In the pitch-black ghost domain, the Red-Clothed Woman floated mid-air, with intermittent streams of Literary Qi rising from below.
The source of this Literary Qi was none other than the student who had ranked last in the recent examination.
She glanced down at the scholar sweating profusely over his writing when suddenly, she frowned, struggling to block out the voices in her head. Hearing those sounds, she curled her lips into a cold smile. Soon now.
Just then, she detected unusual movement at the ghost domain’s boundary and flashed to the location. Initially thinking it was some stray creature that had wandered in, she was surprised to find a familiar figure standing there.
She halted and addressed the person: “You dare return? Aren’t you afraid of death?”
Yun Weiyue observed the Red-Clothed Woman opposite her, immediately noticing the subtle, unconscious gesture of clutching her sleeve – a telltale sign of her nervousness. Complex emotions stirred within her.
It appeared Shao Yanzhe’s speculation had been correct. The Red-Clothed Woman before her was indeed her alternate personality.
Various thoughts raced through her mind. Though she had numerous questions, what she needed now was for the Red-Clothed Woman to confess voluntarily.
Suppressing her complicated feelings, Yun Weiyue lifted her head slightly and declared with certainty: “I already know.”
The Red-Clothed Woman’s heart tightened. What did she know?
“We were originally one. Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you and help you. After all, this is my enemy too.”
Yun Weiyue fixed her gaze on the Red-Clothed Woman and asked: “What do you think?”
The Red-Clothed Woman had frozen stiff, only one sentence echoing in her mind:
She knows!
She truly knows!
She suppressed the other annoying voice in her head.
Feeling flustered, she wondered if Yun Weiyue would resent her, since she bore partial responsibility for the harm that had befallen her.
At that moment, Shao Yanzhe made his entrance.
“I believe we share a common enemy – that Shen Moyuan. As long as we can get him to confess that he provided false testimony and deliberately framed you back then, your case should be easy to overturn.”
As he spoke, he cautiously observed the Red-Clothed Woman. Noticing she showed no intention of attacking, he relaxed slightly.
The Red-Clothed Woman forced herself to calm down. Realizing Yun Weiyue already knew the truth, she saw no point in continuing to hide things and confessed everything she had done.
Back when Yun Weiyue had been imprisoned by Shen Moyuan in the Shen family’s rear residence, she had no company except for one personal maid.
But that maid was disloyal. Seeing Yun Weiyue had no chance of rising again, she began seducing Shen Moyuan and eventually became his concubine by sharing his bed.
One day when Yun Weiyue returned to her room to rest, she accidentally discovered the two engaging in illicit relations on her own bed. The shock caused her to faint on the spot.
It was at that moment the alternate personality emerged.
This other personality possessed all of Yun Weiyue’s memories but developed a completely opposite temperament – one that loathed evil and could not tolerate Shen Moyuan’s betrayal.
The moment she appeared, she grabbed a stool from the room and hurled it at the couple on the bed, beating them severely.
Afterward, she took control of Yun Weiyue’s body in an attempt to kill Shen Moyuan and help Yun Weiyue escape from that place.
But Shen Moyuan proved even more cruel than imagined. Upon discovering Yun Weiyue’s rebellious thoughts toward him, he knew he could no longer keep her alive. Seizing the moment when she was lost in thought by the lake, he pushed her into the water.
After her death, he even hired someone to control her soul, forcing it to help him harm others and collect Literary Qi.
However, Shen Moyuan was unaware that Yun Weiyue housed two souls within her. He only managed to control the soul of the Red-Clothed Woman, while Yun Weiyue’s original personality was hidden away by the Red-Clothed Woman.
When the Red-Clothed Woman was released to help Shen Moyuan search for scholars, she infused Yun Weiyue’s soul into a portrait Shen Moyuan had given her and dispatched a dying scholar to deliver the scroll away.
This was done to prevent Yun Weiyue from being discovered one day.
The Red-Clothed Woman averted her gaze, unable to meet Yun Weiyue’s eyes. “In truth, if I hadn’t acted recklessly back then, provoking Shen Moyuan’s murderous intent, you wouldn’t have died. If you resent me, I’ll accept any punishment—beating or scolding. Once we kill Shen Moyuan, I will atone with my death.”
Seeing her like this, Yun Weiyue sighed inwardly. She stepped forward lightly, took the Red-Clothed Woman’s hands in hers, her eyes filled with gentleness.
“How could I resent you? In fact, you did what I wished to do. The upbringing I received taught me obedience, so when faced with such repulsive circumstances, I didn’t know how to act. I am grateful to you—grateful for everything you did for me. I won’t hit you or scold you. I only pity you, pity that you were controlled by that man and forced to commit evil deeds. Truly, you should resent me instead. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have faced any of this.”
The Red-Clothed Woman was taken aback. Not only was she not blamed, but she was being comforted.
Suddenly, she felt something drop onto the back of her hand. Looking down, she saw a droplet of red liquid.
Realizing what it was, her body stiffened, and she grew utterly flustered.
“You… you’re crying? Is it because of that Shen Moyuan? Don’t worry, he’ll be dead soon!”
Yun Weiyue looked up at the Red-Clothed Woman, red tears at the corners of her eyes, and corrected her earnestly: “I’m not crying because of him, but because of you. You’ve suffered all these years.”
She observed the Baleful Qi surrounding the Red-Clothed Woman, tinged with red—a sign that she had killed innocent people and could no longer reincarnate.
Shen Moyuan, you deserve to die!
The Red-Clothed Woman fell silent, at a loss for words.
Yun Weiyue wiped her tears and forced a smile. “By the way, I still don’t know your name! Can you tell me?”
The Red-Clothed Woman shook her head slightly. “I have no name. In fact, I’ve always been using your name.”
Yun Weiyue smiled and patted her hand. “It’s alright, you can keep using it if you wish. However, we are two separate people, and sharing one name is rather inconvenient. Do you want to keep the name Yun Weiyue, or would you like a new one?”
After a moment of silence, the Red-Clothed Woman replied, “I want a new name. I want you to choose one that belongs to me.”
“Yun Qingsu, derived from ‘her fragrant form pure enough to topple cities,’ from the same poem as my name. What do you think?”
“Yun Qingsu? That’s a lovely name, I really like it!” The red-clothed woman Yun Qingsu immediately broke into a smile, her entire demeanor brightening considerably.
Shao Yanzhe stood to the side, watching the two ghosts converse without interrupting. He crouched down to stroke Xuan Yao’s smooth fur, feeling exceptionally content.
Yun Weiyue brought Yun Qingsu before him and made introductions.
“This is my younger sister, Yun Qingsu.”
Then turning to Yun Qingsu: “This is Shao Yanzhe, currently our partner.”
Shao Yanzhe gave a slight nod toward Yun Qingsu.
Yun Qingsu glanced at him, then suddenly clawed the air with her hand, pulling a mass of black mist from his body.
Shao Yanzhe felt a sharp pain in his chest, followed by a sense of lightness throughout his entire being.
He bowed toward Yun Qingsu in gratitude: “Thank you!”
Yun Qingsu acknowledged with a nod.
Yun Weiyue looked down at the Mystic Cat on the ground, meeting its gaze, and didn’t leave it out: “This is Xuan Yao.”
Xuan Yao and Yun Qingsu exchanged glances, both quickly showing disdain in their eyes before turning away from each other.
After everyone became acquainted, they sat down together to discuss matters.
“Regarding Shen Moyuan, you need to provide detailed information about him so we can formulate a strategy,” Shao Yanzhe said.
He looked at Yun Qingsu: “Since you’re currently constrained by Shen Moyuan, you should know his whereabouts.”
Yun Qingsu nodded: “I know. He’s the chief examiner for this Imperial Examination. He arrived long ago and should currently be at the Examination Hall.”
“The Examination Hall is thick with National Luck energy, so I cannot enter.”
Shao Yanzhe wasn’t surprised by this: “Alright, then we’ll wait until after the Imperial Examination to find an opportunity to confront Shen Moyuan and make him admit he gave false testimony to frame you back then.”
“Fine, that seems to be our only option.” Both Yun Weiyue and Yun Qingsu nodded in agreement.
Having waited so many years already, a few more days wouldn’t matter.
Yun Weiyue glanced at Yun Qingsu, then turned to Shao Yanzhe: “Since we have nothing to do these few days, we might as well help you improve your essays further.”
Under the gaze of both Yun Weiyue and Yun Qingsu, Shao Yanzhe recalled his previous experiences of being tutored to near-death by them and couldn’t help feeling his scalp prickle.
He touched his thick, dark long hair – it seemed his locks might not survive this time.
He knew his current essays were only mediocre, and having two near Six-time Champion Zhuangyuan tutors was an opportunity others could only dream of.
“Alright!”
He agreed immediately and cheerfully. What was there to fear about practice exams? That was his specialty!
Thus, Shao Yanzhe voluntarily took up residence in Yun Qingsu’s ghost domain.
Within the ghost domain, time flowed slower than outside, and one wouldn’t feel fatigue or hunger, with both mental and physical states remaining at their peak.
Such an ideal place was perfect for his exam practice.
Shao Yanzhe spent his days practicing exams and writing essays, then received guidance from Yun Weiyue and Yun Qingsu at night. This cycle continued, and within just three days he began feeling the pressure.
To divert his pressure, he persuaded them to bring his classmate into the ghost domain as well.
Classmate: This is utterly immoral!
Shao Yanzhe disagreed – he was doing this for his classmate’s own good!
How was he being immoral? Just think about whether your essays have improved recently! Don’t spout nonsense with your eyes wide open – he’s having a hard time too!
After all, he was sharing two Six-time Champion Zhuangyuan with everyone!
Faced with this, his classmates could only channel their grief and indignation into motivation, burying themselves in studying and writing essays while receiving guidance from the two ghost Zhuangyuans.
With his classmates sharing the pressure, Shao Yanzhe finally had a bit of breathing room to rest. Of course, he did not slack off and worked hard to catch up with the top-performing students.
Time slipped away quietly as everyone immersed themselves in diligent study, and soon the day of the Imperial Examination arrived.