The ultimate master in the city

Chapter 74 Old Temple

When the three arrived at the City God Temple, they saw a tall wall on the left, an old hospital, and a riverside park on the right. The dilapidated old temple stood alone in the middle, looking out of place with its surroundings. They wondered why it hadn't been demolished yet.

The lights from afar couldn't reach this place; it was pitch black all around except for a dim kerosene lamp in a side room of the temple, its shadow flickering.

Monk Yuanzhi looked around and said, "Wow! There's still no electricity. This old temple keeper is really pathetic."

Seeing his disrespectful tone, Zhang Qing shushed him, "Keep your voice down. The old woman in this temple is very mysterious; she knows everything we say."

Monk Yuanzhi curled his lip, "Nonsense!"

Zhang Qing argued, "Really!"

Zhou Fengchen, curious, asked in a low voice, "Who is this old lady?"

Zhang Qing said, "The old temple keeper has been here for decades. My parents' generation all know her. She used to collect incense money and also treat illnesses. If someone had a fever or a cold, they would take her medicine and be better the next day. It was very effective. Later, fewer people came to worship her, and everyone went to the hospital when they felt unwell. So she switched to selling sachets. Those sachets were magical. They would keep mosquitoes away in the summer and also repel snakes and ants. The strangest thing is... if anyone spoke ill of her at home, she would know the next day and come to her door to scold her. The person who was scolded would then get sick the next day."

Monk Yuanzhi stared wide-eyed and said, "Is this really that strange? Isn't this almost like being a shaman?"

Seeing that Zhang Qing was about to speak, Zhou Fengchen coughed lightly, "Stop talking, let's go inside!"

The three entered the courtyard, looked around, and then went into the main hall, where a statue of the City God with peeling paint was enshrined. He wore a red robe, had a large beard, and a serious expression, looking somewhat frightening in the darkness.

Zhou Fengchen took the lead and bowed three times, followed by Monk Yuanzhi and Zhang Qing.

Just then, the door to the side room creaked open, and an elderly woman with a full head of white hair stood inside, asking with a sullen face, "What are you doing here so late?"

Zhou Fengchen looked the old lady up and down, then said with a smile, "We'd like to buy a few sachets and also pay our respects to the City God."

"Just wait!"

The old lady went back into the inner room, trembling, and quickly came out with three round, gold-rimmed small bags. "One thousand yuan."

Zhou Fengchen and Monk Yuanzhi exchanged a glance. Holy crap! It's so expensive?

Zhang Qing also found it outrageous and said, "Grandma, didn't they used to sell for 150 yuan each? Why are they so expensive today?"

The old lady said in a hoarse voice, "I'm not in a good mood today. Buy it or don't, it's up to you!"

"Hey! You're quite the character, old lady," Monk Yuanzhi said casually. "Tell me, do you know where those two girls who came here to buy sachets went today?"

The old lady seemed very angry. "I don't know, don't ask me. If you want to buy a sachet, pay up. If not, get out of here."

"Buy, buy, buy!" Zhang Qing quickly took out a thousand yuan and handed it to the old lady, then took the sachet.

The three of them left the City God Temple, each carrying a small sachet, and none of them knew what to say.

After walking for a while, they came to a street lamp. Zhou Fengchen opened the sachet, smelled it, frowned, and then took out the ingredients inside to examine them.

Monk Yuanzhi asked curiously, "Is something wrong?"

Zhou Fengchen tossed the sachet to the ground and said, "Monk, did you notice anything about that old woman just now?"

Monk Yuanzhi recalled for a moment, "It's nothing!"

Zhou Fengchen uttered a shocking statement: "This old woman is not human!"

Monk Yuanzhi and Zhang Qing were both startled. Zhang Qing said, "Brother, are you sure you're not mistaken? This old woman has been in the temple for decades, how could she not be human? If she's not human, then what is she?"

Zhou Fengchen said, "The old woman's eyes were gray, her pupils were sparse, and she had a deathly aura about her; she was clearly an old woman who had been dead for a long time!"

Zhang Qing turned pale with fright, and Monk Yuanzhi stammered, "Could it be that strange? I didn't sense anything wrong!"

Zhou Fengchen retorted bluntly, "Your skills are too shallow to tell. Do you even know what's in this pouch?"

Monk Yuanzhi and Zhang Qing asked in unison, "What?"

"Bone ash and blood powder from the five poisonous creatures—if you carry this kind of stuff on your body, mosquitoes, venomous snakes, and ants will definitely stay far away."

Zhou Fengchen said, "I suspect that this old woman was possessed by an evil spirit after she died, and my sister's disappearance is definitely related to her!"

Zhang Qing and Monk Yuanzhi were so frightened that they quickly threw the sachet far away.

Monk Yuanzhi also realized what was happening, slapping his forehead. "That's right! Who would have the time to take off their clothes while being kidnapped?"

"Go back!" Zhou Fengchen turned and walked back.

The three of them arrived at the City God Temple again, only to find that the lights in the side room were out, and it was pitch black all around.

Zhou Fengchen made a gesture, meaning to be quiet, then took out three talismans from his pocket, gave one to each person, and put them in their mouths.

They cautiously entered the main hall and, upon reaching the side hall, peered through the crack in the door. In the dim light of day, they saw the old woman lying stiffly on the bed, motionless, almost like a dead person.

The room was messy, with many things scattered haphazardly. Weeds were growing under the bed, and in the innermost part was a large red coffin, shiny and glossy, as if it had been cleaned regularly.

Zhou Fengchen gripped the door lock, gently twisted it open, pushed the door open, and went inside. The three of them reached the bedside, but the old lady did not react at all.

Monk Yuanzhi, anxious, stepped forward and placed his hand on the old woman's neck, then immediately released it, ripped the talisman from her mouth, and turned back in horror, exclaiming, "Holy crap! She's been dead for a long time; her flesh is all dried up!"

Zhang Qing had never experienced anything like this before, and her face turned deathly pale!

Zhou Fengchen turned to look at the large red coffin and said in a low voice, "Go out and search everywhere to see if my sister and Qi Qi are there. Go and come back quickly."

Monk Yuanzhi nodded and ran out with Zhang Qing.

Zhou Fengchen quietly approached the large red coffin, just as he was about to take a closer look, when he suddenly heard a snoring sound coming from inside. He didn't know what it was, as a normal person would definitely not crawl into a coffin to sleep.

He quietly took out talismans and stuck them around the coffin, then took out a loudspeaker from his bag.

At this moment, Monk Yuanzhi and Zhang Qing returned, shaking their heads and saying, "We've looked all over this tiny place, there's no place for anyone to hide..."

As they spoke, they heard snoring coming from inside the coffin, and couldn't help but gasp, "What the hell is that?"

"Shh!" Zhou Fengchen made a gesture, pointing to the coffin lid, indicating that it should be moved.

Monk Yuanzhi ran to the left, and Zhang Qing boldly ran to the right. The three of them worked together to lift the coffin lid open. When they looked inside, they were all stunned.

Curled up in the coffin was a yellow fox about the size of a mongrel, with a black nose and big ears. It probably never expected that someone would lift the lid of the terrifying coffin. It was fast asleep, snoring rhythmically.

Enraged, Monk Yuanzhi grabbed a wooden stool from the side and smashed it against the fox's head, yelling, "I'll beat you to death, you man-eating beast!"

Zhou Fengchen wanted to stop it, but it was too late.

The fox was startled awake by Monk Yuanzhi's shout. Just as it was about to be hit by the stool, it jumped away, bared its teeth, and screeched before leaping out of the coffin.

Zhou Fengchen quickly formed hand seals, "Hurry!"

Several talismans flashed and flew out, but the fox was extremely ferocious. It took the hit head-on, burned off a tuft of fur, smashed open the window next to it, and jumped out, letting out a strange chuckle, "Three grandsons!"

"You son of a bitch!"

Before he could even play the suona, Zhou Fengchen casually put it away, cursed loudly, and climbed out the window.