Who taught him to practice swordsmanship like this?

That night, lights remained on in the residence of the prefect behind the Linxian Prefecture government office.

The oil lamp in the prefect's study was never extinguished, and chicken soup was always simmering on the stove in the kitchen.

Su Baichen knew that the best way to learn the "Mysterious Yin Heart Mirror" was through practice, so he used the prefect who was sitting there dumbfounded as a test subject.

Fear, anxiety, and helplessness...

This is the current mental state of the prefect of Linxian.

He probably already thought he was going to die this time, after all, the prime minister's two sons had died in his jurisdiction.

This is a huge deal.

Last time he was able to write a letter to prove himself, but this time...

He already wants to retire and return to his hometown.

Su Baichen was in the study at this moment, carefully savoring every emotional change of the prefect.

He had only just begun to understand the basics of the "Mysterious Yin Heart Mirror," and at this point, he could only discern the prefect's emotional fluctuations.

However, he knew that as he gained more experience, he would eventually be able to fully grasp what the prefect was thinking.

But seeing the local parents looking worried, Su Baichen wondered if he could lend a hand?

He understood the prefect's mindset at this moment... The powerful minister Zhou Sheng lost two sons in succession, one of whom was his eldest son who was the successor of the family!

Whether he is innocent or not, it means the end of his political career, or even... no, it's almost certain that he will pay with his life for it!

But judging from this prefect's appearance, he seems to still have a glimmer of hope?

Su Baichen rubbed his chin, deciding to help these local parents thoroughly understand the current situation.

But he's practically invisible now, so how can he help the Prefect understand the current situation?

So he glanced at where the prefect's gaze was now...

Oh, gazing out the window in a daze.

So Su Baichen found his target in the prefect's line of sight: a clump of green bamboo swaying in the night wind.

He made his move.

The next moment, the prefect felt that there was a very conspicuous character in his sight. It was the character "death" formed by the accidental interlacing of bamboo leaves!

The word was so glaring that it immediately struck him, making him irritable and unwilling to look at it any longer.

So the prefect left the window and slumped down at his desk, staring at the ceiling...

As a result, he saw several cracks on the ceiling above his head, which vaguely seemed to form the character "death"!

He suddenly realized something, sat up, and looked again.

He then realized he had misread it; although there were cracks on the top of his head, they did not form the shape of the character "死" (death).

However, the terrible feeling of "death above one's head" still lingered. The prefect had a vague realization: he was truly doomed this time, and if he didn't do something, he would probably face death.

Su Baichen put away his "minor illusion" and patiently waited for the prefect to figure it out himself.

However, he realized that he had overestimated the prefect, who was used to lording it over his subordinates and flattering his superiors. Even though he knew that he was now in a life-or-death situation, he still didn't know what to do.

Su Baichen thought for a moment, then saw the official documents on the desk concerning the conscription of laborers in various places and the difficulties in collecting taxes in various places, and a plan came to him.

However, now is not the time to implement the plan; let's wait a bit longer...

At this moment, the prefect was engaged in an extremely intense internal struggle.

Its intensity was so great that even Su Baichen, a novice practitioner of the "Mysterious Yin Heart Mirror," was able to understand some of its contents.

That is, he was hesitant about whether to disregard everything and intensify efforts to complete the palace construction task assigned by the imperial court, in order to gain merit and obtain Zhou Sheng's forgiveness...

He had considered cutting ties with the Prime Minister's mansion and siding with Zhou Sheng's political rival... but as soon as he thought about it, he was so frightened that he quickly put the idea aside.

Su Baichen was helpless against the prefect's cowardice. What a coward! He clearly knew he was in dire straits, yet he still had so many illusions.

Oh, at least I'm not fantasizing about getting away with it easily anymore; all I'm thinking about now is how to make amends.

So...

Su Baichen chuckled and used one of the illusion techniques from the "Eight Transformations of Illusionary Yin": Illusionary Dream!

This is essentially a tactic to bully ordinary people, so Su Baichen hadn't paid much attention to it before.

But now, they're about to deal with ordinary people.

The first step in creating a dream is naturally to enter the dream world.

Su Baichen couldn't do this before, but he could after learning the "Mysterious Yin Heart Mirror".

Because the "Mysterious Yin Heart Mirror" can not only use the mysterious yin spiritual energy to reflect the target's thoughts, but it can also influence the target's mood in turn.

At this moment, Su Baichen used this tactic in reverse, which calmed the prefect's originally chaotic mood a little.

After calming down, the fatigue that had been suppressed immediately returned to his heart. He couldn't help but yawn, and fell asleep on the table without realizing it.

Very good, now it's time to weave your dreams.

Su Baichen didn't personally enter the dream; there was absolutely no need for that.

He only needs to project the plot he has prepared into the story, and then let the prefect's subconscious automatically complete the evolution.

Thus, the Prefect of Linxian was trapped in a nightmare from which he could not awaken...

He first dreamt that he had done everything in his power to complete the tasks assigned by the court: selecting palace women, forcibly collecting taxes, and building the imperial palace...

But in the end, it was Zhou Sheng who was sent down by the imperial court to inspect the matter!

During the inspection, Zhou Sheng found fault at every turn, ultimately rendering Zhou Sheng's painstakingly completed achievements utterly worthless. He was simply dismissed and investigated on the spot, imprisoned for less than six months, and then executed in the autumn…

The prefect suddenly woke up, thinking to himself that it was a dream.

Just as I was about to get up and do some work, I drifted off to sleep again...

It was still the same dream, but this time he decided to make the people suffer even more. He selected more young girls from the common people to be palace maids, extended the tax collection period to fifty years later, and doubled the size of the new palace!

Zhou Sheng, who came to inspect the palace, was speechless throughout the process. However, the young emperor complained about it on the very first day he moved into the palace, feeling that the new palace, which was almost a replica of the original palace, was unoriginal and meaningless.

As a result, the prefect was convicted again, this time by the emperor himself, who said that he had not done his job well and was not innovative... Of course, this time he was not immediately imprisoned, but his official position was repeatedly demoted.

Finally, he died on his way back home, his entire family murdered by a group of thugs... The killers made no attempt to conceal their identities; they were from the Prime Minister's residence.

The prefect woke up with a start, but before he could even savor the dream, it began again…

This time, he learned from his previous mistake and extended the tax collection to a hundred years later. He forcibly conscripted all eligible young women from the populace and launched an unprecedented labor service to build a palace that even the spoiled young emperor could not find fault with.

Then, he successfully instigated a popular uprising, and this time, before the project could even be inspected and accepted, he was beheaded by the rebel army of Linxian Prefecture...

That night, the Prefect of Linxian was plagued by recurring nightmares.

As dawn broke, he groggily got up from his desk, feeling completely disoriented...

"What can I do to survive?!"

He cried out in despair, looking up at the sky.

It was filled with despair.