Chapter 6: The Story of the Mountain God Temple

 Chapter 6: The Story of the Mountain God Temple

Damn it... Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing didn't want to stay in the main hall any longer. He felt trapped, with no response from the heavens and the earth. This place was extremely dangerous, and he couldn't seek help from the outside world; he could only rely on himself. After much hesitation, he made up his mind and pulled the skeleton, wrapped in the work uniform, out of the hall.

During the process, the protective clothing was easily torn apart, as it had decayed over the years. He dragged the body into the candlelight and began examining it, hoping to figure out the cause of the person's death, which might help him avoid danger.

"The breastbone and ribs are broken in several places, and there are fine cracks on the right shoulder, but it's not serious..." The person had suffered serious injuries before death, but the exact cause couldn't be determined due to the passage of time.

Then, Zhang Yuanqing found some yellowed and brittle papers in the pocket of the deceased worker. They were filled with small, neat characters written in classical Chinese. Zhang Yuanqing was pleased, as it was evident that the worker had found these papers in the temple, and they could help him understand the situation better.

Using the candlelight, he focused on reading the content of the papers. They detailed the strange disappearances of several fellow disciples in the temple and speculated about ghosts or powerful monsters roaming Three Dao Mountain at night. The author believed that their deceased Master was powerful enough to deal with any evil spirits, but the disappearances continued to occur.

As Zhang Yuanqing continued reading, he found that the notes became more frantic and fearful. The last entry mentioned that the author's suspicions were correct, and their Master indeed knew the reason behind the mysterious disappearances. The Master promised to reveal a tremendous secret related to the rise and fall of thousands of years. The author eagerly awaited the revelation at sunset, believing that uncovering the secret might save the temple from its decline.

Feeling frustrated that the notes abruptly ended, Zhang Yuanqing realized that the investigation of the temple's decline might be a critical step in completing the second main quest.

Stowing the brittle papers back into the worker's uniform, Zhang Yuanqing pushed the remains back under the table, hoping to leave the unpleasant discovery behind. He pondered on his next move, realizing that to explore the ancient temple, he must face the dangers lurking within.

"In the Strange Tales of She Ling Tunnel, one worker managed to survive. By following his trail, perhaps I can discover how to survive as well," he mused.

After careful consideration, Zhang Yuanqing walked to the entrance of the main hall and opened the well-preserved lattice doors.

"Screech~"

The wooden door hinges emitted an eerie creaking sound. Zhang Yuanqing propped himself up against the door frame, cautiously looking around. The outside was eerily silent, with a sense of desolation and gloom, but no immediate danger seemed apparent. After observing for a while, he stepped over the threshold and followed the goose-soft stone path on the left side of the main hall, heading towards the back courtyard of the Mountain God Temple.

Under the moonlight, amidst the swaying wild grass, after walking for a minute or two, he came across a group of connected flat-roofed houses, forming a large courtyard. With black tiles and white walls, the roofs formed a straight line, and under the eaves were lattice windows and doors. The lattice doors were grey and covered in dust, and the papers used for pasting windows had become worn and tattered.

Bathed in the moonlight, which seemed as tranquil as frost, Zhang Yuanqing glimpsed the layout of the Mountain God Temple's backyard. Besides the courtyard in front of him, there was also an arched gate on the eastern side, somewhat resembling the backyards seen in TV dramas of wealthy families, which would have an archway to connect different courtyards. In the adjacent courtyard, there stood a towering tree with luxuriant branches and twisted limbs.

"Hmm..." He discovered several skeletons wrapped in protective clothing amid the swaying wild grass in the courtyard. Carefully approaching, he examined each skeleton. While each one was severely damaged, with broken bones beneath the protective clothing, the shoulder bones of these skeletons, unlike the one in the main hall, were intact without any cracks.

"These people suffered terrible injuries before they died, it's a tragic end for them..." A gust of wind blew, rustling the leaves, and amid the faint sound of "shasha," Zhang Yuanqing seemed to hear a faint whisper: "Help, help..."

In the eerie silence of the night, cold sweat dripped down Zhang Yuanqing's back. He stood stiff in place for a while until the wind ceased, and the lamenting whispers subsided.

"The neighboring courtyard seems dangerous, but whatever is causing that disturbance hasn't come over here..." He sighed in relief, then walked through the overgrown grass, entering the building to explore the large courtyard.

This place appeared to be where the temple's disciples lived. Dust-covered and dilapidated furniture was piled up, and the air was filled with a faint, decaying odor. Zhang Yuanqing searched each room but found nothing remarkable until he pushed open the lattice door at the easternmost part of the courtyard.

"Creak~" The door, sealed for who knows how many years, was pushed open once more, causing dust to fall. Zhang Yuanqing patted off the dust that had landed on his shoulder and vigilantly scanned every corner of the room.

Inside this room, after crossing the threshold, he suddenly shuddered, feeling the temperature drop significantly. "It's a bit cold..." he mumbled.

Carefully approaching the body leaning against the wall in this long-abandoned room, he inspected it. From the clothing and the mining cap lying nearby, he deduced that it was another senior worker. Crossing the threshold into the room, Zhang Yuanqing shuddered again, sensing a chill surrounding the body.

"Let's see what's in this person's pocket..." he thought and began searching. As he reached into the pocket, he found a yellowed and brittle ancient booklet, a dusty copper mirror, and a yellow paper talisman.

On the talisman, there were twisted lines drawn in vermillion, resembling runes. These lines converged to form a character that looked like a traditional "corpse" character.

As he examined the talisman, blue text appeared before him:

[Name: Corpse-Sealing Talisman]

[Type: Consumable]

[Function: Seal corpses]

[Description: A powerful talisman made by a powerful Night Wanderer. It's the nemesis of all undead and evil spirits. Placing it on the forehead of an undead entity will seal it.]

[Note: It can only be used once.]

This blue text resembled his attribute panel and was undoubtedly a message from "Lingjing." Zhang Yuanqing had never seen such a prompt since entering the eerie ancient temple.

"This must be an important item." He carefully folded the talisman and put it into the pocket of his combat uniform, zipping it up. Then, he remembered a plot from a wuxia novel, where a formidable swordsman liked to wrap a cloth around his sword's hilt when carrying it on his back.

One day, when a challenger confronted the swordsman while he was having a meal, the swordsman vanished without a trace. The cause of his death was attributed to the inconvenient unwrapping of the cloth...

Zhang Yuanqing chuckled at the thought and then picked up the ancient booklet and copper mirror. There were no related messages displayed. First, he set the copper mirror aside and carefully unfolded the yellowed and brittle booklet. The words on it read:

"It has been two and a half years since I joined the Niangniang Temple of Three Dao Mountain. I have learned to read and write. The eldest senior disciple said that after the Master passes away, he will officially accept me as a disciple and teach me the 'Swallowing Moon and Nurturing Soul Technique.' This is the introductory method to become a Night Wanderer."

"Due to the Yan Rebellion, there were upheavals everywhere, and our Master, as the strongest among the Night Wanderer lineage of Song Mansion, had to leave the mountain to deliver the souls of the deceased. Otherwise, if the war was not settled and yin calamity struck again, the common people would suffer even more..."

Zhang Yuanqing felt his shoulders ache a little and rubbed them. He speculated that this was a diary describing the author's experiences and life in the temple. Judging from the handwriting, this diary shared the same origin as the papers on the main hall's corpse. The mentions of the "Yan Rebellion" indicated that this was during the Jingnan Campaign of history.

However, he wasn't sure whether this temple really existed in history because the diary contained terms such as "cultivation," "Night Wanderer," "breathing technique," and "talismans," which were obscure and unfamiliar.

After stretching his aching shoulders, Zhang Yuanqing looked around the room cautiously, listened for any sounds outside, and made sure nothing was amiss. He then continued reading the diary. Soon, he found the continuation of the content related to the main hall. The first few pages had been torn off, and the subsequent entries read:

"At sunset, the night has finally arrived. I heard knocking on the door and eagerly opened it, expecting to see our Master. However, it wasn't the Master standing outside; it was the eldest senior disciple who had disappeared yesterday."

"The eldest senior disciple, missing for a day and a night, has returned, but I felt no joy because... he was already dead. He returned as a corpse, with his chest soaked in blood, and his heart seemed to have been ripped out by someone."

"The eldest senior disciple stared directly at me and said: 'Don't believe the Master...'"

These passages were written crookedly, revealing the explosive emotions of the diary's author at that time. When Zhang Yuanqing turned to the next page, he found that the diary had no further.