Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 52 – Get on the wrong boat

Su Yun, Hua Hu, and a few little foxes were trembling with fear, wishing to escape: "This Wen Chang Academy is really not a school for good people!"

Master Tu Ming opened the car window and looked outside, only to see the coachman still urging the giant beast forward, so he closed the window and shook his head: "If he heard our conversation, he would definitely run away. If he didn't run away, it means the doors and windows are soundproof and he didn't hear us."

The young monk laughed out loud: "Don't be nervous, everyone. We are teachers of Wen Chang Academy, not bandits who rob and kill! We are teachers, teachers! Hahaha!"

The several monks quickly straightened their appearance and looked solemn.

Su Yun, Hua Hu, and others secretly lamented: "It seems like we've boarded a pirate ship..."

Hua Hu quietly looked outside and saw that they were walking on a cloud bridge without knowing when, with heavy snow outside, beasts walking on the cloud bridge, and the small building swaying and creaking, as if it could fall from the sky at any time.

The cloud bridge became higher, and they walked in the misty sky. If they jumped off and tried to escape now, they would definitely be smashed into mud.

"We can't escape, we can only go to Wen Chang Academy."

Su Yun also looked out the window and felt a trace of leisurely worry in his heart: "I hope this Wen Chang Academy is not too bad, otherwise I will be sorry for the trust of Mr. Ye Hu and the old couple Guo... "

He was a disciple of Mr. Ye Hu, and he had to take care of his classmates. The old couple Guo also told him that Shuofang was the territory of humans, and as a human, he had to take care of Hua Hu and the others.

"Oh, there's one more thing."

Master Tu Ming took out two small money bags from his pocket, one for Li Muge and one for Su Yun, and said with a smile: "These are the rewards given by the manager of the Dust-raising Mine last night when you helped deal with the Dust-raising Monster Riot. The manager is very generous, giving you a Qinghong coin each!"

Li Muge opened the money bag and was surprised and delighted: "A Qinghong coin! The manager is really generous, I earned more than I did when I was practicing in the sheep city outside the Great Wall!"

Master Tu Ming smiled: "You helped him deal with the Dust-raising Monster Riot and saved hundreds of miners, saving him a lot of money. A few Qinghong coins are nothing to him."

A monk sneered: "We helped him deal with the Dust-raising Monster Riot and saved so many miners, but he still wants to be stingy. We had to extort him for a long time before he was willing to pay!"

Master Tu Ming coughed and said: "We are Buddhists, money is an external thing. Besides, haven't we already extorted money from him? How can we curse him?"

The monk quickly clasped his hands together and said, "May the Buddha forgive me for cursing him!"

Hua Hu opened Su Yun's money bag and said disappointedly: "It's only five Qinghong coins, so stingy."

Qinghong coins were not valuable in the Heavenly Market, they were coins that grew on the bodies of the Qinghong crabs in the North Sea. In the past, they would carry crabs to the market to buy things.

This time, Su Yun and the others saved some five zhu coins and Qinghong coins because they were going into the city. They had hundreds of five zhu coins and dozens of Qinghong coins.

"Not stingy at all."

Li Muge smiled: "Qinghong coins are treasures for refining spirit weapons. Which spiritual master doesn't want to collect enough Qinghong coins to refine their own spiritual weapons? A Qinghong coin is worth 1,500 five zhu coins, worth more than gold."

"One thousand five hundred five zhu coins? Worth more than gold?"

Su Yun and the four fox demons were stunned. They had dozens of Qinghong coins in their bags, worth a hundred thousand coins?

No wonder Yuan Wu from Yuanjialing wanted to kill them. Qinghong coins were so valuable!But then they remembered the Qing Hong coins they had exchanged for goods in Huangji Town, and couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in their hearts. "Those treacherous merchants in Tian Shi Yuan are not honest at all..."

Hua Hu felt even more pain in her heart. "Old Gou is also a treacherous merchant. He charged me two Qing Hong coins for his transformation technique! I can't believe I treated him like a real uncle!"

"Just now, Master said that the factory director used the Tong family to pressure you. Is this Tong family the one from Shuofang?"

Su Yun collected his thoughts and smiled as he asked, "Is the Ash Factory an industry of the Tong family?"

Master Tu Ming's heart trembled as he probed, "Is the official here to investigate the Tong family?"

Su Yun neither confirmed nor denied it.

The carriage fell silent again. Master Tu Ming's forehead broke out in cold sweat as he exchanged a glance with the other monks and stopped speaking.

Outside the window, the lights were bright, and the high-rise buildings were like clouds. Cars came and went, weaving through the streets. The beasts passed through one cloud bridge and high-rise building after another, finally arriving at the Wen Chang Academy.

Su Yun looked out and felt a slight shock in his heart. "This is the Wen Chang Academy, which ranks low among the official schools in Shuofang?"

Hua Hu, Qing Qiuyue, Hu Buping, and Li Xiaofan leaned against the window and exclaimed in surprise, their eyes shining with excitement.

Master Tu Ming secretly praised them, "No wonder they were sent by the Emperor to investigate the case. They are so good at pretending to be country bumpkins! But investigating the Tong family is dangerous. They might even implicate the Wen Chang Academy..."

He looked worried and anxious. "I originally thought that the official sent from the capital was not investigating a major case, but now that it involves the Tong family... I'm so foolish! The Emperor sent a Heavenly Dao Academy disciple to investigate the case. How could it be a small case? It must be a big case that can shake the entire Shuofang region! But my Wen Chang Academy is caught between the court and the local forces..."

They arrived at the Wen Chang Academy.

This academy was built on a mountain in the city, surrounded by jade buildings and pavilions, which were ten feet shorter than the mountain.

The buildings were made of glazed tiles, reflecting the light emitted by the Ash Factory in the night like emeralds. The cloud bridges were also hung with Ash Factory lanterns, extending from the rooftops and spreading to the ancient palace buildings in the academy.

The palace buildings were covered in snow, which was dyed white by the snow tonight. Fortunately, the lights were bright, and people could be seen sweeping the roads. Some scholars stayed in the academy and enjoyed the snow scenery.

Su Yun also saw a lake on the mountain, with rippling waves that were not covered by snow. The Ash Factory lanterns illuminated the lake, shining like a green gem in the white snow, making the academy look extraordinary!

There was a person hanging upside down on the lake, naked, and big fish with sharp teeth jumped up from the water, trying to eat him, making the person shiver in fear.

"Is the academy with a higher ranking more magnificent?" Hua Hu murmured.

Master Tu Ming smiled, "In Shuofang, my Wen Chang Academy is the only official school that accepts country scholars and monster scholars. Does it really matter if the school is magnificent or not?"

Su Yun's gaze shifted away from the person hanging on the lake, and he said with deep feeling, "Education is for all, this is the act of a sage."

Master Tu Ming clasped his hands together and said, "It's easier said than done. The Wen Chang Academy's ranking has always been low among the official schools because of this policy."

Su Yun and Hua Hu exchanged a glance, and Hua Hu whispered, "Xiao Yun, the Wen Chang Academy doesn't seem so bad."

Su Yun glanced again at the person hanging on the lake, hesitatingly whispered, "If this is really a good school, then study here. If not, then just pass the exam and leave as soon as possible."

Hua Hu nodded.The beast carried them to a building halfway up the mountain along the cloud bridge and stopped in front of it. Tu Ming instructed, "Tu An, take them to settle down first. We'll talk about everything tomorrow."

A monk stepped forward.

Tu Ming hurriedly left.

Su Yun and the others followed the monk into the building. The monk arranged their rooms and said, "I'll have the canteen send some plain noodles. Just make do with it for now."

After a long day of exhaustion, hunger, and fatigue, especially Su Yun, who had not had a chance to rest since last night.

He had experienced being chased in the Tian Shi Yuan snow forest, killed more than ten ape monsters in the temple of a big shot, and fought to the death with the third ancestor of the apes on the Chuzhuang beast.

After arriving in the city, he experienced the chaos caused by the Grey Monster and the Grey Explosion. These things had exhausted him.

After eating the plain noodles, everyone fell asleep and entered their own dreams.

Wen Chang Academy, Wen Chang Emperor's Hall.

Tu Ming followed respectfully behind an old man, who was dressed in a washed-out rough cloth robe and had a crooked hair bun on his head, while he was offering incense to Wen Chang Emperor.

"Are the students from Tian Dao Yuan real?" The old man bowed to Wen Chang Emperor and walked out of the hall.

Tu Ming quickly followed him. "Who can fake the Tian Dao Ling, the symbol of the identity of Tian Dao Yuan students? After graduating from Tian Dao Yuan, the token will be taken back. His token is indeed the Tian Dao Ling, and I won't be mistaken!"

The old man stepped over the threshold and shook his head. "Having the Tian Dao Ling doesn't necessarily mean he's a student of Tian Dao Yuan. If a student of Tian Dao Yuan dies outside, and someone picks up the Tian Dao Ling, they can impersonate a student of Tian Dao Yuan."

Tu Ming closed the door of the Emperor's Hall and said, "I've seen his technique. He uses the Hong Lu Shan Bian, which is the technique used by the students of Tian Dao Yuan to build their foundation. This technique can't be faked, right?"

The old man looked towards the center of Shuofang City and said calmly, "The Hong Lu Shan Bian has already spread to Shuofang. It is said that a teacher from the Eastern Capital came here to teach some students of the aristocracy, and his knowledge is extremely high. He teaches the Hong Lu Shan Bian. There are rumors that this teacher from the Eastern Capital is also from Tian Dao Yuan."

Tu Ming looked puzzled and asked, "Why did Tian Dao Yuan send another envoy if they already sent this teacher?"

"Most likely, one is in the light, and one is in the dark."

The old man withdrew his gaze and walked towards the building where Su Yun and the others were staying, asking, "Shouzuo, did you say the young envoy you met was investigating the Tong family in Shuofang?"

Tu Ming nodded and lowered his voice, "He deliberately got close to Li Muge, a student of the Sword Academy, and came to the You Lou near the Jiehui Factory. He had just arrived when the Grey Factory had a Grey Monster outbreak, which he happened to encounter. How could such a coincidence happen?"

The old man furrowed his brow into a Sichuan character. "Then he deliberately showed you the Tian Dao Ling, so you could see it?"

Tu Ming was stunned and couldn't help but stop his steps. "Do you mean he deliberately showed me the Tian Dao Ling?"The old man's eyebrows relaxed as he sneered, "Since you are the envoy of the Great Emperor and a fierce character from the Heavenly Dao Academy, your scheming must be terrifying! He befriended Li Muge and went to the You Lou, all in an attempt to establish a connection with you and use the power of the Wen Chang Academy to investigate the Tong family. If he doesn't want you to see the Heavenly Dao Order, can you still see it?"

Master Tu Ming was stunned and suddenly exclaimed, "He looks like he's only thirteen or fourteen years old. How could he be so cunning?"

The old man shook his head and said, "Who are the people in the Heavenly Dao Academy? They are all monstrous figures! The ones who can be selected by the Great Emperor to investigate cases are even more monstrous among the monstrous! Back then... hehe!"

Master Tu Ming's eyes lost focus as he muttered, "Then I saw that he was a teenager and thought it wouldn't be a big case, so I wanted to use him as a connection to climb up to the Heavenly Dao Academy..."

"So you fell into his trap and had to board his thief ship!"

The old man stood with his hands behind his back, smiling mysteriously. "You, an old river and lake, thought you had deep scheming, but you were unknowingly trapped by him and now you can't get off the tiger's back."