Chapter 120: Chapter 86: Scholar_l
Translator: 549690339
That night, near the end of summer, there was a hint of chill in the air, the aura of autumn gradually emerging.
Inside the somewhat dilapidated Ma Family ancestral hall.
A few youths on night watch sat at the entrance, chatting casually and sporadically.
“How could it be, someone just vanishes into thin air?”
“Exactly, the clan spends so much money every year to feed and take care of him, all in the hopes that he’ll pass the exams and bring honor to our ancestors, right?”
“And yet, this lad, out of nowhere, just disappeared!”
“The old master from the private school said that the lad’s essays were written exceptionally well, he was certain to pass the examinations this time and become a ‘tongsheng’. In the future, becoming a ‘xiucai’ or even passing the ‘juiren’ exams was within reach. Who would’ve thought that he would end up…”
“It’s really odd. I saw him just the other day, hearty and full of life. How could he just be gone all of a sudden? Could it be that he encountered some ghostly fox or spirit monster that stealthily drained him of his Yang energy?” “What ghostly fox or spirit monster? Don’t scare me, lad.”
“You might not believe it, but I’ve heard that these ghostly foxes, they fancy young and tender scholars with delicate skin and tender flesh the most.”
“Yes, yes, yes! It’s said that if they take a fancy to someone during the day, at night they’ll transform into beautiful women and stealthily engage in pleasures with the men. There’s even a fancy term for it… what’s it called… ‘adding fragrance to the sleeves’!”
“If they have their way with you a few times, let alone a frail scholar who can’t lift a load or do manual labor, even we robust farmhands would exhaust all our
Yang energy and meet our death!”
“That doesn’t make sense, though. If these ghostly foxes feed on people’s Yang energy, why go after frail scholars? With their effeminate looks, those dandies are all show and no substance. How much Yang energy could they have?”
“Tell me about it! They should be coming after us. Like me, for instance—I wake up every morning full of vigor; my Yang energy is as potent as it gets. Wouldn’t that be far better than those useless pretty boys?”
“You never know, they might just fancy that kind.”
“Pah, I reckon it’s all hogwash made up by those scholars, which is why only they have all the fun, while us honest farmhands have to rely on our own two hands.”
“If some ghostly fox beauty really showed up at my door, I’d make sure she couldn’t get out of bed!”
“Oh, please, you…”
The group of youths delved deeper into ribald humor, carelessly joking around without regard for the situation.
Only an old man stayed out of the fray, taking a sip from his wine bowl on his own. After the rowdy group of youths settled down, he finally said, “You lads have no idea how high the sky is or how deep the earth is. Do you truly think those tales of ghostly foxes are false?”
“This…”
The youths looked at each other, their faces a mix of shock and uncertainty, as they watched the old man: “Eight Masters, what do you mean by that? Are you saying there really are ghostly foxes and spirit monsters in this world?”
“Why don’t you say it a bit louder?”
Eight Masters glared at the man and scolded, “Boys, remember this: you can eat your fill, but mind what you say. As the saying goes, the gods are watching from three feet above. When it comes to matters of gods and ghosts, it’s best to respect them from a distance!”
“This…”
Seeing him so serious, the youths felt somewhat intimidated, though one of them, brave due to his inexperience, persisted.
“Eight Masters, don’t frighten us now. If there really were ghostly foxes that sucked out people’s Yang energy, then why go after the fair-faced scholars specifically? Wouldn’t our Yang energy as farmhands be much stronger?”
Emboldened by this, the others joined in the taunting: “That’s right, that’s right! If they’re not after Yang energy and just fancy good looks, then what’s there to be afraid of with those ghostly foxes? I’d be more than happy for them to come over and be my wives!”
“What do you lot know?”
Eight Masters gave the youths a disdainful glance: “Those ghostly foxes go after scholars not just for their life force but also their literary aura.”
Curious, everyone asked, “What’s a literary aura?”
“I’m not too clear on the details myself.”
Eight Masters shook his head: “But according to what the old folks used to say, scholars who read a lot and have good knowledge emit a kind of literary aura. The spirit monsters benefit greatly from absorbing it, so they prefer targeting scholars. Only after the scholars have disappeared do they go after youths like you, sucking away your Yang energy…”
Seeing him speak so gravely, the youths exchanged glances, becoming somewhat frightened.
“Eight Masters, don’t scare us!”
“Yeah, exactly!”
“I think that lad must have had some acute illness that struck him dead.”
“Right, right, right, the corpse I saw had a twisted face and body, he surely died of a fit, like from the falling sickness.”
The group quickly agreed, steering the conversation away from the topic of ghostly foxes.
Eight Masters replied with a cold laugh, “Now you know fear, huh? From now on, keep your lips tight. Also…”
As he spoke, he glanced back at the ancestral hall before asking them, “Do you know why the clan leader asked me to stay up with you lads to watch the corpse?”
“This…”
The youths looked at each other, all puzzled.
Eight Masters shook his head, speaking ominously, “People who die such violent deaths are suffocating with resentment, unable to expel it from their throats. If we’re not careful, it might…”
“It might what?”
The crowd swallowed hard, anxious eyes fixed on him: “Out with it, say it!”
“Turn into a reanimated corpse!”
Eight Masters gave a grim smile, showing his yellow teeth: “Do you know what a reanimated corpse is…?”
“Whoosh!”
Before he could finish, they heard a noise behind them.
Eight Masters turned rigid, frozen in place.
The youths were also startled, and as they lifted their heads and looked toward the sound, their expressions turned to horror. Pointing behind Eight Masters, their mouths gaped wide open, unable to utter a word as they stood there, trembling like leaves in the wind.
Eight Masters, seeing their reactions, shuddered and shouted, “Damn brats, stop it already! You trying to scare someone to death in the middle of the night…”
“The corpse is reanimating!”
Before he could finish, the youths screamed and turned on their heels, bolting out the door.
Eight Masters’ body jerked abruptly as he slowly turned his head, only to see that in the hall, the person who had been lying on the funeral plank had now eerily risen to a seated position.
This caused Eight Masters to instantly turn deathly pale, and with a softening of his legs, he sat down on the ground. Then, in a panicked scramble, he propped himself up and ran out, tumbling and crawling.
“A corpse, the corpse has turned! Someone come quick, help me! !
Inside the ancestral hall, sitting on the horizontal board, Xu Yang’s eyebrows were tightly knit, one hand pressing on his temple, feeling a piercing pain in his head, and his memory was completely confused, as if someone had split open his skull and torn apart his soul.
What’s going on?
What had befallen the original owner of the body that he’d suffered such severe injuries that even the power of his divine soul that came through the dream of the butterfly couldn’t completely soothe his wounds?
Xu Yang sat on the horizontal board, his hands clutching his head, his fingers tightly pressing on his temples in an attempt to alleviate the pain, but it was to no avail.
Having no other choice, he disregarded the surroundings and directly started to practice the Martial Arts Mental skills.
In the real world, Cultivation Skills, generally included methods to cultivate the Divine Soul. Incorporating these into the Martial Arts Scripture, Xu Yang finally remedied the significant flaw in the cultivation of the Martial Path, where it was difficult to cultivate the divine soul before Condensing Spirit.
The intense pain in his head now suggested it was not merely a physical injury, but rather a wound to the soul.
Xu Yang’s transformation through Zhuanzhou Mengdie wasn’t a typical seizure of another’s body; he received not just the body but also the soul, meaning the injury that caused the “original owner” his death also affected him now.
Xu Yang clutched his head, silently practicing the Martial Arts Scripture, not knowing how long it took before the intense pain in his mind gradually subsided.
“Heh, heh!”
By then, he was drenched in sweat, his complexion ashen, looking as if he had been fished out from water.
At the same time, a fragmented, chaotically jumbled flow of memories surfaced in his mind.
His name was Ma Wencai, a local of the North City in Jinhua Mansion within the Jiangzhe region. Orphaned at a young age, he was a lonely and destitute child, but fortunately, he was bright and sharp, seemingly born to study. Therefore, he was nurtured by the Ma Clan and was allowed to study with the clan. He also received monthly rations for his excellent performance.
He knew opportunities were scarce and was even more diligent, living by the maxim “Let not the noise of the world disturb the focus of one’s scholarly pursuits.” He hoped to pass the exams and make a name for himself.
In this way, he worked hard and eventually grew up to take part in the imperial examinations.
But unexpectedly, on the eve of the county test, he…
What happened then?
Xu Yang didn’t know.
He had died, but he didn’t know why or how.
He didn’t even have the memories leading up to his death, as if a piece of his soul had been torn out and taken away.
This caused Xu Yang’s brows to furrow tightly, his heart uneasy.
Though lacking memory information, he was still certain that the original owner’s death was no accident.
It was murder!
Someone had deliberately harmed him.
Now that he had come back to life, the adversary would know and would not be willing to let go. They would surely find an opportunity to strike again.
Considering the original owner’s chaotic memories and the peculiar injuries on this body, the murderer undoubtedly possessed extraordinary powers.
Therefore, his current situation was very dangerous—the opponent could strike at any time, and as a frail scholar incapable of fighting, he had no power to resist or defend himself.
What to do?
Xu Yang’s brows were knotted in worry, momentarily without a strategy.
It wasn’t that he lacked wisdom or cunning; rather, the current situation was a clear case of the enemy being in the light and himself in the dark. In this scenario of vastly unequal information, even a wise man can do nothing without rice, much like a skilled woman is helpless without the necessary ingredients to cook.
“First take one step at a time, and if worse comes to worst, I’ll have to change my appearance and flee, temporarily avoiding this place of conflict!” Eventually, Xu Yang could only make such a plan and struggled to prop up his weary and weakened body to leave the ancestral hall.
Just at that moment…
“Quick, quick, quick!” “Surround this place!”
“Don’t let him escape!”
A large crowd with torches in hand rushed over, enclosing the ancestral hall tightly.
Xu Yang halted his step and looked outside.
He saw a line of people with spears and shields cautiously entering the ancestral hall and shouting to him from a distance.
“Wencai, is, is that you?”
Xu Yang looked at them and quickly grasped the situation. He then called out, “It’s me, Clan Leader. I’m not dead, nor have I turned into a zombie. Please don’t panic and watch out for accidents.”
“This…”
“He can still talk?”
“He really didn’t turn into a zombie, is the dead man alive?” “Perhaps it’s a talking corpse!”
“Let’s try again; if that doesn’t work, we’ll just burn him.”
Hearing this, the members of the Ma Clan were still somewhat uneasy and dared not approach.
Finally, it was the Clan Leader who said, “Well, Wencai, it’s not that we don’t believe you, but with something like this… Anyway, please bear with us, just stay put, and we’ll come back for you when it’s light out tomorrow.”
“Alright, no problem,”
Xu Yang nodded his head without further words, “But could you throw me something to eat? I’m a bit hungry.”
“No problem, just wait!”