. Such delicious food would surely leave a lingering taste if she could actually try it.
Seeing this, Shao Yanzhe couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Not rushing for an answer, he watched the scene before him, finding it exceptionally warm. He spread out a piece of Xuan paper, picked up his brush, and began sketching.
With just a few strokes, Xuan Yao was vividly captured on paper. A few more strokes, and Yun Weiyue sitting on her brush holding a small river fish also appeared in the painting. Outside the window was warm, gentle sunlight, tranquil and beautiful.
Noticing Shao Yanzhe’s actions, Yun Weiyue flew over to the table, glanced at the painting he was creating, and praised: “Not bad.”
“If you like it, I can make some offerings to you next time. I suppose you might be able to taste the food that way,” Shao Yanzhe suggested.
Yun Weiyue’s eyes lit up, and she nodded: “Good!”
Then, she began to explain to Shao Yanzhe the information related to Literary Qi.
Actually, from the very beginning, she hadn’t planned to reveal in advance that Literary Qi could be controlled by him. However, when Shao Yanzhe was trapped in the ghost domain, she held onto a sliver of hope that, in a moment of danger, his potential might erupt, and he could truly use Literary Qi to protect himself.
She composed her expression and said: “In the Dayong Dynasty, any scholar who participates in the Imperial Exam and attains a certain rank naturally becomes connected to the court and receives the protection of the National Luck, from which Literary Qi is derived. Becoming a Tongsheng means possessing the protection of National Luck, but one cannot control it—it only provides passive defense. Only after passing the Xiucai exam can one initially control Literary Qi.”
Shao Yanzhe nodded thoughtfully: “So that’s how it is.”
Yun Weiyue continued to explain: “There is only one way for scholars to obtain Literary Qi, and that is to continuously write articles imbued with Literary Qi. There are basically no other shortcuts.”
National Luck is a great tonic for ghosts and monsters. By obtaining it, they can rapidly enhance their strength.
However, National Luck also has a restraining effect on ghosts and monsters. Since they cannot absorb it directly, they have no choice but to settle for absorbing Literary Qi instead.
Therefore, someone like you, a Tongsheng, is a highly coveted target in the eyes of ghosts and monsters. As long as they can find a way to make you willingly contribute your Literary Qi, they can continuously obtain it for cultivation.
You need to keep taking the Imperial Exams to increase your Literary Qi. Otherwise, if you are captured by those ghosts and monsters, you will be reduced to a tool providing them with Literary Qi.”
“As for your earlier question about why you cannot obtain the Literary Qi from your own essays, it is because this method belongs to sacrificial offerings. Only demons, ghosts, and monsters can receive such offerings. You are still a living human, so of course you cannot receive sacrifices. Naturally, if you were dead, you could use this method.”
Shao Yanzhe fell into thought, recalling how the bookstore owner had refused to believe that he would stop at becoming a Xiucai. It seemed the owner must have known about Literary Qi and understood its appeal to those ghosts and monsters.
“Alright, I understand. You should rest well for now, and we’ll discuss the remaining matters later,” Shao Yanzhe said.
Having spent six or seven days in the ghost domain, where he felt neither fatigue nor hunger, he was now completely overwhelmed by exhaustion upon emerging. The moment he lay down on the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.
Shao Yanzhe knew he was dreaming, but the dream was not about himself—it was about Yun Weiyue’s past experiences.
In the dream, from Yun Weiyue’s perspective, scenes from her birth to her growth and finally her marriage at eighteen flashed by in an instant. Just as previously described, she was indeed born with knowledge, exceptionally talented and brilliant—no amount of praise would be excessive for her.
Later, the court issued an edict allowing women to participate in the Imperial Exams.
Although many people opposed it at the time, they could not change the emperor’s decree.
Yun Weiyue became the first woman to take the Imperial Exams. With her profound knowledge and erudition, she successively passed as a Tongsheng, Xiucai, and Juren, then proceeded to the Metropolitan Exam and Dianshi. As long as she was personally selected by the emperor, she would become the first woman in the Dayong Dynasty to achieve the Six-time Champion and be named Zhuangyuan!
However, the court officials could not allow Yun Weiyue to become the female Zhuangyuan of the Dayong Dynasty. They instigated her husband to falsely accuse her of cheating in the Imperial Exams.
Their preparations were thorough, with forged witnesses and evidence that were flawless. Yun Weiyue was convicted, and the Six-time Champion female Zhuangyuan that was within her grasp slipped away.
With the emperor’s intervention, Yun Weiyue was not executed but was stripped of her scholarly titles and forbidden from taking the Imperial Exams again.
The incident caused a huge uproar. Those around her, unaware of the truth, believed she had genuinely cheated in the exams. Whenever they saw her, they would point fingers and gossip.
The pressure on Yun Weiyue grew increasingly unbearable. She wanted to divorce her husband but could not, leaving her in a state of perpetual melancholy.
Later, while sitting by the lake to relax, she was pushed into the water. Yun Weiyue, who had never been a good swimmer, drowned in the lake.
Shao Yanzhe’s eyes snapped open, his heart filled with intense suffocation.
The person who had pushed Yun Weiyue into the water in the end was none other than the one who had falsely accused her—her husband, Shen Moyuan.
“What a scumbag!”
With no outlet for his rage, he could only pound the bedboard several times with his fist, imagining it was Shen Moyuan he was hitting.
Xuan Yao was awakened by the commotion. Lifting its head, it looked at the two-legged beast hammering the bedboard, its eyes filled with confusion.
“Meow?”
Yun Weiyue had also emerged from the painting. After recuperating, her soul had stabilized once more, maintaining a basic form without any issues.
Holding a book in one hand and a brush in the other, she occasionally wrote and sketched in the book, glancing at Shao Yanzhe from time to time, equally puzzled as to why he had woken up and started pounding the bed board.
Finally, after venting enough, Shao Yanzhe smoothed his slightly disheveled hair and clothes before sitting on the edge of the bed to rest. Unexpectedly, he met the gazes of both the cat and the ghost.
Recalling his earlier behavior, he felt a pang of embarrassment, but being thick-skinned by nature, he simply pretended nothing had happened.
He cleared his throat lightly and stood up, moving to sit in the chair behind the desk.
“Now that we’re all rested, let’s discuss how to resolve the Soul Severing Curse on me and help you seek revenge.”
As he finished speaking, he looked at Yun Weiyue.
Upon hearing this, Yun Weiyue’s fingers tightened slightly around the book, a flash of hatred passing through her eyes.
Shao Yanzhe was taken aback—Yun Weiyue’s expression just now was strikingly similar to that of the Red-Clothed Woman.
Suddenly, an idea sparked in his mind.
Could Yun Weiyue and the Red-Clothed Woman originally be the same person?
Once this thought surfaced, he could no longer suppress it.
In Yun Weiyue’s previous experiences, there had been no trace of the Red-Clothed Woman, meaning she hadn’t appeared in Yun Weiyue’s life.
Staring intently at Yun Weiyue, Shao Yanzhe abruptly asked, “Do you have a twin sister?”
Yun Weiyue was momentarily stunned before understanding his implication.
She shook her head and denied it, “My mother only gave birth to one son and one daughter—no twins. I’m certain of this.”
Shao Yanzhe looked at her seriously and said, “If that’s the case, then is it possible that you and that Red-Clothed Woman are actually the same person?”
The same person?
Yun Weiyue was utterly bewildered.
“Th-this…is that possible? I’m sure I’m myself and haven’t lost anything,” she said, unusually flustered.
Shao Yanzhe asked, “Is your soul complete?”
Yun Weiyue nodded, “Yes! If my soul weren’t complete, I wouldn’t have consciousness—I’d be in a state of idiocy, and the same goes for that person.”
Hesitantly, Shao Yanzhe voiced his speculation, “Then, is it possible that you have a dual personality?”
In fact, his conjecture wasn’t entirely implausible. At that time, Yun Weiyue was ostracized by those around her, and she couldn’t even seek revenge against the husband who had falsely accused her. It wasn’t impossible for her to develop some psychological issues.
Yun Weiyue asked in confusion, “What is a dual personality?”
“It’s like having two souls or a split soul condition,” Shao Yanzhe explained.
Yun Weiyue understood immediately. She lowered her gaze, frowning in thought, carefully recalling her memories from the time she was imprisoned.
Soon, her previously calm expression turned panicked.
“Only now do I realize that before I was killed, there were gaps in my memory. It must have been that person controlling my body to do something.”
“Are you sure?”
Yun Weiyue nodded, “Yes. I was born with knowledge and possess a photographic memory. From birth until my death, I remember every detail clearly.”
Shao Yanzhe nodded, “Then, our next step is to verify whether that Red-Clothed Woman is another personality of yours.”
Yun Weiyue looked at him and asked, “How do we verify it?”
Shao Yanzhe pondered for a moment before voicing his thoughts: “Actually, I’d prefer if you asked her directly. It’s likely she was the one who brought you into the scroll, and she bears no ill will toward you.”
“After all, you are one and the same person.”
Author’s Note: