Chapter 306 Sheng Fei: Who spread the rumor?
Mei Liangyu recuperated, and seeing that there was still time, she continued to speak to Yu Sui: "The routes of the Hundred Families Night Walk are divided into two types: the overt route and the covert route. The overt route is the open trial route announced by the academy, which is guarded by instructors and the Nine Capital Guards."
"Nine Capital Guards?" Yu Sui was somewhat surprised.
“Not everyone is willing to participate in the Hundred Families Night Parade, after all, life and death are unpredictable,” Mei Liangyu said. “The duty of the Nine Capital Guards is also to help the academy maintain order. The open trials and challenges are less risky, at least there is no need to worry about life and death.”
Yu Sui seemed to be deep in thought: "What about the hidden network?"
Mei Liangyu explained simply: "There is no public trial, no instructors or Nine Capital Guards will interfere, there are no rules, it's all about killing and robbing."
Yu Sui understood.
The underlying theme is high risk, high reward.
"The trials in the hidden realm will be foretold by sacrificial rites, and during the rites, renowned figures will bestow blessings that can help injured disciples recover faster. Each of the nine academies will have its own round of sacrifices, once every ten days," Mei Liangyu said. "The first round of sacrifices will begin tonight at sunset, but we don't know which academy it will be."
Mei Liangyu tilted her head slightly towards the wind-listening ruler on the table: "This is something Nian Qiuyan excels at."
Yu Sui said, "Senior Brother Nian should be taking care of Sister Yiyi right now."
Mei Liangyu asked, "What's wrong with her?"
"I was injured in the Broken Sword Domain, and my Five Elements were reversed after I came out." Yu Sui told Mei Liangyu what he had seen in the Broken Sword Domain.
"Beishan got first place?" Mei Liangyu smiled, finding it interesting.
Yu Sui said thoughtfully, "The first round of sacrifices should be performed by renowned figures."
Mei Liangyu: "Your divination skills have become so amazing?"
“If he weren’t a renowned expert, Pu Heng wouldn’t have needed to provoke my third brother so much. But if tonight’s ceremony is a ritual by a renowned expert, and the nighttime intelligence provides a large number of rare and precious artifacts, which would be very useful for Su Xingchao to decipher the inscriptions, then he would compete with my third brother.”
Yu Sui pondered, “Pu Heng seems to be in a bit of a rush with Third Brother’s timing. He would only make a preemptive move to influence things if he is certain that the first round will be the Famous Family Sacrifice. Otherwise, it seems like a waste. Simply provoking Third Brother to make him too angry to participate in the Hundred Families Night Tour is not a good idea. Third Brother is not really stupid. He can’t stay insane for three months.”
Sheng Fei is indeed easily provoked and goes crazy, but that doesn't mean he's brainless.
In fact, sometimes Seong-ho's madness makes him even more dangerous.
Because he cannot control himself, he doesn't know what he might do.
“Pu Heng knew in advance which family would be the first to perform the sacrifice.”
Yu Sui thought this was the most interesting point.
How did he know?
Yu Sui said, "The famous people have leaked a lot of information this year. Tonight, someone released several undercover routes. When I came back, I saw a lot of people scouting the locations."
Mei Liangyu asked, "Can't you find the information released through the Wind Listening Ruler?"
Yu Sui shook his head: "They all use the new wind-listening rulers, which are located in the Communications Institute. They destroyed the wind-listening rulers after they were released."
The wind-listening ruler is no longer a luxury item it was more than ten years ago; it is now readily available everywhere. Every year, there is a large amount of investment and trading. Although each wind-listening ruler has a unique coded message, it is difficult to find relevant information after only one use.
The wind-listening ruler bought on the black market has no way of tracing who the user is.
Therefore, Taiyi Academy previously stipulated that disciples must use the Listening Ruler distributed by the academy to confirm their location and receive announcements.
Mei Liangyu said, "During the Hundred Families Night Parade, the Nine Academies do not restrict the disciples' level or school of thought, but most people will still prioritize challenging their own family's trials and go to other academies to participate in trials and secretly seize treasures. They are not there to help others, but to fish in troubled waters and pick up scraps, waiting to seize treasures and sell them for money later."
Yu Sui nodded and said, "That's a good idea. I heard Dean Wu say that you used to steal other people's rare weapons and treasures and hide them in the Ghost Dao Holy Hall. Senior brother, you didn't steal other people's treasures and sell them, did you?"
Her eyes were suspicious, but Mei Liangyu looked completely at ease: "What's the point of keeping it if we're not going to sell it?"
Yu Sui chuckled and said, "No wonder so many people want to beat you up to vent their anger."
Mei Liangyu was completely unaware: "They just can't beat me; they're not skilled enough."
He chuckled again and said leisurely, "In the future, besides those who will come to cause me trouble, there will also be those who will come to ask me for help."
Yu Sui guessed: "They're offering high prices to ask you for help in snatching treasures?"
Mei Liangyu raised her head to indicate that she was right: "Later, just tell her that I have injured my soul, and that it is very serious."
Yu Sui: "Can't we let them think you're injured?"
Mei Liangyu said, "They will fight with all their might before I recover from my injury, which will allow them to wear themselves down in advance."
There are very few people in the entire Taiyi Academy who are confident enough to say such things.
“You’ve already reached the eighth realm, do you want them to know?” Mei Liangyu looked back at Yu Sui. “If we’re going to make a move later, it will inevitably be exposed.”
“It doesn’t matter if they know. I was planning to do that anyway. Even my father has asked the saints of Shuizhou and learned about my situation from my master. If I keep it from them any longer, it will only make them more suspicious.”
With the Sage Changgen sealing the Breath Soil, it's impossible for her to remain at the first or second realm after cultivating in the Taiyi realm.
If she tries to hide her shortcomings on this matter, it will only make people suspect that there is something wrong with her light core.
Yu Sui went to the inner room, soaked a handkerchief, and came out to wipe Mei Liangyu's blood-stained chin: "Before, I was a mediocre person. I had no choice but to let others look down on me. I also wanted to stay as far away from danger as possible because I had no ability to protect myself."
But things are different now. Even if I'm an eighth-realm sorcerer, in everyone's eyes I can still be the kind and easily bullied Princess Nangong.
No matter what level of sorcerer she is or how powerful she is, as long as Yu Sui has not openly committed murder or arson, no one will suspect her.
Besides, her image has been established over the years, and the impression of Yu Sui among those in Qingyang who know her is deeply ingrained and unlikely to change. Even if there is a problem, their first reaction is always: Impossible.
Yu Sui said, "The Nangong family and Shui Zhou have a close relationship, and the Nangong family may be the first to know many things."
Mei Liangyu guessed her decision and did not interfere. Although it was dangerous, they were not entirely without a chance.
"Is Gu Gan still waiting in your dorm?" He looked up at Yu Sui.
Yu Sui was surprised that he still remembered this matter, and replied with some amusement, "I'm leaving."
She took a handkerchief and wiped Mei Liangyu's eyes: "Xun Zhiya went to tell him the news she heard at the Golden Pearl Banquet, so she left first."
As soon as they finished speaking, their wind-listening rulers lit up simultaneously.
At the appointed time, the academy promptly sent out the announcement for the Hundred Families Night Parade, informing all disciples that the three-month trial had begun.
The academy's announcement specified forbidden areas that could not be entered during the Hundred Families Night Parade. After Chenshi (7-9 AM), some of the academy's terrain would also change, requiring disciples to distinguish between the real and fake academy maps. If they entered a fake route, they might get trapped in an illusion and unable to escape.
Upon seeing this, Yu Sui got up and walked to the window. She opened the window and looked out. What she saw was no longer a vast expanse of pink peach blossoms, but rather a verdant mountain landscape with layers of peaks.
The inn, which was originally located in a peach grove, is now surrounded by green mountains and clear waters.
"The academy map has changed?" Mei Liangyu asked, still sitting on the edge of the bed.
"No wonder, so that's why they were scouting beforehand." Yu Sui leaned against the window, lost in thought. "I haven't even fully explored the Ghost Path Academy yet, and now I have to memorize the actual locations of the other academies?"
Taiyi Academy is simply too big.
Mei Liangyu pointed to the Listening Wind Ruler: "Junior sister, here's a hint: even if you peek at the original map coordinates from the mountains, it won't work, they won't match."
Yu Sui touched her nose, and just as she turned around, she heard a loud noise from upstairs, and a commotion came from the same floor, with men and women shouting about revenge and so on.
Chaos began.
Mei Liangyu sat on the edge of the bed, making a hand seal with one hand, burning protective energy, and calming his spirit.
Yu Sui looked out the window and saw that there were already quite a few people rushing out downstairs, probably to scout out the terrain and participate in the open-field trials.
Legalism, the Department of Admonitions.
Sheng Fei was locked in a forbidden room with stone walls. Since he was locked up, it has been quiet inside. Because his hands were bound with Five Elements Locks, his Five Elements Qi was sealed, and he could not use the Nine Streams Technique. He could only reflect alone inside.
Mu Mengbai had been waiting outside the Discipline Department since last night. Initially, he wanted to ask Yu Sui for help, but fortunately, he wasn't stupid. He knew that if he asked Yu Sui, Yu Sui would definitely ask Gu Gan, which was absolutely out of the question.
He waited at the Discipline Department to prevent Gu Gan from coming to find Sheng Fei.
Mu Mengbai gripped the sacred wooden token in his hand, his expression resolute, thinking: Even if we can't beat Gu Gan, we absolutely cannot let him step into the Discipline Division!
He was scratching his head outside, trying to figure out what kind of divination formation he could use to stop Gu Gan. Although he was a ninth-level sorcerer and a first-class disciple, he did not recognize the strength of his family of sorcerers at all.
Mu Mengbai's Ninth Realm and First Rank were both improved by Sheng Fei's help and support. Most of the rare treasures related to the Fang family that Mu Mengbai possessed were obtained by Sheng Fei, who couldn't stand seeing them and helped him acquire them.
Aside from his explosive temper and sharp tongue, this young master isn't really anything special, but many people can't accept those two points. After all, when Sheng Fei goes crazy, he's both picky and ruthless. Even if he's just speaking recklessly in the heat of the moment, his words always turn into hurtful arrows, leaving marks on people's faces.
Fortunately, Mu Mengbai was able to understand and accept it, and was indifferent to it. Although Sheng Fei had high standards, he was not incapable of sensing the sincerity or insincerity of others. Over time, the two became good friends who tolerated and understood each other.
Mu Mengbai initially only wanted to stop Gu Gan, but he didn't expect that at night, rumors spread everywhere that Princess Nangong had gotten into a fight with someone during the competition with several princesses at the Golden Pearl Banquet, and even threatened to cut out the tongue of the noble lady of Dan Kingdom.
Then it was revealed that Qingyang's Little Doctor Saint was actually Princess Nangong's twin sister!
Mu Mengbai was stunned and hadn't recovered yet, unable to believe that Sheng Fei actually had two younger sisters!
"Mu Mengbai, are you still waiting here?" The man's teasing voice woke Mu Mengbai up, and he looked up to see the two people walking towards him.
The two who arrived were dressed in the dark blue robes of the Legalist school, which reflected hidden blue runes from different angles, giving them a solemn and elegant appearance.
This outfit suits Xia Feichen well; his temperament perfectly matches the Legalist official's robe. However, it looks a bit strange when paired with the nonchalant-looking man next to him.
Fang Tianchen had a braid wrapped with colorful rope draped over his left shoulder, making his already handsome and wicked face look even more frivolous.
"I have good news for you. Sheng Fei will be released soon." Fang Tianchen snapped his fingers at Mu Mengbai. "But I think it's better for him to stay in there. He'll probably be even angrier when he comes out. I heard that his sister was so angry at the Golden Pearl Banquet last night that her eyes were red and she almost cried."
Mu Mengbai sighed: "Is this something I can keep hidden from you?"
Fang Tianchen laughed and said, "Why are you looking so down? Isn't this a happy occasion? We should congratulate the young master on having another little sister. She is the Little Medical Saint of Qingyang!"
"Stop gloating!" Mu Mengbai said through gritted teeth.
Fang Tianchen waved with a smile and walked inside with Xia Feichen.
He stroked his chin and pondered, "Nangong Sui is so beautiful, isn't her sister even more beautiful?"
Xia Feichen frowned and asked, "What are you thinking about all day?"
Mu Mengbai also criticized, "Vulgar and shameless!"
"Don't tell me you haven't thought about this," Fang Tianchen shrugged nonchalantly. "What will he call his two younger sisters in the future? One will be called Princess Sister, and the other will be called Little Doctor Sister?"
"Go ahead and shout it like that, I'm not going to. I'm afraid the young master will hear me and smash my head in." Mu Mengbai shook his head. "Are you two just going to release the people and you want me to come along?"
Fang Tianchen shook the keys in his hand: "Dean Zhu and our Dean Yu have already agreed that they will release the person as soon as Chenshi (7-9 AM). The keys are all here."
Mu Mengbai snatched the keys and ran forward.
Fang Tianchen was stunned for a moment, speechless: "If he goes astray with his skills, we'll be meeting him in the Criminal Investigation Department."
Mu Mengbai practically flew into the forbidden room, took out his key to open the door, and shouted, "Young Master, I've come to save you!"
As soon as the door opened, Mu Mengbai's eyes were stung by the blood-red walls inside. He immediately pulled back the foot he had just stepped through the doorway and exclaimed in horror, "Sheng Fei!"
Upon hearing this, Xia Feichen and Fang Tianchen thought something had happened, their expressions changed, and they rushed forward. When they arrived at the door of the forbidden room and saw the situation inside, they both paused.
The gray stone walls were covered with densely packed characters and incantations. The bloodstains had dried, indicating that some time had passed. The forbidden room was neither large nor small, yet all three walls were covered with writing.
Sheng Fei sat cross-legged on the ground, the ground in front of him covered with incomprehensible scribbles. His face was pale, and he looked increasingly sinister, like a demon hiding in a dark forest, cold, mysterious, and full of murderous intent.
His fingertips, from which he wrote, were already a bloody mess, and his hands and clothes were covered in blood. If it weren't for the incantations and symbols covering the walls, the three people at the door would have suspected that someone had secretly entered the forbidden room and beaten up Sheng Fei.
"Are you crazy?" Mu Mengbai was about to go in when he heard Sheng Fei, who was sitting on the ground, say unhappily, "Don't step on it."
Mu Mengbai obediently stepped back, grumbling, "What are all these things? How could you write down the contents of the 'Spirit Character Collection' while being locked in the Five Elements Lock? What kind of brain do you have? Why can't I have one too?"
"You deciphered the inscription?" Fang Tianchen poked his head in and looked around. "Impressive, Sheng Fei. Aren't you going to explain it? We laymen can't understand it either."
Xia Feichen said, "Heavenly thunder enters the earth, and crimson flames shine brightly."
"You can even understand these scribbles?" Fang Tianchen turned to look at him in surprise.
Xia Feichen pointed to the words on the ground and said, "You still can't understand what this is written?"
Fang Tianchen stopped at the doorway and looked inside: "I understand this sentence, but it doesn't resemble the words on the inscription at all. How can it mean this? What is the second half of the sentence?"
Xia Feichen then asked Sheng Fei, "Did you crack it?"
Sheng Fei pointed to a line of words in front of him: "See for yourself."
Fang Tianchen said with a bitter face, "I really don't understand this."
Mu Mengbai couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me! I'm dying of curiosity!"
"It's like a cloud but not a cloud, like a star but not a star; it's just a wisp of air," Sheng Fei said in a hoarse voice.
Fang Tianchen took out paper and pen from his portable storage box and wrote down what Sheng Fei had written: "Like this?"
Sheng Fei nodded after reading it.
"What do you mean?" Fang Tianchen pondered. "Both of these passages seem to be referring to celestial phenomena?"
He turned to Mu Mengbai, who was staring at the booklet, and asked, "Isn't your family a family that observes the stars?"
"Is it the Ghost Golden Sheep of the Twenty-Eight Mansions?" Mu Mengbai scratched his head and said, "The Ghost Mansion is the five stars of the Heavenly Ghost. The bright white star is like powder and is called the Heavenly Corpse or Corpse Qi. It matches the meaning of this inscription. It is neither a cloud nor a star, but just a ball of gas."
“It’s definitely Ghost Golden Sheep,” Sheng Fei said in a deep voice.
Mu Mengbai clapped his hands excitedly: "I knew I should go and study under a renowned master!"
Fang Tianchen asked Xia Feichen, "Is the Ghost Golden Sheep in the Vermilion Bird Cave? That's the south, isn't it?"
“Yes,” Xia Feichen said, “but this sentence seems to refer only to Gui Jinyang, without any other information?”
Fang Tianchen asked thoughtfully, "What's in the south? Taoists? Practitioners of magic?"
Mu Mengbai waved his hand and said, "Then we definitely have to look at it in conjunction with the previous sentence, young master. What does it mean when you put the two sentences together?"
Sheng Fei took a deep breath and continued, "The thunder entering the earth can also be understood as drawing thunder into the earth."
Mu Mengbai said, "There are too many places where lightning can be drawn into the ground; any academy can do it."
“I went to the Ancient Stele Forest and found the lightning imprints that fell in the stele forest. It is an image of wind, fire and thunder combined. In other words, only when wind, fire and thunder are combined can it be called heavenly thunder. There is also the saying that heavenly thunder has several tribulations. The higher the tribulation, the stronger it is. The highest recorded in the Lingzi Collection is nine tribulations of heavenly thunder, which can produce the scene of bright red fire.”
Sheng Fei asked, "How many places within the academy can experience the Nine Tribulations Heavenly Lightning?"
“First, we must exclude the Taoists!” Mu Mengbai said. “Then we must exclude our own martial arts practitioners.”
“There’s another point. The combination of wind, fire, and thunder corresponds to the Kang Jinlong in the Twenty-Eight Mansions. It is the god of wind and the image of fire, and the star of falling thunder.” Sheng Fei pointed to another character with his pale finger. “Gui Jin Yang is in the south, Kang Jinlong is in the east, and in the southeast and center are the Yin-Yang School and the Ghost School. The only place that matches the falling thunder and corpse energy is the Wujian Abyss of the Ghost School.”
After the truth was revealed, the three of them remained silent for a short while.
Fang Tianchen stroked his chin: "Now that you mention it, I do remember. The Ghost Daoist's Boundless Abyss is indeed gloomy and filled with ghostly energy. It seems to be the place where they form contracts and summon gods."
Xia Feichen also said, "The Wujian Abyss is constantly struck by lightning, making it extremely dangerous. It is also a first-level forbidden area of the Ghost Daoist sect."
"Are you sure?" Mu Mengbai asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly. "If that's the case, then we'll decipher the inscription first, and you'll win!"
With Mu Mengbai's help, Sheng Fei stood up from the ground and said in a chilling tone, "Go tell the dean, and then call Su Xingchao over. I want him to leave Taiyi on his knees."
"Hey! Wait a minute, if we tell the deans, although they can quickly verify whether your guess is true or false, the fragment will definitely fall into their hands." Fang Tianchen advised, "Wait a little longer, let's go explore the Abyss of No Return right now."
Sheng Fei sneered and ignored him; he had no interest in the fragments of the Floating Pagoda.
Fang Tianchen couldn't believe it: "You really aren't curious at all about the fragments of the Floating Pagoda?"
Seeing that Sheng Fei was determined to walk outside, Fang Tianchen gave Xia Feichen a wink, silently signaling: You should try to persuade him.
Xia Feichen frowned and said, "I think the fragments are safer in the hands of the Dean and the others."
Fang Tianchen rolled his eyes: "General Xia, it's even less safe for the fragment to be in the hands of the Dean and the others! Do you really not know that there are people outside who want to get the fragment to break the oath of non-aggression and then unify the six kingdoms?"
Mu Mengbai turned around: "Huh?"
Fang Tiancheng added, "They don't just stay in Taiyi as deans until they die and never see the world again. Some deans even go home to see their children during holidays!"
"Who is it?" Mu Mengbai pricked up his ears.
Fang Tianchen spread his hands and said, "It's Dean Zhu from their famous family."
Sheng Fei also turned around, somewhat incredulous.
Fang Tianchen raised an eyebrow at him and smiled, "Dean Zhu is from Qingyang, right? I saw him when I went to Qingyang last year."
Xia Feichen asked him, "What are you going to Qingyang for? Aren't you..."
Were they from the state of Yan?
He didn't say the second half.
Fang Tianchen replied, "Don't I travel to various parts of the six kingdoms during festivals? Those are the most lively and fun times in each place."
Xia Feichen looked at him without saying anything. He said, "You'd be more reliable to go to Qingyang to kill people than to go to Qingyang for sightseeing."
Mu Mengbai looked at Sheng Fei, then at Fang Tianchen: "What's the difference between this and directly saying that Qingyang wants to break the oath of non-aggression?"
"Isn't that what it is all about?" Fang Tianchen was puzzled. He said to Sheng Fei, "If you and Dean Zhu had already agreed to cooperate in getting the fragments of the Floating Pagoda, I wouldn't stop you. Go ahead."
Sheng Fei's damned pride couldn't stand such words.
"You are a citizen of Yan." He took a deep breath and looked coldly at Fang Tianchen. "I shouldn't be saying these things in the academy, but you want to seize the fragments of the Floating Pagoda. Are you planning to take them back to Yan and make Yan even more dangerous?"
“You really shouldn’t be saying these things in the academy.” Fang Tianchen smiled roguishly, raised his hands as if in surrender, and walked up to Sheng Fei, saying, “Even the Prince of Yan isn’t in a hurry, so why should I, a commoner, be anxious? I’m just simply curious.”
Regardless of what Fang Tianchen was thinking, Sheng Fei was willing to give him a chance. He said, "If you can't get it in three days, or if you cause me to lose the bet, you will die with Su Xingchao."
Fang Tiancheng readily agreed: "Okay."
"Unlock it." Sheng Fei stretched out his hands, gesturing for them to remove the Five Elements Locks from his wrists.
“Although you have deciphered the ancient inscription, you will still have troubles to deal with once you leave.” Fang Tianchen and Xia Feichen helped him unlock the Five Elements Lock from either side.
Sheng Fei frowned: "Is there anything else?"
Fang Tianchen suppressed a laugh and said to Sheng Fei, "Congratulations, you have another little sister."
Sheng Fei stood in the corridor of the forbidden room, completely bewildered. What sister?
Xia Feichen kept quiet and didn't get involved.
Mu Mengbai wiped his sweat on the side, while Fang Tianchen continued, "The renowned little medical saint of Qingyang, I heard she is your younger sister and Princess Nangong's older sister. She was already taken back to the palace by your father last month to be recognized as a member of the royal family. How come you didn't know?"
Sheng Fei didn't believe it at all: "What a joke, where did this so-called little medical sage come from? Who spread this rumor?"
He turned to look at Mu Mengbai, who promptly handed him the Wind Listening Ruler: "You should see for yourself!"
Sheng Fei grabbed the Wind Listening Ruler, while Fang Tianchen, seemingly offering kind advice but actually enjoying the spectacle, said: "You'd better be careful of Zhong Lishan when you go out later. Your new sister has really ruined Zhong Lishan's sister. Zhong Lishan can't go back to Qingyang right now, and he might come after you for revenge."
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