Qingzhou lies to the north of Xinxiang, separated by Xianzhou and Chongshanzhou in between.
From Xianzhou to Qingzhou, there is a waterway connecting them, called the Xianzhou River. It traverses both provinces and leads directly to the provincial capital of Qingzhou.
Chen Shi rested for a night in the provincial capital of Xianzhou. Early the next morning, he arrived at the dock by the river. Here, there were many passenger and cargo ships traveling between various provinces. Among the many vessels, a painted pleasure boat was moored by the shore. The boat girl stood on tiptoe, gazing toward the bank.
Chen Shi was as important as the Righteous Official, so the father and daughter had divided their duties: one guarding the Righteous Official, and the other guarding Chen Shi.
She was responsible for guarding Chen Shi.
For this trip to Qingzhou, the waterway was the most convenient, so she had moved the painted pleasure boat to the Xianzhou River early on, waiting here for Chen Shi.
After a short while, Chen Shi indeed appeared in her line of sight.
The boat girl's heart leaped with joy. She walked back into the cabin, thinking to herself, "When he sees my boat, he will surely co over. I'll tease him a little, pretending it's a chance encounter."
She had just entered the painted boat when she heard a loud *splash*. Her ears caught the exclamations and sounds of amazent from many boatn.
She hurriedly looked outside and was left dumbstruck.
She saw Chen Shi's wooden cart leap into the Xianzhou River, with Chen Shi and the black dog jumping onto the cart.
The protective canopy on that wooden cart opened with a *whoosh*. The wheels turned, and it sped away from the dock.
The boat girl stared blankly as the wooden cart moved farther and farther away. Under that canopy, the faint silhouette of the Wind God even appeared, no more than three inches tall, holding a cattail leaf fan, stirring up a great wind that allowed the wooden cart to travel swiftly through the water. Its speed even surpassed the fast boats on the river!
"Am I... useless now?"
It was already two days later when Chen Shi arrived within the borders of Qingzhou Province.
He took out Li Tianqing's letter, flipped to the back, compared it with the topographic map, and looked up at the mountain ranges on both banks.
According to the topographic map drawn by Li Tianqing, the Lord Guan temple was not in the provincial capital of Qingzhou, but located at the foot of the mountain on the left bank.
He found a simple dock in the countryside. The dock was already abandoned, with a few dilapidated fishing boats moored there.
The wooden cart leaped onto the dock, skillfully shaking off the water droplets on its body.
Chen Shi glanced at it, feeling this action was sowhat familiar.
Not far away was a town. Several bailiffs were posting notices outside the town.
A man carrying a pickaxe passed by and was grabbed by one of the bailiffs, who pressed a steel blade against his neck.
The man knelt in terror, pleading for rcy incessantly. The bailiff kept the blade pressed against his neck while looking at the notice.
"Not a wanted criminal," the bailiff laughed, waving his hand to tell the man to scram quickly.
Chen Shi looked toward the notice board. Most of the notices were wanted posters for bandits. So had already yellowed, so had been torn so badly the faces were unrecognizable, and on so wanted posters, more posters had been pasted over them, creating a thick stack of over a dozen layers.
He glanced roughly, estimating there were probably three to five hundred wanted notices on that board.
One of the wanted notices was for a man nad Wang Erniu, who had stolen a hoe from his neighbor, committed a capital cri, and was at large.
Chen Shi read it twice, confirming that Wang Erniu had indeed been sentenced to death, and couldn't help but be astonished.
There was also a Xiucai nad Fang Jin, who threw a stone at the county magistrate's official sedan chair—capital cri, at large.
Widow Yue Xiu'e didn't want to be honored with a chastity arch and wanted to remarry—capital cri, at large.
Xu Tiezhu trampled on more than ten rice seedlings in the field, fined five *qian* of silver, refused to pay the fine—capital cri, at large.
...
Those bailiffs also noticed him. Seeing he was wearing a provincial graduate's robe, they spoke politely, "Does the graduate recognize any of these bandits? If you can capture one and bring them to justice, the yan offers a reward of a hundred taels of silver."
Chen Shi said solemnly, "I am a provincial graduate from Xinxiang Province, law-abiding. If I encounter any bandits, I will deliver them to the prefectural yan to claim the reward. Do you gentlen know how to get to Weidang Village?"
"Weidang Village? Follow this road for about ten *li*. There's a mountain path. Follow that path for roughly seven or eight *li*, and you'll see a lake. The lakeshore is all reed marshes. Weidang Village is right next to it, facing Qingzhou Prefecture City."
Chen Shi thanked them.
The bailiffs watched him leave with the wooden cart and the black dog, then compared the wanted notices on the board. Finding no face resembling Chen Shi's, they sighed regretfully.
Chen Shi walked forward. On both sides of the road were many wooden stakes, shaped like crosses. Each stake had a shirtless person hanging from it—n and won. So weren't dead yet, emitting low moans. They were probably criminals sentenced to death.
The sun was blazing hot now, dehydrating these convicts. The corpses of those already dead were pitch black. As Chen Shi passed by, he heard a buzzing sound as swarms of black flies rose from the bodies, circling them.
After he passed, the flies settled back down, and the corpses turned pitch black again.
He also saw two bailiffs escorting a prisoner, a rope around his neck, hanging the prisoner under a large tree.
The person hanging from the tree kicked his legs violently, then stopped breathing.
"What cri did he commit?" Chen Shi stopped and asked.
Seeing he was a scholar, the two bailiffs said, "He was so hungry he lost his mind and stole a bag of grain from the granary. According to the law, he should be executed."
Chen Shi asked, puzzled, "Isn't Qingzhou's law the law of the Ming Dynasty? Why is it so harsh?"
The two bailiffs' expressions changed instantly. The younger bailiff gripped the hilt of his waist saber and shouted, "Falsely discussing Qingzhou's laws, you have committed a great cri!"
The slightly older bailiff quickly stopped him, smiling at Chen Shi, "He's had too much to drink, he didn't an to arrest you. I apologize on his behalf."
The younger bailiff didn't understand. The older bailiff quietly pressed his hand, signaling him not to say more.
Chen Shi drove the cart away.
The older bailiff complained, "Didn't you see? He's wearing a provincial graduate's robe. His cultivation level is definitely much higher than ours! If you attack him, the ones hanging from this tree later will be us!"
The younger bailiff sobered up, saying, "Old Liu, you considered it thoroughly. But he falsely discussed our Qingzhou laws..."
"Just draw up a wanted notice and post it. Soone will naturally capture him."
A short while later, Chen Shi's portrait was posted on the notice board, the charge being "falsely discussing Qingzhou laws."
Chen Shi walked on, seeing many such isolated large trees along the roadside, each hanging one or two or three corpses.
So corpses were already just skeletal remains, yet still hadn't been taken down.
When the wind blew, the white bones of the skeletons hanging from the trees clattered against each other, making a rattling sound, like ripe nuts on a tree.
Many evil spirits road the mountains and wilderness, letting out terrifying roars from ti to ti. Evil energy gathered in gullies or ponds, so grayish, so greenish, visible to the naked eye.
Similar evil energy was everywhere, drifting like clouds in the mountains.
Chen Shi looked up at the sky. Only the sun was visible; the moon hadn't risen yet, but the evil spirits of Qingzhou were already active everywhere.
He saw several Hundred Infants by the roadside, lying lazily, their infant-like heads hanging from trees, dozing.
Chen Shi and the wooden cart passed by. These Hundred Infants just opened their sleepy eyes, gazing dazedly as they walked past, then squinted their eyes and fell asleep again.
They actually showed no impulse to hunt, quite different from evil spirits elsewhere.
Chen Shi thought to himself, "These evil spirits have eaten too many convicts and have been raised lazy."
He walked over ten *li*, found that mountain path, and after walking six or seven *li*, sure enough, a stretch of reed marshes ca into view. The reeds had already grown long, tail-like stalks, resembling white, faintly gray fox tails, in large clusters.
And Weidang Village was right across from this reed marsh.
He took out the topographic map to confirm the location and arrived at the area outside Weidang Village near the mountain slope.
This place was rarely visited, with only an ancient temple standing at the foot of the mountain.
In the fields outside the temple, several large-eared strange people were either sitting or standing, surrounding the temple. They listened intently while writing and sketching with brushes.
"Heaven's Listeners are monitoring this Temple of the God of Wealth?"
Chen Shi was quite surprised. He checked the topographic map again; this was indeed the place.
But why would Heaven's Listeners monitor the Temple of the God of Wealth?
So ti ago, so Heaven's Listeners had been monitoring Chen Shi, but after Chen Shi went to Great South Lake, these Heaven's Listeners seed to have evaporated from the world, nowhere to be found.
"What has Tianqing done? Why are there so many Heaven's Listeners?"
Just as he thought this, he saw Li Tianqing push open the temple door.
Seeing him, Li Tianqing was both shocked and overjoyed. He quickly walked forward to greet him, smiling, "Little Ten, I've finally waited for you!"
Chen Shi jumped off the wooden cart, smiling, "I was delayed at Qianyang Mountain for several days, constantly worried about your safety. It's great that you're fine!"
Li Tianqing waved the letter in his hand, laughing, "I planned to go out today to Qingzhou Prefecture to send a letter telling you I'm fine now, so you didn't need to co. I never imagined you'd already arrived!"
In the distance, those Heaven's Listeners' ears stood straight up. Their brushes scritched and scratched, rapidly recording the conversation between the two.
Li Tianqing glanced at them warily, invited Chen Shi into the temple, and closed the temple door.
Chen Shi looked around this Temple of the God of Wealth. The interior had already been cleaned by Li Tianqing, the doors, windows, and roof repaired properly. The courtyard was also tidied up neatly. On the left and right sides were spirit fields, growing so spirit herbs that were quite robust.
There was also a well in the courtyard, which had been cleaned out.
There was also a release pond, which had been cleaned, the water inside clear to the bottom.
However, on the walls on both sides, there were crisscrossing streaks of bloodstains, as if soone had been decapitated by an extrely fast blade, their blood splattering on the wall!
He felt an inexplicable pressure assault him and couldn't help but look toward the main hall.
That was where the extraordinary power was most concentrated.
He walked forward. The sense of oppression grew stronger and stronger. Before his eyes, it seed as if mountains of blades and seas of fire appeared. A towering god or demon sat amidst the blades and fire, feigning sleep, its body incomparably majestic. When it awoke and opened its eyes, the heads of evildoers would fall!
The closer Chen Shi got to this main hall, the stronger the oppressive feeling beca, making his heart race with fear.
On the walls inside the hall, there were also many blade marks and shocking bloodstains.
"Tianqing, are you sure this is the Temple of the God of Wealth, not a Temple of the God of War?" Chen Shi asked.
Li Tianqing dragged over a plaque, smiling, "Look."
Chen Shi looked. It was indeed the Temple of the God of Wealth. He grew even more puzzled, "The oppressive feeling from the God of Wealth is this strong?"
He had seen many deities from China. The one with the strongest oppressive feeling was this Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor. It truly felt like a large blade was resting on his neck, ready to chop down at any mont!
However, there was no evil spirit aura here. The main hall was likely where Li Tianqing practiced cultivation. Sunlight spilled down from another world. So little children in yellow clothes and little children in black hats were basking in the sun inside the hall.
Chen Shi carefully sensed it and detected no evil spirit aura. On the contrary, the Three Lights Righteous Energy here was quite dense, the righteous energy of heaven and earth abundant, not inferior to the small temple behind his head.
Although extraordinary power was gathering in the temple's miniature shrine, it was still far from condensing into a Divine Manifestation.
He inspected the area. This temple was different from other ancient temples he had seen before. Those ancient temples were mostly in remote, rarely visited places, while this Temple of the God of Wealth was at the foot of a mountain, its entrance directly facing Qingzhou City.
"Perhaps this place attracts evil spirits."
Li Tianqing said, "A while ago, evil spirits haunted this place at night, even running into the temple. Suddenly, they were cut down and killed, while I remained unhard. I suppose it's because the Wealth God is protecting for repairing the temple. For the past two days, I've slept particularly soundly, with no evil spirits breaking into the temple."
Chen Shi also felt relieved and suggested, "Since you're fine, why don't we simply move this Temple of the God of Wealth away?"
Li Tianqing was stunned, "Move it away?"
Chen Shi smiled, "You need the Three Lights Righteous Energy for your cultivation now. If you leave this temple, where will you go to practice? Next year, when you go to the Western Capital to take the imperial exams, without the Temple of the God of Wealth, how will you cultivate? Of course, we take this entire Temple of the God of Wealth with us, just like the small temple behind my head, carrying it with you, able to practice anyti, anywhere."
Li Tianqing asked for guidance, "How do we do it?"
"I once refined a set of courtyards using the Taotie Devouring Heaven Talisman. The exterior was only about a foot square, but the interior was about the size of a normal courtyard."
Chen Shi looked around and said, "Using this thod, we can move the entire Temple of the God of Wealth into a one-foot-square courtyard!"
Li Tianqing knew his talisman expertise and quickly bowed, "I leave it to you, Little Ten!"
Chen Shi summoned his Nascent Soul, which floated above the Temple of the God of Wealth. He carefully observed the layout of this temple, then went to cut down a large tree, sawed off a section of log, and manipulated sword energy to carve a temple onto the wooden block.
After Chen Shi finished carving, he still needed to repeatedly imprint talismans to ensure the interior space of this temple was the sa size as the Temple of the God of Wealth. Only then could the temple be moved into the small model.
This was a delicate and ticulous task, not sothing that could be completed in a day or two.
Chen Shi carved patiently, resting when tired.
He and Li Tianqing hadn't seen each other for a long ti, so naturally, they had much to talk about—from their experiences during this period to their cultivation gains, and even matters about spirit herbs increasing lifespan.
When it ca to sensitive topics, the two would write on paper with brushes to avoid being recorded by the Heaven's Listeners outside the temple.
After dinner, Chen Shi lit a lamp and continued carving the small temple. Li Tianqing gradually fell asleep.
Unconsciously, it reached the hour of Zi (midnight). Chen Shi also grew drowsy, yawning, and was about to put down his work when suddenly an imnse oppressive feeling assaulted him. Once again, mountains of blades and seas of fire rushed toward him!
Chen Shi's heart pounded wildly. He mobilized his Nascent Soul, stirred his blood and energy, and gradually could see things around him, but his vision was still sowhat blurry.
He could only see outlines, not details.
At that mont, Li Tianqing, who was sleeping, stood up stiffly!
Chen Shi was about to wake him when he saw Li Tianqing fly out of the main hall into the air. Chen Shi rushed out of the hall and saw Li Tianqing land on a large horse wreathed in crimson flas, with a stream of azure dragon energy swirling around him.
"Whoosh—"
The temple gate opened. Li Tianqing galloped away on horseback.
Chen Shi felt the pressure lighten instantly and imdiately charged out of the Temple of the God of Wealth, shouting, "Black Pot, guard the house!"
He moved extrely fast, rushing out of the temple, only to see Li Tianqing already several *li* away. His hand rose, his blade fell. A vast, azure blade energy shot out. An evil spirit that had been devouring the corpses of prisoners hanging by the roadside froze for a mont, then its head slid off its neck.
The cut was incredibly smooth, making Chen Shi's eyelids twitch violently!
This blade strike was nearly at the level of the Dao itself!
Li Tianqing galloped wildly, his horse's hooves treading on flas. He slaughtered evil spirits all along the way, heading straight for Qingzhou City!
Chen Shi knew sothing was wrong and imdiately charged forward with all his might, yet the distance between him and Li Tianqing grew larger and larger.
When Li Tianqing was still about a *li* away from the provincial capital of Qingzhou, a flash of azure blade light shot out. With a thunderous *boom*, the city gate of Qingzhou City flew up in the blade light, splitting into two halves!
Chen Shi watched from afar as Li Tianqing raised his blade again. The Myriad Soul Banner hanging on the city wall suddenly split down the middle.
This city-guarding magic treasure was cleaved apart by a single blade strike!
Chen Shi's heart raced with fear as he followed Li Tianqing into Qingzhou City.
The city was in an uproar.
Wanted notices for major criminals were posted on the notice board at the city gate. As Chen Shi passed by, he glanced hurriedly and saw that the bandit leader ranked at the top of the list rode a large horse wreathed in crimson flas, blazing with fire, holding a massive azure dragon blade, radiating murderous intent.
And the face of the bandit leader was precisely Li Tianqing!
Chen Shi was dumbfounded.
"So, the one haunting the temple every night wasn't an evil spirit, but Tianqing! Wait, then who was it that went to kill Tianqing every night?"
—This writer's block was worse than I imagined!
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