Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 201 – Su Family

Su Yun walked in this small town, which made him both familiar and strange. The familiarity came from the buildings, which were almost the same as in Tianmen Town, while the strangeness came from the people here.

However, whenever he met someone who was a little older, he would stop and ask if anyone lost a child seven years ago.

- He was the lost child.

Qingyu Town was not big, and one could still see the shadow of Tianmen Town.

This small town had a great relationship with Tianmen Town. Seven years ago, before the drastic change in Tianmen Town, Qu Jin, Qu Tai Chang, and others had already realized that what they were about to do might involve the residents of Tianmen Town. Therefore, they moved the residents of Tianmen Town out of Tianshi Yuan.

At that time, Tianmen Town was not called Tianmen Town among the local population, but Qingyu Town. The town was named after the green fish that were caught in the sea nearby.

Qu Jin and others built another town on the edge of Tianshi Yuan, with buildings almost identical to those in Tianmen Town. The townspeople moved here and settled down.

Although this place was far from the sea, the name Qingyu Town was still preserved.

Su Yun walked around this town and asked around.

Like other towns in the countryside, young people in this town often left for the city for work or education. Some even became city dwellers, leaving mainly the elderly and children behind to farm for a living.

Su Yun was a little confused. He stopped under the Tianmen Archway, lost in thought.

After leaving Tianshi Yuan and coming to Shuofang, Su Yun had been thinking about Qingyu Town and had always wanted to come here to find his roots. However, he was always a little scared to come.

But now he had come to Qingyu Town unconsciously and was trying to find his parents. However, after looking around, he found that no one had lost a child seven years ago.

Su Yun closed his eyes. "My mind is too chaotic. I ignored some details."

After a moment, he opened his eyes, looked back at Qingyu Town, and silently said, "This is a small town rebuilt according to the layout of Tianmen Town. Then the houses should be the same as those in Tianmen Town seven years ago. There were forty-five houses in Tianmen Town, plus my house, making forty-six. And this small town also has forty-six houses. So the house I lived in corresponds to..."

He came to the house, which was already abandoned, with weeds growing in the yard.

"Old man, where are the people who lived here?" Su Yun stopped an old man who was returning from farming and asked.

The old man put down his hoe and smiled. "Are you talking about the old Su family? They became rich and moved away seven years ago."

"The old Su family?"

Su Yun became excited. The confusion and fear from earlier disappeared, and he asked, "Where did they move to?"

"They said they moved to the Eastern Capital."

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Their son got into some school in the Eastern Capital and had some important person's help to send them to the Eastern Capital to study... Oh, Sister Liu, Sister Liu!"

He called an old woman who was washing clothes and asked, "Did the old Su family move to the Eastern Capital?"

Sister Liu had poor eyesight and hearing and did not hear clearly. The old man asked two more times before Sister Liu finally heard and said with a smile, "Hah! What school did he get into? They sold their son! The old Su family had two sons, the eldest was called Yun, and the youngest was called Ye. At that time, many important people came to town and said they wanted to buy some clever children to work in the ghost market..."

"Sold their son..." Su Yun's mind exploded. He stared blankly, standing there in a daze."...Those rich people in the city searched for many children back then. An old man with a hammer found the eldest son of the Su family and said he was good and had a strong spiritual nature. Then he bought him."

Aunt Liu talked incessantly, her words unclear: "At first, Old Lady Su didn't want to sell, but they offered too much money and promised to move her to the capital, so her youngest son, Su Ye, could go to school. She gritted her teeth and sold him."

Su Yun was stunned. "She sold him just like that?"

"Of course she did!" Old Uncle said matter-of-factly. "Tian Shi Yuan is always plagued by natural disasters. It's hard to raise even one child, let alone two. Selling one can make the other live better. They all moved to the capital and became the upper class, making the people in the town envious. Besides, it wasn't just him who was sold. Many children were sold back then."

Su Yun's head was spinning. He took out some coins and gave them to Old Uncle and Aunt Liu, asking, "What happened to the child who was sold?"

Feeling a bit dizzy, he had to sit on the threshold of the Su family's house.

Old Uncle leaned on his hoe and said, "You mean the eldest son of the Su family? What else could have happened? He was taken by the people from the city and went to the Ghost Market with other children who were sold, saying they wanted to catch the same kind of divine demon as the one on the Heavenly Gate. They almost all died, and the Su family's child probably died too."

Old Aunt Liu shook her head. "Nonsense! I went back to get something once and saw that child. He was very delicate, just sitting there. The rich people from the city were stuffing something into his forehead, something big and dragon-like. Someone said it was number 76, and they didn't know if they could seal it. The child was very quiet, without a sound..."

Suddenly, her dim eyes lit up, looking at Su Yun sitting there and laughing, "You look just like that child when you sit here! He was also sitting like this, without a sound!"

...

Su Yun bid farewell to the two elderly people and still sat there, motionless for a long time.

After a long while, he stood up and walked into the Su family's courtyard. It was abandoned here, and it was evident that the Su family had left Qingyu Town after receiving a large sum of money and went to the capital without living here.

Su Yun left Qingyu Town and silently waited for the Chulung Carriage to go to Shuofang at the small town station.

"After the chaos, the Chulung Carriage runs twice a day, not as frequent as before."

Chi Xiaoyao appeared out of nowhere and sat next to him, whispering, "Su Shizi, has your seal been lifted?"

Su Yun shook his head, his voice hoarse, "The seal is still there."

"Have you remembered what happened back then?" Chi Xiaoyao asked.

Su Yun shook his head, lost in thought. After a moment, he stood up and said, "I haven't remembered. When I left Tianmen Town, Qu Bo said that it was Cen Bo who asked them to take care of me, and Cen Bo told them that they owed me, so they had to take care of me until I regained my sight."

He stepped forward and walked toward Shuofang City along the post road.

Chi Xiaoyao, dressed in white and shining with scales, followed him. The two walked along the post road.

"I always thought that they felt guilty for involving me in the changes in Tianmen Town and Beihai, so they took care of me until I regained my sight."

Su Yun turned his head and smiled at the girl. "What I didn't expect was that they were experimenting on me."

Chi Xiaoyao followed him, feeling a bit distressed.

"Number 76? I may have been the 76th child they bought."Su Yun turned around, waved towards Qingyu Town, and said with a smile, "I've made up my mind, I'm leaving Shuofang and going to the Eastern Capital! I want to see my younger brother and see if he has learned anything after my parents sold me to pay for his education. Can he live up to the money they spent on me?"

Chi Xiaoyao hesitated for a moment and stopped.

Su Yun turned around and smiled, "Xiaoyao senior sister, do you want to come with me to the Eastern Capital?"

.

Chi Xiaoyao shook her head and said, "When I finish my studies, I will return to the deserted area of Tian Shi Yuan. My dream is to open a school and a medicinal herb shop there, so that people can study and receive medical treatment even when they are injured or sick. I can't go with you to the Eastern Capital."

Su Yun looked at her for a moment and then smiled, "Okay. When I come back, I'll go to the deserted area to find you."

He reached out his hand, and Chi Xiaoyao looked at his hand for a moment before hesitantly reaching out her hand as well.

Su Yun took her hand and started running forward.

Chi Xiaoyao stumbled a bit at first, but then let go and followed his footsteps.

She had a higher cultivation level after all and soon surpassed Su Yun, laughing and running ahead while holding his hand.

Under the spring sun, the young men and women strode forward towards the distant city.

In the sky, Dao Saint sat cross-legged on a cloud, with two long white eyebrows hanging down from the cloud.

Ying Ying, the book monster, flapped her paper wings and grabbed his eyebrows to braid them into a long ponytail. Then she flew up to the cloud and continued to carefully braid his eyebrows.

"What does number 72 mean?"

Dao Saint looked down at the young men and women running happily below and furrowed his brows, "Does it really mean the 72nd test subject? I always feel that there is something strange about it..."

Ying Ying kept braiding his eyebrows until she reached the center of his forehead, then stopped and blinked her eyes, asking, "Has Dao Saint ever been to Tian Dao Yuan?"

Dao Saint shook his head and said, "I used to go there, but that was a hundred years ago. I haven't been there in the past century."

"Di Ping ordered the scholars of Tian Dao Yuan to copy the Ba Miangao according to the findings of Qu Tai Chang and others in Tianmen Town. Each Ba Miangao has twelve divine demons, and there are 96 divine demons in total."

Ying Ying turned around and looked down, her eyes flashing as she whispered, "So the '72' that Aunt Liu heard might not be the 72nd child, but possibly the 72nd divine demon. So there were already 72 divine demons sealed, and there were still 24 more behind..."

Dao Saint couldn't help but shudder and laughed, "Ying Dao friend, you are just guessing!"

Ying Ying chuckled and said, "Yes, I'm just guessing! Qu Tai Chang is not a god, how could he capture 96 divine demons and seal them in a child's memory?"

Dao Saint laughed and said, "Exactly! Moreover, those divine beasts, divine saints, and divine demons are rarely seen even after decades, how could Qu Tai Chang and the others catch 96 of them all at once?"

Ying Ying clapped her hands and laughed, "That's right! That's right!"

The two looked at each other for a moment, then their gazes drifted away, lost in thought.

"I want to go to the Eastern Capital with him."

Ying Ying suddenly made up her mind and said, "I am looking for the whereabouts of Qin Wuling, not worried about Su scholar or the 96 divine demons."Dao Saint's eyebrows relaxed, and the twisted braids made by his eyebrows also relaxed and became shorter, returning to their normal state. He stood up and said, "I'm also going back to the capital. I'm not worried about Su Master. After all, he is the master of Tongtian Pavilion. It's not my place to worry. I'm almost at the end of my life. Although I extended my lifespan for myself seven years ago, my lifespan is finally coming to an end."

He sighed and said, "I must arrange for a new leader for the sect as soon as possible. Of course, since Su Master is also going to the capital, it's natural for us to travel together and take care of each other on the way."

Ying Ying nodded repeatedly.

Su Yun returned to Shuofang, but instead of immediately heading to the capital, he hid in Shanshui Residence and didn't attend classes.

Chi Xiaoyao had also been staying in Shanshui Residence these days, and Ying Ying also lived there. Dao Saint shamelessly entered Shanshui Residence and stayed there without leaving.

After waiting for a few days, Su Yun finally caught Hua Hu, who came back to visit Qing Qiuyue and others. He smiled and said, "Second Brother, don't leave! I have sorted out the complete Honglu Transformation and there are very few flaws left. I will teach it to you. After teaching you the Honglu Transformation, I will go to the capital. The emperor has ordered me to give him face."

Dao Saint originally didn't plan to listen to him teach the Honglu Transformation, but Su Yun smiled and said, "The Honglu Transformation is not a secret that cannot be taught. It won't hurt for the Saint to listen. If you think it's useful for the Saint, then you can compensate by teaching Hu Buping and the others for a few days."

Dao Saint smiled and said, "Alright. If your Honglu Transformation is worth one day, then I will teach them for one day. If it's worth two days, then I will teach them for two days."