Treasure Vault, Fine Timber, and a Fortune

As they spoke, they rounded a bend in the mountain path and caught sight of the General's Temple. Strangely enough, the half of the mountain where the temple stood was lush with grass and dense forest.

Yet just one ridge away, the side known as Dead Man Mountain was bare.

It was not entirely devoid of vegetation, but it was plainly desolate and barren. It was hard to believe the two sides belonged to the same mountain...

"Hiss. No wonder Old Xiang could tell at a glance that the feng shui here was unusual. Yin-Yang Mountain—one side dead, the other alive. It really lives up to its name!"

As they spoke, they saw the Mountain God Temple on this side of the ridge: two successive courtyards on a stretch of level ground.

"Come on. Let's go see what we're dealing with. If the man in the temple is smart, we'll spare him!"

The three men chuckled. They might not have attacked an ordinary person without reason, but someone from the martial world was another matter...

Though they spoke of possibly sparing Tang Changsheng, they had already decided to kill him no matter what!

The man toying with a knife showed another bloodthirsty grin. He seemed to see his little blade slicing through Tang Changsheng's skin, fat, and muscle, shaving off thin strips of tender pink flesh as Tang Changsheng screamed himself hoarse...

Even so, the three instinctively grew more alert as they walked.

They had spent long enough roaming the martial world to know a boat could capsize in a ditch. They did not think much of Tang Changsheng, but they knew better than to drop their guard.

Just then, the rain grew heavier.

A fierce wind sprang up, shaking trees as thick as a man's body, and raindrops began to fall in earnest.

An old building came into view, with black tiles and gray stone, and green pines behind it.

On an ordinary day, the old temple might have looked quaint, even charming.

But in the wind and rain, its branches swayed like ghostly claws. As shadows writhed over the dilapidated temple, it took on a menacing air.

"This place looks a little sinister... Big Guy, be careful... Huh? What the—" Chen Zi cried out.

The man called Big Guy had seen it too. A strange gleam entered his eyes. "This really is no ordinary place... Look at the timber in that door and those pillars..."

The other two looked and started. "Purple sandalwood? Pieces this big..."

The General's Temple looked shabby, but now that they were close enough to examine it, they saw that the door, its paint peeling, and the pillars were made from solid pieces of purple sandalwood.

As the old saying went, an inch of purple sandalwood was worth an inch of gold!

In modern times especially, large pieces of purple sandalwood had long since been cut down. The price of such timber had soared; there was demand for it, but almost none to be found.

In the hands of someone who knew its worth, even the door panels of the General's Temple could fetch tens of millions!

And the purple sandalwood pillars, each as thick as a man's waist, were practically priceless...

"Something's not right. Five or six hundred years ago, during the Former Dynasty, large pieces of purple sandalwood were already scarce. You might have found them in the imperial palace, but rarely even in the mansions of princes and nobles.

"Judging by its style and construction, this General's Temple is five or six hundred years old at most. How could they have afforded enough purple sandalwood to build it?"

These three outsiders were tomb robbers, and their eyes were keen. With one look, they spotted clues in the run-down General's Temple that no one else had ever noticed.

"Who cares where they got it? Once we kill the mage inside, it'll all be ours. The timber from tearing down this temple alone would bring in more than robbing a great tomb!

"And if the door panels and pillars are this valuable... Hmph. Who knows what better things might be inside?"

With that, the knife-wielding man headed toward the General's Temple.

The other two exchanged a glance. Greed flared in their hearts, and they followed without hesitation. The knife-wielder had a point.

Their hearts burned with anticipation. Their turn to strike it rich had finally come!

Who would have thought a temple like this was hidden in a godforsaken backwater like Yin-Yang Mountain?

In their eyes, the old, crumbling little temple now looked far grander than any skyscraper or luxury villa. Every inch of it seemed to shine with gold.

"Damn, they had money to burn. These walls were built with a mortar of egg whites and glutinous rice. There's a faint red tint too—right, they mixed in cinnabar and sulfur...

"That keeps out insects and snakes, and wards off evil spirits and monsters. What's more, walls built this way are even tougher than modern, high-grade reinforced concrete. You might not be able to blast through one with an artillery shell!"

The men clicked their tongues in amazement. Such techniques were generally reserved for imperial palaces or the innermost chambers of princely tombs, where they were used to deter thieves. The cost was staggering!

Yet here was an unremarkable, run-down mountain temple whose entire outer wall had been built this way.

The sight only fired their greed further. If someone had told them this humble little temple had once been a royal temple of the Former Dynasty, they would have believed it!

They wanted to tear the whole place down and turn every piece into cash. It would be enough to keep them fed and clothed for the rest of their lives, with plenty left over for pleasure!

Their blood ran hot, and they could restrain themselves no longer. They were about to rush into the temple when they saw a lock hanging from its gate. No one was home.

"Hiss. An authentic Nine-Child Combination Lock. I never thought I'd see a real one in my lifetime..."

With every object in the temple a treasure, the three men no longer dared act rashly.

Their plan to smash through the gate flew straight out the window!

What a joke! These were treasures, treasures that could fetch astronomical prices from the right buyer! Damage even one or two, and they would lose at least a million!

By now, the men had begun treating the General's Temple as if it were their own home. In their minds, all its valuables already belonged to them!

"Knife, open the gate!"

Knife grunted his assent. Using no tool but his thin, sharp blade, he worked at the lock for a while, then broke into a delighted grin. "Got it!"

Click. The lock sprang open with a crisp, unmistakable sound.

Knife pushed open the gate of the General's Temple and sneered. "A lock outside and nobody inside. Lucky bastard..."

Wind and rain swept through the doorway. In the flicker of the candles within stood a tall, fearsome figure with a blue-green face and jutting fangs. It gripped a Steel Whip and looked ready to step down and strike.