Chapter 162: Real and Fantasy World
As Ning Caichen and Ma Junji approached, they saw the name of the ancient temple inscribed on it: "Lanyin Temple. No wonder it smells like orchids."
The two scholars entered the temple, but found it empty and overgrown with weeds, as if no one had lived there for a long time. However, the furnishings in the temple were not dirty, and the Buddha statue enshrined in the hall, which they did not recognize, was also clean and not covered with dust.
There seemed to be some residual warmth in the incense burner, as if a lazy monk had only cleaned the Buddhist temple and neglected to take care of the gate, and had gone out and not returned yet.
Orchids are placed everywhere in the temple, with a pleasant and rich fragrance that makes people feel relaxed and happy.
Ma Junji laughed and said, "This monk is really strange. If he is said to be hardworking, the ground is covered with weeds and weeds. If he is said to be lazy, the temple is clean and neat, and even quite elegant, with orchids everywhere. Lanyin Temple is worthy of its name."
Ning Caichen said, "I wonder if the master in this temple would be willing to let us stay overnight."
Ma Junji said, "You see there's no one in the temple. I guess the monks' quarters are vacant and can be used as shelter for us."
When they arrived at the monks' quarters, they found that the doors were all ajar, and indeed they were empty. They were just old and dilapidated, as if no one had lived there for a long time.
Ma Junji and Ning Caichen did not mind, and lived next to each other. They cleaned up the dilapidated monk's house and waited for the monks from the temple to come back.
Until dusk, the monk did not appear, but another scholar appeared.
The scholar seemed to be a guest like them, so Ning Caichen went up to him to say hello and asked where the monks in the temple were.
The scholar had a handsome face and eyes so bright they seemed to glow. Seeing them, he seemed surprised. He looked them over and replied, "I've lived here for some time and haven't seen any monks. You can just stay here. There's no need to ask me."
Ning Caichen and Ma Junji had no choice but to stay there, thinking that if the monk came back, they would offer some incense money, hoping that he would not blame them.
At night, the silent and deserted temple seemed deserted and lonely. Ning Caichen and Ma Junji made a fire together to heat up the dry food they brought with them.
The burnt-smelling cake warmed the scholar's nose and stomach.
A scholar from the monastery to the south smelled the fragrance, opened the door, and came out to see what was happening. Ma Junji called him over and said, "Brother, if you don't mind, let's eat together."
The scholar did not eat their food for free. He shared the wine in his wineskin with them and said, "It's getting cold late at night. Drink some wine to warm yourself up."
The three of them drank from the same bag of wine and ate from the same plate of bread, and they became familiar with each other immediately. They exchanged names and learned that the scholar was called Yan Chixia.
Yan Chixia sighed, "This cake smells so good, it reminds me of my mother."
Ning Caichen said, "Yes, these are the pancakes my mother made for me. Oh, and there are pickles." Ning Caichen went to the room to get the pickles to share. The smell of grease and meat soaked his mouth, making him feel happy.
After eating the cakes and drinking the wine, Yan Chixia glanced at them, seeming to want to say something but hesitated. Finally, he said hesitantly, "There are some evil things in Lanyin Temple at night. You should be careful."
Ning Caichen and Ma Junji froze in a moment.
Ning Caichen had not yet forgotten the monster that was swollen like a pig's bladder at the head of his bed last night, and now he felt the shadow coming again.
Ma Junji laughed dryly and said, "Brother Yan, you're not saying there's something dirty in the temple, are you?"
Yan Chixia didn't want to scare them, so he spoke vaguely, "I've learned some strange skills before, and I can vaguely sense some strange energy, but it might not be real..."
After hearing what he said, Ma Junji said, "That's it!"
Ning Caichen immediately reached into his pocket, squeezed the incense pill inside, and said to Yan Chixia solemnly: "Brother Yan, let's sleep together tonight."
Yan Chixia was stunned. "What?"
But Ning Caichen and Ma Junji's enthusiasm was too much to resist, and he didn't have time to argue. He rolled up his bedding and went into Yan Chixia's room, calling out, "Brother Yan, what are you standing there for? Come in."
Yan Chixia had a lot of curse words in his mind but couldn't say them out loud. When he entered the room, the two guys had even made their bedding.
Three people squeezed on a broken bed, which was really strange and hard to explain.
Ning Caichen noticed that he was a little embarrassed and quickly comforted him, "Brother Yan, it's a bit crowded, but there's safety in numbers."
Ma Junji whispered to Ning Caichen, "Let me sleep outside today."
But Ning Caichen no longer believed him and said, "Go inside."
Ma Junji also felt uneasy, so he had to sleep against the wall, with the two of them sandwiching Yan Chixia in the middle.
Yan Chixia was in a dilemma and had begun to regret why he had said that extra word.
But he thought it would be difficult to fall asleep, but Ma Junji fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed. Listening to his breathing, Yan Chixia soon began to snore himself.
Only Ning Caichen had a gloomy face, knowing that he would not have a good sleep again.
Ma Junji really couldn't believe that Yan Chixia could actually snore. The snoring was very loud. Ning Caichen covered his ears and looked at the ceiling with lifeless eyes.
But he didn't sleep well last night and was very tired during the day, so Ning Caichen fell asleep in a daze.
In the middle of the night, I suddenly heard several voices talking outside the window.
One of the young women complained, "How am I supposed to do this with these three grown men huddled together?"
Two other slightly older voices said, "Don't worry, just invite them to the deep shade of orchids."
As he spoke, the fragrance of the orchid suddenly became stronger, and a faint white mist seeped in from the cracks in the door and windows.
Ning Caichen immediately thought that something was wrong and hurriedly took out the incense pill from his pocket and threw it into the brazier that had been prepared beside the bed.
When the tinder was blown, sparks fell into the tinder in the brazier. The incense ball immediately caught fire, and in a moment, blue smoke curled up and filled the room.
The white mist pouring in from the cracks in the door and windows entangled with the curling green smoke from the incense pills, making Ning Caichen feel suffocated and confused as if drowning.
"May the Goddess of Mount Tai bless you! May Brother Mingfu bless you!" Ning Caichen prayed, hoping to escape the disaster.
The curling green smoke produced by the incense pills was pure and clear, representing pure righteousness, but the white mist that came in was not evil. As the two entangled with each other, Ning Caichen fell on the edge of the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, Ning Caichen suddenly heard someone calling his name.
"Ning Caichen, Ning Caichen."
Ning Caichen suddenly opened his eyes and breathed deeply, as if he had escaped from drowning.
When he looked up, he saw the red cloak and the fox fairy standing in the green smoke.
"Brother Mingfu, why are you here?" Ning Caichen was overjoyed.
Gong Mengbi said, "I haven't come yet. I just placed a little thought in the incense pill, so it manifested through the incense pill."
Gong Mengbi looked around and said, "Brother Ning, who have you offended? You've been dragged into this fantasy world."
Ning Caichen followed his gaze and saw that the monk's house had disappeared. The surroundings were all white and nothing could be seen clearly. Only he and Gong Mengbi were standing in the white fog, without any direction.
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