Chapter 288: Sleepless Moonlit Night

"So it really is Lanruo Temple?"

After hearing Wei Cheng'en's words, Tang Luo mused inwardly.

Back in An City, Tang Luo and the others had encountered a snake demon claiming to come from "Black Mountain Ravine," who declared that the Demon King of Black Mountain Ravine was extremely powerful.

Tang Luo had asked Kongming about this matter; Kongming said he had never heard of Black Mountain Ravine, but mentioned there was an eerie temple that appeared in various places across Dayou, suspected to be the famous Lanruo Temple from *Liaozhai*.

Fu Xuefei and A Fei were also investigating this matter; they never expected Tang Luo would directly stumble upon it.

And instead of running into Fu Xuefei and A Fei, he ran into Wei Cheng'en.

Wei Cheng'en had been trapped here for three days already; his entry here was a genuine accident, not a deliberate trip to subdue demons and exorcise evil.

Besides this village, this "mountain forest" area also contained another cluster of buildings.

Namely Lanruo Temple — at least the plaque outside the temple bore those three large characters.

The temple grounds were not small, comparable to Huanxi Temple in the capital.

The halls and pagodas within the temple were magnificent, yet it was not "overgrown with wormwood, devoid of human traces..." as in *Liaozhai*; instead it was clean and tidy, with hardly any dust.

If it were not completely empty of people, one might mistake it for a flourishing great temple with thriving incense.

But Wei Cheng'en did not dare enter; he only observed from the very outside for a while before immediately retreating, and as he retreated he faintly heard a woman's light laughter, though fortunately nothing happened.

Upon returning to Niu Family Village, Wei Cheng'en tried many methods, but none could let him leave this place shrouded in thin mist.

And in Niu Family Village, for some reason, the cold, yin energy lingering and permeating the air was less than outside.

These past few days Wei Cheng'en mainly hid here, and nothing untoward occurred.

He also understood in his heart that this Lanruo Temple ordeal would likely be no easy pass; this mission was huge, huge enough to shake the very foundations.

But this time what he had stumbled into was a danger that could truly threaten his life.

"You didn't receive a mission?" Tang Luo asked.

"Presumably one receives a mission only upon entering Lanruo Temple," Wei Cheng'en said.

Up to now, he had not received a single mission, nor was there any possibility of returning.

Rather, relying on Huanxi Temple's dual-cultivation technique, his own strength had increased considerably.

He had long since made up his mind to just coast along for a year or so, at most two or three years. Anyway, with Xuanzang, Kongming, and others bearing the burden of completing missions, Dayou would not be turned upside down.

Be a little careful, avoid those rarely-trodden places, and nothing will happen.

Harboring such thoughts, how could Wei Cheng'en, now sensing danger, possibly enter Lanruo Temple?

"Then let's go. Lead the way," Tang Luo said.

Niu Family Village was now deserted; who knew if there were people inside Lanruo Temple — since he had come, if there were still people inside, and they could be saved, Tang Luo would definitely save them.

So he did not just recklessly slap a palm without care.

Being able to receive a mission was also a good thing; Tang Luo was not anxious, outwardly steady, inwardly even steadier.

As for Wei Cheng'en, although he had been converted, he was still scared out of his wits.

Besides Lanruo Temple, the source of an even greater panic lay behind him; naturally he was scared.

Walking through the mountain forest, Wei Cheng'en said in a low voice: "No need to deliberately search; nine times out of ten you can arrive outside Lanruo Temple."

Sure enough, after walking for roughly the time it takes an incense stick to burn through the somewhat dense mountain forest.

Ahead the view suddenly opened up, revealing a temple complex that could be described as magnificent halls and pagodas.

Above the half-open main gate, the plaque reading "Lanruo Temple" was clearly visible.

Tang Luo did not linger; he pushed open the door and walked straight in, and the originally thin white mist suddenly roiled and thickened at that moment.

Before Wei Cheng'en could react, he lost sight of Tang Luo.

Gritting his teeth, he also walked into Lanruo Temple.

The moment he stepped inside, mission-related information surfaced in his mind — only five short words.

Yet they struck Wei Cheng'en like a thunderbolt — Annihilate Lanruo Temple!

"This mission is actually given to me? No, it's clearly meant for Master Xuanzang!" Wei Cheng'en wailed inwardly, even forgetting the pain in his hand.

His footsteps, however, did not pause in the slightest; he walked toward the temple interior, like one walking to the execution ground, facing death with resolve.

He, Wei Cheng'en, would rather die here today than be converted once more — this time, absolutely no "true fragrance" (regret/change of heart).

The many rooms inside the temple were all in the same half-closed state as the main gate outside.

Inside they were empty of people, but the furnishings did not look like a temple; rather they resembled a woman's boudoir.

And the Mahavira Hall also had no Buddhist statues; it was splendid and grand, with a large pool in the center, surprisingly made from a single massive piece of soft jade.

Toward the "appearance" presented by Lanruo Temple, Wei Cheng'en felt no surprise.

This is Tree Demon Grandmother's territory, not a real temple; even if it used to be one, it isn't now — having a temple's outer shell is already not bad.

However, walking and stopping along the way, observing everywhere, Wei Cheng'en did not discover a single tree.

Let alone some great willow tree; he didn't even see a single sapling.

He had originally thought that since things had come to this, finding the great tree in Lanruo Temple should be the Tree Demon Grandmother, and he could perish together with her as atonement.

Unexpectedly, he gained nothing along the whole way, and even the woman's laughter heard at the start was gone.

If not for the few threads of eeriness revealed by the empty silence, one truly could not see half a trace of danger.

"Could it be Master has already started moving?" Wei Cheng'en gritted his teeth, did not leave Lanruo Temple, but instead stood guard at the entrance.

Time flew by; soon night fell.

"There are footsteps, someone's coming!"

The somewhat drowsy Wei Cheng'en snapped his eyes open, hurried out of Lanruo Temple, and looked at the newcomer.

The newcomer evidently had not expected anyone in this quiet, dilapidated temple; startled, he retreated two steps and said: "Old sir, may I ask what place this is?"

"Old sir?"

Wei Cheng'en froze for a moment, then remembered that these three days he had lived in fear, then was taught a lesson by Tang Luo, and in Lanruo Temple proceeded with extreme caution at every step.

At this moment his appearance was truly wretched to the extreme; calling him an old man would not be an exaggeration.

"Didn't you see the great signboard of Lanruo Temple?" Wei Cheng'en said. "This is not a place you should come to. On the other side there is an abandoned little village; you can go there to rest."

The visitor was around thirty years old, dark-skinned, tall in stature yet dressed as a scholar, which left Wei Cheng'en unable to discern his identity for a time.

Could it be the legendary Ning Caichen?

"Village?" the scholar asked doubtfully. "On my journey here, I saw no village at all."

"How could that be..." Wei Cheng'en said, his face changing. "Come with me!"

Saying this, he grabbed the scholar's arm and led him away from Lanruo Temple.

A fierce look appeared on the scholar's face, as if he wanted to resist, but Wei Cheng'en's strength was not small; he pulled him into a stumble.

That fierce expression dissipated, turning into a hint of astonishment, and he allowed Wei Cheng'en to lead him along.

After some time, the sky grew even darker, almost indistinguishable from night.

Wei Cheng'en and that scholar returned to Lanruo Temple, and looks of surprise again appeared on their faces.

Just now he had led the scholar walking everywhere, yet he could no longer find Niu Family Village, which had still been visible in the daytime.

The two exchanged a few words.

That scholar was not Ning Caichen after all; he was named Lu Sheng.

A hundred years ago, his clan was also a prominent great family of a prefecture, but later the family declined, barely managing to keep the ancestral line from extinction.

Lu Sheng held a scholarly degree; it was insufficient to become an official, but it allowed him to travel everywhere, exempt from all kinds of corvée labor and taxes.

With only himself left in the family, he no longer pursued an official career; taking advantage of his status, he took up the work of debt collection.

Inside the large wooden box on his back were packed IOUs and the wealth he had collected.

Wei Cheng'en, for his part, had given himself the identity of an outsider to the secular world, and in his heart he muttered, wondering why he felt he had become Yan Chixia.

This Lu Sheng is Ning Caichen.

No Niu Family Village, no sign of Tang Luo; after they returned they discovered Lanruo Temple had actually undergone some changes.

Faintly one could hear the sound of strings and pipes, soft whispers and coquettish laughter drifting out from within, and one could also see some firelight flickering.

"Look, I told you this temple isn't right." Wei Cheng'en said. "You go on; staying here you'll die."

After being converted, he wanted to be a good person, and was extremely grateful to Master Xuanzang for giving him the chance.

"These desolate mountains and wild ridges." Lu Sheng refused. "Where else could I go? It's just enduring one night. As a scholar, I possess a body full of awe-inspiring righteous qi; I do no wrong, so I fear no ghosts knocking at my door. Even if there are some demons and monsters, could they possibly harm me?"

"..." Wei Cheng'en was somewhat frantic.

Living perfectly well, why must he court death?

"Amitabha." A Buddhist invocation came from behind; Wei Cheng'en turned in pleasant surprise and indeed saw Tang Luo.

"What this benefactor says is correct; mere demons and monsters, what is there to fear?" Tang Luo said with one hand held vertically at his chest, white hair, white robes, a small cat perched on his shoulder.

Just standing in the midst of Lanruo Temple, he gave off quite a bit of a strange, demonic monk feeling.

"Master!" Wei Cheng'en said in pleasant surprise.

"A monk?" Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes, cupped his hands and said, "I wonder, Reverend..."

"This poor monk is Xuanzang."

Lu Sheng cupped his hands again, briefly introduced himself, but he was not a man skilled with words; seeing Wei Cheng'en no longer had any intention of stopping him, he walked into Lanruo Temple.

He found an empty room, simply sat down, closed his eyes and rested.

"Master..." Wei Cheng'en hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping.

Tang Luo shook his head slightly, signaling Wei Cheng'en to be quiet.

This Lanruo Temple is very interesting; the reason for his disappearance was very simple — he used the Merit Jade Lotus, placing himself in an invisible state.

He followed Wei Cheng'en for a stretch, to see if he could hook any fish.

Afterwards he made another circuit inside and out of Lanruo Temple, with no further discoveries, until just now, when all kinds of teasing voices entered his ears one after another, as if he had entered another world entirely.

"Let's go, see if there's a chance to save people." Tang Luo said.

"I advised that Lu Sheng, but he wouldn't listen." Wei Cheng'en hurriedly said.

"The one I spoke of is not him, but since you have the heart for it, stay here and keep watch." Tang Luo said, walking toward the depths of Lanruo Temple.

Wei Cheng'en dared not follow; he came to Lu Sheng's room and said, "Scholar Lu, would you mind if I keep you company for the night?"

Lu Sheng smiled and said, "Old sir, please do as you wish."

Wei Cheng'en sat down; the two chatted a few sentences, and before long the half-closed door was gently pushed open.

"Sleepless moonlit night, wishing to cultivate conjugal bliss."

A voice, deep and resentful, clear and cold, yet teasing the heartstrings, reached the two men's ears.