Chapter 685: Settling Down

Gu Shuai shot to is feet, his imposing presence startling the waiter. "How dare you speak to us like this?"

Though taken aback, the waiter quickly regained his composure and shouted loudly, "Manager! Someone's here to dine and dash! Hurry and report it!"

All the guests in the teahouse turned their attention toward them.

"How can these well-dressed people not afford to pay for tea?" one remarked.

"Exactly! They seem to be just putting on a show, trying to save face," another added.

With the waiter's shouts, a stout manager rushed over with seven or eight other waiters.

"Get them!" the manager shouted angrily.

The group of waiters swarmed forward, immediately starting to beat Gu Shuai. At first, Gu Shuai could hold his own and fight back a bit, but with so many opponents, he found himself helpless against them all.

Zhu Kui watched on with disinterest, as if this had nothing to do with him.

Bu Qingyun wanted to intervene but was pulled back by Bu Qingyu.

"Stop fighting," Fang Yunmeng said, taking off an earring and tossing it to the manager. "I'll use this to pay."

The manager saw that the earring was exquisite and appeared to be made of fine material. A greedy glint flashed in his eyes, and he immediately ordered the waiters to stop. He smiled at Fang Yunmeng. "Lady, this earring is just enough to cover the cost of the tea. If you don't have cash in the future, please let us know in advance to avoid misunderstandings, alright?

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse! It's just a misunderstanding."

The situation was resolved just like that, but seeing Gu Shuai's bruised face left everyone feeling a sense of unease. They had clearly lost their cultivation, making them no different from mortals.

Even someone at the grand completion stage of the Golden Core Realm like Gu Shuai was beaten up by a few waiters. If someone wanted to kill them...

"If we die here, will that be it for us?" Bu Qingyu suddenly asked.

Everyone understood then that the danger in this illusion might lie precisely in that...

Gu Shuai's face darkened. He had never thought that one day he would be beaten by what he considered mere ants. Fortunately, everything was just an illusion. The ones beating him weren't real ordinary people but projections of the illusion.

Thinking this way, Gu Shuai's mood calmed down a little.

After this incident, the group decided not to linger any longer in the teahouse. Once they left, they began to wander around Stone River County, and before they knew it, the sky had darkened.

"This isn't a solution. We initially planned to break through with strength, but now... how are we different from ordinary people?

"The only way to escape this situation is to find the core of the illusion; otherwise... we might be trapped here forever..." Zhu Kui said with a serious expression.

After speaking, he felt a chill and instinctively tightened his clothing.

Seeing that, everyone's expressions grew even graver. It seemed the temperature had dropped....

"There's a pawnshop up ahead. Let's pawn whatever we can, settle down first, and then think of a way out," Bu Qingyun suggested, pointing to a pawnshop at the corner ahead.

Everyone agreed, but after sorting through their belongings, they found that besides Fang Yunmeng and Bu Qingyu, who had some accessories to pawn, the rest had nothing to offer—unless they were willing to part with their clothing.

As cultivators, they couldn't allow themselves to be so pitiful. It was unacceptable to pawn their garments.

After much hesitation, Bu Qingyun came to a decision. "Forget it, I'll pawn this precious garment of mine. It should fetch a good price, and once we break the illusion, I can get it back."

She got ready to take off her garment.

However, at that moment, Fang Chen said, "Take a look at your precious garment; has it not become ordinary?"

Bu Qingyun was taken aback and instinctively tugged at it. To her surprise, the garment tore open with a loud rip.

"How is that possible...? My garment was a top-grade, yellow-rank spiritual treasure. It had seventy-two Soul Imprints..." Bu Qingyun muttered to herself.

"Illusions are just illusions; everything here is fake," Gu Shuai asserted confidently.

Bu Qingyun agreed, feeling reassured. Since her clothing had turned ordinary, they would have to pawn the accessories of the two girls instead.

Before long, Bu Qingyun emerged from the pawnshop, holding a handful of silver coins—thirteen taels in total.

Gu Shuai frowned slightly. "That's all you got for them?"

Zhu Kui let out a soft sigh. "Let's find a place to stay. I am a bit hungry..."

It was said that even Qi Refinement Realm cultivators could go without food, but now they felt hungry. They were really no different from mortals now.

That evening, the group found an inn to stay at. After having a meal, they quickly spent two taels of silver.

The next day, the six discussed the possibility of staying for a while; they couldn't live in an inn every day. Bu Qingyun took the initiative to find a local landlord to rent a run-down house located on the southern outskirts of Stone River County.

Though the house was shabby, it was cheap enough, with a roof to keep out the rain and walls to shield them from the wind.

The neighbors nearby were very curious about their origins, but they only watched from a distance and did not approach to greet them.

The house had three rooms in total. Gu Shuai chose to share a room with Bu Qingyun, while Bu Qingyu and Fang Yunmeng shared another. Fang Chen naturally stayed with Zhu Kui.

Once everything was settled, it was almost noon, and the silver coins in everyone's possession were nearly exhausted.

"We can't just sit idly and eat up our resources; we need to find a way to earn some money and also search for the core of this illusion," Bu Qingyun said with a serious expression, glancing at the others before hesitating as her gaze fell on Zhu Kui and Fang Chen.

"Ahem..." Zhu Kui cleared his throat, revealing a hint of a wry smile. "At my age and in my current condition, I fear I may not be able to help you much..."

Gu Shuai glanced at Zhu Kui. "You should just stay at home and guard it."

Then he turned to Fang Chen and hesitated before asking, "Daoist Ji, is it convenient for you to go out now?"

Fang Chen nodded lightly. "It's not a big problem."

"Then that's good. Although the five of us have lost our cultivation, we're still young and strong. It shouldn't be difficult for us to survive here," said Gu Shuai.

On the first day, the group found no gains. When they returned, they discovered that Zhu Kui had accidentally fallen and couldn't get up, lying in the courtyard until they came back.

Since that fall, Zhu Kui's health had rapidly deteriorated, leaving him mostly confined to his bed for recuperation.

A few days later, in order to make ends meet, Bu Qingyun and Gu Shuai finally put aside their pride. However, because they were all outsiders, it was almost impossible for them to find respectable work.

The two finally decided to join the local escort agency, as they wanted to see how vast this illusion truly was. Perhaps the core was not in Stone River County but outside of it.

In his free time, Fang Chen strolled around. One day, he noticed that a local was opening a school to teach martial arts. Fang Chen thought about applying for a position as a martial arts instructor, but when the owner saw that he was blind, he immediately turned him away, not even giving him a chance to demonstrate his skills.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Teaching martial arts for one tael of silver a month..."

Fang Yunmeng held a wooden sign and said to Fang Chen, "Daoist Ji Liang, are you sure anyone would come to learn for just one tael of silver?"

Fang Chen showed her a smile. "It's worth a try."

Fang Yunmeng nodded gently, then inserted the wooden sign at the entrance of the courtyard. In her view, it was almost impossible for Fang Chen to attract any students here. After all, how could an ordinary person afford one tael of silver a month?

As expected, more than a month passed without a single person coming to seek instruction. Instead, they attracted quite a bit of mockery from the neighbors.

One day, before stepping into the courtyard, Bu Qingyun shouted, "Little sister, hurry and get medicine for Daoist Gu!"

Everyone rushed out, only to see that Gu Shuai's face was pale, with blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. If it weren't for Bu Qingyun supporting him, he likely wouldn't have been able to stand at all.