In the backyard of the Jiuli Temple, next to a side room, there was a somewhat shabby courtyard. On the ground, there were piles of white fragments shaped like small hills. Under the scorching sun at noon, they emitted a burnt fragrance.

Under a shed not far away, a middle-aged man in a short coat was sleeping soundly with his hands under his head.

This man was in his thirties, not particularly robust. His square face had slightly sunken cheeks, and his large ears were quite noticeable.

Not far from him, a chimney on a house was emitting wisps of white smoke, as if something was being cooked inside.

Just then, a fat old man in a red robe stepped into the courtyard. He looked around the courtyard without stepping further in, and coughed.

His cough immediately woke the square-faced middle-aged man who was sleeping soundly in the shed.

When the middle-aged man saw the visitor clearly with his somewhat sleepy eyes, he woke up completely and said with a smile on his face, “I pay my respects to the Abbot. What brings you here today? I’m currently drying cypress powder, it’s a bit messy. If I had known you were coming, I would have cleaned up.”

The fat old man glanced at Wusang meaningfully from the corner of his eye before saying, “Wusang, you can make incense and sleep at the same time. Quite comfortable, isn’t it?”

“Sorry for making the Abbot laugh. Rest assured, I dare not boast about anything else, but I’ve been making incense since I was a child. I can make it even with my eyes closed.” Wusang continued to smile.

“Humph! Look at your carefree attitude. If it weren’t for your father’s sake, would I tolerate you here and provide for you?” The fat old man snorted and said unhappily.

“I still owe the temple a lot of incense, don’t I? I live in the temple and make incense under your watch to pay off my debt. You must feel more at ease, right?” Wusang scratched his head and said somewhat awkwardly.

“Good that you remember! In half a month, it will be the annual Dog Tooth God Festival. I remind you not to let me down at this time. Make incense well during this period. Without my permission, you cannot leave this courtyard.” The fat old man changed his tone and said.

“Ah, Abbot, I will definitely make the incense as required to ensure that it does not affect the sacrifice. But this confinement is a bit too much! I have been providing incense for the past six months.” Wusang protested.

“Quiet! To tell you the truth, someone in the temple is looking for you now, and I have had someone cover for you. I don’t care how much debt you still owe outside, if you bring trouble into the temple, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” The fat old man said sternly.

“What, has my whereabouts been exposed? That’s impossible!” Wusang jumped up.

“Young man, take care of yourself!” The fat old man left after dropping this sentence.

“Damn! The old man talks nicely, but he just values my incense-making skills. He took advantage of the fact that my shop in Tiehu Town was gone to raise the price of incense here! I was bewitched. If it weren’t for his collusion with Pig Grease, and I escaped along the path he recommended, how could I have been caught by you?” After the fat old man walked a little further, Wusang pointed to the outside of the courtyard and started cursing in a low voice.

After grumbling for a while, Wusang yawned and walked back to the shed, preparing to continue his nap.

But before he could lie down, a light cough came from behind.

“How come you…” Wusang shivered, secretly cursing his luck, worried that his curses had been heard by the fat old man.

But when he turned around, he saw a handsome young man in a green robe, who looked to be under twenty, standing in the courtyard, looking at him with a smile.

“Who sent you? What do you want to do? I tell you, this is Jiuli Temple. As long as I shout, someone will come immediately!” Wusang’s mind was spinning rapidly. Combining what the fat old man had said earlier, he immediately thought of something.

“Wusang, right? Don’t be nervous, we’ve never met before, and I’m not here to collect debts.” Yuan Ming explained kindly.

“You’re from the Central Plains, right? I don’t know you, and I’ve never owed money to anyone from the Central Plains. So what’s your purpose here, and how did you know I was here?” Wusang looked at Yuan Ming again with a vigilant face, feeling a little relieved.

“I heard of Mr. Wusang’s reputation in Tiehu Town and learned that you are good at making incense, so I came to visit. As for your whereabouts, as long as you are still in this temple, I have my ways of finding out. You can consider it as the guidance of the Dog God.” Yuan Ming smiled.

“The only one in Tiehu Town who knows I’m here is Pig Grease from the Shanhe Gambling House. Did you hear it from him?” Wusang asked.

“Yes, it took me quite some effort to get your information from him.” Yuan Ming said with a smile.

“Do you really want to learn to make incense? You don’t seem to lack money. Although incense has become more expensive these days, it’s not hard to buy.” Wusang looked at Yuan Ming incredulously, still somewhat disbelieving.

“Since I’m asking for your guidance, I should be clear. I’m studying incense making because I want to make incense similar to this one.” Yuan Ming paused for a moment, took out the last black incense stick, and handed it over.

Wusang took the black incense stick, looked at it carefully, and sniffed it lightly under his nose.”I can’t see anything special about this incense, and its scent doesn’t differ much from ordinary ones. It shouldn’t be difficult to replicate.” He looked up at Yuan Ming and said.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming didn’t show any joy, but rather some disappointment.

This black incense must be unusual, otherwise it wouldn’t have triggered the peculiarities of the incense burner. He had tried hundreds of different types of incense during this period, even those that looked almost identical.

“Could you please take another look and see if you can identify the materials used to make this black incense?” Yuan Ming asked, unwilling to give up.

“Most of the incense in the southern border is based on cypress wood, supplemented with spices like spicy wood and eastern sunflower. The colors are mainly yellow and red. This kind of black incense is rare. In my experience, only the Tar region in the entire southern border has this kind of black incense. Did you buy this one there?” Wu Sang frowned and asked after a careful look.

“I found this in an incense burner in an ancient temple that I stumbled upon. I can’t find another one like it now.” Yuan Ming said with a bitter smile.

“Do you remember what the incense burner looked like? What kind of deity was worshipped in the temple? Maybe we can figure out which group worshipped it and deduce some clues.” Wu Sang seemed a bit disappointed and asked.

Yuan Ming glanced at Wu Sang and briefly described the shape of the incense burner. There was no need for him to hide this.

As for the pattern of The Great Ultimate on the incense burner and other patterns, he didn’t mention them.

“From what you’ve said, I still can’t analyze anything. It seems that I have to start with this incense and study it carefully. This will take a lot of effort. The Dog Tooth Festival is in half a month, and I’m quite busy recently.” Wu Sang frowned and said with some difficulty.

“Mr. Wu Sang, please take this matter seriously. This is a small token of my appreciation.” Yuan Ming took out a small cloth bag and stuffed it into Wu Sang’s arms.

The cloth bag made a crisp sound as it moved, the sound of copper and silver coins colliding.

Wu Sang took a look at the cloth bag, was a bit surprised, and then smiled, saying:

“Our family has always loved to study, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to become a family of incense makers for hundreds of years! Although I’m busy, I can’t slack off, especially this special black incense, which has aroused my interest. But let me say this first, there are countless types of incense in the world, and I can’t guarantee success. If I can’t replicate this black incense in the end, please don’t blame me.”

“With Mr. Wu Sang’s resources, I believe there will be breakthroughs if you try your best. If you can really replicate this black incense I want, I will have a big reward.” Yuan Ming said with a slight smile.

“You’re a straightforward person! Don’t worry, I’ll do my best.” Wu Sang laughed heartily, speaking with great enthusiasm.

“Could you also teach me your method of making incense?” Yuan Ming asked with a smile on his face.

“That’s a small matter. I’ll find time to teach you tomorrow. However, making incense is complicated and can’t be learned without years of practice. You should stay in the temple, so it’s convenient for me to teach you.” Wu Sang said.

“I’ll follow Mr. Wu Sang’s advice.” Yuan Ming had no objections and nodded in agreement.

“I’d like to take a bit of that black incense to study its composition.” Wu Sang said before leaving.

“Of course, you can.”

However, after he agreed, he suddenly found that this seemingly ordinary black incense was immovable under his force and couldn’t be broken at all.

He had to go out to a secluded place and use his magic to finally get a small piece of black incense. He was reluctant to take too much, but he was afraid that too little would not be enough for analysis.

He carefully wrapped it in white paper, returned to the courtyard, and handed it to Wu Sang.

After saying goodbye to Wu Sang, Yuan Ming went to a row of rooms on the east side. This was where the people in the temple lived. After asking, he found that there were several empty rooms.

He rented one, sat on the bed in the room, and looked out the window.

Although it took a lot of time, the search for incense had some clues.

Although Wu Sang was not very reliable, it was better than bumping around like a headless fly. At the very least, he could learn the incense-making technique that his family was proud of, and he could explore more accurately from the source.

He made up his mind, sat cross-legged, and started to operate the Nine Elements Formula.

The spiritual energy in the world was much thinner than in the Bi Luo Cave, but it could still be cultivated. He didn’t want to waste any time.

The next morning, Wu Sang came as promised, holding a few somewhat worn-out books in his arms.

Now that he knew Yuan Ming was not a debt collector, he naturally found a way to lift his house arrest.

“These are a few books about the way of incense. You can read them when you have time to get a general understanding of incense making. These books are for sale, ten copper coins each.” Wu Sang said.

“Okay, I’ll buy them all. Any progress on the black incense?” Yuan Ming paid the money, took the books, and asked.

(End of Chapter)