The temple god

Wherever he passed, he would ask well-informed locals about strange tales and anecdotes. Xu Qi'an believed this was a relatively effective method besides dragon aura detection.

The hosts of the dragon energy are all all seductive and wicked, displaying their divine power and acting like madmen in public. They will stir up trouble and steal the spotlight in their respective situations.

However, depending on the density of the dragon energy, the commotion it causes varies. Some dragon energy can shake an entire city, while others can only make the host of the dragon energy the most dazzling person on the street.

Moreover, it was a time of chaos, and things were not peaceful in various places, so there must have been a lot of messy and chaotic things happening.

Li Lingsu smiled and said, "Tell me, what interesting things happened?"

Miao Youfang, chopsticks in his mouth, casually added:

According to the rules of the martial arts world, the mischief of demons and monsters is called "strange events"; the robbery and plunder by villains is called "misfortune"; and the gentry, powerful officials, and magnates who rape innocent people and oppress the common folk are called "doing inhuman things".

"Senior, this is the first question you've asked."

Xu Qi'an asked in surprise, "There's such a thing?"

He immediately glanced at Li Lingsu, whose face was also full of surprise, indicating that this was the first time he had heard of her.

Seeing this, Miao Youfang immediately perked up, finding a sense of superiority, and shook his head, saying:

"Both of you are high-ranking figures, so naturally you're not very familiar with the proverbs and rules of the lower levels of the martial arts world."

After he finished speaking, he saw Mu Nanzhi shrink back, pressing herself tightly against Xu Qi'an, her expression somewhat fearful.

Xu Qi'an just asked, "Anything strange happening?"

The waiter replied: Yes!

This indicates that several incidents of demons and monsters causing trouble have recently occurred in the small county town.

Mu Nanzhi was most afraid of these supernatural and ghostly things. Even having a martial artist at the Transcendent Realm by her side could not give her a sense of security.

Under the silent gaze of the guests, the waiter first glanced at the shop entrance, and seeing that no new customers were entering, he sat down next to Miao Youfang and said:

"This story begins a month ago. There was a man in the county named Li Gui whose wife died."

"Deaths are common, nothing unusual, but who knew that on the seventh day after death, Li Gui heard someone knocking on the door at night. Li Gui was half asleep and asked who it was?"

The person outside said it was his wife who wanted to go home to sleep, and questioned him about why he had closed the door.

"Li Gui was not thinking clearly at the time, so he got up to open the door. When he got to the door, he suddenly realized that his wife was dead, so how could she have come back?"

He was terrified and fled back to his bed, hiding under the covers, too afraid to show his face.

Li Gui's wife kept knocking on the door, questioning him why he wouldn't open it, repeating the same question over and over again.

The knocking at the door didn't stop until dawn, when the rooster crowed.

Mu Nanzhi shivered slightly, imagining herself alone in her empty room at night, and then a man knocking on the door, claiming to be Xu Qi'an, who had been dead for seven days.

Her face paled instantly.

Xu Qi'an, unaware that he had become Mu Nanzhi's deceased husband in her mind, asked:

What happened next?

The waiter said:

The next day, Li Gui went to report it to the authorities. The officials believed that Li Gui was lying, so they beat him and kicked him out. The following evening, Li Gui's wife came back and knocked on the door again.

"This time, his wife knocked on the door for a while, but when Li Gui didn't open it, she peeked into the house through the window and stayed there all night."

Mu Nanzhi was so frightened that she froze. The little white fox in her arms was almost suffocating from being held so tightly, and its legs were kicking wildly.

Miao Youfang listened with great interest and then questioned:

"How do you know you were peering out the window all night? How do you know so much detail?"

The waiter chuckled and said:

"This matter isn't over yet. After the rooster crowed, Li Gui's wife left. Li Gui was frightened for two days and felt he couldn't let things continue like this. Anger rose in his heart, and evil thoughts took hold."

Miao Youfang interjected, "So he went to report it to the authorities again?"

The waiter was speechless for a moment, licked his lips, and gave an awkward but polite smile:

"Sir, you're quite the joker. Why would you need to be so wicked as to report to the authorities?"

After a pause, the waiter's expression turned serious, and his voice was low. "He called his friends and went to dig up a grave."

Mu Nanzhi lowered her voice. "Is the body missing?"

The waiter shook his head:

"No, that's not it. Li Gui, along with his relatives and friends, dug up his wife's grave and found her lying peacefully in the coffin. Her body was already slightly decomposed."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, blaming Li Gui for talking nonsense. They felt he deserved the beating from the officials. After all, the body was still in the coffin. Could it be that she lifted the coffin lid at night to scare people, only to bury herself back in the morning?

Upon hearing that it wasn't the work of ghosts or monsters, Mu Nanzhi was no longer afraid and threw a punch, saying:

"This Li Gui is a heartless man, using his dead wife as a topic of conversation."

The waiter's expression turned serious. He shook his head and said:

"Please calm down, madam, and let me finish."

Faced with everyone's doubts and the scene before him, Li Gui couldn't help but wonder if what he had experienced in the past two days was just his imagination.

"He was certain he hadn't misread or misheard, so he carefully examined his wife's body. Guess what he discovered?"

This waiter was quite talented at storytelling, knowing how to create suspense and build mystery. With his animated expressions and gestures, Xu Qi'an felt that if he weren't used to getting things for free, he might have already tossed out a tip.

"What did you find?"

The little white fox's tender, childlike voice came from Mu Nanzhi's chest.

The waiter looked around blankly. "Who's speaking?"

Just as his gaze was about to fall on the princess's full, rounded breasts, Xu Qi'an pressed his palm against his face, turning it away, and said calmly:

"Go on with your story."

Mu Nanzhi took the opportunity to pinch the little white fox's bottom, warning the little guy not to interrupt.

Otherwise, another strange thing will happen in this small county today.

The waiter responded obsequiously and continued:

Li Gui noticed that his wife's shoes were covered in mud.

"Think about it, how could a corpse lying in a coffin get covered in mud? Unless..."

He said ominously, "The corpse will walk on its own."

Mu Nanzhi lowered her head and drank her tea to hide her inner fear.

"If I were to tell you about 'The Village Teacher' tonight, wouldn't you be so scared that you'd consummate our marriage tonight?" Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

Upon hearing this, Li Lingsu and Miao Youfang concluded that the waiter's story contained exaggerations.

It's not half true and half false; it should be nine parts false and one part true.

Seeing the disbelieving looks on the customers' faces, the waiter confidently chuckled, "Hey!"

"Don't you gentlemen believe me?"

"Many of the visitors didn't believe it at first, but eventually they all came to believe it."

Miao Youfang, a man with extensive experience in the martial arts world, raised an eyebrow. "Oh, there's more to the story?"

The waiter tapped his finger on the table, like a storyteller striking his ruler, and said:

After Li Gui pointed out his doubts, his relatives and friends became frightened, hastily buried the grave, and fled back home. Soon after, the news spread throughout the county town.

"At this moment, an old woman who claimed to be a shaman came to Li Gui's door and said that her wife could not rest in peace even after death because she had offended the temple god.

"The sorceress said that Li Gui's wife was disrespectful to the temple gods during her lifetime, which is why she suffered such a misfortune. She will continue to suffer after death and will never be reincarnated. Moreover, she will bring misfortune to her family."

After listening, Li Gui suddenly realized what had happened and remembered something his wife had done before she passed away.

"When his wife was still alive, he once went back to his parents' home to visit relatives. On his way back to the city, he encountered a heavy rain and took shelter in the City God."

"The City God had long been abandoned. Li Gui's wife got caught in the rain, so she burned a wooden ghost in the City God as firewood to keep warm."

"From then on, Li Gui's wife's health deteriorated, and she became bedridden. Every night she would wake up from nightmares, saying that she saw little ghosts coming to take her soul. Li Gui just thought she was delirious and having nightmares."

The waiter spoke eloquently:

"Only then did Li Gui realize that his wife had offended the temple god, and he asked the sorceress what to do in fear."

The fortune teller told him that he should rebuild the statue of the little devil and burn incense and make offerings for three days to avert the bad luck. So Li Gui emptied his savings to rebuild the statue and also renovated the City God.

"His wife never came to see him again after that."

"The City God is quite lively now, with people going to burn incense every day. It's said to be very efficacious, granting whatever one asks for. And those who disrespect the temple gods are punished."

Li Lingsu smiled and asked, "How effective is it?"

The waiter looked around, lowered his voice, and said:

"What a coincidence, I know something. Mr. Zheng, who runs a rouge shop on Guanghua Street, is a devout man. Because another rouge shop opened across the street and took away his business, he went to the City God to offer incense and Curse the owner of the other shop to die a horrible death."

That very night, the shop owner hanged himself at home.

Miao Youfang's thick eyebrows immediately rose.

Li Lingsu smiled without changing her expression and said, "How did you know? Did Boss Zheng tell you himself?"

"That's true!"

The waiter's voice grew even lower. "Boss Zheng got drunk here a few days ago and blurted it out while intoxicated."

Li Lingsu frowned, her smile fading, "Then why didn't you report it to the authorities?"

The waiter asked in bewilderment, "Why should I report this to the authorities? Even if the government doesn't care, what does this have to do with me? If I offend the temple god, my life will be in danger."

At this moment, Xu Qi'an tapped the table and said calmly:

"Alright, go serve the food."

"Okay!"

The waiter, having had his fill, left satisfied.

After his figure disappeared from the hall, Xu Qi'an pondered:

"This doesn't sound like something a dragon energy host would do."

Too bizarre and outlandish.

Li Lingsu asked, "Should we interfere?"

Before Xu Qi'an could express his opinion, Miao Youfang interrupted:

"Of course we should intervene. Murderers must pay with their lives. After we finish eating, we'll go to the City God. Besides, I, this great one, also want to see who this so-called temple god is."

Xu Qi'an nodded and looked at the Holy Son: "What are your thoughts on Li Gui's situation?"

Li Lingsu knew what he was asking:

"It can't be the work of a vengeful spirit. Mortal souls are weak; they are in a daze before the seventh day after death and then vanish like smoke afterward, unless someone skilled in Daoist magic refines their soul."

"But the waiter just said it's the corpse causing the trouble, and I think it's some kind of corpse control technique. Should we go dig up the grave and examine the body?"

After saying that, Li Lingsu suddenly realized why Xu Qi'an was able to become famous in the capital: because he loved to meddle in other people's business.

Just as Li Miaozhen could become the Flying Swallow Heroine.

In comparison, the Yang brothers were not persistent enough in this regard.

Xu Qi'an laughed and said, "What's the purpose? You went through all this trouble just to rebuild the City God?"

Li Lingsu seemed to be deep in thought.

After finishing their meal, Xu Qi'an and his group asked the waiter for directions to the City God before leaving the small county town.