The Temple of Shing Wong was outside the county town, six miles to the east.
Xu Qi'an and the rest hurried on horseback and arrived at their destination in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
A small temple with black tiles and white walls was located not far from the official road. The small temple was surrounded by white walls and a narrow path connected the temple to the official road.
The Temple of Shing Wong was bustling with activity. There were people in plain clothes and rich people in bright clothes going back and forth through the narrow path, entering and exiting the temple.
There were also a few horse carriages parked outside the temple.
"Stop!"
Xu Qi'an reined in the reins in front of the temple and dismounted. He helped Mu Nanzi down and tied the horse to a wooden stake by the roadside with Li Lingsu and Miao Youfang.
He closed his eyes to sense for a moment and was disappointed. There was no aura of Dragon Breath around …
Two burly men stood at the entrance of the temple. They stretched out their hands and stopped them. They raised their heads and said,
"Pay twenty copper coins to enter the temple to burn incense."
There were also tickets in this era. Although the temple deity had nothing to do with Dragon Breath, since they encountered it, they might as well go in and take a look … Xu Qi'an glanced at Li Lingsu. The latter curled his lips and took out twenty copper coins and handed it over.
The man on the left took it and examined Xu Qi'an's embroidered robe. He snorted and said,
"Twenty copper coins per person."
Mu Nanzi frowned. This guy obviously saw that Xu Qi'an was wearing good clothes and was waiting for an opportunity to ask for money.
"Why don't they use it?" She pointed at a young couple entering the temple.
"They are regular customers, naturally they don't need it." The man guarding the door had his own excuse. He did not seem to be afraid that someone would cause trouble. He said impatiently,
"If you want to burn incense, hurry up and pay up. If you don't have money, get lost."
Xu Qi'an raised his head to appease Mu Nanzi and said, "Give it to him."
After paying the money, the four of them stepped through the gate. Xu Qi'an swept his gaze across the courtyard. The courtyard was divided into two halves by the bluestone road leading to the temple. On the left was a Tower of Virtues and Virtues made of yellow mud.
On the right were two rows of candlesticks half the height of a person. The red candles were burning with wax tears.
Many pilgrims had gathered on both sides, either burning yellow paper or lighting candles.
The four of them passed through the courtyard and entered the City God Temple. The things enshrined in the temple immediately attracted their attention.
It was an ugly, shirtless kid with a big belly. Its hands were raised high, dragging a stone mirror. This mirror seemed to be damaged, and only half of it was left.
It was not the statue that was damaged, but the mirror itself.
In front of the sculpture, more than a dozen worshippers were devoutly worshipping it. On the right side of the incense burner table in front of them stood a white-haired old woman. Her cheeks were thin, and her forehead was high and wide.
She was shrewd and unscrupulous.
There was no fluctuation of Qi, no vengeful spirits, no demonic aura … Xu Qi 'an activated his Primordial Spirit and scanned around, confirming that this was just an ordinary City God Temple.
Whether it was the City God Temple of Shing Wong was still debatable.
A normal Shing Wong Temple would not consecrate a little ghost.
Li Lingsu also used the Eighth Grade Dao Sect's "Switch" method to inspect the small temple. He shook his head at Xu Qi'an, indicating that there was nothing unusual.
Was The Waiter exaggerating? Xu Qi'an was a little disappointed. Rather than saying that the thing behind the scenes had superb means that he could not detect any clues, it was obvious that The Waiter was lying.
A small county town could not be like Tenzō, where there were two hidden dragons and young phoenixes that deceived the great Xu Yinluo.
Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment and walked in front of the Witch.
"We are foreigners. We heard that the Shing Wong Temple is very efficacious, so we came to the temple to burn incense. You must be the Witch. May I know what deity is worshiped in the temple? "
The old woman glanced at him. Her eyes lit up when she saw Xu Qi'an wearing a high-quality robe. She coughed and said in a deep voice.
"Young man, you have come to the right place.
"The deity in the temple is the God of Chaos. It is an omnipotent deity. The mirror in its hand is called the Divine Mirror of Chaos. The God of Chaos can see everything in the world through this Divine Mirror.
"I see that your glabella is dark. I'm afraid you have been suffering misfortune recently. The reason you can come here to burn incense is because the God of Chaos is protecting you. He has seen your misfortune."
Xu Qi'an cooperated and revealed a "horrified" expression.
"What do you mean by that? Everything has been smooth sailing for me."
The old woman said indifferently,
"It's just not time yet. If you want to eliminate misfortune, I can show you the way. "
When Xu Qi'an nodded, she examined Xu Qi'an's clothes and said,
"The temple deity loves money. Offer two hundred taels of silver and worship it for seven days to eliminate misfortune."
Two hundred taels of silver, what a big appetite … Xu Qi'an remembered the names of the God of Chaos and the Divine Mirror of Chaos. He planned to ask the members of the Heaven & Earth Society in the Book of the Earth fragment later.
Even though he was certain that this old Immortal Witch was a swindler and a swindler.
At this moment, a middle-aged man in thin clothes walked over. He was wearing an undershirt inside and a tattered cotton jacket outside. Straw could be seen through the holes.
The cotton jacket was stuffed with straw.
The middle-aged man had a weather-beaten face. Years of hard work made him look a little dull. He said in a muffled voice,
"Witch, my wife is going to die. Why, why isn't she better?
"You said that she will be cured after worshiping the temple deity for seven days, but she can't eat today."
The Witch frowned. "That means you are not pious enough. You need to continue worshiping for three days."
The middle-aged man's weather-beaten face showed a bitter expression. "I, I have no money. All my savings have been given to the temple."
The Witch said unhappily,
"That's your business. If you don't have money, you can sell the land or borrow it.
"The temple deity is fair. It won't favor you just because your family is poor. Don't other pilgrims have offerings? Aren't their families poor? "
The middle-aged man was speechless after hearing this logic. His lips trembled slightly.
"But my wife can't eat anymore. She can't eat anymore …"
In the simple minds of the common people, being unable to walk or eat was a matter of life and death.
The Witch snorted and said threateningly, "The temple deity will protect us.
"The temple deity will protect us. If anyone offends us, we will be punished."
The middle-aged man seemed to have thought of something. He showed an extremely frightened expression and bent his back, not daring to speak again.
Not far away, Miao Youfang listened to the whole process with his eyebrows raised.
…
On the other side, Li Lingsu cleverly inquired about information from the pilgrims. His target was a young man.
"Brother, what are you praying for at such a young age?"
Li Lingsu was handsome and elegant. It was difficult to ignore him, but the young man's words were evasive.
"No, nothing."
Li Lingsu smiled and said, "Everyone is here to burn incense. Why don't you tell us?"
He secretly used the power of the Spirit to influence the young man. His voice was mixed with a charm that made people obedient and close. The young man unconsciously opened his heart and smiled bitterly.
"I'm here to pray for a child."
"Oh," Li Lingsu said, "Also seven days?"
The young man nodded.
"You must have spent a lot of money." As Li Lingsu spoke, he glanced at the middle-aged man.
"It's alright if it's silver …"
The young man revealed a strange expression and wanted to say something. At this moment, the curtain leading to the inner hall was lifted, and a beautiful woman walked out quickly.
Her face was a little flushed and her hair was a little messy. Seeing everyone looking at her, she immediately lowered her head and walked back to her husband's side.
After a while, the curtain was lifted again, and a burly man came out. He glanced at the beautiful woman's figure and looked unsatisfied.
"Mother, I've already sent the child on behalf of the temple god. It's time for you to collect the money. The young lady is very satisfied. "
The man said with a smile.
The old woman looked at the young couple and said with a smile,
"Young lady of the Zhang family, husband Zhang, are you satisfied?"
The beautiful woman's blush faded and gradually turned pale. The young man surnamed Zhang's eyes flashed with humiliation and anger. He forced a smile and said,
"Satisfied, satisfied …"
As he spoke, he took off the money pouch with a forced smile and handed it over.
The man reached out to take it and weighed it. He looked at the beautiful woman and grinned.
"There are still four days. Remember to come on time, otherwise the temple god will be angry."
The young couple's eyes were filled with fear as they nodded repeatedly.
"Why don't you report it to the authorities?"
A sigh sounded in the young man surnamed Zhang's ears. He turned his head and saw the handsome man with a dignified appearance.
He was once again infected by the voice. For some reason, he mustered up his courage and said with a slightly fearful tone,
"The people who reported to the authorities are all dead. The people who disrespected the temple god are also dead.
"As long as we worship the temple god well, the temple god will protect us …"
Li Lingsu went straight to the point.
"Since you know that the people who disrespected the temple god are all dead, why did you still come here to burn incense?"
As locals, the young couple should know that they would be in trouble with the temple god and could choose not to come.
The young man surnamed Zhang gritted his teeth and said,
"It's not that we want to come, it's him. He took a fancy to my wife and came to us. He told us to go to the City God Temple to pray for a child, otherwise the temple god will punish us."
Li Lingsu understood that this was the same as the children of rich and powerful families bullying men and women. The difference was that one relied on power, while the other relied on the temple god.
He couldn't help but look at Xu Qi 'an and saw that his face was gloomy and silent, as if he was thinking about something.
"Mother, where did this idiot come from?"
The man listened calmly without the slightest fear, and even a little disdainful.
The witch's face was gloomy. She pointed at Xu Qi 'an and Miao Youfang and said, "These are outsiders."
Then, she looked at the young couple with a sneer,
"Mister Zhang, Lady Zhang, you are disrespectful to the temple god, and the temple god has seen it."
The young lady's face turned pale, and she said with a sobbing tone, "Temple god, please forgive us, Witch, please forgive us."
After beating the young couple, the witch snorted coldly and looked at Xu Qi 'an and the others.
"You are disrespectful to the temple god and have angered the temple god. You are already at death's door. If you want to appease the temple god's anger, offer up three hundred taels of silver. Otherwise, I won't be able to save you. "
Her son clapped his hands cooperatively. The three men outside the temple immediately walked in and surrounded Xu Qi 'an and the others.
The surrounding worshippers pointed at them and whispered to each other.
"These outsiders are really bold."
"Yes, hurry up and offer up the silver. Otherwise, you won't even know how you die."
Mister Zhang had already come back to his senses and was no longer under the influence of Li Lingsu. He knew what he had just said and was so scared that his legs went soft.
He said with a trembling voice, "Temple god, please forgive us, please forgive us …"
The witch's son ignored him and glared at Xu Qi 'an and the others, "Hurry up and offer up the silver."
The worshippers on the side hurriedly persuaded,
"Foreigner, quickly admit your wrongs to the temple god."
"Why are you courting death?"
"Yes, hurry up and offer up the silver. Don't implicate Mister Zhang."
The middle-aged man opened his mouth as if he wanted to persuade him, but his eyes flashed with resentment and he silently clenched his fists.
"Silver? F * ck you, ask the King of Hell for it. "
Miao Youfang cursed, took two steps forward, clenched his fists, and raised his right arm.
Bang!
Before anyone could react, he punched the witch's son's head.
The head exploded like a watermelon. Flesh and bone splattered on the ground, the wall, and the statue of the temple god behind.
The temple was silent for a few seconds, then screams suddenly erupted. The worshippers fled in panic.
The three men guarding the Temple of Shing Wong followed the pilgrims and escaped into the courtyard.
"Son!"
The witch screamed and threw herself in front of the headless body, crying bitterly.
Miao Youfang took out a long blade from the storage artifact given by Xu Qi 'an and smashed it. He kicked over the incense table, kicked the incense burner, and finally cut the statue of the temple god in half.
"You …"
The witch stared at the four of them with hatred and said sternly, "The temple god will not let you go, all of you will die."
"Kill them!"
Xu Qi 'an lightly said.
He still had doubts about the temple god, but it didn't matter. He would let Li Lingsu summon the spirit later, and he would personally interrogate the witch's soul.
Miao Youfang immediately chopped off the witch's head with his blade, and then kicked her head until it exploded.
It's different to have a little brother, I don't need to do it myself … Xu Qi 'an nodded with satisfaction. He looked at the Zhang couple and the middle-aged man, who were stunned, and sighed in his heart.
God, the witch is dead … The young couple was dumbfounded, their hearts trembling violently. They couldn't tell if they were happy or afraid at the moment.
The middle-aged man was also dumbfounded.
The worshippers in the courtyard were also dumbfounded.
Xu Qi 'an knew that these people needed to be comforted. He walked out of the temple, looked at the worshippers in the courtyard, and said:
"I am a constable from the capital, and these are my colleagues.
"Someone went to the capital to complain, saying that someone in Shengyi County committed adultery and harmed the people.
"I specially investigated in secret for a few days and found out the truth. That witch learned a few evil arts and secretly harmed people. She also pretended to be the temple god to intimidate the people.
"Now that she has been executed, there is no need for you to come here to offer offerings."
Hearing that this young man was from the government, the worshippers felt much more at ease.
The world was big, but the imperial court was the most important. Because of this, the imperial court could make them feel more secure.
"But, but the temple god is really efficacious," a worshipper said.
If it was just a threat, it wouldn't be able to make them burn incense and offer offerings willingly.
"The boss of the rouge shop on Guang Hua Street was killed by the witch. I have already investigated this matter," Xu Qi 'an said.
The worshippers were finally relieved.
Xu Qi 'an turned around and entered the temple. He took out an ingot of official silver and handed it to the middle-aged man, saying:
"You have to find a doctor if you are sick."
After asking for the middle-aged man's address, he turned to Li Lingsu, "Go there later and see the situation."
He was worried that the middle-aged man's wife was terminally ill, and ordinary doctors couldn't save her.
Li Lingsu nodded.
The middle-aged man trembled and knelt down, "Thank you, Your Excellency. Thank you, Your Excellency."
At this time, Miao Youfang picked up the money bag beside the witch's son and threw it to Mr. Zhang, saying:
"Forget about what happened here. Don't look down on your wife because of this."
The young man surnamed Zhang glanced at the bodies of the witch and her son and spat fiercely. He silently kowtowed to the three, then left with his wife in his arms.
Miao Youfang turned his head and spat at the bodies. He looked as if he was used to it:
"I have traveled in Jianghu for many years, and I have killed countless villains like this."
"This is not a good thing!" Xu Qi 'an said.
This meant that the imperial court's jurisdiction and rule over the various places was already very weak. When the order was gradually shaken, chaos would occur frequently.
Someone would naturally stand up and establish a new order. At that time, either the dynasty would change, or the dynasty would suffer great damage and struggle at death's door.
Xu Qi 'an glanced outside and confirmed that all the worshippers had been driven out. He immediately closed the temple door and ordered:
"Li Lingsu, summon the spirit!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Miao Youfang suddenly clutched his chest. His face was ashen, and he slowly slumped to the ground.
His face turned the color of pig liver, and his eyes turned white. His life was rapidly fading.
A Warrior at the peak of the Spirit Refinement State was inexplicably on the verge of death?
