strokinit Chapter 39 The Dilapidated Temple
Chapter 39 The Dilapidated Temple
"Brother Zhang, I'll be going now. See you in the village."
Heng Ziyang patted Zhang Ping on the shoulder, took a step back, and then disappeared without a trace.
My current strength is still quite worrying!
With a sigh, he tidied up his things.
Then he gave Liu Lincui a few words of advice.
Upon hearing this, Liu Lincui's eyes showed worry, and she whispered, "Is there any danger? Officer Zhang, you must be careful."
Zhang Ping nodded, then handed the things to Zhou Zheng and said to him, "You guys go to the east gate first, I have some things to take care of, I'll be there soon."
Zhou Zheng looked puzzled, but didn't ask any more questions. He nodded and left with Liu Dazhuang and Sun Wukong.
Zhang Ping changed direction and headed towards the north of the city.
There is a street in the north of the city that is not wide, but very lively.
Zhang Ping stopped in front of a clothing store.
The shop's storefront was small, with a plaque hanging above the door that read "Yue'e Tailor Shop".
Zhang Ping went inside, but there was no one behind the counter.
He coughed and called out towards the inner room, "Are you there?"
A rustling sound came from the inner room, then the curtain was lifted, and Qian Yue'e came out.
Today she was wearing a light purple jacket over a long, moon-white skirt, her hair loosely tied back with a few stray strands falling beside her ears.
She wasn't wearing any makeup, but her skin was fair and her eyes had a languid air about them.
When she saw Zhang Ping, her eyes lit up for a moment, but she quickly returned to her lazy demeanor, leaning against the counter with her arms crossed.
"Hey, Officer Zhang, coming here in broad daylight, aren't you afraid of being seen?"
Hmm, not bad.
Even the smallest ant is still meat!
Zhou Zheng had been waiting at the city gate for more than an hour.
He led the horse, his expression shifting from patience to anxiety.
After all, the sun was about to set.
Seeing Zhang Ping stroll over slowly, Zhou Zheng immediately went to greet him, his tone tinged with resentment.
"Boss, I've been waiting for you for over an hour. What have you been doing?"
Zhang Pingmian glanced at him without changing his expression or skipping a beat.
"I took care of some personal business."
Zhou Zheng opened his mouth, wanting to ask but not daring to.
The four of them then left the city.
The sound of horses' hooves clattered, raising a cloud of yellow dust on the official road.
The sun was already setting in the west, turning half the sky orange-red.
"head."
Zhou Zheng called out from the side, then said, "At this rate, we probably won't reach the post station before dark."
Zhang Ping looked up at the sky; the sun was almost touching the mountaintop.
He glanced at the three men. Zhou Zheng was fine, full of energy. Sun Wukong, though thin, was steady on his horse. The one who gave him the most trouble was Liu Dazhuang.
Liu Dazhuang, true to his name, was a big, strong man. He was a master at carrying heavy objects and escorting prisoners in the yamen.
But this big guy just happens to get dizzy from horses.
Liu Dazhuang had vomited three times before they even left the city, less than ten miles away.
Zhou Zheng didn't know that the kid was prone to getting sick from horses; if he had known, he wouldn't have invited him to come along.
Zhang Ping had estimated that even if he was a little late, he would be able to reach the post station safely and stay for the night. But now it seemed that he would have to spend the night outdoors.
Zhang Ping turned his gaze to Liu Dazhuang, who was now slumped on the horse's back, his face as white as paper, his forehead covered in cold sweat, muttering, "Boss, I can't go on."
Zhang Ping glanced at him but didn't say anything more.
But time waits for no one.
And although they were traveling on the official road, there was still a stretch of deserted road.
Zhou Zheng pulled on the reins ahead, his voice tightening, "Boss, there's miasma ahead."
Zhang Ping looked ahead.
Ahead, on both sides of the road, a grayish-white mist was slowly spreading, as if seeping from underground, appearing particularly eerie in the twilight.
The fog wasn't thick, but it covered a considerable area, slowly spreading from the woods on both sides across the road, obscuring the path ahead.
"Take a detour."
Upon seeing this, Zhang Ping made a decisive decision.
Miasma is more poisonous than poison.
The miasma in the mountains is mostly produced by the fermentation of rotten leaves and grass. Inhaling it can cause dizziness and nausea in mild cases, and unconsciousness in severe cases.
What's more troublesome is that demons love such filthy environments, and if there are demons or monsters in the area, the trip will likely be dangerous.
After hearing what Zhang Ping said, Zhou Zheng immediately took out a map from his pocket, looked at it by the last bit of daylight, and drew a line on it with his finger.
"Hey, head east and take the mountain path. It might take several hours longer. There's a house over there that used to be a local shrine, but it's been abandoned. The house is still there, so you can stay overnight."
"Walk."
Staying here isn't a solution either; strange things happen at night.
After checking the map, Zhang Ping immediately turned his horse around and led the three of them away from the official road, onto a mountain path.
The mountain road was much more difficult to travel than the official road, with potholes and gravel everywhere.
This caused them to waste a lot of time.
It was completely dark by then.
The moon had not yet risen, and only sparse starlight overhead could barely illuminate the outline of the road.
The dilapidated temple Zhou Zheng mentioned was located on the top of a gentle slope.
The temple is not large, only about the size of two courtyards. Most of the surrounding wall has collapsed, leaving only ruins that are about half a person high.
The mountain gate was still there, but the side panels were gone, turning into a dark cave entrance in the night.