Chapter 183

There were no sealing strips on the doors inside the Daoist temple, but except for a main hall, two side halls, and two small temples half a person high in the corner that didn't have doors to begin with, all other doors, whether it was the door leading to the backyard, the dining hall door, or the kitchen door, or the storage room door, or even the doors to the rooms for Daoists in the backyard, were all locked.

I don't know if it was done by the Shishu.

If the Seventh Shixiong wanted to settle down here, he needed to respect the majesty of the local government, but he didn't need to be too rigid. The sealing strips couldn't be removed, but these door locks didn't need to be managed.

So he pried open several locks in a row to put his luggage into the room.

The chickens and ducks sent by the people of Cuiwei County had four left. The Third Shixiong simply let them roam in the courtyard, and taking advantage of the fact that the daylight hadn't faded, everyone cleaned up thoroughly.

Once the middle-aged man knew that this Daoist temple would belong to them in the future, he felt embarrassed to stay here for free in front of them, so he also came to help.

The snakes and rats in the temple were all left to Fuyao and the colored cat to deal with.

After the initial cleanup, the sunset glow in the sky had already disappeared. However, the summer night always came slowly and lingeringly, dragging its feet. Plus, the clear night had no moon but had stars, so it was never completely dark.

In the dimness, fireflies flew.

Lin Jue reached out a finger, lit the lamp, and walked into a guest hall that had been uninhabited for a long time, borrowing the lamplight.

"Hoo..."

The cool breeze took away the dust in the room.

The flame of the lamp suddenly shrank, then recovered.

Lin Jue's other hand held a withered branch, operated the spell, and exhaled a breath. Seventeen or eighteen apricot flowers immediately bloomed on the withered branch, pink and tender.

"Heh..."

Lin Jue couldn't help but laugh. Seeing the fox beside him curious, he plucked one of them and inserted it on its head, then threw the whole flower branch onto the bed.

"We'll sleep here tonight."

Only then did he walk out holding the lamp.

"Shidi, you came just in time! There is a mountain spring mouth beside this Daoist temple. The spring water isn't big, but it flows into a pool of water. I went to see it, and it is very clean and cool. It can be used for cooking, so we don't have to go down to fetch water."

"Shixiong, the stove can still be used, I picked up firewood!"

"Although it's late tonight, it's at least the first night for the Seventh Shidi to come here. Let's stew a chicken to eat, how about that?"

The night in the mountains was too quiet, and every word everyone said sounded incomparably clear.

In the darkness, a little lamplight, the wind couldn't blow it out. Not long after, a pile of fire rose in the kitchen again. Five Daoists and a fox and a cat were all squeezed inside, chatting in the firelight. This atmosphere always reminded Lin Jue of when he was a child or when he was still on Mount Fuqiu.

The courtyard outside was full of fireflies again.

It was truly a summer night from his memories.

A group of Daoists really killed a chicken, stewed it with salted meat and medicinal herbs—it was a pity they lacked mushrooms, but fortunately, the moonlight and wine made up for this point, and the heat and meat fragrance rose.

At this time, the middle-aged man had long been sitting in the corner of the main hall, shrinking against the wall. Compared to the liveliness of the few, he appeared particularly lonely, sighing alone in the dark night.

Several Daoists were just about to call him to eat together, and hearing his sigh, couldn't help but ask:

"Why does the good believer sigh?"

"Nothing, just thinking about going into the city tomorrow, thinking about my age, worrying about the future and livelihood, I couldn't help but feel melancholy, so I sighed. The Daoist masters don't need to worry about me."

"Meeting is fate. I haven't asked what the good believer is going to the city for."

"Sigh, to collect a debt."

"Collect a debt?"

"When I was young, my family was still wealthy. At that time, I got to know a good friend. In order to support him in doing business, I lent all my family's money to him. Now my family has fallen, I am starving, and I have no clothes to cover my body, while he is living quite well in the city. However, I have been asking him for money for several years, and I haven't been able to get it back."

"Then that is the good believer's poor judgment of people."

"It was just youthful vigor, thinking he was worth associating with, so I gave my all. How could I have known the malice of the human heart?"

"Is there no IOU?"

"There is..."

"Then what are you worrying about? At worst, go to the government and file a lawsuit! But this kind of worry, leave it for tomorrow. Today, many thanks to the good believer for pointing the way for us. My Shidi has a good culinary skill, so I invite the good believer to come over and eat meat and drink soup with us, drink wine and talk freely, which is better than sitting here alone and cold."

"This..."

The middle-aged man had thin skin and was embarrassed.

However, just one Seventh Shixiong was already hard to refuse, not to mention a Third Shixiong.

In fact, he had long been hungry.

Unable to resist them, he had to temporarily unload his worries and follow them to the courtyard.

Moonlight and fireflies, a group of people eating and drinking wantonly, until very late, only then did they return to their rooms or the main hall.

It wasn't that the Daoists weren't hospitable enough to let the middle-aged man sleep alone in the cold main hall; it was really that they had just arrived at the Daoist temple, and the Daoist temple was empty, without even a straw mat. Even if they invited the middle-aged man to live in the room for Daoists or the guest hall, it would still be sleeping on the ground. They were all strangers, and it was probably no more comfortable than living in the main hall.

Only Lin Jue had a bear skin blanket.

Placing the lamp in a high place, he also lay down against the wall, just pinching a small corner of the bear skin blanket, covering his belly, and took out the ancient book from his bosom.

"Whoosh..."

Only one page was added to the book—

Immobilization spell, a method of confinement.

This method has an ancient inheritance and belongs to the mysteries of yin and yang. It is not easy to learn. The practitioner needs to have a relatively high Daoist practice. Too many distracting thoughts make it difficult to practice, and one must be focused when performing the spell, without distracting thoughts.

Casting this spell confines a person, making them unable to move. The strength of the confinement depends on the depth of the Daoist practice and the level of attainment, either delaying for a moment, or immobilizing for a few breaths, or being unable to move for a few days or months.

Lin Jue pinched the page, and a sound immediately rang in his mind.

So he held his breath and concentrated, listening earnestly.

▲ttkдn▲co

He had been learning this spell for two or three months.

Only since leaving Cuiwei County, on the road, there was no time and no private space, so he had relaxed for a few days.

It couldn't be considered relaxed either.

This method was difficult to begin with. If one couldn't perceive that mystery for a long time or couldn't practice the effect, taking a few days to empty one's mind might bring new insights, which might be beneficial.

This was the principle of "haste makes waste."

As for the skill the City God used when he slapped the table while being executed in Cuiwei County, perhaps it was a supernatural power of the divine path, perhaps it was related to divine might, but in any case, it didn't involve spells, so the ancient book didn't react.

Pondering by the lamp, he only slept late at night.

Waking up from sleep, it was already the next morning.

Bright daylight shone through the windows covered with a few spider webs, and the crisp sound of birds chirping and the unique rustling of bamboo brooms sweeping the ground came from outside. They were all very crisp, clearly waking people up, but not abrupt in the slightest.

When Lin Jue got up, he felt refreshed. Pushing the door to go out, the little Xiao Shimei had long since cut small bamboo from the mountains, tied them into a broom, and was cleaning the Daoist temple more carefully.

"Shixiong, I used the chicken soup from last night to cook a pot of porridge, it should still be hot." The little Xiao Shimei heard the sound, her hands didn't stop, and she didn't raise her head, but added, "This time, the chicken soup porridge is delicious."

"What about that good believer?"

"He left early in the morning."

"What about the Shixiong?"

"On the roof." The little Xiao Shimei still didn't raise her head, focusing on sweeping the floor. "They said that after you eat breakfast, we will go into the city, report to the county government, and buy some things to bring back."

"Alright."

Lin Jue heard some tiles clattering.

Standing far away and looking up, the Third Shixiong and the Seventh Shixiong were indeed both on the roof, organizing the tiles.

Because this Daoist temple had caused trouble with an evil god, the local people were very respectful of it, especially since they didn't know if the evil god had been eliminated, so they didn't dare to move a single brick or tile in this Daoist temple.

It was just that because no one had taken care of it for a long time, even just the wind and rain had caused some tiles to shift, plus the rain mud piled up by fallen leaves had no one to handle, so tile flowers grew. When the sun shone on them, the colors were bright and delicate.

They were good to look at, but they would leak rain.

At this time, the two Shixiong were organizing the tiles on the roof, and the tile flowers were all pulled out and thrown below. However, when the little Xiao Shimei cleaned, she deliberately avoided them. Lin Jue guessed that it was probably because the Seventh Shixiong thought they were good-looking and was prepared to move them from the tiles to another place.

If any tiles were broken, it just so happened that the Green Seedling God temple beside the Earth Temple was still there, but the statue was gone, and there were dozens of tiles on it that could be used.

The Second Shixiong was cleaning in the room.

This was also one of the benefits of Shixiong and Shidi walking together:

Those who stayed in the front could always get help from Shixiong and Shidi to plan and clean up the Daoist temple together. If one cleaned up by oneself, it would not only waste time, but the boredom would be hard to endure.

"Hehe..." Lin Jue couldn't help but laugh twice, and said to the fox with his head lowered, "It turns out we two got up the latest."

"Fuyao! Morning!"

The fox turned its head and said to him.

"Fuyao got up early and ate breakfast, but after eating, it went back." The little Xiao Shimei said while still sweeping the floor.

"So that's how it is."

Lin Jue shook his head, not feeling lazy, and just went to eat first.

After eating, he fetched water and washed the bowls.

Then everyone went out together.

The little Xiao Shimei summoned the paper donkey and sat on the donkey's back, walking shakily. Lin Jue didn't, because there was the horse and flatbed cart of the Third Shixiong. No matter how much they bought, they had enough to carry.

Walking out of the small path from the foot of the mountain to the official road, one could see the Mingxia city in the distance. It was probably still two li away, and it wouldn't take even a quarter of an hour to walk, and they could enter the city.

"Officers, we are Daoist practitioners from Huizhou." The Seventh Shixiong showed his ordination certificate and asked at the same time, "May I ask how to get to the county government?"

"So it's several True Men, just walk straight after entering the door."

"Many thanks."

Everyone entered the city gate, and the noise suddenly rose in their ears, making their hearts feel much more lively.

Many cities in this day and age were like this, square, with four city gates, and the entrance was a main street, forming a cross. These two horizontal and vertical main streets were the busiest streets, and the county government was basically in the middle of the main street, which was easy to find.

It was just that the Seventh Shixiong was obviously very interested in this city where he would live for many years to come. As soon as he walked in, he kept looking around, examining every building on both sides of the street.

The other few were about the same.

"This alley sells straw mats. After we come back from the county government, we can buy a few." The Second Shixiong said, "We can also buy a few. Anyway, there are fewer people now, so we can carry them. With a roll of straw mat, it will be convenient to borrow lodging elsewhere or sleep in the wilderness."

"We can also buy a few cushions." The Third Shixiong said, "But it's just after the autumn harvest, if you don't mind the trouble, you can also buy some grain straw from the farmers and take it back to weave yourself."

"The Seventh Shixiong probably doesn't have the heart for that."

Several people chatted and planned while walking.

"There are several shops selling bowls and plates here."

"This shop sells pots..."

"One can sew bedding here."

"Seventh Shixiong..."

Lin Jue poked the Seventh Shixiong's arm.

"Hmm?"

The Seventh Shixiong turned his head and followed his gaze, seeing a building with carved beams and painted rafters, built very elegantly, but still closed this morning.

"Seventh Shixiong!"

The little Xiao Shimei's voice came from the other side.

The Seventh Shixiong turned his head again.

Following the direction the little Xiao Shimei pointed, he saw a building on the diagonal opposite that was also built very beautifully and hung with many large red lanterns.

How could the little Xiao Shimei also?

The Seventh Shixiong couldn't help but be astonished.

Turning his head to look at the little Xiao Shimei, he saw her face was serious, and not a single expression could be seen on her face.

Just as he was astonished, he suddenly saw many pedestrians gathering on the street ahead, blocking the way so they couldn't walk. Some shouting came vaguely from inside, attracting the attention of several people.

"What?"

Could it be that there were people performing magic tricks and juggling here too?

The Seventh Shixiong was very curious and immediately walked toward that side.

Walking closer, he discovered that it wasn't someone performing magic tricks or juggling, but the middle-aged man he saw yesterday. He was grabbing the clothes of a short, dark man who was shorter than him but dressed richly, shouting for debt collection there.

The middle-aged man was almost crazily streaming with tears.

The people around seemed not to be seeing it for the first time, and they all knew the situation. They sympathized with the middle-aged man and accused the short, dark man one after another.