The Golden Cicada Temple was built halfway up the mountain, about a hundred zhang below the summit.
Above lies the mountain peak, where a spring pools; each day, the monks of the temple dispatch someone to retrieve water.
Below stretches a winding mountain path, piercing through a sea of clouds, destination unknown.
It seems exploration is warranted.
The monks have both a morning and evening lesson each day. After the morning session, everyone disperses and moves freely within the temple, making it difficult to cover one's tracks. Hence, the decision was made to depart during the evening session, with Ah Jing casting an Illusion Technique as usual to obscure sight and sound.
Following the mountain path downward, the surrounding fog thickened, giving the impression of being submerged in a deep ocean.
No one could tell how long they had been walking when the fog finally began to dissipate.
