Chapter 65

The next morning, Xun Yi rubbed his eyes as he walked down from upstairs.

During breakfast, Ma Jingyi, with a stern face, held a cage and said, "Dabai has run away."

Ma Jingyi, due to being cursed by Xun Yi and being secretly monitored by Aunt Xue, did not dare to leave the Xun family's small building for a step. He spent his days taking care of the canine-toothed rabbit.

But this morning, Xun Yi's Dabai had vanished. Ma Jingyi quickly came to report, trying to clear himself of any involvement.

"Dabai is gone?" Xun Yi was taken aback, then thoughtfully said, "If we calculate, the snake demon should have completed its molting. And since it absorbed the spirits of those rabbits, it has advanced to the third rank of spirit beasts. It must have returned home?"

Xun Yi muttered to himself, while Ma Jingyi looked puzzled, not understanding what Xun Yi meant.

"Alright, don't worry about it. Just help Lili and the others with the housework honestly. But Dabai actually left without saying goodbye. If I catch it, I'll make it run the wheel a thousand times a day."

The "wheel" is a bamboo wheel that is made for pets like rabbits and rats to run in. The bamboo wheel is connected to a music box, which can play music using the power generated by the wheel.

"This rabbit ran away because it was definitely afraid of you tormenting it again, and you even called it exercise." Qinglong secretly mocked, thinking that this young man's character, by the standards of his time, was nothing but a sadist.

"Wang wang—" Danshen lay at Xun Yi's feet, playing with him. Qinglong, seeing this little white dog, thought to himself: How does this puppy have such a creepy aura? It seems to be some kind of divine beast?

Danshen twitched his nose, looking at his owner with confusion. There seemed to be another wild animal's scent on his owner?

"Unlike that rabbit, it seems to be at the same level as me?" Danshen climbed onto Xun Yi's thigh, rolling around to leave his scent. "I just chased that rabbit away, and now another guy is competing with me?" He wagged his tail, acting cute around Xun Yi.

Danshen and Qinglong both disliked each other, and they engaged in a power struggle around Xun Yi.

After playing with his beloved dog for a while, Xun Yi headed to the Spirit Peak Academy.

Generally, the academy would take a break in early June, and classes would resume after a two-month holiday. However, due to the imperial examination, Xun Yi's batch of students would start a few days later.

Upon arriving at the academy, Xun Yi was called over by Han Feng. Han Feng, leaning lazily against a soft chair, said, "The principal said that you guys have brought glory to the academy, and he will hold a special celebration for you. It's set for tomorrow, and you, the Jieyuan, will preside over it. When you return, you will be promoted to sixth grade, and if there are no surprises, you will be the class leader."

"What about Liu Zhenying?" Xun Yi was surprised: "By age, it should be him, right?"

"I just asked him, and he refused, saying you are more qualified. Don't worry about this; it's still early for sixth grade. We'll discuss it when you return from the holiday. Tomorrow is the day of your grade's liberation. In the morning, there will be a graduation ceremony at the academy, and in the afternoon, you will be on holiday. But the arrangements for the ceremony are up to you."

As Xun Yi left the teacher's office, Han Feng suddenly remembered something: "By the way, be careful when you go home today. Don't go out at night, and stay at home to watch the moon."

"The moon?" Xun Yi thought for a moment: "It's the 15th of June, not the 15th of August. Why watch the moon?"

But Han Feng covered his face with a book, looking like he was about to fall asleep. Xun Yi, feeling awkward, returned to the class to discuss the ceremony with the others.

Gathering the students of Class B, Yan Bao led them to Class A. Not seeing Liu Zhenying, Xun Yi frowned: "What is Liu Zhenying up to? Why hasn't he been seen for days?"

"The class leader took a leave of absence this morning, saying that you should handle the ceremony," Yan Bao, who ultimately missed the imperial examination, looked at Zhang Yuxi and the others with a complex expression.

Most of the students who passed the imperial examination were from Class A. With Xun Yi, the Jieyuan, Class A had truly shone among their peers.

"Since he's not here, I'll arrange it." Xun Yi was not concerned and began to organize things systematically: "At the beginning of the month, the other grades had their graduation ceremonies. The props they left behind can still be used."

"You two are responsible for writing the text. This graduation ceremony is to celebrate our names being inscribed in the Golden Cloud, so we'll call it the Golden Cloud Ceremony. Zhang Yuxi, your handwriting is good, so you can write it."

Then he arranged for the others to move the props and other items, while Xun Yi himself went out to purchase supplies.

The celebration always involves food, so Xun Yi took Gu Yang and Yang Xuan to go shopping.

The three of them held a list, and Xun Yi said, "For efficiency, we'll split up and meet back here later."

He pointed to a nearby teahouse, and the three of them went their separate ways to shop.

Xun Yi bought fruits and other items. Because he often did good deeds, he was familiar with the vendors, and he finished shopping without haggling.

Returning to the meeting point, he saw that the other two had not arrived yet. With nothing to do, he went to the teahouse to listen to stories.

"Does the young master want to buy a story again?" The storyteller in the teahouse saw Xun Yi and smiled, "I do have a story."

"Oh?" Xun Yi moved a stool to sit down, ordered tea from the waiter, and took out the Dingchang pen and a small notebook to record the storyteller's tale.

Perhaps because of the commotion, someone else came over to share their experience.

"The story I'm going to tell is about a night thief who committed murder."

"Night thief?" A middle-aged man drinking tea nearby said disdainfully, "Is it about the rumor last year that the official silver was stolen from the Lu Mountain County government office? How long ago was that? Is it worth mentioning now?"

Xun Yi, upon hearing this, recalled: "It's said that two thieves broke into the government office at night to steal. Because they left no trace, they were called night thieves. But this doesn't really count as a story."

"No, no, no." The man hurriedly waved his hands and looked at the person who had interrupted, "I'm not talking about that incident, but about what happened afterward."

"According to the story, some officials followed the trail of the two thieves to a certain inn. At the time, the inn had many guests. The two officials, seeing it was late, decided to stay at the inn. However, a murder occurred that night. A woman staying at the inn was killed, and her death was extremely gruesome, as if she had been torn apart by a wild animal. But the inn didn't even have a dog. The guests were in a panic, and the two officials stepped forward to conduct an investigation, intending to take everyone back to the government office. But suddenly, the door of the inn disappeared." The man spoke in a mysterious tone, creating an atmosphere.

Xun Yi listened silently, writing down the story, and asked, "So it was a demon?"

"Unclear. The people searched the surroundings and found themselves trapped in the inn. Even if they climbed over the walls, they would only find a dense fog. If they jumped into it, they would reappear in the inn. The doors and windows were sealed tightly, and there was no way to open them."

Qinglong also perked up: "Is this a spatial divine technique? Is it the 'World in a Hand' or the 'Day in a Pot'?"

"What happened next?" The other tea guests gathered around.

The man continued, "Later, everyone concluded that the night thief was responsible for the incident. Despite the objections of the constables, they conducted a search and eventually found a suspect, whom they killed. But they still couldn't leave the inn, and on the second night, another person was killed. This time, it was a constable."

"On the third day, the people were in a panic, and they no longer trusted each other. Under the leadership of the remaining constables, they continued to investigate the murderer. In the end, after a few days, everyone in the inn was killed, and no one survived."

"Hmph!" A tea guest questioned, "That's a lie. If no one survived, how do you know this story?"

"Of course, I heard it from someone." The man countered, "The inn disappeared from its original location and reappeared a few days later. This strange incident aroused people's curiosity, and they went to check it out. They found the ground covered with corpses and a blood message. The blood message described the situation. According to my friend, the inn was eerie and sinister, with an old locust tree and a willow tree at the entrance, and a couplet: 'The bright door welcomes guests, and the peaceful path leads home.'"

Xun Yi's expression changed slightly, immediately understanding the meaning of the couplet.

The man, with a mysterious smile, added, "Did the young master also understand? The dark door and ghostly path, the ghostly locust and willow, this inn is a haunted house! It is said that the two night thieves were actually the spirits of the locust and willow trees at the entrance."

Xun Yi fell silent for a moment, then took out some silver and gave it to the man. "I'll buy this story."

After transcribing the entire story, Xun Yi thought, "Is the inn considered a demon? And the legend of the spirits, it fits the use of the mountain ghost." Xun Yi noted this inspiration, and at that moment, an old man smiled and said, "This old man also has a story."

The old man was supported by two boys, looking like a crane with a youthful face, and walked over slowly.

Xun Yi quickly invited the old man to sit down: "Please sit, sir."

The old man sat down and smiled, "This old man's story is also something I heard. It's about a family of great wealth and power."

"The family had a young master who, from birth, possessed the heart of a sage and had seven apertures. He was wise from a young age and could command ghosts and spirits with his words. This story is about his experiences."

"Clap—" Xun Yi's Dingchang pen fell from his hand, feeling that this story was somewhat familiar.

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