Above the Great Dao
Chapter 564 - 261 Testing the Waters_3

Chapter 564: Chapter 261 Testing the Waters_3

Chen Shi opened the door and let them in, saying, "I’ve drawn a Wind Stabilizing Talisman; you don’t need to hang any talismans anymore."

The scholars, dusty and weary, entered the temple, thanking him repeatedly.

One person stomped their feet, slapping the dust off their clothes, but was chased outside by a few female scholars who laughed, "Go outside to slap the dust off. Don’t you see someone is cooking?"

So, they ran outside the temple to dust themselves off before coming back in.

Chen Shi sized up the scholars, noticing their faces, sunburned and red, their lips chapped and dry, suggesting they had traveled for a long time in the southern province.

"Where are you from?"

Chen Shi smiled, "From your accents, you don’t seem to be from the same place."

A female scholar went outside, untied her hair, shook the dust off, and laughed, "We come from several provinces—Zhenzhou, Guizhou, Bisheng. We arrived before the New Year!"

Her accent was heavy, and one had to listen carefully to understand her.

Another scholar said, "We weren’t originally together, but we joined up along the way. There were originally over a hundred of us, but after encountering an Evil Spirit and several bandit attacks, only a few of us are left."

Seeing that they had no water, Chen Shi took some from the small courtyard and gave it to them. Hu Feifei also sliced some roasted Flea Pig meat and shared it with them.

Everyone thanked them profusely and sat down on the ground to eat.

A female scholar, while tying her hair, asked, "Young brother, from your accent, are you from Xinxiang?"

Chen Shi said, "I come from Xinxiang."

Someone puzzled, asked, "Why take this route from Xinxiang? Isn’t it a detour?"

Chen Shi said, "The other path passes through Gongzhou, which isn’t very safe."

The crowd suddenly understood and said in agreement, "Going through Gongzhou is indeed unsafe. It’s better to take a longer route than to pass through Gongzhou."

Outside, the wind started howling, hooting loudly, and everyone quickly closed the doors and windows.

Chen Shi hung up Wind Stabilizing Talismans on all four walls, so even if they didn’t close the doors and windows, the wind couldn’t enter.

The wind gradually grew stronger, moving large stones with a rumbling sound.

From outside, voices shouted, asking them to open the door. One of the scholars intended to open it but was stopped by Sun Yisheng, who said, "The beings outside are not human but Evil Spirits. South Wind Province often has such beings in the wind. They talk to you, ask for help, or chat casually to lower your guard. If you let them in, they will endanger your life. It’s easy to distinguish; just peek through the crack of the door. You won’t see their feet." frёewebnoѵēl.com

Everyone lay down on the ground and looked outside; indeed, the thing outside had no feet.

Sun Yisheng smiled, "That creature is just a gust of wind; of course, it has no feet."

The people were thoroughly impressed.

"Both of you look pale; are you injured?"

A scholar stepped forward, smiling, "I have studied medicine for a few years and could help treat your injuries."

Chen Shi thanked him, saying, "My Nascent Soul has been slightly injured, and his Primordial Spirit is injured, which may be difficult to treat."

The scholar was startled and hurriedly said, "I can’t treat such injuries. I intended to repay your kindness, but my medical skills are limited, and I dare not treat you both."

Chen Shi smiled, "It’s a trivial matter, not worth mentioning."

As they spoke, the sound of the wind gradually lessened, and after a while, it stopped.

People opened the doors and windows and saw a thick layer of soil outside, along with many large and small stones scattered across the wilderness outside the ancient temple.

Near the ancient temple, several large stones also had Nannan about to approach them to take a closer look. Suddenly, the stones grew four legs and poked out heads, then bolted away.

Nannan was left staring in astonishment.

"These are the stone birds of the South Wind Province. Because of the strong wind, they can’t fly, and their wings have degenerated, so they sprint on legs instead."

A scholar recognized the creature and explained, "When the wind comes, they retract their legs, wings, and heads into their bodies and roll around in the wind."

"What’s that?" someone pointed into the distance.

Everyone looked and saw the yellow sky, with streaks of firelight flying towards them.

Chen Shi looked at the firelight, feeling something familiar, then suddenly realized and shouted, "Cannons! They are Hongyi cannons!"

The scholars turned pale.

They were just on their way to the capital for exams; why were they being targeted by Hongyi cannons?

Several bullets engraved with Five Thunder Talismans whizzed through the air, and even before approaching, the power of thunder already burst out, sparking and crackling with electricity!

The target of the Hongyi cannon barrage was none other than the ancient temple they occupied!

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