Chapter 287 New World

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and the shadows of the trees are swaying.

A man was walking through the woods. I couldn't tell if it was the wind or the sound of his feet that rustled the branches. The moonlight shone down, illuminating the path ahead, and also cast the shadows of the man and the branches, which were creepy and ferocious.

The man's surname is Wang, and his given name is Wang Chao. He was a scholar in the third year of Tianxi. He was appointed as a minor official, doing some clerical work. He married a few years ago and his life was relatively stable.

He ran hurriedly along the path, looking back from time to time, as if he was being chased by someone. Perhaps it was too dark, and he stumbled and fell to the ground.

A muffled groan hit his throat and was swallowed by Wang Chao, leaving only half a whimper that abruptly stopped in the silent night.

He didn't care about the stinging pain in his calves, nor did he brush the dust off his knees. He stood up and ran forward. The branches scratched his shoulders and elbows, as if trying to stop him.

After passing through the dark forest, the view before him opened up and he saw a small temple located in the open space ahead. Wang Chao couldn't help but be overjoyed and hurried forward.

After walking for dozens of steps, he saw a Sanguan Temple in front of him. The temple was not big, and there was a big stone blocking the door, but it had cracked over the years. Wang Chao didn't care about anything else and ran towards the Sanguan Temple.

When I arrived at the gate, the Sanguan Temple was relatively clean, with red couplets hanging on both sides. On the left it read: The great way can accommodate the sky, the earth, and the water; and on the right it read: Xuande can judge the good, the evil, and the foolish, only then can he be mysterious. In the middle there was a horizontal scroll, which was blocked by stains, and only the three words "Tianguanci..." could be vaguely seen.

Wang Chao didn't think too much, he just took a look. There was a small gap between the big stone in front of the door and the temple door, which was only enough for one person to pass through. He gasped a few times, calmed his pounding heart, walked through the gap, opened the temple door, and stepped in.

When the branches of the temple gate closed, a breeze blew, and it was revealed that there was a piece of black and yellow paper on the horizontal scroll. As the wind blew, the paper fluttered, revealing the words underneath - Tian Guan Ci Xie!
Wang Chao entered the Sanguan Temple and felt a little relieved. He turned around, closed the double doors, and bolted them. Only then did he have the mind to look around the small Sanguan Temple.

He had thought that the Sanguan Temple was in a desolate location, with large stones blocking the door and it must be in a very messy state due to years of disrepair. However, he found that although the temple was small, it was relatively clean. There was an incense burner on an altar with two remaining incense sticks stuck on it.

There are three statues on the altar, they are the Three Gods. The Heavenly Official is wearing plain clothes, the Earthly Official is wearing yellow clothes, and the Water Official is wearing black clothes. The three are staggered, with the Heavenly Official in front, coldly staring at the uninvited guests in the hall.

Wang Chao looked back at the temple gate, took a few steps forward, and knelt down, muttering to himself: "Great Gods of the Three Officials, I, Wang Chao, kowtow again and again, and ask for your protection. If I can escape this disaster, I will ask for a shrine to worship at home, kowtow three times in the morning and evening, and burn a stick of incense every morning and evening. I dare not delay."

After saying this, he bowed again and again. When he looked up, he saw a few incense sticks scattered on the incense table. Wang Chao crawled forward and took the green incense.

Only when he held the incense in his hand could he see it clearly. It was not green or yellow like the incense of plants, but slightly grayish white with mottled black powder in it. Wang Chao did not think much of it, thinking that the fragrance must have been damp.

He gathered three incense sticks in his hand, looked around, and was struggling to find a fire to light the incense. Then a gust of warm wind blew over, blowing through the fragrance, and the incense heads caught fire without wind.

At this moment, Wang Chao was both surprised and happy. He was surprised that the Sanguan Temple was so mysterious, and he was happy that there were gods in the temple and it was very effective.

It works, that’s great. If it doesn’t, how can I escape death!

Wang Chao looked at the three incense sticks in his hand, hunched over to the altar, slightly moved the two remaining incense sticks with his hands, and inserted them steadily into the incense burner.

The scent of sandalwood mixed with a lingering smell filled the Sanguan Temple. Looking at the lit incense, Wang Chao felt a little relieved.

At this moment, a slight sound came from the door. Wang Chao trembled and stared at the temple door. Only the night wind was blowing outside the door.

suddenly.

Dong, dong, dong. The dull knocking sounds continued, causing Wang Chao's body to tremble.

He shook his body and walked to the door step by step. He did not dare to look through the crack of the door, for fear that there was a pair of eyes outside waiting to look at him.

"Wang Lang, just open the door!"

Intermittent pleas were heard from outside. Wang Chao put his hands on the bolt, fearing that the door would be knocked open. He could even clearly imagine a woman clinging to the door with her eyes pressed against the center of the crack, her strange body pressing against the door panel in an attempt to break in.

It is said among the people that if the door is sealed with wood, it is protected by gods, and as long as the door is not opened, those evil creatures cannot get in.

The knocking on the door became louder and louder, and the temple door shook more and more violently. Wang Chao leaned against the door and used his body to withstand the waves of knocking. He bit his lips tightly, and his face was covered with snot and tears.

Perhaps there really was a door god at the temple gate. Finally, after the violent beating, everything stopped and fell silent. There was no sound from outside, as if the god had already left.

Wang Chao felt that he had used up all his strength. The trembling from exhaustion and the sweat on his body made his hands and feet cold. He couldn't help but collapse to the ground and slid down the door to sit down.

'Is it time to go?'

Just as he finished thinking, he felt a cool air blowing into his neck through the crack of the door, making him shiver uncontrollably. Then, more frequent dull sounds were heard.

Outside the door, there was a woman kneeling on the ground. After blowing air into the crack of the door, she banged her head against the door again and again, banging on it mechanically and frantically, her body twitching as if she had epilepsy.

She didn't look very old, her head was slightly tilted, there were bloodstains on her neck and wrists, her clothes were covered in blood, dirty water stains were dripping down her clothes, forming a puddle where she was kneeling.

Her head banged repeatedly, and the blood on her face mixed with water stains as she fainted on the door. She opened her bloodshot eyes, revealing most of the whites of her eyes.

"Wang Lang, you have such a cruel heart. I hate you so much. We love each other so much on weekdays, how could you be so cruel!"

The sound was carried far away by the night wind, sounding like crying and complaining, extremely sad.

Wang Chao listened to the woman outside talking about the past intermittently, and held the door tightly, his hands sinking into the ground as he exerted force.

"My lady, I am bewildered and confused. Please let me go. I will ask a mage to pray for your soul to be reborn. You will have a good marriage in your next life. Please let me go."

Hearing this, the woman's sobbing gradually stopped, and then her voice became sharp and vicious: "Wang Chao! You can even kill the person next to you. I'm so blind to you!"

"You cruel man, I want to see what kind of heart you have, and whether your dirty heart is black!"

There was a violent collision, and the temple door bent inward, opening a gap and was almost broken. At this moment, a golden light flashed on the door, and the temple door suddenly closed tightly, isolating the woman. The woman screamed as if she was burned.

This was the scene that Gu Qingyuan saw when he appeared.

(End of this chapter)