#623 - Mountain Temple - I am the villain in the book

The next day, early morning.

Wangnan Peak, Mountain God Temple.

The southern range of Zhongnan is beautiful, with accumulated snow floating at the cloud's edge.

Golden morning light fell upon the snow-covered temple. Standing at the temple gate and looking out, mountains connected to mountains, one mountain nested within another, like dragons and snakes coiling, winding endlessly for more than a thousand miles.

Although it was the first light of dawn, because the surroundings were all high and cold snow mountains, there was no grass or trees, and not even a bird or beast could be seen, except for the ancient snow at their feet.

There was only this lonely Mountain God Temple and the five people resting inside.

After a night of rushing, Wei Changtian and his party had followed their plan to pass through the outer reaches of the Tianshan Mountains and reach this peak named "Wangnan."

This was also the last named peak in the Tianshan Mountains; beyond it were only nameless mountains.

...

"I didn't expect there to be a temple in this broken place."

Standing outside the temple gate for a while, Wei Changtian muttered softly, seemingly surprised.

Zhang San and Lu Huang were currently making a fire in the temple, preparing to cook porridge for breakfast.

Yang Liushi was next to them, using melted snow to clean a snow rabbit that had unfortunately been encountered by the group, planning to roast and eat it.

Huang Sheng, who was following Wei Changtian, explained after hearing the latter's words:

"Young Master, this temple was originally the location of a small sect's headquarters."

"However, the sect's incense was not strong. Several decades ago, after the death of the sect leader, the members scattered like birds and beasts, leaving the headquarters empty."

"Later, several wealthy households in Liangzhou City paid to renovate this place and turned it into a Mountain God Temple, worshiping the Snow God of the Tianshan Mountains."

"Actually, quite a few people come here to worship in the summer and autumn seasons..."

...

It could be seen that Huang Sheng was indeed familiar with the situation in the Tianshan Mountains, speaking eloquently about the temple's origins.

Wei Changtian listened while walking into the main hall, raising his eyes to look at the several-丈 high statue of a deity enshrined in the center.

Compared to the "hideous" statues of Vajras and strongmen in Buddhism, the statues of Taoist deities were obviously much more kind and benevolent.

With a flowing white beard, one hand resting on his knee and the other slightly lowered, his gaze was fixed forward, as if looking at the continuous snow mountains outside the hall.

Good heavens, this is the Snow God?

Why is it another old man?

I always felt that the Snow God should be a woman with revealing clothes and a good figure to make sense...

Muttering in his heart, Wei Changtian withdrew his gaze and looked at the bronze zun and bronze dishes placed in front of the statue.

There were no rotten offerings on them, and even the ash in the incense burner was very smooth, so it seemed that someone was maintaining it.

"Huang Lieutenant, this Mountain God Temple isn't small; there should be Taoists living here, right?"

"Young Master, people do live here during other seasons."

Wei Changtian nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

At this time, the fragrance of porridge wafted through the courtyard.

"Young Master, the porridge is ready."

Zhang San ran in and said.

"Mm."

Wei Changtian responded casually and was about to go drink some porridge, but his gaze suddenly turned sharply to the foot of the statue.

Just now, he seemed to have heard a subtle sound coming from there.

"Young Master, this humble one also heard it!"

Huang Sheng, who had already slowly drawn his saber, proved that he was not hallucinating.

The two exchanged a glance, and then slowly approached the tall Snow God statue.

Yang Liushi and Lu Huang in the courtyard also noticed the situation here and approached the main hall with serious expressions, ready for battle.

To be honest, with the combined combat power of Wei Changtian and his group, they wouldn't panic even if they encountered a Rank 2 expert.

However, the Tianshan Mountains were sparsely populated after all, so it was best to be careful in everything.

Thus, with Wei Changtian and Huang Sheng in the lead, and Zhang San, Lu Huang, and Yang Liushi behind, the five of them approached the statue step by step, preparing to investigate the source of the sound just now.

However, just as Wei Changtian, who was walking in the front, was only one step away from the statue, an unexpected situation occurred.

The eyes of the statue, which were originally looking straight ahead, suddenly moved and looked down, their gaze falling directly on the five people at its feet!

Then, an incomparably cold voice suddenly exploded in everyone's ears.

"GET OUT!!!"

...

Like muffled thunder from the sky, or whispers from the mouth of a demon.

This "get out" seemed to be mixed with the divine power of both good and evil, forming a great contrast with the statue's amiable appearance.

The clay statue not only moved its eyes but also spoke.

If it were an ordinary person here, they would probably have been scared out of their wits and pissing their pants.

But the five of Wei Changtian showed no fear at all, except for some initial surprise.

At least Lu Huang, Huang Sheng, and Zhang San still had some vigilance on their faces.

Wei Changtian and Yang Liushi's expressions were even more intriguing.

The two exchanged a glance, and both saw a hint of wry amusement in each other's eyes.

Good heavens.

The level of this illusion is too low.

An incense stick's time later.

A rabbit with its fur removed was being roasted beside a roaring bonfire, and oil dripped from the charred, crispy rabbit legs, crackling as it fell into the fire.

Not far from the roasted rabbit, Zhang San was sharpening his knife while holding a small white fox.

"Young Master, this snow fox is estimated to have two or thirty years of cultivation."

"This humble one will slaughter it and roast it as an extra dish!"

...

Holding a porcelain bowl, Wei Changtian drank porridge while glancing at the little fox that had been "throttled by fate" by Zhang San, feeling quite speechless in his heart.

He originally thought it was some incredible adventure, but in the end, it was just a fox causing trouble.

This demon's cultivation was not deep. It probably took advantage of the fact that no one was in the temple during the winter to "borrow" this place, but it unfortunately encountered him.

However, to be fair, although this little guy's illusion skills weren't great, even Zhang San saw through it.

Its level of concealing its aura was not bad. He had been in the main hall for so long and didn't notice its existence.

If it hadn't been unable to hold back and wanted to use the statue to scare him away, this matter might have passed just like that.

"Forget it, fox meat doesn't taste good anyway."

Looking at Yang Liushi's complicated expression, Wei Changtian waved his hand at Zhang San: "Let it go."

"Young Master, if you don't eat it, I'll eat it... Yes! This humble one will let it go!"

Zhang San originally wanted to fight for an extra meal for himself, but when he saw Wei Changtian's eyes, he quickly stopped talking, and with a release of his hand, he threw the little fox on the ground.

The latter was "cunning" enough. When it was in Zhang San's hands, it was clearly acting like "I'm already dead", but as soon as it landed on the ground, it was as if it had suddenly come back to life, and it ran away with all its might, disappearing into the depths of the Mountain God Temple in the blink of an eye.

"Hahahaha!"

Everyone laughed at the sight, and no one cared about where it went.

Only Yang Liushi secretly gave Wei Changtian a grateful look, and then gently lowered her head again.

Soon, everyone put the matter out of their minds and continued to eat breakfast while the porridge was still hot.

However...

"Young Master, why does this porridge smell a bit rotten?"

"Cough, I don't think it smells rotten."

"Huh? Huang Lieutenant, General Lu, what about you? Do you think there's something wrong with this porridge?"

"No."

"Ah? Madam, what about you?"

"It doesn't smell rotten. Zhang San, is it because your mouth smells?"

"My mouth doesn't smell..."