Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 59 – Twin ponytail girl

"I also have this suspicion."

Su Yun's lips didn't move, but his voice came through clearly, saying, "The demon might have already left the village chief's body during the meal. Look at that girl, there are many people downstairs, but only she is upstairs. And, during the meal, she was standing on top of the car parked outside the building!"

Hua Hu was stunned.

He had originally teased Su Yun for having a crush on the pretty girl, but he didn't expect that Su Yun was actually suspecting that the girl was a demon!

He looked towards the parked car and indeed saw that the lower level was crowded with people, but only the girl with twin ponytails was on the upper level!

"Could this girl really be a demon?" Hua Hu quickly looked away, too afraid to look anymore.

Even he was starting to have some doubts now.

Li Xiaofan, Hu Buping, and Qing Qiuyue squeezed their faces onto one window to get a better look at the "pretty girl."

The girl with twin ponytails had been quiet the whole time. Suddenly, she turned her head and stuck out her tongue at them, then pretended to be calm again and played with the incense on the table.

Qing Qiuyue turned around and looked at Su Yun, then at Hua Hu. Seeing that Hua Hu was still growing and too short, she looked at Su Yun again and nibbled on her finger, saying, "Brother Xiao Yun, I want her to be my sister-in-law!"

"Little Moon sister said it well!"

Li Xiaofan and Hu Buping were greatly encouraged. "Little sister is too good to brother! When I grow up, I'll marry her and make her your sister-in-law!"

Su Yun stole a few glances at the girl but didn't notice anything strange. He thought to himself, "Could I be too easily scared? But then again, in a closed space, unless both parties die, it's almost impossible to tell who the real demon is. The demon's disguise is too strong, even the host doesn't know!"

One hundred and fifty years ago, the snow sealed the mountains, and the Dragon Burial Tomb was a closed space. No one could leave.

But now, they were in Shuofang City, and Shuofang City could not be a closed space.

"I'm a little scared by the demon."

Su Yun suddenly thought of the key point. "Are those people downstairs smarter than me and recognize her as a demon, so they don't dare to go upstairs? Unlikely? I'm being paranoid."

He relaxed.

The Negative Mountain Chariot arrived at the center of Shuofang City, where high-rise buildings stood tall with eaves and green tiles like leaves.

Beasts carried small buildings on their backs and walked down the circular cloud bridge. Only then did they see that the cloud bridges came together here in the buildings, forming a spiral texture.

The platform was not completely suspended, and there were huge bronze pillars supporting it below.

The bronze pillars were also made using the refining method of the building class, very sturdy, and still as stable as Mount Tai under such a huge weight.

The many beasts stopped, and the scholars in each small building got up and got off the beast chariot. The empty beast chariots were then driven down the platform by the coachmen.

Su Yun's Negative Mountain Chariot also stopped, and the young men got off the building. Su Yun looked over to the neighboring bird chariot and saw that it had also stopped. The people on the first floor jumped out one after another and waited quietly for the girl with twin ponytails to come down.

"It turns out that she's a young lady from a prestigious family, and those people downstairs are her followers who came to protect her." Su Yun let go of his guard.

Shuofang City was near the Tian Shi Yuan and close to the border, so it was also a crucial place. The people here were talented and the prestigious families were naturally numerous."After I killed Tong Fan, I met Yang Sheng. Yang Sheng said that after the Tianmen Ghost Market, he accompanied the young masters and ladies of the aristocratic families to hunt in the wilderness and slaughtered the Huqiu Village."

Su Yun looked around and silently thought to himself, "There should be many young masters and ladies from the aristocratic families here. I wonder if anyone from that night is here?"

His face was calm, "I still remember their voices."

Tong Fan was only one of the people present that day. There were probably other young masters and ladies from other aristocratic families, and there might even be spiritual masters and elders from the families present.

The Tianmen Ghost Market was highly valued by the aristocratic families of Shuofang City. They should have sent experts to attend, but they did not expect Qiu Shuijing to get there first.

And the second Tianmen Ghost Market should have been a secret outing for Tong Fan and his companions, but they did not expect to encounter Su Yun seeking revenge, and thus lost their lives.

"Xiaoyun, I saw the scholar by Mr. Shuijing's side!"

Hua Hu approached Su Yun and whispered, "Over there on the turtle carriage!"

Su Yun looked over and saw a turtle carriage coming. The carriage was built on the back of a giant turtle, whose limbs were as thick as pillars, its tail as long as a python, its head like a chisel, and its mouth like a hawk's beak. It walked incredibly fast!

There was also a young man sitting alone on the second floor of the turtle's back, lighting incense and meditating. There were also many spiritual followers downstairs.

"Another student of Mr. Shuijing." Su Yun looked deeply at him.

At that time, Su Yun was still a blind child and did not see what the scholar by Mr. Shuijing's side looked like.

Li Xiaofan stood on tiptoe and looked over, saying, "He should be our senior brother, right? According to the naming conventions of the Tian Dao Academy in the Eastern Capital, we should call him 'Xue Ge'."

"Yang Sheng is also our senior brother. The one who slaughtered the Huqiu Village was Yang Sheng. I killed him and used my palm to cut off his neck blood vessels and trachea."

Su Yun's face was calm, "Mr. Shuijing is a private tutor, not a teacher of the official academy. Private tutors are not responsible for teaching students' moral cultivation, only for teaching martial arts and secret techniques. Mr. Shuijing's students have nothing to do with us."

Hua Hu agreed and said, "Private tutors are only responsible for teaching martial arts and secret techniques, not for teaching how to be a good person. Master Ye Hu is a teacher of the official academy. Although he does not have the official title given by the court, he teaches us how to be a good person."

Hu Buping, Li Xiaofan, and others nodded in agreement, deeply feeling the same way.

More carriages came.

The platform created a refining method and used it in construction, releasing people's creativity and the vitality of the city all at once. There were various tall buildings in the city, and even these carriages were all unique.

The Fu Mountain carriage was the most common carriage, and could be seen everywhere. Even scholars from poor families would ride this carriage to attend the imperial examination.

In addition to the common Fu Mountain carriage, there were various exotic animal carriages, with a variety of species. The small buildings on the backs of the animals were also decorated magnificently, which tested one's financial strength.

In addition to animal carriages, there were also bird carriages, turtle carriages, and Su Yun even saw a dragon carriage, which should be a python-transformed dragon, not a snake-transformed dragon like the one that ate the whole village. It was much larger and stronger, so it could carry a small building.

More and more scholars gathered on the platform, and the aristocratic children were a minority. Most of the scholars were commoners and poor people.

Su Yun looked around and suddenly his gaze stopped in the sky, where there was a floating scroll.The scroll was floating between the buildings, about ten feet long, running east to west.

"Spiritual technique? Or spiritual weapon?"

Su Yun was pondering when suddenly a pleasant voice sounded in his ear: "That's the Tianlin Shangjing Map, one of the Ten Splendid Silk Maps."

Su Yun turned towards the voice and saw the ponytailed girl had appeared next to them, also gazing at the scroll in the sky.

Qing Qiuyue was holding the girl's hand and asking her all sorts of questions: "Sister Zhuxian, what are the Ten Splendid Silk Maps?"

Hu Buping and Li Xiaofan were grateful to the point of tears: "Qingqiu little sister is so good to me, giving me opportunities!"

The ponytailed girl's voice was very soft as she said, "It is said that decades ago, a powerful spiritual master completed a task for the ghosts and gods in the Tianmen Ghost Market and obtained the Ten Splendid Silk Maps. For some reason, he did not keep them for himself, but instead gave them to the official school in Shuofang. The Ten Splendid Silk Maps are divided into Tanxiang Yujing, Tianlin Shangjing, Fangyuan Shujing, Xingyun Tianjing, Tianlou Xiujing, Huadeng Lijing, Fengqi Yuejing, Longpan Shanjing, Tianyuan Fengjing and Saiwai Mojing."

Hua Hu listened intently and asked, "What is the use of the Ten Splendid Silk Maps?"

The ponytailed girl looked surprised as she withdrew her gaze: "You don't know the use of the Ten Splendid Silk Maps?"

Hua Hu shook her head.

The ponytailed girl said, "Each of the Ten Splendid Silk Maps has its own spiritual realm, where the heaven and earth are self-sufficient, and mountains, water, flowers, trees, and everything else can exist within it."

Su Yun's heart moved and he whispered, "The Confucian technique!"

The ponytailed girl looked at him in confusion and asked, "The Confucian technique?"

Su Yun said, "The self-sufficiency of heaven and earth is somewhat similar to what the old sages of Confucianism said about the self-sufficiency of one's nature. Therefore, I guess that the Ten Splendid Silk Maps may have been refined using the Confucian technique."

"The self-sufficiency of one's nature, without seeking external help?"

The ponytailed girl repeated it several times in a low voice and said, "I have not learned these things. But the owner of the Ten Splendid Silk Maps was indeed an old saint of Confucianism, who was said to be the eleventh generation saint and was revered as the Saint of Literature."

Su Yun, Hua Hu, and the others were slightly moved in their hearts. They had passed by the Temple of Literature when they came to Shuofang.

"The Ten Splendid Silk Maps are ten spiritual realms where the entrance exams have been held many times. Each map is divided into three thousand students, and selecting them can save a lot of time."

The ponytailed girl said, "You guys are at a disadvantage if you don't know the Ten Splendid Silk Maps. Before the entrance exam, I spent several days memorizing the terrain and landforms of the Ten Splendid Silk Maps."

Su Yun laughed and said, "You come from a wealthy family and have resources, so you can know the geography of the Ten Splendid Silk Maps in advance. But not everyone is from a wealthy family like you."

The ponytailed girl didn't understand.

Hu Buping couldn't help but say, "Sister Zhuxian, Little Yun's meaning is that we're poor!"

Hua Hu laughed, "Not just poor. Because of poverty, we have fewer ways to get information and the information is more blocked. Therefore, poor scholars have fewer opportunities than rich scholars."

Su Yun looked up at the Tianlin Shangjing Map and smiled, "So poor scholars cannot miss any opportunity, otherwise, when will they succeed?"

Suddenly, his heart trembled and he hurriedly asked, "Miss Zhuxian, did you say we will take the entrance exam in the Ten Splendid Silk Maps? Three thousand students per map?"The girl with twin ponytails nodded, "The Ten Splendid Maps are ten different examination sites, from which the most outstanding disciples will be selected. It is said that in the spirit world, if one's life is in danger, they will be sent out of the spirit world. When there are only twenty people left, the Ten Splendid Maps will overlap, and these twenty people will appear in one place, and the most outstanding one will be selected."

Su Yun's face sank like water.

The enclosed space was formed!

Each picture of the Ten Splendid Maps was a closed space!

This was a perfect battlefield for humans and demons to play with people's hearts and kill recklessly!

If one was not careful in this entrance examination, there would be a river of blood!

"I wonder if the Left Deputy of the Wen Chang Academy can stop this entrance examination?" he thought to himself.

Just then, someone exclaimed, "A disciple of the Saint has arrived!"

"A disciple of the Saint?"

Su Yun's heart trembled slightly, "There is a living Saint in Shuo Fang City?"