Forty-Five: The Temple Keeper

The mist was thin.

Pink.

The old temple stood outside the county town of Mei Lan, at the eastern edge of Curved Water Village.

The ground there was fairly high; the adjoining embankment lay a full four or five meters lower.

If one turned and went behind the old temple, one could go straight down to the dam.

The reservoir seldom ran dry.

Upstream it stretched on and on into the depths of the woods; downstream, blocked by a stone sluice, only a narrow stream could slip toward lower ground, gathering into a small pond before surging on toward the lower river.

She tightened her arms around Lu Chuan, and before long he felt a little dampness on his cheek.

"I am entrusting you with another very important task. After General Zhang draws the enemy away, you will lead your troops to set fire to Tiger Claw Stronghold, then pursue the enemy and encircle them completely," Sima Jin said.

He fought with fists and feet, formidable and imposing, the great tail behind him whipping back and forth, his long white hair flying, and on that unruly face an excited expression shone.

Ge Liang, who had never touched liquor in his life, was drinking cup after cup today as if suddenly gone mad.

"Qiao Biyao, do not rely on my favor to behave with such impunity. Do not forget, so long as you remain the Prince of Qin's consort, you must obediently cooperate with me." Gong Zhi Jin's voice held not the slightest trace of feeling.

Yet it was as though time itself had frozen; all the tier-three infected made the same defensive move, hands raised before them, eyes fixed warily on the spear flying toward them, their faces changing drastically.

It was still that afternoon, the afternoon when Yin Yunlu had been angered. Her class was the last one of the day; after it ended, she went straight back to the dormitory. She did not want to see Teacher Liu. She was jealous.

By quarter past the hour in the morning, he would be dead. But my heart was already utterly calm. Looking back on the past, every detail stood clear before me. The work I had left unfinished, someone would surely complete it for me.

Zhou Jinru had not finished speaking. Even Serea's administrative headquarters had been cleared out. Either they had all gone to take shelter, or they had all gone to the front lines; the latter was more likely.

I could not help wondering: just moments ago, when Mu Ke kissed him, why had this fellow shown no reaction at all? And yet before the two of us had even truly come close to him, he had already awakened at once and sat up without the slightest ill effect.

Zhu Qiu looked up and saw that man had a face honest and simple, but a build that was immensely sturdy. When he saw Zhu Qiu, he grinned.

"Wonderful! Splendid! Then, madam, who is it that has set their sights on us this time?" he asked her in a gentle voice.

Even if she knew, she would not care. After all, the one paying was Li Ling, and it would not cause inflation. The monsters of the Land of Fantasy would not be spending in this world in the future; they were destined to aim for the vast world beyond.

"No, your cultivation has not yet reached the Soul Tempering stage, so how could you upgrade a spirit item into a magical artifact? There is no way you could possibly refine your body into a magical artifact!" Meng Wushuang's eyes flickered as if she had already guessed something. After a long while, she finally moved her beautiful gaze away from Tian Cheng.

"What are you looking at, you filthy beggar? Get lost, get lost!" Before Xu Feng could even come near, the guards at the city gate were already waving him away from afar, cursing impatiently for him to scram.

"Is what she said true?" The man in white looked anxiously at Luo Chong, his eyes filled with a desperate longing to survive.

Xiao Ni said, "Commander, with so much money coming out, won't there be trouble? Even if it was money extorted by collaborators, first, the people they robbed will surely want it back. Second, the government will also inquire about this matter."

The next moment, however, Lei Hu was already standing high in the sky, while Tie Xiong and Wei Xinhan had long since been waiting there.

Li Er's hanging heart finally settled. For these past few months, he had always worried that Gou Sheng might run into trouble, eating poorly, sleeping poorly, and unable even to feel at ease in battle, all because he was afraid something might go wrong along the way.

They had not walked five minutes before reaching the bank of a vast, surging river. The river roared as it rushed onward without end.