Chapter 92: Lingyin Temple

A faint sunlight pierced through the soft clouds over the western hills, casting listlessly onto the earth, yet bringing no warmth to people’s faces. The sun had already lost its vitality, layers of gloom piling up and covering the entire horizon. Sparrows flew back in twos and threes to their nests beneath the eaves, quietly waiting for the final veil of darkness to descend. On the grass, nocturnal insects crawled out of their holes, for them, the night marked the beginning of a brand new day.

Shui Miao stood atop a high mound, gazing into the distance.

He had searched several places already, and as night approached, Huang Yatou was becoming increasingly distressed, yet there was still no sign of the Lingyin Taoist Temple.

Shui Miao was anxious. It was he who had delayed Huang Yatou. If anything happened to her, how could he ever bear the responsibility?

Lin Qing’er had called her friends, but no one knew where the Lingyin Temple was.

Shui Miao had already made calls himself, asking Director Zhang, and also Lin Xue and the others. Lin Xue and her friends had come for no apparent reason at noon and had searched for several hours but found nothing.

Shui Miao returned to the car and shook his head at Lin Qing’er.

Lin Qing’er looked at Huang Yatou, who was lying on the back seat, holding her head and softly groaning, her heart burning with worry. “Shui Miao, why don’t you summon that female ghost again and ask her? She must have a way.”

“I can’t summon her; she appeared on her own before,” Shui Miao replied helplessly. “If all else fails, let me try to withdraw my spiritual energy with my mind. I’ve never tried it before, so I don’t know if it will work. I originally wanted to call my grandfather to ask, but his phone has been turned off the whole time.”

“Alright, don’t talk so much, just try it already.”

Lin Qing’er felt somewhat resentful toward Shui Miao. He knew how to release spiritual energy but not how to retrieve it. Knowing it could hurt others, he still poured his energy into Huang Yatou—wasn’t that just harming her? Actually, Shui Miao was also helpless. This technique had been taught to him by the ghost queen, Wang Ruyan. At the time, he hadn’t thought much before acting. He deeply regretted not carefully considering his actions beforehand. He vowed to never act so rashly again.

Shui Miao opened the back door of the car, gently placing his hands on Huang Yatou’s temples. As he calmed his mind and focused, a sudden realization struck him. How could he be so stupid? Didn’t he have a spell to silently attract spiritual energy for cultivation? If he could absorb spiritual energy for training, naturally he could also retrieve the energy he had released!

With this thought, Shui Miao quickly began silently reciting the spell, breathing deeply as he started drawing the spiritual energy back in.

Gradually, he felt the energy returning.

And Huang Yatou’s pain eased…

About ten minutes later, as darkness fully fell, Huang Yatou broke free from Shui Miao’s hands, excitedly exclaiming, “It doesn’t hurt anymore! I’m all better, not a bit of pain left.”

“Great! Finally, everything’s okay. What a relief!”

Lin Qing’er excitedly grabbed Huang Yatou’s hand. “In the future, you mustn’t do this again. There are many strange things in this world. If you try everything without caution, one day you’ll end up in trouble.”

“It’s all my fault. I acted foolishly,” Shui Miao humbly admitted.

Seeing how sincere Shui Miao was, Huang Yatou suddenly smiled, grabbing his hand. “Alright, alright, I was just scared. Actually, I wasn’t that hurt—I just thought it would hurt a lot, so I instinctively acted like it did. I’m also at fault for making you two worried.”

It was rare for Huang Yatou to admit fault, which surprised Lin Qing’er.

“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about it anymore. We’re in the wilderness here, and I don’t want to spend the night outdoors. Shui, hurry and get in the car.” Lin Qing’er was happy that everything had turned out fine and deserved a celebration.

“Okay!”

Shui Miao got into the car and sat beside Huang Yatou, feeling deeply ashamed. Why had his mind been so muddled? A simple issue had become so complicated. Wasn’t that just plain stupidity?

“To punish Shui Miao, let’s make him treat us to dinner. Yatou, what do you feel like eating? I’ll call ahead and have the restaurant prepare it for us,” Lin Qing’er planned to comfort Huang Yatou. In business here in Zhonghai, everything depended on Huang Yatou’s support. If she got upset, business would suffer.

“Great! I’ll treat you all to lobster!” Shui Miao eagerly agreed.

Lin Qing’er shook her head. “Shui, don’t always think lobster is the best. Yatou doesn’t even care for it. She prefers bird’s nest, bear paws, and elephant snail. You’ll have to spend big!”

“No problem! I made six million today, gave two million to Wang Ruyan’s parents, and still have four million left. I’d gladly spend a million on dinner tonight!” Shui Miao boasted, treating money as if it were worthless paper.

“Didn’t see you as such a big shot!” Huang Yatou smiled, patting Shui Miao’s hand. In fact, she hadn’t let go of his hand since just now. “But today, I really feel like lobster. Even if it’s just a roadside stall, I’ll eat it as long as it’s you treating.”

“…”

At Huang Yatou’s words, both Shui Miao and Lin Qing’er experienced subtle shifts in their thoughts.

Shui Miao felt a faint sense of intimacy.

Lin Qing’er understood Huang Yatou well. She knew she wasn’t genuinely fond of Shui Miao but was curious about his special abilities. Most likely, she wanted to learn his skills, hence deliberately acting affectionate toward him. Lin Qing’er couldn’t help but worry—Shui Miao was young and inexperienced in love. Would he get caught up in Huang Yatou’s tricks?

She cared for both Huang Yatou and Shui Miao.

“Sit tight, the road ahead isn’t easy.”

Lin Qing’er wanted to change the subject, plus the road ahead really was quite treacherous.

It was a bumpy dirt path, and the low chassis of the car made it prone to scraping. Lin Qing’er carefully observed the road conditions, driving slowly. In the darkness, at a speed of about ten miles per hour, she drove for over ten minutes before suddenly realizing the front was still pitch black. She had no idea when they would get out, and the road was getting narrower and bumpier.

“Shui Miao, I think we’re lost. I don’t remember taking this road on the way here.”

Lin Qing’er stepped on the brakes, feeling a bit panicky. On both sides of the road were large patches of reed fields. A dozen meters ahead had turned into a path only a meter wide, flanked by tangled weeds and trees. What was most surprising was that faintly visible by the roadside were several tombstones!

“How strange! How could this happen!”

Shui Miao was also puzzled. Lin Qing’er often drove and shouldn’t have gotten lost.

Shui Miao opened the car door and got out. He found the surroundings filled with dense reeds, making it impossible to see far ahead. Although there was a narrow path ahead, it was clear that after dozens of meters, it opened into a wide area.

“Lin Jie, you two stay in the car. I’ll go ahead and check.”

“Me too, me too…”

Huang Yatou quickly got out, still holding tightly to Shui Miao’s hand.

“Then I’ll go too…”

Lin Qing’er felt uneasy and didn’t want to stay alone, so she also got out.

Thus, the three of them, guided by the headlights of the car, passed through the narrow path and walked over a hundred meters before seeing a river ahead. About three hundred meters east along the river, several houses were glowing with lights.

“There are people, let’s go ask for directions. If not, we can stay the night.”

Seeing the lights, Lin Qing’er finally felt relieved.

“Great, great! I’ve never slept in a commoner’s house before. Shui Gege, let’s hurry…”

Huang Yatou was more than happy for the chance to get closer to Shui Miao, hoping to learn how he cultivated his spiritual energy. She wanted to learn this mysterious and magical technique herself. It was a secret weapon, silent and deadly.

When they arrived at the lighted area, they found it wasn’t a commoner’s house at all, but a Taoist temple. The temple was brightly lit inside, with voices echoing. Under a large elm tree at the entrance, five young Taoist apprentices were sitting around a small table, eating peanuts, drinking wine, and chatting.

“Haha! Finally, someone younger than me! Let me ask!”

Seeing the apprentices, Huang Yatou immediately became interested. She ran to the tree and, clearing her throat with a smile, said to the apprentices, “Little brothers, hello! I’m Sister Huang. What are you all doing?”

Huang Yatou’s tone and manner made her seem like a kindergarten teacher coaxing three-year-olds.

Seeing this, Lin Qing’er couldn’t help shaking her head and walked toward the tree.

Shui Miao found it amusing and somewhat incredible, unable to associate Huang Yatou with the underworld.

The five apprentices were about fourteen or fifteen years old. Seeing Huang Yatou, one apprentice who looked about sixteen or seventeen stood up and directly said, “Who’s your little brother! Why are you coming to offer incense at Lingyin Temple so late! Tonight is our Master’s hundredth birthday, and the temple is celebrating. If you want to offer incense, come tomorrow.”

“This is Lingyin Temple?” Lin Qing’er was very surprised, as she had checked several newly published maps recently and didn’t see any mention of a Lingyin Temple nearby.

Shui Miao also found it somewhat incredible. He secretly activated his spiritual energy and used his yin-yang eyes to observe. Everything seemed normal; the five apprentices were just ordinary children.

“Yes! You actually didn’t know?” The apprentice frowned. “Then you’re not here to offer incense? What are you here for? Did you get lost?”

“Yes, we’re lost.” Seeing the apprentice’s cold reception of Huang Yatou, Lin Qing’er quickly stepped forward, smiling slightly at the apprentice. “Little Master, could you tell us how to get out from here? We lost our way and followed the lights here.”

“Oh, I see. You must have been confused by the big-mouth monster in the village. That creature often messes with villagers, making them lose their way. If you want to get out, it’s actually simple. Just go to where you see water and throw a coin into the river. Then you’ll see the normal path.” After saying this, the apprentice turned back to continue drinking and eating peanuts.

The big-mouth monster!

It must be some kind of demon.

Lin Qing’er remembered that when they drove away, she indeed saw a puddle of water, then turned here.

“Thank you!”

Lin Qing’er said her thanks and prepared to leave.

But Huang Yatou didn’t want to go. She held Lin Qing’er’s hand. “Qing’er Jiejie, we finally found Lingyin Temple. How can we leave so soon? Why not go inside and chat with the Taoist priests? Staying the night here and going back in the morning won’t be too late. I also want to find out what the big-mouth monster is.”

“Yatou, don’t be silly.” Lin Qing’er was still shaken from being misled by the big-mouth monster. She thought about going back, taking a hot bath, and sleeping in a clean, comfortable bed. Staying in the temple with a bunch of men was inconvenient. “Shui Miao, what do you think?”

“I… I also want to stay a little longer… It’s not too late to go back later, right?” Shui Miao was still thinking about what the ghost queen Wang Ruyan had said. His cultivation was too low. If he could get some guidance from the hundred-year-old Taoist priest, it would definitely benefit him for a lifetime.

“But we came empty-handed. How can we stay?” Lin Qing’er still didn’t want to stay. “We’ve already found Lingyin Temple. Why don’t we come back tomorrow morning with some gifts? Wouldn’t that be better?”

“As the saying goes, ‘Isn’t it a joy to have friends coming from afar?’ A gentleman’s friendship should not be swayed by material things. The three of you arriving on my master’s hundredth birthday is truly a rare fate. If you are not too reluctant, please come inside for a brief chat.” A loud and magnetic voice rang out. A middle-aged Taoist priest, with a kind face, long narrow eyebrows, and wearing a green Taoist robe, slowly walked out from the temple.