If, before, Shen Bai thought this bizarre aura was just his imagination, that was no longer the case.
Now, seeing the Locust Tree begin to move and coil around the Scholar's neck, he knew it was no illusion.
"This really is an Aberration!"
A glint of excitement appeared in Shen Bai's eyes, his hand already gripping the hilt of his sword.
'For the past few nights, he'd been wracking his brain, wondering where to find Evil Qi. And now, one has delivered itself right to his doorstep!'
Shen Bai casually reached into his robes, pulled out a black cloth, and masked his face with it.
Ever since the last time, he had developed the habit of carrying one with him at all times.
After all, the black cloth allowed him to hide his identity when necessary.
Once the black cloth was on his face, the excitement in Shen Bai's eyes intensified.
"Here I come, Aberration."
As he spoke, Shen Bai leaped from the wall. His Blood Sword Dance flowed like a shadow as the longsword in his hand struck a branch.
The severed branch twisted and dissolved into black smoke.
The Scholar, who had been entangled by the branches, rolled his eyes back and fainted.
Shen Bai paid him no mind. As he brought his longsword back, he saw the Locust Tree shaking its branches, a dense thicket of them surging toward him.
If one were to be entangled by these branches, even a Cultivator would likely be helpless.
Calm and unhurried, Shen Bai executed his Blood Sword Dance, creating an impenetrable wall of sword-shadows around himself.
As the sword-shadows appeared, all the approaching branches were severed, turning into black smoke and vanishing.
"Hand over the Evil Qi."
Shen Bai balled his left hand into a fist. Shrouded in Buddha's Light and echoing with a sacred sound, it carried a boundless, murderous Qi as it slammed into the Locust Tree's trunk.
The trunk of the Locust Tree began to tremble violently.
As it shook, its dense leaves fell like rain into the courtyard.
Bathed in the Buddha's Light, Shen Bai was like a wrathful Buddha, resolutely punching his fist through the Locust Tree.
Puffs of black smoke rose continuously from the Locust Tree's trunk and branches.
The trembling Locust Tree vanished, turning into a pile of ash on the ground.
Before him, a wisp of Evil Qi appeared, which Shen Bai collected.
Only then did Shen Bai withdraw his hand and turn to look at the unconscious Scholar on the ground.
The Scholar looked feeble. Not only did he have dark circles under his eyes, but his forehead was also completely black.
Shen Bai stepped forward for a quick examination, then shook his head.
Even without any medical knowledge, he could tell the Scholar before him was in a wretched state. His Essence, Qi, and Spirit had been drained to a dangerous degree.
A few more days of this, and he would have been dead.
Perhaps disturbed by Shen Bai's examination, the Scholar weakly opened his eyes. He glanced around, a look of confusion on his face.
When he saw Shen Bai, his face covered by the black cloth, his expression immediately turned to one of alarm.
"Who are you? Why are you in my home? Are you a robber?"
Given Shen Bai's current attire, it was only natural for the man to think so.
Shen Bai looked at the Scholar's expression. It seemed the man had no idea what had just occurred.
With this in mind, Shen Bai voiced his suspicion.
"Don't you remember kowtowing to the Locust Tree in your courtyard?"
"Locust Tree? Kowtowing? Me?"
"There is no Locust Tree in the courtyard. I..."
The Scholar's words trailed off, his face filled with astonishment.
He suddenly came to his senses. Scrambling to his feet with difficulty, he stared at the corner of the courtyard, his astonishment turning to bewilderment.
"I only remember that on my way back from the academy, I met a strange man. He told me my writing brush was cracked."
"Your brush was cracked..." Shen Bai prompted. "And then what?"
'Shen Bai didn't actually want to get involved, but this story seemed to have a continuation. It might be related to the Aberration, and if there was a chance to get more Evil Qi, it would be a huge gain for him.'
'Nothing in this world comes for free, but Shen Bai hoped to at least find a stable source of Evil Qi so he wouldn't be stuck at a critical moment. That's why he asked.'
The Scholar frowned, trying hard to recall. "I didn't believe him at the time, so I took out the brush I carry with me. To my surprise, the shaft of the brush really was cracked."
"The strange man then took out a tree branch and told me that a brush handle made from it would be even better to use."
At this point, the Scholar scratched his head and paused for a moment, as if trying to remember.
"Usually, brush handles are made from bamboo. After all, we don't have much money for fine wood. But the wood he offered was just too good. I couldn't resist, so I accepted it."
"After I got back, I planned to use the wood to make a new brush, but the next day, the wood was gone."
"I searched for it all over my room and the courtyard, and finally found it stuck in the ground in a corner of the yard."
As he spoke, much of the bewilderment in the Scholar's eyes finally faded, replaced by a trace of fear.
Shen Bai saw the connection in the Scholar's fearful expression. "After the Locust Tree was planted, did you start encountering phenomena that can't be explained by common sense?"
The Scholar nodded quickly. "That very night, I knew something was wrong. I had a very strange dream. I dreamt that a branch took root in the soil, sprouted, and grew into a tree. And in the tree was a beautiful woman in a red dress, swinging on a swing."
"She called me husband, so I went over to her. Every night, we would swing happily together. Later, we got married."
"My wife loved meat and strong liquor the most, so I went out to buy them for her every day."
As he said this, a look of confusion appeared in the Scholar's eyes.
"These memories are so vivid... Did I really get married?"
"No, I'm not married. It was all a dream."
Seeing his state, Shen Bai understood.
'Aberrations don't kill in simple ways. Some special ones use unique methods.'
'If this scholar had gone on for much longer, all the Qi and blood in his body would have been sucked dry by that Locust Tree.'
'At that point, he would have become a corpse, and the Locust Tree would have moved on to find its next victim.'
Now that he understood what happened, Shen Bai got to his real reason for asking.
"Where exactly did you meet him?"
'Since this business had a follow-up, Shen Bai was genuinely curious to see if he could score some extra Evil Qi.'
The Scholar thought carefully, then pointed in a direction. "I think it was on the way from the academy to my home. About three streets over. I'm not sure what that street is called."
The county town was, in some ways, still a foreign place to these scholars.
After all, in their pursuit of success in the imperial examinations, most scholars lived a life that shuttled between two points, not paying much attention to the outside world.
'But that description is detailed enough.'
Shen Bai turned, preparing to leave.
The Scholar was stunned and subconsciously asked, "Who are you, sir?"
But he received no answer, only seeing Shen Bai's back as he vanished from sight.