I run a Taoist temple in a bizarre world.

Chapter 28 Sudden Arrival

As the sun sets, the dim, golden sunlight streams through the window and falls onto the ground.

It stained the white tiles with a layer of gold.

Chi Le walked out of the bathroom.

The half-dry hair was filled with moisture, and water droplets were dripping from the tips of the hair.

I spent half the day working at the company (but also slacked off for half the day).

Feeling sticky all over, the first thing Chi Le did when he got home was to head straight to the bathroom to take a shower.

Feeling refreshed, Chi Le rubbed her hair and sat on the sofa.

"How about we rest for the night?"

Chi Le yawned. Even though she had taken a "small" nap at the company today, and had just taken a nice cold shower, she was still feeling great.

However, the physical fatigue after staying up all night cannot be easily eliminated.

"Sigh, I'm not the same age I was in college anymore, my old bones can't take it anymore."

Chi Le lamented the fleeting nature of youth, and suddenly, as if sensing something deep within him.

"Um?"

Chi Le brought up the control panel.

A real-time monitoring screen with Qingshan Temple as the absolute center appeared.

In the scene, at the tightly closed "mountain gate," a young man carrying a petite girl on his back is repeatedly knocking on the wooden door.

Chi Le certainly recognized the two of them.

The Chen siblings from Changxi Village.

Chen Hao, who asked him for three jars of lamp oil, and Chen Cheng, who seemed to be seriously ill and could only rely on Chen Hao to trade with others using lamp oil as a bargaining chip to obtain medicinal herbs to cure his illness.

After a brief moment of thought, Chi Le summoned the door leading to Qingshan Temple and stepped inside.

……

Qingshan Temple, outside the [mountain gate].

Chen Hao carried Chen Cheng on his back, and the sun was about to set in the distance.

The last rays of sunlight fell on his anxious face.

He watched as the sunlight turned the original wooden door panel into a vivid, blood-red hue.

Chen Hao knew that once the sun had completely set...

Then the eerie fog will permeate the entire world, and the strange and evil creatures that appear along with the fog will tear him and Chen Cheng to pieces in an instant.

It wouldn't be a pity if he died, but Chen Cheng cannot die!

Thinking of this, Chen Hao knocked on the door even harder, completely forgetting his fear and awe of Chi Le.

"Master, are you there?"

"I am Chen Hao from Changxi Village. Please, Abbot, open the door and let us in."

No matter how much he knocked or called out,

Originally, he reacted quickly and opened the door in no time, allowing him to enter the "mountain gate" of Qingshan Temple.

However, it remained completely still, showing no intention of opening at all.

On the distant mountain peaks, almost the entire sun had already disappeared below the ridgeline, and the last ray of sunlight was gradually fading with the passage of time.

It was cold and damp.

Chen Hao once again thought of his first adventure to Qingshan Temple to obtain lamp oil.

Just like then, it is now equally cold and gloomy.

But now, that wooden door, which symbolizes survival, no longer opens its doors to him.

As the last ray of sunlight completely disappeared.

Grayish-white mist began to appear out of thin air all around.

This is eerie fog.

In his ears, Chen Hao seemed to hear the long howls of evil spirits and demons from the eerie mist.

A faint rustling sound came from beside me, starting with only a few scattered sounds.

The further you go, the more chaotic and numerous the sounds become.

It was as if countless evil creatures were roaming around him.

Chen Hao gritted his teeth and put the unconscious Chen Cheng down from his back.

He then bowed and clasped his hands in greeting.

"The sinner Chen Hao secretly took the lamp oil given by the abbot and exchanged it for medicinal herbs in order to save my little sister's life."

"Chen Hao knew right from wrong and originally intended to wait until his younger sister recovered from her serious illness before coming to the abbot to apologize."

"Given the current situation, Chen Hao does not ask the abbot for forgiveness or permission to enter the abbot's temple."

"I only beg the Abbot to allow my younger sister, Chen Cheng, to enter the Abbot's temple!"

God knows what you did.

This is a principle that Chen Hao's parents often taught him.

He knew that his attempt to exchange the lamp oil he had obtained from the abbot for medicinal herbs might not escape the eyes of the abbot, who possessed extraordinary abilities.

Chen Hao didn't intend to hide it.

With his only thought in mind to cure his younger sister's unknown serious illness, he went to Qingshan Temple.

At that time, whether one is killed or tortured will be entirely up to the abbot.

The last ray of sunlight disappeared completely below the ridgeline.

A strange fog enveloped Chen Hao and Chen Cheng completely.

Roar!

A loud roar rang out from beside Chen Hao.

In the past, Chen Hao would have been so frightened that he would have lost his composure and his limbs would have gone limp.

And now, Chen Hao's gesture of bowing and clasping his hands remains unchanged.

With his head bowed, only a resolute expression remained on his face.

Roar!

The roar of the beast seemed to ring right next to Chen Hao's ears.

He smelled the foul stench emanating from the mouth of the unknown evil creature that had attacked him in the eerie mist, and a chill ran through his body at just the right moment.

"Master, please save my little sister."

Facing the gaping maw of the evil creature about to fall on his neck, and confronting death, Chen Hao spoke for the last time.

puff!

With his eyes closed, Chen Hao, who was already waiting for death, waited in vain for his end.

He could still breathe normally and could clearly smell the stench of decay from the demon's gaping maw, as well as... the stench of blood.

Blood?

Chen Hao reached out and touched his face, feeling a few cool spots.

A foul, fishy stench suddenly erupted as the liquid was rubbed between the fingertips.

This reminded him of the fish that died in the jar a few days later.

tick...

Chen Hao opened his eyes and instinctively looked toward the source of the sound.

It was less than a step away from his neck.

A monster with a fish-like body, four limbs, and a mouth full of sharp teeth had been pierced through its body by several solid earth spikes.

The figure lunging towards Chen Hao froze in mid-air, drops of dark gray blood soaking the mud at Chen Hao's feet.

This evil demon is dead; it was the abbot who did it!

Chen Hao turned to look at the mountain gate.

Sure enough, the previously closed wooden door was now open.

Chen Hao bowed deeply, and without further delay, picked up Chen Cheng from the ground and strode into Qingshan Temple.

Inside the main hall, Chen Hao bowed again.

Chi Le, who was seated at the head of the table, quietly looked at Chen Hao without saying a word.

After a long silence, Chen Hao finally couldn't bear the atmosphere any longer and spoke up.

"Thank you, Abbot, Chen Hao..."

Chi Le waved his hand, signaling Chen Hao to shut up.

His gaze fell on Chen Cheng, who was tightly wrapped in a thick quilt. Chen Cheng's closed eyelids trembled constantly due to the cold.

"This person is going to die."

Chi Le's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Chen Hao's mind and shattering all the thoughts he had prepared in advance.

He thought that the abbot might blame him for repeatedly asking for lamp oil but then selling it off without permission and using the money to buy herbs.

He also thought that the abbot would punish him for this, as the temple keeper of Qingshan Temple had mentioned it back then.

Under no circumstances should lamp oil be sold off without authorization.

Unexpectedly, the abbot bypassed the question and focused his attention on his younger sister.

"Yes...yes, Abbot, my little sister is dying, which is why I came to your Qingshan Temple."

"The only person I can think of who can save my little sister is you, Abbot."

"Master, please save my little sister. If you punish me for repeatedly asking for lamp oil and selling it without permission, please do so."

"I will accept any punishment, even my life is at your disposal!"

"I only beg the abbot to save my little sister's life."

When facing Chi Le, Chen Hao's inherent weakness made him stutter a bit when he spoke.

But Chen Cheng beside him gave him the courage to say everything he wanted to say.

Chi Le, meanwhile, looked at Chen Cheng, who lay unconscious on the ground, his fate unknown.

Some things are just not sure where to start.

Let him hunt down demons, that's fine.

The matter of beckoning to the land of Changxi Village.

But asking him to treat illnesses and save lives involves his blind spots in his abilities.

"I'd like to help you."

"But how am I supposed to know how to save your little sister?"

"It wasn't me who saw that she was going to die, it was Qingshan Temple."

Chi Le looked at the information prompts that popped up on the panel in front of him and thought to himself.