Chapter 88

Chapter 88

Drainage Channel

Mu Yu couldn’t find it in him to insult grey-rank disciples. Overdo it and it’d be unconvincing enough to work as a ruse. The solution? Stake out and monitor those who bullied grey-rank disciples. Sure, lots of cultivators looked down on them. That being said, not all of them deliberately started on the grey-rank disciples. Some of them were actually quite nice to grey-rank disciples, albeit being the minority. Mu Yu was looking for those who picked fights with or without reason.

The grey-rank disciples were in charge of hygiene, serving tea and carrying out other orders. Occasionally, cultivators would call them over for jobs. Most of them coldly ordered them around and left after decreeing their desires. After watching them at the grey-rank disciples’ courtyard for most of the day, Mu Yu finally saw someone getting abusive.

The cultivator was a middle-aged man with a light tan – Fang Chang, a disciple of Mystic Ice Sect. Mystic Ice Sect’s disciples’ aptitudes were quite good given the sect’s ranking. Though Fang Chang was only a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, he condescendingly reproached a grey-rank disciple over twenty. The grey-rank disciple had tears welling up in his eyes. He quietly explained, “Young Master Fang, the bone herb you asked me to purchase is out of stock. I could not find any in the entire city.”

“If there’s none at Pine City, go search Yi City. Use your brain. What does every sect feed you for? Bloody useless dolt.”

“Yi City is on the mountain and is very far away. I am only a Qi Condensation Realm First Layer cultivator; I have not learnt to fly yet. It would take five to six days to go there and back!” sobbed the grey-rank disciple.

“Enough with the excuses. I’m only going to wait here for three days. If you can’t bring back any bone herbs within three days, I’ll take your legs! There are plenty of other grey-rank disciples here. This place will function just fine even if they’re less you.”

Given his past experience with the culprit, Mu Yu questioned if every courtyard had a secret passage. The theory wasn’t plausible. To dig a secret passage in every courtyard without anyone noticing at the academy was a tall order, one too tall.

Mu Yu went back to Dustfallen Sect’s courtyard and searched for a secret passage to no avail. It didn’t take long to search their entire courtyard as it was so small. There was only one way out, which was a drainage channel.

The channel was only wide enough to fit a head, though. Not one to believe in voodoo tricks, Mu Yu sent a string of grass into the channel. Surprisingly, it was wide enough for two people to travel through simultaneously at the bottom. That meant the culprit only needed to cut open a block of earth to travel from courtyard to courtyard even if the entrance was too small. There was no way anyone would’ve seen it from outside. The layer of earth in Dustfallen Sect’s courtyard hadn’t been pried open, indicating the culprit hadn’t gone there yet.

The channel was designed to filter rainwater out, so it didn’t need to be so large. Mu Yu used the grass as a medium to enter the channel, and he used his sword as a light source as he traversed the rancid channel. He discovered a bulging passageway after a few metres. Mud was scattered along the path. The claw marks left along the walls resembled the wounds on Xiaohu and Tu Panshan. He entered the passageway and treaded through the wet mud.

Upon hearing a crunch, Mu Yu looked down to see a rodent’s skull. He didn’t like the sight of the rodent’s brains splattered all over the ground. He continued along the straight path until he returned to the drainage channel. It was uncannily quiet; the only sounds were the occasional drips of water. He sauntered over to the light. When he looked up, he guessed he was in another courtyard’s drainage channel. Despite having yet to figure out what the passageway was for, he continued along the channel.

Every time he saw light, he’d see if he could pull off the layer of earth at the entrance. Alas, it never worked. After an hour of repeating the process, a rotten stench violated his nose. If he wasn’t mistaken, there was also blood in the mix. It was a stench one would easily barf at. He calmed himself and turned into another passageway.

Mu Yu heard rustling and tweeting sounds. He was disappointed with himself for he was scared. He swung his sword, revealing a pair of swollen, white human eyes staring back at him. Mu Yu flinched, hitting his head on the ceiling. “Jeepers!”