Chapter 246

Rumble!

After the Qingming Festival, the climate in the mountains became increasingly changeable.

The sky was overcast, dark clouds like ink, as if pressing down on the mountains, ready to collapse at any moment. Thunder roared, gales howled, piercing through the forest and branches, rustling loudly.

On the mountainside, an old Mountain God Temple stood tall.

The mountain path outside the temple was originally an ancient military road from the Three Kingdoms period, but it had long since been abandoned, overgrown with weeds, and occasionally one could find a rusted arrowhead.

This Mountain God Temple was also very ancient; eroded by time, the temple walls were mottled, the plaster peeling off to reveal mud, tiles, and bricks.

In the gale, a caravan of merchants struggled forward on the winding mountain path.

There were many mountain paths within the territory of Dangyang County, and since the world was not peaceful, there was no shortage of bandits from the greenwood; these people dared to take the road, so they were naturally no ordinary folk.

Every one of them held a sharp blade, their bodies sturdy; it was clear they were all martial artists, and among them were several peddlers carrying shoulder poles.

On the martial world path, peddlers are also divided into two types.

One type is the local folk who stock goods from nearby county towns, wandering the countryside, not needing an abacus or keeping accounts, selling small items like needles, thread, handkerchiefs, rouge, and candies.

Others are knife sharpeners, bowl menders, or pot menders, relying on a small craft to support their families.

But the other type are those who wander across the length and breadth of the country.

They either inquire about news from various places, collecting information to sell to martial world inns, or they possess martial arts or strange skills, and if they encounter any minor trouble, they solve it directly for people.

Of course, there are also those who are not decent folk, originally scouts from the greenwood path, with flowery mouths, seducing young wives, or those who kill and rob.

And these few peddlers were the news-gathering peddlers of the martial world inns.

But facing this thunderstorm and mountain wind, they were just as disheveled.

The canvas covers on their carts were blown left and right, and everyone bent their waists and lowered their heads, squinting their eyes and using their hands to block the gale.

"A thunderstorm is coming!"

"Quick, let's go to the temple ahead to take shelter!"

Suddenly, the donkey in front brayed wildly, refusing to take another step.

"You beast, acting stubborn at a time like this!"

The cart driver was so angry he lashed out with his whip, but the donkey simply wouldn't move, instead retreating backward, and when lashed too hard, it almost bit him.

"Don't move, something's not right!"

The caravan leader instinctively felt something was amiss and said in a deep voice: "These animals have traveled north and south with us; they wouldn't hurt people for no reason. I fear there's something ahead."

"Quick, you two go take a look, be careful!"

At the command, two men immediately picked up their broadswords, one in front and one behind, cautiously moving forward to scout the path.

They were very familiar with this mountain path.

After going uphill and passing a bend, there was a Mountain God Temple; sometimes they would hide there to avoid rain, and after nightfall, they would occasionally stop to rest.

Could there be bandits in ambush?

However, after passing the bend, the two were stunned.

They saw several horses on the open ground outside the Mountain God Temple, luggage hanging from their packs, shifting their hooves uneasily.

A young man was muttering incessantly, seemingly trying to soothe them.

There was also a Daoist, a young blade-wielder in black, and a bald, burly man, gathered together, staring at that Mountain God Temple, not knowing what they were discussing.

It was precisely Li Yan and his group.

Li Yan had naturally long since sensed the caravan coming from afar; he glanced at them indifferently and said: "Everyone, don't be afraid; we are not bad people."

One of the scouting men did not relax his vigilance, his eyes full of suspicion as he said: "It's about to rain, why aren't you going inside to take shelter?"

Li Yan looked at the sky: "No rush, wait a little longer."

Seeing their relaxed and carefree appearance, the two scouts from the caravan didn't say much, nodded, and turned to leave.

"Shopkeeper, there are four people at the temple entrance..."

Returning to the group, the two immediately reported what they had seen.

The shopkeeper pondered for a moment: "With horses and luggage, they shouldn't be bandits blocking the road..."

"Go! Enter the temple to take shelter, everyone be careful!"

At the command, the caravan continued forward and soon arrived outside the temple.

Seeing the attire of Li Yan and his group, the caravan shopkeeper understood immediately; he smiled and cupped his hands: "From which mountain do you gentlemen come, and which incense are you burning?"

"We come from Mount Huashan, burning the Three Pure Incense!"

Sha Lifei laughed: "Everyone, don't be nervous; the mountains are high and the roads are dangerous, we are all people drifting in the world, put your weapons away."

"Oh?"

The caravan shopkeeper's heart trembled; he hurriedly cupped his hands respectfully: "It hasn't been peaceful lately, please forgive my rudeness."

As he spoke, he gave a wink, signaling everyone to put away their weapons.

Burning the Three Pure Incense clearly meant they were people of the Mystic Sect.

People of the Mystic Sect are of mixed quality; there are both Golden Gate swindlers who cheat and deceive, and true experts who possess strange skills, and their status in the martial world is the highest.

No matter which type they were, he didn't want to provoke them.

But just as they wanted to enter the temple, they were blocked by Sha Lifei, who laughed: "Everyone, what's the rush? Wait a while before entering the temple."

The caravan leader frowned slightly and asked cautiously: "Gentlemen, is there something in the temple?"

He had traveled north and south for many years and walked in the mountains, so he naturally knew some taboos; in these desolate mountains and wild ridges, it's best not to mention the names of many things.

"This... it's hard to say."

Sha Lifei laughed it off: "In any case, wait a while."

Looking at Wang Daoxuan, who was calm and composed in the group, the caravan leader's eyes were also filled with doubt; he waved his hand: "We'll listen to you gentlemen."

With that, he turned his head: "Wait for now."

However, this wait lasted for nearly half a stick of incense.

The caravan was on guard and didn't dare to strike up much conversation.

And the sky grew increasingly overcast, dark clouds pressing down, the mountain wind becoming more violent; everyone knew a heavy rain was about to descend.

Crackle!

Suddenly, lightning like silver snakes flashed across the sky, illuminating it.

Raindrops pattered down, splashing mud pits on the open ground outside the temple; in just the time it takes for a breath, the heavy rain poured down.

Billions of raindrops hit the forest leaves, the rustling sound like the tide, and combined with the increasingly violent mountain wind, the rainwater flew in sheets.

In an instant, the rainwater soaked the ground, flowing along the gaps in the weeds, forming puddles on the ground.

Li Yan and the others had long since put on their straw capes and conical hats.

They were unhurried, still waiting peacefully.

But the people in the caravan couldn't take it anymore; a man said anxiously: "Shopkeeper, if this batch of goods gets damp, it'll be ruined!"

The shopkeeper gritted his teeth, turned his back to Li Yan and the others, and cupped his hands: "Gentlemen, I'm sorry, we have to go in first; we are delivering tea and cloth, they can't get wet."

Sha Lifei shook his head: "Why can't you understand what's being said? Don't be in such a rush, money isn't as important as your life."

"What a joke!"

A peddler couldn't hold back anymore, his face cold: "I've walked this mountain path I don't know how many times, and nothing has ever happened."

"Trying to block us with ghost stories and swindle money, are you? Don't use these little martial world tricks in front of an expert!"

With that, he picked up his shoulder pole and prepared to barge into the temple.

"Damn it, you don't know what's good for you!"

Sha Lifei was furious upon hearing this; he stepped forward in a few strides, pushed the peddler away, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone stay put and behave!"

This immediately caused an uproar.

Clang!

Everyone in the caravan drew their weapons.

In their view, the few people in front of them were very strange.

Rumble!

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky. Everyone felt a flash of white light before their eyes, a roar in their ears, deafening, and the hair on the back of everyone's necks stood up.

After the thunder, the gale became even more violent.

The caravan members used their hands to block the wind; they saw that on the roof of the dilapidated Mountain God Temple, some weeds had been ignited, but in the blink of an eye, they were soaked by the heavy rain, rising with blue smoke.

And the Mountain God Temple ahead had its temple door half-closed; the rotten wooden door was swayed by the gale, creaking and groaning, as if it would collapse at any moment.

One could vaguely see that the statues inside were broken, covered in dust webs.

"Woo woo woo~"

In the gale, there seemed to be the sound of a woman crying.

The sound was sorrowful and tragic, like a woman encountering fierce bandits.

However, no one dared to move.

They stared wide-eyed as, inside the clattering temple door, a whirlwind rose from the flat ground, wrapping around dust and bumping left and right, seemingly wanting to escape but trapped within the temple.

Crackle!

Another bolt of lightning fell.

!.

Only a clatter was heard as a wooden beam in the temple collapsed.

"Ah—!"

And following a piercing scream, the whirlwind also ceased.

"I won!"

Sha Lifei laughed and clapped his hands: "Young Brother Yan, don't think about leaving us behind; we'll go to the Purple Cover Mountain Cave together!"

Li Yan said helplessly: "Fine, we'll listen to you."

The caravan leader, who at this moment couldn't care less about his goods, cupped his hands tremblingly: "So you gentlemen are all experts of the Mystic Sect, what on earth is going on?"

"Let's go inside to take shelter first and talk."

Li Yan and his group didn't have time for nonsense; they led their horses into the temple and quickly used cloth to wipe the water droplets off their luggage and the horses' bodies.

This Mountain God Temple was quite large, but even so, it seemed somewhat crowded after the caravan members pushed their carts in, so they had to tie the donkeys outside the temple gate.

"Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"

The donkeys immediately brayed loudly in dissatisfaction.

"What is that, why does it stink so much?"

The caravan leader was about to continue asking, but a subordinate beside him sniffed, looked at the roof, and was so frightened that his eyes widened, and he sat down on the ground.

"Monster, monster!"

The crowd was shocked and looked up one after another.

This Mountain God Temple was ancient, and the roof beams were high; several of the supporting pillars were as thick as water buckets, which was why it had been able to hold up until now.

And on one of the roof beams, a black, fuzzy thing was lying prone, looking like a human with hands and feet, a massive head, and blue smoke rising from its body.

"Rest assured, it's already dead."

Li Yan looked up, frowned slightly, and covering his nose, said: "Everyone, sorry for the trouble, throw that thing out."

The people in the caravan looked at each other, but at this moment, they didn't dare to ask more; they scrambled up the roof beams and used wooden sticks to poke the thing down.

It landed on the ground with a thud, and only then could they see it clearly.

It was a massive gecko.

At this moment, it was charred and stinking, emitting an unpleasant odor.

After throwing this thing out of the courtyard, Lu San walked outside the temple, performed a hand seal, and whistled a few times.

Clatter!

From all directions, black masses of mountain rats swarmed out, and regardless of the stench, they ate the gecko clean.

Among the many rats, there was one that was the largest, with a gold chain and jade pendant hanging around its neck; the shape was ordinary, the workmanship rough, clearly a folk item.

One didn't know from which grave mound it had been dug out.

But for a rat to wear gold and silver was truly strange.

After the gecko in the courtyard was eaten clean of flesh and blood, only a skeleton remained, which vaguely emitted a jade-like color.

The rat king wearing the necklace stood on its hind legs and looked at Lu San.

Lu San immediately cursed: "We agreed on the rules, don't go back on your word; if you dare to move recklessly, the big bald guy inside won't spare you!"

"Squeak squeak!"

The rat king let out a cry, and the group of rats scattered immediately, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye, leaving only a skeleton being washed by the heavy rain.

"Haha, count yourself smart, little fellow!"

Sha Lifei chuckled, wearing his straw cape and conical hat, picked up a cloth bag, rushed into the courtyard, and collected the bones one by one.

Seeing this scene, the crowd was dumbfounded.

The peddler who had been talkative just now was trembling all over, lowering his head and not daring to look at Li Yan and the others.

"Everyone, don't be afraid."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and smiled: "We have accepted a mission from the City God Temple, saying that people have been disappearing one after another in the mountains nearby, so we just happened to come and take a look."

He had the appearance of an immortal, and his way of speaking was very kind, immediately putting the caravan members at ease.

"Daoist, you are polite."

The caravan leader swallowed his saliva: "What kind of monster was that? We've traveled back and forth many times, why have we never seen it?"

Wang Daoxuan shook his head: "This gecko must have absorbed the incense of the Mountain God Temple, gained spiritual nature, and gradually acquired cultivation."

"A gecko is originally an auspicious creature, but the incense of the Mountain God Temple was cut off, and it occasionally tasted blood, naturally degenerating into an evil monster."

"You're lucky you didn't run into it; those who did didn't have the chance to say this, and besides, it has to rest for a long time after eating a person."

"This thing is a bit difficult to deal with; the key is that it will drill back into the mountain crevices when it encounters danger, living by eating mountain rats."

"And this thing also knows how to avoid disaster; if you had entered the temple, you would inevitably have been used as its scapegoat, struck by heavenly thunder. You would have died without even knowing what happened."

"That's why we blocked you."

"Many thanks, Daoist, for saving our lives."

The crowd was terrified upon hearing this and hurriedly cupped their hands in thanks.

"No matter."

Wang Daoxuan waved his hand with a smile and didn't speak further, taking a book from his luggage and reading it to himself.

Subsequently, Sha Lifei returned and whispered with Lu San, flipping through the bones and discussing how to use them.

As for Li Yan, he walked to the entrance, looking at the thunder in the distance, his chest and abdomen vibrating and swelling, seemingly trying to respond to the thunder with all his might.

It could be said they were all busy with their own affairs, not disturbing each other.

However, their behavior seemed very strange to the caravan members; if it weren't for the heavy rain, they would have long since fled far away.

Seeing the atmosphere was dull, the caravan leader braced himself and tried to strike up a conversation: "Daoist, are you going to Dangyang County?"

"Yes."

Wang Daoxuan was quite patient; he put down his book and smiled: "There's a matter over there, we're going to handle it."

Who would have thought that the caravan leader would become interested: "Is it because of the matter of Lord Guan causing mischief?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Yan, who was practicing the Cloud Lei Sheng, turned his head back, frowned, and said: "What nonsense are you spouting!"

Dangyang, apart from Changban Slope where Zhang Fei held off a thousand troops and Zhao Zilong fought seven times in and out, also had the famous Guanling.

It is rumored that when Guan Guan Yun Chang died here, the Wu Kingdom worried about the Shu Han's revenge, so they sent his head to Cao Cao and buried his corpse in Dangyang according to the rites of a feudal lord.

Therefore, there is the saying: "Body lies in Dangyang, head pillows Luoyang."

Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, successive emperors have added titles, and Guan Guan Yun Chang's divine status has continuously risen; the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism all treat him with great respect, and he has gone from a Martial Saint to a Guan Emperor.

A few years ago, the imperial court even conferred upon him the title: Three Realms Demon-Subduing Great Emperor, Divine Might Far-Suppressing Heavenly Venerable, Guan Saint Emperor Lord.

This is a true righteous and blessed god.

Saying he is causing mischief, what do these people want to do?

(End of chapter)