Duosheng Danyuan

"Now that we've been divided into groups, let's go in first." I said to Chen Yu after glancing at Lin Xu and Su Wanqing.

"Huh? So fast?" Chen Yu looked at me in surprise, his brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't stop me. "Then be careful."

"Are you crazy?" Qian Zhe exclaimed in surprise as he watched us try to go in first.

"Brother Gu, why do we have to go in so early?" Sticking close behind me, Su Wanqing asked in a low, slightly frightened voice, "Wouldn't it be better if we waited until they were divided into groups before going in together?"

"If you're scared, you can team up with someone who's willing to join the main group," I replied casually.

"How could this happen..." Su Wanqing's nose tingled when she heard my words, and her voice was trembling with tears.

"It's alright, nothing will go wrong if we go ahead first. Didn't Elder Jianshan say that we're safe with the protection of these eerie green lights?" Lin Xu patted Su Wanqing's shoulder, comforting her. "Besides, if we go into the Tranquil Abode first, we might discover something."

"But......"

Seeing that Su Wanqing was still hesitant, Lin Xu added, "Just now at the Ancient Elixir Scripture Building, didn't Brother Changfeng and I also go up to the second floor and then the third floor by ourselves? We were fine then, so there's no need to worry too much."

"Alright then." Hearing Lin Xu say that, Su Wanqing felt a little relieved and followed Lin Xu into the Jingxi Lodge.

Like the outside, the interior of the Retreat was a long dirt road, with no other lighting except for a dim green glow. Along the dirt road, there were occasional rugged paths, glowing green, and we could see that some thatched huts at the end of these paths.

However, there were no green lights on either side of these rugged paths, so we didn't dare to step on them without permission. We just kept following the green lights and walking forward.

"You came in so early, Brother Changfeng. Now, can you tell me what you've discovered? Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you for nothing. In return, I can tell you some interesting things I've found." Looking around, Lin Xu suddenly smiled and said to me.

"Found something? What did you find? Could it be... a way to leave this place!?" Su Wanqing asked, half puzzled and half excited, between Lin Xu and me.

"No, that's not it," Lin Xu shook his head apologetically and sighed, "To this day, I don't even know why I came into this world, so how could I possibly know how to leave it?"

"Ah...you're right, I was naive..." Having been doused with cold water, Su Wanqing's mood instantly plummeted again. Her every move did indeed resemble that of a high school student who hadn't yet graduated.

"My discovery is just a conjecture. If the facts match my conjecture, I will tell you then." Seeing that Su Wanqing was no longer speaking, I continued Lin Xu's words and replied.

"I see. Okay, let me tell you about my findings first. I believe you'll be interested. It'll also show my sincerity in wanting to cooperate."

"Go ahead and say it." I nodded slightly to Lin Xu, my attention still focused on the pitch-black surroundings. Since this Quiet Abode is a place for disciples to rest, it certainly wouldn't only house a few of us. The senior brother I met during the day... just thinking about him made me unconsciously a little more cautious.

"My discovery is simple—whether it's Elder Jianshan, Elder Jianchen, or the teacher in the Refining Heart Hall, they all have the word 'rules' on their lips."

"..." I remained silent, waiting for Lin Xu to continue.

"This is normal, what's wrong?" Su Wanqing asked, puzzled.

"There's nothing wrong with the matter itself," Lin Xu shook his head, a confident smile playing on his lips, looking surprisingly sunny. "The problem lies elsewhere. Since we entered the Sheng Dan Academy, aside from Elder Jian Chen verbally stating that those who damage scrolls will pay with their lives—and even that was just talk—we haven't received any written rules. To put it simply, they just talk about rules, but they've never actually told us what those rules are. Do you understand now?"

"I understand... but what does that prove?" Su Wanqing nodded, then asked Lin Xu, "Anyway, as long as we listen to them, right? The guy with glasses in the cafeteria, he was punished for disobeying the elders..."

"And almost killed?" Lin Xu continued the conversation.

Su Wanqing did not answer, but simply nodded dejectedly.

"Actually, this explains things even more." Lin Xu grinned and began his analysis, "Although Qian Zhe went against the elder's wishes, and the elder did punish him, he didn't suffer any real harm, did he?"

"He's everywhere..."

"He was choked? That's nothing, just a minor cut and bruise, it won't cause any real harm. The impression that he 'almost killed' is probably just a preconceived notion based on the eerie atmosphere of this place. In Elder Jianshan's eyes, he simply fed Qian Zhe until he finished eating, that's all. In the end, Elder Jianshan didn't want to kill him, did he?"

"That does seem to be the case."

"So, those strange rules that these native inhabitants of the Shengdan Academy talk about are actually something we've been completely unaware of until now. What does that mean? On the bright side, ignorance is bliss, and perhaps before we knew the rules, even if we broke them, Elder Jianshan would have protected us; on the pessimistic side, from the moment we entered the academy, we've been bound by rules and regulations, and even the slightest violation would result in direct punishment. However, considering that none of us have suffered any real harm yet, the situation is probably more optimistic than optimistic... I guess."

"Is that so... You're amazing, I never thought of that." Su Wanqing nodded as if she understood, her eyes filled with admiration as she looked at Lin Xu.

"Oh, it's just some observation," Lin Xu chuckled and shrugged, then asked me, "So, what's your opinion on my analysis?"

"No," I shook my head and said softly, "It's a very correct analysis. I didn't hear any logical errors."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Lin Xu chuckled after hearing my words. "But what I've discovered can hardly be considered intelligence. It's all common knowledge; I just need to observe it to connect the pieces of information. Compared to you, who has actually discovered something, mine is nothing."

"No, it's quite useful. At least it prevents me from thinking in your direction. Besides, if we're going to go by that logic, what I have isn't really intelligence; it's just a careful observation of what's on the surface."

"Oh...is that so?" Lin Xu's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing my words, and he asked again, "Are you really a student?"

"Just a college student."

"oh oh."

A moment of silence.

However, the silence did not last long. After about two or three minutes, we reached the end of the dim light.

"We're here! Let's go inside quickly."

"Wait." I stopped Su Wanqing, who was about to enter the hut, and shook my head at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Why is there only one thatched hut here?" Lin Xu frowned as he looked at the thatched hut surrounded by a dim light.

"What's wrong with that... Oh, right!" Reminded by the two of us, Su Wanqing, who was a bit slow to react, finally realized.

There are nine of us, and we've been divided into three groups as Elder Jianshan instructed. He said we should have three huts. But now, there's only one hut in front of us, which clearly doesn't match what Elder Jianshan said.

"I'll go take a look," Lin Xu said, and was the first to approach the thatched hut, but he didn't go inside.

There was a faint light around the thatched hut. Lin Xu walked around the hut once and soon returned to my and Su Wanqing's side.

"The window on the side of the hut was open. Although I looked down on the furnishings inside, I could get a sense of its general layout. There were three small rooms inside. It would be a bit cramped for one person, definitely crowded for two people, and for three people... they would probably have to sleep on top of each other at night."

The implication is that the three rooms in this hut were prepared specifically for our group of three, not for each group of three.

"So what do we do now? Should we go in, or wait for the others to arrive?" Su Wanqing whispered from behind me.

"...It's hard to say." Lin Xu pondered for a moment, shook his head, and then said, "But I don't want to go in."

"Me too," Su Wanqing nodded.

"Let's wait." I sighed and sat down on the ground facing the thatched hut.

"I won't sit anymore, I'll stand for a while."

"Me too."

So we started waiting for the group that came later.

About ten minutes later.

"What's going on? They still haven't arrived. Did we walk that long?"

"We haven't walked for long, but it doesn't seem like this short distance. We can't even see the entrance to Jingxi Lodge from here anymore," Su Wanqing said, standing on tiptoe and gazing into the distance.

"Something's not right..." Lin Xu's brows furrowed even more, his worry evident on his face. "Could it be that we're taking different routes?"

"Oh no, what if that's really the case? We were divided into groups beforehand when we came in. There are six of them. If three people are in one group, the other three will definitely be forced into another group as well. That means they'll all enter the Quiet Abode together. If we get separated from them... Brother Lin, will we be in trouble?"

"No, it won't happen," Lin Xu said, still looking worried, but showing concern for Su Wanqing and comforting her. "According to Elder Jianshan, the ghostly light will protect us. This hut is completely enveloped in the ghostly light, so nothing bad will definitely happen, but it will put us at a disadvantage. Brother Changfeng, what do you think?"

"Yes, yes, Brother Gu, you seemed very determined to be the first to come in. Did you have some kind of confidence?" Su Wanqing quickly echoed Lin Xu's words.

"I'm somewhat confident, but not very confident. In my opinion, your concerns are reasonable, but I suggest we wait a bit longer and not rush. Elder Jianshan didn't mention anything about a curfew, so it won't matter if we enter the Jingxi Lodge a little later."

"What should we do if we really get separated?" Hearing my words, Su Wanqing became even more frightened.

"..." Lin Xu, who was originally calm, was now at a loss for words.

"In extreme cases, they might already be dead or in an accident," I said coldly.

"What!?" Su Wanqing exclaimed in surprise.

"That's just an extreme scenario," I grinned, chuckled softly, and continued, "Don't overthink it. I've already described the most extreme possibility for you. Do you feel better now?"

"How can I feel good about this..." Su Wanqing muttered.

"Let's wait a little longer," Lin Xu said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

About fifteen minutes later, I began to hear rustling footsteps behind me.

"Someone's here!" Su Wanqing exclaimed excitedly.

"They've really arrived. It seems the situation isn't as bad as it seems... Wait a minute!" Seeing his belated companions, Lin Xu hadn't had time to relax before he tensed up again, shielding Su Wanqing behind him and saying in a low voice, "Su Wanqing, count them, how many are there!?"

"Huh? Count? Let me see... one, two, three, four, five, six... seven!? There are seven of them!?" Su Wanqing almost screamed.

"Just as I expected!" Lin Xu said through gritted teeth.

"What on earth is going on? Has danger already appeared? Have they broken the rules? Is the extra one among these seven dangerous? Or... are all seven dangerous!?" As the seven people drew closer and closer, cold sweat began to fall like raindrops from Lin Xu's forehead.