At the rear gate of the True Lord Temple north of Heaven-Bearing Prefecture's city, Yan Shouyun, who had likewise been missing for several days, finally appeared. Part of his clothes was soaked, his carrying case hung from his neck, and he had a man on his back.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang! "Old Temple Keeper, open the door-"
Yan Shouyun hammered on the door. Before long, it opened, revealing not only the old Temple Keeper but the even older Shao Zhen.
The moment the two saw the scene outside, they hurried to question him.
"Daoist Priest Yan, where have you been these past few days?" "Daoist Priest, I thought you had left without saying goodbye!"
"Hmm? Who are you carrying?"
"Good heavens, he looks like..."
Both the old Temple Keeper and Shao Zhen looked startled. Yan Shouyun hastily waved a hand.
"Let's go inside first!"
A short while later, Xiao Yuzhi lay on a bed in the Temple Keeper's quarters in the rear courtyard, seemingly poised between life and death.
The good news was that Xiao Yuzhi was not a breathless corpse; he still breathed faintly. The bad news was that his breathing was so weak that they could only detect it by wetting a finger and holding it beneath his nose.
Morning sunlight spilled into the True Lord Temple. Shao Zhen wiped the sweat from Xiao Yuzhi's forehead with a damp towel, then laid it over his head. Before long, wisps of white steam rose from it.
"Daoist Priest Yan, Chief Constable Xiao is burning hot. Is he dying? We really ought to fetch a physician! How did the chief constable end up like this? He has so many wounds!"
Yan Shouyun concealed nothing.
"They were all inflicted by evil beings, and a great many of them at