Chapter 314: City God Temple

Chapter 314: City God Temple

Since Tuoba Danqing had left, Li Huowang found himself alone in the inn with nothing to do.

He had learned much today and needed to return home to digest it all.

Just then, a clapping sound came from beside him—Red Zhong's palms smacking together. "Not bad, not bad. Indeed worthy of being one of the Three Greats. That lie you told—it mixed truth with falsehood, falsehood with truth. Even if that old man were to investigate, he wouldn’t find a single flaw."

Li Huowang shot him a glare. Just as he opened his mouth to say something, a young waiter wearing a white towel over his shoulder walked in.

Seeing the waiter bowing respectfully to him, Li Huowang said nothing more and turned toward the door. But just then, the waiter’s voice reached him from behind.

"Sir, you haven’t touched many of the dishes today. Would you like them packed up again like last time?"

Li Huowang’s expression instantly darkened. "Pack what? I’m not taking anything!"

The waiter looked at Li Huowang leaving with a face full of grievance. "I swear, we packed everything last time. Why not now?"

The next day, Li Huowang rode in a carriage along the wide street. The City God Temple of Yinglei City was unmistakably obvious.

He found it quickly—a grand, imposing temple standing at a crossroads.

From atop the carriage, he gazed at the whole scene. The temple was surrounded by green trees, flower beds blooming, with apricot-yellow walls and blue-gray roof ridges. It was hard to imagine such a magnificent structure wasn't a religious monastery but rather a city god temple, a common feature in every town.

"Buddha, Buddha," a monk beside him clasped his hands in reverence before the temple.

Incense curled through the air, and crowds of Yinglei citizens poured in continuously.

After standing nearby for a while, Li Huowang noticed that the most frequent visitors were actually the courtesans from Linglong Tower, their faces adorned with cobalt-blue ceramic patterns.

These women were incredibly devout. They clasped their hands, raised them above chest, forehead, and head, then laid them flat on the ground. Day after day, so much so that many stone slabs had worn down.

Li Huowang’s keen ears caught every prayer they whispered.

"O City God Grandfather, please, just take any man to redeem me as a concubine."

"Please, City God, have pity on this poor girl. In my next life, I want to be reborn as a man. Let me be a man!"

Standing outside the temple, Li Huowang glanced inside from afar. Three City Gods with black faces sat in the center, each holding a crescent-shaped token.

Giant figures of ox heads and horse faces stood on either side, giving no impression of being the kind to grant wishes.

Li Huowang flicked his whip against the horse’s flank, and the carriage slowly moved toward the base of the temple where several vendors were setting up stalls—some divining, others selling letters written in ancient script.

He soon found Chen Blind, the man he'd met once before, squatting there reading fortunes for a woman.

"Your fate... is not good~ not good at all~ A woman with the 'Shang Guan' curse will harm her husband; a lotus planted in dry land won’t survive. Either you’ll eat from two households or wash pots for three."

As Chen Blind rattled off his words, naturally, the woman cursed back. He didn’t seem annoyed but simply sat there, waiting for her to finish.

After she left, he looked at Li Huowang with his white, rolling eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. Hahaha, I only read fates, not interpret them.”

Though blind, Li Huowang felt as though he were being watched.

"Haha, young man, if I’m not mistaken, you’re the one who came to give me my Bagua Mirror, aren’t you?"

Li Huowang wanted to leave quickly and avoid further talk. He pulled out the mirror from under the carriage and placed it on Chen’s stall.

Two wrinkled hands reached out. Upon touching the mirror, Chen’s aged face showed an ugly smile.

"Not bad, not bad. This is exactly what I lost. Oh yes, that fake granddaughter of mine from the Zouwang Sect—where is he?"

"He’s dead. I killed him."

Hearing this joyful news, Chen laughed heartily. "Hahahaha! Good! Dead is good! Mocking me because I'm blind, pretending to be my granddaughter to deceive me! Deserved punishment!"

Red Zhong snorted disdainfully. "A loser!"

"Master Chen, the promise you made to Brother Tuoba earlier—please keep it."

"Of course, of course. How could I dare mock someone from the Heavenly Observing Bureau?" With that, he bent down and began searching through a bamboo basket.

Soon, a book bound in dark blue thread appeared in Chen’s hands.

"This is a technique never shared with outsiders in our sect. Alas... too bad... since our ancestor went mad for no reason, the clay statue fell, and hearts scattered."

Li Huowang flipped through it. It detailed how to draw talismans, how to chant, what they were used for, and what blood or ginger yellow paper was required—all clearly recorded.

Its functions were surprisingly diverse: ward off ghosts, heal people, divine fortunes, even help with house blessings and construction.

It was comprehensive, and all it required were his own blood and ginger yellow paper. Whether it would work remained uncertain.

But something about these talismans seemed strange—they differed from those of the Luo Sect boy. Each talisman bore a twisted font hiding a faintly distorted human face.

Just as Li Huowang was about to ask, Chen spoke again. "Young man, don’t joke around. What I give you, if it works, works well—but there are taboos."

"For starters, no more than three talismans per day. And when drawing or using them, you must not look directly at them."

"What if I do?" Li Huowang asked.

"Look?" Chen chuckled softly, his milky eyes fixed on Li Huowang.

"The talisman comes alive. It will lock onto you. If you wish to live, you'll have to follow my example and blind yourself."

After weighing the pros and cons, Li Huowang nodded without changing his expression. "That’s fine."

With that, he tapped the horse’s flank and prepared to leave.

"Hmm? You mean that’s okay?" Chen blinked in surprise—he hadn’t expected such a response.

"Ah, don’t rush. Since you avenged me, I owe you. I don’t like owing anyone. Here, sit down. Let me read your fortune, blind as I am."

"No need!" Li Huowang instinctively reached for his copper coin mask.

But Chen lunged forward, reaching straight for Li Huowang’s shadow on the ground.

"Mm... mm... mm..." He traced the shadow carefully, as if contemplating something.

Li Huowang frowned slightly at Chen’s odd behavior. Seeing no movement, he cautiously led the horse away.

Just as he stepped a few paces beyond the temple, Chen’s voice followed him.

"A full moon turns round and wanes, a few cold stars encircle the fading moon, lanterns shine bright before the gate, and empty pockets mark the passing years."

(End of Chapter)