Qiu Shuijing calmed his mind and carefully examined the city that had appeared beneath the sword in the projection.
Looking closely for a while, he discovered a difference from Tianshi Town. In the city shown beneath the sword, there was a beautiful watchtower carved with various divine beasts and strange creatures. However, no such watchtower could be found anywhere in the current Tianshi Town.
"Ah! The Heaven-Facing Tower (Chaotian Tower)!"
Realizing the identity of the watchtower was the Heaven-Facing Tower, Qiu Shuijing's heart began to race.
'The peculiar arrangement of the Heaven-Facing Tower and the Heavenly Gate, the experts of Tianshi Town, the Heavenly Gate of the Ghost City... Yes, it was them...'
Combining the rumors he had heard about Tianshi Town with what he had seen so far, Qiu Shuijing was finally able to piece together the full story of the Tianshi Town incident.
One day, a new city appeared in the sky above the North Sea of the Tianshi Enclosure.
The Emperor of Yuanshuo summoned skilled experts from all over to investigate the city, believing it contained the secret to eternal youth and immortality.
Skilled Taoists and experts from various fields flocked to Tianshi Town, the location closest to where the new city had appeared. They lived alongside the residents of Tianshi Town and began to investigate the place.
For a precise investigation, they reconstructed Tianshi Town to mimic the appearance of the city in the sky. They conducted research in many places, but the location they studied most intensively was the Heaven-Facing Tower. Thus, they finally succeeded in creating a gate connecting to the new city at that very spot.
However, no one predicted the calamity that would follow.
As they attempted to enter the newly formed city, a massive sword appeared and slaughtered not only them but all the residents living in Tianshi Town. Furthermore, the water pillar connecting the two worlds collapsed, causing a tsunami. As a result, catastrophic damage occurred within a hundred li radius of Tianshi Town. Thus, since that day, Tianshi Town had become a cursed land where no humans lived, teeming only with monsters.
'But how did Su Yun survive?'
Qiu Shuijing thought he had realized the full truth of the Tianshi Town destruction incident, yet questions remained regarding Su Yun. If the residents and livestock of Tianshi Town, as well as the experts who had migrated from all over, had all died leaving only their spirits, how did Su Yun, a mere ordinary child, survive? It was a puzzle he could not solve.
'Did the experts of Tianshi Town protect Su Yun?'
Seeing that the spirits remaining in Tianshi Town were still taking care of Su Yun, it was certainly not impossible.
However, there was still something strange. It was the fact that the corpses of the Tianshi Town experts had all disappeared. Spirits are bound to cling to their physical bodies; it was bizarre that the bodies were gone, yet the spirits remained.
'Clearly, things I am unaware of happened on that day...'
And there was one more strange thing. The whereabouts of the Heaven-Facing Tower.
Qiu Shuijing looked around once more. The buildings of Tianshi Town definitely remained. If the current Tianshi Town was built modeled after the city in the sky, the Heaven-Facing Tower should also remain. But in the current Tianshi Town, the Heaven-Facing Tower—the gate connecting the two worlds—was nowhere to be seen.
'Did the Emperor take it? Or perhaps someone else...?'
Qiu Shuijing put the unsolved questions aside and withdrew his magic power. The scene projected from Su Yun's pupils returned to his eyes along with the light.
"Su Yun, it seems your eyes are not completely blind. A certain film is covering your pupils, blocking your sight. If that film can be removed, you will be able to see again."
Qiu Shuijing said with a benevolent smile.
Su Yun, who had jumped for joy at the words that he could see again, soon asked with a sad expression.
"How do I remove that film?"
For the past few years, Su Yun had been looking for someone to cure his eyes while selling items in the Ghost City. However, Su Yun's goods were not particularly good, so it was hard enough to find people interested in his wares, let alone someone who would cure his eyes.
"I don't have much..."
As Su Yun mumbled and trailed off, Qiu Shuijing smiled and said.
"I never said I would cure you."
Su Yun hung his head, dejected.
"However, if you pay a tuition fee of one coin (Mei), I will teach you the method to cure your eyes. Then, even if I do not treat you, you will be able to cure your eyes yourself."
In Yuanshuo, a mei was the smallest unit of currency. Therefore, Qiu Shuijing thought that no matter how poor Su Yun was, he would naturally have at least one coin. However, Su Yun only fidgeted with his hands in his pockets, his face turning red, and gave no answer.
"...Don't tell me you don't even have a single coin?"
Su Yun nodded his head in shame.
In truth, one coin was a trivial amount he didn't really need to accept. However, he was a man of principles, and he had long upheld the principle that 'there is no knowledge without a price.' Therefore, if Su Yun wanted to receive teachings from Qiu Shuijing, he had to pay even a small amount of money.
"Teacher, I have a treasure I'm selling..."
Su Yun said in a voice that was barely audible.
In reality, the treasures Su Yun sold were all burial goods of poor farmers. Honestly, they were useless items not worth even a single coin. Therefore, based on his principles, Qiu Shuijing could not accept Su Yun's treasures either.
The fact that Qiu Shuijing could not stay in office in the Eastern Capital for long and had left for the north was partly due to this personality of sticking strictly to principles.
"Teacher, wait a moment!"
Perhaps afraid that Qiu Shuijing would just leave, Su Yun hurriedly grabbed Qiu Shuijing's hand and said.
"I will go to Master Hu and borrow it!"
Seeing Su Yun stomping his feet and desperately holding onto him, Qiu Shuijing couldn't help but burst into laughter. He laughed so loudly that the surrounding mist and clouds scattered, and sunlight shone through. Strangely, even as time passed, the mist and clouds no longer approached Su Yun's house.
"Haha, then let us go together. After I teach you the cure, I must return to the north."
Su Yun took the lead to guide the way, and Qiu Shuijing followed behind him. Not long after they set off together, Qiu Shuijing asked Su Yun the questions he had been harboring.
"Su Yun, how did you survive?"
Su Yun scratched his head in confusion.
"I mean, what happened after you lost your sight?"
Su Yun continued walking as he spoke.
"Actually, I don't really know either. I woke up trapped in a narrow place. So I pounded on it wildly, and Grandpa Cen opened it for me. That's all I remember."
"Grandpa Cen?"
"Yes. The grandfather who lives under that willow tree."
Su Yun raised his hand and pointed to a spot.
There stood the very willow tree Qiu Shuijing had seen when descending the Fairy Rope. However, there was neither a person nor a house beneath the willow. There was only a single grave.
"Grandpa Cen is a bit of a strange person. He hates talking to others. Anyway, since the house I lived in collapsed, it was Grandpa Cen who told me to go live in Tianshi Town. But Grandpa Cen is..."
Qiu Shuijing cut Su Yun off and looked around, asking.
"Where was the place you first woke up?"
Su Yun pointed a finger at a spot. Following where Su Yun pointed, he saw a small grave and a rotting coffin. Seeing that, Qiu Shuijing was able to guess the full story of the event.
Six years ago, when the Immortal Sword appeared, Su Yun had lost his sight due to the light emitting from the sword and lost consciousness. He had merely fainted, but people thought Su Yun had died and buried him in a grave. When Su Yun woke up some time later and pounded on the coffin, the spirit in the grave under the willow tree—Grandpa Cen—heard the sound and let Su Yun out.
At that time, Su Yun was already blind, so he could not know that Grandpa Cen was a spirit. Also, because he had lost his sight and fainted before Tianshi Town was destroyed, he did not know that the people living in Tianshi Town were all dead except for himself.
Qiu Shuijing looked at Su Yun with pitying eyes.
'Su Yun probably doesn't dream that he came out of a coffin. He likely knows nothing of what happened in Tianshi Town...'
Qiu Shuijing worried about what would happen after Su Yun recovered his sight. Once he regained his vision, he would learn the true appearance of Tianshi Town, the identity of Master Hu, and the true nature of the fox classmates he studied with; it was clear this would be a great shock to the young Su Yun.
However, he could not let the boy live in a lie forever. And these experiences could serve as a good foundation for Su Yun's growth.
"Teacher, be careful. There are many dangerous places in Huqiu Village."
Although blind, Su Yun seemed to know the path better than ordinary people. As if he could see every road clearly, Su Yun's steps were light and unhesitating.
"Teacher, ahead is the Snake Valley. A big viper lives there; its body is huge and it eats so much we call it 'Glutton'."
"Glutton?"
Qiu Shuijing asked in surprise.
"Yes, because he eats a huge amount. And before, Brother Flower Fox's cousin accidentally fell into the valley and got bitten on the leg by the snake; on the way home, his body completely stiffened and he died."
While Su Yun was chatting away frantically, an unpleasant sound suddenly came from ahead.
Sha— Sha-ak!
Looking in the direction of the sound, a pitch-black viper was perched atop a rock.
The snake was lifting its head toward the sun, inhaling and exhaling to breathe; each time it did, its scales moved back and forth as if they were alive.
'It is a Snake Demon possessed by the soul of a dead person.'
When Qiu Shuijing glared at the snake, the snake glared back at Qiu Shuijing.
'The Snake Demon's energy is substantial. Seeing it absorb the essence of the sun and moon, it must have already mastered the Profound Arts (Xuangong) of combining Qi and Flesh. Moreover, possessing hard scales and poison, it will be dangerous if left alone. I must deal with it quickly.'
Just as Qiu Shuijing was about to attack the snake, Su Yun spoke with a bright expression.
"Teacher, don't worry. Glutton never touches anyone as long as they don't enter his territory."
Seeing Su Yun's bright smile, Qiu Shuijing withdrew the thought of killing the Snake Demon.
'...Just as Master Hu taught Su Yun, one cannot say a Snake Demon is necessarily evil. One cannot hold someone accountable for a crime without providing education.'
Qiu Shuijing let out a sigh with a somewhat hollow expression and turned away.
"Past the valley is Yellow Village. You have to be careful of the kids in Yellow Village. Last time, I fought with the Yellow Village kids along with Brother Flower Fox. So they might still hold a grudge against me."
"Teacher! Over there is the Yellow Earth Pass!"
Looking up, he saw a large grave about half a li away. Stone carvings of animals were situated on both sides in front of the grave.
The grave was already heavily damaged. There were small holes everywhere, and in each hole, yellow weasels were standing upright like humans.
Suddenly, one weasel screamed in a sharp voice while looking at Su Yun.
"Hey, you brat! Did you and the Huqiu Village guys beat up our sister?!"
Whish—. Whish—.
The weasels threw small stones and lumps of dung at Su Yun in unison. However, as if he had already anticipated it, Su Yun quickly opened a paper umbrella from his basket and blocked the incoming objects.
Su Yun put the umbrella back into the basket and asked.
"Teacher, are you alright?"
In fact, no stones or dung lumps had flown properly toward Qiu Shuijing. They had all fallen to the ground midway or missed.
"I am fine."
When the weasels saw their attack was useless, they began to run away in a hurry. Some weasels even lifted their tails and showed their buttocks while running away to mock them.
Qiu Shuijing watched the weasels and let out a sigh, dumbfounded.
'There are many Weasel Demons...'
The desire to chase them down and exterminate them was strong as a chimney stack, but Qiu Shuijing recalled Master Hu again and suppressed his killing intent.
'Now there are no living people in Tianshi Town other than Su Yun, so there will be no incidents of demons harming humans. Let's just leave them be...'
'Right and wrong, good and evil, are not clearly divided like black and white. To think I am being taught by a fox demon at this age.'
Qiu Shuijing gave an awkward laugh and followed behind Su Yun, who was walking ahead.
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