Yefutidaolu

Chapter 26 Ruined Temple
Gao Jian naturally had no idea what the green-clothed boy was thinking. He just looked at these strange-looking monsters.

To be honest, it was the first time he saw a non-hostile demon.

That’s right, although Gao Jian could feel that these demons wanted to eat him, they did not have any hostility.

It’s like facing a piece of crystal clear braised pork on the table, would you feel hostility?

No, you just want to taste it.

There were also some aquatic creatures, such as toads, crabs, catfish, etc., but they had no appetite and were just as curious as Gao Jian.

It seems that aquatic people rarely see humans?
Isn't this unreasonable? This place is not uncommon.

Gao Jian was thinking about all this when he was escorted by a little boy in green to an inn a few hundred meters outside.

"It's dangerous outside, sir, you'd better stay here and come back to buy a horse tomorrow." The little boy said with a smile.

"Are all the vegetarians open here as well?" Gao Jian asked.

"Of course." The little boy nodded.

"You're quite good at doing business." Gao Jian found it a little funny. The owner of Jinyouzhai was quite interesting.

"How much does it cost per night here?" Gao Jian asked again.

"Only one gold." said the little boy.

Then he immediately added: "It's already very cheap. There's a restaurant here, so demons and ghosts often come here. It's not uncommon to see thousands of demons in one night. If you can't protect yourself, it's better to stay in a hotel."

Gao Jian weighed his money and said, "Then I won't stay here anymore. I can just come back tomorrow morning, right?"

"Sir, your life is at stake, your life is at stake!" The green-clothed boy hastily advised, "Your cultivation is not yet fully developed. If you go outside, you will be targeted by demons and ghosts!"

"Don't worry." Gao Jian said casually, then left the inn.

The green-clothed boy saw that he couldn't persuade Gao Jian, so he could only sigh and let Gao Jian leave.

I have advised everyone I should, so let it be.

When he becomes a ghost, he might come to Jinyouzhai to buy things again!

As for Gao Jian, he was naturally not afraid.

So many headless ghosts have been killed, so Gao Jian didn’t really care about these few evil ghosts.

That inn is so expensive, only fools would stay there. At worst you can just sleep in the wild.

In the previous journey with Bai Ping that lasted more than a month, they had mostly slept in the open air, so Gao Jian was already accustomed to living in the wild.

When I walked outside, I heard gusts of cold wind. It was obvious that all the demons and ghosts around who needed to buy things were rushing towards Jinyouzhai.

Gao Jian shook his head and found a place at the foot of the mountain sheltered from the wind to sit down.

There is also a dilapidated temple next to it. It seems that it was used to worship a mountain god in the past, but the mountain god is probably gone, so it has become a dilapidated temple.

This kind of thing is quite common. Gao Jian has seen quite a few of them on the road. In this world, there are indeed many things like 'mountain gods and water gods'. Some are monsters who occupy the mountains and become kings, deifying themselves as gods and enjoying incense. Some are righteous gods appointed by the imperial court. Each has its good and bad sides.

A kind-hearted person will really protect someone if he enjoys the incense.

Some bad ones, after enjoying the incense, also ask for blood food.

Gao Jian: So far, the court has not paid any attention to these things.

During the journey, Bai Ping said that it was not that the mountain gods were too strong, but that there were too many unruly people. After all, if you sent experts to suppress many mountain and water gods, it would only provoke a civil uprising, and those civilians would never let you kill the gods.

Killing the mountain god is easy, but how to appease the public anger is a difficult problem.

It is said that in some extreme cases, to kill a mountain god, half of the dozen or so villages at the foot of the mountain would have to be massacred.

There are many mountain and water gods, so there are naturally many such dilapidated temples. Basically, you can see two or three of them every hundred miles. It can be regarded as a special landscape.

But... Gao Jian has always been curious, why are there so many unruly people? Who is closer to the mountain god or the imperial court?

Without natural weather, people have to rely on something.

Considering all sorts of things, Gao Jian took out the rusty knife from his chest and pushed open the door of the dilapidated temple.

"Hmm?" Gao Jian made a sound. There was actually someone in the dilapidated temple.

An old farmer and an old cow snuggled up to each other, as if they were preparing to sleep here for the night.

Gao Jian pushed the door open and came out, startling them. But when the old man saw it was Gao Jian, he breathed a sigh of relief and stood up immediately: "My benefactor, what a coincidence."

Gao Jian nodded: "Don't worry about me, I'll just sit here for one night, and I'll go to Cangzhou tomorrow."

"My benefactor, have you eaten? I brought some sesame seed cakes with pickled vegetables and minced meat." The old farmer did not listen to Gao Jian's words, but took out a paper bag from his arms, which contained two sesame seed cakes. It was obvious that he planned to eat them on the way home.

"No, you can keep it." Gao Jian shook his head: "I have food."

After saying this, Gao Jian ignored them and just picked up the rusty knife and started practicing.

This was a habit he had developed recently during his travels. Even if he learned the sword skills directly through Shen Yun, he would still forget them and become rusty if he didn't practice for a long time.

Even if you have a good memory and never forget the spirit of the swordsmanship, your body will forget it. At a critical moment, if your body is just a fraction of a second slower, it may mean death.

Therefore, you still need to exercise regularly so that your body can remember it.

Seeing Gao Jian's indifference, the old farmer did not retreat. Instead, he stood aside and watched Gao Jian practice swordplay. He said, "My benefactor, a ghost came just now and I left in a hurry. I didn't have time to ask your name. My family and I want to thank you this time! Please tell me your name. I will go back and build a shrine for you. As long as I am here, I will burn incense every day! I will always remember you!"

Gao Jian stopped the knife in his hand and said, "No, I just did it casually. Don't take it to heart."

"You may not remember your benefactor, but I, an old man, cannot. You saved the cow, which is equivalent to saving my brother!" The old man said firmly without hesitation.

"Then what happened? Why did you sell out your brother?" Gao Jian decided to take a break for a few minutes and continue practicing after finishing his conversation.

Hearing Gao Jian's question, the old man replied: "I don't want to either... But there is no other way. If I could, I would really like to sell myself... Even if it means I have to die."

"I heard you mention Ni'er before. Who is this Ni'er? Is it because of her?" Gao Jian asked again.

"I won't hide it from you, benefactor. Ni'er is my granddaughter-in-law and is pregnant with my great-grandson. But my family has been in trouble recently. I sold the land and this old brother, and was prepared to use some money secretly to help her avoid the disaster and give birth to the child safely. If it weren't for her... Alas." The old man sighed.

"I see. Then you just take the money and go back to avoid the trouble." Gao Jian nodded.

Every family has difficulties. There is no need to ask too clearly, as long as the difficulties can be solved.

However, at this moment...

A gust of cold wind suddenly blew open the door of the dilapidated temple.

Gao Jian stood up and looked outside the door.

"Oh, a good time to practice with the sword," he said to himself.

(End of this chapter)