Three Scholars

Morita County, Kohoku Town, abandoned temple.

In southern Jizhou, torrential rain poured down, turning the green grasslands into a muddy mess. The emerald leaves stood vertically in the rain, lifeless from being washed away.

The sky was a gloomy gray, so oppressive it was hard to breathe, as if darkness could descend at any moment.

The scholar, dressed in a straw raincoat and hat, carrying books wrapped in cloth, hurried through the torrential rain.

He spotted an abandoned temple in the distance, his eyes lit up, he clutched the books in his arms, quickened his pace, and ran over.

Whoosh--

The scholar, panting heavily from exhaustion, closed the doors and windows tightly. Although the temple was dilapidated, it was fortunate that it was not drafty or leaky.

He opened the package and checked if the books were wet; perhaps because they had been well protected, the books were still dry.

The scholar lit an oil lamp and, by its dim light, read aloud in a low voice.

A beautiful figure suddenly appeared behind the scholar, a captivating smile on her lips, and patted him on the back.

Upon seeing the beautiful figure, the scholar seemed bewitched and couldn't help but laugh.

After the heavy rain, the weary scholar left the abandoned temple.

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

"Why is this road so difficult to walk on?" one of the scholar figures complained.

Another figure rolled their eyes. "Make do, don't be ungrateful. Aren't these conditions much better than back in the dense forest?"

"That's true."

The third figure explained, "I heard that yesterday there was a once-in-a-decade downpour that completely drenched Guhuai Town, and the river overflowed its banks. I also heard it will rain again tonight."

"Tsk, this doesn't feel like a good sign."

Lu Yang pointed to the temple and laughed, "That's perfect. There's a temple up ahead. It's a bit dilapidated, but the Buddha statue should still be there. You can go and pray while you're spending the night there."

"Let's re-examine the plan. Based on the current intelligence, the other party is very vigilant and will not easily show themselves. Moreover, the other party is a ghost with superb escape techniques, making them difficult to capture."

"The female ghost's strength should be at the Foundation Establishment Realm, but her exact level is unknown."

"If a female ghost appears, wait until you're sure she won't run away before you try to capture her!"

"Our current identities are those of scholars who have come to the capital to seek fame and fortune. We're asking for lodging here for the night, hoping to use this opportunity to lure the female ghost out!"

"So far, there has been no news of the female ghost committing murder. When catching her, don't kill her."

"I had no experience when I was out in the world before, but ever since I saw my master being imprisoned, I've understood the importance of using a pseudonym in public. That way, even if I lose face, I won't bring shame to the Ask Dao Sect. Let me double-check our names. My name is Lu Yiyang."

"My name is Long Jingzhou."

My name is Li Hao.

After discussing it for a while, the three of them felt that the plan was sound, so they concealed their auras to the extreme, disguised themselves as ordinary people, and entered the temple.

"This temple is so clean." Meng Jingzhou was surprised. He had thought it would be dusty with spiders spinning webs in every corner.

The interior of the temple was much cleaner than he had expected; it looked as if someone had cleaned it.

The only regrettable thing is that the Buddha statue in the very center is missing its upper body, making it impossible to worship.

Li Haoran found dry firewood behind the Buddha statue, which must have been left by the person who stayed here last time.

He piled the firewood together, found some dry grass, took out a flint from his bag, and used the dry grass as kindling to light the pile of firewood.

Li Haoran warmed his hands by the fire, revealing an extremely comfortable expression. "Phew--I'm back to life."

Lu Yang took out a few steamed buns from his bag, skewered them with wooden sticks, and roasted them over the fire.

As the outer skin of the steamed buns turned slightly yellow, Lu Yang broke one open, and the aroma mixed with the steam wafted out.

Meng Jingzhou walked around the dilapidated temple and returned to the main hall. "Besides the main hall, there are two other rooms. We can each have a room when we go to sleep later."

"Good."

The three of them sat around the fire, eating steamed buns and pickles while lamenting the difficult road ahead.

Lu Yang was filled with worry, and even the steamed bun in his hand didn't taste good anymore. "I don't know if this trip to the Imperial City will be smooth sailing. I've heard that cultivators are everywhere in the Imperial City, and it's extremely difficult for us mortals to make a name for ourselves there."

Meng Jingzhou waved his hand. "The number of cultivators in the Imperial City isn't as exaggerated as you think. It's good if one out of twenty people is a cultivator. Becoming a cultivator is extremely difficult. Just the Spirit Root alone filters out 99% of people."

One in twenty people is a cultivator; this ratio is already extremely alarming. No major city in the Central Continent can achieve such a ratio.

"Although we lack Spirit Root, we possess extensive knowledge, can compose various essays with ease, and have unique insights into current affairs. It is not impossible for us to leave Shoutian County tomorrow, go to the capital to take the imperial examination, strive for fame and fortune, gain the emperor's favor, and obtain an official position."

Not all officials of the Great Xia Dynasty were cultivators; some were ordinary people.

Meng Jingzhou pointed at Li Haoran with a steamed bun and said, "For example, Brother Li, he could recite the Thousand Character Classic at the age of five, write poems at seven, lyrics at eight, and essays at ten. His talent was overflowing, and his writing was superb, as if it were created by nature. His teacher praised him highly, saying that he was the best student he had ever taught."

Li Haoran smiled modestly, "Brother Long, you flatter me. It was only because the master wanted to encourage me that he made such a comment. On the contrary, Brother Long, you gave up your family business to pursue a future in the capital. This confidence, and the source of that confidence, is something that Brother Lu and I cannot match."

The three men showered each other with praise, then picked up the classics and read them with great interest. They thought the ancient sages wrote so well, truly deserving of their timeless masterpieces. They felt they could die without regrets if they could write such an article.

Meng Jingzhou yawned, mercilessly crushing Lu Yang's dream. "Alright, stop dreaming, go to sleep, we have to get up early tomorrow."

As agreed when they ate the steamed buns, the three went into their respective rooms.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou went to sleep in their respective rooms, while Li Haoran stayed in the main hall and slept in front of the half-sized Buddha statue.

In the darkness, three beautiful figures stared at Lu Yang and his companions, their eyes emitting a faint green light.

"Three more people have arrived, and they're brimming with yang energy. I really want to know what it's like for them..." the beautiful woman in green chuckled.

"Yes, yes, it's been a long time since I've seen scholars with such vigorous yang energy. Although it's said that scholars who have studied the classics for a long time can cultivate a righteous spirit, it's rare to see one like these three." The woman in red licked her lips, exuding allure.

The young woman in white quickly said, "Sisters, please be careful not to drain their yang energy. We must look at this from a sustainable perspective."

"They'll feel good once, and then they'll come back a second time. Over time, we absorb more yang energy than if we absorbed all of it at once."

"We know, we know. Little Qi, you're young, but you're the most talkative. We know our limits and won't do anything wrong. If we do something that attracts the attention of the righteous sects, we'll be the ones who suffer. We understand that principle."

"Let's split up. The two of us will go to the two rooms next door. Xiao Qi, you stay here and take care of this guy surnamed Li."