Chapter 56
Standing still and looking into the distance, you can see rows of red bricks and green tiles, and shop flags fluttering in the wind, which are dazzling to the eyes. A wide avenue extends from under your feet, and the streets are bustling with people.
Everyone's face was filled with astonishment. They were prepared to face an endless barren land with no grass growing, or a beautiful fairyland full of dangers, but they never thought they would see a prosperous and bustling town.
It was early morning, with red morning glow rolling in the east and a light mist dissipating with the coolness. The bun shop owner lifted the wooden lid of the steamer, revealing a full plate of steaming meat buns and white flour steamed buns. The lingering fragrance was mixed with the owner's rough shouting. The inn waiter swung the rag in his hand over his shoulder and leaned against the door frame, smiling brightly to attract customers.
Naughty children were chasing after the caravan, and the old man was driving his donkey cart slowly forward, with the wine jug tied around his waist clanging.
Several young men were standing at the door of the attic with a sign that read "Wen Xiang Lou". Guests were coming in and out, alone or in groups. A group of women were crouching on the railing on the second floor. They were wearing a thin layer of gauze skirts, colorful and blooming like flowers. Their delicate and graceful bodies were looming as they twisted their bodies intentionally or unintentionally. Some were charming, some were beautiful, some were pure, some were elegant... there was everything you could want, and each of them was a stunning beauty.
Once a man passed by, the women would wave their handkerchiefs and laugh, "Come on, young man~"
Opposite the Wenxiang Tower is the Ji Laoguan. There are young men of about thirteen or fourteen in white clothes, with black hair, red lips and white teeth. They do not make coquettish gestures, but stand there quietly, as if they are not doing the job of selling their looks to please customers. They are clean and tidy, like an ink painting.
One is quiet and the other is dynamic, both give people a feeling of "come and have fun, there is plenty of time anyway". The two doors are opposite each other, so you can eat whatever you want.
The impact of this scene was too great. Heaven was no more than this. Even Lu Shenxing, who had experienced a life longer than foot binding, could not help but glance at it twice more without noticing. He tilted his head and found that Liuyang was indifferent, while the little fat boy Jiang Wangchu's eyes were shining as he stared at the bun shop. His lust was overcome, but he could not resist the temptation of food.
It didn't matter that Ning Que was stunned. What mattered was that he seemed to have no interest in the women in Wenxiang Tower, but was actually looking at those young men.
"Big Brother, what should we do now?" Everyone was confused. Is the ancient secret realm somewhere in the town, or is this town itself a secret realm?
The other sects were hiding their affairs, acting calmly as if it was none of their business. In fact, they were unaware of the current situation and were secretly watching other people's reactions and acting accordingly.
A large group of people is very attractive. If you observe carefully, you will find that there are twenty people in each group wearing different clothes. It is hard not to be strange. Passers-by stop and point. Most of them look wary and rejecting, and a small number of them are curious.
"Let's get down first."
Lu Shenxing was the first to take action and took them into an inn. The waiter swiftly wiped the table with a rag, his mouth almost reaching his ears with joy.
The other people outside exchanged glances with each other and dispersed with their own thoughts. For a while, the business of several larger inns in the town was booming.
Ten disciples sat at one table, split into two. Jiang Wangchu read the names of the dishes from the menu and suddenly stopped talking. His breathing became heavier, and his eyes widened. Ning Que paused while pouring tea and asked nervously, "Third Brother, have you discovered something wrong?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a burst of laughter. Lu Shenxing was thinking about something when he was suddenly startled.
Jiang Wangchu pointed at the menu excitedly, spit flying everywhere, "Look, braised beef with soy sauce!" Then he shouted, "Waiter, give me two pounds of braised beef with soy sauce!"
After the waiter left, Jiang Wangchu stretched his neck and swallowed his saliva, looking like a hungry ghost.
The corner of Lu Shenxing's mouth twitched. How much does he like beef?
Liuyang hasn't said a word since he came in. He is a taciturn person with a weak presence, and everyone is used to it. Lu Shenxing feels that he thinks this town is unusual just like himself, but neither of them can tell the specific reason.
The atmosphere at the table was polarized. Jiang Wangchu was chatting and laughing with a few disciples, while Liuyang and Ning Que were both worried.
Lu Shenxing called the waiter and said, "Tell me about this number one town in the world."
The waiter exclaimed enthusiastically, his face beaming with pride after hearing this. "Sir, you may not know this, but our town was once called Naoyang Town. Nestled between mountains and water, it's spring-like all year round, and boasts outstanding people and beautiful scenery. We've produced several powerful officials. The emperor even visited us incognito and was so impressed that he named it the "Number One Town Under Heaven" upon his return to the palace."
Naoyang? This name is difficult to pronounce. Lu Shenxing put down his chopsticks and asked, "Do you have a lot of sheep here?"
"Sir, haven't you heard of it?" The waiter blinked in surprise. "It's a flower that's very famous in our town. Many people from other places travel long distances just to see it."
A few people walked in at the door, and the sharp-eyed waiter immediately put on his most friendly smile and greeted them with a nod and a bow.
Lu Shenxing looked at the other nine people at the table, frowned, and asked, "Have any of you heard of that kind of flower?"
"Big Brother, there are many kinds of flowers in the world. It's normal that you haven't heard of them." Seeing that no one spoke, a disciple couldn't help but think that everyone was making a fuss. He said it disapprovingly, but it did not dispel the depressing atmosphere surrounding them.
There was a noise coming from the table opposite. It was from another sect. When Lu Shenxing and the others looked over, they had already started fighting.
Suddenly there was a cry, "Someone's dead!"
The inn was suddenly filled with screams, and the diners ran out in panic. Tables and chairs were toppled over, and food and wine were spilled all over the floor. The scene was so chaotic that Lu Shenxing was so angry that he wanted to kill someone. He was stunned by his own murderous intent. When did his self-control become so fragile?
"Big Brother, the one who died was from Liuyun Sect. His surname was Tie." Ning Que whispered in Lu Shenxing's ear, "I've seen him before. He was very arrogant and domineering. He must have had a conflict with a fellow sect member, and the other party was so angry that he attacked."
Lu Shenxing smelled alcohol and asked, "Have you been drinking?"
Ning Que's face flushed red from drinking, but he didn't realize it. He chuckled and said, "Just a small sip."
"Someone died just after arriving. How terrible!" Jiang Wangchu screamed and stopped eating. He stood next to Lu Shenxing with a look of intense uneasiness in his eyes.
Liuyang raised his eyes, met Lu Shenxing's gaze, then looked away calmly, choosing to ignore it.
The eldest disciple of Liuyun Sect had a sad face as he asked someone to deal with his dead junior brother.
"I just cursed at him a few times, I didn't kill him. It wasn't me, it wasn't me..." The man who had done the killing was rambling incoherently. "He said I was an eyesore, that I couldn't possibly achieve enlightenment. It's annoying, I'm really annoying."
The man suddenly yelled fiercely, "I want him to shut up!"
If he says something you don't like to hear, you kill him. All the fellow disciples were horrified and looked at the fellow disciples who were laughing and joking with them just a moment ago as if they were madmen.
The man kept saying that he didn't kill anyone, as if his behavior was beyond his control and had reached a point of chaos.
Not wanting to watch the excitement or mind the trivial matters, Lu Shenxing and his group left the inn without staying any longer.
The streets were still extremely noisy, which was in stark contrast to the depressing atmosphere of the inn.
"Flowers." Liuyang looked at one place.
Lu Shenxing followed his line of sight and saw large black flowers surrounding the corner of the wall, somewhat elegant and somewhat enchanting. He got closer and found that the shape was a bit like a lily.
"Is this the wolfsbane? So beautiful." Ning Que stretched out his hand, but was pulled back by a hand just as he was about to touch it. A cold scolding sounded in his ear, "Don't touch it!"
He was so overwhelmed by the scolding that he nodded blankly.
However, when Lu Shenxing said that, a disciple had already touched the flower out of curiosity. He screamed in fear and watched in horror as the flower withered at a speed visible to the naked eye and turned into a pool of black water.
Before anyone could react, the disciple's body, like a flower, seemed to have been drained of its blood and flesh. His youthful face turned old in the blink of an eye, with wrinkled skin covering protruding bones.
"Big Brother, save me." He slowly reached out his hand to Lu Shenxing. After a dry sound, his entire skeleton melted bit by bit, without even a drop of blood left.
This scene made everyone who witnessed it gasp, feeling powerless and terrified beyond measure.
"Secret Land, this is the Secret Land!"
Someone shouted, and everyone else panicked and moved closer to Lu Shenxing, their nerves tense and starting to see enemies everywhere.
"Stop arguing." Lu Shenxing frowned.
There were two youngest ones who had good talents, but their mentality was not good and they couldn't bear it and kept crying.
"Stop arguing!" Lu Shenxing's expression was terrifying, and the others retreated in fear, their aggression growing uncontrollably. They didn't know what was wrong with them. The eldest brother was with them day and night, so there was no reason for him to be so scared that he wanted to attack.
Liuyang looked at Lu Shenxing strangely, as if he had discovered something. Jiang Wangchu nervously wanted to pull Ning Que to hide behind him, but saw that his other hand was held tightly by Lu Shenxing.
Lu Shenxing's emotions were once again strangely on the verge of getting out of control. He was not a violent person, but ever since entering the small town, any emotion he had would be magnified countless times.
Just now, he just wanted to stop Ning Que, but he almost did it, just a little bit.
For no reason, Lu Shenxing recalled the scene that happened in the inn. He took a few deep breaths. The veins on the back of the hand that was holding Ning Que bulged. Ning Que took a breath in pain, but did not dare to break free.
"Senior Brother, you scratched Junior Brother's hand and made it red." Jiang Wangchu reminded worriedly.
Lu Shenxing's brows furrowed as he stood there motionless. He suddenly pursed his lips, then relaxed them again, blurting out, "Illusion."
He spoke again, his tone stating, "This is not a secret place, it's just an illusion."
These two words made the mood of everyone, including Liuyang, go from hell to the abyss, which explains why they appeared in the small town.
How to get out of the illusion?
Don't look, don't listen, don't speak, don't think. Only by overcoming the seven emotions and six desires and having a mind free of distractions can you enter the real secret realm.
An illusion will eliminate a large number of people, which is equivalent to a large filter.
There were only two words left in Lu Shenxing's mind floating around unscrupulously: it's over.
He is just a vulgar person, greedy, jealous, lustful, malicious... He has everything he shouldn't have, but can't find anything he should have. I hope he won't be stuck in the world forever.
Lu Shenxing's face was solemn, and the more he tried to calm down, the more impetuous he became.
Even though we know it is an illusion, it is still difficult to control our desires. It is like losing weight. We know what we cannot touch and what we should eat less, but we still have to eat and drink.
"Senior Brother, I'm so hungry." Jiang Wangchu swallowed his saliva wildly.
"Hungry as hell, that's an illusion." Lu Shenxing slapped his face hard and yelled viciously, "If you want to stay in this damn place forever, go eat."
Jiang Wangchu lowered his head pitifully, stuffed his arm into his mouth, closed his eyes and curled up into a ball. It’s all fake, I’m not hungry.
Gradually, other sects also discovered that everything they saw was an illusion. It only took them half an incense stick of time to go from being relaxed at the beginning to suffering.
The five senses are blocked, but the mind cannot be sealed. The test of the first level is so difficult that many people regretted it. As time goes by, more and more people's wills collapse and they give up struggling.
"Junior brother, take all the food from me." Jiang Wangchu closed his eyes tightly, his voice trembling, "Hurry up!"
Ning Que went over and searched around, finding many bags. He looked at Jiang Wangchu with admiration, thinking that being able to hide so much on his body was quite a skill.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Wangchu's figure disappeared. A look of surprise flashed across Lu Shenxing's eyes. The foodie little fat boy was the first one to leave among them. He remembered that when he was asked about his wish, he said it was to achieve great enlightenment and embark on the path of immortality. He thought it was a joke at the time, but now he strangely felt that it was not impossible.
"Third Brother did it!"
Jiang Wangchu's departure gave confidence to those who were still struggling, and everyone encouraged each other.
Although they were not sure whether the situation would be better after leaving, no one wanted to stay in the illusion.
What was surprising was that Liuyang, who was supposed to be the first to leave, was still trapped here. As one person after another left, the coldness on his face became more and more intense, and no one dared to talk to him.
"Don't come near me." Liuyang warned Lu Shenxing with a sharper tone than ever before, and he left with the sword.
Lu Shenxing twitched his lips sarcastically and said, "It's you who can't get out of it because of your distracting thoughts. What does it have to do with me? It's incomprehensible."
Of the twenty people, thirteen fell into the seven emotions and six desires, giving up on themselves and being entangled in the worldly affairs. Of the remaining seven, five broke free from the illusion, and the other two were still struggling to survive.
"Big Brother, are we unable to get out?" Ning Que looked at the busy street with despair on his face.
Lu Shenxing remained silent. He also wanted to know the answer to this question.
The woman carrying the vegetable basket came over and demanded fiercely, "What are you doing blocking this place? Let me pass."
Lu Shenxing was breathing heavily, his knuckles cracking. The woman screamed at the top of her lungs, "Help! Help!"
"Big Brother, let's go." Ning Que pulled Lu Shenxing's clothes.
Because all the emotions were abnormal, it was too difficult to control them after being amplified. Lu Shenxing felt that he was a bomb that had been activated and was getting closer and closer to exploding.
"I wonder if Second Brother and the others are in danger?" Ning Que lowered his eyes, feeling a little annoyed. He couldn't overcome his envy of Second Brother and his desire to stand shoulder to shoulder with the First Brother.
"Let's find a place to sleep." Lu Shenxing rubbed his brows. "After I've had enough sleep, I'll try to overcome my distracting thoughts and reunite with them."
Ning Que was stunned. What the senior brother said seemed to make sense.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
