Shoutian County, Ancient Locust Town, an abandoned temple.
In the southern part of Jizhou, a torrential rain was pouring down. The green grassland had long been drenched into a muddy mess, and the verdant leaves stood vertically in the rain, washed by the rainwater until they lost their vitality.
The sky was a gloomy grey, suffocating, as if darkness would envelop everything at any moment.
A scholar, dressed in a raincoat and hat, was running wildly in the pouring rain, clutching a bundle of books wrapped in cloth.
Seeing the abandoned temple not far away, his eyes lit up. He tightened his grip on the books and quickened his pace, rushing over.
Huff, huff——
The scholar was panting heavily. He quickly closed the doors and windows. Although the temple was dilapidated, it was fortunate that it didn’t leak rain.
He unwrapped the bundle and checked if the books were wet. Perhaps due to his careful protection, the books were still dry.
The scholar lit an oil lamp and began to read softly under the dim light.
Suddenly, a beautiful figure appeared behind the scholar. With a captivating smile at the corner of her mouth, she patted the scholar’s back.
Seeing the figure, the scholar smiled involuntarily, as if he was bewitched.
After the heavy rain, the exhausted scholar left the abandoned temple.
……
Three figures, dressed as scholars, were walking in the muddy ground, their steps uneven and somewhat awkward.
“Why is this road so difficult to walk on?” one of the figures complained.
Another rolled his eyes, “Just bear with it. Don’t be ungrateful. Isn’t this better than when we were in the dense forest?”
“True.”
The third figure explained, “I heard that there was a once-in-a-decade heavy rain yesterday, which thoroughly soaked Ancient Locust Town. The river even overflowed its banks. It’s said that it will rain again tonight.”
“Tsk, this doesn’t seem like a good omen.”
Lu Yang pointed at the temple and laughed, “That’s perfect. There’s a temple ahead. Although it’s a bit run-down, the Buddha statue should still be there. You can pray there when we stay overnight.”
“Let’s review our plan. According to the current information, the other party is highly vigilant and won’t show up easily. Moreover, the other party is a ghost with excellent escape techniques and is not easy to catch.”
“The ghost’s strength should be at the Foundation Establishment stage, but the specific realm is unknown.”
“If the ghost appears, we must make sure she won’t escape before we make a move to catch her!”
“Our current identities are scholars seeking fame and fortune in the Imperial City. We will stay here for one night to lure the ghost out!”
“So far, we haven’t received any news about the ghost killing people. Don’t kill her when we catch her.”
“I used to be inexperienced when I was out. Ever since I saw our master being locked up in jail, I understood the importance of using a pseudonym in the outside world. Even if we lose face, it won’t be the Seek Tao Sect’s face. Let’s confirm our names again. I’m Lu Yiyang.”
“I’m Long Jingzhou.”
“I’m Li Hao.”
The three of them discussed and felt that there was no problem with the plan. They then concealed their auras to the extreme, disguised as mortals, and entered the temple.
“This temple is very clean.” Meng Jingzhou was surprised. He thought it would be dusty with spider webs in every corner.
The interior of the temple greatly exceeded his expectations. It was as clean as if someone had cleaned it.
The only regret was that the Buddha statue in the middle was missing its upper body, making it impossible to worship.
Li Haoran found some dry firewood behind the Buddha statue, probably left by the last person who stayed here.
He piled up the firewood, found some dry grass, took out a flint from his bag, used the dry grass as a fuse, and lit the firewood.
Li Haoran warmed his hands by the fire, showing an extremely comfortable expression, “Huff——I feel alive again.”
Lu Yang took out a few steamed buns from his bag, skewered them with wooden sticks, and roasted them over the fire.
When the skin of the steamed buns turned slightly yellow, Lu Yang broke one open. The aroma mixed with the heat hit their faces.
Meng Jingzhou walked around the dilapidated temple and returned to the main hall, “Besides the main hall, there are two rooms. It’s perfect for us to sleep in later.”
“Okay.”
The three of them sat around the fire, eating steamed buns and pickles, and lamenting the difficult journey ahead.
Lu Yang was full of worries, and even the steamed bun in his hand didn’t taste good anymore, “I don’t know if our trip to the Imperial City will go smoothly. I heard that there are cultivators everywhere in the Imperial City. It’s extremely difficult for us mortals to make a name for ourselves there.”
Meng Jingzhou waved his hand, “The number of cultivators in the Imperial City is not as exaggerated as you think. It’s good if there’s one cultivator among twenty people. It’s extremely difficult to become a cultivator. Just the spiritual root alone eliminates ninety-nine percent of people.”
One cultivator among twenty people, this ratio was already extremely shocking. No major city in the Central Continent could reach this ratio.
“Although we don’t have spiritual roots, we have knowledge. We can easily write various articles and have unique insights into current affairs. Tomorrow we will leave Shoutian County and go to the capital to take the exam. It’s not impossible to gain the emperor’s favor, achieve fame and fortune, and get a government position.”
Not all high-ranking officials in the Great Xia Dynasty were cultivators. Some were mortals.
Meng Jingzhou pointed at Li Haoran with a steamed bun and said, “For example, Brother Li, you recited the ‘Thousand Character Classic’ at the age of five, wrote poems at seven, lyrics at eight, and articles at ten. Your talent is extraordinary, and your articles are wonderful. The teacher always praises you as the best student he has ever taught.”
Li Haoran smiled modestly, “Brother Long, you flatter me. It’s just the teacher trying to encourage me. On the contrary, Brother Long, you gave up inheriting your family business and chose to seek a future in the Imperial City. This confidence, and the source of this confidence, is something that Brother Lu and I can’t match.”
The three of them complimented each other, then turned to the books of the sages, reading with great interest. They thought the writings of the sages were excellent and deserved to be passed down through the ages. If they could write an article like that, they would die without regrets.
Meng Jingzhou yawned, ruthlessly shattering Lu Yang’s dream, “Alright, stop dreaming. Let’s sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow.”
The three of them went into their respective rooms as they had agreed when eating the steamed buns.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou went to sleep in separate rooms on either side, while Li Haoran stayed in the main hall, sleeping in front of a half Buddha statue.
In the darkness, three charming figures stared at the trio, their eyes emitting a faint green glow.
“Three more people have arrived, and they are brimming with Yang energy. I really wonder what they taste like…” the figure in green clothes chuckled lightly.
“Yes, indeed. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen scholars with such strong Yang energy. Although it’s said that scholars who read the classics can cultivate a strong moral character, it’s rare to see it as strong as these three,” the figure in red clothes licked her lips, full of temptation.
The figure in white clothes, who was younger, quickly said, “Sisters, we must be careful not to drain all their Yang energy. We need to take a sustainable approach.”
“If they enjoy it once, they will come back for a second time. In the long run, we will absorb more Yang energy than if we drain it all at once.”
“We know, we know. Little Seven, you’re the youngest but the most nagging. We know our limits and won’t overdo it. If we attract the attention of the righteous path, we’ll be the ones in trouble. We understand this.”
“Let’s split up. The two of us will go to the rooms on the side, and Little Seven, you stay here and attend to this Mr. Li.”
(End of Chapter)