The Lord of Void and Real

Chapter 223: Chapter 221: Incense Therapy for Injuries (half a month has passed, asking for monthly tickets)

“There are so many people coming and going on Qinhuai River and it’s bustling with activity. It shouldn’t have given birth to such a thing.” Shen Luo said, perplexed.

“I also find this puzzling. Nevertheless, the world is unpredictable and unexpected things do happen. Moreover, there are quite a few resentful spirits along Qinhuai River. There have always been plenty of people who died by drowning over the years, so it’s not necessarily scant of Yin Sha Qi.” Soul Hook Horse Face stated dismissively.

“But isn’t the River Guardian Beast originally used to ward off the Water Devil? How could it itself become a Water Devil?” Shen Luo asked again.

“Indeed, this creature was meant to ward off disasters. There’s one installed at each of the twenty-four bridgeheads in Jianye city, but no others have shown any abnormalities except for the one at Zhenhuai Bridge. It’s damning that the Water Devil entrenched within the River Guardian Beast devours the Qinhuai Water Ghosts, even manipulating them to lure people into the water, thus, disrupting the balance between Yin and Yang.” Ma Mian, growing furious as he spoke, took another large gulp of his wine.

“It’s a pity we let a part of it escape in the end.” Shen Luo sighed.

Hearing this, Ma Mian’s expression shifted slightly, but all of a sudden, he said,

“After sunset tomorrow, come find me here. I’ll have you help me with something and I’ll reward you in return.”

“What would you like me to do?” Shen Luo asked, intrigued.

“You’ll understand when you arrive tomorrow.” Soul Hook Horse Face didn’t plan to explain more. After finishing his sentence, he put his Wine Gourd into his sleeve and left first.

Shen Luo, full of questioning, hurried back to the Bai family. Suddenly, an idea struck him and he murmured to himself, “Could it be that Soul Hook Horse Face was able to recognize me a thousand years later because of what happened today?”

“He also said something about how it’s impossible for me to still be alive. What’s that about?” This thought made him increasingly anxious, feeling a cold sweat running down his back.

“No! Since I know in advance, I won’t let history repeat itself!” Shen Luo clenched his fist, determined.

…

At dusk on the second day, Shen Luo, having completed a day’s cultivation, arrived at the secluded pavilion according to the agreement.

Upon his arrival, the sun hadn’t fully set yet and Ma Mian had still not appeared in the pavilion. After waiting for a while, Ma Mian finally arrived, looking exactly the same as a white-faced scholar.

“Good, at least you’re punctual.” Ma Mian glanced at Shen Luo and nodded in approval.

“Could you tell me what you want me to do now?” asked Shen Luo.

“Don’t worry, it’s not dangerous. All you need to do is sneak into City God Temple, and bring back three sticks of incense for me.” Ma Mian gestured towards Shen Luo and said earnestly.

“Stealing incense from the City God Temple?” Shen Luo thought he heard wrong and couldn’t help but ask.

“What stealing? That sounds terrible. It’s taking! I want you to go into City God Temple and take three aged incense sticks that have been permeated with the smell of the Incense Fire.” Ma Mian coughed slightly and clarified.

Shen Luo furrowed his brows, staring at Ma Mian in confusion.

“To be honest, I suffered some internal injuries in the fight with the Water Devil the other day. But currently, in Jianye City, I have tasks assigned by the Underworld and cannot return to recuperate. Therefore, I have no choice but to steal some incense from City Lord to aid my recovery.” After hesitating slightly, Ma Mian came clean.

“I see. But why wouldn’t Elder go borrow it yourself and instead ask me to fetch it?” Having given it some thought, Shen Luo nodded, but quickly thought of something else and asked.

“Nonsense! I am a creature of the underworld, and City Lord is of higher rank. Naturally, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me.” Ma Mian rolled his eyes and said.

Upon hearing this, Shen Luo was still somewhat hesitant.

“Don’t worry. Being of the mortal world, taking three aged incense sticks that have absorbed the Incense Fire is nothing to the City Lord, not to mention you can always go and burn more incense later as a form of compensation. As long as you accomplish this task, I will certainly reward you handsomely.” Seeing Shen Luo still hesitant, Ma Mian urged him impatiently.

Upon hearing the words “handsome reward”, Shen Luo’s mind began to waver, with the words ‘magical instrument’ and ‘Immortal Jade’ emerging in his thoughts.

Right now, the rewards he most desired were these two.

“Alright, I’ll help you once.” Shen Luo didn’t hesitate and immediately nodded his agreement.

“Remember, you need to get the oldest and deepest-colored incense from the sticks in the incense tube on the altar table. Don’t pick the wrong one.” Ma Mian finally sighed with relief and added his reminder.

“I got it.” Shen Luo agreed and ran out in quick strides.

The City God Temple in Jianye City covered a sizeable area and received numerous devotees over the years, keeping the temple’s incense burning vigorously.

By the time Shen Luo arrived at the temple, it was completely dark. An elderly temple keeper was about to close the temple gates when Shen Luo stopped him, explaining that he had travelled a long way just to burn a stick of incense and offer money for incense to the City Lord.

The temple keeper, seeing his earnest demeanor, let him in.

Upon entering the temple, Shen Luo immediately took out ten taels of silver from his bosom and tossed them into the merit box without a word.

The temple keeper, who rarely came across such a generous worshipper, was overjoyed. He busily took the initiative to get incense for Shen Luo.

“Incense should be selected personally to reflect sincerity.” Shen Luo intercepted him quickly and said.

On hearing this, the temple keeper thought it made sense, so he stepped back, allowing Shen Luo to pick the incense himself.

He managed to find three, deep-colored, aged-incense sticks in the incense tube and subtly tucked them inside his sleeve. Then he picked out three fresh, bright red heart-incense sticks and lit them.

During his prayer routine, he did not make any vows, but repeatedly apologized in his heart, hoping the City Lord wouldn’t hold a grudge against him.

Afterward, he left the City God Temple and returned to the pavilion.

“Good, very good, these are exactly what I wanted.” Ma Mian received the three sticks of aged incense from Shen Luo, as delighted as if he had obtained a treasure, and said with a beaming smile.

Then, he took a deep sniff of the three incense sticks.

Shen Luo saw that the three sticks of incense had not been lit, but a bright red dot of fire appeared at their tips. As Ma Mian inhaled, these dots ignited rapidly towards the incense base.

He arrived at the smoke that emerged from the three burning incense sticks, without leaving a trace, was entirely inhaled by Ma Mian into his nose. A rosy glow then suffused his face, and he looked extremely relaxed.

However, the remains of the incense sticks after the fire instantly turned into ashes and dispersed.

“Is this how fairies consume incense?” Shen Luo widened his eyes in surprise at this scene.

“You’ve done well, this is your reward. Catch.” Ma Mian looked quite satisfied, casually reached into his sleeve, and took out a black scroll about three inches long, handing it to Shen Luo.

“It’s not the Immortal jade…” The moment Shen Luo set his eyes on the scroll, a sigh sounded in his heart.

However, he still held a glimmer of hope, wishing that this scroll was a magical instrument.

Shen Luo held it in his hand and slowly opened it with hesitation. A black silk book appeared before his eyes, with twisted and vividly red characters written on it, causing his heart to sink.

“A Soul Contract?” When he clearly saw the words at the top of the scroll, disappointment was unmistakable in his eyes.

(It’s been half a month since the publication of the new book. Don’t forget to vote for it with your monthly tickets, my Daoist friends ^^)