Chapter 133: Unknown Ingredients

Next to the wing room in the backyard of Jiuli Temple, in a somewhat simple courtyard, there are piles of white powder piled in the shape of hills on the ground. Under the scorching sun at noon, they exude a burning smell.

Under a shack not far away, a middle-aged man in a short coat was sleeping soundly with his hands on his pillow.

This man is in his thirties and does not look strong in stature. His square face has slightly sunken cheeks and a pair of large, eye-catching ears.

On a house not far away, the chimney was emitting streams of white smoke, as if something was cooking in the house.

At this moment, a fat old man wearing a red robe stepped into the entrance of the hospital. He looked around the hospital and coughed without continuing.

His cough immediately caused the square-faced middle-aged man who was sleeping soundly in the shack to tremble and wake up.

When the middle-aged man saw the visitor clearly with a somewhat anxious look, he suddenly woke up completely and said with a smile on his face: "I have seen the abbot. Why did you come here today? The cypress trees that are drying are a little messy at the moment." , I would have cleaned it up if I had known earlier.”

The fat old man glanced at Wu Sang meaningfully from the corner of his eyes, and then said: "Wusang, you can make incense and sleep at the same time. It's quite comfortable, right?"

"Don't worry, I made the abbot laugh. I dare not say anything else, but I have been making incense since I was a child. I can actually make it with my eyes closed." Wusang said with a smile as before.

"Hmph! Look at how careless you are. If it weren't for the sake of your fathers, how could I allow you to stay here and provide you with food and drink?" The fat old man snorted and said angrily.

"I still owe a lot of incense to the temple. I live in the temple and make incense under your nose to pay off the debt. Don't you feel more at ease!" Wu Sang scratched his head and said with some embarrassment.

"It's good that you remember it, kid! There's only half a month left for the annual Canine Tooth God Sacrifice. I remind you not to let me off the hook at this time. During this time, make good incense for me. You can't leave here without my permission. Half a step away from the yard." The fat old man changed the topic and said.

"Ah, this... Abbot, I will definitely measure this incense to ensure that it will not affect the sacrifices, but it is too unethical to be banned here! In the past six months, I have handed over many incense offerings. "Usang shouted.

"What are you arguing about? To tell you the truth, someone is looking for you in the temple right now. I have hired someone to hide it for you. I don't care how many debts you have owed outside before. If you bring trouble into the temple, don't do it. Blame me for being rude!" the fat old man said sternly.

"What, is my trace exposed? This is impossible!" Wusang jumped up.

"Young man, take care of yourself!" After leaving these words, the fat old man threw away his sleeves.

"Bah! What the old man said is nice, but he is interested in my incense making skills. He is taking advantage of the disappearance of my shop in Tiehu Town to raise the price of incense! I am also obsessed with it. If you hadn't secretly colluded with Lard Residue back then, , I followed the path he recommended to escape, how could I be caught by you?" When the fat old man walked further away, Wu Sang pointed to the outside of the courtyard and yelled in a low voice.

After cursing a few words, Wusang yawned and walked to the shack with his splayed posture, ready to go back to sleep.

As a result, before he lay down, there was another light cough from behind.

"What's wrong with you, old man..." Wu Sang was suddenly startled and secretly cried out in his heart, worried that the fat old man might have heard the curse he just said.

As a result, when he looked back, he saw a handsome young man under the age of twenty wearing a green robe appearing in the yard at some point, looking at him with a smile but not a smile.

"You... who sent you here? What are you going to do! Let me tell you, this is the Jiuli Temple. As long as I call, someone will come right away!" Wu Sang's head was spinning rapidly, combined with the words of the fat old man before. , something immediately came to mind.

"Usang, right? Don't be nervous. You and I have never met before. I'm not here to collect debts." Yuan Ming explained with a kind face.

"You are from the Central Plains, right? I don't know you, and I have never owed anyone money from the Central Plains. So what is your purpose of coming here, and how did you know that I am here?" Wu Sang looked at Yuan Ming again with a wary look on his face. After a few glances, I felt slightly relieved.

"I heard the name of Mr. Wusang in Tiehu Town and knew that you are good at making incense, so I came here to look for you. As for your whereabouts, as long as you are still in this temple, I will find out in my own way. You can think of it as the guidance of the Dog God. ." Yuan Ming laughed.

"The only person who knows I'm here in Tiehu Town is probably the lard residue from Shanhe Gambling House. Did you find out about it from him?" Wu Sang asked.

"Yeah, I really spent a lot of effort to get your news from him." Yuan Ming said with a smile.

"Do you really want to learn how to make incense? It seems like you are not short of money. Although incense is more expensive these days, it is not difficult to buy." Wu Sang looked at Yuan Ming with incredulous eyes, still a little unbelievable.

"Since Yuan is asking for your advice, I should make it clear that I am studying incense making with the intention of making a string incense similar to this one." Yuan Ming pondered for a moment, took out the last black incense stick, and handed it over.

Wu Sang took the black incense stick, looked at it carefully, put it under his nose and sniffed it gently.

"There is nothing special about this incense, and the smell is not much different from ordinary incense. It should not be difficult to imitate." He looked up at Yuan Ming and said.

After hearing this, Yuan Ming was not happy, but rather disappointed.

This black incense must be unusual, otherwise it would not trigger the incense burner's magic. You know, he has tried hundreds of incense during this period, and there are dozens of incense that look almost the same.

"Please take a closer look and see if you can figure out the material of this black incense?" Yuan Ming continued to ask unwillingly.

"The incense in southern Xinjiang is mostly based on cypress, supplemented by spices such as cinnamon wood and sunflower, and the colors are mainly yellow and red. This kind of black incense is rare. In my experience, only the Tali area in the entire southern Xinjiang has this kind of black incense. Did you buy this one there?" Wu Sang frowned when he heard this, looked at it carefully for a moment, and looked up and asked.

"This thing was found in an incense burner in a dilapidated ancient temple that was accidentally discovered. Now there is no similar one." Yuan Ming smiled bitterly.

"Do you still remember what the incense burner looks like? What kind of statue is enshrined in the temple? Based on this, you may know which ethnic group is enshrining it, and then infer some clues." Wu Sang seemed a little disappointed and asked.

Yuan Ming glanced at Wu Sang and briefly described the shape of the incense burner. He didn't need to hide this.

As for the Tai Chi pattern on the incense burner and other patterns, he omitted them.

"From what you said, I still can't analyze anything. It seems that we have to start with this incense and study it carefully. This will take a lot of effort. The sacrifice of the dog-tooth god is just half a month later. I'm a little busy recently." Wu Sang frowned and said with some embarrassment.

"Thank you for your attention, Mr. Wu Sang. This is just a little gift, not a respect." Yuan Ming took out a small cloth bag and stuffed it into Wu Sang's arms.

The cloth bag made a crisp sound when it moved, which was the sound of copper coins and silver coins colliding.

Wu Sang took the bag and looked at it, a little surprised, then smiled and said:

"Our family has always liked to study, otherwise it would not have been possible to become a family of incense making for hundreds of years! Although I am busy, I still can't slack off, especially this special black incense, which aroused my interest. But let me be frank, there are countless incense sticks in the world, and my ability is not perfect after all. If I can't imitate this black incense in the end, please don't blame me."

"With Mr. Wu Sang's resources, if you do your best, I believe there will be a breakthrough. If you can really imitate the black incense I want, I will give you another reward." Yuan Ming smiled and said.

"My friend is really straightforward! Don't worry, I will do my best." Wu Sang laughed a few times and said with high spirits.

"And your method of making incense, can you also guide me?" Yuan Ming smiled and asked again.

"That's a small matter. I will take the time to teach you tomorrow. But making incense is complicated and requires years of practice. You should stay in the temple so that I can teach you the way of incense." Wu Sang said.

"All as Mr. Wu Sang said." Yuan Ming naturally had no objection and nodded.

"I want to take a little of that black incense and study its ingredients." Wu Sang said before leaving.

"Of course."

After he agreed, he suddenly found that this seemingly ordinary black incense did not move at all under his force and could not be broken at all.

He had to go out and use his magic power in a deserted place to finally get a small piece of black incense. He was reluctant to give it up if it was too long, and he was afraid that it would be too short to analyze.

He carefully wrapped it with white paper, returned to the courtyard, and handed it to Wu Sang.

After saying goodbye to Wu Sang, Yuan Ming came to a row of side rooms on the east side. This is where people in the temple live. After asking, he found that there were still a few empty rooms.

He rented one, sat on the bed in the side room, and looked out the window.

Although it took a lot of time, the search for incense has made some progress.

Although Wu Sang is not very reliable, it is better than flying around like a headless fly. At the very least, he can learn the incense making technology that his family is proud of. From the source, he can also explore more purposefully.

He made up his mind and sat cross-legged directly, practicing the Nine Yuan Jue.

The spiritual energy of the world in the secular world is much thinner than that of Biluo Cave, but it can still be practiced. He is unwilling to waste any time.

On the morning of the second day, Wu Sang arrived as scheduled, holding a few worn books in his arms.

Since he knew that Yuan Ming was not a debt collector, he naturally tried to lift his house arrest.

"These are a few books about the art of incense. You can read more when you have time to have a general understanding of incense making. I want to sell these books for money, ten copper coins per book," Wu Sang said.

"Okay, I bought them all. Is there any progress on the black incense?" Yuan Ming gave the money and took the books and asked.