Chapter 15: Staying Overnight in a Ruined Temple

The sky was so dark that it seemed as if the entire cloud layer could be reached by hand. The rain poured down in the strong wind, rushing down like a waterfall. There were dazzling lightning flashes, and then the thunder seemed to sound less than ten meters from the ground.

Shi Xuan walked slowly in the dark with his package on his back. Although he had cast the Rain Sheltering Technique and the Dark Night Vision Spell on himself, and his deep internal strength made his lightness skill more advanced and lasting, the harsh environment still made Shi Xuan feel difficult to walk.

Since leaving Xia'an Prefecture, Shi Xuan first went south to the river, and then went upstream, preparing to go to the nearest Chuzhou Tongxuan Mountain first. Along the way, Shi Xuan always maintained a relatively leisurely mentality, just like traveling in his previous life, especially when he stood alone by the river and saw the mighty grand scene of the rolling river coming from the west, he felt a sense of the vastness of the world and I was free. It's not that Shi Xuan had never seen the Yangtze River in his previous life, but now the river is at least twice as wide, majestic and magnificent, which makes people excited.

For Shi Xuan, practicing Taoism is to seek longevity and freedom. So, since he has to go everywhere to seek immortality no matter what, no matter how fast he travels, he can't be faster in a few days. Why not make himself freer and more comfortable? Practicing Taoism is not to become a stone.

Originally, Shi Xuan planned to take a boat to Chuzhou, blowing the river breeze at the bow and eating river fish in the boat, what a pleasure, but he traveled while sightseeing and asking about the legends of immortals. When he arrived at Linshuifu on the bank of the river, it was already June. As a result, he encountered the first heavy rain this year. The river water had risen a lot. The boats on the river didn't dare to go upstream. Shi Xuan had no choice but to wait in the city. After staying there for several days, the rainstorm came and went, and the water level did not drop. Shi Xuan was tired of watching the rain and did not want to wait any longer. After the weather was slightly dry for a day, he packed his bag and headed for Chuzhou by land.

Although Shi Xuan was walking by land, he was still going up the river, preparing to switch to a boat when the rainstorm stopped completely. Unexpectedly, there was still a breeze and no rain when he went out today. Shi Xuan walked to the evening and there was no store. When he was ready to sleep in the wild like he had done several times before, a strong wind blew and heavy rain came. Shi Xuan did not want to sleep in the wild. Although he had Taoist magic, it was not comfortable, so he walked forward in the rain. Who knew that he did not see anyone for a long time. Shi Xuan was a little suspicious whether he had taken the wrong road. This was the tragic end of not having a map to buy. You must know that in similar times, maps were all highly confidential items.

Shi Xuan walked in the darkness. Thanks to the Taoist magic, he could see the puddles and mud pits in front of him clearly. He simply went around them. If someone was watching at this time, they would definitely be amazed at Shi Xuan's ghostly body movements and his ease in the night. Shi Xuan continued to walk for another half an hour, and finally saw a flash of fire in the distance ahead, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Since he had a goal, Shi Xuan naturally accelerated and rushed towards the direction of the fire. When he got closer, he found that it was a dilapidated temple. The fire inside indicated that there were also people who were on the road and encountered rain and took shelter in it. Well, we are the same people who are in the rain.

However, the existence of the dilapidated temple reminded Shi Xuan of countless martial arts novels and ghost novels. Is there a peerless martial arts master waiting for me to become his disciple, or is there Sister Nie Xiaoqian waiting for me to save her. In his wild thoughts, Shi Xuan had already stepped onto the steps and pushed open the half-closed door.

There were two groups of people in the dilapidated temple, and they could be distinguished by the distance between their respective fires. There were only two people sitting around a fire far from the broken Buddha statue, a handsome young man in green clothes, and a boy in a dark blue robe beside him who looked like a book boy. Below the Buddha statue, there were three fires close to each other, full of people, about twenty in total, all wearing neat grey clothes. There were several flags next to the Buddha statue, with words like "I am Wu Weiyang" and "Yangwei Escort Agency" written on them. It seemed that this group was escorting people.

As soon as Shi Xuan entered the door, the people from the escort agency cast their eyes over vigilantly. They relaxed a little when they saw that it was a very young Taoist priest, but they still looked up and down for a long time before retracting their gaze. However, from Shi Xuan's senses, they did not let down their guard at all, but this was also normal. For escorting people, vigilance is a good thing. The young man in green on the other side did not show any concern for Shi Xuan at all, but just watched his book boy roasting dry food. I don't know if he had heard the footsteps of Shi Xuan walking towards the broken temple a long time ago, or if he was arrogant and looked down on others.

However, since there were already people here, Shi Xuan still wanted to show some goodwill, and said with a fist: "Everyone, I have to stay here because of the heavy rain. I am really sorry to bother you."

A middle-aged man stood up from the fire in the middle of the escort agency opposite. He had a rough appearance and said in a loud voice: "It's okay. Everyone is out and about. Please do as much as you can. I am He Dahai of Yangwei Escort Agency. You don't have to be so polite." After saying that, he sat down again, and it seemed that he didn't intend to invite Shi Xuan to roast a fire together.

Shi Xuan then discovered that in the fire in the middle, there was a young woman sitting next to the middle-aged man. She was pretty, but her eyebrows were very arrogant. She was also dressed in gray escort clothes.

The young man in green on the other side still ignored him, as if Shi Xuan didn't care about him. Seeing this, Shi Xuan didn't say much. He found some rotten wood and thatch from other places in the dilapidated temple, and then turned his back to the people on both sides, chanted a spell, and made a fire. Shi Xuan didn't bring any flint or anything like that.

After finishing, he sat cross-legged beside the fire. This environment was not suitable for visualization and qigong, so Shi Xuan had to close his eyes and rest, but his keen senses enveloped the entire ruined temple.

Although there were nearly 20 people at the escort agency, there were only four people sitting in the middle. One of the escort leaders with a fierce look whispered, "Chief escort, I think there is something wrong with that little Taoist priest. He only got a little wet after such a heavy rain."

Another escort leader with an ordinary look laughed, "What's the matter, Xu Ying, do you think he is a congenital master? Even a great master who has entered the realm of micro-realm can't run for several miles in the rain without getting wet."

Xu Ying said angrily, "I didn't say that. I suspect that this little Taoist priest was hiding nearby before."

The ordinary-looking escort leader continued to smile and said, "Not necessarily. He is a Taoist priest. He may have some magic, or he may be a ghost incarnation."

"Okay, Xiangshan, don't argue with Ah Ying. How can such a young boy be a congenital master? When I was his age, I only practiced external skills." He Dahai saw this and hurriedly interrupted.

"Dad, that little Taoist priest doesn't look that powerful, we just need to pay attention to him." The arrogant beauty continued.

"I know, I'm just worried that he has accomplices. This time, the escort itself is not worth much. I also brought your uncle Xu and uncle He out, mainly to let you see the world. Yuqing, you don't have to go escorting. It's better to marry a good man and raise children if you inherit this escort company. Alas, I really shouldn't let you practice martial arts in the first place."

"I don't want to marry those people. Either they are weak and can't even beat me with one hand, or they are vulgar and disgusting." He Yuqing said while secretly looking at the young man in green over there. If he was weak but looked like that young man, this girl would accept it, but it turned out to be a bunch of ugly people.

"Uh, Yuqing girl, you also found that the young man in green was problematic?" Xu Ying saw He Yuqing secretly looking over there, and said happily, "You are getting better."

"Ah?" He Yuqing was confused.

Seeing this, He Dahai told her: "Although the rain was so loud that I couldn't hear whether he used Qinggong when he came over, when that young man came in, I observed his steps and movements, and he was definitely a martial artist."

"So, that young man might be a master?" He Yuqing said with some joy.

"Hey, I'm worried that he and the little Taoist priest are in the same group. I've seen many such tricks as deliberately not saying hello." He Dahai said.

"No, no, that young man has a handsome appearance and looks like a good person at first glance. The little Taoist priest had a sly look and just looked at me secretly, wishing he could stab him with a sword." He Yuqing argued.

"Hey, Yuqing, handsome appearance has nothing to do with being a good person. I've seen a thief who looks righteous." He Xiangshan said with a smile.

"Uncle He, that's different!"

The young man in green over there seemed to have just arrived not long ago. At least unlike the people in the escort agency whose clothes were all dry, his green clothes were dripping with water. However, when the escort agency members were discussing him, he moved slightly closer to the fire, then sat cross-legged, and soon began to emit white steam.

The escort leader of He Xiangshan sat up straight when he saw this, and said solemnly: "Boss, I think that young master's internal strength is deeper than yours."

He Dahai also said with a heavy face: "Although I have some adventures and opened up the eight meridians at the age of 40, I am also considered a first-class master in the world, but I am afraid I can't do what this young master does. This can only be done by opening up several small meridians. As for whether it is higher, I don't know."

"What, he didn't start practicing in the womb?" Xu Ying said in surprise.

"Hey, those qualified children from big sects and big families have countless medicinal materials for them to use according to secret recipes since childhood, not to mention the profound secrets. It is really much better than us." He Dahai sighed.

He Yuqing didn't say anything beside him, looking over there with brilliant eyes.

After a while, the clothes of the young man in green were completely dry, and he stood up and walked towards the escort agency leisurely.

PS: I have caught up with the progress and resumed two updates a day, one at noon and one at night