In the end, Zhang Siyu still couldn't go.
She had just lifted the Squirrel Spirit out of the bath and wrapped a towel around them when the shop door opened again. Two elderly women from the neighboring urban village stood in the doorway under umbrellas, each cradling a soaking-wet toy poodle, and peered inside to ask if they could get their dogs washed today.
The women said the dogs had been terrified by the typhoon the night before and crawled under the beds, refusing to come out. They had finally coaxed them out today, only for them to get caught in the rain. Now their fur was completely matted.
Well, that settled it. Zhang Siyu couldn't go, so Wen Ning would have to go alone.
The City God Temple stood at the easternmost edge of the urban village.
It wasn't large, with only three courtyards. The plaque above the entrance dated back to the Qing dynasty, but worshippers had never stopped coming.
When Wen Ning reached the temple entrance, the wind and rain suddenly eased a little. A barrier surrounded the City God Temple, keeping the worst of the storm outside. He closed his umbrella, shook off the water, and stepped through the gates.
Incense smoke curled through the main hall, and the offerings were neatly arranged on the altar.
To Wen Ning's surprise, someone had actually come to offer incense in weather like this.
An elderly woman with graying hair knelt on a cushion near the hall entrance. Beside her stood a little girl with pigtails, about five or six years old, stretching onto her tiptoes as she tried to place three sticks of incense in the burner.
The incense table was too high for her to reach properly. After all that stretching, she had only managed to place