If you were asked to identify an item, would you choose to extract magical powers?

Chapter 21: The Sophora Tree and the Scholar
Shen Bai's gaze was cast towards the distance.

At a table not far away, a thin man was sitting down.

The man was dressed in white with a folding fan hanging from his waist, looking like an elegant scholar.

Although there is unrest in the Great Zhou Kingdom now, at present, the Great Zhou Kingdom can still barely keep it under control.

After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse.

Various examinations are held every year, and scholars are naturally indispensable.

There is a school in the county town, where many scholars who want to pass the imperial examinations study.

Shen Bai could tell at a glance that this man was a scholar from Shengyun County.

However, the scholar's condition was not right at the moment.

There were thick dark circles under his eyes, and although his hair was tied up, it was dry and looked like weeds.

Especially the young man's hands, which were holding a piece of wood.

The wood is only as thick as an arm and about the length of a ruler.

But the young scholar held it tightly in his hands as if it were a treasure.

The shop waiter saw the scholar in white clothes and walked over with a smile on his face.

"What would you like to eat, sir?"

The scholar looked around and then mentioned a few dishes.

The waiter frowned, but said nothing and immediately turned and left.

"Braised pork elbow, braised beef in soy sauce, and strong liquor. A scholar eats these things?"

Shen Bai touched his chin and felt something was wrong.

Shen Bai, a scholar from Shengyun County, also knew about this. After all, there were often poor scholars who came to him to pawn their property in order to pass the imperial examinations.

In Shen Bai's opinion, having ideals is a good thing, but if you spend all your money on unrealistic ideas, you are a fool.

From the mouths of those poor scholars, Shen Bai learned that these scholars were very particular about elegant things, and even when they had a meal, they ate very simply.

But now they ordered these greasy meats and strong liquors, Shen Bai felt something was wrong.

Of course, he was just curious.

This matter had nothing to do with him, so he didn't interfere.

After eating for a while, the scholar asked the waiter next to him to pack up his food.

This scene is even stranger.

The scholar only took one or two bites of the dishes on the table, and even drank only a little bit of the wine. It was obvious that he did not like these dishes.

But why go there?
Shen Bai's curiosity grew stronger and stronger.

At this time, the waiter had already packed up all the food.

Shen Bai had almost finished his meal, paid the bill, and prepared to return to the pawnshop.

The scholar poured out some money from his dry purse, and the purse immediately became empty.

But the scholar paid the money without hesitation and left his seat with the packed food.

Shen Bai yawned. He was going to go to the pharmacy to get some blood and qi medicine and ask the doctor if there was anything stronger.

After all, that blood and qi medicine doesn't seem to be enough for him now.

But just as he was about to leave, he subconsciously glanced at the scholar's back and then frowned.

From this angle, a branch of a tree is exposed at the scholar's shoulder.

The scholars hung all the packed food on the branches.

Shen Bai saw a hint of cold air flowing on the branches, and then entered the food.

"This aura is so familiar, why do I feel like I've seen it somewhere before?"

Shen Bai looked at the scholar's back, touched his chin, and fell into thought.

Some figures flashed through his mind.

After a moment, Shen Bai finally knew where he had seen it before.

A strange atmosphere.

"It's so cold and gloomy, and carries a hint of horror, just like the weird aura." Now that Shen Bai has Qi in his body, he is more sensitive to these sensations.

After a brief thought, Shen Bai quietly followed the scholar.

If it is a human, it can still distinguish between good and evil, but if it is a weird one, then there is only evil.

This kind of thing has endless disgust and hatred towards strangers. When it sees something strange, it will draw its sword and kill it without any problem.

Shen Bai didn't know why this scholar was involved in weirdness, but now he urgently needed the weirdness to provide him with evil spirit.

After all, the ancient scriptures and the qualitative changes in Hao Yu's body both require evil spirits to make up for.

……

Shen Bai followed all the way on the bustling street.

The street went from noisy to quiet, and before long, they arrived at a secluded alley.

The scholar was very alert and looked back from time to time.

Fortunately, Shen Bai was already a cultivator, so this was not difficult for him and he easily avoided the scholar's sight.

Not long after, the scholar walked into the alley.

In the alley, there is a small, dilapidated courtyard.

The scholar walked straight in, opened the old wooden door, and disappeared behind it.

Shen Bai looked at the low earthen walls around him, thought for a moment, climbed up, used the wall to cover his body, and looked into the yard.

It’s not his fault that he has to do these things, because he really lacks evil energy.

The yard is very simply decorated, and the mud-paved road shows that the owner of the yard does not have much money.

In the corner of the yard, there is a tall locust tree.

As soon as he climbed up the wall, Shen Bai saw the scholar placing branches under the locust tree.

Shen Bai looked at the branch and the appearance of the locust tree, and finally knew where the branch came from.

"It turned out to be a branch of a locust tree. What on earth is this guy trying to do?"

Shen Bai did not move, but continued to observe.

After the scholar put down the branch, he took out the food from the packed food and placed it under the locust tree again.

After doing all this, the scholar did not mind the dirtiness and knelt directly in front of the locust tree and kowtowed.

"My lady, please help me and grant me those photographic memory abilities again."

The scholar kept bowing his head and muttering to himself.

After the scholar kowtowed several times, a horrifying scene appeared.

The locust tree actually began to tremble slightly.

But there was no sign of wind blowing around.

As the branches shook, a cold air current appeared again on the branch placed on the ground.

After this airflow appeared, the temperature of the entire yard immediately dropped a lot.

The scholar subconsciously crossed his arms and trembled.

The food on the ground quickly withered and rotted in an instant, turning into ashes in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, the dark circles under the scholar's eyes became even darker.

But he didn't notice it, instead he jumped up and danced.

"My photographic memory has returned. I'm sure I'll pass the exam this time!"

The scholar danced and shouted as if he had obtained the most precious thing.

As the scholar was shouting, a branch suddenly stretched out and tied around the scholar's neck in the blink of an eye.

The excited scholar was strangled by the neck, stuck out his tongue and began to struggle hard.

The eyes with dark circles began to bulge outwards.

The strange smell became stronger.

(End of this chapter)