The Celestial Labyrinth: Love Across Ten Continents

Trials

Mu was amused: "You are so... too polite."

He laughed and coughed at the same time, which made him look even more miserable.

If it were a girl, Ban would have carried him on her back without saying a word, but although he looked delicate, he was still a man after all. She hesitated for a long time, and finally held up one of his arms and let him walk half leaning on her.

"No... don't be polite to me. We are traveling together anyway!" She said it in a very high-sounding manner, as if this could hide the embarrassment.

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Ban."

The warm air from his mouth sprayed gently on her hair, making her feel warm and itchy. Ban couldn't help blushing again.

Because her father was a Taoist priest who lived in the Fire Temple, she had grown up playing with many young Taoist priests in Taoist temples. She was also the only daughter, and her parents doted on her. They always thought she was young and never taught her about the differences and precautions between men and women. So compared to other girls, she had no shyness or fear around men and had always been open and frank. However, in front of this young man who was as gentle as the spring breeze, she somehow felt that she should be more restrained.

Why is this? She herself couldn't figure it out.

"By the way, you just asked me if the Qingyuan Trial is difficult. I think it depends on each person." Mu said calmly, "Whether you have special skills or have killed many evil demons, these are all external appearances. The heart of a person is the most important. Qingyuan Mountain selects people's hearts, not talents."

He spoke word by word, and Ban was busy reciting it word by word, "Possessing unique skills, killing demons...what else...what was it? Mu, can you say it again? I haven't written it down yet."

He laughed again and whispered something, but it was unclear.

Ban said with emotion: "What did you say? ... By the way, you really know a lot of things! Mu, I think you can definitely pass the test!"

Mu smiled and shook his head, pointing ahead: "Ban, we're here."

Ban looked up and saw that the mountain road in front of him ended abruptly five steps away. Below was a deep abyss with a sea of clouds rising. Countless huge white jade blocks floated in the air above the abyss, rising one by one until they reached the opposite mountain peak. There was a huge building built on the cliff.

"Is this the main gate?" Ban stared at the strange sight in a daze, feeling a little scared, but more than that, he was eager to try. "Aren't they said that immortals live on the top of a frozen mountain? Here... it doesn't seem cold at all?"

Not only was it not cold, the surroundings were still so green and lush, without even a speck of snow to be seen.

"This is not even halfway up the mountain, so of course there is no ice or snow." Mu patted her on the shoulder gently, "I'm fine now, thank you, Ban. Let me go by myself."

Ban took two steps back, looked back at the floating white jade blocks, and then looked back at Mu's thin body, which seemed to be blown away by the mountain wind at any time. She gritted her teeth again and said, "It's okay. Just follow me and hold on to my sleeves. You will never fall."

Mu nodded, and really gently grabbed her sleeve. Ban stepped onto the stone carefully, stepped hard, and found it was quite solid, but a little narrow. If he swayed, he could fall down if he was not careful.

There was no other way. The arrow was on the string and had to be shot. She gritted her teeth and moved up little by little, pretending to be walking on flat ground. After walking just halfway, she regretted it half to death. The mountain wind blew so hard that she really felt like she would be blown down immediately.

My hand suddenly felt warm, and Mu held my hand. His fingers were slightly cold, but his palm was warm.

"Don't be afraid, you won't fall, just keep going forward."

For some reason, Ban suddenly felt no longer afraid. He walked steadily along that section of the floating road, and the huge building was right in front of him.

It was called a gate, but in fact there was no door. There were only two huge white jade pillars with black dragons coiled on them, which seemed to be spinning and dancing. Behind it was a hall, surrounded by clouds and mist, extremely gorgeous. In front of the gate was a huge platform, which was now full of people, all of whom must have come to pay homage to the master.

"Ban, thank you, we got through safely." Mu looked at her sincerely with his dark eyes, as if it was really her credit that they were able to get through.

Ban's face was about to turn red again. She scratched her hair and laughed, "Just come over here! Haha, haha!"

"The gate is just ahead, go through."

Ban asked curiously, "Don't you want to queue? There are so many people here!"

Mu smiled faintly: "They all failed the test, they just don't want to leave. Come on, let's go."

Ban walked hesitantly to the two pillars. As expected, no one stopped her, but everyone was looking at her, some were expectant, some were gloating, and some were jealous.

There were several people standing under the pillar, both men and women, all wearing black and white Taoist robes, standing proudly, with extraordinary momentum. Seeing Ban coming over, one of the middle-aged women looked up at the sky and said loudly: "It's getting late, this girl is the last trial."

As soon as she finished speaking, she clapped her hands, and several young disciples behind her immediately unfolded a huge scroll. It was blank, with nothing on it.

The woman said, "This is the Qiankun Yinyang diagram that my master Xingyun Zhenren drew three days ago. Write down what you see in the diagram for me. Those who have a predestined relationship with the immortals will naturally be able to glimpse the mysteries in the painting."

She handed Ban a pen and a piece of white paper.

Ban said anxiously, "Wait... wait a minute, there is another person, we came here together..." She turned around to look for Mu, but he was not behind her, and she didn't know where he had gone. She was stunned.

The woman shook her head and said, "You are the last one. As for the other one, please come back tomorrow. Okay, let's get started."

Ban had no choice but to stare at the painting.

What kind of Qiankun Yinyang diagram is this? It's just a blank page, okay? How could a god play tricks on people? But to be on the safe side, she decided to take a closer look. She leaned in, almost putting her nose against the painting, looking left and right, up and down, sideways, and straight on. It was still a blank page, without even a speck of ink.

Ban lowered his head and quickly wrote four words on it: A blank. Then he handed it directly to the woman.

She was slightly moved and asked, "Are you sure? You won't change it again?"

Ban nodded.

The woman smiled and said gently, "Very good, little girl, what's your name? Where are you from? How old are you this year?"

"My name is Ban, I'm fifteen years old. I'm... from Jiaxing."

The woman was slightly stunned: "Jiaxing? What place is that?"

Ban stammered, "Very...very far away."

The woman was a little confused, but she still recorded her name in a book and said, "Very good, you have passed the first test. Now you can enter. There are more tests waiting for you."