The Secret Scripture Pavilion was exactly as it had been before: seven stories tall, divided into eight sides, shaped like a pagoda, half-hidden amid picturesque mountain scenery.
Aside from the rustle of leaves stirred by the mountain wind, everything around it was silent.
The main doors on the first floor of the Secret Scripture Pavilion stood open. Directly inside was a screen. Zhang Tie went around it and entered the first-floor hall. The tea table and stools in the hall were still arranged neatly in their original places, but the old man who drank tea there was gone.
Zhang Tie's heart thudded wildly, and he felt somewhat nervous. Even he did not know why, but coming to this place in the Soul Tribulation Realm gave him the guilty feeling of a thief.
Behind the first-floor hall, a staircase led directly to the second floor. Zhang Tie had never gone up there before and had no idea what was above. In the past, whenever he named a secret manual or cultivation art he wanted to exchange for, the old man drinking tea would merely pull a rope bell beside the tea table and call out an instruction. Someone upstairs would then send the manual down. The rules of Hidden Dragon Hall stipulated that everyone could only study secret manuals in the Secret Scripture Pavilion. There were quiet, independent little rooms inside it, much like those in certain libraries, where one could study and memorize the contents of manuals in peace. Besides managing the various manuals, the old man drinking tea was also responsible for answering the students' questions. The staircase was spotless, and a soft, thick carpet covered its steps, making almost no sound when one climbed them.
When Zhang Tie reached the second floor, all he saw were private rooms