Duosheng Danyuan

"Then I'll be going now. Qian Zhe should be back by now." Upon hearing Elder Jianshan's voice, Wang Hao immediately stood up and headed outside.

"Okay, see you later." Lin Xu nodded, stood up, and simply waved.

Watching Wang Hao leave, Lin Xu sat back down on the sofa. After a moment of silence, he spoke, "Wang Hao was there just now, you weren't telling the truth, were you?"

"Huh?" Su Wanqing looked at Lin Xu in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Huh?" Su Wanqing looked at me strangely again.

"At the beginning, and in that last paragraph, weren't you too hasty in your judgment of Wang Hao?"

"What's wrong? What he said does make sense."

"Whether he makes a valid point is his business. The key is what you think. Now it's just the three of us, so there's no need for you to hold back, right?"

"Hmm." I nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "What Wang Hao said wasn't wrong, but because our thoughts were completely opposite, we came to completely opposite conclusions."

"So, what's your conclusion?"

"We absolutely did not trigger the seventh rule just now."

"As expected, I guessed you came to the same conclusion. So, why?"

"The reason is simple. What Su Wanqing just said was actually quite vague. I'll ask you again, Su Wanqing, what exactly is your experience of losing your five senses?"

"Feelings?" Su Wanqing pondered my words, lost in thought for a long time.

"In other words, why do you remember those two things?"

"...Even if you say that...I still can't quite put my finger on it. It's like I just naturally remember these two things." After another moment of thought, Su Wanqing shook her head helplessly.

"Alright, let's not talk about why you remember that later incident. I'm asking you, why did you feel discomfort in your chest?"

"Um... because my chest is starting to hurt...?" Almost laughing out loud, Su Wanqing suppressed a twitching smile and tentatively answered.

"That's right, because your chest started to hurt, that's why you feel chest pain," I said, as if stating a pointless statement.

"So?" Lin Xu, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but ask me.

"So, is this a passive or active approach?" I asked Lin and Su in return.

"Passive, perhaps?" Su Wanqing said, relying on her intuition.

"That's what I wanted to say." Nodding, I continued, "The reason Su Wanqing could feel discomfort in her chest was because her chest was already in pain, not because she actively felt it; similarly, she remembered the Jingxi Lodge incident because she already remembered it, not because she tried to avoid forgetting it. Do you understand what I mean?"

"It's a bit convoluted, wait a minute, let me catch my breath," Lin Xu said, rubbing his forehead.

"I think I understand," Su Wanqing thought for a moment, then said, "But what's the use of knowing the difference between the two? I still think what Wang Hao said just now is correct. Different paths lead to the same destination. We did remember the three words 'Quiet Rest Pavilion,' so we are both protected by the seventh rule. I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

"Yes, I think so too," Lin Xu agreed.

"I don't know what the difference means either," I shook my head and said, "It's getting late, we should go to the Quiet Lodge to meet up. Let's go, it would be bad if we were late."

"Um."

"That's true."

So the three of us tidied our clothes and went out together.

We chatted idly along the way and didn't encounter the other two groups of companions.

"Are we too late? It seems they've all already left."

"It's alright. I've been keeping track of the time. From the moment Elder Jianshan told us to gather until we left the hut, only ten minutes had passed."

"That shouldn't have any impact."

A moment of silence.

"Is there a problem with Wang Hao?" Lin Xu asked me.

"No problem," I replied, shaking my head.

Su Wanqing watched us from behind, but didn't say anything.

"Then why not share things about Su Wanqing with him?"

"Eh?"

"You may be willing to share with him, but he may not be willing to share with you."

"...Is this really necessary? We're all in the same boat right now."

"One should always be wary of others."

"Sigh..." Lin Xu looked at me, hesitated, and finally just sighed.

After walking for about ten minutes, the tall Elder Jianshan appeared in our sight first. As we got closer, we found that the other seven people had already arrived, and we were the last group.

"Wait, seven people? Chen Yu is out?" Lin Xu frowned as he looked at the number of people present.

"That's a good thing! I knew it! In novels, a good guy like Uncle Chen Yu wouldn't be the first to die," Su Wanqing chuckled.

"Be careful with him, don't get too close," I glanced at Su Wanqing beside me and reminded her.

"Oh." Seeing my serious expression, Su Wanqing also dropped her playful demeanor.

"Everyone's here, let's get ready to go. From today until the end of the first cycle, your Qi Refining Class One's schedule will be fixed. As for the rules to follow, the Disciple's Code of Conduct will record all the taboos of the Shengdan Academy in detail. When you get to the Refining Heart Hall, the teaching elders there will teach you."

"Yes."

So, just like yesterday, our group followed Elder Jianshan and slowly walked towards the Refining Heart Hall.

It is worth noting that the eerie light from last night has disappeared, both on the way from Jingxilu and now.

"Does it only appear at night?" I glanced left and right at both sides of the road, my heart starting to pound. "Does this mean we're safe during the day without the protection of the ghostly light? Or does it mean we can only receive its protection at night, not during the day? No, no, no, perhaps it means we only need the ghostly light's protection at night?"

With these thoughts in mind, we soon arrived at the Refining Heart Hall.

Just like yesterday, Elder Jianshan opened the door to the school, but unlike yesterday, this time it was a deep, dark black expanse that seemed bottomless.

Seeing this scene, we all paused involuntarily, but Chen Yu didn't hesitate much and followed Elder Jianshan inside. Watching him go in, Qian Zhe and Wang Hao exchanged glances and followed him in as well. We then plunged into the darkness.

As soon as I entered the Refining Heart Hall, the darkness vanished, replaced by a bluish mist. The mist was thin, just a light veil. Looking around, I could tell that this was a corridor, as there were walls on both sides with tightly closed doors on them.

In the fog, only the figure of Elder Jianshan at the front of the group could guide us.

"From today onwards, you are officially disciples cultivating in the Refining Heart Hall, and naturally you should have your own classrooms. Follow me through this once, and the rest will be the same as yesterday, without such trouble." Elder Jianshan explained at the right moment, which reassured us a little.

However, his next words were not so gentle: "Raise your eyes, don't walk with your head down, otherwise, if you get lost in this blue mist, you will have to bear the consequences."

Upon hearing Elder Jianshan's words, the people who had been keeping their heads down all suddenly raised their heads.

"Yes."

After everyone responded to Elder Jianshan, I felt something touch my left hand. Turning my head, I saw Lin Xu, who was walking to my left, reaching out to hold my hand.

Without hesitation, I nodded in agreement. If we disregard the fantastical elements, walking hand-in-hand in the fog is the best way to avoid getting separated. Just as I was thinking this, Su Wanqing took my right hand in hers.

This move surprised me a bit. I had originally thought that Lin Xu would be holding both of our hands at the same time, but I didn't expect to be the one in the middle. However, this surprise didn't last long. The fog wasn't too thick yet, and when I peeked out, I saw that Lin Xu's left hand was holding the hand of the newcomer, Xie Qinghan.

"I see, so you want everyone to huddle together in groups of ten? Indeed, that would definitely be more effective than three people holding hands." I nodded, secretly giving Lin Xu a thumbs up in my mind.

When it comes to teamwork, Lin Xu always thinks ahead of me and executes his ideas more convincingly. After all, he's the kind of person who easily gives others a sense of security.

As we walked deeper into the corridor of the Refining Heart Hall, the surrounding fog grew thicker and thicker, and gradually, only Lin and Su remained in my sight. However, I still remembered Elder Jianshan's words, raised my eyes, and looked straight ahead.

"We're almost there." Elder Jianshan's voice came from ahead, just in time, through the thick fog.

"Hoo—" I took a deep breath, not daring to slack off in the slightest. As the saying goes, "He who travels a hundred miles is only halfway there at ninety," and the greatest danger is to become complacent just because safety is imminent, before true safety is achieved.

With that thought in mind, I gripped Lin and Su's hands even tighter. In this situation, it wasn't appropriate for us to speak, so we could only use this method to send a signal, hoping they would remain vigilant.

We just walked along the corridor, no, just walked along the road, and I had no idea where we were.

Suddenly, the flowing blue mist around us abruptly stopped. To my astonishment, it seemed as if a pause effect had been pressed, leaving it lifeless.

"What?" Drawn by the sudden change in front of me, I came to my senses and realized that my hands no longer felt the touch of our hands. With a quick effort, I found that both my hands were grasping at empty air.

"What's going on?" I looked around and found myself all alone. "Impossible, I definitely didn't let go. Is this another illusion?"

I frowned, pondered for a moment, and decided to continue moving forward.

But the instant my left foot lifted and then fell, I clearly felt the previously hard floor suddenly become sticky and soft. This was completely unexpected, and the unexpected situation caused me to lose my balance and almost fall.

Gritting my teeth, I immediately stretched out my right foot and stepped onto the swamp-like liquid. Then, using my right foot for support in the thick liquid, I managed to pull my wobbly left foot out and regain my balance.

"Phew—" After finishing all that, I breathed a long sigh of relief.

But the situation didn't end there. Although I didn't fall directly to the ground, I gradually felt my body sinking. Even more strangely, my shoes seemed to have completely disappeared, and a thick, sticky liquid came into direct contact with my feet. The chilling sensation and the granular texture mixed in with the liquid made me extremely uncomfortable.

This feeling is like diluted cement mixed with large chunks of uncrushed bone ash, causing a physiological aversion.

"What on earth is going on?!" I gritted my teeth and shouted, keeping my eyes level with what was directly in front of me.

Naturally, no one answered.

"Elder Jianshan once said, 'Raise your eyes, don't bow your head.' This situation is probably created to force me to bow my head..."

Having figured this out, I clenched my right fist against my Adam's apple, firmly holding my chin in place. After confirming that I couldn't look down, I began to try to move forward.