Simultaneous Transmigration: The Re-merging of 99 Selves

Chapter 189 Lanruo Temple

Lin Chaoying shook the sword, flicking the blood onto the ground, then sheathed it, her brows furrowing slightly: "With such skill, why does she choose not to follow the righteous path, but instead engage in this despicable act of robbery and plunder?"

Scarface lay on the ground, clutching his hands and howling in pain, trembling all over, unable to utter a word.

"Sister Lin, what do you think of his martial arts skills?" Zhao Yu asked.

Lin Chaoying pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Being able to withstand a few of my moves is quite good. With skills like this, you could open a martial arts school and live a comfortable life. Why bother hanging around on the streets?"

After saying that, she glanced coldly at the man and said, "Since your heart is wicked, it's no pity that you ended up like this."

"I see." Zhao Yu seemed to understand something. "Perhaps, it's not that he's unwilling, but that he can't."

Judging from their behavior, these people are nothing more than street thugs and hooligans, yet even such people possess considerable martial arts skills.

Lin Chaoying saw these people as unambitious, but Zhao Yu saw another possibility.

This world is far more advanced than the Southern Song Dynasty; martial arts, when practiced to a profound level, can even rival demons and evil spirits.

These low-level thugs, having benefited from global economic growth, naturally became much more formidable.

Even someone like that is comparable to an ordinary martial artist in the world of The Condor Heroes.

Zhao Yu stepped forward, squatted down, and pressed several acupoints on the man with his fingertips to temporarily stop the bleeding.

"I'll ask you a few questions. Answer honestly, and I'll spare your life."

"Hero! Hero, please ask! I will tell you everything I know!" Scarface was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely, and he dared not hide anything.

"Tell me, besides the haunting, what other unusual things have happened at Lanruo Temple lately?"

"No, nothing unusual—it's just...it's haunted, nobody dares to go there—"

It seems the plot hasn't happened yet, but he needs to confirm it again.

"Has a scholar named Ning come to town recently to collect debts?"

,

Perhaps he really hadn't seen it before, after all, Guo Bei County wasn't small, but this further confirmed Zhao Yu's suspicions about the plot's progress; Yan Chixia should still be at Lanruo Temple.

Zhao Yu's eyes darkened slightly, and he asked again, "One last question: about half a year ago, a young man who sold talismans in the east of the city died. Who killed him?"

The question in question is about the cause of death of the original inhabitant of this world.

Scarface thought for a moment: "This, how would I know—even the yamen can't find out. But, but there's a group of people over by the city gate who take rewards from the yamen to seek revenge and hunt down criminals; they might know—"

Zhao Yu stared at him for a moment, and seeing that he didn't seem to be faking it, he slowly nodded.

The next moment, he raised his hand and gently pressed it on the other person's head.

Scarface's eyes were wide open, his body twitched twice, and then he stopped breathing.

"Let's go." Zhao Yu stood up and clapped his hands.

The two walked side by side out of the alley, and Lin Chaoying couldn't help but ask, "Why are you asking about a debt collector?"

"That scholar is a key figure at Lanruo Temple. Through his information, I can easily meet the person I want to see."

In the alley behind the two, six corpses lay scattered about, their eyes wide open in death, gradually swallowed by the twilight.

The direction out of the city, Lanruo Temple is just ten miles away, quietly lurking in the darkness.

Zhao Yu did not delve further into the cause of the original owner's death.

With Lin Chaoying by his side, Zhao Yu knew that mentioning the matter would only increase her worries. He secretly kept the clue in mind, intending to investigate it later.

The two left Guobei County and traveled along the official road in the northwest direction.

The road was desolate, and occasionally a few groups of villains would come forward to harass Lin Chaoying because of her outstanding appearance. But Zhao Yu didn’t even have to lift a finger; Lin Chaoying would simply swat them away with a flash of her sword.

The journey was quite peaceful.

Both of them possessed superb lightness skills and moved with incredible speed, quickly reaching their destination.

Ahead lay a dense forest, with ancient trees reaching for the sky—the very area where Lanruo Temple was located.

Standing outside the woods, despite the bright sunshine overhead, Lin Chaoying subconsciously frowned.

A faint, chilling aura seeped out from the forest, making one's hair stand on end and triggering a frantic alert from the senses, as if prickled by thorns.

"Sister Lin, are you alright?" Zhao Yu reached out and took her hand, his warm internal energy slowly flowing into her palm.

Lin Chaoying's expression softened slightly, and she nodded, saying, "It's alright. It's just that as soon as I arrived here, I felt uneasy, as if I were being watched by something. The things in this forest are indeed not simple."

"I told you before, the ghosts here are real," Zhao Yu said solemnly. "Deep inside, there's also a tree demon that has cultivated for a thousand years, and its power is considerable. If you feel unwell, shall I send you back first?"

"No need." Lin Chaoying gently shook her head, then grasped his hand in return. Her fingertips were slightly cool, but her grip was firm. "Wherever you are, I will be. If we really encounter danger, you can send me away then. I will never hold you back."

Looking into her clear eyes, Zhao Yu felt a warmth in his heart and stopped trying to persuade her.

He took out several neatly folded talismans from his pocket and handed them to Lin Chaoying: "These are some spirit talismans I drew. They may not be able to subdue ghosts and monsters, but they are better than nothing. Sister Lin, keep them close to you."

"You can also draw talismans?"

Lin Chaoying took the talisman. It was slightly warm to the touch, and a faint trace of yang energy emanated from her fingertips, which surprised her.

Zhao Yu smiled and said, "We can't have come to this world for nothing. Let's go in and take a look."

The two walked side by side into the dense forest.

As soon as we entered the forest, the light suddenly dimmed.

The towering ancient trees are lush and verdant, blocking out the sun. Only a few scattered spots of light can be seen through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; there were no birdsong or insect chirps, only the distinct rustling of footsteps on decaying leaves.

The deeper you go, the stronger the chilling aura becomes.

Lin Chaoying gripped the hilt of her sword, her eyes sharp, constantly alert to her surroundings.

Zhao Yu suddenly stopped and listened carefully: "There are quite a few things following us."

Lin Chaoying followed his gaze and saw pairs of crimson eyes peeking out from behind the dark bushes on both sides—a pack of wild wolves.

They bared their teeth, emitting low growls from their throats, yet they were wary of the imposing aura emanating from the two figures, daring not to pounce rashly, but merely hanging at a distance, like a group of ghosts ready to devour their prey.

"They're some kind of intelligent beasts, though."

Zhao Yu chuckled and didn't pay any attention.

These wolves, imbued with the evil aura of the tree spirit, were far more ferocious than ordinary wild beasts, yet they still couldn't harm them.

The two continued on their way, and the wolves followed them all the way, but in the end they did not dare to get close.

After walking for about half an incense stick's time, the trees ahead gradually thinned out, and the outline of a dilapidated ancient temple slowly came into view.

The temple gate was already half collapsed, and the three large characters "Lanruo Temple" on the plaque were mottled and peeled off, the paint faded, leaving only blurry engravings.

The stone beasts on both sides of the mountain gate are headless and limbless, covered with moss, and spider webs hang from the eaves, swaying gently in the wind.

The courtyard wall had mostly collapsed, and the weeds grew taller than a person, exuding a desolate and dilapidated atmosphere.

This is Lanruo Temple.