Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 75 – The fourth in the Shuofang region, top three in the country

Su Yun glanced alertly at the Holy Prince Bai Yuelou and the young girl Wu Tong.

Both of them were not easy to deal with. One was a pseudo-gentleman who wanted to learn from the saints, and the other was a demon who had been reborn. If they became scholars of the Wenchang Academy, wouldn't it cause chaos?

Li Zhuxian was staring at him fiercely, obviously still remembering how he had stepped on her dress and caused her to be beaten to death.

Feeling her gaze, Su Yun turned back and gave the young girl a friendly smile, thinking to himself, "With Li Muge taking care of her, Zhuxian should be safe."

"Smiling won't help!" Li Zhuxian snorted, turning her face away. "I'm not easily appeased when angry!"

"Very well!" Master Tu Ming chuckled. "It is fortunate for the Wenchang Academy to have four scholars like you."

Young Master Ye Luo coughed. "Master, it's not four, it's five. I also applied to the Wenchang Academy!"

Master Tu Ming was a little unhappy. If Ye Luo had scored even one point, he wouldn't have refused him, but the Wenchang Academy could only select scholars after the other academies. It was already good enough to have scholars who could score one or two points.

But the problem was that Young Master Ye Luo didn't score any points at all!

And he had more than a dozen scholars who were bribed to help him, yet he still managed to score like this!

Idle Cloud Taoist laughed. "The Wenchang Academy has no discrimination in teaching. Anyone can come to study. Besides, the Ye family owns a glass factory and is very wealthy. If they donate a building to us..."

Young Master Ye Luo was greatly encouraged. "I am classmates with the top three scholars and disciples of the saints. When I go back this time, my father will not only not beat me, but also reward me greatly! Donating a building is easy!"

Master Tu Ming was worried and whispered, "Taoist, can we handle the demons and disciples of the saints in the Wenchang Academy?"

"We naturally can't handle them, but Lao Piao has it under control."

Idle Cloud Taoist smiled and whispered, "Leave it to the head catcher to worry about."

The Wenchang Academy attracted a lot of attention and caused a stir on the platform. The four major academies set up a banquet at Shenxianju and invited these scholars to have dinner.

Su Yun found Hua Hu and the others and finally relaxed. They were all hungry and ate something to fill their stomachs.

After the banquet, they were about to leave when Su Yun suddenly heard a familiar voice in his ear. "Yun, Hu, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Let's talk first."

Su Yun, Hua Hu and the others were both surprised and delighted, turning around quickly. "Master!"

Qiu Shuijing, however, was not very surprised and his face remained calm. "This is not the place to talk. Let's find a carriage and talk slowly."

Su Yun agreed, picked up Qing Qiuyue and put the little girl on his shoulder. He held Li Xiaofan's hand with his left hand and Hu Buping's hand with his right hand, quickly following him. Hua Hu also followed quickly.

There were too many scholars on the platform, and it was not easy for them to squeeze out of the crowd. They finally arrived at the Yun Bridge, where there were scholars waiting for carriages, as well as some teachers and catchers maintaining order.

Someone shouted loudly, "The demons and monsters from the Tian Shi Yuan old deserted area have invaded the city. Don't leave in a hurry. Wait until there are more people before leaving! And make sure there is a teacher or catcher present before leaving!"Su Yun and the others waited with Qiu Shuijing for a while, but they still didn't see Fushan Nian. At this time, a giant bird carrying a two-story small building flew over. Li Zhuxian pushed open the window on the second floor, propped her chin with both hands, and smiled at them, "Do you want to come up? We lack a teacher to sit here."

The girl was quick to anger, but also quick to dissipate it. She was no longer angry.

Su Yun and the others walked over. Qiu Shuijing took the lead and came to the second floor. The second floor was much more exquisite than the first floor, with gold and silver decorations and a warm fragrance of jade.

"You four go down, I'll talk to them." Qiu Shuijing said to Li Zhuxian, Qing Qiuyue, and the others.

"Okay!"

Li Zhuxian obediently replied and turned around to go downstairs. When she reached the bottom, she suddenly realized, "Wait! This is my carriage, why did they kick me out?"

Qiu Shuijing's blood surged and formed a round shield, sealing off the second floor. He looked at Su Yun and Hua Hu in front of him and showed a smile, "It's been almost half a year since we last met, and you all have done well. Qing Qiuyue and Li Xiaofan have also performed very well. It's beyond my expectations that you can cultivate to this level after I left."

Hua Hu was sincerely grateful and bowed, "Master, your guidance is excellent."

Qiu Shuijing shook his head, "I didn't teach you anything. You gave me money, and I taught you for ten days. Whatever achievements you have are all yours, and have nothing to do with me."

Su Yun remembered the five zhu coin and felt warm in his heart. "Teacher..."

Qiu Shuijing raised his hand to stop him and said, "I'm not your teacher. Wild Fox Senior is the only one who deserves the title of teacher. I can't afford it. Yun, how did Zuo Songyan mistake you for a disciple of the Heavenly Academy and an envoy of the Emperor?"

Su Yun explained the cause and effect of the matter and took out several Heavenly Academy tokens he obtained in the Dragon Burial Mound, "His misunderstanding should have arisen from these tokens, which I obtained from the Dragon Burial Mound."

Qiu Shuijing was stunned when he heard this and took a deep breath before crying and laughing, "This guy Songyan is too clever. But this misunderstanding is both good and bad for you. Be careful."

Su Yun asked cautiously, "What do you mean, Master?"

"You impersonate an envoy, which is very dangerous. There are many people in Shuofang City who do not want the Emperor's envoy to leave Shuofang alive." Qiu Shuijing looked at the Heavenly Academy tokens Su Yun obtained and said, "I spoke up for you in front of the officials of the Four Great Academies just now, saying that you are not a demon. But I am the teacher of the Emperor of the Eastern Capital and have also served in the Heavenly Academy. If I protect you, it will make people suspicious of your identity. Soon, someone will test you, even try to take your life."

Su Yun's heart skipped a beat and he asked, "But I am not a real envoy. Will the real envoy protect me?"

Qiu Shuijing smiled, "You don't have to look at me. I'm not an envoy either. Whether there is an envoy in Shuofang City and who the envoy is, I don't know."

The two stared at each other.

Qiu Shuijing continued, "Wenchang Academy is also very dangerous. There are all kinds of people in this academy, and the backgrounds of the teachers are very strange. You have to be careful, some of them are not good people. Every year, many scholars die in Wenchang Academy. Also, be careful of Zuo Songyan."

"Be careful of Left Supervisor?"Su Yun and Hua Hu exchanged a surprised glance. Hua Hu asked, "I think Left Supervisor is a good person, why should we be careful of him?"

"Zuo Songyan is eccentric and impulsive. I studied with him when we were young and know him inside out," Su Yun replied.

Qiu Shuijing continued to examine the Tian Dao tokens and frowned, "He is like an iceberg in the sea, only one-tenth is visible above the surface, and the other nine-tenths are hidden below. His current visible identity is a servant of the Wen Chang Academy, but his hidden identity is unimaginable!"

He tried to repair the Tian Dao token with his own blood and said in a low voice, "My old classmate is an extremely dangerous person. Although he is not a bad person, his ideas and ambitions are extremely strong. If you get close to him, I am afraid it will bring trouble to you."

Su Yun was slightly moved, as he did not know much about Zuo Songyan.

However, Zuo Songyan should not be as simple as he appeared on the surface, as he could control the "not-so-good" teachers in the academy.

Hua Hu asked anxiously, "Teacher, since the Wen Chang Academy is so dangerous, can we transfer to other academies?"

Qiu Shuijing continued to repair the Tian Dao tokens and asked in confusion, "The best academy in Shuo Fang is the Wen Chang Academy. Why do you want to transfer?"

Hua Hu stammered, "There are only four academies in Shuo Fang, and Wen Chang is ranked fourth. Moreover, you just said that Wen Chang is dangerous..."

"Whether a school is good or not does not depend on its ranking, but on whether what is learned is useful. Although the three academies of Shuo Fang, Mo Xia, and Jiu Yuan have high rankings, they only teach what is in books well, but cannot teach what is outside of books," Qiu Shuijing explained.

He paused and said, "Their students may look powerful when they leave the academy, but they are all useless in a real fight. Wen Chang Academy is different. Although what is taught in books is okay, what is taught outside of the books is even better."

He emphasized, "Although Wen Chang Academy looks very rustic and teaches a variety of things, you may die in the academy at any time, but what you learn is real. When life and death are at stake, the students of Wen Chang Academy have a greater chance of survival. In my opinion, Wen Chang Academy may only rank fourth in Shuo Fang, but it can rank in the top three in the whole country."

Su Yun and Hua Hu exchanged a glance. Although Qiu Shuijing was praising Wen Chang Academy, the sentence "you may die in the academy at any time" still made them feel uneasy.

"The token of the Tian Dao Academy students is called the Tian Dao token, and each one is a spiritual tool, not a spiritual weapon," Qiu Shuijing returned the tokens to Su Yun and pointed to one of the jade tokens, "Most of these Tian Dao tokens are already damaged, and I repaired only one. You can try to imprint your own blood on it and take a look at what's inside. If you don't understand, you can come to me."

He smiled slightly, "I live in the Immortal Residence of the Tian Fang Tower in the city, and teaching students requires payment. It costs half an hour of Qing Hong currency for one class."

"Teacher, that's so expensive!" Su Yun and Hua Hu were shocked.

Hua Hu muttered, "It's better to rob him..."

Qiu Shuijing smiled, "Robbing is too slow to earn money. I only accept twenty students, and each class only lasts for half an hour. It's much faster to earn money than robbing."Hua Hu snorted.

Su Yun accepted the token and wondered, "Is there something inside this token? What is it?"

Qiu Shuijing looked at him deeply and said meaningfully, "Cloud, you are still young and should focus on your studies. You should not be involved in these dangerous matters. But since you are involved, then do your best as the imperial envoy of Dongdu and do not arouse suspicion from the Wen Chang Academy."

Su Yun stood up and said solemnly, "Please guide me, sir!"

Qiu Shuijing stood up, pushed open the window, and said leisurely, "As an envoy, you should investigate the cases you need to investigate. If you don't investigate, Zuo Songyan, that old fox, will suspect your identity. If he knows that you are not an envoy, he will not protect you, but others don't know, so they will still try to kill you."

Su Yun felt a chill in his heart.

A cool breeze blew in, and in the distance, there were sharp whistles and bursts of divine energy, and even flames could be seen. Those were the experts of Shuofang City chasing after the demons in the old no-man's land.

Qiu Shuijing smiled and said, "But if you investigate, the real envoy will protect you."

Su Yun asked tentatively, "Sir, where should I start investigating?"

Qiu Shuijing handed him a scroll and said, "You encountered a Grey Dust Monster when you entered the city, so you should start investigating from there."

He leaped out of the window, startling Su Yun, who rushed to the window and saw a bird walking on the cloud bridge. The cloud bridge was like a thread hanging in the air, and Qiu Shuijing had disappeared without a trace.

Hua Hu regretted, "I forgot to show him the ancient book that records the secrets of humans and demons. Oh, next time I ask him for advice, I'll mention that book, and if he wants to see it, I'll charge him!"

Su Yun closed the window, returned to the table, and unfolded the scroll. Looking at the light of the Grey Dust Lamp, he saw a map of the Grey Dust Mine in the underground of the Grey Dust Factory on the paper.

He was intrigued. The geography of the Grey Dust Mine resembled the shape of a city, with many paths leading in and out!

"The Grey Dust Mine is underground, which means that there is a city buried by Grey Dust under Shuofang City!"

Su Yun suddenly looked up and gazed into the darkness outside the window. "That city is a remnant of the destruction of the previous world. What secrets are hidden inside? Why did Mr. Shuijing ask me to investigate from here?"

Beside him, Hua Hu was thinking about something else and said, "Mr. Shuijing said that Left Supervisor is an extremely dangerous person, not as simple as he seems on the surface. So what kind of person is he?"

The two looked at each other with solemn expressions.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Li Zhuxian called from downstairs, "Second Brother, can we come up?"

Su Yun waved his hand, and Hua Hu quickly said, "Please wait a moment, Miss Zhuxian."

Li Zhuxian could only sigh and squeeze into the carriage with her followers.

Su Yun took out the intact and undamaged Heavenly Dao Token, blinked, and smiled, "Brother, Mr. Shuijing said that the token is a spiritual device and contains something. What do you think is inside this token?"

Zhai Zhu: Do any readers like the character Zuo Songyan? He has been added to the character list. If you like the old man, give him a thumbs up!