Chapter 562: Kitchen God Shrine
Wake up.
Lu Yao looked at the piece of metal in his hand.
It is somewhat like a knife coin from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is slightly heavy in the hand and has a metallic texture. The three Chinese characters "会君符" are engraved in traditional Chinese on the blade.
…
[Meet the Lord]: Opens a long-distance portal, allowing instant teleportation to and from the designated world. It becomes ineffective after use. Available for gods, apostles, heroes, and prophet units.
…
This is the transmission prop that Song Shiyi gave to Isabel before. There are two of them. She said that she would find a time to use them in two days, and then she could meet them.
Lu Yao took it back into the boundary chain.
He gave one to Isabel, then operated Huang Jia to enter proxy mode.
After activating the [Meeting the Lord Talisman], the scene in front of Lu Yao's eyes suddenly changed. Countless lights, shadows and colors flashed by, as if he was trapped in a ball of constantly changing rainbow candies.
…
When he opened his eyes again, Lu Yao found himself in a square.
The square was shrouded in white mist. The ground beneath one's feet was made up of stone slabs. Wisps of white air rose from the cracks between the stones and then quickly dissipated.
A black circle was drawn on the stone slab where Lu Yao was standing. It was probably the teleportation location marked by the [Meeting the Lord Talisman].
Isabel also stood in the circle.
She returned to her pixel world attire, wearing a [Nature's Magic Hat], holding a [Nature's Magic Wand], and the magic book [Nature's Secret Language] was suspended beside her.
"My lord, there are special restrictions here, and perception is severely compressed."
Isabel looked around warily.
Suddenly, a person walked out of the fog ahead.
The man called out from a distance: "Mr. Huang Jia, Miss Mary, here, here."
Only after getting closer did Lu Yao confirm that the other person was Song Shiyi.
She was wearing a blue jacket, grey outdoor trousers, and a pair of hiking shoes. The Moon Goddess's personal dashboard was still filled with question marks.
"plz follow me."
With Song Shiyi leading the way, Lu Yao and the others passed through the mist. As they continued to move forward, the white mist around them became thinner and the surrounding scenes became clearer.
This is a piece of land or floating island in the clouds, surrounded by an endless sea of clouds.
Arriving in the center where the clouds cannot approach, there stands a low gray palace.
It is called a palace because it covers a large area, has a clear step structure on the edge, and has tall wooden stakes similar to a Huabiao in front of the building, indicating that it does have some kind of totem symbol.
Whether on TV or in games, Lu Yao had never seen a palace more shabby than the one before him.
The main body of the palace is built with bamboo, wood and thatch. It has a wide triangular roof and is suspended in the air with wooden frames at the bottom. It looks like an ancient tribal meeting hall.
The roof was made of thatched grass, and the windows were hung with curtains woven from straw ropes. The only thing that could be considered impressive was the totem pole outside, on top of which was carved a giant bird with its wings spread.
Lu Yao could see its data panel.
…
【Xiji Palace】: A mythical wonder. Its origin is unknown.
HP: 142993/3550000 [Myth]
[Phantom Land]
The appearance that appears inside is related to the person who enters.
【Authenticity overlap LV81】
Reality and illusion will be intertwined and difficult to distinguish.
[Kunlun]
Part of Kunlun.
…
Of all the descriptions, Lu Yao cared most about the last one.
Xiji Palace is part of Kunlun.
In other words, this place may have been connected to Kunlun Mountain in the past, but I don’t know if it is still possible now.
As the site of the Kunlun Mountain Palace and the Western Kingdom, the simplicity of this place was beyond Lu Yao's initial expectations.
But on the other hand, the painting style of this mythical wonder does seem to be very distant from the present. Both its layout and structure highlight its simplicity and practicality.
Lu Yao was looking at the Xiji Palace, and Song Shiyi next to him introduced to them: "The ruins excavated by the Xiji Kingdom project are here."
"The Xiji Palace is considered to be a part of the Xiji Country. In fact, the Xiji Country is a relatively broad concept."
Song Shiyi took two more steps, pointed ahead and said, "We're at the camp."
Lu Yao looked along the line where Song Shiyi's hand was.
The direction her finger pointed to was a young man in white and a small black wooden building on the ground.
Lu Yao looked at the latter.
This thing is about 30 centimeters high, divided into two floors, with flying eaves, window sills and door rails, and two small doors on the front facing outwards.
"This is Mr. Zao's [Kitchen God's Shrine]. It will be very convenient to have this when you are out and about. Please come in. Bai Xin is watching outside, so nothing will happen."
The Bai Xin she was talking about was the boy next to her. He was wearing a white hoodie, about 13 or 14 years old, with short hair and a humble face.
"Hello, both of you. My master has been waiting in the shrine for a long time."
Lu Yao also nodded to him: "Thank you for your hard work."
Song Shiyi first walked towards the shrine on the ground. Her body became smaller and smaller, and she walked in through the open door.
So that's what is happening.
Lu Yao found that he was unable to identify the characteristics of the Kitchen God's Shrine. He guessed that it might have some special abilities or restrictions left by the Kitchen God.
He also walked towards the shrine.
When Lu Yao arrived at the door, what he saw before him had turned into an antique carved mansion.
There is a plaque hanging on the lintel at the top of the gate, with "Dongchu Siming" written on it from right to left.
There is one couplet on each of the left and right doorposts.
The upper couplet on the right reads: May God speak good things.
The lower couplet on the left is: Bring good luck back home.
Lu Yao touched the door as he stepped over the threshold. The texture and grain of the wood were very clear.
After the gate is a pond with several red and white carp swimming in it.
Behind the pool is a stone wall screen.
Around here is a hall with pillars and beams, which is completely decorated in a modern style: a large modular sofa, thick carpet, a glass coffee table, spherical lamps hanging from the ceiling, square and simple wall-mounted storage cabinets, and a 100-inch TV hanging on the wall.
"XX Sisters Who Make Waves" is playing on TV.
Wei Yingxue was lying on a lazy sofa, chewing an apple. Although she was blind, it did not affect her listening to the variety show at all.
Lu Yao was slightly shocked.
Is this the modern shrine of the Kitchen God?
"Eh? This light vintage scent... Miss Mary."
Wei Yingxue turned her head and looked at the door through her sunglasses.
"And this one that smells like agarwood and rust... Mr. Huang Jia. Are you here?"
She stood up from the sofa and raised her hand to greet him.
Lu Yao also responded.
He was a little curious: "Is there a TV signal here? Can I still watch TV programs?"
"Of course not."
Wei Yingxue explained: "It is a recorded program. I have recorded a lot of music variety shows and crosstalk. It may not be appropriate to listen to crosstalk here, so it is better to play variety shows. But there is a home generator here, which can be charged."
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
Lu Yao heaved a sigh of relief for some reason.
Fortunately, the Kitchen God's niche does not have its own TV signal.
Lu Yao discovered that there were several game consoles on the cabinet under the TV, including mainstream PS5, XBOX, Nintendo WiiU, and Switch.
Ah this...
Could it be that the Kitchen God is a game geek of our grandfather’s generation?
Lu Yao asked Song Shiyi beside him in a low voice.
"That? Teacher Zao plays it sometimes. When they have nothing to do, Bai Xin and Hong Zhen play video games. They like playing that very much, especially fighting and football. Do you like it too, Mr. Huang Jia?"
"good……"
Lu Yao was sincerely envious.
After all, he is an old pioneer. Look at his life and quality.
At this time, an old man's voice came from inside.
"Have all the guests arrived?"
An old man walked out from the inner room.
Ding Hanzhen looked to be around seventy years old. He was very thin, but stood very straight, wearing an old-fashioned blue shirt with a black vest over it.
His hair is gray, but he is full of energy and is the kind of old man who still has passion and interest in life.
"Xiao Huang."
The old man smiled and shook his hand: "Hello, welcome to join our group."
Lu Yao couldn't help but feel like he had entered a university research group.
"Hello, Teacher Zao." He also said.
"Hello, Miss Mary. Xiao Song keeps praising you. You are really likable."
The old man's attention was all on Isabel, which made Lu Yao speechless. Even the Kitchen God cared about Isabel, but Isabel didn't have any charming characteristics?
Lu Yao took the opportunity to observe Ding Hanzhen.
The result was only one display of [Kitchen God], and the rest were all question marks, which was even more thorough than Song Shiyi.
A very penetrating girl's voice came from the kitchen: "Teacher, the food is ready."
"Then let's eat first and chat while we eat."
Ding Hanzhen rubbed his hands and walked to the kitchen. Song Shiyi and Wei Yingxue also went to help.
Lu Yao and Isabel joined the group.
Everyone took a pile of vegetables and rice and sat down at the long dining table.
For dinner, there were shredded pork with fish flavor and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, as well as the main dishes of braised spareribs and beef with green onions, three-fresh soup, blanched choy sum and crispy pickled radish, and finally, there were cherry tomatoes and cantaloupe as after-meal fruits.
The meal was extremely sumptuous, with every flavor being just right. It made Lu Yaodi feel for the first time that Xiaohuo still had a lot of room for improvement.
Song Shiyi looked at the girl next to her: "Then should I bring Bai Xin's meal to him?"
"Wait until he hands over his shift to me, then come back and eat. I've saved a portion for him."
The girl named Hongzhen said so.
She looked no more than fifteen years old, the same age as Bai Xinshu outside. Hong Zhen was wearing a red sweater, her hair was tied up with a red string, and her eyes were cold and distant.
Lu Yao whispered to Song Shiyi beside him: "Who are Bai Xin and Hong Zhen?"
"He is an apostle and a disciple of Master Zao."
Song Shiyi also responded in a low voice: "Bai Xin is good at investigating and tracking tracks, and Hong Zhen is an expert in combat. But in fact, they heard what we said very clearly."
Lu Yao was a little embarrassed and could only cough.
Ding Hanzhen seemed not to have heard it. He said softly, "Now that everyone is here, I will first talk about the Western Kingdom project."
"This is the sixth time our team has come here. We have come to several basic conclusions from the previous stationings and surveys."
"First, the Xiji Palace itself cannot be stored or transformed. Second, its construction method and style confirm that it was completed during the Western Zhou Dynasty or even earlier, which is consistent with the period of appearance and basic external characteristics of the Xiji Kingdom."
"Let's talk about the progress of the Guard Bureau."
"This is their third time entering the Xiji Palace. The first two times they stayed inside for very short periods of time, and the information they reported back was that the first and second times were different."
"The first time I entered, the Xiji Palace was a closed mausoleum, and I didn't find anything. The second time I entered, it turned into a chaotic battlefield. Every situation was real. The mausoleum was empty, and the battlefield was full of soldiers fighting for their lives... and these things would continue to change."
"The third time, I finally encountered a relatively stable scene environment, which was a village. I have not received the relevant information yet."
"What our team has to do is to infer the specific age, cause, related personnel and ability of Xiji Palace based on the existing clues. This is a job that requires patience."
Ding Hanzhen gave a brief account and his eyes lingered on Lu Yao and Isabel for a moment.
The old man smiled and said, "This is a routine group meeting. Everyone can speak freely. Tell us your opinions and views."
“…”
Everyone was silent.
"No objections? Let's adjourn the meeting." Ding Hanzhen clapped his hands.
Everyone immediately started chatting animatedly.
…
After dinner.
Lu Yao sat on a soft lazy sofa, watching the variety show on the big-screen TV. He glanced at other people out of the corner of his eyes and couldn't help but feel a strong sense of unreality.
Song Shiyi and Isabel were chatting about something.
Ding Hanzhen took a cup of tea and was reading a book while wearing reading glasses.
Wei Yingxue was lying on the sofa and Ge You was listening to variety shows.
The young girl Hongzhen delivered snacks and drinks to each person and acted as a maid in front of the Kitchen God's shrine.
Is this how the committee works? Aren't we really here for a vacation team building? Lu Yao ate the sago and baked cookies made by Hong Zhen and fell into deep thought.
(End of this chapter)
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