Putting his stray thoughts aside, Gao Ming reached out and patted the room's only supporting pillar. It was like a living person's spine, running from top to bottom through the roof and floor.
Gao Ming's action startled the face on the wooden pillar, but it was fixed in place and could not escape. All it could do was look at him with a bitter yet sincere expression.
There was no wind inside, yet the stove ash scattered on its own, revealing new words. This seemed to be the House Owner's only way of communicating with Gao Ming.
"Friend, I built this five-viscera spirit shrine, offering up my own internal organs and using my flesh, blood, and bones as its foundation. I gave up everything I was born with just to build a place where everyone could take shelter from disaster. People who choose other Transformation Methods might harbor ill intentions, but every tester who builds a spirit shrine must be utterly fearless."
The words beneath the stove ash carried the weight of hardship. Paired with the honest face of the man in the wooden pillar, they were very convincing. "You can trust me. As long as you're willing to help me collect anomalous objects, I'll make sure to repay you! After all, even if a monk runs away, his temple stays put. It's not as though I can move around freely."
Seeing that Gao Ming was still considering it, the man grew very anxious. The stove ash shifted over and over, almost scattering completely. "Friend, my companion will be back soon. We can all work together."
"Your friend isn't coming back. He turned into a pig, with his face hidden inside its throat." Having made his decision, Gao Ming took the wax-sealed clay pellet from his pocket. "He gave me