The atmosphere in the tea shed became a little weird. Although Ji Yuan hadn't looked closely just now, he opened his eyes a little more and looked around. He found that judging from the situation, there were only six or seven people who were truly innocent, including himself and the owner of the tea shed.
The aura of the others, which was originally normal, has changed at this moment, especially the sturdy man in front of him, followed by the two women beside him.
All these people were vaguely observing Ji Yuan, and they were not competing with each other, which meant that they were a group.
Although Ji Yuan was helpless, he was not really afraid. After all, they were just ordinary warriors. Not only did they not threaten his safety, but if he didn't want to get into trouble and just ran away, it was estimated that no one would be able to catch up with him.
So he just picked up the teacup and drank the tea, then looked at the burly man opposite with a helpless look on his face.
"Uh... my dear brother, animals are too expensive and hard to take care of. It's better to walk. It's a bit tiring, but it's more comfortable."
Ji Yuan said something, then turned around and took a closer look at the seven or eight-year-old boy who was knocking on the teacup. Although he was not clearly visible at first glance, the more he looked at it, the more peculiar it seemed to him. He endured the pain and opened his eyes a little wider, and suddenly discovered that there was a layer of gray mist-like thing on the boy's body.
It was this layer of fog that prevented Ji Yuan from realizing the child's peculiarity at the first moment. However, after his eyes passed through the fog, the little boy's appearance was extremely clear, and there was a sense of smartness in him.
Seeing Ji Yuan looking at the child beside him, one of the two women next to him narrowed her eyes and spoke.
"Sir, you look so familiar. It seems like we met in Juntian Mansion a few days ago, and this time we meet again outside the city."
Another woman also chimed in.
"Could it be that the gentleman fell in love with us two sisters when he saw us that day, hehehe..."
Ji Yuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had never even seen clearly what the two women looked like, but from the sound of their voices he knew they were indeed the ones who were there that day.
I was originally curious about the boy, but now it feels like we're about to have a conflict, so what else is there to say? I've seen a lot of strange things like this before.
Ji Yuan sighed and smiled.
"Well, there really are such coincidences in this world. Whether the two ladies believe it or not, I don't want to cause any trouble. Since this small teahouse doesn't welcome me, I have no choice but to leave..."
Ji Yuan would not really get into a fight with this group of people just because of a misunderstanding. It was unnecessary and boring.
After drinking the cup of tea in his hand, Ji Yuan stood up while the burly man was staring at him, and said something apologetically to the young shop owner who was about to come over to greet him.
"No need to greet me, young man. I won't stop here."
After saying that, Ji Yuan lifted the bag on his shoulder, picked up the umbrella, took another look at the child who was about seven or eight years old, left the bench and walked out of the tea stall, continuing westward along the official road without any intention of staying.
Inside the tea shed, the sturdy man and the two women all looked at Ji Yuan's departing back, their bodies slightly tense, ready to deal with the other party suddenly turning around and attacking.
Just a cup of tea passed and Ji Yuan's back had become blurred in the sight, and there was still no sign of him turning back.
To be honest, the distance is so long that it makes no sense to attack or not. It's too far.
"Is this person really just a passerby?"
The sturdy man asked in confusion and looked at the two women beside him, and one of the women answered with a frown.
"But we have indeed seen him before, and we cannot mistake him. That day in the clothing store in Juntianfu, he was also like this... carefree and relaxed..."
Another woman also said:
"This man is obviously not an ordinary person. Just as Mo Tong said, Juntianfu is quite far from here. We just saw him in the city two days ago. How could he have walked here today? Unless he rode a carriage or a horse, wouldn't he be exhausted to death?"
"Well, I tried to test him just now, and he seemed to have noticed something, but his tone was quite helpless."
While talking, the sturdy man Mo Tong kept staring at the distance on the road, and Ji Yuan's figure was becoming increasingly faint.
The child who had been knocking on the bottom of the teacup finally stopped the noisy "bang bang bang..." sound and looked in the direction where Ji Yuan left.
She whispered to the woman next to her, "I want to eat fried crispy meat."
"There are only biscuits and jerky. Do you want to eat them?"
"No! I'd rather die of hunger than eat!"
The child grumbled and started knocking the door again, "bang bang bang..." The woman next to him rolled her eyes. Anyway, if she was really hungry, she would eat it naturally.
. . .
Three days later, on a rainy night, on the Banana Leaf Mountain at the border of Juntian Prefecture and Xining Prefecture, Ji Yuan was walking on the mountain path with an umbrella.
Banana Leaf Mountain got its name because the overall shape of the mountain looks like a banana leaf when viewed from the highest peak. The mountain is not very large, not as big as the Old Birch Mountain where the two boys Yu Huai met. It stretches for more than thirty miles between the two prefectures and occupies an area of only a dozen miles.
Mr. Ji Da has a habit. Once it rains, he always likes to slow down his walking, because on rainy days he can clearly "see" the beautiful scenery of mountains and rivers, and "touch" all things on the earth with the sound of rain.
It was the same at this moment. It had been raining non-stop since before nightfall. Ji Yuan had been walking slowly for such a long time that he "heard" a house in the front.
As I got closer, I smelled a hint of sandalwood and looked at the furnishings inside. It was indeed a mountain temple.
He opened his umbrella and went under the eaves, folded it and shook off the water, then pushed open the temple door and observed the small temple with a relaxed look on his face.
This mountain temple is only a few meters in length and width. Although it looks dilapidated and there are no temple keeper or the like living there, it should not be considered a deserted temple. After all, the altar is still neatly arranged and there are some remaining offerings. It seems that the local mountain folks will come here to worship during festivals or when there is something going on. Of course, most of the time, there is no one here.
After taking a closer look at the statue of the mountain god, he found that its appearance was different from that of ordinary people. Although he was wearing a robe, his facial bones were relatively prominent, and there were two bulging bumps on his forehead. The sculptor had painted several swirling cloud patterns on the two bumps, making Ji Yuan unsure whether they represented horns or lumps.
There are no traces of divine light from the golden body on the statue of the mountain god, but there is indeed the power of incense lingering around it, it is extremely weak, and one can tell at a glance that it is not a real god. Combined with its unusual appearance, it must be a monster born and raised by nature who wants to use the power of incense to speed up the connection with the earth veins and mountains to achieve the status of mountain god.
According to their nature, these little gods with the body of monsters cannot stay in the temple. They will only come back to take incense and taste offerings when they sense that the villagers are offering sacrifices.
Ji Yuan opened his Dharma Eyes, and in just a few glances he saw through the statue and saw that the so-called "mountain god" was still far from being an expert. Moreover, although Jiaoye Mountain was small, it was still a mountain after all, with a radius of more than ten miles. It was not as simple as a small manor or village.
With the meager incense offerings from this small temple, it takes years to collect and maintain. One also needs to practice diligently. Plus, as a spirit, it will take a hundred years of trials and tribulations to achieve certain results. But it is only certain results. Well, if one dies accidentally halfway, then all will be over.
“Practicing is difficult!”
Ji Yuan sighed, closed the temple door, apologized to the statue, dragged a cushion to the corner and sat down to rest.
Taking out "The Legend of the Heretic" from my arms and reading this "realistic novel" on this rainy night is also a unique experience.
There was an iron brazier in the mountain temple, which should be used for burning paper or something like that. There were also firewood and charcoal fire beside it, which seemed to be a convenience for villagers and pilgrims who wanted to take a break temporarily. However, Ji Yuan didn't need fire at all and didn't feel cold, so naturally there was no need to make a fire.
After reading the book for half an hour, I changed to "Tong Ming Ce". I happened to come across the speculation and understanding of the art of binding gods in the book. It talked about the possibility that the real binding of gods also has something in common with the decrees of masters. Obviously, the author of the book did not understand the art of binding gods.
Ji Yuan subconsciously glanced at the mountain god statue in the temple. Before this, Qiu Feng from Yu Huaishan had sent him a fragment of the book "Binding God", and he had already studied it thoroughly.
After more than ten years of comprehension by Qiu Feng, the incomplete chapter contains many insights and records, and is actually quite complete, but it lacks the key essence. So, apart from helping him to concentrate his mind and practice, it does not have much meaning.
But in fact, ever since Ji had obtained the miraculous power of "imperial decree" which was a panacea, he had the ability to restore the art of binding gods to some extent. After all, the real imperial decree was one level higher than the decree of the masters.
But theories are just theories, and no matter how high their feasibility is, it has not been proven by facts.
Of course, Ji Yuan could watch but he had no intention of really trying it. He had nothing to do, and the little god in the Yin Temple was also a god. He couldn't just bully gods by relying on his Taoism.
Just as he was thinking about something, Ji Yuan suddenly felt something in his heart and heard some special noises.
Not long after, the temple door was pushed open from the outside with a "bang", and seven wet figures rushed into the temple. They hurriedly glanced around the temple, but failed to see Ji Yuan who blended into the nature in the shadow of the night in the corner of the wall.
"Huh...Huh...I guess he didn't catch up with me, did he?"
"Probably not... How is the young master?"
"He's still unconscious!"
"Mo Tong, how is your injury?"
"It's okay!"
Ji Yuan looked over there at the group of wet and disheveled men and women, and the smell of blood. They looked much worse in number and condition. They were exactly the same group of people he had met in the tea shed before.