After a moment's thought, Prince An nodded: "Very well, let everyone go inside to take shelter from the rain first."
The procession quickly stopped in front of the dilapidated temple, and everyone dismounted and went inside to take refuge.
The temple was dimly lit and housed a dilapidated statue of a deity.
After entering the temple, Li Xi and the others immediately dispersed, each finding a place to sit down and cautiously observing their surroundings.
The guard of Master Huang stood at the door with his sword in his hand, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, constantly watching for any movement outside.
Meng Zhelan's gaze lingered briefly on the grandfather and grandson before turning to Gu Cheng. "Gu Cheng, if you feel unwell anywhere, please let me know."
Gu Cheng smiled slightly, "Thank you, Dr. Meng, I'm fine." His voice was soft, but firm.
Meng Zhelan nodded slightly, then handed a porcelain bottle to Gu Cheng, "This is a good medicine that is beneficial to your health. Remember to take one pill each morning and evening."
Gu Cheng took the porcelain bottle, carefully put it into his pocket, and said gratefully, "Dr. Meng, thank you for your help."
Old Master Gu watched from the side, his heart filled with relief. This was Cheng'er's good fortune; if he hadn't met them, he probably wouldn't have much time left.
Huang Er turned his gaze to Li Xi and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother Li, I actually wanted to ask you this when we set off, but I just hadn't found the right opportunity. Who are those gentlemen?"
He was referring to Meng Zhelan and the others standing to the side; such a group was indeed somewhat puzzling.
Li Xi had already prepared a reason: "This is my older sister, a doctor. She heard that there are precious medicinal herbs in Liangshi Village, so she came all the way here. These two are distant relatives of mine, and my sister is here to take them back to the capital."
Upon hearing this, Huang Er nodded in relief, "I see. No wonder I felt those two young ladies had a unique air about them; they're doctors after all."
Seeing this, Meng Zhelan nodded slightly, which was considered a greeting.
Suddenly, a cold wind blew in from outside the temple, causing the lanterns inside to sway and flicker.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
Just then, a piercing scream rang out from outside the temple, sharp and chilling. Everyone immediately looked towards the entrance, where they saw the middle-aged man's expression change drastically, his sword already drawn.
Prince An asked in a deep voice, "What's going on outside?"
Lu Yi replied nervously, "Young Master, it seems there is someone outside."
Before the words were finished, another scream rang out from outside the temple, this time even closer, as if something was approaching.
Everyone's hearts were in their throats as they nervously stared at the doorway.
Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed by, the temple door was pushed open, and a woman, soaking wet and dressed in rags, stumbled in.
Li Xi frowned, slowly walked up to the woman, and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you? Why are you here?"
The woman raised her head, revealing a face streaked with tears, and said in a trembling voice, "I...I don't know, I don't know, just now...just now I saw a group of ghostly figures floating in the forest, I was so scared...so scared..."
Before she could finish speaking, another clap of thunder sounded outside the temple, accompanied by even more intense rain, as if something ominous was approaching.
The people inside the temple looked at each other, unsure how to deal with this sudden turn of events.
Just then, the woman suddenly looked up, a strange light flashing in her eyes, and stared straight at Li Xi.
She struggled to her feet, grabbed Li Xi's sleeve, and whispered, "Young master, save me..." Her voice was filled with despair and pleading.
The woman pointed tremblingly outside the temple, stammering, "Outside... there's a ghost... it's chasing me... I'm so scared..."
The people inside the temple looked at each other, a chill creeping into their hearts.
Master Huang frowned and said, "Where would a ghost come from in this desolate wilderness? You must be seeing things."
Upon hearing this, the woman was terrified, as if she had seen something horrible. She retreated repeatedly until she bumped into the statue and fell to the ground.
The atmosphere inside the temple grew increasingly heavy, and the sound of everyone's heartbeats seemed to be clearly audible.
Suddenly, another piercing scream came from outside the temple. Immediately afterward, a gust of cold wind blew by, and the lanterns inside the temple went out abruptly, plunging the temple into complete darkness.
Everyone gasped in surprise and hurriedly lit the tinderbox.
The woman's eyes widened, and she said in a trembling voice, "No...no, I really saw it, that ghost...it was covered in blood, and it had no facial features. It...it kept chasing me!"
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.
Master Huang said in a deep voice, "Everyone, don't panic. This woman may have been frightened and is hallucinating. Let's take shelter here from the rain and leave after it stops."
At this moment, the thunder outside became even more deafening, and the rain poured down as if to engulf the entire world.
The woman was soaking wet, trembling and curled up in the corner, her eyes filled with despair and fear.
Although the people in the temple were puzzled, they dared not make any rash moves. They could only keep a watchful eye on the temple gate and their surroundings, fearing that something unexpected might happen.
Just then, Meng Zhelan slowly stepped forward, knelt down, and gently comforted the woman: "Don't be afraid, young lady. We are all just passing through and will not harm you. Tell me, what did you see?"
The woman began to recount her ordeal in a trembling voice.
She said she didn't know why she ended up in that place, and when she woke up, she saw the ghost approaching, trying to eat her.
Instinctively, it tried to run away, but accidentally rolled down the hillside.
The rain intensified, yet the dilapidated temple grew ever more silent. Only the woman's trembling and weeping echoed through the air.
Prince An frowned and looked at Lu Yi, gesturing for him to go out and investigate.
Lu nodded, gripped his longsword tightly, and slowly walked towards the temple gate.
He took a deep breath, pushed the door open abruptly, and a cold wind mixed with rain rushed in, but he saw nothing unusual.
Lu Yi carefully looked around and found no other sounds besides the rain and thunder.
He shook his head, indicating that nothing was wrong, before closing the door and returning to the temple. Seeing this, Master Huang breathed a sigh of relief.
Lu Yi looked around and saw only desolation in the rain, with no ghostly figures in sight.
Feeling somewhat relieved, he turned back into the temple and reported to Prince An: "My lord, there is nothing unusual outside."
After listening, Prince An nodded slightly and did not pursue the matter further.
Tian Tian noticed the woman's wet clothes and was about to take out dry clothes from her backpack when Meng Zhelan had already gone ahead and led the woman to change her clothes.
"Girl, don't be afraid. Change your clothes first." Meng Zhelan led the woman behind the stone statue and handed her clean clothes.
She took the clothes, thanked them softly, her voice trembling slightly, clearly still shaken.
Meng Zhelan gently patted her shoulder to comfort her.
At this moment, Tian Tian also took out some food and water from her backpack and handed them to the woman.
Just then, the woman's stomach rumbled, clearly indicating that she was hungry, as the long run had exhausted her energy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com