Start slaying demons from the proficiency panel.

There's no way I can have a stable life, not in this lifetime. I don't know how to farm, I'm clueless about business, and I'm illiterate. The only way I can survive is to hide in the mountains and occasionally rob people.

Good heavens, hearing this made Ren Qianxing so angry that he had no choice but to execute the bandits who colluded with the demons on the spot and set fire to the entire mountain stronghold, turning it to ashes.

Perhaps some of these people were indeed forced by life's hardships, but to collude with demons and fail to report it is a capital offense under the laws of the Great Shang Dynasty, and there is no possibility of leniency.

“Yunxia Mountain is located in the central part of Yunze Prefecture. The only way to Yunxia Mountain is through Shenjia Town. My friend works in Shenjia Town. Once we get there, we can pick him up and then we’ll have a full team,” Ren Qianxing said.

Looking at the map, Ning Xiu knew that after entering Yunze Prefecture, he needed to travel 250 li southwest to reach Shenjia Town. The entire route was through deep mountains and forests, with no houses or villages, making it quite remote.

At that moment, Ning Xiu noticed a place name that had been crossed out with ink on the road, and he immediately asked curiously, "Brother Ren, what place is this with the name crossed out?"

"Jinzhao Temple was once considered a relatively famous ancient Buddhist temple in Yunze Prefecture, with thriving incense offerings, a large number of monks, and many worshippers."

Unfortunately, one day more than ninety years ago, Jinzhao Temple was suddenly struck by a catastrophe. All the monks in the temple vanished overnight, leaving behind only an empty and deserted Buddhist temple. The Demon Subduing Bureau sent people to investigate, but they found nothing. There was no sign of any evil spirits appearing in the temple.

"After this incident, the news spread like wildfire throughout Yunze Prefecture, and no one dared to go to Jinzhao Temple to offer incense anymore. Although monks came one after another to try to take over, they couldn't make any progress at all, and Jinzhao Temple was completely abandoned," Ren Qianxing said.

Ning Xiu asked, "This matter is so strange, it seems to be the work of evil spirits. Did the Demon Subduing Division really find nothing back then?"

Ren Qianxing stroked his chin thoughtfully: "The Jinzhao Temple incident is one of the ten unsolved mysteries of the Demon Subduing Division. Although many people believe it was caused by evil spirits, unfortunately, no one could find evidence to prove it back then. Zhengwu, how much do you know about Jinzhao Temple? Tell me about it."

As a monk of Dalingyin Temple, Master Zhengwu certainly knew more about matters concerning Buddhist temples than Ren Qianxing.

Immediately, everyone turned to look at him, their eyes filled with anticipation, hoping that Zhengwu could add some details that Ren Qianxing had not mentioned.

"Uh..." Seeing that Ning Xiu and the others were looking at him like that, Zheng Wu had no choice but to say, "Back then, we really didn't find anything. Even though the Demon Subduing Division even sent a Silver Tiger Demon Subduing Captain, they still couldn't find a trace of evil energy in Jinzhao Temple."

The abbot of Jinzhao Temple was sent by Dalingyin Temple. He should have reported to Dalingyin Temple beforehand if he had any major plans. It's clearly not something he would do to leave with all the monks in one night.

Therefore, there must be some hidden story behind this matter, but unfortunately, no one has been able to investigate the cause, and it has dragged on until now, becoming an unsolved mystery.

Upon hearing that even the Silver Tiger Demon-Subduing Guard had been dispatched but failed to uncover the cause, everyone immediately stopped questioning the matter.

If even the Silver Tiger Demon-Subduing Commander couldn't handle it, then it's clear that the matter is beyond their comprehension.

Rumble!

A sudden clap of thunder in the clear sky immediately pulled everyone's thoughts back from the matter of Jinzhao Temple.

Looking up at the sky, which was gradually darkening and gathering dark clouds, Ren Qianxing frowned and said, "Oh no, it looks like it's going to rain heavily. The weather in Yunze Prefecture is the most unpredictable. It can start raining suddenly. We need to find a place to take shelter from the rain quickly."

Ning Xiu looked at the map and said, "This area is all deep mountains and forests. The closest one to us is Jinzhao Temple, but it's about eleven or twelve miles away."

"Then hurry up and get there. The torrential rain in Yunze Prefecture is notorious for being bone-chilling. Being soaked for too long is no different from being locked in a water dungeon. Believe me, you don't want to experience that feeling."

As Ren Qianxing lashed his whip across the rump of Black Wind, the wild boar immediately bolted as if on drugs, its hooves flying. It quickly left Ning Xiu and the others far behind.

Since Ren Qianxing had said so, the group naturally wouldn't allow themselves to experience the torrential rain in Yunze Prefecture, and immediately urged their beasts to give chase.

The road was instantly filled with dust and smoke.

……

Despite its bulky appearance and short limbs, the Iron-Eating Beast is actually quite fast when it runs.

When the sky had darkened to the point that the earth had turned pitch black, Ning Xiu and his companions finally saw the ancient Buddhist temple located on the hillside beside the road.

By this time, many raindrops had already fallen from the sky, hitting various parts of everyone's bodies. Ning Xiu hurriedly urged the Iron-Eating Beast uphill and entered Jinzhao Temple before the downpour began.

"Hey, this door looks like it was opened recently." Seeing a large number of footprints on the dusty ground behind the door, Xia Yunshan immediately climbed off the back of the black tiger and shouted.

Ren Qianxing pulled Hei Feng to a spot where he wouldn't get wet and said calmly, "The official road was blocked because of the earth dragon's reversal, so some people will definitely take this route instead. They're probably just like us, travelers who came here to take shelter from the rain."

Boom!

The dim sky began to flash with lightning and thunder, and soon large raindrops began to fall, turning into a spectacular rain curtain in no time.

This kind of torrential rain is a unique phenomenon in Yunze Prefecture, and it is rarely seen in other places.

"Judging from this, the rain won't stop for at least two or three hours. Let's find a place to rest. We might have to stay at Jinzhao Temple tonight. May the ancestors of the Demon Subduing Division protect us. We're already exhausted from the journey, so please don't let any evil spirits cause trouble," Ren Qianxing sighed, looking at the sky.

After circling the entire Jinzhao Temple along the temple's corridors, Ning Xiu and his companions finally decided to temporarily stay at the Mahavira Hall.

Firstly, the space here is large enough to accommodate several people at the same time for the strange beasts to rest.

Secondly, this main hall is one of the few buildings in the entire Jinzhao Temple whose main structure is still well preserved, and it has the ability to shelter people from the wind and rain.

While Ren Qianxing sent his two puppets to search for firewood throughout the temple, Ning Xiu wandered around the main hall alone.

Even though Jinzhao Temple has been abandoned for over ninety years, the interior of the main hall is still in quite good condition. The candlesticks that were originally used to hold candles and the many Buddha statues in the hall are still very well preserved.

The only possible regret is that Zhengwu said that the Buddha statues were originally plated with gold, but now these Buddha statues are all made of stone, and it is obvious that the gold shells have been pried off.

In chaotic times, even gods and Buddhas must honestly abide by the saying that possessing a treasure is a crime.

Using his Spiritual Eye Observation Technique to examine his surroundings, Ning Xiu's Spiritual Eye Observation Technique has now been upgraded to the eighth level, allowing him to see more subtle details compared to before.

After investigation, everything in the main hall was found to be normal, and there was nothing amiss.

During the inspection, Ning Xiu's gaze fell upon a mural on the wall inside the hall.

"Huh? This isn't..." Ning Xiu's expression immediately turned extremely surprised.

In fact, as Ning Xiu walked from the temple gate inwards, he had already seen many murals on the walls along the way.

Sometimes, it's a group of dancers performing together, while men stand by, drinking, clapping, and cheering.

Some were burly men in tattered clothes who slept with knives under their pillows, cradling heads in their arms.

Some were ordinary people kneeling and kowtowing, not even knowing who they were worshipping.

To be honest, it is quite strange that these murals would appear in Jinzhao Temple, a Buddhist temple, because the content of these murals does not fit the atmosphere of a Buddhist temple.

Which Buddhist temple murals don't depict Buddhas and Bodhisattvas? Who would put murals with meanings they can't understand on their walls?

Right now, the mural that Ning Xiu was staring at seemed even stranger.

The mural depicts a caravan traveling along a mountain road. The guards of the caravan are all painted with lifelike detail, and each of them has the character "Li" embroidered on the chest of their clothing.

In one of the carriages escorting the caravan, a woman in a blue dress leaned out of the window, looking seriously at the direction the caravan was heading.

Ning Xiu was absolutely certain that the painting depicted the Li family caravan that they had rescued from bandits in the mountains a few days ago.

The woman in the blue dress in the painting is exactly the same as the woman in the blue dress he saw that day.

"Jinzhao Temple is an ancient temple from a hundred years ago. How could it be the same person I met just a few days ago?"

Ning Xiu used his spiritual eye observation technique to stare intently at the mural, but he couldn't see anything unusual. It was just an ordinary mural.

Without delay, Ning Xiu immediately called over Ren Qianxing and the other two who were preparing to start a fire. These strange murals needed to be thoroughly investigated.

[048] Two people disappear on a rainy night

"It really is the same caravan from a few days ago; even the embroidery on their chests is in the exact same position."

"Amazing."

After Ning Xiu summoned Ren Qianxing and the others, they stood in front of the wall to observe.

From an artistic point of view, this mural is quite exquisite and very lifelike; it is obvious at a glance that it was created by a famous artist.

But the content of this painting is rather chilling.

Is it reasonable for a caravan I saw just a few days ago to now appear in a mural of a century-old temple?

clap clap clap!

Xia Yunsi pulled out his short stick and tapped it on the mural a few times. The sound was quite solid and muffled, indicating that the wall was not hollow inside.

Seeing this, the monk Zhengwu took out his prayer beads and began chanting Buddhist scriptures. These scriptures were extremely effective at disturbing evil spirits. Any evil spirit that heard them while hiding would react and would inevitably cause a disturbance.

However, even after the monk Zhengwu chanted the sutra two or three times, the entire mural remained calm and showed no abnormalities.

If nothing unexpected happens, this should be just an ordinary mural.

“This is strange. There must be something going on behind this. It seems that the evil spirit hidden in Jinzhao Temple is quite powerful.” Ren Qianxing scratched his head and then asked Ning Xiu beside him, “Brother Ning, you are a fifth-rank martial artist. Do you have any ideas?”

If it were a visible fifth-grade evil spirit, Ning Xiu would have smashed it with a single hammer blow. Martial artists are better at slaying demons and monsters, but tracking and identifying traces is not their strength.

Furthermore, even the Spiritual Eye Observation Technique couldn't discern anything amiss with this mural, so Ning Xiu could only shake his head helplessly and say, "I have no idea what to do. How about we break down the wall and take a look?"

“That won’t do,” Ren Qianxing immediately objected. “The rain is pouring down outside right now. If there’s a hole in this wall, all the rainwater will just blow in, and there’ll be no shelter from the rain at all.”

Xia Yunsi nodded: "Then we can only do this after the rain stops."

One hour passed, then two hours passed...

As darkness fell completely, the torrential rain outside the hall showed no signs of abating, and everyone knew that they would be spending the night in this grand hall.

Fortunately, Ren Qianxing had anticipated this and had his two puppets collect a lot of firewood in advance, which would be enough to get through the night.

"We originally planned to have dinner in Shenjia Town, and have my friend spend some money to treat us well. But we were trapped in this ancient temple by the heavy rain, so dinner was canceled. Fortunately, I was prepared, so everyone doesn't have to worry about going hungry."

After lighting the firewood with a tinderbox, Ren Qianxing smiled mysteriously.

Ning Xiu, who was about to take out some dry rations from his bag, immediately stopped and looked at Ren Qianxing curiously, asking, "What have you prepared?"

From Chaotiandu all the way here, when it's mealtime, everyone either buys food in nearby villages and towns or eats the coarse dry rations they carry with them, and nothing unusual has ever happened.

Judging from what Ren Qianxing said, it seems he had something up his sleeve.

As soon as he finished speaking, the two puppets standing behind Ren Qianxing began to take off their clothes, finally revealing their bodies, which were made entirely of wood.

With a 'snap', the chests of the two puppets popped open automatically like double doors, revealing their internal storage space.

You won't believe it until you see it; it's truly an eye-opener.

Inside the puppet's chest were pre-marinated chicken, duck, fish, vegetables, and grains.

Dried fish, dried shrimp, potatoes, cucumbers, leeks, eggs, corn, chili peppers... it's practically a small storage cabinet.

“Zhengwu, I know you don’t eat meat, so these potatoes, corn, and cucumbers are specially prepared for you.” Ren Qianxing took out two cucumbers, two ears of corn, and four or five potatoes from the puppet’s body and handed them to the monk Zhengwu.

Zhengwu, unfazed, reached out and took it, clearly not the first time he had known that Ren Qianxing had this plan.

"Senior Sister, Brother Ning, come on, let's eat meat." Ren Qianxing took a chicken that had already been prepared and was just waiting to be roasted out of the puppet's body, found a tree branch, pierced the chicken's body, and put it on the firewood pile to roast.

"This... I never expected Brother Ren to have such a skill. So puppets can be used like this. I've truly learned something new," Ning Xiu said with genuine admiration.

"Small idea."

It is said that there are three thousand great paths, and each path has its own method of storing items. However, the way Ren Qianxing uses the puppet path to store items is so simple and convenient that it truly broadened his horizons.

In contrast, he and Xia Yunsi both belonged to the martial arts path, and the way they carried their belongings was by carrying a bag, which was full of the air of a chivalrous knight-errant.