Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 11: The Temple and the Strange Fog
During this meal, Shang Lu maintained his usual hard-working style, just showing off by keeping his head down. However, Shang Mingqiu and Wu Guizhi ate in a somewhat restrained manner.

Although the food on the table looked fine, it was made by ghosts after all, which made them somewhat worried. They were afraid that after eating it, it would turn into poisonous insects, toads, stones, etc.

If their son hadn't cared so much and was eating with such relish, they probably wouldn't have dared to pick up their chopsticks.

Shang Lu, who was busy eating, noticed this situation, but he didn't say anything.

Witchcraft and ghost magic are prevalent in the country of Ba, but people still have stereotypes about ghosts, and Shang Mingqiu and Wu Guizhi are no exception.

It was understandable that they would worry, be afraid, and be suspicious. Being willing to eat the food cooked by Sanniang was already a big change.

You know, when Sanniang just came home looking for her husband, they were as nervous as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and they wanted to smear the entire house and yard with human feces and black dog blood to ward off evil spirits.

You have to eat one bite at a time and change your mindset step by step. Don't be impatient.

Of course, Shang Lu’s silence doesn’t mean he did nothing.

He used chopsticks in his right hand to eat rice, and his left hand reached for the oil-paper umbrella on the stool. In this way, he comforted Sanniang and told her that no matter what others thought, she was his wife, not some evil spirit.

He would also find ways to make his parents accept and recognize her.

Suddenly, Shang Lu felt a soft, cold little hand reaching into his hand.

He turned his head and did not see the graceful figure, but the touch in his hand became clearer and clearer.

There was no doubt that Sanniang understood what he meant and was responding to him.

Shang Lu smiled, held the tender little hand tightly, and pinched it mischievously.

The little hand wanted to escape shyly, but Shang Lu held it tightly. After struggling for a few times, she had no choice but to accept her fate and let Shang Lu hold it in his hand and play with it.

But at the same time, Shang Lu felt another invisible hand hitting him a few times.

Sanniang seems angry?
Not only was Shang Lu not scared, he was also laughing secretly in his heart.

Ouch, you're still pretending to be shy and angry. If you really don't want me to pinch your hand, just disappear. Why bother pretending to be angry?

The more Sanniang tried to resist, the more Shang Lu wanted to tease her, and the more excited he became with his little hands.

Not to mention, Sanniang’s little hands are really fun to play with, they’re icy and cool, and really cool to the touch.

Shang Mingqiu and Wu Guizhi could never have imagined that while they were too reserved to pick up their chopsticks at their other end of the table, their son was teasing the female ghost at this end of the table.

Fortunately, this female ghost is his legal wife, so she can't be considered a hooligan.

After dinner, Wu Guizhi wanted to wash the dishes, but Sanniang got there first.

After Sanniang finished her housework, Shang Lu said goodbye and returned to the county town.

Shang Mingqiu and Wu Guizhi tried to persuade him to stay at their house for one night, but he refused.

On the one hand, Shang Lu wanted to rush back home to practice.

Although he could practice martial arts in his hometown of Shuanggui Village, it was easy for him to be seen by his neighbors or even members of the Black Wind Gang.

If this news leaked out and Sun Ying and others knew that his cultivation was beginning to recover, there was no guarantee that something might go wrong.

On the other hand, Shang Lu knew that if he really stayed, his parents would probably not be able to sleep well that night.

Even if they didn't say it, they were still somewhat afraid of Sanniang in their hearts.

"Dad, Mom, remember what I said. If you have any problems, come to the county town to find me first. Okay, you don't have to send me off. Let's go back."

Although Shang Lu kept saying that he didn't want to be sent off, Shang Mingqiu and Wu Guizhi still sent him to the village entrance.

After bidding farewell to his parents, Shang Lu was about to leave along the village road when he suddenly felt someone pulling at the corner of his clothes.

Turning his head and looking in the direction where the corner of his clothes was pulled up, Shang Lu saw a small temple similar to a land temple, built under the two old osmanthus trees at the entrance of the village.

This is the temple dedicated to the Lord in Shuanggui Village.

Although the temple is small, it is quite old. As for who the "Lord God" in the temple is, even the villagers themselves can't explain it clearly. Some say it is the God of Land, some say it is the God of City, and some say it is the Dragon King.

However, the temple is very popular, and people from the village come to worship every day.

Shang Lu looked at the small temple under the osmanthus tree and guessed, "You want me to burn incense at the temple?"

"Yes……"

Shang Lu heard that vague and gentle voice again.

I can really hear Sanniang's voice! Is it because Sanniang has learned to speak human language, or is it because my cultivation has recovered to the Bone-Fighting Realm?
Shang Lu was very excited, happy, and a little curious.

Although Sanniang's voice was very unclear and there were only one or two words each time, being able to hear the voice was an improvement.

Maybe someday, I will be able to see Sanniang clearly.

Even further, he could hug Sanniang and do things that a couple should do. If Ning Caichen could do it, there was no reason why he couldn't do it, right?
Shang Lu was so excited that even his steps towards the temple were filled with joy and excitement.

Although he didn't understand why Sanniang asked him to burn incense at the master's temple, since Sanniang had asked him to do so, he had to do it.

The main point is to be an obedient and doting wife.

When he arrived in front of the temple, Shang Lu just remembered that he didn't have any incense with him. He wanted to ask his parents to go home and get some, but suddenly he had something extra in his hand.

When he looked down, he saw three incense sticks that Sanniang had stuffed into his hands. There were sparks on the tips of the incense sticks, and they were lit.

Sanniang is as considerate as ever.

Shang Lu held the incense in both hands and respectfully worshipped the statue enshrined in the temple.

The workmanship of this statue is very crude. You can barely make out a human figure, but it is impossible to tell which god it is.

After the worship, Shanglu inserted three incense sticks into the incense burner.

At this time, Shang Mingqiu and Wu Guizhi came over with puzzled looks on their faces and asked him what he was doing.

Shang Lu was afraid that his parents would think too much, so he didn't tell Sanniang that it was he who asked him to burn incense. He smiled and said, "I've been away from home for a few days. I'm going to burn some incense for the old man and ask him to help me look after you."

Shang Mingqiu and Wu Guizhi believed him and didn't ask any more questions.

After bidding farewell to his parents again, Shang Lu left Shuanggui Village carrying the oxtail knife.

After walking a long way, he finally spoke, curiously asking, "You asked me to burn incense at the temple. Are the gods in the temple really spiritual and can help me take care of my parents?"

After waiting for a long time, there was no answer from Sanniang.

Shang Lu didn't feel embarrassed. He had experienced this kind of unanswered chat many times in the past month or so, and he was used to it.

He said to himself, "I plan to go to the Wu Temple in Baichuan Town, which is also your mother's home. I want to burn some incense and thank them for marrying you to me. I calculated the time, and even if I take a detour to Baichuan Town, I can still get back to the county before dark."

Sanniang still didn't say anything, but the oil-paper umbrella shook gently a few times, as if to express her agreement.

The deity enshrined in the Witch Temple in Baichuan Town is Hou Tu Niangniang, the Mother of the Earth.

In the main hall, in addition to the statue of Hou Tu Niangniang, there are also seven or eight small wooden plaques.

Each wooden plaque contains a person's name, place of origin, and birth and death information.

These are the people in the surrounding towns who died unmarried.

Their parents wanted to arrange ghost marriages for them, but they couldn't find suitable partners for the time being, so they put their information in a witch temple, waiting for the right partner to appear.

If Shang Lu had not been paired with Sanniang in the first place, his information would probably have been written on a wooden sign and placed here.

From a certain perspective, the Wu Temple is also a blind date corner.

But the people who go on blind dates here are all dead.

After Shang Lu burned incense, he went to thank the temple priests and donated some money to the temple to thank them for helping him find a marriage.

The temple keeper was old and a little forgetful. Even though he had just helped Shang Lu arrange a ghost marriage a month ago, he could hardly remember it. However, he counted the incense money very well.

After Shang Lu left, the temple keeper looked at the sky, closed the temple door, and knelt in front of the statue of Hou Tu Niangniang, mumbling something, but no one knew what scripture he was reciting.

Shang Lu walked out of Baichuan Town. Seeing the sun setting and the faint night fog rising, he quickened his pace.

Even if it’s dark, it’s no big deal.

Ordinary people would definitely not be able to enter the city after dark.

But Shang Lu was different. He was a constable in the yamen and was familiar with the brave men guarding the city. Even if the city gates could not be opened at night, it would be no problem for them to let the brave men lower a basket from the city wall to lower him in.

But night fog is more troublesome. If the fog is heavy, it will be difficult to tell the direction and it is easy to get lost.

What Shang Lu didn't expect was that he got lost before the night fog even started.

After leaving Baichuan Town and walking about ten miles, Shang Lu stopped at a fork in the road, his eyes full of surprise.

"I've walked past this intersection before. Am I going back?"

"Did I take the wrong road? But even if I did, I shouldn't have gone back. I didn't take any detours along the way."

Shang Lu was hesitating when the sky suddenly darkened.

No, it's not dark.

There was a strange fog that rolled down from the Yunhua Mountain, covering the area and blocking the light of the setting sun.

(End of this chapter)