The Missing Temple Blesser

"What do you mean?"

Hearing the old man address him, Li Yan frowned.

"Th-this... wasn't it you who told me to go?"

The old man panicked, waving both hands as he recounted what had happened.

It was rather amusing, when one thought about it.

The old man was named Sun Datong. He had originally been a fire-tending servant who handled odd jobs. After serving the temple diligently for many years, he had entered the Daoist registry with the help of the old temple blesser, giving him some security for the future.

He was honest and worked swiftly. His only hobby was drinking.

Some days ago, after the old temple blesser left, he never returned. Sun Datong reported it to the authorities, but there had been no news. With no one to preside over the temple rituals, the already-failing temple had become even more desolate.

Sun Datong was worried about the old temple blesser on one hand, and afraid that someone would seize the temple on the other. He scratched his head anxiously, helpless, and so drank a few extra cups.

Li Yan had rescued him in passing just now. The old man had been dazed and confused, tumbling about in a stupor. Then he had dreamed of the Five Paths General, who told him to guard the temple entrance and settle in whoever came.

The old man had been half-convinced. But seeing that the ice on the ground had not yet melted and that half the clay statue in the temple had shattered, he was no longer certain of anything and waited uneasily outside.

Then a fierce wind had whipped up around him. When the wind died down, Li Yan had appeared outside the temple.

"I see..."

Li Yan nodded, his expression somewhat grim.

Having one's soul hooked away and