Moon in a Cup

Chen Xu held fifty bamboo slips inscribed with questions and answers, but sighed inwardly.

After all, he had only managed to memorize fifty questions, and yet he held as many as sixty bamboo slips.

He had overestimated himself; he should have added more Spirit to himself beforehand.

However, Chen Xu felt a slight throbbing in his brow and understood that adding two points of Spirit at once was likely the safest option, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

The child's voice had been right; avoiding greed was also a crucial lesson in life.

He had become too arrogant after obtaining the Cauldron Scripture. He should take this as a warning and reflect on himself daily henceforth.

Chen Xu walked slowly into the depths of the bamboo forest, holding the bamboo slips and leaning on his cane.

He guessed that after walking a certain distance, he might, as the ugly monkey had said, encounter Cui Yunqi and the others outside the bamboo forest, who had left before him.

Then, after walking for about fifteen minutes, Chen Xu suddenly felt his vision brighten.

He had taken a step into empty air!

No, he hadn't stepped into empty air; he had walked directly from the small bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain onto an endless expanse of shimmering water.

What a wondrous sight this was!

Even more wondrous was that in this world where water met sky, a lake of moonlight was clearly held within.

Yes, it was moonlight.

There was no moonlight in the sky; the sky was clear and bright at this moment.

It was the third month of spring, and there had been spring rain last night.

This morning, the entire Jichuan County seemed to have been washed clean, with a clear blue sky and no clouds for miles.

Yet, under this bright sky, in this almost infinite expanse of clear blue water beneath Chen Xu's feet, there was a vast pool of moonlight.

The full moon rippled with the water's waves, and Chen Xu, standing on the water's surface, felt as if he were treading on a soft, bright mirror.

There was a slight sensation of sinking, yet also the solidity of walking on level ground.

With each step he took, a faint circle of ripples spread across the water's surface beneath his feet.

It was truly miraculous, beyond words to describe even a tenth of it.

Chen Xu walked for a while on this mirror-like water surface and then saw several figures ahead turn their heads.

These individuals were all dressed in bright, luxurious clothes, yet they were all sweating from their brows and appeared flustered.

Seeing Chen Xu approach, their eyes lit up, showing a flicker of surprise, but after a moment, their expressions immediately dimmed.

One young man in deep green brocade clothes said with particular disappointment, "Who are you? How did you get here? How many questions did you answer, and how many bamboo slips do you have?"

Chen Xu, not yet understanding the situation, cautiously replied, "I am Chen Xu from Jichuan County. I came here naturally because I passed the first trial of the bamboo forest."

As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind suddenly rose on the lake ahead.

After the wind passed, a full moon, about two feet in diameter, leaped out of the water.

Immediately after, the moon, like a jade plate, bounced and rolled towards Chen Xu.

The familiar crisp child's voice rang out again, and the moonlight spoke with a proud tone: "Chen Xu of Jichuan County, tokens sixty, questions answered fifty, correct fifty, ten points deducted, resulting in forty points. You may walk forty more steps forward on Moon Lake."

Gulp--

Ahead, the group of young men in brocade clothes widened their eyes in unison.

One of them blurted out, "What did you say? He answered fifty questions correctly? No, I don't believe it... Ah!"

Before he could finish speaking, the water beneath his feet began to sway.

With lightning speed, he suddenly plunged downwards, sinking into the water.

Gulp, gulp. In just a moment, the rippling, moonlit blue water had completely engulfed him.

Someone beside him panicked and bent down, trying to pull him out, but only managed to touch the very edge of his clothes.

And because he tugged on that piece of cloth, the young man who tried to pull him out also suddenly lost control and tumbled forward.

"Save me... Ah!" he cried.

Before his cry had even faded, he too had disappeared into the water.

All that remained was a desolate scene. Although it was a mystical and magnificent spectacle, like a myth, everyone present felt an inexplicable, chilling sense of killing intent at this moment.

"Hmph!" A soft snort broke the stagnant atmosphere.

The jade-plate-like moonlight bounced around angrily, "You fools, what are you thinking? Would my teacher be such a wicked person who kills indiscriminately? Stupid things, idiots, those two were merely eliminated and have exited the Star Array."

"Do you still wish to see my teacher? If not, I shall send you all away now!"

The jade plate slid rapidly across the water's surface like a silken ribbon, stirring up waves like arrows, clearly enraged.

If it had hands, it would surely have put them on its hips and glared at everyone.

Naturally, no one requested to leave voluntarily.

After this sprite-like moonlight clearly stated that the Star Array did not kill, everyone felt a subtle sense of relief.

Chen Xu quickly understood that there were two conditions for walking safely on this water surface.

One way was to rely on the bamboo slip points from the first stage. If Chen Xu scored forty points, he could walk forty steps on the water's surface.

After forty steps, palm-sized little moons would appear from beneath the water.

These little moons would gather under one's feet and could be fished out by hand.

Catching one would form a question. Answering correctly allowed one to walk forward one step, while answering incorrectly meant sinking three inches into the water.

Previously, Cui Yunqi and the others had thought sinking into the water meant death, so they were exceptionally nervous. Now that they knew their lives were not on the line, everyone's demeanor returned to one of ease.

The group also clasped their fists to Chen Xu, exchanging names.

Besides Cui Yunqi, among the others who remained, one was named Wen Zicheng and the other Peng Xuan.

After they exchanged names, Chen Xu went first.

He had already walked twenty steps and could walk another twenty.

After twenty steps, Cui Yunqi and the others behind him did not fish for questions. Instead, they deliberately observed Chen Xu, wanting to see what kind of question he would get when he fished for the first time, and even more so, how he would answer it.

Chen Xu squatted down and fished out a little moon. The little moon leaped up and transformed into golden text in mid-air.

It turned out to be a couplet challenge. The upper line read: "With three parts water, two parts bamboo, and one part bright moon."

Those behind them inhaled softly. This couplet inexplicably fit the current situation.

Chen Xu, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the question wasn't too difficult.

He only pondered for a moment before immediately replying: "Walk ten thousand li, a thousand li of snow, gaze upon a hundred li of great river."

The wording was accurate, and the sentiment was unrestrained. This lower line was a masterful response.

The moon spirit, like a jade plate, hopped over and giggled in a clear, childish voice, "Ah, you answered correctly! You answered so easily. Then walk forward one step."

Chen Xu took a step forward, then fished out a second moon.

The little moon flew up and transformed into text that read: "Water with insects is turbid; water with fish is for fishing; water, water, water; rivers, streams, lakes, vast and boundless."

This was actually a character decomposition couplet.

Behind him, Cui Yunqi couldn't help but stare at the couplet text, lost in thought.