The Ins and Outs

The Temple Outbuilding occupied about half an acre, standing three stories tall with eaves upturned at four corners and a roof covered in glazed tiles. It was a renowned establishment for tea and meals in Ning'an County, and its dishes were considered a local specialty.

Ji Yuan followed Lord City God Song of Ning'an County as they stepped into the Temple Outbuilding together. Inside, nine out of ten seats were already filled, bustling with lively noise.

As soon as they entered, a waiter promptly approached them with enthusiasm.

"Honored guests, please come inside. There are still private seats on the second and third floors. The second floor is lively, the third floor is quiet. Which floor would you two prefer?"

The waiter's eyes were sharp. These two—the elder wore a dark robe of noble bearing and elegant demeanor, his silver hair neat and clean; the younger one, though dressed in a simpler wide-sleeved blue robe with hair that seemed slightly disheveled at first glance, gave an overall impression of natural harmony that grew more pleasing the longer one looked.

"We'd trouble you to take us to the third floor. This old man's surname is Song. Someone has already ordered tea and refreshments for us."

"Oh, oh, oh, you've finally arrived! The shopkeeper asked me about you three times today. Please, follow me quickly—the tea and refreshments are ready!"

The waiter hurriedly led the two upstairs, guiding the way ahead.

The old City God and Ji Yuan exchanged a smile and followed.

On the first floor, patrons were chatting and joking, thoroughly enjoying themselves, creating a general din of noise.

As soon as they set foot on the stairs, the clamor from the second floor grew even louder.

"Now, those Nine Heroes—each one young, handsome, and valiant beyond compare, barely past their twentieth year yet already masters of martial arts! And there was a heroine who outshone even the men... They took down the Ning'an County Magistrate's Bounty, made brief preparations, and then ascended Niu Kui Mountain. That night, the wind howled and rain poured..."

"Ohhh..."

"How bold!"

"Indeed!"

The storyteller's voice on the second floor rose and fell with the exclamations below.

As Ji Yuan and the old City God followed the waiter from the second floor toward the third, they happened to hear the storyteller begin fabricating the process of slaying the tiger.

"Now, Hero Du swung his blade at the fierce tiger—a flash of blood appeared! Hero Lu descended from the sky, fists and palms working in tandem, striking the White Tiger's head with palm force that could split stone!"

"Ahhh!"

"So thrilling!"

Hearing this, Ji Yuan, already halfway up the stairs to the third floor, couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

"It seems Mister Ji has an interest in the storyteller's tale?"

The old City God asked with a smile. In truth, some Yin Cha had seen the White Tiger Hide—it was indeed majestic, but bore no blade marks. Storytelling was a folk art, much like opera, where some dramatic embellishment was normal.

"Heh heh, not particularly interested. I just happened to hear something amusing."

There was no helping it—those nine young heroes had been too scared to even fart in front of Lord Lu, a stark contrast to this tale.

The old City God seemed thoughtful but didn't press further.

The three arrived together on the third floor, which was noticeably quieter. There weren't many people—just a few sipping tea and chatting quietly or gazing at the scenery outside.

"Here we are, honored guests! Bean Paste Cake, Millet Cake, Fragrant Fruit Cake, Rice Ball Porridge, Pickled Vegetable and Fruit, Preserved Fruit, and this Pre-Rain Tea. Please enjoy slowly, and call us anytime you need!"

The waiter pointed to each refreshment as he spoke.

"Thank you, young waiter!"

"Much obliged!"

Ji Yuan and the old City God thanked him almost simultaneously, then exchanged a smile and sat down across from each other.

As the waiter left, he scratched his head, thinking, These two guests are truly polite!

Watching the waiter depart, the old City God turned his head and spoke.

"Mister Ji, try the tea and refreshments of the Temple Outbuilding. The flavor is decent."

Having done physical labor early in the morning and walked such a long distance, Ji Yuan's stomach was already growling. He didn't stand on ceremony, picking up a piece of Millet Cake and taking a bite.

The flavor was light, crisp in the mouth, with a subtle sweetness carrying a fresh rice fragrance.

"Delicious! Truly delicious! Lord City God, please help yourself!"

"I'm glad Mister Ji likes it. I am but a humble County Town God of a remote corner, a Clay Sculpted Earth Deity Body newly formed. I have no physical flesh. Mortal food can satisfy a craving but not much more—eating only its essence would be wasteful."

No physical body? So this before him was an incarnation?

Ji Yuan couldn't say much more and simply ate on his own. Fortunately, drinking tea seemed to have no effect on the other.

After downing a bowl of Rice Ball Porridge and a few pieces of cake, Ji Yuan paused. The old City God also set down his teacup, turning his gaze from the scenery outside the window.

"Mister Ji has removed a great thorn from Ning'an County's side..."

The old City God recalled for a moment before continuing.

"Seven years ago, the Earth Dragon Turning Over in Desheng Prefecture bred Geomantic Vein Malignancy. That alone was nothing—sunshine, thunder, rain—the malignance would naturally disperse. But unfortunately, a wisp of dense malignance flowed along the Underground Water Vein..."

The old City God sighed as he spoke.

"The Underground Water Vein is inherently yin. This malignance burst forth from a Mass Grave west of the county, influenced by Death Qi and Malice, and thus transformed into this Ferocious Entity. This Song, as the County Town God, naturally detected the matter and led the Subordinates of Various Departments to suppress it. Little did I expect that the Ferocious Entity was exceedingly strange—whether it devoured spirits or had other reasons, it had already developed intelligence..."

As the old City God narrated slowly, Ji Yuan gradually understood the full story.

That Earth Malignancy power seemed inherently domineering from the start; the ghost creature, which had already developed intelligence, actually feigned confusion to deceive the City God, and at the critical moment devoured the Rapid Reporting Department and Yin-Yang Department Chief Officials, then ignited the Earth Malignancy power to severely damage the City God's dharma body.

Fortunately, although the Old City God suffered a great loss, after all, the older ginger is spicier—when struck by the Earth Malignancy, he decisively expended his Incense and Golden Body Origin, launching a fierce counterattack that heavily wounded the newly born intelligence of that ferocious entity.

In that battle, though the ferocious entity escaped, the City God deployed the City God's Crown, gathering all the scattered Sha Qi into it, and thereby tracked down the entity's hiding place—precisely the water well of Ju'an Pavilion. Without risking another confrontation, he instead exerted all his strength to use Yin Locking Yin, temporarily sealing it deep beneath the well, awaiting the City God's recovery before choosing an opportunity to eradicate it.

Hearing this process made Ji Yuan want to break out in a cold sweat. Although the Old City God didn't say it outright, Ji Yuan understood that if that fierce and evil creature had escaped back then, Ning'an County would have been in grave trouble, possibly even triggering a snowball effect leading to greater disasters.

As for the residents of Ju'an Pavilion, the earliest two households that met with misfortune were actually due to natural fate, not the influence of the ferocious entity. By the time of the third household, the scholar, the ferocious entity had perhaps recovered somewhat, managing to briefly emerge not far from the Soul-Locking Well, literally scaring the scholar to death.

City Gods and similar earth deities also have their own constraints; though they protect a region, they cannot interfere too directly with the Mortal Realm.

So after that, the City God used methods like Dream Imparting to spread rumors around the county that Ju'an Pavilion was unsafe, effectively preventing anyone else from moving in—only to unexpectedly have Ji Yuan encounter it.

And this time, the opportunity was rare; the Old City God could wait no longer. He dispatched his capable subordinates while personally sitting in the temple, mobilizing the accumulated incense of the City God Temple at any time. It could be said he went all out, finally destroying that ferocious entity—a major matter resolved for Ning'an County.