Dragon Mountain Temple of the Desolate Tomb Chapter 32: The Old Rogue Daoist

“Stop right there!” Five bandits were chasing a scholar along a mountain path.

“You brat, your time is up!” The scholar ran frantically, not daring to look back.

“Stop!” one of the bandits shouted again.

“In this desolate place, let’s see where you think you can run.” The rugged leader brandished his knife as he spoke.

Hearing this, the scholar despaired. Who could possibly come to his rescue in such a remote wilderness? Distracted by fear, he tripped over a stone and tumbled to the ground, his basket of books scattering everywhere.

“Haha! Where are you going to run now? Get up, run some more if you can!” The leader, seeing the scholar fall, laughed wildly and pressed his blade to the scholar’s neck.

“Please, sir, I beg you! I’m just a poor scholar, only passing through. Please, spare my life!” Terrified, the scholar pressed his fists together in supplication, trying to pass off his escape as merely traveling.

“Hmph! Bah!” The leader spat on the ground, sneering. “A poor scholar with no money—why are you even on the road? I’ll finish you off with one stroke!”

“Stop!” With a swift kick, another figure sent the leader’s knife flying to the ground, the blade ringing as it stuck upright. The newcomer’s foot landed, and with a turn, he kicked the bandit chief to the ground, making him spit blood.

Li Xintian, seeing the bandits about to commit murder, had intervened to save the scholar.

“Another scholar? And a beautiful young lady as well,” the bandit chief said as he climbed to his feet, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes glowed greedily as he caught sight of Hu Qiuyan at Li Xintian’s side, wishing he could drag her back to their mountain stronghold. The other bandits stared, their gazes fixed on her.

“Listen, scholar! Hand over the girl and I’ll let you both go. Refuse, and I’ll send you both to the next world in two strokes!” The leader snatched a knife from one of his men, his face twisted with malice. He leered at Hu Qiuyan. “Girl, don’t waste your time with that weakling. He can’t possibly satisfy you, haha!”

Unaware that Li Xintian had already shown mercy, the bandits persisted in their wickedness. He had no choice but to act decisively.

“Let me handle this. You don’t need to step in.” Li Xintian stopped Hu Qiuyan, who was beside herself with anger, knowing she had never taken a life.

For Li Xintian, dealing with these five was effortless. In moments, all five bandits were writhing groaning on the ground.

“Hero, please spare us! We’ll never dare do this again!” The leader knelt, begging for mercy.

“I may spare your lives, but you must go to Longming Temple. I’ll give each of you a character. If you survive the night, I’ll let you go.” Li Xintian could see the murderous air about them, but he offered a sliver of hope.

“Ah!” Hearing they would have to go to Longming Temple, the leader steeled himself. “Dead either way—let’s fight!”

The five bandits, desperate, launched themselves at Li Xintian. Within Longming Temple, over a thousand people had disappeared—surely a place of death. Still, choosing death in battle over a night in the haunted temple, they attacked. It made no difference. In the end, all five fell where they stood, slain in a single blow each.

“Thank you for saving my life! I will never forget this kindness!” The scholar was awestruck to see Li Xintian dispatch five burly bandits single-handedly, hardly the image of a frail bookworm.

“No need to thank me. It was nothing. By the way, do you know if there’s anywhere to rest nearby?” Li Xintian waved his hand and glanced at the sky, which was growing dark.

They had been sleeping out in the wild these past days.

“Come with me,” the scholar said, nodding.

As they walked, Li Xintian and the scholar introduced themselves. When it came to Hu Qiuyan, Min Shubin—the scholar—gave them a peculiar look, tinged with envy. This was exactly why Li Xintian hesitated to travel with Hu Qiuyan.

Min Shubin had just finished the county-level exam and was on his way home, having failed once again—still only a licentiate, so he traveled on foot out of necessity.

When Li Xintian entered the town, he noticed a mass of black clouds overhead, stretching nearly a kilometer across.

The town was in chaos. Trash was strewn everywhere, people brawled and chased each other in the streets, and the food vendors seemed entirely unconcerned about the flies swarming their produce and meat.

As they walked, Min Shubin noticed a hunter selling a black fox caged and howling pitifully. Hu Qiuyan had already noticed it before him and wanted Li Xintian to buy it for her. Li Xintian thought one fox was trouble enough; another would be too much. But since Min Shubin seemed interested in buying it, he didn’t intervene.

“Huntsman, this fox looks so pitiful. Sell it to me, please,” Min Shubin said, stepping forward.

“All right, ten taels,” the hunter replied.

“What? Ten taels? That’s way too expensive!” Min Shubin exclaimed—it was far beyond what he could afford.

“If I skinned it, the pelt alone would fetch twenty taels,” the hunter said, brandishing his knife.

“Twenty taels? I’ll take it! Gut it now—I need a new hat!” piped up a rich youth, holding a birdcage.

Hu Qiuyan grew anxious and pinched Li Xintian’s arm, only to find herself embarrassed by her own impulsiveness.

“Sir, I’ll pay twenty taels,” Min Shubin said, pulling a yellow jade pendant from his pocket, its color pale and flecked with white when held to the light.

“Very well, it’s yours,” the hunter agreed, recognizing the pendant was worth less than twenty taels.

“Mr. Li, forgive me—I couldn’t help myself,” Hu Qiuyan said sheepishly, rubbing the spot she’d pinched.

“Should I pinch you back to see if it hurts?” Li Xintian shot her a stern look, feigning anger.

“Hehe!” Hu Qiuyan stuck out her tongue and ducked her head, not daring to look at him.

“Brother Zhixian, I’ve asked around—there’s nowhere to stay except Longming Temple. But there are a lot of foxes there,” Min Shubin reported, having checked all the inns while Li Xintian and Hu Qiuyan had their moment.

“Then let’s go to Longming Temple,” Li Xintian agreed.

The two men and the fox set off, only to be stopped by the owner of a paper effigy shop.

“Are you heading to Longming Temple for the night?” the shopkeeper asked with a smile.

“Yes,” Li Xintian replied.

“It’s a good place—very quiet, and it won’t cost you a thing,” the owner said, grinning even wider.

“How far is it from here?” Li Xintian was puzzled by the shopkeeper’s cheerfulness.

“Three li outside the town. If you hurry, you’ll get there before dark,” the owner said, pointing in the opposite direction of the black cloud.

“Thank you!” Li Xintian said with a respectful bow.

“Haha, if they stay there, business will be booming for me,” the shopkeeper chuckled as they walked away. “I’m going to make a fortune this time!”

When Li Xintian, Hu Qiuyan, and Min Shubin arrived at Longming Temple, thunder and lightning split the sky, the storm raging around them.

From the moment Li Xintian set foot inside, he sensed that Longming Temple had become a den of ghosts.

The temple was in ruins, its sign broken into fragments on the ground. The Buddha statues within were disfigured beyond recognition, as though corroded by acid; some had lost their heads, which now lay scattered on the floor.

In the main hall were five rows of coffins, five to a row.

The sight sent chills down their spines. Min Shubin, who had released the black fox earlier, swallowed hard as he entered the hall. If he were alone, his legs would have given out.

Li Xintian had yet to see the entire temple. Had he done so, he would have found at least a thousand coffins inside. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the wind howled through the desolate grounds.

Tombs covered the area around the temple.

Not far from Longming Temple stood a Daoist shrine.

“Master, these are the pills I have refined from my children’s blood and that of humans,” a millennia-old fox demon knelt and presented two crimson pills from its robe.

The old Daoist sitting above had long strayed into evil. His face was ashen and expressionless, his eyes blood-red, his skin deathly pale.

He glared at the fox king. “Why so few? Do you want to die?” He drew the pills from the fox’s hand with a gesture and swallowed them, his complexion turning more human.

“N-no, master, please have mercy! It’s because the ghost queen in Longming Temple often fights us for them,” the fox king stammered, trembling on the ground.

“Be gone! If you don’t bring me more pills soon, I’ll use you to further my own cultivation!” The Daoist struck out with a palm from afar.

The fox king was knocked over, sprawling on the ground. He scrambled up, not daring to look up, and stammered, “Thank you, master, for sparing my life,” then crawled away.

Once outside the shrine, the fox king’s face twisted with rage and humiliation, his expression dark as night.