"The Qinhuai River is bustling with people; it shouldn't be the place where such a thing would originate," Shen Luo said, puzzled.
"I also find this matter strange, but things are unpredictable, and some unexpected things are not surprising. Besides, there are many unhappy couples on the Qinhuai River, and many people have drowned themselves over the years, so the Yin Baleful Qi are probably not lacking." The Soul-Snatching Horse-Face said nonchalantly.
"But these River-Quelling Water Beast are meant to ward off evil spirits, so how could they turn into Water Baleful Energy themselves?" Shen Luo asked again.
"That's right. This thing was originally used to ward off evil spirits and disasters. There's one at each of the twenty-four bridges in Jianye City. But all the others are fine, only the Zhenhuai Bridge has a problem. This River-Quelling Water Beast is infested with Water Baleful Energy. It's actually devouring the Qinhuai Water Ghosts and even controlling them to lure people to jump into the water, disturbing the Yin and Yang realms. It deserves to die." Horse Face spoke, his temper flared up, and he took another big gulp of wine.
"Unfortunately, some of it still managed to escape in the end," Shen Luo sighed.
Upon hearing this, Horse Face's expression changed slightly, but he suddenly said:
"Come find me here after sunset tomorrow, and I'll have you do something for me. You'll be rewarded then."
"What is it about?" Shen Luo asked, a thought stirring within him.
"You'll know when tomorrow comes." The Soul-Snatching Horse-Face didn't intend to explain further. After saying this, he stuffed the wine gourd in his sleeve, got up, and left first.
Filled with doubt, Shen Luo hurried back to the Bai Family. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Could it be that the reason why the Soul-Snatching Horse-Face recognizes me a thousand years later is because of what happened today?"
"What else did he say? That I couldn't possibly still be alive? What's going on?" As soon as this thought crossed his mind, he became more and more frightened, and cold sweat broke out on his back.
"No! Now that I know in advance, I will not let this happen again!" Shen Luo clenched his fist tightly, making up his mind.
The following evening, Shen Luo finished his day of cultivation and, as instructed, went to the secluded pavilion.
When he arrived, the sun had not yet completely set. He did not see Horse Face in the pavilion. After waiting for a long time, Ma Mian finally arrived, still looking like a pale-faced scholar.
"Not bad, you're fairly punctual." Horse Face glanced at Shen Luo and nodded.
"What do you want me to do, senior? Now you can tell me, right?" Shen Luo said.
"Don't worry, it's not some dangerous matter of exorcising demons. I just need you to sneak into the City God Pavilion and fetch three sticks of incense for me," Horse Face said to Shen Luo, waving his hand in a serious tone.
"Steal incense from the City God Pavilion?" Shen Luo thought he had misheard and couldn't help but ask.
"What 'steal'? That sounds awful. 'Take'! I'm telling you to go to the City God Pavilion and get three sticks of aged incense that have been tainted by the scent of incense offerings," Horse Face said with a light cough.
Shen Luo frowned, looking at Horse Face with a puzzled expression.
"To be honest, I fought with the Water Baleful Energy the other day and suffered some internal injuries. But right now I'm in Jianye City, and there are still things the Underworld has assigned me to do, so I can't go back to recuperate for the time being. I can only steal some incense from the City God to treat my injuries." Horse Face hesitated slightly before explaining.
"I see. But why didn't you borrow it yourself, senior, instead of making me go get it?" Shen Luo nodded thoughtfully, but then, as if remembering something, she asked.
"Nonsense! I am of the Netherworld realm, and the City God is a rank higher, so it's naturally inconvenient for me." Horse Face rolled his eyes and said.
Shen Luo hesitated upon hearing this.
"Don't worry, you are a mortal. It's just three sticks of aged incense that have been offered to you. It's nothing to the City God. At worst, you can just go and offer incense and pray more often. There won't be any problems. As long as you handle this matter well, I will definitely reward you handsomely." Seeing Shen Luo hesitate, Horse Face urged him impatiently.
Upon hearing the words "generous reward," Shen Luo's heart stirred slightly, and the terms "Magical Artifact" and "Immortal Jade" involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
These are the two things he most desire as a reward right now.
"Okay, I'll help you this once." Shen Luo nodded immediately without hesitation.
"Remember, it's the darkest, oldest incense stick from the incense holder on the offering table. Don't take the wrong one." Horse Face breathed a sigh of relief, then added a reminder.
"Okay," Shen Luo replied, and ran out in a few quick steps.
The City God Temple in Jianye City covers a large area and attracts many worshippers, making it a popular place of worship year-round.
When Shen Luo arrived at the temple, it was already completely dark. An elderly temple keeper was about to close the temple gate when he was stopped by Shen Luo, who said that he had come from afar just to offer incense and donate money to the City God.
Seeing his earnest words, the temple keeper let him in.
Upon entering the hall, Shen Luo saw the Merit box before him and, without a word, took out ten taels of silver from his pocket and threw it in.
The temple keeper, who rarely saw such a generous worshipper, beamed with joy and quickly stepped forward to fetch incense for him.
"You should take the incense yourself to prove your sincerity," Shen Luo quickly stopped him upon seeing this.
The temple keeper seemed to find this reasonable, so he withdrew and let Shen Luo fetch the incense himself.
Shen Luo rummaged through the incense holder for a moment, and with great difficulty, managed to pick out three sticks of dark-colored aged incense. She quietly slipped them into her sleeve, then picked out three sticks of bright red incense and lit them.
When he offered incense, he did not make any vows in his heart, but repeatedly apologized and asked the City God not to hold it against him.
After that, he left the City God Temple and returned to the pavilion.
"Excellent, excellent, this is exactly what I'm looking for." Horse Face took the three sticks of aged incense from Shen Luo's hand, as if he had found a treasure, and beamed with joy.
After saying that, he took the three incense sticks, held them to his nose, and took a deep sniff.
Shen Luo then saw that although the three incense sticks were not lit, each of them had a scarlet dot of light burning at its tip, which quickly burned towards the end of the incense stick as the Horse Face inhaled.
The smoke from the three incense sticks was completely inhaled by the Horse Face, and his face immediately glowed with a rosy luster, and his expression became very comfortable.
The incense sticks, once burned, immediately turned to ashes and scattered.
"Could this be what it looks like for immortals to eat incense offerings?" Shen Luo stared wide-eyed at the scene, also finding it quite astonishing.
"You've done a good job. Here's your reward. Take it." Horse Face looked very satisfied. He slowly reached into his sleeve, took out a three-inch-long black scroll, and handed it to Shen Luo.
"It's not Immortal Jade..." Shen Luo sighed the moment his gaze fell on the scroll.
However, he still held a sliver of hope that the scroll was a Magical Artifact.
Shen Luo took it and slowly opened it with some skepticism. He saw a black silk scroll in front of him, with crooked, bright red seal script characters written on it. His heart sank.
" Spirit-Linking Contract?" When he saw the words at the top of the scroll, a look of disappointment no longer appeared in his eyes.
(The new book has been available for the second half of the month, fellow readers, don't forget to cast your monthly tickets! ^^)