Chapter 163: Evil in the Temple (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Seeing that night was about to fall, the village head clasped his hands and said, "My lord, please rest; I shall take my leave."

He was about to leave with Qin Taichen.

"Wait."

Xu Yuan spoke lightly, walked to an eight-immortal table, and tapped it, saying, "We will all stay in the main hall tonight. We will not touch those few rooms, but this is where your villagers eat; can it be moved?"

Suddenly, that feeling of being watched returned—that thing extended its head from the main hall's roof beam and peered down.

"My lord, you cannot!" the village head urgently protested. Yu Yunhang snorted coldly, drew his sword horizontally, and blocked the village head.

Xu Yuan, without showing a trace of emotion, secretly gripped the Yin-Yang Guillotine, then suddenly turned and looked up!

A ghastly face on the roof beam instantly shrank back.

Xu Yuan remained just as before, pretending to see nothing, but he had closed his left eye.

He swept his right eye across the entire village temple.

Spending the night outdoors in the wild is extremely dangerous, and since this place is very close to Little Yu Shan, if evil spirits descend from the mountains at night without the protection of door gods, it is almost a certain death.

But the village temple is obviously not peaceful either.

Which is more dangerous, inside the temple or outside?!

After his right eye swept across, the village temple transformed into a different scene.

The offering table was not an offering table, but a stage.

Those spirit tablets were not spirit tablets, but name cards fluttering down to land around the theater building.

On the eight-immortal table, every seat corresponded to a card.

The four rooms on either side had become four private boxes.

Each door hung with a card.

Every name had its own place.

Cold winds blew in gusts, causing the curtains on the stage to flutter; they were actually sheets of human skin hanging up!

And the stage's railings, pillars, and steps were all made of grim white bones.

Behind the stage, an old ghost with a ghastly face was hiding.

It was struggling to shrink its body, hiding inside a large drum made of human skin, thinking it was well concealed.

Xu Yuan secretly sneered, closed his eyes, released the Yin-Yang Guillotine, and then opened both eyes again.

Everything returned to the appearance of the village temple.

Originally, he thought the village head was only worried about the Temple Purification Bureau holding them accountable, but with one doubt after another arising, Xu Yuan had to use the Yin-Yang Guillotine to take a look.

"Village head."

Xu Yuan gestured with a hand, and Yu Yunhang let the village head pass.

The village head urgently said, "My lord, please do not move anything in this temple; that would be a grave disrespect to the ancestors, and they will be angered!"

Xu Yuan chuckled: "Angered?"

Xu Yuan casually flipped over a bowl that was face down.

A faint smell of blood rose up.

"My lord—"

The village head lunged forward to stop him. Yu Yunhang had been watching him closely; he hooked his foot, and the village head fell to the ground. Yu Yunhang stepped on him, pinning him so he could not move, yet the village head screamed hoarsely, "My lord, absolutely not!"

"Our entire village relies on the ancestors' protection to survive—"

Xu Yuan ignored him, flipped over all the bowls and dishes on the table, and beckoned to Di Youzhi: "Smell them."

Di Youzhi smelled a few bowls and whispered, "My lord, several clearly held human oil."

Xu Yuan nodded.

Shi Bading glared angrily, rushed to the village head's side, and roared, "What exactly are you worshipping?!"

The village head refused to speak, biting his lip: "Just the deceased ancestors of the village!"

Xu Yuan ordered Lang Xiao Ba: "Go bring the others back."

"Yes!"

Xu Yuan added one more instruction: "Peel off the door gods from the village head's house and bring them here."

Lang Xiao Ba was somewhat confused, but still replied and quickly went.

He pulled open the temple door; outside, the sky had already begun to darken.

Lang Xiao Ba gritted his teeth and rushed out.

Qin Taichen looked utterly bewildered and asked cautiously, "Xu, Xu my lord, is something wrong with this village temple?"

Xu Yuan said lightly, "Second Uncle Qin, do not panic; you will understand in a moment."

Lang Xiao Ba ran very fast; before long, sounds of chickens flying and dogs jumping came from the village side, mixed with a few screams.

After a while, chaotic footsteps approached.

Lang Xiao Ba shouted loudly from outside, "My lord, I have brought our people back!"

"A few fellows tried to block us from leaving, and I slashed them with my blade!"

The village head's eyes bulged with rage: "You—this is too much!"

Yu Yunhang applied force with his foot, and several of the village head's ribs snapped.

The village head screamed loudly in agony.

Xu Yuan sensed that the old ghost hiding behind the stage was restless, seemingly wanting to come out to rescue the village head, yet daring not to act.

Lang Xiao Ba led the people who had already charged in; the temple was spacious enough for dozens of people to stand.

Xu Yuan walked to the temple door and carefully observed the two door gods painted on it.

Everything appeared normal.

Door gods are also annually inspected and crafted by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, then reprinted by bookshops and printing workshops across the land.

But in effect, they are nearly identical.

Their differences are even smaller than those of the almanac.

This pair of door gods indeed had no issues—the lower left corner bore the imprint of "Ji Cheng Tang."

But Xu Yuan soon spotted the anomaly and silently cursed: Cunning!

Both door gods' eyes had been pierced with needles!

The needle holes were tiny; unless you looked closely, you'd never notice them.

With their eyes pierced, the door gods were "blind."

Unable to see malevolent spirits, they could offer no protection whatsoever!

No wonder this temple had become a playground for malevolent spirits!

After using the Yin-Yang Guillotine just now, Xu Yuan had suspected the door gods were tampered with, so he sent Lang Xiao Ba to tear down the village head's door gods.

"Sss—"

Xu Yuan tore off the two door gods and turned to ask Lang Xiao Ba: "What did you bring back?"

Lang Xiao Ba gestured, and several Captains carried in several door panels.

Lang Xiao Ba: "I tore them apart as soon as I pulled them down, so I just took the whole doors."

Not only the village head's door, but also the doors of those villagers who dared to resist.

Xu Yuan fell silent, then waved his hand: "Block them outside."

There were four doors total; the Captains moved together to block them.

The sky was now completely dark; once the door panels were in place, the four door gods faced outward—

A rustling erupted in the grass outside.

Then, several pairs of glowing green eyes flashed briefly in the grass, spying on the scene inside the temple!

The malevolent spirits from the mountains had come down.

Xu Yuan turned and walked to the altar, thinking carefully: Should he stay in the temple, or charge out directly?

This village temple was built by Huangya Village to protect the village.

The spirit tablets enshrined here all bore names and surnames—they must all be great ghosts, not other malevolent spirits.

Of course, stay inside the temple!

To combat yin ghosts, his internal fire and the Yin-Yang Guillotine were both powerful tools!

And Shi Bading, a seventh-rank Wu Xiu, possessed fierce blood qi that could suppress them.

Facing a group of great ghosts was far easier than venturing out against the malevolent spirits of Little Yu Shan!

After deciding, Xu Yuan turned with a solemn expression and said to everyone: "We must spend the night here. No one sleeps—this night will surely be turbulent."

He glanced again at the village head on the ground: "Bind him."

Yu Yunhang immediately moved.

The village head roared: "Our ancestral spirits will not forgive you!"

"Gag him."

Yu Yunhang tore off a strip of cloth and stuffed it into the village head's mouth.

(End of Chapter)