An Unusual Fragrance

"This child is very young, but pure of heart; he saw through my trickery."

Fang Zelin couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing to watch the little child being taken away by his mother, crying loudly all the while.

"Newborn babies are naturally pure of heart and possess keen insight, able to see things that ordinary people cannot. However, this also makes them susceptible to being tormented by ghosts."

Upon hearing this, the Earth God shook his head and said something.

He is the local earth god, and in the past, he often saw deceased elderly people running to see their descendants before the soul-reaping messengers arrived.

It's alright if they're older, but if they're younger, you can still see them.

This often frightens some of the elders in the family.

Just like now, when the little child saw Fang Zelin, he felt that Fang Zelin looked kind and wanted to get closer to him, and then he kept smiling at Fang Zelin.

Unfortunately, this action frightened the woman, who slapped him, making him cry.

"That's true. I suppose that woman thought the baby had seen something unclean."

Fang Zelin thought of this and suddenly found it somewhat amusing.

He himself didn't need to say much, but the local earth god was Orthodox God, and it was indeed somewhat ridiculous to treat him as something unclean.

The Earth God smiled upon hearing this.

As a Orthodox God, he naturally wouldn't get angry over such a trivial matter.

"By the way, thank you for this."

Fang Zelin cupped his hands in thanks to the local earth god for the message.

Upon hearing this, the Earth God quickly said that there was no need to thank him, as it was just a small matter and he did not deserve such thanks.

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

Having asked all the questions he wanted to know, Fang Zelin cupped his hands in a respectful greeting before turning and leaving.

The Earth God paused for a moment, then disappeared into the temple.

"Based on what the local earth god just said, we can't be sure if the drought is caused by demons. This is troublesome."

The series of events had initially worried Fang Zelin, who wondered if the drought was caused by demons.

If a demon possesses supernatural Divine Ability, it can certainly create a landscape of scorched earth.

However, droughts are a common occurrence, and it cannot be concluded that they are caused by demons.

Forget it, let's continue the investigation. If the investigation goes deeper, and it turns out that this was the work of a demon, then the demon will definitely not be able to escape.

After a moment's thought, Fang Zelin began heading deeper into the mountains and forests.

Fairies prefer to live in the wild, although there are quite a few cities that like humans.

However, there are many Orthodox God such as the City God inside the city, and they are not allowed to set foot inside.

If one's cultivation level is high enough, they might have a way to evade investigation.

If you can't, and the wandering spirit catches you, you'll end up in the Underworld Bureau.

Ordinary fairies wouldn't want to go in.

Fang Zelin walked into the depths of the mountains for a while, and after sunset, he saw a dilapidated temple in the distance.

"There's a place to rest here, let's go and take a break."

Upon seeing this place, Fang Zelin took a quick look and immediately decided to rest there for a while.

Soon, Fang Zelin arrived at the dilapidated temple.

The dilapidated temple was covered in cobwebs, and there was a faint smell of decay mixed in with it.

Fang Zelin frowned slightly, then waved his sleeve, blowing away all the dust.

Upon closer inspection, the surroundings suddenly appeared much cleaner.

Upon seeing this, Fang Zelin immediately revealed a satisfied smile.

They gathered some wood and then lit a campfire.

The flickering campfire brought a touch of life to the deep mountains.

As wisps of smoke rose, Fang Zelin reached into his sleeve and pulled out a pot, which he then placed on the campfire.

"Luckily, I brought a pot, so I can cook something to eat."

Fang Zelin set up the pot, then took out a handful of spirit rice and put it into the pot.

Once the water began to boil, wisps of fragrance started to waft out, slowly spreading along the dilapidated temple.

There is also a broken stone statue in the dilapidated temple.

This environment would normally appear somewhat eerie and frightening.

But after Fang Zelin sat down, the slight eeriness seemed to dissipate.

"What's that smell? It smells so good!"

Fang Zelin had barely cooked the spirit rice a little when the people nearby immediately noticed.

"Yes, this fragrance is unlike anything I've ever heard before. I wonder what kind of delicacy could have such a fragrance."

Following the scent, some people immediately walked along the road to the dilapidated temple.

Upon seeing the bonfire burning in the dilapidated temple and the strange fragrance emanating from it, they couldn't help but stop and linger.

"This dilapidated temple has been uninhabited for a long time, so why is someone lighting a bonfire inside today?"

"Could it be a traveling merchant resting here?"

"Could this be a scam?"

A group of people stood outside the dilapidated temple, wanting to go inside and rest, but worried about what was inside.

After a brief discussion, and seeing that there was only one person in the dilapidated temple, the group breathed a sigh of relief and went to the temple.

Fang Zelin had already noticed these people when they approached the dilapidated temple.

They just didn't say anything.

Upon seeing these people arrive at the dilapidated temple, Fang Zelin immediately looked up.

The people who came were all dressed as merchants, with several horse-drawn carriages behind them.

Upon seeing this, Fang Zelin was taken aback.

He initially thought, based on the sound, that these people seemed familiar with the dilapidated temple and might be villagers from the neighborhood.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the guess was wrong.

When the merchants came in and saw that it was only Fang Zelin alone, they felt somewhat relieved.

"Brother, we've been passing by and missed our time. Would you mind coming in and resting with us for a while?"

Hearing the merchant's words, Fang Zelin simply nodded, replied "Please go ahead," and then ignored him.

It wasn't that Fang Zelin disliked these people, but after hearing their previous words, he already knew the answer.

These people were extremely wary. If Fang Zelin had acted more approachable or friendly, it would have been much better.

This inevitably leads some people to believe that he has ulterior motives.

Rather than that, it's better to act a little indifferent.

Sure enough, seeing Fang Zelin's calm demeanor, the merchants felt reassured and then invited the others in.

Instead of approaching Fang Zelin, the group lit a bonfire on the other side.

By the time everything was finished and everyone sat down to eat their dry rations, more than half an hour had passed.

Meanwhile, the spirit rice in Fang Zelin's pot was already cooked.

Compared to before, the aroma in the Fang Zelin now seemed much stronger.

The group of people who had already brought the rations to their mouths suddenly froze, their gazes involuntarily turning towards Fang Zelin.