"Is this here? It does look quite desolate!"
With a long bow on his back and a short knife in his hand, Pei Wende, dressed in standard Orion attire, lay down behind a certain tuft of grass, quietly staring at the temple not far away.
I have to say that this ghost place is really remote. Even Pei Wende, who has lived in the mountains and forests all year round and developed an extraordinary physique, was a little out of breath after finding this place.
In fact, Pei Wende originally thought that the Tongqing Temple where he lived was desolate enough.
But now it seems that compared with the deserted temple in front of him, Tongqing Temple, which is rarely populated, is already a place with outstanding people.
At least because of the existence of Zen Master Lingyou, there is no shortage of incense in Tongqing Temple. The squires and relatives from nearby areas would go up the mountain to burn incense from time to time.
It was usually only then that Pei Wende realized it.
That Zen Master Lingyou, who often had no manners at all in front of him, and even occasionally seemed a bit petty, was indeed an eminent monk with the ability to subjugate demons.
Since Zen Master Lingyou and Pei Wende settled near Weishan, even ordinary people living nearby can clearly feel that the number of evil spirits and ghosts is decreasing.
Sometimes Pei Wende also wonders why a truly capable and enlightened monk like Zen Master Lingyou would choose such a place far away from the center to live in seclusion.
Are you even concealing your abilities intentionally or unintentionally?
Fortunately, Pei Wende had experience in his previous life and could remember things early, otherwise he would have doubted whether he had really "misunderstood" his old monk.
"Even the guardian deity guarding the mountain gate is gone. I don't know if it was intentional."
In Pei Wende's impression, there are usually special guardian gods at the entrance of temples.
Depending on the size of the temple and the Dharma held, these Dharma protectors may be two, four, or other different numbers.
They correspond to different images of gods such as Veda Arhat, General Hengha, and the Four Heavenly Kings.
Theoretically speaking, no matter how simple or poor a temple is, the position of the guardian deity at the door is definitely indispensable.
Of course, what Pei Wende still doesn't know is that in the eyes of knowledgeable people or practitioners, such temples that lack a guardian deity are generally called wild temples or monster temples.
A temple with a protector may not necessarily be able to resist the invasion of evil spirits, but a temple without a protector will definitely breed evil spirits.
This is just common sense in the eyes of practitioners.
After all, as a place where the thoughts and incense of all living beings gather, temples are in a sense the most spiritual place, and the possibility of breeding evil spirits is naturally greater than in ordinary places.
"Well, should I go in now?"
Although he didn't know the specific meaning of the Dharma Protector to the temple, Pei Wende was not a fool, so he was naturally aware of the subtleties of the temple opposite.
Not to mention, there was a giant man-eating tiger suspected to be hidden in this temple, so he couldn't be too cautious.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
"Huh?"
Just when Pei Wende wanted to concentrate on observing this strange temple, a panting girl slowly appeared at the end of the road, supported by two or three maids.
Judging from the girl's dress and bun, she seemed to be the daughter of a squire from a well-off family, and she was not yet old enough to leave the court.
It's just a girl who has not yet left the palace, but she appears in front of an ancient temple in the mountains in the wilderness. This is a bit unreasonable.
You know, even in the Tang Dynasty, which had a very open concept, such situations rarely happened.
"Who? Who's there?"
However, before Pei Wende could continue to think about the specific reason, a certain maid in Tsing Yi who was always on high alert suddenly shouted loudly.
The next second, everyone, including the girl, unanimously turned their attention to the tuft of grass where Pei Wende was hiding.
"..."
He didn't expect that he would be exposed in such a way. Pei Wende was stunned for a while, and then he realized that he seemed to be exposed inexplicably.
"That...this...I..."
Ai Ai hesitated for a long time, and Pei Wende didn't even think of how to explain his behavior of hiding in the grass.
According to Pei Wende's original plan, he planned to lurk outside the temple first and wait until he found out what was going on inside the temple.
If he could successfully find the wandering Taoist priest disguised as a striking white-breasted giant tiger, no matter whether he was good or bad, Pei Wende would shoot him with an arrow from a hundred paces away.
Who knew the plan would not change quickly.
Before Pei Wende could figure out the specific situation of the temple, his existence was exposed by a group of young ladies and maids who appeared here inexplicably.
In this case, continuing to lurk or play dumb is definitely the worst idea.
After all, this group of young ladies and maids are obviously here for this temple, and they will definitely mention their existence to the abbot of the temple.
"Ahem, I'm lost."
So in the surprised eyes of all the girls, Pei Wende gave a reason that even ghosts didn't believe.
"Lost? Really?"
"Is there an official road next to it? Can you get lost here?"
"Even if you want to chat with our little lady, just find a better excuse!"
…
Although the girls suppressed their laughter politely, Pei Wende still heard the ridicule towards him from their whispering voices.
It seems that because the way he appeared was too unique and the reason he gave was too lame, Pei Wende, who was carrying a long bow and holding a short sword, did not have the intimidating power he should have.
Of course, it's more likely because Pei Wende's face is too immature and he doesn't look much older than his eldest daughter who has not yet left the government.
So after a brief period of astonishment, the girls instinctively regarded Pei Wende as that kind of harmless boy.
Even the maid in green who was the most vigilant stared at Pei Wende speechlessly, with words like "Why is there such a fool showing up here?" barely written on her face.
"Xiao Langjun, if you are really lost..."
"Just walk in the direction we came from and it will take about half a stick of incense to find the official road."
After an awkward silence, the girl who was surrounded by the maids finally came to the rescue with a smile.
"But it's getting late now. It will probably be completely dark by the time you get to the nearest town."
"So, if you don't mind, young man, you can come with us to 'Mulian Temple' to stay for one night, and then we can find a way to go home at dawn tomorrow."
Judging from the girl's tone, she obviously didn't really believe what Pei Wende said. The reason why she said this was simply because she didn't want Pei Wende to be too embarrassed.
"It just so happens that my family has a close relationship with the old abbot of the temple, and he will definitely not refuse based on his mercy."
—Recommendation ticket—/—Monthly ticket—
