Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 396 Jokhang Temple

"Jokhang Temple, I remember now..."

I nodded and smiled, "Okay, okay, when do we set off?"

"I've almost finished dealing with the Yuening Energy matter," Lin Qingying said with a smile. "How about this afternoon? Then stay overnight at the temple, return to LN City tomorrow morning, and take a flight back to Huaining this afternoon?"

"Row!"

"It's just that the journey is a bit long, four hours, and it might be a little tiring for the two of us to drive..." she said with some concern.

"What are you afraid of?"

I raised my eyebrows and said, "Xiao Ai has been released from the police station, so let her drive. The two of us can sit in the back and enjoy the scenery."

"oops……"

Zhang Ruolin chuckled, rubbing her forehead, "Is Xiao Ai really being treated like a beast of burden?"

……

In the afternoon, I went to the Municipal Public Security Bureau to pick up Xiao Ai.

"I thought you guys didn't want me anymore..."

Little Ai's face was adorned with tiny pearls, perfectly capturing her anthropomorphic expression.

"how could be?"

Lin Qingying chuckled softly and wiped away Xiao Ai's tears.

I then looked at Wang Xin and said, "Director Wang, by the way, there's something else I wanted to mention. Please don't think I'm being difficult..."

"Cough cough, that won't do!"

"Is such that."

I took a deep breath: "The day before yesterday, Xiaoying and I went to the downstream of Yuening Factory to collect some water samples. After sending them to the relevant agency for testing, the results showed that they met the requirements. However, when I sent the test report to the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, Director Chen made excuses and claimed that he was not at the office when he was clearly there. Moreover, the test results issued by the Environmental Protection Bureau have not been released yet. I suspect that he is observing the situation and that he is also related to Tianhe Group."

As he spoke, he put his arm around Wang Xin's shoulder and said, "I hope Director Wang can help me get this information back in this direction. If Director Chen really has a problem, we can't let any bad guy get away with it, right?"

Wang Xin was speechless and lowered his voice, saying, "If you really dig like this, not many people will have clean hands."

"I can't help it, I'm the kind of person who holds grudges."

"Alright, I'll report it to my superiors. I don't care whether they take it into consideration or not, but it seems like they will. They seem to take your words very seriously."

He continued in a low voice, "Ding Han, I've never had any contact with the players. Tell me, what is your status among them?"

"Status..."

I thought for a moment and said, "Top-tier status! The kind where if God hadn't given birth to me, Ding Han, the player world would have been plunged into eternal darkness."

"..."

Wang Xin's expression turned solemn: "Impressive..."

……

After leaving the municipal bureau, I bought some drinks and snacks from a nearby convenience store and put them in my car.

Afterwards, Xiao Ai drove to Jokhang Temple, while Lin Qingying and I sat in the back seat enjoying the leisurely afternoon.

Autumn comes early in the Northwest, and it already feels like autumn now. Once you leave the city, the roads are wide and lined with golden trees, making for an exceptionally beautiful scene.

Lin Qingying took out her phone and started snapping photos non-stop.

Looking at the distant Gobi Desert scenery, I was speechless and could only keep exclaiming "Awesome!"

"Over there, over there, there's a forest of poplar trees..."

I pointed into the distance and discovered a poplar forest with a clear spring behind it. It was rare to find such a beautiful scene along the way, so I suggested, "The journey is important, why don't we stop and take some photos?"

"Uh-huh!"

Lin Qingying nodded repeatedly: "Xiao Ai, drive over there."

Xiao Ai's driving skills were very proficient. She drifted across the road, drawing a C shape, and then casually drove over and stopped on the side of the road.

After getting off the bus, a fragrant aroma of the wilderness wafted towards me.

This is an undeveloped area. The tourism industry in "Star Abyss" is far less developed than in the real world. In China, scenic spots like this would have been fenced off and charged for long ago.

After I took a few pictures of Lin Qingying, she beckoned me over.

After entering the frame, the two appeared on the screen together. Lin Qingying stretched her arms out as far as she could, but the result was still a close-up photo. However, she didn't mind and took many more photos.

"Want to take a picture of us kissing?" I asked with a smile.

"what?"

She was taken aback at first, then her gaze hardened: "I want it!"

So the two of them leaned in together, and just as their lips were about to touch, "click!"—a very meaningful photo was taken.

"Ugh……"

In the distance, Xiao Ai, dressed in a trench coat, leaned against the car, shook her head, probably thinking that we humans are really boring.

Get in the car and continue your journey. You need to reach Jokhang Temple before sunset. The night in the wilderness of LN city is not very safe. It is said that coyotes and honey badgers are roaming around.

"Eh……"

Lin Qingying looked at the photos on her phone, her expression pained: "I really want to post them on WeChat Moments... but if my subordinates see them, they might think I'm a childish leader. It's so painful..."

"Then send a few more serious ones?"

"Ok."

She spent some time selecting and arranged the photos into a nine-square grid. Although there were no photos of the two of us together, there was one selfie of each of us, which looked rather serious.

Can you send it?

"It can be sent!"

I laughed and said, "Send it quickly, I want to steal the picture and the caption."

"Ok!"

She rearranged the order of the nine-grid layout, added the caption "On the way," and then confirmed the posting.

I was the first to like it, I'm pretty sure of that. The likes came in the instant I scrolled through the page. Then I stole all nine pictures, posted them on my WeChat Moments, and captioned them "On the way".

Soon, likes and comments started appearing— Zhao Yihang: "Brother, where are you and President Lin? The scenery is so beautiful."

That kid always talks in the same tone.

Cheng Shuang: "President Lin looks a bit haggard, but thankfully the Yuening Energy matter has a good ending."

She was also quietly keeping an eye on Yuening Energy's situation, but she just didn't say anything.

Ding Ying: "My sister-in-law is so beautiful, and my brother is so handsome!"

You're quite the smooth talker, kid.

Second Uncle: "You guys went out to play? Ding Han, can you bring Xiao Ying back to your hometown to get married before the end of this year?"

Second Uncle, aren't you being a little too hasty?
Left Hand: "Bro, your girlfriend is really beautiful. I've decided you're my brother now!"

You're always so carefree and irresponsible, aren't you?
After replying to a bunch of comments, a comment from Lu Xiaobei popped up: "I'm jealous."

I was speechless, not knowing how to reply to this message.

I don't know what she's jealous of, whether it's being able to travel abroad, or if she's jealous of Lin Qingying.

This message cannot be replied to, since Lin Qingying can see it too.

……

evening.

We arrived at Jokhang Temple just before sunset.

It was the off-season for tourism, and Jokhang Temple wasn't really a tourist attraction, so there weren't many people there.

Passing through the solemn gate, one is greeted by rows of ginkgo trees. Autumn comes early to LN City, and the golden ginkgo leaves have already covered the ground. Monks are sweeping them up, and the scene is somewhat surreal, as if in a dream.

"Okay ah?"

I looked at Lin Qingying beside me: "What if they kick us out and won't let us stay at the temple? The nearest hotel is dozens of kilometers away..."

"Don't worry..."

She took my arm and said with a smile, "I checked online. If you donate a certain amount of money for incense, you can stay overnight at the temple. The temple provides meals, but they are all vegetarian, so you might not be used to them."

"That's alright, I have pickled fish in my storage space."

"Shh... Jokhang Temple has very strict rules, don't say it out loud."

"Oh!"

So, led by Lin Qingying, we arrived at the place where donations for incense oil were made, and then we saw Lin Qingying take out a thick wad of hundred-yuan bills from her bag and put them into the donation box.

"Thank you donor!"

The monk, dressed in simple clothes, suddenly brightened up.

"Grandmaster."

Lin Qingying said, "My boyfriend and I have come from afar because we've heard so much about this place. It's already dark, so we'd like to stay overnight at the temple. Do you have any rooms available?"

"Yes, yes, please follow me, benefactor."

This conversation is a bit like a dream.

So, Lin Qingying and I followed the monk to our lodgings. The two adjacent rooms were simply furnished, giving it the feel of a temple from a TV drama.

Then, the monk told us about some of the temple's rules, which we could guess at, even though he didn't say them explicitly.

This is a sacred Buddhist site; we hope the donor will exercise restraint...

Otherwise, we wouldn't have been assigned two rooms.

……

In the evening, I had a vegetarian meal with Lin Qingying. The taste was alright, but there was no meat, so it was a bit too vegetarian.

At night, only a few streetlights were on in the temple, and a bright moon hung high in the sky.

Holding Lin Qingying's hand, they strolled around the temple.

"Get up early tomorrow."

She said, "The monks only start operating during the day, so we can go and burn some incense then."

"Okay, actually the view at night is quite nice too."

"Ah."

The two stood before the pagoda, their feet crunching on a carpet of ginkgo leaves, letting the moonlight bathe them.

Lin Qingying took out her phone, found the right angle, adjusted the focus, and took a stunning photo. The photo, featuring a pagoda, moonlight, and ginkgo leaves, was full of tranquil beauty.

She seemed to really like the photo, so she posted it on her second WeChat Moments update today, with the caption "At this moment".

My little Ying, you're so artsy...

So I also stole the photo, but changed the caption, adding the text "With you".

After it was posted, comments popped up immediately—

Cheng Shuang: "Right now, with you, we're being a lovey-dovey couple late at night!"

Zhang Ruolin: "Oh dear, it was wise of me to come back early, otherwise you two would have tortured me to death..."

Shen Man: "It's too sweet, isn't it?"

Gunfire Like a Dragon: "Remember to level up while you're dating!"

I only replied to the message "Swords Like Dragons": "Wait until your level surpasses mine before you start talking nonsense!"

He wept silently.

……

Late at night, I left Xiao Ai to watch over Lin Qingying, while I stayed next door, took a shower, and prepared to go to sleep.

Just as midnight struck, a bell rang in my ear, signaling the mission's completion—

[Congratulations! You have completed the daily quest "Energy Pollution, Yuening Group Longnan Incident" (SS-rank)! Rewards: Character Experience +8800 million, Charisma +2, Reputation +4000, and an additional reward: "Abyss Cloak" (Quality: Chaos-grade, S9, Brown)!]

Wait a minute, why are they rewarding reputation points for things that happen to us?

(End of this chapter)