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Chapter 518 Clues
It was early autumn.

Although the temperature has dropped, it is still not very cold. Early fallen leaves drift in the wind. The sky is high and the clouds are light, like an endless expanse of blue washed by well water. Occasionally, a flock of geese flies by, but they disappear in the blink of an eye under the dazzling sunlight.

—And at this time, it is also the busy season for farming.

Although the late rice will not be harvested for another month or two, taro and other crops have already begun to be produced. In this day and age, ordinary families can hardly eat white rice every day. They usually eat a variety of grains mixed with wild vegetables, plus things like house repairs and village affairs. At this time of year, people are usually busy all day long and don't have any free time at all.

However, none of this has anything to do with Malong.

He was now lying on the ground, veins bulging on his hands, gripping his only weapon—a rusty old sickle—while holding his breath and staring intently at the official road not far away.

Although the temperature wasn't high, the tension caused sweat to trickle down his deeply lined face, eventually dripping slowly onto the ground.

The reason he was lying there wasn't because he wanted to steal a moment from his busy schedule and enjoy the vast and distant scenery—as a farmer, a farmer who had toiled in the soil for half his life, Ma Long had long lost the leisure and elegance to appreciate the scenery.

For him, instead of idly climbing mountains to enjoy the view like those scholars, it would be better to go up the mountain to dig up some wild vegetables. If he's lucky, he might even run into a mad fox and get to eat meat again after a long time.

He's been lying in wait here for so long, and he only has one purpose.

That was robbery.

Of course, as a bandit, he was extremely unprofessional. With his pitiful physique, any strong person could easily defeat him. But the problem was that he was starving to death—he hadn't eaten a single grain of rice for three whole days.

Although it was autumn and there were plenty of things around to fill one's stomach, Ma Long, despite being dizzy with hunger, still dared not pluck even a single blade of grass.

After all, he had seen what happened to those people.

Those in their own village who wanted to fill their stomachs with food eventually became food themselves.

He would rather die than fall to that level, so he could only lie by the roadside, hoping to strike it lucky and rob a thin, weak person to at least steal some food and survive a few more days.

There aren't many people on the official road, and even fewer who meet the requirements.

There are too many people in this group; I'm afraid I'll be beaten to death before I can even make a move.

This man is too strong; I'm afraid my small frame will have a hard time taking him down.

This woman... forget it. She's so thin she's practically unrecognizable. I don't know where she fled from, and she's carrying a child. I can't bring myself to do anything to her.
And so, in the midst of hesitation, time passed little by little.

I waited from broad daylight until nightfall. The good news was that my stomach had stopped growling so much, but the bad news was that my stomach was cramping with hunger, and I started seeing double. I even hallucinated seeing a teenager walking alone.
and many more!

This is not an illusion!
Ma Long shook his head sharply, focusing his attention.

Sure enough, in his field of vision, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen or seventeen was walking on the dirt road. Although he could not make out his specific appearance, he was not very strong and was covered in dust, as if he had been traveling for a long time.

In this day and age, is there still a young man who dares to go out alone? Has he gone mad?
Forget it, why bother with all that? It's rare to find someone I can beat, filling my stomach is the most important thing!
Ma Long struggled to his feet. At first, he was a little unsteady on his feet, but tempted by the food, he squeezed out the last bit of his potential and ran out of the grass with all his might.

Then, with trembling hands, he pointed the sickle at the young man.

"This mountain is mine, this road is mine, no, that's not right, if you don't want to die, quickly hand over your valuables—no, I mean your food!"

As mentioned before, Ma Long was extremely unskilled in robbery, and even his polite words were learned from the stage—and because he was too nervous, he got the order wrong.

But the problem is, he still has weapons.

Although the sickle was rusty, the blade was still quite sharp; if it struck a vital spot, it could still kill.

—Although Ma Long himself knew that even if he were really asked to do it, he wouldn't know, and he wouldn't even have the courage to do it.

Otherwise.

For some reason, the unarmed young man neither dodged nor avoided the horse, but looked at the horse with great interest until he himself became a little uneasy, at which point he finally greeted it.

"Excuse me, sir, but I have a question—do you know how to get to Hanshan Temple?"

At this moment, this guy is actually asking for directions?

Ma Long really didn't know what to say.

After a long while, he finally spoke, looking bewildered.

"Hanshan Temple? I have a vague impression of it, but I can't quite remember. You might be able to ask someone else. Wait! I'm robbing you, be serious!"

Seeing that the young man showed no sign of nervousness, Ma Long swung his sickle forcefully, instinctively wanting to scare him—

But in the next instant, the young man suddenly shook his head.

Then, Ma Long's vision blurred, and he suddenly felt a void in his hands.

Stiffly lowering his head, he saw that the sickle in his hand had vanished—but when he turned his gaze again, he saw the young man casually playing with the farm tool.

What just happened?
The incident was so sudden that Ma Long was caught off guard for a moment.

However, the young man soon spoke with a smile.

"Sir, this thing is quite dangerous. Although the blade isn't sharp, tetanus is no joke. Since you don't seem to be very familiar with it, I'll keep it for you for now?"

Looking at that smiling face, Ma Long finally realized something.

Monsters. No, that's not right, it's a ghost. Only a ghost could appear and disappear so mysteriously!

Recalling everything he had witnessed not long ago, he disregarded his sickle and his stomach, let out a scream, and then turned and ran.

pity.

He had only run a few dozen steps when he looked up and saw the young man's face again.

"uncle."

Without any hesitation, he stopped abruptly, then turned around and ran away again.

But the next moment, he saw the other person appear in front of him again.

"Sir, please don't panic, I mean no harm."

He screamed again and turned around, only to be blocked once more.

—That thing seemed to be able to teleport, blocking the escape route at an even faster speed each time.

"Sir, I truly didn't care that you were robbing me; I just genuinely wanted to ask you some questions."

Ma Long didn't listen carefully to what the other person was saying.

After being driven to the brink of despair time and again, he realized he was cornered. Hunger, panic, exhaustion, and utter despair overwhelmed him, and he finally collapsed, his eyes rolling back in his head.
He just collapsed like that.

Oh well.

At least if you die, you won't have to suffer so much.

And this was Ma Long's last consciousness.

The young man looked at Ma Long's fallen body, opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he helplessly slumped his shoulders.

"Do I look that fierce? I almost scared someone to death just by asking a question." To be honest, this was the first time Zhou You had ever felt that Master Chongxu was such a liar.

The task assigned this time was indeed very simple; it was merely to find a certain material and present it as a birthday gift.

The cause was there, the result was there, and in theory, this matter shouldn't have been too troublesome, but the problem just happened in the process itself.

Very simple.

Master Chongxu told him to go to a place called Hanshan Temple, saying that he had some old friends there. He said that once he arrived, they would give him clues to help him find that rare material.

But.
—The sects in this script are all acting crazy. Every single one of them that is publicly known is a fake name, and their real names are only known to the disciples of the sect and a very small number of people!
This led to Zhou You wandering around like a headless fly, searching for countless temples during this time. Those that were abandoned or the wrong ones were fine, at worst he would just make a wasted trip. The problem was that many of them were inhabited by strange monsters and demons, and if he ran into one, there would be a considerable conflict.

Just a few days ago, he stumbled upon a temple where the monks had already been turned into jerky. Now, several earthworms with bald heads were chanting sutras. After a fierce battle, although he managed to kill them all, his Taoist robes were burned to ashes, and he himself was covered in soot.

Fortunately, his running around and stumbling around for so long wasn't entirely fruitless—at least he knew that Hanshan Temple should be in this area, but he would have to ask the locals for the exact location.

But they're locals.
Now it lies dead right before my eyes.

Zhou You scratched his head, but in the end he still drew a tranquility talisman in mid-air. In the previous flash of inspiration and after practicing for a while, he was able to use some similar methods of drawing talismans by drawing qi. Then he flicked the talisman onto Ma Long's head.

A moment later, with a jolt, the unfortunate man finally awoke from his coma.

But the next second, when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Zhou You's kind smile.

"Excuse me."

"This is bizarre!!!!"

Unfortunately, Ma Long failed to grasp the goodwill behind it and immediately tried to run away—but this time someone didn't give him the chance and grabbed his shoulder.

Ma Long instinctively tried to struggle, but the arm, though thin, seemed to weigh a ton, making it hard for him to breathe.

After several attempts, Ma Long finally realized the huge gap in strength and could only turn around in despair, then knelt down on the ground with a 'plop'.

"My lord, I know I was wrong. I won't run away anymore. I just beg you to have mercy and give me a quick death. Don't let me suffer like those people."

Those people?
Zhou You frowned, but still patiently reassured her.

"No, sir, I've told you several times already, I really just wanted to ask you for directions, that's all."

Seeing the other person's skeptical face, Zhou You sighed, then neatly rolled up his sleeves and offered his arm.

"Look, I'm warm, right? I'm clearly a living, breathing person, not some kind of monster or demon."

Ma Long raised his head, glanced around cautiously, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I really misread it. Well, sir... no, I mean, brother."

But before he could change the name, a sudden twitch came from his stomach, making a gurgling sound.

Even with his age, he blushed instinctively.

But Zhou You didn't show any disdain. Instead, he took out some dry rations from his pouch and handed them to Ma Long.

"My business isn't urgent. But you look starving, sir. Why don't you eat something first?"

Looking at the food in the other person's hand, Ma Long swallowed hard, then looked up in disbelief.

"Is this for me?"

"Yes."

But I have no money.

"Since you've already brought it out, naturally you won't take a single penny."

Ma Long took it shakily, gripped it tightly with all his might, remained silent for a long time, then lowered his head and began to wolf it down.

How could a perfectly healthy person be starving like this in a place that isn't experiencing a drought or snowstorm?

Zhou You was somewhat puzzled, but he still watched from the side until Ma Long stuffed the last bit of food into his mouth, and then he handed him a water bag.

"Sir, have some water to soothe your throat, so you don't choke."

Ma Long uncorked the cork, took a few big gulps, then wiped his mouth and said, panting.

"Sir, you've really saved my life! I'm not good with words and don't know how to thank you. But just ask me whatever you want to know. I'll never hide anything from you!"

Seeing his tearful gratitude, Zhou You didn't say anything more, but continued with the previous question.

"Excuse me, sir, do you know where Hanshan Temple is?"

Ma Long pondered it carefully for a while, but in the end he still said with guilt.

"I vaguely remember the village head mentioning this name before, but I really don't know the exact location. I'm truly sorry."

—Alright, at least we have a clue!

After running around like a headless fly for more than half a month, Zhou You finally breathed a sigh of relief and said.

"May I ask where this place is? I can go and ask myself."

It was a very ordinary sentence, but for some reason, the moment Ma Long heard it, his expression suddenly froze.

They looked as if they were experiencing immense fear, and didn't even dare to move an inch.

After a long while, he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid you won't be able to find the village head."

"Did he pass away or go on a trip?"

"...No, at least not when I left."

"Why is that?"

Ma Long took a deep breath and continued.

"Because the village is currently occupied by a group of thugs, there are dozens of them, so you probably won't be able to get in."

Upon hearing this, Zhou You burst out laughing.

"Sir, you don't know this, I have some skills. Dozens of robbers are nothing to me."

However, before he could finish speaking, Ma Long interrupted him abruptly.

“I witnessed your skills just now, but those thugs weren’t ordinary bandits, they were…”

"Corrupted by demons and monsters, it has been completely transformed into a monster's possession."

(End of this chapter)