Sister, I Have Trodden on Thin Ice All My Life

Xu Mu glanced at the glowing ring on his wrist, then raised his hand to look at the two middle-aged men nearby.

“Can you see anything on my hand?” he asked.

“No, nothing,” one of the middle-aged men shook his head.

Xu Mu nodded inwardly—just as expected.

He pressed one hand against the grass and closed his eyes, focusing intently.

The illusionary formation here was strong; he couldn’t break it, but he could unravel it.

The formation was centered in the heart of the Black Palace. Clearly, it had been designed to prevent intruders.

But since they themselves had to pass this way, it proved the formation was like a lock—if you found the key, you could open it.

And keep others locked outside.

Now, Xu Mu had obtained the key to the formation.

The key was on his own decoy body.

“What are you doing?” one of the middle-aged men asked curiously.

He noticed Xu Mu squatting low, one hand pressed on the ground. If he didn’t know better, he might have thought Xu Mu was about to transform.

“Don’t mind me. Just feeling a bit dizzy—low blood sugar acting up,” Xu Mu said, closing his eyes and concentrating again before heading in a certain direction.

Though he couldn’t destroy the formation, he could use his ability to locate its core—the formation’s “eye.”

The area with the densest formation patterns was naturally where the eye was located.

As he moved toward the formation’s eye, Xu Mu suddenly widened his eyes and glanced toward the wooded hillside on the right.

His perception was always active; even the wind stirring the grass couldn’t escape his sight.

Swish!

Xu Mu gripped his dagger tightly and charged into the woods. There, he spotted a familiar figure.

Fang Chu.

Fang Chu was still wearing a suit, his hair slicked back, aimlessly wandering about.

“What a coincidence, meeting here,” Xu Mu sneered coldly.

But Fang Chu didn’t even look at him. Instead, he was leaning against a tree, repeatedly banging his head against it.

Xu Mu frowned and immediately moved closer.

Only when he got near did Fang Chu react—launching an attack.

But the strikes were wild and uncoordinated, nothing more than random flails.

Xu Mu didn’t bother grabbing his wrist to check; he already knew this Fang Chu was a fake.

Swish!

He plunged his dagger into Fang Chu’s neck.

The figure before him vanished, and Xu Mu saw no corresponding formation—confirming only the real person could see it.

Xu Mu pressed on toward the formation’s eye, now certain Fang Chu was here too.

“I need to pick up the pace. I can’t let Fang Chu get the treasure first.”

He quickened his steps.

After climbing over a hill, Xu Mu found the formation’s eye.

...

Xu Mu was now in a forest—not at the mountaintop, but halfway up the slope.

As he arrived, the formation on his wrist began to pulse.

He crouched again, pressing his hand to the ground, feeling carefully. “Found it.”

He approached a stone, placing his hand on it, only to discover the stone wasn’t solid at all.

His hand passed right through it. Without hesitation, he stepped inside.

After passing through the stone, Xu Mu found himself back in the previously dark passage. He raised his hand to check and noticed that the formation on his wrist had disappeared.

Xu Mu hesitated for a moment but decided not to worry about the others and ventured deeper on his own.

His current goal was to find the treasure first; he could return for the others later.

The path here twisted and turned. After walking a few hundred meters, Xu Mu finally emerged from the dim cave entrance.

Now, he was inside a vast cavern.

The ceiling of the cave was nearly a hundred meters high, and he was currently standing on a narrow road about three meters wide.

On both sides of the path, molten lava bubbled and rolled.

The fiery glow from the lava illuminated the surroundings, making the area fairly bright.

This road also curved and wound for about another kilometer before Xu Mu suddenly noticed something ahead.

There were people there—and most of them wore janitor uniforms.

“Hey, another one’s come through. Lucky you,” said a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, dressed in a black janitor’s outfit with two white stripes on his chest, smiling.

Xu Mu looked at them and counted four janitors in total.

Two were mid-level janitors, and two were junior janitors.

Besides the buzz-cut middle-aged man, the other mid-level janitor was a woman.

She appeared two or three years older than Xu Mu, sporting a neat side-parted bob that reached her shoulders.

Her neck was as graceful and pale as a white swan’s.

She wore large silver earrings, and her sharp eyes exuded a commanding, mature aura.

The two junior janitors were about the same age as Xu Mu.

One of them was notably fat, looking like he could handle twice the work of an ordinary person.

Besides the four janitors, there were two more people.

One was a bald old man in a black robe, his shiny scalp exposed.

The other was a young man carrying a long sword on his back.

His appearance was unremarkable—someone who would easily blend into a crowd and go unnoticed.

“By tradition, let me introduce myself. I’m Sun Ziqiang. As you can see, I’m a mid-level janitor,” the buzz-cut man said with a smile, looking at Xu Mu. “Who are you? Which sect do you belong to?”

“Greetings. My name is Xu Mu. I’m unaffiliated,” Xu Mu smiled as he stepped forward.

“Unaffiliated? Believe it or not, I’ll toss you into the lava pit. No one unaffiliated makes it this far,” the female mid-level janitor said coldly.

Xu Mu activated his Divine Eye and observed the woman.

Name: Ren Sangsang

Identity: Janitor of the Dragon Nation, female lead of *The Strongest Son-in-Law*

Favorability: -1

Destiny Level: 7 (max is 10)

Seeing this, Xu Mu was filled with surprise. Upon reflection, perhaps this ancient ruin was prepared especially for Fang Chu.

Miao He was here, and now there was Ren Sangsang.

Both members of his harem were present, clearly set up for an encounter with Fang Chu.

No wonder the protagonist received such treatment—besides winning the favor of his harem here, he should also be able to find treasures.

However, Ren Sangsang’s destiny level was only 7, indicating that in the storyline, she likely didn’t end up with Fang Chu.

“I’ve hidden so deeply and still got found out. I won’t pretend anymore. I come from the Zheng Defa Evil Sect,” Xu Mu said.

Xu Mu had now arrived in front of several people, and he saw that the road ahead was broken.

Before him was nothing but molten lava, no wonder the others here refused to move forward.

“Zheng Defa Xie Zong? I’ve never even heard of it,”

Ren Sangsang frowned deeply. “Kid, do you dare to lie to me?”

“Sis, are you some kind of encyclopedia? Have you heard of every sect out there?”

Xu Mu stood with his hands behind his back, exuding the aura of a seasoned expert. “Our sect has been passed down for thousands of years, never meddling in worldly affairs. It’s normal that you haven’t heard of us.”

“Kid, who’s the sect leader of your sect?”

Sun Ziqiang chuckled from the side.

“We call the sect leader the Old Ancestor. I don’t even know their real name.”

Xu Mu’s gaze fixed on the winding path ahead, uncertain if there was a way forward.

Still, he had the ability to check it out. As long as he left half his steps behind, he could always retreat.

“Kid, I think you’re just babbling nonsense. You must be a wanted man, that’s why you won’t reveal your identity, right?”

Ren Sangsang’s eyes gradually turned cold. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Of course I have something to say.”

Xu Mu’s voice suddenly dropped, deep and resonant. “Sis, I’ve lived my life on thin ice. Do you really think I can make it to the other side?”

“Oh, so you’re Thin Ice Brother? Go ahead, take a step! If you dare, I’ll call you daddy!”

Ren Sangsang pointed fiercely at the molten lava ahead.

Without a word, Xu Mu stepped forward.

If you’re a poor student, I hope you can be by my side—I’ll let you copy my answers.