What was inside the instance dungeon should be the Little Hidden Temple.
Yet it was completely different from the ruins he saw in reality.
The fifteenth year of Xianxi was fourteen years ago. At this time the Little Hidden Temple was as brand-new as if it had just been built, and it lacked the civilian dwellings later built up around it, appearing quiet and secluded.
The setting sun slanted westward, and the golden-red light spilled through the gaps in the bamboo leaves like floating gold and shattered jade. Once the evening breeze passed, the bamboo waves rustled and the summer heat was completely dispelled.
It was the height of summer, and everything within view was brimming with vitality.
Ailin before the Demon Calamity might have been poor and underdeveloped, but it was a good place, leaving Jiang Che momentarily in a daze.
The very same land, fourteen years later, was a dead zone heavy with demonic energy and covered in withered stumps, and contrasted with the quiet and spiritual elegance of fourteen years ago, it was truly moving.
Yet how would the story of this instance dungeon unfold?
Just as he was pondering, he heard footsteps and talking coming from the path behind him. Looking back, he saw someone walking slowly up from below.
It was a monk, bringing along a young novice monk of about thirteen or fourteen.
Jiang Che's gaze was instantly captured by the monk.
He saw that the man wore a plain white monk's robe, covered on the outside by a light golden cassock, with a tall and slender figure and clear, open facial features that compelled one to applaud and praise: what a handsome and otherworldly monk!
He walked at a leisurely pace, stepping onto the mountain path as if his feet did not even touch the dust.
Jiang Che recalled that line of the instance dungeon's prologue.
A monk came from the west, known as Master Chunji.
There was a detail: Chunji's title was "Master".
The so-called master, if it was not an honorific, referred to the first tier of Buddhist cultivators, standing above ordinary monks. Equating this to the cultivators' side, it was equivalent to Qi Refining.
That meant the white-robed monk before him who looked gentle and handsome was a personage of the exact same tier as Du Yongchang and Steward Wei!
Jiang Che's heart grew stern, though his expression remained unchanged. He proactively welcomed them by taking half a step forward, cupping his fists in a salute, and executing the etiquette thoroughly:
"Greetings, Master."
The monk stopped in his tracks, brought his palms together, and bowed slightly in return, his voice warm:
"Greetings to you, benefactor."
His gaze was clear, carrying not the slightest hint of scrutiny:
"Evening is approaching, and you are all alone, coming up this Bamboo Mountain to do what?"
"Just passing by," Jiang Che answered calmly. "Traveling here and seeing the bamboo forest so quiet and secluded, I ended up walking a few steps further."
"Passing by?"
Before the voice could fade, the young novice monk planted his hands on his hips, tilted up his round head, and said full of suspicion:
"This benefactor, what you're saying makes no sense! This path was built by ourselves, and it leads right to the temple gate. It's not on the main highway, so just where are you planning to pass by?"
The more he spoke, the more righteous he felt, his little face pulled tight:
"Master, I think this person's background is unclear and his words are evasive-he's very suspicious! He's probably some kind of criminal!"
Jiang Che was truly speechless, and indeed felt rather ashamed.
The little monk's words were quite sharp, but the more crucial point was that his own preparation was indeed insufficient.
And he could not have prepared sufficiently either.
Entering an instance dungeon for the very first time, the only information he had was that single sentence in the prologue, which he had even heard only temporarily, making it very hard for Jiang Che to make up a convincing story on the spot.
Even if he wanted to be like last time in the Willow Source old dream, dumping all the facts right off the bat, he had zero understanding of what would happen later in this instance dungeon or what people cared about, leaving him nothing to say.
Yet Master Chunji rescued him from the predicament.
He reached out and gently pressed his disciple's little bald head, a trace of helpless amusement in his tone:
"Puxin, do not make reckless and unfounded conjectures. The benefactor's aura is peaceful and his brows are upright; he is not a bad person."
The little novice monk called Puxin pouted and muttered: "Master, you say everyone you see isn't a bad person..."
Chunji helplessly turned toward Jiang Che, bringing his palms together:
"My disciple is young and speaks without thinking; I ask the benefactor not to take offense."
The monk was exceptionally polite and possessed a gentle bearing, which instead made Jiang Che feel quite unaccustomed to it-shouldn't you high-level experts with attained cultivation be treating lower-level cultivators as beneath notice one by one?
Flattered, Jiang Che was instead somewhat infected by it, finding it hard to fabricate any more reasons, and said:
"Actually, your noble disciple speaks reasonably, but I also have unspeakable difficulties and cannot tell you everything. I ask the Master to forgive me."
"It is no matter, but you may not know, benefactor, that after nightfall the mountains are not peaceful. If your pace is fast, it would be best for you to go down the mountain right now while the daylight has not yet faded, and hurry back to Ailin County. You are also welcome to return to the temple with this poor monk, share coarse tea and plain rice, and make do for a night, then resume your journey when day breaks tomorrow."
Jiang Che had intended to investigate more information in the first place, so this was just what he wanted.
"In that case, I will trouble the Master."
Chunji smiled and returned the salute, saying:
"Benefactor, please."
Puxin followed beside his master, that mouth still running incessantly:
"Benefactor, I must make it clear to you-we lock the temple courtyard gates at night, so you are not allowed to wander around aimlessly! We also have a newly cast bronze incense burner, and I have to get up three times at night to check on it..."
The setting sun sank into the bamboo sea, and the group of three walked slowly along the path toward the temple.
The Little Hidden Temple at the present time was indeed newly built, and even smaller than the Little Hidden Temple in reality.
The moisture on the yellow mud courtyard walls had not yet faded, the green bricks in front of the main hall were free of weeds, the lacquer on the corridor pillars gleamed brilliantly, and the incense in the Buddha hall burned faintly, everywhere revealing an air of impromptu simplicity and frugality.
Dinner was merely a pot of brown rice, a dish of pickled vegetables, a bowl of boiled bamboo shoots, and a small dish of fermented soybeans.
During the meal, Jiang Che discovered that Master Chunji ate with extreme quietness, chewing his food slowly until he picked up even the very last grain of rice in his bowl before setting down his chopsticks, completely different from the high-level experts with attained cultivation in his impression. Although his facial features were so handsome he hardly looked mortal, he strictly observed the rules.
After finishing dinner, Puxin carried a lantern and led Jiang Che to the western wing room.
Before leaving, the little novice monk did not forget to admonish:
"Benefactor, do not wander around aimlessly at night! The bronze incense burner in our temple..."
"Check on it three times, I've noted it down."
"Hmph, as long as you've noted it down!"
The door closed and the room grew quiet. Jiang Che lay on the bed fully clothed, yet felt somewhat anxious in his heart.
How on earth would the instance dungeon story unfold?
From the encounter in the bamboo forest to the dinner and lodging arrangement, throughout the entire process there had not been a single anomaly.
The more it was like this, the more he worried whether he had missed some crucial information.
If the instance dungeon just ended like this at the end, I'm afraid the rating wouldn't be high.
He began to recall his entire journey into this instance dungeon from start to finish.
If there was truly anything that could be called strange, the only thing was Master Chunji's gentle and compassionate attitude. Regardless of whether he faced an unknown passerby like him or his own noisy little disciple, it was equally soft.
Yet was this right? Would people be very polite to ants?
Then again, the man was a dignified master, a personage of the same tier as Qi Refining-wasn't a good attitude acceptable?
Had he been warped into a base bone by those Qi Refining lords, to the point where he only felt things were right when someone turned up their nose and treated him like a dog?
Yet setting this aside, what other unusual aspects were there in this instance dungeon?
Before you continue