Chapter 139: Chapter 4: The Ruined Temple

Chen Tang didn’t linger much in Yan State.

Along the way, he encountered some minor conflicts. After all, having cultivated to the Eighth Grade Extreme Realm, he could handle most situations without much danger.

After Yan State, he continued westward and arrived at Bingzhou.

It took nearly a month to travel from Pingzhou to Bingzhou.

As he moved south, the weather gradually warmed, ice and snow melted, and the surroundings gained a touch of greenery.

After entering Bingzhou, one could already see the lush green trees lining the road, full of vitality.

Chen Tang traveled during the day and rested at night, practicing the Yijin breathing and absorption technique “Dragon Capturing Technique.” By the time he arrived in Bingzhou, he had cultivated to the lower Seventh Grade!

With the accumulation of two Extreme Realms, his lower Seventh Grade had reached the strength to draw a Nine-Stone Bow, comparable to the lower Sixth Grade!

Plus, with the blessing of Entering the Divine State, Chen Tang was basically unfazed under the Fifth Grade.

On this particular day, he had just entered Bingzhou not long ago.

By dusk, the sky was already covered with heavy clouds, thunder rumbling, the sky looked as if ink had been spilled, terrifyingly dark.

Seeing the rain was imminent, Chen Tang quickened his pace along the path.

Between flashes of lightning and thunder, he vaguely saw a dilapidated temple ahead.

As the ancient saying goes, a lone person doesn’t enter a temple, nor do two people look at a well.

Places like this, located in the wild countryside especially when dilapidated, are often temporary resting places for Jianghu folks, even Green Forest bandits.

Ordinary folks barely have the chance to travel far in their entire life.

Normal travelers with Passage Documents would take the official roads and rest in inns within counties.

Those who rest in wild temples in remote mountains often don’t have Passage Documents and are not good people.

Some carry murder cases and are wanted in various places; some are simply robbers and thieves, while petty thieves are considered better.

The surrounding environment is remote, sparsely populated, and if something happens, no one would know.

Chen Tang was not afraid.

He was not a good person either.

Previously, in Yan State, at countryside inns and wild temples, he had faced many incidents, escaping unharmed each time.

Of course, many times, there were no incidents.

Chen Tang released the Thunder Leopard and went into the dilapidated temple before the rain started.

Since the rise of the Profound Celestial Sect, these temples outside of the Buddhist Sect had become neglected, including the one before him.

The several Buddha statues enshrined were covered in cobwebs and dust.

Chen Tang stood at the entrance of the temple, looking around.

This dilapidated temple wasn’t big, and after entering, his gaze could reach everywhere at a glance.

In the northeast corner, a person leaned against the wall, clothed in coarse burlap, casually sitting on the ground.

The person had arms crossed over the chest, cradling a long sword, with a straw hat covering the face, making it impossible to see the appearance, sleeping soundly as if unaware of the surroundings.

There were, of course, others in the temple.

In the northwestern corner stood a tall boy, dressed in black, looking seventeen or eighteen, with sword-like eyebrows extending to the temples, looking spirited, holding a straight long spear.

Despite the wall behind, the boy didn’t lean against it.

If not for his eyes turning as Chen Tang entered, Chen Tang might have thought this boy was a stone statue.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Chen Tang wanted to greet him.

But having walked the Jianghu for a month, he had gained some experience, and thought it was best not to be too rash with strangers.

Seeing the boy looking his way, Chen Tang nodded slightly in greeting, then headed toward the southeast corner.

Generally, in such temples, the corners are occupied first.

After all, resting in the middle of the temple is windy from all sides, leaving a sense of insecurity.

Moments later, heavy rain poured down!

Thunder rumbled!

Listening to the heavy rain outside, Chen Tang closed his eyes for a nap.

The black-clad boy still stood with his spear, only his eyes were now closed.

Chen Tang even wondered if the boy might know how to sleep standing.

At that moment, amid the rain and thunder, there was a hurried sound of footsteps running towards the temple.

Soon, a young girl in white rushed in, her clothes soaked with rain, panting heavily, her wet long hair trembled lightly in the cold wind, looking pitiful.

Chen Tang frowned slightly.

In such a desolate temple, encountering a bare-handed young girl who seemed unskilled in martial arts was rather odd.

The girl, about sixteen or seventeen, had fair skin, exceptionally beautiful features, clear eyes, although they seemed a bit dazed, appearing somewhat vacant.

After entering the temple, she didn’t search around like Chen Tang.

Just stood briefly, then leaned against the altar, found a mat, and sat down.

She slightly bent her legs, hugged her knees, rested her chin on them, not moving, lost in thought.

This girl seemed inexperienced in Jianghu.

Apparently unaware that there were three people already in the temple.

If the three of them had malicious intent, the girl might already be in danger.

Of course, Chen Tang had no such intention.

The person in the northeast corner didn’t move at all, still asleep.

The person in the northwest corner remained like a spear, standing there.

It was best if everyone remained at peace.

A while later, a commotion of footsteps came from outside the temple.

Soon, five or six men quickly entered from outside, each with blades at their waists, looking fierce, clearly not good people.

The men paused seeing the white-clad girl in the middle of the temple.

The leader observed briefly, then looked around the corners, his eyes passing over Chen Tang, the straw hat man, and the black-clad boy, with a hint of warning in his gaze.

Chen Tang kept his eyes half-closed, pretending not to see them.

Someone said, “Squad Leader Liu, please wait here for a moment, we’ll look around the temple for some dry wood or something.”

“Let’s dismantle the altar for firewood.”

Squad Leader Liu pointed at the Buddha statue behind the girl.

The group understood and approached the white-robed girl.

“Little girl, make way.”

One of them said with a smile.

The white-robed girl seemed not to hear and still stared blankly ahead.

“Hey!”

The man furrowed his brows and admonished, “I’m talking to you, did you hear me!”

The white-robed girl snapped back to reality at the shout, quickly stood up, moved to the side, and looked at the burly men with some timidity.

The group went forward and, with a few kicks, shattered the Buddha statue, then took out a fire starter and lit a fire in the ruined temple.

The blaze brought a bit of light and warmth to the dilapidated temple.

Squad Leader Liu and the others took out some dry rations and cooked meat, warmed some wine, and sat around the fire to eat.

As it seemed Chen Tang and the others were relatively well-behaved, Squad Leader Liu and his group gradually lowered their guard and started chatting.

“Did you hear, Fugui Manor near Qingcheng County was slaughtered, not a single one survived!”

“It should be Wushan Village’s doing.”

“It must be them. Except for girls under twenty, they killed everyone else regardless of age or gender, leaving nothing alive!”

“You say Wushan Village is so arrogant, why doesn’t the Government Office wipe them out?”

“Why not wipe them out? Every year they collect taxes for raids, claiming to eradicate bandits, but end up just getting a few heads from somewhere to wrap it up.”

“I’ll tell you this, forces like this, standing strong over the years, definitely have a backing supporting them!”

Through their idle chatter, Chen Tang realized that these people were from a group called the Beifeng Gang in Qingcheng County.

About the Wushan Village they mentioned, Chen Tang had also heard some.

It’s said this Wushan Village specializes in kidnapping girls under twenty, causing trouble in various counties of Bingzhou.

In these years, the Government Office’s bandit suppression is all pomp and circumstance, but ends with no result.

At this moment, the stomach of the white-robed girl standing nearby suddenly growled.

Squad Leader Liu glanced over and saw the white-robed girl secretly swallowing saliva, looking at their food with a hint of sparkle in her eyes.

Squad Leader Liu said with a smile, “Little girl, you’re hungry, right? Why not come over and join us for a bit?”

“I, can I?”

The white-robed girl swallowed, hesitantly asked, her voice crisp and extremely pleasant to hear.

Some people’s eyes couldn’t help but roam over the white-robed girl.

The white-robed girl’s clothes were wet, some places faintly visible, inevitably sparking visions.

Squad Leader Liu laughed, “If you don’t mind, come over and have a bite.”

“Thank you, big brother.”

The white-robed girl thanked, then sat over, not minding, accepted the dry rations and cooked meat passed by Squad Leader Liu, and ate without any regard for her image.

She indeed looked extremely hungry.

“Want some wine?”

The group egged her on, eyes revealing a strange glint.

“Sure.”

The white-robed girl smiled, took the wine cup, tilted her head, took a big gulp, then seemed to be hit by the spiciness, stuck out her tongue, and gasped.

“Haha!”

The group burst into loud laughter.

Someone urged with bad intentions, “Drink more, there’s plenty of wine for the brothers!”

The white-robed girl kept eating and nodded.

Chen Tang furrowed his brow secretly.

Initially, he was somewhat wary of this girl.

But seeing now, this girl seemed to have no experience walking in the Jianghu, accepting food from strangers without any suspicion.

The black-clothed youth who had been closing his eyes now turned to look as well, his expression stern, with a faint chill in his gaze.

The group gathered around the white-robed girl, intending to urge her to drink more, but were waved back by Squad Leader Liu.

“Enough.”

Squad Leader Liu shook his head slightly.

The group saw Squadron Leader Liu’s command and begrudgingly sat back down.

Squad Leader Liu watched as the white-robed girl ate happily, and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you here alone in this ruined temple, where are your family members?”

“I snuck out by myself, ended up getting lost.”

The white-robed girl said.

Squad Leader Liu was a bit speechless.

Is that even possible?

Squad Leader Liu then said, “You can’t eat our brothers’ stuff for free, you know you have to pay silver, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

The white-robed girl nodded quickly, “I do, I have money!”

“Hm?”

Squad Leader Liu’s expression shifted, asked, “How much silver do you have?”

“Three hundred taels!”

The white-robed girl proudly held up three fingers.

Whoa!

Squad Leader Liu and the others were secretly shocked.

Three hundred taels is no small sum.

Squad Leader Liu’s heart moved, said, “You know how much this meal costs?”

“How much?”

The white-robed girl asked.

Squad Leader Liu laughed, “Coincidentally, it’s exactly three hundred taels.”

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