Ning Caichen, a scholar, naturally had no backbone when facing Lin Yueru. Just seeing that shiny sword made him nearly wet his pants. Fortunately, Zhao Ling’er couldn’t bear it and held Lin Yueru back; otherwise, who knows what Lin Yueru would have done to him.
It wouldn’t have been impossible for him to be tied up and whipped.
Ning Caichen was also sent here to collect debts. But unfortunately, the people here didn’t have any money to give him. As they had told Fang Zheng earlier, all their money was given to those "wise n" to exorcise yokai. And with their unstable lives, how could they bother with a poor scholar?
But Ning Caichen was also stubborn; he wouldn’t go ho without receiving paynt. So when people got fed up, they simply said, "The one with the money is up in the mountain, if you’ve got the guts, go ask him!" (Although this was also a fact, given they all died on the mountain.)
So this stubborn fellow really went up the mountain.
anwhile, Fang Zheng and others faced an attack from female ghosts at the foot of the mountain, but this guy encountered nothing on the mountain––the protagonist truly leads a chard life.
"Brother Fang, what should we do now?"
On this journey, Lin Yueru and Fang Zheng beca familiar, and she no longer called him Divine Doctor but Brother Fang.
"Ling’er said there’s demon aura at this temple; how about we just set it on fire?"
"Of course, it deserves to be set on fire..."
Seeing the old pagoda tree in the temple, Fang Zheng comnted on how it was a waste not to burn such a large pile of firewood. But right now, it was part of a holy pilgrimage; wouldn’t one want to engage personally if visiting Shuilian Cave on Huaguo Mountain? If Ning Caichen were not here, Fang Zheng might have set it on fire as Lin Yueru suggested. But since Ning Caichen was here, Fang Zheng definitely preferred to watch the storyline!
Why would soone with invincibility bother with the story? Isn’t it for the cut-scenes?
"However, let’s rest here for the night before deciding whether to burn it."
"Huh?"
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Lin Yueru was sowhat reluctant, but Zhao Ling’er clearly understood what Fang Zheng intended. She whispered a few words to Lin Yueru, and then they, along with Aika, rushed to a corner of the temple—to play a ga.
Well, there’s nothing better to do, right?
"Whew..."
Seeing Lin Yueru and the other two girls leave, Ning Caichen finally breathed a sigh of relief, offering an awkward smile to Fang Zheng.
"Um... this gentleman, do you truly think there are ghosts here?"
"What do you think?"
Seeing Ning Caichen before him, Fang Zheng couldn’t help smiling, intending to tease him. This scholar appeared as an honest person, avoiding direct eye contact with Lin Yueru and others, fixating on the ground. It seed akin to soone inexperienced with goddesses, though one could say ancient scholars were likely the sa.
But considering those Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio tales where scholars had a night’s passion with fox spirits, mountain spirits, yokai, and ghostly won... didn’t they seem surprisingly liberal?
So was ancient society conservative? Or was it open-minded?
Fang Zheng was not quite sure anymore.
"I... I just think this temple can provide shelter from the wind and rain..."
While speaking, Ning Caichen observed his surroundings uneasily. Earlier he might not have felt it, but after what Lin Yueru said, he too thought this temple felt eerily gloomy.
"Hahaha, don’t worry, that little girl was just trying to scare you."
Fang Zheng certainly wouldn’t scare Ning Caichen away; if this NPC left, how would he watch the storyline playback? So he cheerfully patted Ning Caichen’s shoulder. Hearing Fang Zheng’s assurance, Ning Caichen let out a relieved sigh, returning an awkward smile.
"Thank you, gentleman......"
"Co, co, eting by chance establishes fate! Nothing better to do, let’s chat a bit. I have sothing I wanted to ask you."
Speaking, Fang Zheng led Ning Caichen to a nearby wooden bench to sit down. It was his first ti encountering an ancient scholar like Ning Caichen, naturally piquing his curiosity about people of this era. Ning Caichen, bewildered, let Fang Zheng pull him and looked at him vacantly.
"Dare I ask, gentleman, what do you wish to inquire about?"
"Nothing much, just a survey, checking the sample... Let’s see, as a scholar, you’ve probably heard many tales of strange phenona, haven’t you?"
Fang Zheng couldn’t recall which dynasty Strange Tales of Liaozhai was written in, but it didn’t bother him. Ning Caichen nodded.
"Yes, I have heard a few."
"Then you’ve heard these stories, like a scholar traveling to the capital for exams, encountering a storm, seeking shelter in a household. The daughter of the wealthy family, seeing the scholar as handso, falls in love, and they either conceive a child in secret or privately beco intimate. The daughter then gives gold, silver, and jewelry to the scholar for his journey to the capital, and he returns as the top scholar to marry the lady, and they live happily ever after... You’ve heard such tales?"
"This... I’ve indeed heard of them."
"What do you think of these stories?"
"They’re delightful, such joy and harmony—isn’t it wonderful?"
"Don’t you think the won in these stories are rather wanton?"
"Ah... what?"
Hearing this, Ning Caichen was stunned, completely taken aback.
"Why would you say that, gentleman?"
"Look at it this way......"
Hearing Ning Caichen’s query, Fang Zheng imdiately expressed his opinion.
"In these stories, the scholar often travels to the capital for exams, gets caught in a storm, and seeks shelter. The ti is short; even if he ets the lady, it’s just a day or two at most. In this ti fra, with little to no conversation, the lady sees the scholar as handso and destined for success, and they get intimate? Think about it; if a lady you’ve known for rely a day or two wanted to sleep with you, what would you think?"
"Of course, I’d refuse!"
As expected, Ning Caichen desperately shook his head.
"Matters between n and won should follow proper marriage rituals; secretly being intimate violates the teachings of sages and propriety..."
"But aren’t the ladies in those stories like that? And think about it, the scholars aren’t even certain if they’re the lady’s first man, she might pull this with every poor scholar passing by—a broad net catches more fish, and selects the best. So, after marriage, who knows if the offspring of these top scholars are theirs, right? After all, they didn’t have paternity tests in those days, did they?"
"This, this, this......"
Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Ning Caichen flushed with frustration; he wanted to refute but didn’t know what to say.
"A young lady of pure virtue......"
"Oh, you can tell? How? Teach , will you?"
"........."
Faced with Fang Zheng’s curious inquiry, Ning Caichen was dumbfounded. How could a poor scholar like him possibly discern that sort of thing?!
"Hahaha, when you figure it out, write an 800-word reflection for ."
Seeing Ning Caichen’s worldview shatter, questioning life itself, Fang Zheng laughed heartily, then turned to leave, lying down nearby to rest. This left Ning Caichen sitting there in a daze, his eyes blank and seemingly unable to comprehend the situation.
Soon, night fell.
The entire temple was cold and quiet. Fang Zheng secretly cast a spell on himself and hid nearby, grinning at Ning Caichen. The bookworm seed to take Fang Zheng’s words seriously and had laid out his writing tools on an old table, intending to write sothing. However, he was clearly struggling, unsure how to start.
"Brother Fang, what’s he doing?"
Also within the spell barrier, Lin Yueru curiously watched Ning Caichen, who was huddled over the table, lighting a candle and pondering, and couldn’t help but ask. Actually, at dusk, Fang Zheng used the excuse of a good show to pull the three of them aside to hide here. With the spell barrier protecting them, they weren’t worried about the female ghosts or tree spirits.
"Watch the show, enjoy the show......"
Fang Zheng covered his mouth, chuckling as he awaited the unfolding of the storyline.
Soon, before long, with a ghostly wind blowing, the next mont, Fang Zheng, Zhao Ling’er, Lin Yueru, and Aika saw a figure clad in white appear behind Ning Caichen—a female ghost......
The show was finally about to begin!
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