Chapter 109 Fu Jizhen
The ship slowly moved away from the shore, and gradually only the vast water could be seen around it, and it seemed that the scenery had not changed at all.
Luo Xuanyi heard Qu Qitao trying to pry information from the children, but most of them were so terrified by her status as a cultivator that they dared not even look up, let alone ask questions, or even have a normal conversation. Qu Qitao reluctantly gave up. Xi Xingji was also unable to get the children to lower their guard, and in the end, Shang Qian managed to disarm them with a bag of frozen date cakes.
"Do you know why you are here?" Shang Qian slowly opened the oil paper package under the eager gaze of a group of children, and used his fingers as a sword to slash a few times at the crystal-clear date cake that looked like jelly. The precise sword energy divided the jelly date cake into amber slices that exuded the aroma of sour dates and sugar, and distributed them to the children's hands.
"Study hard, and you'll have enough to eat in the future!" "You can take the imperial examination and become a great master." "The academy provides meals..."
"It would be nice if we could stay here." A child held the frozen date cake, licked it carefully, and muttered softly.
"Can't everyone who gets on the boat enter the academy?" Shang Qian asked the child. He didn't have any impatience towards these children, and his tone was quite gentle.
The child looked at the frozen date cake in his hand, mustered up the courage to nod, and spoke a little louder than before, "Well, only thirty people can get in... My brothers and sisters at home all tried, but they didn't get in. They said that they had to give the senior students in the academy a chance to pass the exam."
"Thirty people. There should be nearly two hundred children on this ship. If there really was something fishy going on at the academy, why did they eliminate so many? Or were there certain conditions that had to be met?" Xi Xingji muttered. Shang Qian, who had just finished distributing the frozen date cakes, overheard him and expressed some dissatisfaction. "Maybe this is just good people helping to revitalize the village school? You can see it's written in the village annals. Not a single child who was sent here went missing. Their whereabouts are all recorded."
The boat continued to sway slowly on the water, and Luo Xuanyi finally realized something was wrong: "Fellow Daoist Xi, do you have a compass with you?"
Xi Xingji emerged from the cabin, somewhat puzzled. "No, but I have the astrological instrument. Could it be that Fellow Daoist Xuanyi has discovered something amiss?"
"The ship doesn't seem to be moving forward."
"How is that possible?" Qu Qitao, who had followed behind, had a sudden thought. She flicked her sleeve, and with a glimmer of light, the jade ring on her sleeve fell to the water with a gentle sound, like the winding tones of a human song. Qu Qitao raised her hand again to retrieve the jade ring, listening to the sound, her face darkening.
"Fellow Daoist Xuanyi is right. The boat isn't moving forward. It's just swaying from side to side, making us think it's moving." Qu Qitao hesitated for a moment when he said this. "However, there aren't any demonic beasts or water ghosts manipulating it. There's no ill will towards us in this water."
The few of them exchanged glances, their faces becoming odd. Luo Xuanyi was most concerned about Qu Qitao's method. How did he judge it? However, it was difficult to ask further questions in this situation, so she could only keep it to herself.
Seeing something unusual, Xi Xingji unhesitatingly summoned the Qi-gazing Instrument. The instrument resembled the Bagua formation, with a small round brass mirror floating in the center. The back of the mirror faced upward, revealing the inscribed character "Xi." Xi Xingji formed a hand seal and silently chanted. As he channeled spiritual energy into the instrument, the mirror slowly rose to its feet, turning in one direction. A blurry shadow gradually appeared on its surface.
"?"
The atmosphere of the ship changed in an instant.
The round mirror lost its bearings and fell back to its original position. Luo Xuanyi suddenly regained consciousness and realized that the boat was no longer shaking, and the surroundings were no longer the clear and unchanging water. The building ship began to enter the harbor. In this instant, the building ship docked.
A strange feeling rang alarm bells in the hearts of the four people. They looked at Fu Jishan who suddenly appeared before them and fell silent for a moment.
Gazing across Fuji Mountain from the harbor, one can see that the bluestone road extending from the port neatly cuts the mountain range in half. The semi-circular mountain range is tall and wide, practically encircling the small town at its foot. Of course, the town itself is invisible from the harbor, separated from it by a dense forest.
Although the dense forest is very close to the port, it is completely covered by the shadow of the mountains. In the years of the Feiyi disaster, this may be the most suitable place to live, because the mountains are too high and only the sunset can cast a little afterglow on the dense forest.
Xi Xingji tried to take out the Qi-gazing instrument again, but it didn't respond. His expression grew even more serious, and he whispered to the other three, "There's a restriction here, and it's very powerful. Even our Xi family's Qi-gazing instrument won't work. Everyone, be careful."
Unlike them, Luo Xuanyi could only see Fu Jishan with her naked eyes. As a cunning cultivator, she was immediately drawn to the thick evil and deathly aura within Fu Jishan. She felt a sense of comfort throughout her body, and she couldn't wait to begin her cultivation. This place was indeed the Yin Gathering Basin, full of spiritual energy, but this overpowering evil and deathly aura must have been man-made.
Luo Xuanyi looked at Fu Jishan and finally made up her mind: I want to take this place for myself.
There must be a powerful ghost cultivator practicing here, but the ghost cultivators in this world do not need evil thoughts, so let this evil thought accumulate completely. Luo Xuanyi saw at a glance that the greatest force of the evil thought was projected at the foot of Fu Ji Mountain, which happened to be the end of this bluestone road.
Careful investigation was necessary. If she could truly capture Fu Jishan, it would undoubtedly be of great benefit to her cultivation. Therefore, she had to decide whether to act before the three righteous men could fully investigate, lest such a precious place be destroyed by them. She also had to kill them swiftly and without leaving any trace. Although Luo Xuanyi's cultivation level made it easy to kill them, knowing the enemy and yourself meant a hundred battles. During this period, she should test them as much as possible.
Luo Xuanyi, having resolved a major issue in her mind, was filled with joy. She had originally thought that while this place was suitable for gathering Yin, she still had to set it up, and the thought of it made her feel exhausted. Now, it felt wonderful to just pick the peaches of other ghost cultivators. However, she still had to keep her body alert and confused as she followed them off the boat.
Several people were already standing at the ferry, ready to greet the children. They were dressed in student robes and had cloth bands tied around their heads. They were all surprised to see Luo Xuanyi and the others disembark. Luo Xuanyi carefully observed their faces; none of them showed any signs of rejection. A female student, the leader, stepped forward, bowed, and asked curiously, "Are you all here for the Spring Bell Festival?"
Qu Qitao reacted the fastest. She smiled sweetly, making people feel very close to her: "Yes! Is it too early?"
"The bell-ringing ceremony won't begin for another ten days, but preparations will begin soon." The female disciple smiled slightly, feeling proud and happy. "Everyone, please go inside. Follow this main road through the woods. At the end of town is Master Wang's residence. I have to take these children to take the entrance exam, so I'm sorry I can't accompany you."
"Why do you want to stay at Mr. Wang's house? There's no inn here?"
The female student pursed her lips and smiled. "If the immortal is not escorted to the master's residence when he arrives, I'm afraid that the townspeople like us won't take good care of him and he'll criticize us! Besides, you haven't come just for the bell ringing ceremony, have you? Since you have official business to attend to, it's better to go and see the master."
On her face, which could only be described as delicate and pretty, Luo Xuanyi felt that her smile was quite wide and open, carrying a touch of the spirit of a young girl, yet also the elegance of a scholar. The other three were also momentarily confused by what she said. After all, her aura clearly showed that she was not the oppressed person they had imagined.
For now, let's take it one step at a time. Xi Xingji thanked the female student, and the four of them walked along the bluestone path into the dense forest.
Second update~Caught up!
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