I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 271 - 161: The Young and Old Temple Priests of Yun Niang Temple_2

Chapter 271: Chapter 161: The Young and Old Temple Priests of Yun Niang Temple_2

"Rest assured, I prefer my meat tender; I don’t usually consume the old ones fresh. I skin them and smoke them to make cured meat." Gu Shanhai consoled the other party with a particularly wicked sense of humor before turning away.

As the temple priest watched Gu Shanhai’s retreating figure, she suddenly noticed something twisted and wormlike moving beneath his skin. Occasionally, root-like tendrils seemed to grow from his flesh, setting her heart racing with a shock that jolted her.

By the time she came to her senses, Gu Shanhai had disappeared, along with the huge White Deer.

"Ghost... A ghost!!!" Then a scream echoed.

Not far away, Gu Shanhai heard the scream and laughed, "You tried to fleece me as a sucker. If I don’t give you a scare, you’ll really think I’m easily molded."

It wasn’t that Gu Shanhai deliberately wanted to frighten her; it was because she saw him as a mark, seeking to gouge him further—a stick of incense worth 998 yuan, a peace charm allegedly blessed by Goddess Yun for 1998 yuan, and a so-called treasure of the temple, a Jade Pendant valued at 19998 yuan.

Of course, the combined cost price of these three items was probably not even ten yuan.

After all, a single stick of incense, a self-drawn peace charm, and bulk-purchased trinkets as jade pendants were all there was to it.

Therefore, his trip to Yun Niang Temple only exposed a greedy Old Temple Priest and yielded no other gains.

No mysterious objects were found either. With his current perception, there was little hope anything could escape his notice.

On his way down the mountain, he saw two women ascending. They wore garments much like the temple priest’s—old and patched—which were obviously refashioned from the original garments the temple priest had worn.

Both had features that were inherently not bad, but because they had to do manual labor, they looked rough and darkened, with none of the sparkle to catch one’s eye.

The only strange thing was that he had inquired, and there was supposed to be only one temple priest adopted by the temple, so where did this extra one come from?

"Are you a layman here to worship Goddess Yun?" one of the women asked curiously, appearing very naive.

"Yes, what about it?" There was nothing peculiar about the two, so Gu Shanhai responded calmly.

"Nothing, just asking. It’s the first time I’ve seen an outsider coming to worship Goddess Yun. I’ve heard that there are reforms happening outside, and that sects are being abolished, is that right?" the woman inquired again.

"Yes, the court is gradually addressing the corruption within the sects." Gu Shanhai followed with her line of questioning, though he wasn’t aware of the actual situation.

"Indeed, Brother Fan Shi said so, and he was right; the sects are no good. Luckily, he didn’t go." She smiled sweetly as she spoke.

"Fan Shi? Who’s that?" Gu Shanhai asked casually. Qingxian Town might appear bustling, but in reality, it was quite insular, especially if it might belong to a particular historical period. It was unusual for someone to be aware of the outside world’s affairs.

"Oh, Brother Fan Shi is very talented. Even the prominent Xuanwei Sect wanted to recruit him as a disciple, but he looks down on joining these feudal dregs. He plans to study abroad to embrace true freedom."

Gu Shanhai immediately keyed into the essential details, Xuanwei Sect.

"You know about Xuanwei Sect? What’s that about?" Gu Shanhai continued to question her, his interest piqued more by Xuanwei Sect than by Fan Shi.

"I don’t know much. I’ve heard that they are a group who can control magical treasures and fly through the skies. But Brother Fan Shi told me these people are not good at all. It’s because of them that Tianzhou remains ignorant and backwards. He felt as if he were sinking in a quagmire of shackles, and he couldn’t wait to leave Tianzhou, this place full of feudalism." The woman’s mood seemed to dip as she spoke, while the other woman remained silent throughout.

Hearing this, Gu Shanhai understood; a simple country girl had fallen for an outward-looking, ambitious man.

"I think Tianzhou is quite free, though." Gu Shanhai pointed out that Fan Shi could backbite Xuanwei Sect without repercussions, showing that the area was not bad in terms of freedom of speech.

"Yes, I think so too, but Brother Fan Shi... Sigh." The woman brightened up at Gu Shanhai’s words, agreeing with him.

"Everyone has their choices, you can’t force them," Gu Shanhai had never considered persuading the love-struck individual. After all, they were set in their ways, so what good would persuasion do?

Besides, it’s not like they had a long-standing relationship; a brief chat, and suddenly he’d have to worry about her? Gu Shanhai wasn’t her father; why should he?

So, after a bit more idle chat, Gu Shanhai descended the mountain, not even bothering to ask the other person’s name.

It was only the other woman’s gaze at Gu Shanhai that seemed a bit odd, but after probing her thoughts, he found them quite normal without any apparent issues.

She was just wondering where Gu Shanhai was from, without any clues.

But for this Fan Shi, Gu Shanhai could try to pry some information from him, especially about the Xuanwei Sect.

Speaking of which, Gu Shanhai was a bit curious. The Xuanwei Sect was considered a major faction; did Fan Shi really dismiss it so casually?

He wasn’t well-versed in the history of this world. When he had left, he hadn’t looked into it, mainly because it seemed unlikely he’d be matched to this world again, and even if he was, history wasn’t of much use to him. It wasn’t a high-level world.

Unexpectedly, upon his return, his strength had significantly improved, and he had the capacity to do other things.

After descending the mountain, he naturally went to the town to inquire about Fan Shi’s situation. He had expected Fan Shi to be from a wealthy family to dare to cross swords with the Xuanwei Sect, but it turned out Fan Shi seemed impoverished, almost unable to afford a meal.

Not to mention the house, which was worse than the old residence of Qian Lao they lived in at Fengtai Village. It was not only small but also shabby, practically indistinguishable from a house devoid of possessions.

However, as Gu Shanhai approached, he noticed something amiss—Fan Shi was eating white rice and a substantial piece of meat, the sort of fatty pork glistening with oil.

"There seems to be a pretty big problem," Gu Shanhai thought to himself.

With a residence like his, how could he possibly afford to eat rice and meat? Rice is considered a finer grain that usual households wouldn’t consume so freely, opting more for coarse grains, let alone meat.

It was akin to someone with a monthly salary of three thousand yuan from a farming family driving a Rolls Royce—a striking dissonance.

So there was only one possibility: Fan Shi was putting on an act, and someone was backing him.

"Interesting, no wonder he dares to refuse the Xuanwei Sect," Gu Shanhai didn’t just directly approach him. Seeing Fan Shi eating in his house, doors and windows firmly shut as if to hide his feast, it was clear he didn’t want others to know he was dining well.

If he approached now, Fan Shi would surely not have a favorable impression of him.

As for using the "I know you’re secretly indulging" approach to threaten Fan Shi, it probably wouldn’t work. Being a local, Fan Shi would be believed over an outsider.

"Wait for the night to come, then when everyone is asleep, I’ll give him a surprise knock on the head, tie him up, and interrogate him at leisure."

Gu Shanhai was very methodical in his actions; he certainly didn’t consider doing harsh things in broad daylight.

Mainly because he was worried that if he interrogated during the day, what would he do if someone visited? He couldn’t tie them up too—that wouldn’t be right.

After ensuring he knew the location, he quietly left, planning to rest in his residence for a while. There would be no gains today, just waiting to see how the altercation between Heavenly Immortal Drunken Fury and White Cloud Crush would play out.

Deep down, he never planned to be too active in this mid-tier region; it was just a place to idle around. If he could dig up something extra, it would be a pleasant surprise, so he remained like a drifter, without many plans.

The way back was peaceful, with no thugs jumping out to provoke, no heroic saves, and certainly no brain-dead offspring bouncing out to say they found Gu Shanhai off-putting, nor any ladies throwing themselves at him.

So tranquil that Gu Shanhai felt like stirring up some excitement in Qingxian Town.

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