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The sky was dark and oppressive, making it hard to breathe, as if darkness could engulf everything at any moment.

A scholar, with a hurried expression, wore a straw raincoat and hat, holding a book wrapped in cloth tightly to his chest, running frantically through the rain.

He saw the abandoned temple not far away, his eyes brightened, and he clutched his book tighter, quickening his pace as he ran towards it.

Huffing and puffing, the scholar finally reached the temple, shut the doors and windows tightly. Though the temple was dilapidated, it at least provided shelter from the wind and rain—a small mercy in an otherwise unfortunate situation.

He unwrapped his book, checking to see if it had gotten wet. Thankfully, it was still dry, thanks to his careful protection.

The scholar lit an oil lamp and began reading aloud in the dim light.

A graceful silhouette suddenly appeared behind the scholar, with a seductive smile playing on her lips. She tapped the scholar on the back.

Seeing the graceful silhouette, the scholar seemed entranced, smiling involuntarily.

After the heavy rain, the scholar, looking exhausted, left the abandoned temple.

…

Three figures dressed as scholars walked through the muddy ground, stumbling and looking quite disheveled.

“Why is this road so difficult to walk on?” one of the scholars complained.

Another figure rolled his eyes. “Just deal with it. Don’t be ungrateful; these conditions are much better than when we were in the dense forest.”

“True.”

The third figure explained, “I heard there was an unprecedented downpour yesterday, soaking Ancient Lotus Town thoroughly. The river even overflowed its banks, and it’s said it might rain again tonight.”

“Ugh, that doesn’t sound like a good omen.”

Lu Yang pointed to a temple and laughed, “Well, there’s a temple ahead. Although it’s a bit rundown, the Buddha statue should still be there. You can take the opportunity to pray while we stay the night.”

“Let’s go over the plan again. According to the information we have, the target is very cautious and won’t reveal themselves easily. Moreover, the target is a ghost with advanced escape techniques, making it hard to catch.”

“The female ghost’s strength should be at the Foundation Building Stage, but the exact level is unknown.”

“If the female ghost appears, we must ensure she can’t escape before we make a move to capture her!”

“Our current identities are scholars heading to the imperial city to seek fame. We’ll stay here for the night and use this opportunity to lure the female ghost out!”

“So far, we haven’t heard of the female ghost killing anyone. When capturing her, don’t use lethal force.”

“We were inexperienced when traveling before. After seeing our master imprisoned, I learned the importance of using an alias outside. That way, if we embarrass ourselves, it won’t disgrace Dao Seeking Sect. Let’s confirm our aliases again. I’m Lu Yiyang.”

“I’m Long Jingzhou.”

“I’m Li Hao.”

The three discussed their plan and, finding no issues, suppressed their auras to the extreme, disguising themselves as ordinary people before entering the temple.

“This temple is so clean,” Meng Jingzhou remarked in surprise. He had expected the place to be covered in dust and cobwebs.

The temple’s interior was unexpectedly clean, as if someone had been maintaining it.

The only disappointing thing was that the Buddha statue in the center was missing its upper half, making it impossible to pray properly.

Li Haoran found some dry firewood behind the Buddha statue, likely left by the last person who stayed here.

He piled the firewood together, gathered some dry grass, took out a flint from his bag, and used the grass to kindle the firewood.

Li Haoran held his hands to the fire, looking extremely comfortable. “Ah, I feel alive again.”

Lu Yang took out some steamed buns from his bag, skewered them with wooden sticks, and began roasting them over the fire.

When the buns were slightly browned on the outside, Lu Yang broke one open, releasing a fragrant steam.

Meng Jingzhou took a stroll around the abandoned temple and then returned to the main hall. “Besides the main hall, there are two other rooms. We can each have one when we sleep.”

“Alright.”

The three of them gathered around the fire, eating buns with pickles and lamenting the difficult journey ahead.

Lu Yang was full of worries, not even savoring the taste of the bun in his hand. “I wonder if our trip to the imperial city will be smooth. I’ve heard that the city is full of cultivators. It will be incredibly difficult for us common folk to make a name for ourselves there.”

Meng Jingzhou waved his hand dismissively. “There aren’t as many cultivators in the imperial city as you think. If there’s one cultivator among twenty people, that’s already a lot. Becoming a cultivator is extremely difficult; the Spirit Root alone filters out ninety-nine percent of people.”

One cultivator among twenty people was already an astounding ratio, one that even the largest cities on the Central Continent couldn’t reach.

“Although we don’t have Spirit Roots, we possess knowledge. We can write various essays effortlessly and have unique insights into current affairs. Tomorrow, we’ll leave Shoutian County and head to the capital to take the imperial exam. Gaining the emperor’s favor and securing an official position is not an impossible task.”

In the Great Xia Dynasty, not all officials were cultivators; some were common folk.

Meng Jingzhou pointed at Li Haoran with a bun. “Take Brother Li, for instance. He could recite the ‘Thousand Character Classic’ at five, write poems at seven, compose essays at ten, and his literary talent is unmatched. His teacher praised him as the best student he ever taught.”

(TL Note: The Thousand Character Classic, also known as the Thousand Character Text, is a Chinese poem that has been used as a primer for teaching Chinese characters to children from the sixth century onward. It contains exactly one thousand characters, each used only once, arranged into 250 lines of four characters apiece and grouped into four line rhyming stanzas to make it easy to memorize. It is sung, much as children learning the Latin alphabet sing an “alphabet song.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_Character_Classic)

Li Haoran smiled modestly. “Brother Long overpraises me. My teacher’s praise was just meant to encourage me. In contrast, Brother Long, who has a family business to inherit, chooses to seek a future in the capital. Your confidence and the foundation behind it are things Brother Lu and I can’t compare with.”

The three of them flattered each other, then turned to reading the classics, engrossed in the timeless wisdom of the sages. It was as if they thought if they could write an essay like those immortalized in history, they would die content.

Meng Jingzhou yawned, crushing Lu Yang’s dreams mercilessly. “Alright, stop dreaming and go to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

Following their earlier agreement, the three of them went to their respective rooms.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou went to the rooms on either side, while Li Haoran stayed in the main hall, sleeping in front of the half-Buddha statue.

In the darkness, three graceful silhouettes stared at Lu Yang and his companions, their eyes glowing with a faint green light.

“Three more people, and their yang energy is strong. I’m really curious how they taste…” the figure in green said with a light laugh.

“Yes, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen scholars with such strong yang energy. Although scholars can cultivate a righteous aura by reading the classics, it’s rare to see ones as vigorous as these three.” The figure in red licked her lips seductively.

The figure in white, who appeared younger, quickly said, “Sisters, you must be careful not to drain their yang energy completely. We should adopt a sustainable approach.”

“If they enjoy themselves once, they’ll come back for more. Gradually, we’ll absorb more yang energy than if we took it all at once.”

“Got it, got it. Little Seven, you’re the youngest, but you’re the most nagging. We know our limits. If we overdo it and attract the righteous sects’ investigation, we’ll be the ones in trouble.”

“Let’s split up. We’ll each take one of the side rooms, and Little Seven, you stay here and take care of this Li fellow.”

(End of the chapter)