Walking by the Abyss on Thin Ice

Chapter 3 – The yellow clock counts time, asking about the world's history

The scholars behind Qiu Shuijing were uneasy.

Although the young man named Su Yun had a sunny smile, he appeared particularly eerie and terrifying in this gloomy ghost town.

A thirteen or fourteen-year-old blind boy was actually hanging out with a group of fox demons and attending school with an old fox!

It was one thing to go to school with fox demons, but how did he manage to enter Tianmen and come to the ghost market?

It should be noted that the Tianmen Ghost Market was located high in the sky, and ordinary people could not even see the road to Tianmen, let alone enter the ghost market after passing through the gate.

How did a little blind boy manage to reach this place so high up?

If he entered the ghost market from Tianmen, he would not be able to deceive the eyes of Qiu Shuijing and others. If he did not enter the ghost market from Tianmen, was there another way to enter?

What was even more bizarre was that he was setting up a stall in the ghost market just like the ghosts and gods there!

Could it be that he was not a living person?

If he was a living person, how could the ghosts and gods in the ghost market tolerate him setting up a stall in this place?

However, if he was a dead person, how did he appear alive in front of everyone?

The scholars wanted to capture the little guy with his harmless smile and study him thoroughly!

Just then, a scholar suddenly realized and exclaimed, "I know, he's a human demon!"

Even Qiu Shuijing couldn't help but tremble at these words.

Human demon!

A spiritual being attached to a human body, turning into a demon that destroys human nature!

This young man named Su Yun first studied with fox demons and now appeared in the ghost market. Regardless of ghosts or fox demons, they did not see him as an outsider. Could he really be an extremely evil human demon?

Qiu Shuijing suddenly lowered his voice and said, "There is a fourth rule in the Tianmen Ghost Market: mind your own business and do not ask about other things! Sometimes asking too much can get you killed."

The scholars were filled with fear. There should not be a fourth rule in the Tianmen Ghost Market. Qiu Shuijing was worried about their safety and warned them not to meddle in other people's business.

"Are you a teacher from the city?" the blind boy asked with a smile.

"Yes," Qiu Shuijing replied, looking deeply at the young man named Su Yun.

He paused for a moment, suddenly feeling relieved. "He is not a human demon."

He saw Su Yun's spiritual ability.

Su Yun's spiritual ability was very light and thin, and the scholars' heavenly eyes could not detect it. Qiu Shuijing had to carefully examine it to see it.

Su Yun's spiritual ability was quite strange, like a constantly rotating large yellow clock.

This yellow clock was different from others and seemed to be composed of different rings inside. There seemed to be gears connecting the rings.

The gears on the upper ring were larger than those on the lower ring, causing the lower ring to rotate much faster than the upper ring.

This yellow clock had seven layers of rings.

The first layer was almost still, the second layer rotated extremely slowly, and the third layer rotated more than ten times faster than the second layer, but still very slowly.

The fourth layer of the yellow clock was more than ten times faster than the third layer, but the speed was not fast.

By the fifth layer, the rotation speed could be easily noticed.

The sixth layer was three to four hundred times faster than the fifth layer, and the seventh layer was three to four hundred times faster than the sixth layer. In the blink of an eye, it could rotate dozens of times!

"This is..."

Qiu Shuijing was extremely surprised and immediately guessed the function of Su Yun's spiritual ability. "His yellow clock is used to tell time. The first layer is for years, the second layer for months, the third layer for days, the fourth layer for hours, the fifth layer for characters, the sixth layer for seconds, and the seventh layer for moments."

He looked thoughtful. "I understand his purpose. He is using the graduations on the yellow clock to calculate where he is. However, ordinary people do not know how to use 'moments' to tell time. Seconds are enough."

A person who cannot see anything and has difficulty walking needs someone to guide them or use a cane to explore in front of them. However, this young man named Su Yun did not use a cane and no one guided him.

The reason he could move freely was that he was familiar with the geography around him.Just being familiar with the geography is not enough, he must have a time scale to judge where he is based on time and his own speed.

"He uses the 'Hu Lai' method to time himself, showing that every action he takes is extremely precise! In the places he is familiar with, he will never go wrong!"

Qiu Shuijing even thought that if Huang Zhong were to use it for battle, then every move made by the young man named Su Yun would be incredibly accurate, without wasting any energy!

"At such a young age, he can cultivate spiritual abilities and reach the realm of Yun Ling. His talent is extraordinary, but unfortunately he is blind. A blind person trying to learn things is much more difficult than for others."

Qiu Shuijing sighed inwardly. In his mind, Su Yun was a talent that could be cultivated, and even better than the talents of the scholars behind him, but being blind meant that no matter how good his talent was, he could not achieve anything.

"How did he cultivate such spiritual abilities with this precise Huang Zhong?" Qiu Shuijing was quite curious.

This complex Huang Zhong was so precise that it allowed no room for error. Even officials in charge of the calendar for the court might not be able to cultivate such spiritual abilities, let alone a child?

He was becoming more and more curious about this young man named Su Yun.

"Su Yun, from Tianmen Town, thirteen years old. When he was seven, there was a change in his family. Six years ago, in Tianmen Town..."

Qiu Shuijing's face changed slightly as he glanced at Su Yun and led the scholars towards the depths of the Ghost Market.

The Ghost Market was huge, and many people had tried to find its end, but no one had ever been able to explore it in one night.

Qiu Shuijing also intended to explore the Ghost Market, but after seeing Su Yun, he lost his mood.

He found the spiritual essence of the big man and had the scholars ask about his last wishes.

Qiu Shuijing listened silently as the spiritual essence of the big man spoke of his last wishes, feeling deeply moved.

He knew this big man, not only knew him, but also had a deep friendship with him. They even could be called close friends.

Later, the two discovered that their ideas were different because of a small matter, which led to their estrangement.

Although their ideas were different, he had no grievances towards this big man, only respect in his heart, which was why he brought the scholars here to fulfill the big man's unfinished wishes.

"...This treasure of mine is called the 'Fuyu Lead and Splendor Pen', which I refined throughout my life. To obtain this treasure, there is only one requirement: to swear to die for the country."

Qiu Shuijing smiled when he heard the spiritual essence of the big man say this, but his heart was a little sour.

Even in death, his close friend could not let go of this country.

Both of them chose the path of saving the country, but although their goals were the same, the way they achieved them was different, which led to their separation because of their different ideas.

However, in terms of the heartfelt desire to save the country, Qiu Shuijing felt that his close friend was even more pure.

Looking back at himself, he had already worn away all his ambition by middle age, and had fled to Shuofang in a sorry state.

Voices came from behind, and Qiu Shuijing collected his emotions and turned to see that other people had come to the Ghost Market, one after another.

It should be the opening of the market in Tianmen, and the powerful people of Shuofang also sent people to try their luck. As for Tian Shi Yuan, there were no powerful families left because of the incident.

As the night grew deeper, the scholars all gained something, so Qiu Shuijing ordered them to leave the Ghost Market and head back to Shuofang City. "You go to the Tian Shi Yuan post station and go back to Shuofang City first. I may stay here for a while."

The scholars left.

Qiu Shuijing watched them leave, then returned to Tianmen and went back to the Ghost Market.

He stood far away, watching the young man named Su Yun.

Su Yun was unaware, and the artifacts he sold were all from the tombs of the Ming Dynasty. Compared to the treasures of ghosts and gods, his artifacts were ordinary and useless.

The people who came to the Ghost Market to find treasures passed by his stall, only taking a glance before leaving.

As the night grew deeper, there were fewer and fewer people in the Ghost Market.Su Yun began to pack up his things, rolled up his stall, put it in a basket, and carried it on his back as he walked towards the depths of the ghost market.

Qiu Shuijing quietly followed the boy.

Unconsciously, they had already arrived at the depths of the ghost market.

Looking up from the ground, the ghost market was a magnificent city of gold and jade, vast and endless, with no end in sight. As they walked deeper into the ghost market, the surrounding buildings became dimmer and colorless.

Their footsteps also became softer and they felt like they were walking on clouds.

Even Qiu Shuijing hesitated. The ghost market was too big. If they continued to follow the boy and didn't have time to turn back, wouldn't they be buried in the ghost market?

Just as he was thinking this, Su Yun suddenly stopped.

The little blind boy didn't continue down the street, but instead walked into the left alley.

Qiu Shuijing raised his eyebrows. The alley was the most dangerous place in the ghost market!

There were some incredible things left over from ancient times that couldn't be explained, and more importantly, the alley was full of twists and turns, like a maze, and no one had ever been able to find their way out!

Qiu Shuijing hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and followed the blind boy into the alley.

The houses on either side of the road gradually became less like houses and more like tombs.

Coupled with the night, the tombs merged with the darkness and only their outlines could be vaguely seen.

The chilling wind howled, accompanied by the crying of ghosts and gods, making the surroundings more and more frightening.

Ahead, Su Yun couldn't see the surroundings, but could only identify his position and path based on his footsteps and the turning of a yellow bell.

He had obviously been here before, and more than once, and walked forward without hesitation.

"Only a blind person like Su Yun, who has refined the yellow bell, can remember such a complex terrain!" Qiu Shuijing was secretly amazed.

The paths inside the ghost market were extremely complicated, full of countless forks, and each fork was almost identical, making it easy for one's eyes to be deceived.

Only Su Yun could find a way in the ghost market!

Suddenly, Su Yun stopped under a big willow tree in front of a desolate tomb.

Qiu Shuijing's heart moved. He saw the blind boy grab a "willow branch" with both hands and swing down, sliding down along the "willow branch" and quickly disappearing without a trace!

"That's not a willow branch! It's a divine rope!"

Qiu Shuijing was shocked and hurriedly went forward to look down. He saw that there was a hole under the willow tree, two feet square, dark and gloomy, with a cold wind blowing from the hole.

And the "willow branch" that Su Yun had just grabbed was actually growing against the wind, allowing the boy to pull on it and enter the hole.

Upon closer inspection, the "willow branch" was a hemp rope the thickness of an egg, exactly what Qiu Shuijing called a "divine rope".

Qiu Shuijing hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and also grabbed the rope, sliding into the hole.

After sliding for only six or seven feet, he suddenly felt a void beneath him!

Qiu Shuijing held onto the rope and looked down. He saw that he was hanging high in the air, swaying in the wind with the rope. He looked up and saw the ghost market above his head. The rope was hanging down from the hole.

"This divine rope is a powerful spiritual skill of a strong person..."

He relaxed, slid down along the willow branch, and became curious: "The divine rope was obviously prepared for Su Yun, so who prepared it for him?"

He was quite puzzled: "And that yellow bell, it's not something Mr. Fox could teach. There must be some secret on Su Yun's body!"

Qiu Shuijing slid down along the high altitude and after a long time, he finally landed on solid ground.

He looked up and was shocked to see himself standing under a crooked-necked willow tree, only two zhang high, with a rope hanging from the crooked-necked tree trunk.

And there was a desolate tomb under the tree.

He had just slid down this rope from high in the air!

.

"This hemp rope is the divine rope, and this willow tree is the tomb head willow tree that the divine rope is tied to! I clearly slid down several miles, why did I only fall two zhang after landing..."

Note: "Zhang" is a Chinese unit of length, approximately equal to 3.3 meters or 10.8 feet.Qiu Shuijing's forehead bulged with blue veins, but Su Yun, being blind, couldn't see this strange phenomenon and never thought about such weird things.

However, he could see other strange things, which disturbed him greatly.

"Perhaps not being able to see is not a weakness, but it could also be an advantage."

Qiu Shuijing checked the deserted grave under the tree and saw that the tombstone had already fallen down, obviously having been neglected for many years.

"The person buried in this deserted grave must have been someone important! The divine soldier of the immortal must be his spirit. Why did he take care of Su Yun, this little blind boy?"

The east was gradually turning white, and the night was about to end.

The young man named Su Yun walked ahead carrying a basket, with mist rising ahead. In the mist stood a huge archway with five gates, carved with dragons and phoenixes, very magnificent.

However, the archway was already dilapidated and had not been maintained for many years, as if it could collapse at any time.

Qiu Shuijing followed the young man and looked up as they approached. In the dim light before dawn, three ancient red characters on the archway caught his eye.

Tianmen Town.

"This is the famous Tianmen, which is said to have been carved based on the Tianmen Ghost Market by skilled craftsmen."

Just as Qiu Shuijing was thinking about this, suddenly a cool sea breeze blew away the fog behind Tianmen, and the town built on the cliffs of the North Sea coast appeared before him like a city on the sea!