I run a Taoist temple in a bizarre world.

Chapter 26 Selling Lamp Oil

After bidding farewell to Chi Le, Chen Hao walked along the mountain path towards Changxi Village.

The road back to Changxi Village from Qingshan Temple is relatively easy to travel.

The mountain roads are mostly made of solid, hard soil.

For Chen Hao, a young man in his prime who often went up the mountain to gather firewood, there wasn't much difference between walking on a smooth official road and walking on a smooth official road.

But at this moment, he was extremely cautious in his movements.

Before taking each step, he would tentatively place his foot lightly on the muddy ground.

They tested the muddy path beneath their feet to see if it was firm.

He even rubbed the ground repeatedly with the balls of his feet before taking a step.

To avoid him slipping and falling due to the layer of fine sand floating on the road.

Even when he was cutting firewood and walking along steeper, more dangerous mountain paths, he was never this cautious.

All of this was because of the bulging cloth bag in his arms.

Chen Hao bent his arms and held him tightly in his embrace.

Wrapped carefully in cloth and protected by Chen Hao, was the [Spirit-Controlling Lamp Oil] that he had just obtained from the abbot of Qingshan Temple.

"Xiao Cheng, just wait for me a little longer, I'll be right back, it'll be alright, it'll be alright..."

Chen Hao's face no longer showed the restraint he had at Qingshan Temple; instead, it was filled with the joy of being about to rescue someone.

Changxi Village is indeed not far from Qingshan Temple.

With this cautious walking posture, Chen Hao walked on the mountain road for less than forty minutes before he could see the first few houses in Changxi Village.

"Hey, Mouse, what treasure are you carrying around so tightly?"

"Yeah, Mouse, he's been nowhere to be seen since early morning these past few days. Could he have really found some treasure and secretly made a fortune?"

Two men from the same village, carrying hoes, walked towards the fields outside the village. When they saw Chen Hao hurrying in at the village entrance, they surrounded him and teased him.

Chen Hao chuckled a few times and said.

"My two good brothers, please stop teasing me. I need to go home first."

Changxi Village is not large, with only about thirty households. It only takes about ten minutes to walk from one end of the village to the other.

The neighbors, while not exactly as close as family, at least know each other very well and are quite familiar with each other.

If you grew up in Changxi Village, you could tell what dishes each family was eating just by walking from one end of the village to the other with a bowl of coarse rice at mealtimes.

The two men didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards Chen Hao.

Hearing Chen Hao say that, they didn't stop him too much. They just teased Chen Hao a few more times before letting him leave.

"Hey, has something been up with Mouse lately?"

"They were nowhere to be seen early in the morning. When they came back, they either ran home or to the east end of the village."

"And lately, he's been working like a goose we raise at home, dull and clueless, I don't know what he's thinking."

Another man put down the hoe from his shoulder and rested his hands on the hoe handle.

"Who would know? He hasn't been chatting with us lately. His parents died early, and he's been raising his little sister all by himself since he was a child."

"She's soft-hearted, doesn't like to talk, and is shy. She doesn't tell us anything that happens to her."

The man leaning on the hoe handle watched Chen Hao's cautious figure walk away and sighed.

"That kid, sigh... Shall I go visit him after I'm done in the fields?"

"Bring some food so we can cook at his place, otherwise he won't accept it," another man replied. "Hmm... bring plenty."

"Okay, my hen has laid a few more eggs recently, so take a few more with you. Chen Cheng, that little girl, is growing a lot lately, so it's not good for her not to eat well."

Chen Hao, who had already walked away, did not hear the conversation between the two men.

He's focused solely on important matters now.

I got home and pushed open the door.

The house was small, sparsely furnished, and somewhat dilapidated, but it looked clean and dust-free.

It's obvious at a glance that the homeowner is quite clean and cleans regularly.

I heard a noise at the door.

A tiny head peeked out, perched on the doorframe, its voice soft and gentle.

"Brother, you're back."

Chen Hao put away the lamp oil, reached out and rubbed the fluffy little head, and said softly with affection.

"Didn't I tell you to get some rest?"

Chen Cheng squinted, seemingly enjoying Chen Hao patting her head.

"I feel fine. Can I skip my medication today?"

Chen Hao refused outright, and before withdrawing his hand, he patted Chen Cheng's head a few times.

"Don't talk nonsense. You'll get better soon. Just keep taking your medicine, keep taking your medicine."

Chen Cheng frowned slightly, his big eyes blinking rapidly.

"Brother, really?"

"Of course it's true. Go back to bed and lie down. I'll go get you something to eat. Is there anything you want to eat?"

"I want to eat corn porridge! But I want it to be thinner, I can't chew it if it's too thick."

As Chen Cheng's older brother, they lived together for more than ten years.

Chen Hao knew exactly what this girl was thinking.

She simply wanted to make him drink more millet, even if it meant sacrificing her own comfort.

Chen Hao deliberately put on a stern face and urged him on.

"Go back to bed and rest now, or I'll give you the largest amount of millet porridge you can get!"

"No!" Chen Cheng cried out plaintively, still trying to struggle. "Brother...actually, I think I'm really, really much better."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Cheng saw Chen Hao's serious, threatening gaze.

The meaning conveyed by that gaze was very clear.

"If you talk back again, I'm not going back to bed, I'll just cook you corn rice!"

At the dinner table, Chen Hao used an absolutely authoritative and unquestionable tone to make Chen Cheng eat the bowl of thin porridge with more millet.

"By the way, brother, why did you make me spend the night at Aunt Zhao's house next door the other night?"

Chen Cheng lowered his head and chewed on millet, but his eyes were secretly observing Chen Hao's reaction.

Chen Hao paused, holding the bowl, as he recalled what had happened that night.

The scoundrel Zhang got into an argument, and then "borrowed" nearly half of the [Imperial Spirit Lamp Oil].

Left with no other choice, they gave the remaining lamp oil to Aunt Zhao and secretly put all of the family's belongings into Chen Cheng's luggage.

Only then did we reach Qingshan Temple...

Chen Hao looked at the [Spirit-Controlling Lamp Oil] wrapped tightly in cloth on another table.

No one knows what he's thinking right now.

Chen Hao subtly tightened his grip on the chopsticks, causing the two chopsticks to rub against each other and make a cracking sound.

Chen Cheng thought it was her question that caused Chen Hao's sudden change in expression.

He stopped stealing glances, apologized, and focused on eating.

Chen Hao exhaled a breath of stale air and offered words of comfort.

"It's okay, go back and rest after you finish eating."

"Um."

Chen Cheng nodded obediently.

After cleaning up the dishes, Chen Hao put away the lamp oil, got up and went out. Before closing the door, Chen Hao reminded Chen Cheng.

"Stay home and be good, I'll bring the medicine back in a bit."

Traveling cautiously, Chen Hao soon arrived at the eastern end of the village, which was already on the very edge of Changxi Village.

Looking around, apart from a dilapidated thatched hut overgrown with weeds in front of Chen Hao, this was the only house within a hundred meters.

Walk along the fresh path formed by the weeds he had recently trampled down.

Chen Hao quickly arrived at the door of the thatched hut.

After gently tapping the door a few times with his fingers, the wooden door opened a narrow crack.

Through the gap, Chen Hao could see half of his face, which was covered in fat.

"Did you get what I asked for?"

The owner of the eyes spoke, his voice rough, like sandpaper rubbing back and forth on rough wood.

Chen Hao nodded in agreement, took out what he was clutching in his arms, and waved it in front of his eyes through the gap.

"Take it."

Click, click...

The hinges were rotten together, making it very difficult to open the wooden door.

The gap was large enough for Chen Hao to squeeze through sideways, after which the movement stopped.

After squeezing through the door, the first thing Chen Hao did was hand the lamp oil wrapped in cloth to the disheveled middle-aged man in front of him, whose face was full of scars and whose body was undulating with flesh.

The man took the lamp oil and casually tossed a bag of unremarkable-looking medicinal herbs to Chen Hao.

"Zhang the Scoundrel, can this medicine really cure my sister's illness?"

Chen Hao caught the medicinal herbs, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"Of course, you've seen the results; your sister is much better, isn't she?"

"Although everyone calls me a scoundrel, how could I possibly pin this on Brother Chen Hao?"

Lai Pi grinned, his filthy yellow teeth looking especially disgusting in the sunlight.