The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

Chapter 127 The Tumultuous Events at the Small Temple (Fourth Update by Bai Jun)

The temple had been abandoned for who knows how many years. The vermilion temple gates were already mottled and faded, revealing the original color of the wood underneath. The roof tiles were incomplete, and the corners of the walls were covered with green vines.

In daylight, this scene might only appear desolate.

But on this autumn evening, the afterglow of dusk falls on the dilapidated eaves, adding a touch of desolate and tranquil Zen-like tranquility.

Shen An stopped involuntarily, his gaze falling on the temple gate.

On either side of the door frame, a couplet can still be faintly seen. The ink has long been blurred by wind and rain, but the spirit and character revealed in the characters are still clearly discernible.

No monks sweep the ground, only the moon serves as a lamp in the temple.

Great couplet!

Seeing him stop, Di Xiu glanced at it as well and laughed, "This mountain god temple has been abandoned for who knows how long. It has been left untouched because it can provide shelter from the wind and rain."

Just as Shen An was about to speak, a very faint, suppressed sob suddenly drifted out from inside the dilapidated temple on the evening breeze.

The voice was mournful and plaintive, like a sob, as if it contained immense grievances and despair. In the quiet mountains and forests, it was especially unsettling to hear.

Shen An's brows furrowed instantly.

Di Xiu's expression also changed. He listened intently for a moment, then said gravely, "Senior brother, it sounds like a woman crying inside. This—something's not right."

At the foot of Mount Song, in the place where the leader of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sect Alliance resides, under the clear sky, how could a woman be weeping in such a dilapidated temple?

"Let's go in and take a look," Shen An said in a deep voice.

"Very well!" Di Xiu immediately drew his long sword from his waist, his face filled with righteous indignation. "How can we, the disciples of Mount Song, sit idly by!"

The two of them, one in front and one behind, carefully pushed open the half-closed temple door that made a strange "creaking" sound, and slipped inside.

The temple was dimly lit, and the air was filled with the smell of dust and decaying wood.

In the very center, a mountain god statue with half its head missing stands on the altar, its face blurred, appearing somewhat eerie.

On the beam in front of the altar, a rope made of strips of cloth torn from several pieces of women's clothing was hanging conspicuously.

Below the rope, two women dressed in coarse cloth were embracing each other and weeping.

One of them looked older, around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, while the other was still in his teens, only about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Both of them had disheveled hair, rumpled clothes, and tear-streaked faces, their expressions filled with sorrow and despair.

They were sobbing softly as they straightened the rope, clearly preparing to end their lives there.

This scene stunned both Shen An and Di Xiu.

The two women, hearing the commotion at the door and seeing two men burst in, were terrified!

The older woman screamed, pulling the younger girl behind her. Trembling, her eyes filled with terror and pleading, she cried out in a hoarse voice, "No—don't come any closer! Please, don't take us back! Just consider it too late, let us die! Please!"

The young girl was terrified, her face pale, and she clung tightly to the older woman's clothes. Her once clear and bright eyes were now filled with boundless fear, and she couldn't even cry out.

Upon seeing this, Di Xiu frowned and was about to step forward to explain.

Shen An, however, calmly reached out to stop him, then slowly took a step back, creating distance between himself and the two women. He spoke in as gentle and calm a tone as possible, "Ladies, don't be afraid. We are disciples of the Songshan Sect. We were just passing by when we heard crying. Fearing something might have happened, we came in to check. We—have no ill intentions."

But the two women were already terrified and refused to believe it.

The older woman still held tightly to the young girl, her voice trembling as she said, "You can't fool us! That demon—he—he's also a martial artist! You must be with him!"

Upon hearing this, Shen An's heart sank.

He said no more, but took out the pouch from his waist, took out a water pouch and a piece of still warm dry food, and slowly walked forward and placed it five steps away from the two women.

Then, he stepped back to the doorway and stood beside Di Xiu, saying softly, "We'll stay here and won't come any closer. You must be hungry and thirsty. Eat something, drink some water, and calm down. Once you've calmed down, if you trust us, tell us what happened. If you don't trust us, you can leave after you've rested."

"If you go down the mountain, you should be able to find a town not far away. If you go up the mountain, that's where my Songshan Sect is located. My Songshan Sect is the leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sect Alliance, a proper righteous sect, and we will definitely protect you."

His actions and words finally eased the fear in the eyes of the two women slightly.

Seeing the two men step back, the older woman felt relieved. She hesitated, looking at the water pouch and dry rations on the ground, and then at the two young men at the door who had always kept their distance from them.

Especially the young man who had spoken so gently just now—she realized now how trustworthy his face was, and her guard finally began to lower a little.

They had run all the way here and were extremely hungry and thirsty.

If he hadn't been physically exhausted and unable to run anymore, he wouldn't have thought of ending his life.

After a long while, the older woman shakily released her grip on the girl, carefully took a few steps forward, grabbed the water pouch and dry rations from the ground, and quickly retreated.

The two wolfed down the not-so-large piece of dry rations, and after drinking a few sips of water, their pale faces finally regained a bit of color.

Perhaps it was because they had food in their stomachs and had regained some strength, or perhaps it was Shen An's consistently gentle and patient attitude that finally moved them. The two of them finally burst into tears.

This time, the crying was no longer the suppressed sobbing of before.

Shen An and Di Xiu simply stood quietly at the door.

After a long while, the crying gradually subsided.

The older woman wiped her swollen eyes with her sleeve, leaned against the wall, slowly stood up, and bowed deeply to Shen An and the other person.

"Thank you so much—thank you both for your kindness." She said in a hoarse voice, "Just now—just now we were too flustered and misunderstood you. Please forgive us."

Shen An said gently, "You flatter me, young lady. It was nothing, just a small favor. But I wonder what misfortune has befallen you two young ladies that forces you to take this desperate path?"

When the topic of her painful experience came up, tears welled up in the woman's eyes again. She choked back sobs and recounted the whole story in fits and starts.

It turns out that they were sisters-in-law, and their husbands' families lived in a town near Mount Song. They made a living by running a tofu shop. Although they were not rich, they lived a harmonious and peaceful life.

Just a month ago, a highly skilled villain broke into her home, injured her husband, and kidnapped her and her husband's sister, imprisoning them in a secluded place in the nearby mountains.

"That—that beast!" The older woman sobbed uncontrollably as she spoke. "He—he comes every day—every day to humiliate us, my sister-in-law and my brother-in-law—if we resist even slightly, he—he beats us—waaaaaah—"

The girl beside her, recalling that unbearable experience, curled up and trembled.

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