Overnight at the Mountain God Temple

Lightning tore through the dark night sky, and raindrops the size of beans slanted down from the heavens in a deluge, as if the sky itself had collapsed.

Inside a dilapidated mountain god temple beside a mountain road, Bi Changsheng and the other two had settled in, planning to spend the night there.

By now, Bi Changsheng and his group had left Yunguang Prefecture and entered Yunchang Prefecture. Heavy rain had fallen across the land that day, hindering their progress and preventing them from reaching the next town before nightfall. Thus, Bi Changsheng and the others planned to shelter from the rain in this abandoned mountain god temple by the road and make do for the night.

The temple was utterly ruined. The statue on the altar had only half its body remaining, and it was impossible to tell what the mountain god enshrined there had originally looked like.

However, the temple floor was rather spacious. The accumulated clutter had been tossed into the corners, and there were many traces of past human activity on the ground. Clearly, travelers often stayed here for the night.

After settling the carriage and lighting a fire with the firewood they had gathered, the three prepared to rest. Bi Changsheng and Liu Zhengqing were martial artists, so they were fine, but Uncle Fu was an ordinary man and already advanced in years. After a day of travel, he was drowsy with exhaustion.

Just as Uncle Fu was preparing to sleep, Little Black, lying beside Bi Changsheng, suddenly began barking at the entrance.

"Someone's here."

Soon, Bi Changsheng too sensed movement in the rainy night outside the temple. He reached out and stroked Little Black, signaling that he understood, and only then did Little Black stop barking.

Before long, two figures appeared at the temple entrance. Looking closely, Bi Changsheng saw that they were two women.

The leader was a woman of around twenty, valiant and spirited in appearance, with a longsword in hand. The other woman was about the same age, but beside the leader, her bearing appeared somewhat delicate and frail. Their temperaments were vastly different, yet both of them seemed to possess a Cultivation Level.

The clothes on both women were completely soaked through; evidently, they had braved the rain to get here.

"Young Master, might the two of us shelter here from the rain for a while?"

The moment she entered the temple, the leading woman cupped her fist toward Bi Changsheng, who was clearly the one in charge.

"This is ownerless land to begin with. Do as you please."

Bi Changsheng replied to her blandly.

After receiving Bi Changsheng's permission, the two women cleared out a space opposite Bi Changsheng's group and prepared to use it as their resting place.

"Could we borrow another fire from you, Young Master, to light a fire and warm ourselves?"

After tidying up, the valiant-looking woman came before Bi Changsheng and the others again to ask.

"You may."

Bi Changsheng's response remained brief and direct. These were trivial matters, and he had no objection, so long as the two women did not bring him trouble.

"Thank you."

After thanking Bi Changsheng, the woman took a burning piece of firewood from the bonfire and went back to start a fire on their side as well.

"That young man is so rude. He was actually so cold toward Miss."

Once the fire was lit, the two women sat before it to warm themselves. Then the delicate-looking woman whispered to the valiant woman, clearly somewhat indignant at Bi Changsheng's indifferent attitude just now.

"Xiao Rou, do not speak nonsense."

"We are away from home, with no kinship or acquaintance between us. That young master has allowed us to shelter from the rain in this temple and even lent us fire. That is already no small kindness."

The valiant woman admonished the delicate woman. Judging from the way she spoke, she was likely not from an ordinary household.

"Fine."

The woman called Xiao Rou replied somewhat unwillingly. In her eyes, Bi Changsheng had slighted her young lady.

"I wonder how Father is doing now."

The valiant young lady suddenly said in a low voice, her spirits dimming.

"Master is highly skilled. He will certainly be all right."

Xiao Rou answered her firmly.

"We have not yet completely shaken off the Town Martial Department. As soon as the rain stops, we will set out at once."

After gathering her dejected feelings, the young lady continued.

"Mhm."

Xiao Rou responded softly. After that, neither woman spoke again, quietly resting and recovering their strength.

The whispered words the two believed to be so soft all entered Bi Changsheng's ears without a single word missed. A faint premonition arose in his heart: this night was unlikely to be peaceful.

I hope I'm just overthinking it.

Given the circumstances, Bi Changsheng could only say helplessly to himself.

Unfortunately, Heaven sometimes simply refused to grant people their wishes. The more you did not want something to happen, the more likely it was to happen.

After another half hour passed, the rain outside had noticeably weakened. Just then, Little Black, lying beside Bi Changsheng, rose and began barking again, even more urgently than before.

"What must come has come after all!"

Bi Changsheng, who had likewise sensed the disturbance, sighed inwardly. The movement this time was greater than before in his perception. Clearly, there were more people this time, and they were acting in an organized manner.

Little Black's barking also startled the two women. Like Bi Changsheng, they turned their gazes toward the temple entrance.

More than a dozen people clad in black Mysterious Fire Robes rushed in at once, spreading out into an encirclement and surrounding everyone inside the temple.

"People from the Town Martial Department."

The moment Bi Changsheng saw the Mysterious Fire Robes on them, he understood their identities. The Mysterious Fire Robes were the symbol of the Great Gan Town Martial Department.

"Traitor Long Yuying, you are already surrounded! Why not surrender without a fight?"

After surrounding the people in the temple, the Middle-aged Man leading the Town Martial Department spoke to the valiant-looking woman.

"Heh, rebel? My father merely spoke the truth, and that emperor branded him a rebel by imperial decree?"

The valiant woman—Long Yuying—snorted coldly and threw the question back at the Middle-aged Man leading the Town Martial Department.

"His Majesty is the rightful ruler of the Great Gan. Long Hanwen opened his mouth to insult His Majesty and revile the Court. Naturally, he is a traitorous rebel."

The Middle-aged Man leading the Town Martial Department spoke to Long Yuying as though it were only natural.

"The rightful ruler of the realm?"

"Then when the Yellow Heaven Cult ravaged Jin'an Prefecture, leaving tens of millions of its people unable to live in peace, where was the Court?"

"And when my father led the people of Jin'an Prefecture in desperately holding on, begging for aid everywhere, where was the Court then?"

Long Yuying said mockingly to the Middle-aged Man of the Town Martial Department.

"His Majesty naturally has his own considerations, not something people like us can presume to fathom."

"Now that His Majesty has personally issued an edict, this matter is set in stone. Surrender quietly and submit to capture. Do not make any more meaningless resistance, lest you suffer needless physical pain."

The Middle-aged Man seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying.

From their conversation, Bi Changsheng finally learned that the young woman was the daughter of Long Hanwen, the Grandmaster of Condensing Gang. Moreover, Long Hanwen—the heroic figure who had once led Jin'an Prefecture in resisting the Yellow Heaven Cult—had actually been branded a rebel by the Great Gan Court.

"Words are useless. If you want to arrest me, do it yourselves."

Long Yuying also knew that the two of them were likely facing certain doom this time. She knew that the man leading the Town Martial Department possessed the Cultivation Level of the Early Qi and Blood Realm, far beyond anything she could resist. But she had no intention of sitting still and awaiting death.

"Stubborn to the bitter end. Go, seize them."

Seeing Long Yuying prepared to resist to the end, the Town Martial Department leader did not act personally. Instead, he waved a hand and sent four subordinates to capture Long Yuying and her companion.

The four Town Martial Department men stepped out and lunged straight at Long Yuying and the other woman.