The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 303 Face Off (5k)

Almost all of these gazes were fixed on Du Yuan without any attempt to conceal their intentions.

They had conspired together, and this was Kyoto, a place they had been planning for a long time. Most importantly, this person's cultivation level was far lower than they had predicted.

If any one of these three elements is missing, this person may not even be their prey; it's just a pity that all three are present.

He has no way to survive!
Under such circumstances, they were unwilling to make even the slightest attempt to conceal their true intentions.

They were focused on memorizing the person's appearance and learning more about their background to facilitate their subsequent attempt to seize the treasure.

Upon closer inspection, their greed only intensified.

"He has a metal object on him!"

"The size of that jar of divine wine alone is already remarkable, and logically speaking, it should be much larger."

"It's been a long time since I've seen something this easy to take action against."

"Even after it was done, the body search was more thorough, so who knows what his secret weapon was? But when someone else killed him, the item was lost."

Their voices kept coming from all directions, but Du Yuan couldn't hear them, nor could the old scholar.

But that gaze grew increasingly intense and burning, to the point that even an ordinary mortal like the old scholar could clearly perceive it.

He frantically turned around, trying to find the source of these gazes.

But after looking around, there was nothing there.

Amidst the fear in his heart, he then heard the young immortal who had led him out of the fairyland reassuringly say:

"Don't be afraid, old man. You are destined to go far in your official career. What happened today will not harm you in the slightest."

The old scholar turned around in surprise at the sound, then bowed deeply with a face full of shame, his tone full of self-mockery:
"You flatter me, Immortal Master. I have wasted sixty years of my life, and only recently, thanks to the kindness of the scholar, have I been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to the capital to participate in the imperial examination. You don't need to comfort me like this."

He lowered his eyes, his voice gradually growing weaker: "I know my own abilities best; I simply don't have the capacity to pass the imperial examinations. My trip to the capital is merely to fulfill a wish, so that I won't have any regrets in the future."

He was sixty years old, and looking back, he saw nothing but wasted time.

At the age of twenty, he spent all his family fortune to bribe local dignitaries, hoping to get a recommendation in return. He didn't even want to become an official; he would be content with just being a minor clerk.

But all his life's wealth vanished without a trace.

Later, when the emperor opened the imperial examinations, he thought he had found an opportunity.

However, due to his ordinary family background and lack of support, relying entirely on self-study and lacking guidance from renowned teachers, he was criticized as utterly worthless in his first imperial examination, becoming a laughingstock throughout the county.

For the next ten years or so, he attended every imperial examination, but repeatedly failed the provincial examination. His essays never met the examiners' standards, and he felt that his knowledge had not improved much.

In recent years, he had to interrupt his studies twice due to financial difficulties. Even after retaking the exam, he still did not achieve good results and had long since given up hope of passing the exam.

Now, at the age of sixty, he was fortunate to be favored by a learned man and was able to go to the capital for the imperial examination. Although he knew that he had failed the exam many times in his life and that his talent was not as good as others, he was still willing to take the exam, hoping that he would not regret it for the rest of his life!

Du Yuan, upon hearing his words, suddenly burst out laughing and teased:

"At your age, why do you still refer to yourself as 'young scholar'?"

The old scholar looked embarrassed and awkwardly explained:
"I have neither official rank nor knowledge. Although I am old, in front of an immortal like you, I think only the title 'this humble one' is somewhat appropriate."

He was able to scrape together enough money to travel to the capital entirely thanks to the emperor's policy of showing compassion for the elderly and orphans—the court would provide extra subsidies to candidates of his age, lest they starve to death on the roadside and become the subject of gossip.

But in front of the immortals, this age, the only time when one is "better than others," becomes a laughable joke.

Du Yuan shook her head, her smile deepening, but her tone becoming increasingly serious:

"Oh, you're mistaken. I see that you possess extraordinary literary talent and are by no means an ordinary person."

"If that were truly the case, how could I have failed the imperial examinations time and time again?" The old scholar lowered his head and smiled bitterly, his tone full of dejection and disbelief. "Please don't tease me, Immortal Master."

Du Yuan turned slightly to the side, his gaze falling on the dejected old scholar, scrutinizing him intently for a moment. Only when the man seemed increasingly suspicious, frequently glancing up at him, did Du Yuan point to his eyes and say, word by word:

"You are already more than qualified to pass the imperial examination; your literary talent is undeniable. But are your eyesight failing you?"

"If that's the case, no matter how good one's knowledge is, if the handwriting is illegible like chicken claws, then naturally one will not achieve anything."

The old scholar was stunned by what he was said, and his previously dormant thoughts began to stir again.

If even immortals say so, then doesn't that mean I really still have a chance?

But soon, that initial enthusiasm cooled down again—what good article could I possibly write with my presbyopia!
In another year or two, you probably won't even see them walking at night anymore!

Knowing what he was thinking, Du Yuan pulled him aside and said:
"Tonight is your destined time, but this destiny comes with conditions!"

The old scholar struggled to speak, but in the end, the annual ridicule brought on by his repeated failures in the imperial examinations brought tears to his eyes as he said:

"I'll do anything to find a way out!"

Du Yuan raised her hand and pressed it down, calming his agitated and fearful heart, and said:
"It's nothing earth-shattering or difficult; it's simply doing what's best for the people!"

Serving the people and the public?

The old scholar was puzzled and uneasy, feeling that the immortal had also seen something else.

Moreover, it was something he didn't want to show to others.
As expected, Du Yuan then said to him:
"Uncle, I understand you're holding back your anger, and I support you in letting it go once you've achieved your goal. However, please remember, everything in moderation! Too much of anything is bad!"

"And, you have exceptional literary talent and a promising official career. You are destined to go very far in your career. So, old man, please remember who gave you this opportunity today and for what reason!"

Du Yuan bit down hard on the last sentence.

After speaking, without waiting for the old scholar's reply, Du Yuan addressed the alleyway, which had since become empty except for the two of them:

"If you're so impatient, why don't you show yourself?"

Only then did the old scholar realize with a start that the surroundings were eerily silent.

As Du Yuan's voice fell, a man wearing a half-mask emerged from the shadows of the alley.

"I didn't expect you to have such good judgment."

Looking at this person, Du Yuan smiled and said:
"Such a strange place, I think only a fool like you would think that others wouldn't see the problem!"

The person who choked on their food looked slightly annoyed, but after a moment they laughed again:
"My setup is only enough for one cup of tea, so are you prepared to fight to the death?"

Although it was a question, before he could finish speaking, the iron pen in his hand had already struck out fiercely, pointing directly at Du Yuan's heart.

His magical power was precisely controlled, with no leakage and all concentrated in one place, determined to defeat the enemy in one strike.

At this moment, he had even figured out how to take Du Yuan's body away after killing him and disappear without a trace right under the noses of his many comrades!
However, in the blink of an eye, he did not see the blood spurting out as he pierced Du Yuan's heart.

He didn't even witness a magical duel; the only thing he saw was Du Yuan raising her hand to block his iron pen!
Or rather, it can be easily blocked with the tip of your little finger!
"this?!"

Du Yuan also smiled and said:
"Your iron pen may not be a sword or a knife, but if it can't even cut through my fingernail, where do you get the guts to learn murder and robbery?!"

Witnessing everything before him, the man was initially filled with bewilderment, and then, amidst the questioning voice, he was filled with extreme horror.

The repair work was underestimated!
Just as he was about to flee, he felt a tremendous force coming from his hand.

The next moment, the iron pen was forcibly snatched away, and then everything went black.

A cultivator who had barely survived the great calamity and hastily set up such a formation under the watchful eyes of everyone became the first soul to perish tonight!
It seems he must be highly skilled in the art of array formations; otherwise, there's no reason why he could set up a maze array so quickly to avoid the secrets of heaven and the eyes of the people.

Unfortunately, it was used in the wrong place and it offended the wrong person!
Seeing the cultivator collapse limply, Du Yuan picked up his corpse.

He walked up to the terrified old scholar and said earnestly:
"Although I killed this person casually, his cultivation was indeed remarkable. Therefore, old man, I want to ask you some questions."

"If you are willing to remember the four words 'serving the people and serving the public,' then today, I will use his blood to open your eyes!"

"From now on, your eyes will not only be restored to their original state, but you will also be able to see the unseen and the extraordinary. You will be able to judge people by day and discern the unseen by night. There was once a wise and just official who did the same. Today, I want you to follow the example of this sage. What do you say?"

The old scholar was about to happily agree when Du Yuan abruptly changed the subject, her tone suddenly becoming serious:

"But you must remember this: if you forget these four words, then this Blood Eye will not be your opportunity, but your calamity!"

"After all, I have a thousand ways to open your eyes, but since you harbor trouble in your heart, I must use this to give you a warning!"

"Now, you can either accept this opportunity or treat it as a fleeting dream, and return to your peaceful days of the past, which were neither particularly fortunate nor disastrous!"

The old scholar was immediately frightened. He was about to tremble and lower his head to hide, but then he felt the ridicule of being the laughingstock of the county in the past resurface in his ears.

This made it impossible for him to lower his head, and after a long while...

He gritted his teeth and said:

"Immortal, I know I am not a virtuous person, but I also know I am a coward. Since you have given me such instructions and shown me such favor today, I... I will accept this opportunity!"

"Because I can't swallow that anger, and I know I don't have the guts to go against your instructions!"

Du Yuan didn't say much, just nodded. Then he grabbed the iron pen, dipped a strand of golden blood from the corpse, and smeared it on the old scholar's eyes. Among the people Du Yuan had met recently, this old scholar's literary talent wasn't exceptional, but Du Yuan had never seen anyone with such outstanding official luck.

So after much deliberation, Du Yuan took him to see places he could never have seen before.

He even used the blood of a dead cultivator to open his eyes.

The purpose was to instill fear in his heart, and thus faith.

From then on, he was always reminded not to lose the people's interests for the public good.

This person's heart is not upright, but not exactly biased either. When he has no real ability, he will just be an ordinary person.

If one is in a high position, it may not be obvious at first, but as time goes on, one will likely gradually sink into depravity and eventually become a demon.

Fortunately, he was also a coward, and this fright today will stay with him for the rest of his life!
"Serve the people and the public good, remember this well!"

After helping the old scholar open his eyes, Du Yuan left those words behind and carried the corpse out of the alley.

The old scholar was left alone, both surprised and frightened by the newly cleared world.
-
As soon as Du Yuan stepped out of the alley, three voices suddenly rang in her ears.

They were all filled with barely suppressed eagerness and astonishment:
"found it!"

"It was hidden here after all!"

"Such clever methods actually killed him?"

The three had obviously followed the trail where Du Yuan disappeared and had already deduced that the culprit who had disrupted the situation was among them.

They never expected that their reunion would be like this: the so-called "culprit" was already a cold corpse, and even his famous wind-blown pen had changed hands.

Seeing this, the three men's lips twitched uncontrollably for a few breaths, then they exchanged a glance and simultaneously whispered in low voices:
"Let's all go together! After it's done, we'll each take a piece of the body and leave based on our own abilities!"

"it is good!"

There were countless eyes watching from the shadows. If they killed the person in front of them, they would have no formation to conceal the secrets of heaven and their vision. Their only option was to immediately dismember the body and gamble that the legendary treasure was hidden in the pieces of the body they had seized.

"The left half of your body is mine!"

I want the right half!

"Then I'll take his head!"

Greed overcame fear, and the three of them instantly unleashed their supernatural powers. But the light only reached its peak before it was quickly dimmed, as if it had been cut off by an invisible hand.

At this moment, they suddenly realized that they were still trapped in a formation set up by a powerful force!

The reason why the supernatural powers could not be displayed was clearly because they were afraid that the Medicine Master would see even the slightest flaw and thus break the deadlock early!

What's even more chilling is that even if they succeeded, they would have absolutely no chance of escaping under such circumstances.

The more desperate the situation, the more ruthless the three became in their attacks on Du Yuan—they had only thought about seizing the treasure before, but now they only had the thought of saving their lives.

After all, how can those behind the scenes be satisfied with their "loyalty" and shrewdness if they don't shed blood or make contributions?

However, this group of people ultimately underestimated Du Yuan.

In his eyes, these three were not even as good as the ones he had fought in his dream that day, and they were far inferior to even King Wei. At most, they were comparable to the cowardly tiger on Tiger Lair Mountain.

The tiger was already seriously injured at the time, while the three of them were in much better condition.

And they were clearly being used as pawns by others, yet they were completely unaware of it.

Since that's the case, Du Yuan, who had specially gathered around Hexi, didn't need to use her trump card to easily deal with these guys!

With a flash of cold light from the iron pen in his hand, he flicked his wrist and swung it out. The cultivator who had been clamoring to take his left half of body didn't even have time to scream before his left half flew out with the momentum of the pen and instantly fell into the shadows at the alley entrance.

The silver fan slipped from his hand, but Du Yuan caught it in her palm. With a flick of her wrist, a strong gust of wind arose, and another cultivator who was trying to take his right side suffered the same fate, leaving only his right half lying paralyzed on the ground.

The last cultivator who wanted to take Du Yuan's head was already stunned by this sudden reversal, frozen in place, his eyes filled with disbelief and terror.

How could it be so strong?

Du Yuan looked up at him and sneered:
"Since you dare to come out and kill to steal treasure, how come you don't even have the awareness to be killed?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the cultivator's face contorted in pain, his reason completely collapsed, and he turned to flee.

But he had only taken two steps when Du Yuan threw the iron ruler he had just snatched from the corpse. With a flash of cold light, a head rolled off, and blood splattered on the bluestone slab, a horrifying sight.

Looking at the three mutilated corpses on the ground, Du Yuan didn't even have the thought of searching for the Sword Cleansing Stone. These pawns, pushed out as mere pawns, couldn't possibly have anything of value on them.

He bent down and casually picked up the short knife at the feet of the headless corpse, held it in his hand, and continued forward.

Outside the alley, the repairmen hidden in the shadows either stood with their arms crossed or sat to one side, all observing the scene with great interest and silently watching the scene unfold.

Immediately, more cultivators were driven overtly or covertly to surround Du Yuan—they wanted to see just how long this ruthless character who had suddenly appeared could hold out.

In any case, Kyoto is small, yet it encompasses the entire world. Kyoto is vast, yet it offers him nowhere to hide!
However, as Du Yuan continued to walk forward, the expressions of every major repairman here gradually changed.

This person's method of killing has never changed from the beginning—one fatal blow, then stealing the victim's magic weapon to kill the next person!
That's nothing, they can do whatever they want, but this guy hasn't stopped for a second!

There was no breathing, no exhaustion of breath, and not even any signs of breath regulation.

It was as if he hadn't killed a group of mountain people, but rather just casually stepped on a bunch of insects.

The cultivators they drove away, if they hadn't already been forced into a deadly situation by the group and had no choice but to move forward to survive, would probably have scattered long ago in the face of such a killing god!
"This guy's cultivation level is a bit off?"

"It's alright. He's in the water, and I'm on the shore. We're just fish and shrimp; how could we eat people?"

"rational!"
-
Seeing Du Yuan approaching slowly, he casually used the spear he had just stolen to stab one of his companions to death.

The remaining twenty or thirty cultivators could no longer withstand the fear in their hearts, and with a cry of alarm from one of them, they scattered and fled in all directions.

Watching the fleeing cultivators, Du Yuan picked up the longsword left behind by the man she had stabbed to death and casually tossed it in one direction.

They didn't chase after them, because once these people were sent across the river, they had no other way out.

To Du Yuan's surprise, as soon as he threw the longsword, he saw a person with a handsome face and a graceful figure walking through the void.

In his hand was the flying sword that Du Yuan had just thrown out.

Upon meeting, the man smiled and said:

"It seems your swagger—killing one person to seize a treasure, and then using that treasure to kill another—is about to be stopped by me!"

Looking at the newcomer, Du Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

He knew this guy probably had some valuables on him!

However, before taking action, Du Yuan asked with some curiosity:

I have a question for you.

A man stood on air, hands behind his back, and laughed:
"Please speak freely, sir!"

"It's not a difficult question, I'm just a little curious, how have you all survived to this day when you're so weak?"

Du Yuan used to think they were all incredibly capable, but now she found it strange. The calamity was so fierce, how come these oddballs were living such comfortable lives?
Could it be that my standards are too high?

Upon hearing this, not only the person being questioned directly, but also everyone else watching, whether openly or secretly, was awestruck.

They couldn't help but exclaim in shock and anger:

"What an arrogant brat!"

The man also crushed the longsword in his hand, and then said:

"Now that I have stopped your sword, shouldn't you have used it to behead me, given your previous actions? But now that the sword is broken, can you continue?"

A faint, silent sarcasm drifted over.

Du Yuan chuckled and shook her head, saying:

"You've got it wrong. I shouldn't have used that sword to kill you; I should have used this!"

With a wave of his hand, a hairpin flew out of thin air.

The person who had just stepped into the air immediately turned around and saw that the female cultivator who should have survived because of him catching the flying sword was already dead with her heart pierced through!

The corpse was only ten steps behind him, yet he only noticed it at that moment?!
"Killing someone from a distance? Sword energy? You used someone else's magic weapon and unleashed a sword energy that I didn't even notice?!"

He had previously assumed that this person must have expended a great deal of energy, so he came without worry.

Now, with each word he utters, his expression grows increasingly grim.

Tonight, he really overestimated himself.
(End of this chapter)