Crowds Equal Incense and Fire Power

Walking along the long street, Huang Huai surveyed the various shops on both sides, aimlessly trying his luck.

After walking for a while, Huang Huai's heart suddenly stirred. He had arrived in front of a rouge shop just as two women were walking out. They nearly bumped into him, seemingly surprised that a man like Huang Huai would stop at the shop entrance. Before leaving, the two women couldn't help but cast a peculiar glance at Huang Huai.

Huang Huai paid no mind to their strange looks and strode into the shop. Fortunately, there were no other customers at the moment. Even so, Xie Sanniang, the owner, looked at Huang Huai with some surprise and asked with a hint of warmth, "Young master, are you perhaps here to choose some rouge and powder for your virtuous wife?"

Huang Huai explained, "It's not for my virtuous wife, but for my mother and younger sister. Do you have any recommendations, shopkeeper?"

In Huang Huai's opinion, his mother and sister didn't lack for bags or accessories, leaving him with only cosmetics as a choice.

It was like the Spilled Jade Spirit Nourishing Tea; perhaps with good luck, he could find some astonishingly effective cosmetics among the rouge and powder of this Otherworld.

Clearly, Huang Huai's luck wasn't bad. Or rather, since this Otherworld was a supernatural realm, even many things meant for the common people were touched by its extraordinary nature, possessing effects far beyond the mundane.

Some functions might not amount to much for High Gods who wielded supernatural powers, but for ordinary people, they were certainly not ordinary items.

In the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Huang Huai, looking like he had gained a lot, exited the shop. In his hands were two small porcelain bottles filled with a medicinal paste called Red Face Cream. According to the shop owner, this Red Face Cream had the effect of nourishing the skin, delaying aging, and maintaining a youthful appearance.

If there were rare treasures in this world that could keep one's appearance eternally youthful, Huang Huai would not be surprised at all. After all, in a world where Gods and Demons manifested themselves, such treasures would be only natural.

As for the Red Face Cream praised by the shop owner, Huang Huai didn't need it to be as miraculous as she claimed. Even if it had one-tenth or one-hundredth of the effect, it would still be enough to crush the cosmetics of his current world.

Afterward, Huang Huai casually bought a few more gifts and returned to his residence.

Carrying the gifts, Huang Huai visited two households in the alley and then several more nearby. He explained that he would be renovating his residence in the coming days and asked for their understanding if there were any disturbances.

From a young age, Huang Huai had been educated by his father to prioritize harmony in his dealings. In this strange Otherworld, it was most important to avoid creating unnecessary trouble within his capabilities.

It was merely a matter of spending a little money to eliminate potential hidden dangers, which was a beneficial and cost-effective approach.

After this round of effort, Huang Huai not only got to know his neighbors but also left a very good impression on them, building quite good relationships.

Returning to his residence and closing the courtyard gate, Huang Huai entered the side room to take stock of what he had brought back. He still had some gold and silver left, including the refined salt and rock sugar he had brought initially, which he had not touched. He stored them away neatly.

Huang Huai placed the gold and silver in a bundle. Then, he carefully put away the Molotov cocktails. Otherwise, he truly feared that while he was away and Ma Xing and others were renovating the house, they might accidentally knock them over and set the place ablaze.

Seeing that the items he was taking back filled more than half of his bundle, Huang Huai then offered incense to the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan and respectfully took it down, wrapping it in red cloth and holding it in his arms.

Closing the doors and windows and confirming everything was secure, with a thought, the mysterious portal reappeared.

Taking one step forward, Huang Huai's figure vanished. The next moment he reappeared, he was back in his bedroom in the villa in the present world.

Upon returning to the present world, Huang Huai immediately set the bundle aside and then went to check on the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan. There was no thunderclap during the day, and the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan was just as before, showing no changes.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief; the absence of any anomalies was perhaps the best outcome.

He placed the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan on the altar in the living room, offered incense and candles, and respectfully bowed to it.

Under Huang Huai's gaze, the incense and candles showed no unusual changes, just as usual. Seeing this, Huang Huai couldn't help but frown. Had he miscalculated? Did the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan only display its divine properties in the Otherworld?

But then he recalled receiving a blessing from a High God, which greatly replenished his vitality, making his blood and energy more abundant. This was a form of supernatural power, wasn't it? It was tangible.

With a touch of confusion, Huang Huai pulled open the curtains. Bright sunlight immediately flooded the room, illuminating it completely.

After tidying up the bundle, Huang Huai took out the two jars of Spilled Jade Spirit Nourishing Tea and the two bottles of Beauty Ointment and placed them in the safe. He had personally witnessed the effects of these two items; they were truly extraordinary. Although the neighborhood's security environment was quite good, Huang Huai still worried about accidents if they were left lying around.

Even the Red Face Cream was quite valuable. The two bottles were almost worth half a jar of tea. Calculating it, the tea and the ointment combined were luxury items worth hundreds of thousands if valued in gold.

After tidying up, Huang Huai took some clothes and went into the bathroom to wash up. He changed into loose pajamas and sat on the living room sofa, picking up his phone from the coffee table. He checked it; he had been gone for less than two days, so there were no missed calls.

However, upon opening WeChat, a string of unread messages appeared. Among them, the group with the most unread messages was the small group chat for him and his fellow disciples at Xunzhen Temple.

All nine disciples under the Great Daoist Master were in this small group chat, and they often chatted there when they had nothing else to do.

Huang Huai saw a message mentioning him and clicked on it. It was a message from Chen Wei.

"Xiao Jiu, Xiao Jiu, hurry back! How can I live without you!"

"Haha, Chen Wei must be going crazy with exhaustion these past few days. The May Day holiday is almost here. Originally, he and Xiao Jiu were supposed to clean the side hall together, but now that Xiao Jiu has gone down the mountain, all the work has fallen on him..."

"Ah, Third Brother, don't you feel sorry for your little brother working so hard? You guys are still in the mood to laugh at me. Hurry up and help me call Xiao Jiu. This scoundrel Xiao Jiu must have intentionally run off down the mountain because the May Day holiday is coming. What happened to 'good brothers for life'!"

"Right, right, we know you and Xiao Jiu have a good relationship. You're good brothers for life!"

"Good brothers for life!"

"Good brothers for life!"

A total of seven identical messages were lined up in neat rows, making Huang Huai's eyes twitch. Among these senior brothers, the eldest, who was already in his thirties, was also acting like a repeater, teasing Chen Wei along with the others.

Reading the messages, Huang Huai could imagine the crowd pressure Xunzhen Temple would face during the upcoming May Day holiday just from Chen Wei's complaints.

He wouldn't dare to say more, but it wouldn't be surprising if the visitor numbers multiplied several times over.

Huang Huai had not only seen reports of major tourist attractions being packed during holidays but had also experienced it firsthand. Not to mention the terrifying crowds at the Wudang Taoist Palace on Taihe Mountain, which was in the same area as them, but even their own Xunzhen Temple would be bustling with people during holidays. It wasn't uncommon to receive thousands of visitors in a single day.

Xunzhen Temple was now quite well-known, considered a small attraction on Taihe Mountain. Furthermore, Xunzhen Temple did not charge admission fees, offering free visits. The actual expenses were only for incense and candles purchased for praying, but these expenses were entirely voluntary, and the prices were not expensive, nor was it a mandatory consumption.

Huang Huai could imagine that once the May Day holiday peak truly began, the less than ten people available at Xunzhen Temple would be incredibly busy.

Just thinking about it made Huang Huai want to offer his condolences to Chen Wei and the other senior brothers. After a short holiday, they would probably all lose a few pounds.

He casually browsed the messages on his phone, replying to those that needed a response and simply skimming through the rest. He would be traveling to the Otherworld frequently from now on, sometimes staying for days or even longer. He had to stay informed about the present world, browsing news, checking his Moments, and reading group chats to avoid being too out of touch.

As he was browsing the messages, a message suddenly popped up in the main Xunzhen Temple group chat. Huang Huai saw that it was none other than the Great Daoist Master asking if the temple's stock of incense and candles was sufficient. Clearly, the Great Daoist Master was also worried that if the temple ran out of incense and candles due to the large influx of visitors, preventing tourists from praying, and someone posted about it on Moments or a video, Xunzhen Temple might gain notoriety again.

Watching the Great Daoist Master constantly instructing Chen Wei and the others in the group chat, Huang Huai's heart suddenly stirred. His gaze fell upon the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan on the altar in the living room.

His purpose in bringing the statue of Holy Lord Emperor Guan back was precisely to replenish its Incense and Fire Prayer Power.

And now, with the upcoming May Day holiday, the surge in visitor numbers represented a massive amount of Incense and Fire Prayer Power!