The City God Temple was outside the county, six li to the east.

Xu Qi An’s group traveled by horseback, reaching their destination in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

A small temple with black tiles and white walls stood not far from the official road, enclosed by white walls, with a winding path connecting it to the main road.

The temple was quite popular, with a steady stream of plainly dressed commoners and brightly clothed wealthy people traveling back and forth along the winding path, entering and leaving the temple.

Several carriages were parked outside.

“Whoa!”

Xu Qi An reined in his horse at the temple entrance dismounted, helped Mu Nan Zhi down, and joined Li Ling Su and Miao You Fang in tying their horses to wooden posts by the road.

He closed his eyes to sense for a moment, then felt disappointed—there was no trace of Dragon Qi in the vicinity…

Two burly men stood at the temple entrance, blocking their way with raised heads, saying:

“To enter the temple and burn incense, pay twenty copper coins first.”

Even this era had entrance fees. Though the temple deity business seemed unrelated to Dragon Qi, since they’d encountered it, they might as well take a look… Xu Qi An glanced at Li Ling Su, who pursed his lips and took out twenty copper coins to hand over.

The man on the left took the money, scrutinized Xu Qi An’s fine robe, made a “heh” sound, and said:

“Twenty coins per person.”

Mu Nan Zhi frowned—the fellow had noticed Xu Qi An’s fine clothes and was trying to extort more money.

“Why don’t they have to pay?” she pointed at a young couple entering the temple.

“They’re regular visitors, naturally they don’t need to.” The guard had a ready answer, seemingly unafraid of trouble. He said impatiently:

“If you want to burn incense, hurry and pay. If you don’t have money, get lost.”

Xu Qi An raised his hand to calm Mu Nan Zhi, saying: “Pay them.”

After paying, the four crossed the threshold. Xu Qi An’s gaze swept the courtyard, which was divided in half by a stone path leading to the temple. On the left stood a merit pagoda made of yellow clay where yellow paper was burning.

On the right were two rows of waist-high candlesticks, burning red candles with wax dripping down their sides.

Both sides were crowded with worshippers, either burning paper or lighting candles.

The four passed through the courtyard and entered the temple. What was enshrined inside immediately caught their attention.

It was an ugly little ghost statue, shirtless with a large belly, its arms raised high holding a stone mirror. The mirror appeared damaged, with only half remaining.

The damage wasn’t to the statue itself, but the mirror was intentionally depicted as broken.

Before the sculpture, more than ten worshippers were devoutly prostrating themselves. To the right of the front incense altar stood an elderly woman with graying hair, her cheeks gaunt and forehead broad, somewhat resembling a rat.

She looked both shrewd and vulgar.

No qi fluctuations, no vengeful spirits, no demonic energy… Xu Qi An activated his Primordial Spirit, scanning the area to confirm this was just an ordinary temple.

Whether it was truly a City God Temple remained debatable.

A proper City God Temple obviously wouldn’t enshrine a little ghost.

Li Ling Su similarly used the Eighth Rank Daoist technique “Open Gate” to examine the small temple. He shook his head slightly at Xu Qi An, indicating he’d found nothing unusual.

Was the waiter exaggerating? Xu Qi An felt somewhat disappointed. Rather than suggesting someone behind this was so skilled they couldn’t detect anything amiss, the simpler explanation that the waiter was lying seemed more plausible.

A small county couldn’t possibly be like the Heaven Sect, producing two hidden dragons or young phoenixes capable of fooling the renowned Silver Gong.

Xu Qi An pondered briefly, then walked up to the spirit medium and said:

“We’re travelers who heard this City God Temple is very efficacious, so we came to burn incense. You must be the spirit medium. May I ask what deity is enshrined here?”

The old woman looked him over, her eyes brightening at his fine clothes. She coughed once and said solemnly:

“Young man, you’ve come to the right place.

“The temple enshrines the Huntian Deity, an all-powerful god. The treasure mirror it holds is called the Huntian Divine Mirror, through which the deity can see all matters under heaven.

“I see your brow is darkened—you may face misfortune soon. Your arrival here to burn incense shows the Huntian Deity’s secret protection, as it has foreseen your troubles.”

Xu Qi An cooperatively showed an “alarmed” expression and said:

“What do you mean? I’ve had nothing but success on my journey.”

The old woman said flatly:

“The time simply hasn’t come yet. If you wish to dispel the misfortune, I can point you toward enlightenment.”

When Xu Qi An nodded, she examined his clothing again and said:

“The temple deity loves wealth. Offer two hundred taels of silver, worship for seven days, and your misfortune will be dispelled.”

Two hundred taels—quite an appetite… Xu Qi An made note of the names Huntian Deity and Huntian Divine Mirror, planning to ask the Earth Book fragment’s Heaven and Earth Society members about them later.

Though he was certain this old spirit medium was simply a fraudulent swindler.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in thin clothes approached. He wore an undershirt beneath a worn cotton jacket, through whose holes straw could be seen.

The cotton jacket was stuffed with straw.

The middle-aged man had a weather-beaten face, years of labor giving him a somewhat dull appearance. He said glumly:

“Spirit Medium, my wife is dying. Why… why hasn’t she gotten better?

“You said if we made offerings to the temple deity for seven days, her illness would improve, but today she can’t even eat.”

The spirit medium frowned: “That shows you’re not devout enough. You need to continue making offerings for three more days.”

Hearing this, the weather-beaten face showed a bitter expression: “I… I have no money left. All our savings have been given to the temple.”

The spirit medium said displeasedly:

“That’s your problem. If you have no money, you can sell your fields or borrow from others.

“The temple deity is just and won’t favor you just because you’re poor. Haven’t other worshippers made offerings? Aren’t their families also impoverished?”

Faced with this logic, the middle-aged man was speechless, his lips trembling slightly.

“But my wife can’t eat anything, she can’t eat…”

In the simple understanding of common folk, being unable to walk or eat meant a life-threatening condition.

The spirit medium snorted, saying with a veiled threat:

“The temple deity will protect us, but will also punish those who offend it.”

The middle-aged man seemed to recall something, showing an extremely terrified expression. He bent his back and dared not speak further.

Nearby, Miao You Fang had overheard the entire exchange, his eyebrows rising in anger.

…

Meanwhile, Li Ling Su cleverly sought information from worshippers, targeting a young man.

“Brother, you’re so young—what brings you to pray at the temple?”

Li Ling Su was extraordinarily handsome and refined, difficult to ignore, yet the young man’s words were evasive:

“Nothing… nothing.”

Li Ling Su smiled: “We’re all here to burn incense, no harm in sharing.”

Secretly exerting his Primordial Spirit’s influence, his voice carried a charm that made people want to obey and feel close to him. The young man unconsciously opened up, saying with a bitter smile:

“I’m here to pray for a child.”

Li Ling Su made an “oh” sound and asked: “Also seven days?”

The young man nodded.

“Must have cost quite a bit of silver.” Li Ling Su said while glancing at the middle-aged man.

“The silver wasn’t too bad…”

The young man showed an odd expression, seeming to want to say more but hesitating. Just then, the curtain to the inner hall was lifted, and a pretty young woman hurried out.

Her face was flushed, her hair somewhat disheveled. Seeing people looking her way, she immediately lowered her head and hurried back to her husband’s side.

Shortly after, the curtain lifted again, and a burly man emerged. He glanced at the pretty woman’s figure, his face full of lingering satisfaction.

“Mother, I’ve already bestowed the deity’s blessing for children. You should collect the payment. The young lady was very satisfied.”

The man said with a grin.

The old woman looked at the young couple and said with a smile:

“Young Lady Zhang, Master Zhang, are you satisfied?”

The pretty woman’s flush faded, her face turning pale. Young Master Zhang’s eyes flashed with humiliation and anger, but he forced a smile and said:

“Satisfied, satisfied…”

Speaking thus, he forced a smile and removed his money pouch, handing it over.

The burly man took it, and weighed it in his hand, his gaze lingering on the pretty woman as he grinned:

“Four more days to go. Remember to come on time, or the temple deity will be angry.”

Fear appeared simultaneously in the young couple’s eyes as they nodded repeatedly.

“Why not report this to the authorities?”

A sighing voice sounded in young Zhang’s ear. He turned to look—it was that dignified and handsome young man.

Once again affected by the voice, courage inexplicably welled up in his heart, though he spoke with some fear:

“Those who reported to the authorities died, and those who disrespected the temple deity died too.

“As long as we properly worship the temple deity, it will protect us…”

Li Ling Su asked, cutting to the essence:

“If you know those who disrespect the temple deity all die, why still come here to burn incense?”

As locals, this young couple should have known the trouble of getting involved with the temple deity—they could have chosen not to come.

Young Zhang gritted his teeth and said:

“We didn’t want to come. It was him—he took a fancy to my wife and came to our door, telling us to come to the City God Temple to pray for a child, or else the temple deity would punish us.”

Li Ling Su understood—this was like how noble young masters bullied men and women, the only difference being one relied on power and status, the other on the temple deity.

He couldn’t help looking at Xu Qi An, seeing his face dark as he remained silent, seemingly contemplating something.

“Mother, what fool is this?”

The burly man listened calmly, showing no fear and even some disdain.

The spirit medium’s face darkened as she pointed at Xu Qi An and Miao You Fang, saying: “These outsiders came together.”

Then she looked at the young couple with a cold laugh:

“Master Zhang, Lady Zhang, the temple deity sees your disrespect.”

The young woman’s face turned white instantly as she said tearfully: “Please forgive us, temple deity. Please forgive us, spirit medium.”

After intimidating the young couple, the spirit medium snorted coldly, looked at Xu Qi An’s group, and declared:

“You’ve disrespected the temple deity and angered it. Death is upon you. If you want to quell the deity’s anger, offer three hundred taels of silver. Otherwise, even I can’t save you.”

Her son clapped in coordination, and three men from outside immediately entered, surrounding Xu Qi An’s group.

The surrounding worshippers pointed and whispered among themselves.

“These outsiders are bold.”

“Yes, hurry and offer the silver, or you won’t even know how you died.”

Master Zhang had by now recovered from Li Ling Su’s influence, realizing what he had said, and was so frightened his legs went weak.

“Forgive us, temple deity, forgive us…” he said trembling.

The spirit medium’s son ignored him, glaring with tiger-like eyes as he threatened Xu Qi An’s group: “Quickly offer the silver.”

Nearby worshippers hurriedly advised:

“Outsiders, quickly apologize to the temple deity.”

“Why seek death?”

“Yes, hurry and offer the silver, don’t implicate Master Zhang.”

The middle-aged man opened his mouth as if to join in the advice, but resentment flashed in his eyes as he silently clenched his fists.

“Silver? Your grandfather! Go ask the King of Hell for it!”

Miao You Fang cursed, took two quick steps forward, clenched his fist, and drew back his right arm.

Bang!

Before anyone could react, he punched the spirit medium’s son’s head.

The head exploded like a watermelon, blood and bone fragments spraying onto the ground, walls, and the temple deity statue behind.

The temple went silent for several seconds before screams suddenly erupted, worshippers fleeing in panic.

The three men guarding the temple fled to the courtyard with the worshippers.

“My son!”

The spirit medium screamed shrilly, falling beside the headless corpse, wailing in grief.

Miao You Fang took out his long blade from the storage device Xu Qi An had given him, and went on a rampage, kicking over the incense altar, knocking down the incense burner, and finally splitting the temple deity statue in half with one strike.

“You…”

The spirit medium glared at the four with hatred, shouting: “The temple deity won’t let you go. Everyone will die!”

“Kill her!”

Xu Qi An said flatly.

He still had doubts and questions about this temple deity, but it didn’t matter. Later he would have Li Ling Su summon spirits—he wanted to personally interrogate the spirit medium’s soul.

Miao You Fang immediately swung his blade, severing the spirit medium’s head, then kicked her skull to pieces.

Having a subordinate is indeed different—I don’t need to act personally… Xu Qi An nodded in satisfaction, his gaze falling on the stunned Zhang couple and the middle-aged man as he sighed inwardly.

The spirit medium… is dead… The young couple stood like wooden chickens, their hearts violently trembling, unable to distinguish whether their current feelings were satisfaction or terror.

The middle-aged man was also dumbfounded.

The worshippers in the courtyard were equally shocked.

Xu Qi An knew these people needed reassurance. He stepped out of the temple, looked at the watching worshippers in the courtyard, and said:

“I am a constable from the capital, and these are my colleagues.

“Someone reported to the capital that in Sheng Yi County, people were conducting illegal worship and sacrifices, harming the common people.

“I specifically investigated secretly for several days and have uncovered the truth. That spirit medium learned some evil techniques, secretly harmed people and falsely claimed to represent the temple deity to intimidate the common people.

“Now she has been executed. You need not come here to make offerings anymore.”

Hearing this young man was from the authorities, the worshippers felt much more at ease.

Heaven is great, Earth is great, but the imperial court is greatest—precisely because of this, having the government involved made them feel more secure.

“But, but the temple deity was effective…” some worshippers said.

If it were just intimidation, it couldn’t have made them willingly burn incense and make offerings.

“The owner of the rouge shop on Guanghua Street was killed by the spirit medium. I’ve already investigated this matter,” Xu Qi An said.

The worshippers finally understood.

Xu Qi An turned and entered the temple, took out an official silver ingot from his chest, and handed it to the middle-aged man, saying:

“For illness, you need to see a physician.”

After learning the middle-aged man’s address, he turned to instruct Li Ling Su: “Go there later and check the situation.”

He worried the man’s wife was critically ill, beyond ordinary physicians’ help.

Li Ling Su nodded.

The middle-aged man fell to his knees trembling: “Thank you, my lord, thank you, my lord.”

At this time, Miao You Fang picked up the money pouch from beside the spirit medium’s son’s body and tossed it to Master Zhang, saying:

“Forget what happened here. Don’t think less of your wife because of this.”

The young Zhang looked at the corpses of the spirit medium and her son, spat heavily. He silently kowtowed to the three men, then left embracing his wife.

Miao You Fang turned and spat at the corpses, speaking as if this were routine:

“This great master has walked the jianghu for many years and killed countless such villains.”

“That’s not a good thing!” Xu Qi An said.

It showed that the imperial court’s control and governance of various regions had become very weak. When order gradually shakes, chaos frequently occurs.

Someone would inevitably step forward to establish a new order. When that time came, either the dynasty would change, or the current dynasty would suffer massive trauma and barely survive.

Xu Qi An glanced outside, confirming all worshippers had been driven away, then closed the temple doors and ordered:

“Li Ling Su, summon the spirit!”

As soon as he spoke, Miao You Fang suddenly clutched his chest, his face turning iron-gray as he slowly collapsed to the ground.

His face took on a suffocating liver-colored hue, his eyes rolling back as his life force rapidly ebbed away.

How could a martial artist at the peak of Spirit Refinement Realm inexplicably approach death?