The hairs all over his body stood up, and a cold current passed through his body. Li Ang stretched out his hand and tried to grasp the crazy swaying ink-colored silk thread, but he couldn't grasp it at all.
Wrists, arms, elbows, shoulders...
Weird ridges were clearly visible under the skin. Li Ang tremblingly took out the scalpel from the medicine box. Before he could stab his shoulder with the knife to stop the thread from extending further,
The frontmost thread shot out quickly and penetrated the heart in an instant.
And like lightning bursting, countless slender branches extended out, passing through the chest and limbs.
Clang.
The scalpel fell from his hand, and Li Ang knelt on one knee, his fingers digging deeply into the sand due to severe pain.
What exactly is this...
The terrifying appearance of Li Ang at this moment was clearly reflected on the blade of the scalpel.
A huge number of ink-colored silk threads were pierced out of his body. Those black threads were dancing wildly in the air, like a knife cutting tofu, cutting deep marks into the surrounding indestructible rock walls.
"There's something going on here!"
"Quick! Get the Still Water Talisman!"
"The compass shows there is a strange aura, prepare your crossbows and demon-suppressing charms!"
The voices of Zhenfu Division soldiers sounded in the distance of the cave. The sound of armor scraping, footsteps, and dogs barking came from far and near.
No, in the form of a demon, he was discovered by the Zhenfu Division.
Li Ang forced himself to endure the pain, picked up the scalpel and threw it back into the medicine box. He rummaged through Jiao Cheng's body and found the paper bag containing the special powder, and sprinkled it in the air.
Then the burned clothes were stuffed with stones, the cuffs were tied, and thrown into the underground river.
He stepped on the cold river water and walked towards the luminous place on the upper reaches of the river.
The collapse of the underground palace also caused tremors and collapse on the surface, and debris continued to fall along the way. The glowing spot in the upper reaches of the river is a cave formed by geological collapse.
Li Ang swam through the shallow water, climbed up the slope to the cave, and fell tiredly into the bushes.
It was already early morning, and as time went by, the ink-colored threads on his body became stronger and tougher - blood was continuously drawn away and injected into the threads, dyeing the surface with a layer of dark red.
The heart beats too fast and the breathing becomes rapid. If this continues, it will lead to hemorrhagic shock.
"...Husband's qi is received from heaven and earth, and harmonized with yin and yang. The yin and yang are called the heart, and the heart is responsible for sleeping day and night..."
Li Ang struggled to take out the fine gold ring from the medicine box and put it on his head. The words "Shangqing Inspiration Chapter" appeared in his mind and he recited it silently.
He wanted to use the strength given by the spiritual energy to use a scalpel to cut these black threads on the body surface that were constantly drawing blood.
Just like it had been tried countless times before, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth flowed through the body, but this time, there was no familiar tingling in the brain.
how come...
Li Ang opened his eyes wide in shock. The next moment, the ink lines around his body suddenly stopped swinging, slowly faded and shrank, and disappeared under the skin again.
Everything was calm as usual, as if nothing had happened.
Tap tap tap tap——
There was no time to think about it, and there were waves of horse hooves in the distance.
A caravan came along the forest road, and their conversation could still be vaguely heard.
"Dalang, how long does it take to get to Chang'an?"
"It's almost time. We've already passed Lishan. We'll reach Chang'an in about an hour..."
An hour...
Li Ang glanced at the hole, gritted his teeth, turned around and walked into the forest.
————
Chang'an, north of the city, Zhuque Gate.
Today is the day of the final exam for the academy,
At dawn in the early morning, the Guanglu and Xingdao streets near the imperial city were already filled with carriages and horses and pedestrians.
No one of the roadside vendors shouted loudly, but silently brought out breakfast to the diners.
Nervous parents adjust the collars of their equally nervous children.
The younger children brought from home bit their fingers and looked curiously at the quiet scene around them.
On both sides of Suzaku Street, which is almost never congested, stood Jinwu Guards soldiers wearing steel and looking straight ahead. Two rows of wooden fences were placed in front of them.
With the sound of drums ringing at the top of the imperial city wall, the Suzaku Gate was slowly pushed open, and the teachers of the Academy and the officials of the Ministry of Etiquette filed out, nodding seriously to the Jinwu Guards soldiers.
Just like what has happened every year for the past three hundred years, the Jinwu Guards soldiers received the order and opened the gate of the wooden fence.
"Shiro."
Under the luxurious parasol, Zuopu, the prime minister and minister of the State of Yu, shot Pei Su and solemnly patted his son on the shoulder, "Go, don't let me down."
"Um."
Pei Jing, who was still graceful, took a deep breath, took a half step back, bowed her hands to her parents, brothers and sisters, then turned and walked towards the fence.
"Sanniang, don't be nervous when you enter the examination room, you know? Whether you pass or not, you are the pride of our family."
"I know, Aye, Aniang."
Qiu Feng gently pinched the edge of her skirt, breathed steadily, and walked into Zhuque Street.
The same scene happened in front of Zhuque's door,
The boys and girls either nodded to their families or bowed in salute, then took their IDs and walked into the fence gate and entered Zhuque Street.
The man named Chen Danqiu came to the academy to offer wine. He took a step forward, picked up the pre-examination declaration that had been passed down by the academy for three hundred years and was about to turn yellow and rotten, and read it loudly.
The serious and solemn atmosphere naturally suppressed all noise,
The candidates and parents were equally nervous, and only a few were slightly surprised.
It is normal for His Majesty the Emperor not to arrive. According to the rules, His Majesty will hold a banquet in the Tai Chi Palace to receive the students who have passed the final exam only after the results are officially released in the evening.
But the head of Xuegong was not present, and even one of the four directors was missing - Tantai Leshan, a doctor of engineering who once presided over the Huaidong Haiyan Weir Project, seemed to have not appeared for several months.
"Song Dalang, have you seen my young master?"
Chai Cuiqiao came panting from the street corner and rushed to Song Shaoyuan, You Xiao, Zhai Yiming and others.
"No."
Song Shaoyuan and others who came to watch the ceremony were equally surprised, "Hasn't he entered the venue yet?"
Chai Cuiqiao was out of breath and said: "No, I came here with Linlang. I searched for several times but couldn't find it. I only saw Yang Qilang and the others."
"You didn't oversleep, did you?"
Song Shaoyuan took a breath, looked at Zhai Yiming, turned to Chai Cuiqiao and said seriously, "In this case, I will ride to Huaidefang and knock on the door now..."
"We're here for you,"
Zhai Yiming frowned and said quickly: "If there is no one in Huaidefang, the other students will go to other places to look for them. If that doesn't work, I will go to Anxingfang."
Didn't you say before that Risheng cured Duke Yan of Anxingfang? You can ask someone from their family to find it. "
"good."
Song Shaoyuan nodded, mounted his horse and drove towards Huaidefang.
"Cuiqiao, this way."
A soft voice came from above the pavilion. Li Leling, wearing a gauze on her face, sat by the window and waved downwards.
Chai Cuiqiao went upstairs. Seeing her panic, Li Leling asked softly: "What's going on? What happened?"
Chai Cuiqiao stood by the window, looking at the candidates below, and said uneasily: "My elder brother hasn't come yet..."
"Ah? The exam is about to start."
Li Leling stood up in surprise, and the maids behind her looked at each other silently.
Wasn't it true that the eldest son of the Li family, the student named Li Ang, was judged by the Academy Director as being unable to practice and would never pass the final exam?
Shouldn't...
