I run a Taoist temple in a bizarre world.

Chapter 27 will be over soon.

jingle……

Chi Le's alarm clock, which she had set in advance, went off.

This was so he could take advantage of one of the few company benefits.

An alarm clock set for a free lunch.

"Is it time already?"

Reaching out to turn off the alarm clock, Chi Le's view froze on the screen showing Chen Hao's back as he turned to go home with a bag of medicinal herbs.

It's not that there's a problem with the "surveillance footage" provided by Qingshan Temple.

Chi Le simply didn't intend to watch any further.

"To pay for my sister's medical treatment..."

Chi Le admitted that if Chen Hao came to his Qingshan Temple to ask for lamp oil on this pretext...

He might not be able to refuse outright.

Although he still owed Changxi Village more than twenty jars of lamp oil, it would be a long time before he could deliver the lamp oil to Changxi Village.

That's enough for him to collect the remaining lamp oil.

Moreover, Chi Le felt it was a good deal to exchange a few jars of lamp oil for a stable and long-term source of "incense offerings" from Chen Hao.

"However, there's a reason to say it directly: they're just taking advantage of me... Never mind, I'll take Chen Hao down later when I have the chance."

Putting Chen Hao's matter aside for the time being, Chi Le has something more important to deal with first.

"We're going to miss it! We're going to miss it! Let's get out the door!"

Chi Le took a firm step toward the free lunch.

……

Chen Hao's home in Changxi Village.

After carrying three bags of medicinal herbs back from Lai Pi Zhang's residence, Chen Hao rushed home without stopping.

I knocked gently on the door, but no one answered as before.

"This little girl, Chen Cheng, has finally listened to me for once and gone to sleep to rest."

Chen Hao held the medicinal herbs, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Fortunately, Chen Hao had considered this possibility before leaving home and brought his keys.

Click.

Squeak.

Chen Hao pushed open the door and entered, first going to Chen Cheng's room.

Seeing the little girl lying peacefully on the bed, breathing evenly, Chen Hao finally felt completely relieved.

He turned and went to the kitchen to begin processing the medicinal herbs.

goo goo goo...

As soon as the medicinal herbs were put into the pot, the clear well water quickly turned pale yellow.

As the water in the decoction pot boiled and surged, the yellow color deepened.

For some reason, even sitting by the fire, Chen Hao still felt a chill that ran from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

"That's about enough, it's time to get Xiaocheng up and give her her medicine."

Ignoring his feelings, Chen Hao poured out a bowl of thick, sticky, dark brown medicine, and carried the bowl to Chen Cheng's room.

"Xiao Cheng, get up and take your medicine."

Upon hearing Chen Hao's voice, Chen Cheng groaned a few times, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and got out of bed.

The thin blanket slipped off, revealing Chen Cheng's equally thin body.

"Brother, you're back?"

"Hmm... what's that taste? Do I have to take medicine again?"

Upon smelling the medicine, Chen Cheng instantly snapped awake, waving his hand and shaking his head in one swift motion.

"No, I don't want to take medicine, it tastes awful!"

Chen Hao could only put on a slightly stern face in front of Chen Cheng.

"No, this is an illness; you won't get better without medicine!"

"I'm not sick, I'm perfectly healthy! I won't..."

Chen Cheng stiffened his neck, but quickly softened after meeting Chen Hao's eyes.

Obediently, he reached out, took the earthenware bowl, pinched his nose, and drank the thick, brown liquid inside in one gulp.

"slightly……"

Chen Cheng stuck out his small, brown tongue, his eyebrows furrowing in unbearable bitterness from the medicine.

"Would you like to lie down for a while after you finish drinking?"

Chen Hao took the earthenware bowl, his eyes filled with worry.

"good……"

Chen Cheng covered himself with the blanket and lay back down on the bed.

Both of them knew what kind of reaction would occur after Chen Cheng drank the medicine.

Chen Hao washed the dishes and cleaned the medicine pot.

Then he returned to Chen Cheng's room, brought out a small wooden stool, and sat down by Chen Cheng's bed.

It was the height of summer, and even though the sun had already set, the heat in the air had not yet dissipated.

The heat caused fine beads of sweat to constantly appear on Chen Hao's body and forehead.

However, Chen Cheng's reaction in bed was completely different from Chen Hao's.

Her lips were purple, and her face was flushed.

Goosebumps rose on my arms as I gripped the blanket tightly.

Chen Cheng curled up into a ball, shivering one after another, causing the thin, coarse linen quilt to tremble.

It's as if she's not in the heat of summer, but in the dead of winter with its biting wind and snow.

Chen Hao took out the only thick quilt in the house that he had prepared in advance and gently covered Chen Cheng with it.

However, this did not alleviate Chen Cheng's symptoms.

On the contrary, she not only trembled even more violently, but her eyebrows and temples were also covered with white frost.

Chen Cheng's teeth chattered incessantly, and his exhaled breath turned into a cloud of white mist upon contact with the air.

From her trembling lips, a few indistinct words drifted out.

"Brother, it's so cold..."

Chen Hao held tightly to Chen Cheng's hand that was sticking out of the blanket.

It was as if this would transfer his heat to her.

"It's okay, it's okay, it'll be over soon, it'll be over soon."

Chen Hao kept repeating the same words.

Before his eyes, Chen Cheng's face, enduring pain, suddenly overlapped with that of his father and mother who had passed away many years ago.

"My closest relative said to Chen Hao."

"After I'm gone, Chen Cheng will be in your care. Keep a close eye on her."

Chen Hao pressed his forehead against the bed frame and closed his eyes tightly.

"I will."

He never dared to grip Chen Cheng's hand too tightly.

A moment later, Chen Hao raised his head, his voice hoarse yet gentle.

"It'll be over soon, it'll be over soon..."

……

Jiangcheng Special Investigation Bureau.

Having just finished a meeting, Yu Xun lagged half a step behind Yu Ying, and the two walked together toward the team office.

"Brother, is what the people from the Shicheng Special Operations Bureau said true?"

Yu Ying did not answer Yu Xun's question first, but instead spoke without turning his head.

"What do you mean, 'big brother'? How many times have I told you? When you're at work, use your job title!"

"Yes, Captain Yu!"

Honest young man, Xiao Xun immediately stood at attention.

"Old Li from Shicheng isn't as steady as me, and he's a bit more impulsive, but he wouldn't dare to speak carelessly about something like this."

"But this is too... too 'fantasy'—a sanctuary in a bizarre world?"

"This is the first time we've encountered something like this in over twenty years since the first case of someone falling into a bizarre world came out."

"In a world filled with nothing but danger, where a moment's carelessness can lead to death, how could a sanctuary even exist?"

Yu Ying flipped through the documents in his hand.

"Who knows? Anyway, just follow the orders from above, as long as we find this shelter in this strange world."

"Then let's actively enter, launch an investigation, and obtain more information about the first safe house in this strange world that can shelter people who return home during the day."

"Unfortunately, according to the intelligence reported by that guy in Lao Li's team... Xiao Zhang? Yes, Xiao Zhang, they found the shelter in Juhu Mountain."

"This place is too far from where I usually fall. There aren't many of the Jiangcheng Special Operations Bureau's day-returning officers who fall near Juhu Mountain either."

"Otherwise, I really want to go and see."

As they chatted, the two arrived at the door of the squad office.

Yu Xun opened the door and asked.

"Why not rely on random falls?"

Yu Ying walked straight to his desk without stopping and replied.

"The efficiency is too low. The bizarre world is far larger than you imagine. Relying on random falls, you probably won't even reach Juhu Mountain before you die."

After so many years of contact with the bizarre world, the Special Affairs Bureau...

They had already figured out some of the patterns that led the daytime returnees into the bizarre world.

After first falling into and returning from the bizarre world,

The next time you enter the bizarre world, you can choose to return to the place where you were last in the bizarre world.

You can also choose random, allowing the bizarre world to teleport you randomly.

"However, didn't one of the daytime returnees from the Special Operations Bureau of the city say that he also saw the wooden door that Xiao Zhang mentioned last night?"

"Moreover, it is not in Kuhushan, but on the outskirts of an indigenous village, which is many kilometers away from Kuhushan."

Yu Xun sat across from Yu Ying's desk, thinking about the words of another person who had spoken at the meeting.

"Therefore, the entrance to this shelter most likely appeared randomly in this bizarre world."

"If we can find a stable way to enter this shelter later."

"Our situation wouldn't be as difficult in a bizarre world as it is now."

Yu should place the documents in his hand on the table.

The title of the document is...

[Preliminary Plan from the Special Operations Bureau Regarding the Investigation of the Unusual Area of ​​Castle Peak Temple]