Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Su Yun found Hua Hu and others, and not long after, Li Muge arrived. This young spiritual master was previously very enthusiastic, but now he seemed a bit distant and restrained, politely inviting them upstairs.

Su Yun and Hua Hu were puzzled, wondering why he had changed.

"Is he possessed by a demon?"

Hua Hu whispered to Su Yun, "The whole village should have gone to the city for dinner."

Su Yun's heart trembled, "Don't talk nonsense, Second Brother. We're on the outskirts of Shuofang City, and if the whole village went out, they would go to the inner city where there are more people."

Hua Hu whispered, "We just entered the city, and it's snowing in Shuofang. Maybe the demon has been with us all along."

Su Yun was also nervous, but fortunately, several monks also came over, smiling kindly at them.

Su Yun smiled back, and the monks also walked into the mansion, apparently also living here. Li Muge whispered, "These masters are our teachers at the Wenchang Academy."

Su Yun was surprised, "The Wenchang Academy is a temple?"

Li Muge shook his head, "Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism are all schools of thought, and they are basically found in every school and academy."

The mansion was quite dilapidated, with people from all walks of life, including three religions and nine streams. On the way upstairs, Su Yun and the others met several Taoists and Confucian scholars, as well as several people who looked fierce and didn't seem like good people.

They even met a miner who was a monster with a leopard head. He had just fled here in a panic and had forgotten to hide his true form, cowering in a corner.

Su Yun entered Li Muge's room, and Li Muge took out a small piece of Jie Hui from a small box on the table, only the size of a fingernail, and lit it in the lampshade.

The Jie Hui slowly floated up in the lampshade, shining brightly and illuminating the room.

"This small piece of Jie Hui can light up the whole night, and it will turn into ashes the next morning when it burns out."

Li Muge was a little embarrassed, "The most convenient thing about living here is that Jie Hui is free. If there is none left, you can pick some up on the roadside to the Jie Hui factory."

Su Yun was amazed, and he also picked up some Jie Hui, which was transformed from the flesh and blood of Jie Hui monsters, but it seemed different from the Jie Hui Li Muge picked up.

He carefully took out a small piece of Jie Hui transformed from the flesh and blood of the Jie Hui monster, put away the others, and compared it with Li Muge's Jie Hui.

The Jie Hui transformed from the flesh and blood of the Jie Hui monster was diamond-shaped, sharp at the top and bottom, like a dark crystal.

Li Muge's Jie Hui did not have this characteristic.

Li Muge was also a young man with a curious nature. He came over and said, "This is the first time I've seen Jie Hui transformed from the flesh and blood of a Jie Hui monster. Why don't we just light it up and see how bright it is?"

Su Yun nodded.

Li Muge brought a fire and approached the diamond-shaped Jie Hui.

Boom!

The mansion shook violently, and a room on the ninth floor burst into flames. The stained glass window and window frame flew out, and all the doors and windows in the entire corridor were blown open by the shockwave!

Shortly afterwards, Li Muge, Su Yun, Hua Hu, Qing Qiuyue, and others stood on the side of the official road outside the mansion, with black and white marks on their faces, their hair burned, and carrying bags of all sizes.

Suddenly, another bag was thrown down from upstairs, hitting them on the foot.

"You little rabbits from the Wenchang Academy, don't let me run into you again!"

The owner of the mansion half leaned out of the window and cursed them, "Renting to others requires money, renting to you requires life, get lost and eat Jie Hui balls!"

After a while, the several monks also came down from upstairs with small bags. The owner of the mansion accompanied them, apologizing, "I'm sorry, it's inconvenient to rent to you... Is anyone else from the Wenchang Academy here? Get out of here! Masters, this way please!"The group of monks approached Su Yun, Li Muge, and the others with black faces. Hua Hu lowered her head and looked at her own toes, Li Muge also lowered his head and looked at his own toes, while Su Yun had a pure, sunny, yet ignorant smile on his face.

The snow was getting heavier and heavier, and soon everyone was covered in a layer of snowflakes.

The leader of the monks said in a gentle tone, "Master Li, we often encounter unexpected events on the path of seeking knowledge. Don't let these events shake your determination, and face them bravely. You can stay at the academy tonight, and tomorrow you can either go back home or rent another room."

Li Muge agreed.

After a while, a huge beast walked unsteadily on the official road, carrying a two-story wooden building on its back with lights on the second floor.

Li Muge waved his hand and the beast stopped. The wooden building creaked as they climbed up, and there were people on both floors, shadows flickering in the light.

A messy head poked out of the second floor window, holding a wine jar with a strong smell of alcohol. He asked, "Going to the city? Get on the carriage. Two coins for adults, one coin for children."

Li Muge climbed up first, followed by Su Yun and Hua Hu with three children, and several monks at the back.

The first floor of the carriage was already full of people with no place to step. They climbed up the wooden stairs to the second floor, where several fierce-looking middle-aged men were drinking.

The monks also went to the second floor, and the leader of the monks knocked on the window and said, "We're going to the Wen Chang Academy."

"Wen Chang Academy?"

The coachman holding the wine jar was surprised and quickly put the wine jar aside, sitting up straight. 𝓫𝓮𝒹𝓷ℴ𝓿ℯ𝓵.𝓬ℴ𝓶

The middle-aged men who were drinking quickly got up and silently jumped off the carriage from the second floor, not daring to stay on the beast-drawn carriage.

The passengers downstairs also shouted, "I've arrived, stop the carriage! Stop it quickly!"

.

In a moment, only Su Yun and the others were left on the carriage.

The coachman trembled and wanted to jump off the carriage and run away, but he didn't dare to. He shook the reins and the beast let out a reluctant moo, walking towards the city.

Su Yun and Hua Hu looked at each other, feeling uneasy. "Li Muge said that the Wen Chang Academy has a bad atmosphere, it seems that it's not just a simple matter of bad atmosphere."

The monks closed the window, and the small building became extremely quiet, isolated from the outside world.

Su Yun looked outside and saw more and more tall buildings and cloud bridges. Some buildings were so high that clouds floated around their waists.

Cloud bridges also extended from the clouds, and people walked on them, strolling in the clouds.

The night in this city was not at all dark. Everywhere there were lamps lit with stolen fire, hanging inside and outside the buildings, on both sides of the road, illuminating the city as if it were daytime.

People came out to play in the night and snow, and the streets were bustling with commerce, like a city that never sleeps, dazzling people's eyes.

There were also many beasts-drawn carriages on the road, some galloping while others moving slowly. The small buildings on the backs of the beasts were illuminated by stolen fire lamps, and there were mostly young men and women drinking and having fun, singing and laughing.

The small building they were in was exceptionally quiet, and although it was winter, the coachman was sweating profusely, nervously driving the beast on the official road towards the Wen Chang Academy.

The young monk sitting across from Su Yun had a gentle gaze and smiled, "I am Tu Ming. I came from the capital and I'm afraid you haven't found a place to stay yet?"

"You're calling me an envoy again?" Su Yun was stunned.

Tu Ming's expression became serious, "Envoys need not worry. We are monks from the Shaolin Temple of the Wen Chang Academy, and we happened to learn of your identity as an envoy. As an envoy, you must be carrying a heavy responsibility. Tu Ming dare not ask, but please give the Wen Chang Academy a chance to serve the emperor!"Hu Buping spoke quickly, "Master, you have misunderstood, we are not officials, we are from the countryside and have come to the city to study!"

Master Tu Ming smiled slightly, as if he understood everything, and said, "May I please see the Heavenly Dao Token?"

Su Yun glanced at Li Muge beside him, but Li Muge remained silent.

Su Yun frowned and took out the Heavenly Dao Token from his bag, saying, "Master, you have misunderstood, we really are here to study, not as officials."

Master Tu Ming took the token and several monks gathered around to inspect it. After a while, they nodded with solemn expressions.

"Yes, this is the Heavenly Dao Token."

Master Tu Ming stood up and handed the token to Su Yun respectfully, saying, "Please keep it safe, official."

Su Yun explained that they were just country folk who had come to study and had no connection to the Heavenly Dao Academy. This only made the monks more convinced that Su Yun and his companions were undercover Heavenly Dao Academy students sent by the Emperor.

The monks became excited and said, "There's a big case in Shuofang!"

Master Tu Ming asked if they had enrolled in school yet, and Hu Buping admitted that they had just arrived in the city and hadn't found a school yet. The monks invited them to stay at their school, but Hu Buping was hesitant, fearing that they wouldn't be accepted due to their lack of status.

Master Tu Ming assured them that their identities would be arranged properly by the next day, but Su Yun and Hu Buping had a bad feeling about the situation. Qing Qiuyue was so upset that she cried, saying they wouldn't attend the school if they didn't pass the entrance exam.

Master Tu Ming made it clear that they were not officials from the capital, and there would be no more officials from the capital coming after them."Understood!" Several monks said in unison.

One of the monks hesitated and whispered, "Senior brother, should we silence this cart driver?"

Zhai Zhu: If anyone mentions a picture again, I'll silence them. I can't even draw a perfect circle! I can't draw the Dust Fiend or a mining cart! My daughter is learning to draw, but she's only seven and can't draw illustrations. Please spare me!

By the way, the four foxes and the village feast have already been drawn by someone. Does anyone want to see them?