Chapter 164 Day 28 of Transmigrating into an Imperial Examination Novel

Chapter 164: Day 28 in a Imperial Exam Novel

The moment these three words fell, the scholars' faces went completely pale.

They were stunned and furious—couldn't believe it.

For a commoner with no official status, what kind of "honor" and "favor" was an invitation from the Minister of Personnel's son?

How dare this man be so ungrateful? Did he not want a future, or did he not want to live?

The pale-faced scholar's facial muscles twitched, his barely maintained politeness almost cracking. He stepped forward and lowered his voice even more:

"Mr. An, I'd advise you to think this through carefully. The gates of the Minister's mansion are not something just anyone can enter... nor can anyone refuse."

That was a straight-up threat.

An Yi's gentle smile finally disappeared.

He'd always had a cool temperament, and now that his expression darkened, his usually smiling eyes instantly frosted over, radiating an invisible, chilling pressure that made your heart race.

He did not raise his voice, but every word carried a stern coldness: "I'd likewise advise you to think carefully."

His gaze swept over the pale-faced scholar: "If the young master of your mansion truly has important matters to discuss, he can come to this study and find me himself."

He paused, his tone carrying an almost arrogant serenity: "I don't make a habit of visiting strangers' homes."

With that, he paid no further attention to their instantly livid faces and expressions of shock and fury. He simply turned around, nodded slightly to the stunned bookshop attendant who had been waiting nearby, signaling him to open the shop as usual.

Then, under the gaze of the scholars, who seemed ready to devour him alive, he strolled off in the opposite direction of that carriage.

----------

The eldest son of the Minister of Personnel's family, named Zhao Gaoyi, had first noticed An Yi because Fang Huaixing was always stopping by his study. One day, while looking out from a distance, he caught a fleeting glimpse of An Yi.

However, he was way more interested in An Yi's looks than in any political feud with Fang Huaixing.

That day, seeing An Yi's silhouette from across the street, his heart felt like it was being tickled by a feather—an itch he couldn't scratch.

Such grace, such looks—they seemed almost otherworldly. If he could lock him away like a hidden treasure... just the thought got Zhao Gaoyi all hot and bothered.

Therefore, when his men reported, embellishing the story, how An Yi had refused the invitation ungratefully and arrogantly, even saying that the young master should come see him in person, Zhao Gaoyi didn't get mad. Instead, he rubbed his chin, a look of even greater interest spreading across his face.

"A beauty with a bit of fire is more fun."

He chuckled, his eyes shining with the look of someone who gets what he wants: "Since he won't come when invited, I'll just have to... go fetch him myself."

He picked an afternoon on purpose, the time when An Yi usually went out for a stroll.

Taking seven or eight big, strong house guards, having figured out his route, he cornered An Yi, who was walking alone, in a secluded, sparsely populated alley.

At that time and place, there was no one else but them.

"Mr. An, what a coincidence." Zhao Gaoyi stepped out from the shadow of the alley, waving a folding fan, pretending to be elegant, but his eyes, sticky like venomous snakes, slid over An Yi's face and body, oozing greed and lechery.

He was slightly fat, his complexion pale and puffy, with heavy dark circles under his eyes—a clear sign he'd been drained by wine and women.

An Yi stopped in his tracks, looking at these obviously hostile men, his face expressionless—only his usually smiling eyes went ice-cold in an instant.

What disgusting eyes.

Seeing him stop, Zhao Gaoyi became even more smug. He stepped forward, almost pressing against An Yi, and chuckled: "I sincerely invite you, sir, but why won't you show me some respect? Do you think the threshold of the Minister's mansion is too low for you?"

An Yi frowned slightly and took a half step back, distancing himself.

His aloof and detached demeanor only made him more intriguing to Zhao Gaoyi, who was itching with desire and almost drooling.

"I don't know you, sir. We've never had any dealings."

An Yi's voice was cold, completely emotionless: "Please step aside."

"You don't know me?" Zhao Gaoyi licked his lips, his gaze even more brazen: "We'll get to know each other after a few more meetings. A person like you, Mr. An, wasting away in that little study is a shame. Why not come back to my mansion? You'll have fine clothes, good food, be pampered—doesn't that sound good?"

As he spoke, he actually reached out to touch An Yi's face.

The instant his hand moved, the last trace of warmth in An Yi's expression disappeared completely.

He even gave a faint, almost imperceptible sneer, his face showing the utmost coldness and disgust, like a deity looking down on an ant.

That almost mocking curl only made Zhao Gaoyi's blood run hotter.

But the next moment—

Centered on An Yi, an invisible but bone-chilling cold surged outward like a wave, precisely enveloping the entire alley!

The moisture in the air instantly condensed into fine white ice crystals, drifting down like snow.

A thin layer of frost spread visibly over the bluestone pavement, and spiderweb-like ice patterns quickly crawled up the walls.

The temperature plummeted in the span of a breath!

"Uh... wh-what's happening?!"

"So cold! It's suddenly so cold!"

The guards behind Zhao Gaoyi shuddered violently, their teeth chattering uncontrollably.

They looked around in panic, only to find that the weird cold was only inside the alley—outside, the sun was still warm!

What really scared them was that when they tried to run, their feet were frozen to the icy ground. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn't move an inch!

"Ghost... it's a ghost!!"

"Young master! Help! We can't move!"

The guards, who had been so cocky, were now terrified, white as ghosts, screaming and begging for mercy.

Zhao Gaoyi, at the forefront, got the worst of that cold. It felt like it could freeze your soul. He was stiff all over, his blood seemingly solidifying.

That dirty lust was now replaced by sheer terror. Staring at An Yi, who now looked like an ice sculpture, his gaze so indifferent he seemed otherworldly, he stammered and screamed incoherently:

"A—a succubus! You're a succubus! The kind that drains life force! Don't—don't come near me!"

He struggled desperately to shrink back, but his body wouldn't obey. Only his fat frame shook violently in the extreme cold.

An Yi: "..."

He didn't even bother to give these scum another glance.

Succubus? How annoying.

He walked slowly toward Zhao Gaoyi, who was lying limp on the ground, on the verge of wetting himself.

"Don't come near me! Stay away!!" Zhao Gaoyi, staring at the approaching figure like an avenging demon closing in, let out a bloodcurdling shriek like a pig being slaughtered:

"I was wrong! I'll never do it again!! I'm the son of the Minister of Personnel! You can't kill me! My father won't let you off!! Spare me! Please spare me!! I'll give you money, lots of it!!"

"I'll never do it again!!"

An Yi stopped in front of him, leaning slightly forward. Those strikingly beautiful eyes held no anger, no murderous intent—not even a ripple.

He looked at Zhao Gaoyi's face, twisted with terror, and his voice was as soft as a snowflake falling.

"Someone like you," he said flatly, "won't have any future."

The moment the words left his lips, Zhao Gaoyi's wailing and begging stopped short.

An Yi didn't spare them another glance. Indifferently raising his gaze, his eyes seemed to pierce through the alley's walls, gazing out at the street beyond.

Then, amidst a series of sickening, teeth-grating cracks, every person in the alley—Zhao Gaoyi and his household guards—was instantly encased in a thick, crystalline layer of ice, freezing their terrified expressions and struggling postures in place.

Then, An Yi's fingertip moved so slightly it was almost imperceptible.

"Poof..."

Like wind scattering sand, at that same moment, the ice sculptures silently shattered and collapsed, dissolving into countless tiny, crystalline particles that scattered and drifted away in all directions, without leaving even a trace of blood or a single bit of remains.

As if these people had never existed in the world.

The alley fell silent again, only the biting chill still lingering in the air proved that what had just happened was not an illusion.

An Yi stood still, his expression calm, as if he had casually brushed a speck of dust off his sleeve.

Then he slowly turned around.

At the alley's entrance, there was now a figure on horseback.