Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 23 A Dilapidated Temple in the Wilderness, A Stubborn Girl

"It seems we won't make it to Daicheng in time."

Chen Xiuyuan and Xiaomeng stopped to rest on a large blue stone. As the sun gradually set in the west, Chen Xiuyuan sighed softly.

"Daicheng?"

Xiaomeng was rubbing her sore and stiff calves when she asked softly in a gentle voice.

Despite Chen Xiuyuan's help along the way, the long journey still left her exhausted.

"It was a city on the border between the Qin and Zhao states. I came from that place back then."

Chen Xiuyuan sat to the side, a hint of reminiscence in his eyes. Speaking of which, that was the first ancient city he had ever encountered during the Warring States period.

At that time, he, Yao Yi, and Xiao Lin set off from Sanyang Village. Yao Yi and Xiao Lin stayed in Daicheng. I wonder how those two girls with such tragic fates are doing now.

"Sigh~~"

Suddenly, a gasp reached Chen Xiuyuan's ears. He turned around and saw Xiaomeng clutching her calf with one hand, tears stubbornly welling up in her eyes, her smooth forehead covered with fine beads of cold sweat.

"A cramp?"

Chen Xiuyuan shook his head, then turned to the girl and said, "Don't push yourself tomorrow. I told you to rest earlier, but you were as stubborn as a mule. Now look what's happened."

Xiaomeng didn't say anything when she heard this. She just glared at Chen Xiuyuan with her eyes, her little face tense, as if she was afraid that she would burst out and be laughed at by Chen Xiuyuan.

Seeing the other party's expression, Chen Xiuyuan smiled faintly.

"Stretch your legs out, I'll help you."

Seeing that Chen Xiuyuan seemed to be laughing at her again, the little girl squeezed out three words through gritted teeth.

"No way!"

A hint of a smile flashed in Chen Xiuyuan's eyes as he continued, "Really, you don't need to?"

"That's great, it means I'll have less to do."

Before he could finish speaking, a pair of legs, not much thicker than his arms, were placed on his thighs.

Seeing Chen Xiuyuan looking over, Xiaomeng turned her head away haughtily, as if to say, "Don't work so hard? Dream on."

Chen Xiuyuan did not continue to provoke the girl; some things are best left unsaid.

He then reached out, and the Evergreen Technique within his body circulated automatically, before he placed it on those calves.

When his palm touched the little girl's calf, he could feel that she seemed to want to pull it back, but in the end she seemed to hold back.

Looking at the two feet that were instinctively curled up in the sandals, Chen Xiuyuan felt a smile in his heart. This white-haired girl was as stubborn as an ox, and that was absolutely true.

However, his hands did not stop moving. Soon, Changqing's internal energy took effect, and a cool breeze gently brushed over the little girl's two legs.

The muscles that had been tense seemed to be affected by something, and slowly relaxed. The pain dissipated quickly, followed by a feeling of comfort. Seeing the change in the little girl's expression, Chen Xiuyuan knew that his method was effective, so he massaged her for a while longer.

Chen Xiuyuan only stood up after the little girl pulled her legs back.

"We have to go."

"It's getting dark. Although I'm not afraid of spending the night outside, it's still good to have a place to stay. If my memory serves me right, there should be a dilapidated temple ahead."

Xiaomeng jumped down from the bluestone and subconsciously reached for Chen Xiuyuan's hand, but when she realized what was happening, her face turned red.

But if she pulled her hand away now, wouldn't it make her look guilty? So she pretended nothing had happened and asked, "How far is it from here?"

"It's not far now, it will probably take another half an hour to walk."

Chen Xiuyuan frowned slightly. He wasn't quite sure about the time either. It had taken him more than half an hour to walk this route before. Of course, that was when he came from the opposite direction. With his current stamina, he estimated that half an hour should be about right.

"Half an hour?"

Xiaomeng's lips twitched. Half an hour isn't that far?
"gone."

The two continued walking forward, but this time, Xiaomeng felt that their pace was significantly faster than before. As the sun set and completely disappeared below the horizon, a dilapidated temple appeared before them.

"Thankfully, it's still there."

Hearing this clearly relieved remark, Xiaomeng felt a pang in her heart; it seemed that unreliable senior brother had returned.

After gathering some dry firewood nearby, Chen Xiuyuan found some soft grass that could be used as tinder, and then he and Xiaomeng arrived at the dilapidated temple.

Under the moon's halo, Chen Xiuyuan surveyed the dilapidated temple before him for a while. The ancient temple stood alone amidst the rocks and thorns, with most of the roof tiles fallen off and the rotten beams leaning towards the sky. Weeds grew rampant in front of the temple gate, making it clear that the place had long been abandoned.

However, the road in front of the gate was surprisingly clean, and the threshold was worn down. If he was not mistaken, although this place was abandoned, merchants and people passing by would often stop here to rest.

Pushing open the door, the rotten wooden door creaked jarringly. Inside, cobwebs clung like curtains, and the broken clay statues of gods were indistinct, half their heads lying on the ground, unattended. In the corner, piles of charred ashes lay scattered.

Upon seeing the dilapidated temple, Xiaomeng instinctively moved closer to Chen Xiuyuan.

Perhaps because the door was opened, the wind that had been lingering outside finally found its target, and then passed through the hall, emitting a low, whimpering sound.

"Hey, how about we spend the night outside?"

Xiaomeng's voice rang out, and Chen Xiuyuan shook his head helplessly.

"It's going to rain soon. Although this place is dilapidated, it's still a place to shelter from the wind and rain. If we get wet and catch a cold, we won't be able to go anywhere else."

As he spoke, Chen Xiuyuan bent down and used his true energy to control a piece of wood, which began to spin rapidly.

How did you know it was going to rain?

"Don't be disrespectful, call me senior brother."

"Cultivating affinity~~"

"Fine. Whatever!"

Sometime later, the moon in the sky was blocked by drifting clouds, and the dilapidated temple was pitch black. Two slightly childish voices became the only sounds in the silence.

"Boom!"

A very faint sound arose, and a small flame slowly illuminated the not-so-large place.

"The humidity in the air is very high. I estimate that the rain will come in about half an hour."

How did you start the fire just now?

Xiaomeng sat down by the fire, staring blankly at the flames. After a while, she finally spoke and asked.

"Drilling wood to make fire—I didn't bring any flint, but this method works quite well."

Chen Xiuyuan added a few more branches to the fire and replied casually.

Of course, strictly speaking, his method wasn't exactly fire-making by friction. Using internal force to control the rotation of the wood was much faster than rubbing it by hand.

Suddenly, Xiaomeng noticed two extra things on the fire and looked up in surprise.

"Where did it come from?"

Chen Xiuyuan pointed to the few dazed birds on the roof beam who hadn't noticed anything amiss.

"They should be resting here."

"Then, unexpectedly, it ended up in someone's stomach."

"You hungry?"

"You hungry?"

"Yes, I've already started fasting, so I can go without food for two or three months at a time."

"."

(End of this chapter)