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Chapter 158 Ci'en Temple

Electric tails burn black clouds, rain feet fly silver threads.

"Damn you, God!"

Lu Xiuyuan raised his head high and cursed in a low voice.

Eight or nine days have passed, and the rain still hasn't stopped.

According to his original estimate, it would only take three or four more days to reach Ci'en Temple after leaving Mang Village, but due to the rain, the time taken was more than doubled. By the time they reached this last section, everyone was exhausted.

Wearing a straw raincoat, Lu Xiuyuan gritted his teeth, shouldered the thick, heavy hemp rope on the cart shaft, and shouted ahead despite the pouring rain.

"Everyone, keep going! Once we get past this section, we'll reach Ci'en Temple. We absolutely mustn't have any accidents on this last stretch!"

The other three people, including Lupin, did not reply.

Everyone was positioned at the back of the donkey cart, pushing it upwards with all their might.

The heavy rain made the roads muddy and the slope up the mountain was too steep. The few old donkeys alone could not keep up. Now, people were being used as animals to barely make it through the road.

Seeing this, Zhou You was about to lend a hand, but was stopped by Lu Xiuyuan once again.

"Master, please get in the carriage and rest. We can handle this light work; there's no need to trouble you!"

Lu Xiuyuan tried to persuade them with earnest words, but faced with this completely different treatment, the bodyguards' rain-soaked faces showed not a trace of dissatisfaction.

Although the country men hadn't received much formal education, they still accepted these simple truths.

—You saved my life and protected us all the way. You are our benefactor. How can we trouble our benefactor with such rough and tiring work?

Not to mention that everyone had seen Zhou You's every move along the way, and he was completely different from those arrogant immortal masters in the past. In comparison, they were even less willing to let him do the work.

This time, Zhou You did not back down. Instead, he avoided Lu Xiuyuan's line of sight, shook his raincoat, and with a forceful push, grabbed the back of the cart.

"Master, what's wrong with you?!"

Zhou You waved his hand, signaling the bodyguard next to him not to say anything more.

"An extra leader means more strength. Anyway, Ci'en Temple is not far away. Everyone should put in more effort. The sooner we arrive, the sooner we can rest."

The man finally nodded, and together they pushed the car upwards.

With the addition of a fresh member, the escort agency sped up considerably; however, the rainstorm grew increasingly intense and heavy.

In a daze, the whole world was shrouded in a curtain of rain, and the large raindrops hitting people's faces brought a slightly stinging sensation.

Fortunately.

Just when the members of the escort agency were about to give up, they turned a corner and a vermilion temple gate came into view in the distance.

Zhou You looked up.

Although layers of rain obscured most of the view, the majestic temple with its upturned eaves and corners was still visible. Even though the whole temple was not visible, it was clear from what could be seen that the temple occupied a considerable area and could even be considered a famous ancient temple in a famous mountain.

However, the door was covered in scratches, with burn marks in many places, and even a clump of yellowish stain in one corner, making it look like...
Years of urine stains?
No, do all the temples in Lizhou use their mountain gates as public toilets?

However, Lu Xiuyuan seemed to be used to it. He rushed over in three steps, grabbed the door knocker, and knocked hard twice.

"Is anyone there? We're from Weiyuan Escort Agency, the delivery company. Your shipment has arrived!"

Perhaps it was because the rain was too loud, or perhaps because no one had come to the door for a long time, but Lu Xiuyuan knocked on the door several more times before a deep, muffled voice slowly came from inside.

"Who is it?" Lu Xiuyuan took a deep breath and repeated his words.

"We are Weiyuan Escort Agency, the delivery company. The shipment you entrusted has arrived!"

Silence fell again inside the door. Just as Lu Xiuyuan thought the other party had left and was about to bang on the door again, the voice inside suddenly rang out again.

"Goods? Could it be that you should wait a moment while I go ask the abbot?"

The person inside the door dragged away with heavy steps. Lu Xiuyuan didn't think much of it, but Zhou You suddenly raised an eyebrow.

—He vaguely heard the sound of something being dragged.

—It felt as if something heavy was tied to the person's feet.

moment.

The scarred vermilion gate was finally opened.

However, what appeared before Zhou You were just two ordinary monks.

One of them had his head down, so his face was not clearly visible, but judging from his clothes, he was just an ordinary novice monk. The other monk was wearing a dark blue robe, was thin, and was probably over seventy years old, with his hair and beard completely turned gray.

Upon seeing the old monk, Lu Xiuyuan was taken aback for a moment, then, disregarding his disheveled state, hurriedly went to greet him.

"Abbot, why have you come out in person?"

—Abbot?
Zhou You looked closely, but all he saw was a wrinkled face.

At first glance, this person looked like a dead tree, with a thin body, a slightly hunched back, withered hands with prominent veins, and a face like tree bark.
He gives the impression of an old farmer by the roadside, and doesn't look like the head of a temple at all.

But the man replied with a perfectly normal expression.

“Head镖师 Lu, this title is really too much. Abbot is a title used only in temples with more than 500 monks. Our Ci'en Temple only has a few dozen people in total, so you should just call me Abbot Liaochen.”

At this point, the old man sighed softly again.

"As for coming out to greet you all, that's what I should do—in fact, I'm the one who's troubling you all this time. To deliver this small shipment, I've made you all brave this heavy rain. If anything were to happen to you, I would be utterly responsible."

Lu Xiuyuan quickly and politely declined.

"Abbot, please don't say that. Since we've accepted your money, we have to do this job well. What's that saying again? It's true, 'He who eats the king's food must serve the king faithfully!'"

Then he directed the donkey cart to bring over the box full of large locks.

"Abbot... no, I mean, head of the academy, I've already delivered the items. Where would you like to inspect them?"

The old monk looked at the torrential rain, then at the crowd covered in rain and mud, and the wrinkles on his face deepened.

He lowered his head, first giving a few instructions to the novice monk beside him, and then replied to Lu Xiuyuan.

"If you want to inspect the goods, go to the lecture hall. Recently, the main hall and the hall of the Heavenly Kings have been leaking badly. That place is the only one that is more spacious. I have already given instructions to prepare food and hot water for everyone. Although it is just simple food, it will at least warm you up."

After saying this, the old monk stretched out his hand and made a "please" gesture. Lu Xiuyuan kept saying politely, and led everyone into the temple as if it were a very common practice.

Everyone else seems to be fine.

However, as Zhou You stepped across the threshold, Duan Xie at his waist suddenly trembled.

(End of this chapter)