Chapter 2: Tourists stop here, believe in science

"Such a big living person, you didn't see her?"

Zhang Fan stood frozen on the spot, looking at Li Yi with suspicion, his brows furrowed into a "chuan" shape.

"I wouldn't see a beauty? Weren't there just the two of us just now?" Li Yi stared at Zhang Fan strangely.

"Are you under too much pressure, are your eyes playing tricks on you?"

As he spoke, Li Yi raised his hand and waved it in front of Zhang Fan's eyes.

"No... didn't you move aside for her when you got up?" Zhang Fan grasped the detail and said urgently.

"I moved aside for a pillar."

"Don't joke."

Zhang Fan's face darkened slightly, and the image of the black-clad girl from just a moment ago appeared in his mind.

"You're the one joking... just a breakup, have you gone mad?"

Li Yi rolled his eyes and hooked his arm around Zhang Fan's shoulder.

"It's broken, so it's broken... you should focus on making money now... buy a car, buy a house... at the very least, get a car with four rings first..."

As he spoke, a meaningful smile appeared on Li Yi's face: "Have you heard an old saying?"

"Young and promising, buy an Audi; the pants are all lifted by the saleswoman!"

"..."

"A real man, why worry about not having a wife?"

"You really didn't see her?"

"Alright, this is Zhenwu Mountain, don't joke around... the bus is about to leave, the next scenic spot is still more than ten kilometers away."

Before the words were finished, Li Yi pulled Zhang Fan toward the tourist bus.

The mountain road was rugged, and lush ancient trees brushed past the bus windows.

Along the way, Zhang Fan remained silent, his mind filled with the figure of the black-clad girl.

Such a big living person, didn't see her?

Perhaps the lights in the hall were too dim, and the incense smoke was swirling, so he really had eye trouble? "Do you think she could be a fox immortal?" Zhang Fan muttered.

"Don't get into that feudal superstition stuff... besides, look at any novel or TV show, do fox immortals dare to run into Daoist temples and monasteries?" Li Yi glanced sideways and said lightly.

"You just have too many distracting thoughts..."

"Up ahead is Guanxin Peak... the geographical magnetic field there is different from other places, it can cleanse the soul..."

As he spoke, Li Yi leaned into Zhang Fan's ear.

"The scenery is also not bad, many mountain-climbing socialites like to take pictures here."

"Hmm!?"

"The Little Yellow Book says... view the mountains and waters on Guanxin Peak, long legs under the fairy skirt!"

"The ticket price of two hundred and eighty, you managed to play it out to the effect of one thousand eight hundred."

Zhang Fan shook his head and sighed, secretly praying to the Great Emperor Zhenwu that he was not familiar with the person in front of him.

Half an hour later, the tourist bus stopped at the gathering place for the Guanxin Peak scenic spot.

The most famous thing here, besides the pleasant mountain scenery, is a palace temple built suspended against the mountain, named 【Nanxuan Palace】, which has a history of over a thousand years.

"Look over there... it is said that the peach wood sword was left by Patriarch Pure Yang and has a history of over six hundred years."

Looking out from the railing, before his eyes was a ten-thousand-foot cliff. Looking up, a wooden sword stood alone on the sheer cliff. The style was ancient and simple, and faint cracks could be seen, revealing the mottled traces of time.

"Six hundred years of wind and rain, and it can still remain?" Zhang Fan stared straight at the wooden sword on the sheer cliff, revealing a strange expression.

"It's a 5A-level scenic spot... there has to be some gimmick... how do you know if it hasn't been replaced?" Li Yi whispered.

"The gods are above, he was the one who said that." Zhang Fan distanced himself upon hearing this.

"..."

Climbing the mountain and stepping on the stairs to view the scenery was indeed refreshing and could make one temporarily forget worries. No wonder those great scholars and sages of ancient times liked to drill into the mountains whenever they encountered worldly troubles.

"The gods do not deliver those without tribulations... it was still better in ancient times, bearing too much pressure, one would become a demon, an immortal, a god, or a devil..."

"Modern people bear too much, they only become mentally ill." Li Yi climbed high and looked into the distance, unable to help but sigh.

"Hmm? Look quickly..."

Just at this moment, Zhang Fan tugged at Li Yi's sleeve and pointed casually. He saw not far away, a forest path shaded by grass and trees, and on the head of the road were eight large characters:

Tourists stop here, no passage. "What kind of place is that?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.

"I don't know, Zhenwu Mountain is too big, many places haven't been developed, the mountain roads are rugged, and tourists are not allowed to enter or exit at will." Li Yi said casually.

"However, I have also heard that there are many, many Daoist temples in this mountain that are not used as scenic spots and are not open to the public."

"Want to go for a stroll?" Li Yi suggested.

"Didn't you see the words on the sign!?" Zhang Fan said lightly.

"Just pretend you didn't see it!?"

"Makes sense, let's go."

The two hit it off, bypassed the warning sign, stepped over the overgrown grass, and stepped onto the hidden forest path.

The mountain path was rugged, filled with gravel and mud, much harder to walk than the scenic area's roads. The key was that the further they went, the wetter and colder the air became, and they could even see snakes slithering along the walls.

"I know now why passage is prohibited." Li Yi regretted it.

"Let's go back, there shouldn't be anything good to see ahead."

"There is a Daoist temple there..."

Just at this moment, Zhang Fan stopped in his tracks and pointed ahead.

Li Yi followed and sure enough saw a Daoist temple hidden among the wild forest not far away. It looked like it was built of yellow earth, the door was low, and unlike the palace temples in the scenic area outside, it appeared both shabby and dilapidated.

"Is there anyone here?"

Zhang Fan and Li Yi looked at each other and walked straight up.

The dilapidated Daoist temple door was tightly closed, and the rusty chains had long since formed a lump. One could only vaguely see through the door crack that there was an ancient well in the front courtyard, which should have been abandoned for a long time, and it was even sealed with stone strips.

"This place is a bit interesting..." Li Yi suddenly said.

"What's interesting about it?" Zhang Fan asked, puzzled.

"Have you read Water Margin?"

"Read it, so what? Are there Liangshan heroes here?" Zhang Fan asked back.

"In the first chapter of the original Water Margin, the old TV version didn't film it, it tells of Marshal Hong inviting Celestial Master Zhang to go to the capital to pray and eliminate the plague, but he mistakenly opened the seal of the Demon-Suppressing Hall in the mountain, dug up a stone tablet, and released the 108 demon stars suppressed in the cave under the stone tablet, which led to the later stories..."

Speaking of this, Li Yi looked at the dry well through the door crack again.

"I heard... many famous Daoist mountains may not have a Demon-Suppressing Hall, but they all have an ancient well, suppressing the demons and ghosts caught by generations of Daoist priests..."

"Maybe this one is..."

"Feudal dross, want to climb in and take a look!?" Zhang Fan suggested.

"Two lay practitioners, this place is not open to the public."

Just at this moment, a gentle and soft voice came from behind them.

Zhang Fan turned his head and saw a chubby middle-aged Daoist priest standing behind them, squinting his eyes and staring at the two of them.

"That... that what... we got lost..." Li Yi's brain turned the fastest, making up nonsense, not fearing retribution at all.

"You just need to return along the original path... this place has been in disrepair for years, the roads are wet and slippery, and entering or exiting at will will be dangerous." The chubby Daoist priest's temper was actually quite good.

"Many thanks, Daoist... may I ask your Daoist name..." Zhang Fan nodded in thanks, feeling a bit guilty.

"This poor Daoist is Pojie..."

"So it's Po... Pojie!?" Zhang Fan was stunned for a moment.

"Daoist, is the well inside the legendary Demon-Suppressing Well?"

Just at this moment, Li Yi leaned over and asked curiously.

"Hahaha..."

Pojie laughed loudly upon hearing this: "Feudal superstition is not allowed, the doctrine of religion is to persuade people to be kind... cultivating immortality and catching demons, that is something that only exists in artistic creation..."

"Two lay practitioners, believe in science."

Zhang Fan and Li Yi looked at each other, revealing awkward expressions, and immediately bid farewell to the Pojie Daoist priest and returned along the original path.

A moment later, there was no longer any sign of the two on the long, secluded path.

Boom—

Just at this moment, a dull "rumbling" sound suddenly came from the ancient well inside the temple, accompanied by the sound of heavy chains colliding...

Pojie raised his brows, squinted his eyes, and looked at the ancient well through the door crack. The next moment, the dull sound finally dissipated and was heard no more.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3 =====