The Ruined Temple

Seeing Zheng Que agree, Xu Houde laughed happily. He stroked his long beard and quickly said, "The immortal master in Taiping County is surnamed Lu. As for his specific given name, I do not know."

"The barrier at the entrance of the town was set up by Master Lu fifty years ago."

"Master Lu once said that the barrier he left behind would not break for a full sixty-year cycle."

"Only fifty years have passed now. It is a full ten years short of a full cycle. By all logic, the barrier should not be having these problems..."

Speaking to this point, he stood up, walked over to the bookshelf, and rummaged through it. He soon pulled out two yellowed deeds and fished some silver out of a wooden box, handing them both to Zheng Que.

Xu Houde explained, "These two documents are the land deed and the house deed for that small temple."

"I will arrange for people to handle the other matters shortly."

"Take this silver; you will need it once you reach the county seat."

Zheng Que did not decline. He immediately took the deeds and the silver, then asked, "If I go to Taiping County and find that Master Lu is not in the city..."

"Or, if I find Master Lu, but he refuses to come, what should I do then?"

Xu Houde fell silent. After a long while, he slowly said, "If Master Lu is not in Taiping County, or if it is inconvenient for him to come to our town, then we will have no choice but to find another immortal master."

Another immortal master?

Does that mean there is more than one cultivator living in Taiping County?

Zheng Que was momentarily surprised. This Xu Houde was just an ordinary person; it was impossible for him to have ever left the small town.

Yet, judging by the implications of his words, he clearly had some understanding of Taiping County.

Coupled with the great medicine passed down by his ancestors... it was highly likely that Xu Houde's ancestors were also cultivators!

Everything Xu Houde knew now must have been passed down by that cultivator.

Thinking of this, Zheng Que was no longer in a rush to leave. He immediately said, "By the way, Town Mayor, in the past few days, many people in town have lost their shadows. Do you know what is going on with that?"

Xu Houde frowned and shook his head. "Lost their shadows? I haven't noticed."

"Tell me about it in detail."

As he spoke, he walked quickly behind his desk, pulled out a booklet with a pale green spine and cover, opened it, and picked up a rabbit-hair brush, preparing to record the information.

Seeing this, Zheng Que recounted the situations he had encountered over the past few days.

Xu Houde's brush flew across the paper, quickly recording everything. He pondered for a moment and said, "I have never encountered this situation before."

"It is not mentioned in the old books passed down by my ancestors either."

"How about this: when I arrange for people to notify the town to avoid the small temple, I will have them keep a tally of the people who have lost their shadows as well."

"If I discover anything, I will let you know immediately."

An old book passed down by ancestors?

Could it be a book left behind by a cultivator?

Pondering this, Zheng Que immediately replied, "Alright."

Afterward, he chatted with Xu Houde for a few more moments. Seeing there was nothing else to gain, he stood up to take his leave.

Seeing this, Xu Houde stood up as well and personally escorted Zheng Que to the front gate. He watched Zheng Que walk away before closing the door and sliding the bolt into place.

He turned to walk toward the study, but after only a few steps, a young boy ran out from the main room. The boy wore a pale green outer garment, his forehead shaved in a coin-sized patch, with a small braid of hair left at the back of his head.

"Grandpa!"

The boy shouted loudly, running toward Xu Houde with his arms and legs flailing.

A loving smile immediately appeared on Xu Houde's face. He half-knelt and opened his arms, ready to catch his grandson as he lunged into his embrace. Suddenly, his expression stiffened—there was nothing beneath his grandson's feet; he had no shadow!

At that very moment, the boy quickened his pace, leaped forward, and collided with him, wrapping his arms tightly around his thighs.

The shadow behind Xu Houde was instantly devoured by something, disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The next moment, his expression went blank. After a few breaths, he returned to normal.

Looking at the ground, which was devoid of any shadow, Xu Houde no longer felt anything was amiss. He laughed heartily, picked up his grandson, and walked into the house while teasing him with gentle words.

※※※

After leaving the town mayor's house, Zheng Que tucked away the two contracts. Instead of returning home, he headed in the direction of the dilapidated temple.

It was already noon, and he encountered a few groups of people along the way.

More than half of these townspeople had no shadows, yet everything else about them seemed normal. When they saw Zheng Que, they even took the initiative to greet him.

Zheng Que cautiously kept his distance from these people. After walking for a while, he finally arrived at the entrance of the dilapidated temple.

Creak.

He pushed open the courtyard gate and walked inside.

The courtyard was the same as before: overgrown with weeds, the old tree withered, and the main structure of the temple half-collapsed, exuding an aura of desolation everywhere.

As soon as they entered, Qing Li immediately went over and hung herself from the dead old tree.

Zheng Que turned around to bolt the courtyard gate and walked into the temple.

The temple was about the size of two ordinary rooms, divided into front and back sections by a shrine. Because the main beam had snapped, half of the roof on the left side had collapsed, leaving very limited space to move around. The walls were covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and the paper on the back window had long since been tattered, with the wind whistling through it.

Before Master had settled here, this small temple had already been abandoned for many years.

Even though Master had stayed here for a short while, there was still not a trace of human presence to be felt. Only the coldness peculiar to buildings left uninhabited for long periods lingered, permeated by a slow-spreading, musty scent.

Zheng Que walked over to the straw cushion where Master had previously sat in meditation and sat down. He then took out the wooden box the town mayor had just handed him.

He opened the box, lifted the red cloth, and took out three medicinal whiskers, holding them in his palm to examine them carefully.

Because these medicinal whiskers were so incredibly thin, they felt almost weightless. Yet, they exuded a dense spiritual energy. The moment they touched Zheng Que's skin, that pure energy spontaneously followed the meridians in his palm and began to seep into his body.

At the same time, the whiskers emitted a bitter, refreshing fragrance. With a light sniff, his internal organs seemed to be cleansed, and his entire body felt as if it were soaking in a hot spring—warm, cozy, and indescribably comfortable.

However, the spiritual energy within him began to stir restlessly. It felt as if an instinct in the dark was roaring frantically, urging him to satisfy his craving for these three medicinal whiskers.

Zheng Que took a deep breath. He did not know what kind of medicine this was, but he was certain that it was useful to him right now!

Without hesitation, Zheng Que immediately picked up one of the medicinal whiskers and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

To avoid damaging the medicinal properties, he did not chew it and swallowed it whole.

Unlike ordinary herbs, the moment this hair-thin whisker entered his stomach, Zheng Que felt a blazing flame rise within him. This flame was gentle yet mellow, transforming into thousands of warm currents that rapidly spread throughout his limbs and bones.

This warmth was somewhat similar to the bowl of non-poisonous wine he had chosen in this very place, but it was even milder than that wine.

As this warm current emerged, Zheng Que could clearly feel the spiritual energy in his body becoming extremely active. Its circulation speed surged, more than doubling in the blink of an eye.

His heart stirred, and he immediately began to circulate the Life Planting Technique.