leonardwarren Chapter 2 The Abbot of the Broken Temple
Chapter 2 The Abbot of the Broken Temple
Chi Le held the wooden door firmly against it.
Seeing that the door remained locked, the person knocking seemed to be getting impatient.
The force coming from the door panel grew stronger, the knocking became more intense, and the door panel trembled more rapidly.
"Open the door, temple keeper! I'm Chen Hao from Changxi Village at the foot of the mountain. I know you're inside. Please, temple keeper brother!"
His cries were filled with intense despair and fear, as if some unbearable horror existed around him.
Hearing the cries and pleas outside the door, Chi Le was taken aback.
people?
He had inexplicably come to this Taoist temple several times, but this was the first time he had encountered anyone other than himself.
Should we open the door?
The question only lingered in Chi Le's mind for a second before he decisively rejected it.
In this eerie environment, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
He couldn't help but wonder if what was outside the door was actually a person!
You know, just a few glances at the gray fog outside the door gave him goosebumps.
It's hard to imagine just how terrifying something must be to be able to move through this gray fog!
Chi Le adjusted his stance to make it easier to exert more force against the wooden door.
This door must not be opened!
"Please, temple keeper, I don't want to die!"
There was crying and shouting outside the door, with rapid breathing, as if the person was in a state of extreme fright.
As he shouted, Chi Le could also faintly hear strange roars from afar, roars he had never heard before.
As time passed, the roar seemed to grow closer and more eerie, sending chills down one's spine.
The door panel vibrated even more violently, and a lot of dust fell down with it.
Chi Le, who had never exercised much, felt as if all the bones in his body had been shaken out of place.
Just then, a strange thought popped into Chi Le's mind.
Like a pop-up window on a computer, it suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Should we allow the other party to enter Qingshan Temple?
【Yes】
【no】
Several dark gold paragraphs of text floated before his eyes.
A subtle yet textured luster flows across the text.
The piercing cries and the increasingly approaching, unknown roars intertwined in my ears.
The door panel vibrated violently against my shoulder.
Everything seemed to be urging him to make a choice.
Her thoughts churned wildly. Chi Le gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, moved aside, and made her choice.
【yes】!
At the moment he made his choice.
Squeak.
No matter how much the man outside, who called himself Chen Hao, shook or knocked, he couldn't open the wooden door.
opened.
Upon seeing this, Chen Hao's face lit up with ecstatic joy.
They rushed into the temple without waiting.
He lost his footing and fell to the ground.
But he didn't have time to cry out in pain. Instead, he quickly used his hands and feet to scramble away from the wooden door.
Just after Chen Hao entered, a dark figure hidden in the mist tried to follow him into the Taoist temple.
Unexpectedly, there seemed to be an invisible barrier behind the open wooden door.
The black image resembled waves crashing against the barrier, splashing up several black sprays.
The surging tide crashed against the wooden door, causing it to creak and groan under the weight of the water.
A new prompt appeared before Chi Le.
【Main Hall (Durability: 2/10)】
Although its durability is almost gone.
Fortunately, no matter how hard it hit, the wooden door, which seemed about to collapse at any moment, held on for one second after another.
It can't get in.
Seeing the dark figure outside the door trying repeatedly but unable to break through the wooden door, Chi Le breathed a sigh of relief.
He made the right bet!
Although it's unknown how long 2 points of durability will last.
He was safe, at least for the time that the main hall's durability was completely reduced to zero.
Ignore the frantic ramming of the indistinct shadowy figure outside the door.
Next up is the person in front of you.
Chi Le wanted to try to pry some useful information out of him.
This is one of the reasons why Chi Le overturned his initial decision and was willing to risk letting him in.
After all, this was the only unexpected change he had encountered during his many visits to this Taoist temple.
As for the other reason...
It was a panel-like information that had appeared in front of me along with the man knocking on the door.
Two changes unlike anything seen before—it's worth taking a gamble!
At worst, I can simply "wake up" and go back to my bed in my rented room.
He had tried, and although he could only reach the Taoist temple by sleeping, he could leave the temple with just a thought.
And that's the source of his confidence to take the gamble.
Chi Le looked at Chen Hao, who was dressed in coarse linen clothes and looked like a villager.
At this moment, Chen Hao seemed to have lost his soul in fright.
His eyes were fixed on the dark figure outside the door banging on the wooden door, his chest heaving rapidly.
The cold sweat that beaded on my forehead didn't bother me as it trickled down my cheeks and dripped to the ground.
Snapped!
Chi Le snapped his fingers.
As if by reflex, Chen Hao turned to look at Chi Le, but his eyes were unfocused and lifeless, staring blankly at him.
"Looks like he's terrified."
After waiting for a while, Chen Hao's unfocused eyes refocused. Seeing that the dark figure outside the door couldn't get in, he came to his senses and turned to Chi Le.
"Thank you so much, temple..."
Chen Hao immediately knelt down and bowed his head. When he caught a glimpse of Chi Le's appearance, he was so frightened that his voice stopped abruptly.
This is not a temple keeper!
However, he was quick-witted. Since they were allowed to stay in this strange Taoist temple and let him in, there was only one possibility.
The abbot of this Qingshan Temple!
Chen Hao quickly changed his tune.
"Thank you, Abbot!"
His mouth was full of relief at surviving the ordeal.
Chi Le watched quietly, without much other expression, pondering and carefully choosing her words.
First they called me the temple keeper, then after seeing my appearance they called me the abbot...
Chi Le sat down on the only relatively intact chair in the Taoist temple, her tone indifferent.
"Why come now?"
Upon hearing Chi Le's voice, Chen Hao stiffened and instinctively raised his head to look at Chi Le.
In his eyes, the surroundings were shrouded in a light white, cloud-like mist.
The only things that could be clearly seen were the "Master" in front of him and the offering table behind him.
The "abbot" was dressed in a dark, loose Taoist robe, his face seemingly shrouded in mist, and all that could be seen was a chaotic mess.
The shock he felt from this extraordinary scene was no less than, and perhaps even far greater than, the shock from the dark figure outside the door!
He quickly bowed his head and prostrated himself on the ground.
It was as if raising one's head just now was a great disrespect.
Chen Hao's lips trembled, his voice filled with reverence.
"Master, I..."
It was as if she was trying to calm herself down, or as if she was sorting out her memories and organizing her thoughts.
After a long silence, Chen Hao finally lowered his head and spoke.
"Abbot, I have no choice but to come to Qingshan Temple today. The lamp oil I asked for from the temple keeper a few days ago was mostly taken by Zhang, the scoundrel from the village."
"The lamp oil is running out, and it's going to be a problem if we can even make it through the night. Without lamp oil to light the lamp, and without the strength of the temple keeper or the abbot, I'm sure I'll be done for tonight."
"I had no choice but to hurry here to ask you for some lamp oil, but who would have thought that I was still too slow and didn't see the temple gate until dark, and that I was targeted by a demon."
"Those evil demons really do rip out people's hearts and livers, drink their blood, and devour their flesh!"
"If it weren't for your divine mercy, Abbot, I wouldn't even dare to imagine..."
……
Although Chen Hao mixed his own opinions into his words, occasionally praising himself, he also talked a lot about things related to the Taoist temple and the temple keeper.
But this did give Chi Le a lot of information.
"First of all, it's basically certain that I've transmigrated, and into an extraordinary world at that."
"When the sun hangs in the sky, this world is not much different from the world I live in."
"But when the sun sets."
"This world then reveals its dangerous side."
"A thick gray fog permeated the entire world. In the fog, where visibility was low, demons and evil spirits lurked and made their move."
"Hunt down all humans who are in the fog, without any means of defense or the strength to protect themselves."
"Only when the sun rises and the thick fog dissipates will the eerie and evil spirits retreat."
"Fortunately, this dilapidated Taoist temple is safe; demons and evil spirits cannot enter, and it seems to have a close relationship with me."
After Chen Hao entered the room, Chi Le had a premonition.
He controlled the Taoist temple and possessed corresponding power.
[Permission] [Exile]
[Permission] for others to enter and observe.
[Exile] Others are banished from the temple.
The power to grant permission has already been used; the power to banish has not yet been used.
Thinking about it, Chi Le's gaze first fell on Chen Hao in the Taoist temple.
His gaze then drifted to the outside of the wooden door, where a dark figure was still trying to break in.
"Never mind, I'll try again next time."
Chen Hao's words revealed a corner of the world's secrets, but also brought him new problems.
"What is the thick fog? And what are demons and evil spirits?"
Who is the temple keeper? Since he used to be in charge of this Taoist temple, where is he now?
Most importantly, it's about my control over this Taoist temple...
One question after another popped into Chi Le's mind that she couldn't answer for the time being, and her thoughts began to wander.
"He called me 'Master,' saying I was quite capable." Thinking of this, Chi Le smiled and shook her head slightly. "But I'm just a recent graduate, a working stiff; I struggle even to climb five flights of stairs..."
……
Chen Hao hung his head and lay prostrate on the ground.
From as far back as he can remember, a habit was quietly established under the serious instructions of his family.
Whenever the sun dips below the mountaintop, doors and windows must be closed and candles lit.
The lamp oil had to be obtained from the Qingshan Temple.
This way, evil spirits and demons from outside won't dare to enter the house.
In his mother's words.
"Qingshan Temple enshrines true immortals and gods. The abbot has extraordinary abilities, and even the lamp oil is blessed. Which ordinary demon or evil spirit would dare to approach it?"
Chen Hao had always been skeptical about this.
Having lived most of his life, he had never actually seen a "master of the temple" or even stepped into a Taoist temple.
The Taoist temple is usually guarded by a scraggly-bearded uncle who keeps everyone away.
Only when the lamp oil is collected every two months will the temple keeper set a date in advance so that the villagers can come to the Taoist temple on time.
Moreover, the oil for the lamps was always collected in the open space outside the Taoist temple, and they never went inside the temple gate.
At that time, the temple keeper will set up an offering table in the open space.
On the right side of the table are pre-packaged lamp oils, on the left are incense sticks, and in the middle is an incense burner.
By offering incense, one can receive lamp oil from the temple keeper.
A dark figure roared outside the door, and Chen Hao subconsciously took a few steps back.
But then he suddenly remembered that Chi Le was still sitting upright, so he immediately stopped what he was doing and respectfully lowered his head a few notches.
Noticing Chen Hao's subtle actions, Chi Le thought for a moment and then spoke.
"We'll leave at dawn."
The dark figure outside the wooden door has good endurance and stamina; it's still banging on the door repeatedly.
Sending Chen Hao out now would be tantamount to sending him to his death.
Upon hearing this, Chen Hao felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately kowtowed several times.
"Thank you, Abbot!"
Chi Le looked at Chen Hao's actions and felt a headache coming on.
To be honest, although I need to maintain the dignity of my identity as the "Abbot" now.
But having been exposed to modern knowledge, he was really not used to others kneeling and kowtowing to him.
"There's no need for that in the future."
Chen Hao was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening and quickly got up from the ground.
Chen Hao stood there awkwardly, still not daring to look up at Chi Le.
Chi Le sat upright in his chair, pondering the information he already knew.
If you ignore the dark figure banging on the door, the atmosphere around the two of them could be described as peaceful.
Time passed slowly, and Chen Hao, who had been feeling uneasy, remembered the temple keeper's murmurs.
"...entering the temple to offer incense..."
He raised his head slightly and saw an empty incense burner without any burning incense.
"Abbot, shall I go offer incense?"
Chi Le waved his hand, indicating that it was up to him.
He had tried offering incense to the statues of the gods on his first two visits to the Taoist temple.
I wondered what changes might occur, but unfortunately nothing happened.
With permission granted, Chen Hao walked to the offering table, picked up the incense sticks, lit them, bowed respectfully a few times, and then inserted them into the incense burner.
The thin, white plumes of smoke rose straight up to the roof.
The not-so-large Taoist temple was instantly filled with the smell of incense.
Suddenly, something strange happened again in front of Chi Le.
[Received a devout kowtow from Chen Hao, incense offering +2!]