After all, Qi Jingzhi is a newborn calf and is not afraid of tigers. Even though he is aware of the danger, he has no intention of retreating: "A few naughty foxes can get in, why can't I?"
Thinking of the coquettish fox, he couldn't help but glance at the body of the white fox hanging on his waist, with a look of disgust on his face.
This fox corpse, which exuded a foul smell, was badly damaged and stained with blood, and its fur was worthless. If it hadn't been for the help of fox meat for washing the marrow and cutting the fur, it would have been abandoned by the young man like a worn-out shoe.
Qi Jingzhi withdrew his gaze, grasped the sharp knife tightly, and walked cautiously along the hand corridor.
Not long after walking, the young man turned several turns and passed through a moon gate at the end of the corridor. The palace he had seen from a distance suddenly appeared in front of him.
Qi Jingzhi was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the journey would go extremely smoothly without any setbacks.
He looked up and saw that the courtyard where the palace was located was extremely vast, and the ground was paved with large bluestone slabs.
However, over the years, many bluestone slabs have been deformed or even broken, and weeds have grown tenaciously from the gaps everywhere. The ground has become undulating, with almost no place flat.
Under the stone steps in front of the palace, a four-legged bronze tripod as tall as a person was missing one leg and fell slumped to the ground.
There is a shocking huge crack on the upward side of the tripod, which just cuts the full moon pattern in the center of the tripod into two.
This crack was as straight as a line, and the edges were extremely neat, as if it had been split open by force.
Through the cracks, you can see thick black soil accumulated inside the cauldron, and green grass has sprouted from the soil.
Qi Jingzhi didn't stop for long, stepped over the bronze tripod, and walked slowly up the stone steps in front of the palace.
The relief sculpture sandwiched between the steps on both sides has long been turned into a pile of rubble, and it is impossible to see what the original pattern was.
Before Qi Jingzhi reached the top, he could already see from a distance the red old fox squatting quietly in front of the palace door on the platform at the top of the stone steps.
Its back was turned to the young man, its head was lowered, its paws were clasped together, and it was silently paying homage to the temple.
The door of the main hall was ajar, only a thin crack in the middle was exposed, and it was impossible to see what was going on inside the hall.
In the wild temple deep in the mountains, I worship in front of the Old Fox Temple.
The whole scene was silent, but there was an element of evil and weirdness from inside to outside.
Hearing the boy's footsteps, the old fox's ears suddenly stood up, his body trembled slightly, and a low whine came out of his mouth.
The old guy was obviously very scared, but he resisted the urge to get up and run away. He even deliberately lowered his voice, as if he was afraid of disturbing things in the hall.
Seeing this, Qi Jingzhi couldn't help but frown and stopped behind the red old fox.
He deliberately did not look at the other party's head, but raised his head to examine the hall in front of him.
On the way here, Qi Jingzhi did not see any larger temples, so it can be seen that the one in front of him is the main hall of the temple.
Above the hall door, the place where the plaque should have been hung is empty, and the name of the hall cannot be known.
Similar to the hand-painted verandah in the small garden, the red paint on the doors and windows in front of the temple is also dull and completely eroded, revealing the original wood texture, making it look old and dilapidated.
The two door panels have been eroded by wind, rain and time. They are deformed, cracked, and covered with deep cracks, as if they will collapse with just a slight push.
Seeing that the young man did not step forward rashly, the old red fox's whining gradually became quieter.
It secretly turned its head, squinted its eyes and glanced behind it. At a glance, it saw the body of the white fox on the young man's waist, and the grief, anger and resentment in its eyes almost overflowed.
Qi Jingzhi caught sight of its movement with the corner of his eye, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, and he said softly: "It's time to hit the road."
"Bah! You didn't even look at where this place was, and you didn't even know you were about to die! Today I will ask you, a murderer, to pay for the lives of my two children!"
The old fox's tone was resentful, and his eyes were even more cruel.
It looked back at the main hall and said in a trembling voice: "This is the evil thief, please let me make the decision for you!"
After saying that, it suddenly crawled down, its forehead pressed tightly to the ground, and made a big bow.
Seeing this scene, Qi Jingzhi's fingers suddenly tightened their grip on the handle of the knife, and his breathing became longer and stronger.
"Young man, this is not the place you should be."
In the silence, someone suddenly spoke in the hall.
This person's voice was clear and gentle, and his tone was soothing and soft. He sounded like a gentle young man, and had nothing to do with the ferocious deity Qi Jingzhi imagined.
The young man was a little surprised, pondered for a moment, and responded: "I am a hunter in the mountains. I came here after chasing my prey. When I saw the smoke and grass, the walls and houses collapsed, I thought that no one was in charge of this place, so I entered without warning. But here Since it is a temple, people should be allowed to offer incense and pay homage. Why do you have to expel visitors just by opening your mouth?"
"Oh? Ordinary people see this ancient temple on a barren mountain where wild foxes are infested. It's too late to hide away, but you young man is a little brave." The tone of the man in the temple was obviously more appreciative.
"Your Excellency lives here alone and uses fox spirits as slaves. This is truly shocking."
Qi Jingzhi didn't want to quarrel with this person in the hall, so he said a few perfunctory words, and then asked: "I have a grudge against this old fox, and I will kill it today. Do you have anything to say?"
The red old fox still maintained his posture of prostrating himself to the ground. When he heard the young man's question, his ears suddenly perked up.
This time, there was silence in the palace for a long time, and then the voice said calmly: "You said something wrong just now. It's not that I use the fox spirit as my slave, but that it actively asked to come to the door and asked me to protect you. It. I haven't agreed to this matter yet. You can kill if you want, but there is one thing. There will be no blood in this temple."
After the words fell, the red old fox raised his head in disbelief and screamed loudly: "These days since the master has been here, my servants have always been obedient. They never dared to come in rashly to disturb Qingxiu, and they have never missed a day in front of the palace. Make an offering!"
It cried a few words, and then kept kowtowing: "Now that something has happened in my family, and since the master is unwilling to come forward, I will never dare to mention the word revenge again. I just want to survive... I just want to survive!"
The old fox's thoughts changed very quickly. He originally wanted to borrow a knife to kill someone, but unfortunately the man in the hall refused to avenge him, so he immediately changed his tune.
Qi Jingzhi's eyes flashed, and he thought to himself: "You actually call yourself me? Judging from this guy's tone, he must not be a human being!"
Just when he was about to speak, he heard the voice in the palace continue: "It's just that I really lack a scoundrel in my sect. I think you are quite lovable, are you willing to fill this gap?"
Hearing the word "ghost", Qi Jingzhi immediately understood: "The man in the palace calls himself the king, and it turns out he is the king of the tiger! Fortunately, it has only arrived not long ago, and the old fox cannot get a home with its flattery, so it is impossible to ask it to take action. Otherwise, last night would have been dangerous."
"Hmph, this old fox is cunning and cunning. If he dares to stay alone under the tree, he must have evil intentions to lure me here to die. The two white fox girls have a strong temperament and can't bend their brains. I'm afraid they will be deceived by this old fox. Being in the dark, your life was wasted."
After roughly understanding the cause and effect, Qi Jingzhi had more questions in his heart. He frowned and thought to himself: "As Dong Mao said, the county is not big, and there are a lot of messy things. But Songling County, a small county, will not Two tiger spirits came out in one breath, right? The guy in the palace said that he just came here not long ago... Could it be that they are actually the same one?"
"If that's the case, it's the main culprit that caused my grandpa to receive twenty canes and caused my young man to commit crimes and commit murder. That's really a very narrow road for enemies!"
Qi Jingzhi pursed his lips and said straight to the point: "It turns out it's the tiger in front of you! Your Excellency has recently moved to Xiaosong Mountain. Could it be that he is the one from Nangang?"
"Oh? Have you heard of me? Yes, just now you said that you are a hunter in the mountains. Speaking of which, I actually ate a few strong hunters on Nangang. Although they were not delicious, they were quite chewy..."
The tiger spirit in the hall paused, seeming to be reminiscing, and after a while he continued: "They were quite powerful after turning into ghosts, but it's a pity that they were all destroyed by a fire, otherwise you, a young man, would not be of sufficient stature. , how could we encounter such a good opportunity to fill a vacancy?"
"As expected! Master Meng said that Dong Mao is of the bloodline of the Five Elements of Fire. Who else could be the one to set the fire apart from him?"
Qi Jingzhi couldn't help but cursed: "What a bastard thing this guy is doing, it has a beginning and no end! Now that I'm letting the tiger go back to the mountains, I'm really going to trick your young master to death!"
