"Brother He, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing He Xiuyuan deep in thought, several young scholars beside him immediately asked curiously.
They greatly admired He Xiuyuan; to have passed the initial examination at such a young age meant that with a bit more effort, becoming a Juren would be within his grasp.
Once He Xiuyuan became a Juren, he would be able to serve as an official.
Even if he didn't become an official, the imperial court would still provide a salary.
In short, it would be a meteoric rise.
"Everyone, have you ever heard of Immortals?"
Seeing their inquiry, He Xiuyuan thought for a moment before asking.
After learning about the water ghost, He Xiuyuan's desire to cultivate the Dao could no longer be suppressed, so he directly asked about it now.
"What is Brother He saying?"
Song Qingyun was stunned upon hearing He Xiuyuan's words, then looked at He Xiuyuan in confusion and asked.
"Brother He just asked if we had ever heard of Immortals? Why, has Brother He also started pursuing such an ethereal and insubstantial thing now?"
Everyone present exchanged glances, then looked at He Xiuyuan suspiciously and asked.
He Xiuyuan was startled by the question, "Why do you all say that?"
Ethereal and insubstantial? How could cultivators be ethereal and insubstantial?
He had personally seen a water ghost yesterday!
If there are even water ghosts, then having more cultivators should... be very normal, right?
"Brother He, could it be that you nearly drowned some time ago and damaged your brain?"
Song Qingyun immediately quipped upon hearing this, "How can there be any cultivators in this world? All the rumors about Immortals are nothing but fabrications."
As he spoke, he shook his head repeatedly, looking at He Xiuyuan with great curiosity, "But Brother He, why are you suddenly asking about such a thing?"
"Brother He has also studied for many years; how could he not know about such matters?"
He Xiuyuan was stunned when he heard this. Fabrications? How could that be!
Could it be that this world only has things like water ghosts and vengeful spirits, but no cultivators?
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan couldn't help but feel a bit confused.
"That's right, Brother He, how could you suddenly ask about such things?"
He Xiuyuan immediately fell silent upon hearing this. He didn't know whether he should tell these people about the water ghost. He could tell that these people simply didn't believe in ghosts or gods.
If that were the case, telling them about the water ghost at this crucial moment might lead them to think he was crazy.
After some thought, He Xiuyuan decided to temporarily suppress the matter and not tell them.
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan looked up at the people in front of him and shook his head, saying,
"It's nothing, it's just that I almost drowned earlier, and I felt emotional about the impermanence of fate. If there were cultivators, I would rather seek the Dao."
As He Xiuyuan spoke, he sighed appropriately, looking very emotional.
The scholars beside him didn't question it upon hearing this.
After all, He Xiuyuan had been unconscious for several days before, and they all thought he had truly died.
Now that he had, in a sense, returned from the dead, it was normal for him to feel emotional.
"Although Brother He suffered a great calamity before, he has now come back to life, so there's no need to be so emotional anymore. You should cherish the present and strive to achieve scholarly success."
At this moment, the scholars beside him quickly offered words of comfort.
He Xiuyuan nodded upon hearing this, then chatted with them about some literary topics, and only got up to leave when the sun gradually set.
After He Xiuyuan returned to his courtyard, he immediately sighed, a hint of confusion on his face.
There are water ghosts, so why are there no cultivators?
Are those scholars simply unaware?
It seems they don't even know about water ghosts...
Water ghosts are easy to understand; they probably hide themselves to avoid being discovered, lest they be unable to find substitutes later.
But what about cultivators?
He Xiuyuan was very confused. While he was rinsing rice to prepare dinner, he was still thinking about why there was no news of cultivators.
However, at this moment, He Xiuyuan suddenly heard a faint sound from the main gate behind him.
Hearing this slight movement, He Xiuyuan subconsciously turned his head to look, and what he saw instantly made his soul flee and his heart nearly stop.
He saw a transparent man at the main gate behind him, who looked extremely similar to him, standing at the door staring at him in astonishment.
And to the left and right of this man stood ghosts dressed as minor officials, holding chains and scrolls.
Seeing this scene, He Xiuyuan's eyes widened, staring intently at these three ghost-like beings.
And the three ghosts standing at the door were also staring intently at He Xiuyuan, as if they had seen a ghost.
But very quickly, the ghost officials, dressed like minor officials, reacted. Their gazes fixed on He Xiuyuan, and then one of them roared,
"Hmph, where did this Prodigy come from, daring to borrow a corpse to return a soul here!"
With that, the ghost official holding the chain swung the long chain in his hand directly towards He Xiuyuan.
He Xiuyuan's heart trembled as he watched this scene. This was bad; the matter of borrowing a corpse to return a soul had actually been discovered. What should he do?
Especially since these two ghosts in front of him looked like ghost officials; wasn't he just walking right into their trap?
Thinking of this, He Xiuyuan subconsciously took a step back.
However, the chain in front of him came extremely quickly, instantly coiling around He Xiuyuan. But the next moment, after the chain coiled around him, it passed right through him, seemingly unable to harm He Xiuyuan in the slightest.
"How can this be? How can my Ghost-Binding Chain fail to capture this fiend?"
The ghost official's eyes widened at this, staring at He Xiuyuan in disbelief and muttering to himself.
The other minor official beside him also widened his eyes, his face full of disbelief.
"Sirs, there's been a misunderstanding here."
He Xiuyuan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the chain couldn't grasp him, then quickly cupped his hands and said.
He hadn't intended to occupy this body; it was completely accidental.
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding could there be! If you were a Mortal, how could you see us with your Mortal eyes!"
The ghost official scoffed coldly upon hearing He Xiuyuan's words, then declared firmly.
He was already a deceased body, and the other party had borrowed a corpse to return a soul and could communicate with the netherworld; this was enough to prove that the other party was definitely not a Mortal.
If he wasn't a Mortal, then he must be a Prodigy who appeared from somewhere unknown!
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and was about to make a move to capture He Xiuyuan directly and bring him before Lord City God to be punished!
"Let's act together!"
Thinking that the Ghost-Binding Chain just now had been ineffective against He Xiuyuan, the two ghost officials immediately prepared to act together to capture He Xiuyuan first.
If they delayed and let this fellow escape, they would definitely be blamed by Lord City God later.