Chapter 180: Gloomy Ruined Temple, the Grey‑Clad Warrior Who Pursued a Dozen Strong Men

"We can only deal with it like this for one night…"

Liu Yuanjing and the others nodded, agreeing with the suggestion.

Along the way they would miss official stations, stay in broken temples many times, even eating in the wind and sleeping exposed.

But that ruined temple leaned deep in the overgrown grass, its faded Zhuqi Daimen half‑closed, the rotted wooden doors creaking in the draft as if the throats of the dying were moaning.

A few faded paper lanterns hung from the eaves, tattered silk fluttered in the wind, and in a daze it seemed countless withered hands were beckoning.

Chen Yan walked at the front, stepping over the threshold first, a smell of mildew mixed with carrion‑like stench hitting his face.

The statues lay crooked in the spider‑webbed altar, peeled gold lacquer revealing skeletal wood, and some statues' eyes had been gouged out, leaving only dark sockets that stared coldly at every intruder.

Grey‑black spider silk hanging from the beams, wrapped around shriveled insect corpses, swayed gently in the airflow like some bizarre ritual.

Suddenly a stray cat darted across the altar, knocking a half‑moldy bun off the offering table; it rolled to a corner, striking the rotten wood and causing the table to creak with a sour‑tinged moan.

He Ruodun was startled, standing between Wang Xiong and Dou Luling, clutching both of their sleeves, and cautiously asked, "A‑Xiong, A‑Ling, why does this ruined temple feel so… gloomy…?"

"It won't be haunted, right?"

Saying that, he kept looking left and right.

He looked genuinely terrified, fearing something evil might spring out at any moment.

Regretting that he left without a peach‑wood sword…

He Ruodun, the legitimate son of He Ruobi, whose father served as a Grand General under Chen Laoyezi.

"A‑Dun, I never guessed you were so cowardly, scared of ghosts?" Dou Luling said, eyeing He Ruodun with interest and teasing.

"I'm not scared of ghosts, but this temple exudes a different kind of gloom…"

He Ruodun craned his neck, stubbornly denying, "I always feel something's about to happen!"

For some reason, the moment he stepped into the temple, He Ruodun felt uneasy all over and broke into cold sweat.

"I also feel a chill crawling over me…"

Kou Luo shivered, looked around, and agreed.

He paused, as if recalling something, and guessed, "The deity worshipped here isn't some evil god, is it?"

In Chang'an they worship the Taoist Three Purities and Buddhist Tathagata and Guanyin, while in remote regions there are customs of worshipping all sorts of strange deities…

"It's a shame you two come from a military family background…"

Liu Yuanjing heard that, glanced, shook his head helplessly, and said, "You don't even have that much courage?"

"One should not speak of strange powers and chaotic gods; even scholars know that principle!"

Though the ruined temple is indeed eerie, how can anyone be more cowardly than someone as unskilled in martial arts as he is?

"I understand the principle, it's just this eerie feeling makes my nerves tingle…"

He Ruodun twitched his mouth and replied.

After speaking, he noticed Chen Yan's unchanged expression, no emotion, and asked, "Brother Chen, are you truly unafraid?"

Though Dou Luling and Liu Yuanjing said so, He Ruodun could still see they harbored a hint of fear…

Yet on someone's face, not a trace could be found!

As casual as eating and sleeping.

"Unafraid." Chen Yan said, slowly uttering the two words.

He paused, then continued, "He Ruodun, why don't you take a look at the guard beside you?"

"He looks like a veteran who survived countless battles, having lived through the slaughter on the battlefield…"

"He's taken at least a dozen lives with his hands!"

"If there's any filth, even filth fears him!"

Saying that, he raised his hand and pointed at the guard whose face bore a horizontal scar, a look of sheer resolve.

If we speak of metaphysics, the veteran's years of campaigning, having beheaded countless foes, have amassed a murderous aura that even ghosts and deities dread.

Otherwise, Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong wouldn't be door gods…

He Ruodun glanced back, gave a quick look at the guard behind him, thought briefly, and nodded, "Makes sense, it really is so!"

Anyone appointed as a family guard wouldn't lack the killing instinct.

Moreover, the troops behind them had just returned from recent fighting in Qinzhou…

Thinking of that, He Ruodun felt a sense of safety, his tense nerves relaxed.

"Moreover, the temple doesn't worship an evil god, but the Earth Sovereign…"

Chen Yan stopped before the statues, surveyed them, and said, "It's just aged and a bit dilapidated!"

He paused, then continued, "Alright, get some rest early."

Liu Yuanjing and the others nodded, each found a corner, cleaned it up, and sat down.

He Ba Le led people to fetch firewood and start a fire to ward off the cold.

Chen Yan waved over You Xian, took out a Jingzhou map, spread it, and, by firelight, mused, "Wangmu Palace Mountain…"

"…and Kuafu Peak lies opposite it in the distance…"

"The terrain forms a natural stronghold, easy to defend, hard to attack!"

Wangmu Palace Mountain and Kuafu Peak are exactly where Jingzhou bandits are entrenched.

It isn't just a single mountain or peak, but a continuous mountain range…

The terrain is treacherous and extremely suitable for concealment.

Geographically, exterminating the bandits is far from easy!

"Brother Chen, as we head to Anding, are we to join Jingzhou's forces and strike the bandits in one blow?"

Wang Xiong stepped forward, came beside the staring Chen Yan, and whispered.

He was vaguely speculating, yet still couldn't quite grasp this man's strategic intent…

Especially this sluggish march, crawling at a "turtle's pace" toward An Ding.

It runs counter to the belief that troops must be swift!

"Yes." Hearing that, Chen Yan withdrew his thoughts, gave Wang Xiong a sideways glance, his Adam's apple rolling, and replied.

"Really?"

Receiving a confirming answer, Wang Xiong, half believing, half doubting, asked back.

His intuition told Wang Xiong that it would not be that simple....

But this person didn't really want to see through it.

Nevertheless, the more like that, the more curious!

Because he sensed that Chen Yan's purpose was not limited to suppressing bandits; perhaps the Great Middle Master had an even deeper mission.....

But the specific details remain unknown!

At that moment, Zhu Yi, who had been sitting nearby with eyes closed to rest, suddenly opened his eyes wide and solemnly warned, "Young Master, a dozen or so people are drawing near us....."

"Their steps are unsteady; they must have suffered serious injuries!"

Outside the ruined temple.

A dozen or so people, their clothes tattered, faces dusty, bearing wounds, the one at the front kept urging, "Move, move faster!"

"That person is catching up!"

Their words were filled with fear.

"Damn!"

"That guy sticks like a dog‑skin plaster; you just can't shake him off!"

Zhang Xiaofeng clutched his chest, panting heavily, muttering curses, yet he kept glancing back now and then to make sure "that person" hadn't caught up.

Soon, the group stepped into the ruined temple, intending to cross it.

Just as they reached the hall entrance, Li Shan spotted a flash of fire inside and called out, "Brother Yang, there are people inside the ruined temple!"

"It can't be that person's accomplice lying in ambush for us, can it?!"

Having said that, he stared at the sudden appearance of the crowd inside the main hall and involuntarily stepped back a few paces.

"No, it's not!"

Yang Sha, however, remained extremely calm and quickly made a rational judgment: "Their eyes show surprise at seeing us, and they're on guard....."

After a pause, he added, "They must be passersby who lit a fire in the ruined temple for the night!"

"Then what should we do now?"

"Should we kill them to silence them?"

Li Shan's fear vanished instantly, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes as he made a motion as if to slit a throat, intending to resume his old ways.

"Stupid, better to have fewer problems than more....."

"Escaping is paramount!"

Upon hearing that, Zhang Xiaofeng rolled his eyes and couldn't help cursing.

Compared with killing, preserving one's life is far more important....

As long as we survive, there will be plenty of chances later to kill and loot!

"Ah!"

A wail of agony came from the rear of the dozen‑strong convoy.

Immediately after, someone shouted, "Demon Star is catching up!"

A figure in a tightly wrapped gray robe, only the eyes visible, came brandishing a sword and kicked the fallen corpse aside.

The remaining people stared at each other, as if they had witnessed a great horror.

Chen Yan rose, leaned against a hall gate pillar, watching the scene with interest, murmuring, "That one chasing a dozen people with a sword is truly fierce....."

"They look terrified, as if they've seen a ghost; they must have already been killed many times before!"

For some reason, this scene made Chen Yan involuntarily recall a saying:

"The enemy not only refuses to surrender, but also dares to strike back at us......"