Almost an hour had passed, but the group had not yet reached the foot of Yanxia Peak. They were still walking in the clouds and mountains, much slower than when Qi Wen came.
Qi Wen was already used to walking on Yunshan Mountain, but for Huang Xingye, the mountain road was bumpy and not very friendly to his four servants, especially when they were carrying things, so Li Mian was better off.
Li Mian is a martial artist after all. Although he is not a martial arts master, he can be considered an important figure in Dongle County. In the county government, only the county lieutenant is better than Li Mian. Other constables cannot match Li Mian individually unless they fight desperately.
Looking at Qi Wen who was walking briskly in front of him, and then looking at the basket of things behind him, Li Mian couldn't help but sigh.
"This young Taoist priest really doesn't know martial arts? It's a bit exaggerated to say that his physique is used to walking on mountain roads!"
Huang Xingye looked at the loads carried by the servants. Four people were carrying two loads. The baskets under the shoulder poles were not big. They contained cloth, brocade, wine and cakes. The weight of the things loaded should not be as much as Qi Wen's basket. After all, Qi Wen's basket was filled with bacon, eggs, pumpkins, taro and other things given by farmers, all of which were heavy goods.
"Huh... Huh... Not strange, not strange. The more this happens... Huh... This Yunshan Temple, the more, the more it proves that we have come to the right place... Huh..."
Huang Xingye is getting older, and although he hasn't gained much weight, his physical strength is still a little poor. After climbing the mountain for so long, he is now out of breath.
Qi Wen still felt quite relaxed at the moment. In fact, if it were in the past, he would also be very tired after carrying a heavy object for such a long time, but recently he felt that his physical strength had improved a lot, and even going down the mountain to fetch water was with a brisk pace.
After climbing up this gentle slope, they finally arrived at the foot of Yanxia Peak. Qi Wen turned around with a little excitement and shouted to the people who had finished driving a few feet behind him.
"Everyone, hurry up, we have reached Yanxia Peak and can start climbing!"
Ah? Can we start climbing
So what were we doing just now
Huang Xingye and the others were a little stunned. They thought they were almost at Yunshan Temple, but they didn't expect to hear such words. They looked up at the towering Yanxia Peak and swallowed subconsciously.
Without counting the height of this hillside or any calculations like altitude, just starting from where Qi Wen is standing, the total height of Yanxia Peak is about 150 feet, and Yunshan Temple is about 100 feet high.
Although it was not that high in reality, the slope was much steeper. They walked and stopped and rested many times during the climb. By the time they reached not far from Yunshan Temple, Huang Xingye and several servants were exhausted. Even Li Mian, who had been supporting Huang Xingye, was sweating profusely.
Qi Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and shouted excitedly towards the Taoist temple.
"Master, Mr. Ji~~~A guest is coming~~~~"
After a few shouts, Taoist Qingsong and Ji Yuan, who had already heard the noise, came out together.
"Hehehe... Several believers have come from far away. I am sorry for not welcoming you!"
"Please, please, please go to Yunshan Temple and rest!"
Taoist Qingsong exchanged greetings and walked forward with Ji Yuan. Each of them took the loads from the servants and helped them carry them into the temple. This was not a place to refuse gifts from each other.
Inside the temple, Ji Yuan and two Taoists brought out several stools and chairs from the kitchen and two rooms, and let several people sit down and rest near the kitchen.
In addition to the Taoist temple's tea, some snacks brought by Huang Xingye and others were also taken out and eaten by everyone.
This would consume a huge amount of physical energy, and they had no time to be polite even with the gifts they brought.
After the visitors had rested for a while, especially Huang Xingye had recovered his breath, Taoist Qingsong asked them about their purpose.
"I wonder why you, the believers, came to my Yunshan Temple? I heard from Qi Wen that you came to express your gratitude. This gift is a bit too much."
Huang Xingye sorted out his thoughts. What he said this time was different from what he had said to Qi Wen before. He opened his mouth and asked for help.
"Master Qingsong, you must save me! I'm in big trouble!"
Huang Xingye stood up, bowed and saluted repeatedly while begging.
"Boss Huang, what happened?"
Taoist Qingsong, who quickly stood up and supported Huang Xingye, was also surprised. Even Ji Yuan, who was sitting near the kitchen door, frowned.
"Master, I would like to thank you first for this matter. You helped me interpret the fortune that day and saved my life..."
Huang Xingye first told Qi Wen everything he had said on the road before, but this time he was much more detailed, even including the fact that he suspected the God of Land had saved his life.
"Since Mr. Huang has already reported the case to the police, and the county government is also doing its best to track him down, then even if the principal criminal escapes for the time being, he should not be a threat to you."
Taoist Qingsong was a little confused.
"Oh, Taoist priest, if that were true, it would be great! But some time ago, I felt grateful for the help from the God of Land, so I went to the town temple to express my gratitude! Although the temple in our town has not been repaired yet, the statue of the God of Land has been erected, so I offered him a feast of fish and meat..."
This was actually a good thing. The people around who didn't know the truth were listening in confusion. Huang Xingye paused and then continued.
"After offering sacrifices, Huang used a cup to ask the God of Land whether he had turned the corner this time... But he dropped the cup three times, and there was no holy hexagram. Huang was panicked and dropped it six more times. After nine times, there was no holy hexagram each time. The tenth time, even a piece of the cup broke..."
"Hiss..."
Taoist Qingsong gasped when he heard this. He was well versed in divination and knew better than Huang Xingye how dangerous the hexagram was. If Ji Yuan had not been sitting next to him, he might have lost his composure by now.
Like the fortune-telling bucket, the cup is a divination tool commonly used in temples. It is usually made of the bamboo roots of the golden bamboo, split into two halves. Sometimes it is replaced by the two shells of a certain small clam. The basic size is about one finger long and two fingers wide.
It is used in conjunction with fortune-telling in a fortune-telling bucket or to simply ask about good and bad luck. It is a simple way for pilgrims to communicate with gods. Some of the results are effective while others are not, which has something to do with the gods themselves and the piety of the pilgrims.
The pilgrims drop the cups from a height of several feet. If one side is facing up and the other is facing down, it represents the harmony of yin and yang, which is a "holy line" or "auspicious". Otherwise, whether both sides are facing up or facing down, it is "unlucky".
In Huang Xingye's case, it is obviously impossible for the God of Land to not respond.
"So, because the Earth God responded to you in a dangerous way, Boss Huang came to me and wanted me to help you calculate it carefully?"
Taoist Qingsong analyzed it for a while, but saw Huang Xingye shaking his head uneasily.
"It's not just that, it's not just that... the land god..."
At this point, Huang Xingye seemed to be still frightened and spoke in a more nervous tone.
"The next day, I went to the land temple to burn incense in a restless mood, and found that many people from the town were gathered in front of the temple. After asking, I learned that the land statue had been damaged last night. I went into the temple and saw that the left hand of the land god had been torn off..."
When Huang Xingye said this, his face had become extremely ugly. At that moment, he suddenly realized that the statue of the God of Land was definitely not destroyed by bandits as the villagers said, but was most likely destroyed by some terrible thing.
When everyone present heard Huang Xingye's words, they all felt a chill rising from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads, even people like Li Mian who knew some of the situation felt the same.
Taoist Qingsong's face turned even paler. Even if he was usually very suicidal, he knew that this matter was definitely beyond his ability.
"Boss Huang, this... Yunshan Temple is just a small temple in the wild, and I am just a poor Taoist who tells fortunes for people. How can I care about your affairs..."
Huang Xingye's face looked uglier than crying, and he kept bowing and begging.
"Master Qingsong, I know that I was blind at first. You actually wanted to intervene in front of the temple that day, but I didn't know what was good for me and had a bad attitude. I ignored your advice and left on my own a few times. Please give me another chance. Huang will never forget your kindness!"
Taoist Qingsong was also panicked. This matter was too weird. He even forgot that the great god Ji Yuan was right next to him.
"Boss Huang, you misunderstood. I..."
However, before Qi Xuan could finish speaking, Ji Yuan, with a serious face, spoke for the first time.
"May I ask Mr. Huang if you can ask the City God of Dongle County City God Temple for help?"
Ji Yuan's voice was clear yet deep, and it seemed to have some kind of power to calm the mind, calming everyone present.
This matter is so weird. How could Huang Xingye, a mortal, be alive and well when he has the ability to attack the God of Land