Chapter Two: The Temple and the Golden Dragon
1899 Words
Before him stood a dilapidated single-room tile-roofed house.
Fang Yi stood before the wooden door adorned with the Golden Dragon couplet, squinting. He sensed his golden core inside, suppressed by a mysterious force, unable to return to his body.
He was about to knock, knowing someone lived there.
If he remembered correctly, the temple keeper was called Old Miao, a village guardian, or, in modern terms, Brother Tree.
This man was in his sixties or seventies, and because of his laziness, he hadn't married or had children; even his relatives were mostly dead. He lived on a meager allowance, but his habit of smoking and drinking meant it wasn't enough. The village committee, taking pity on him, assigned him to guard the small temple, giving him a few hundred yuan a month.
"Could it be that Old Miao stole my golden core? Is he also a cultivator?"
Fang Yi, who had just reached out to knock, stopped, frowning in thought. "If Old Miao is truly a cultivator, and has the ability to steal my golden core, knocking would be suicide!"
No!
He couldn't knock!
Fang Yi was extremely cautious. He ultimately decided to use his divine sense to probe the interior of the temple before deciding whether to knock.
Having thought it through,
he cleared his mind of distractions and guided his thoughts beyond his physical body.
At first, he was somewhat clumsy and couldn't quite free his thoughts.
Once.
Twice.
Five times.
As he continued his attempts, Fang Yi gradually gained some insight.
Finally, on his ninth attempt, his thoughts once again broke free!
A wondrous sensation suddenly unfolded before him; he seemed to have established a connection with an energy source within the temple, and once again saw the origin of the world.
Just as he was about to enter the temple to observe,
the thunderous roar of the dragons resounded once more.
This time, Fang Yi clearly saw a ball of red light before him, followed by two golden dragons, baring their fangs and claws, erupting from it and roaring madly at him!
The dragon roars were even more ferocious than before, shaking his "soul" to its core!
If it were before, Fang Yi would have definitely returned his consciousness to his body to avoid the attack.
But now, he only wanted to retrieve his golden core; how could he give up so easily?
He tried his best to stabilize his thoughts, preventing his soul from shattering.
At the same time, he carefully observed his surroundings.
All around was a crimson light, obscuring the sun.
Only two lifelike, enormous golden dragons coiled and roared, seemingly warning against trespassing.
Each roar generated billowing heat, and Fang Yi felt as if his soul was being baked and withered, or even boiled alive!
"I'll force my way in even if they won't let me!"
Fang Yi's will was as firm as iron; he took a small step forward, defying the heat.
This action enraged the golden dragons.
The right dragon opened its mouth and hissed.
A burst of golden light erupted from its mouth, instantly transforming into flames, causing the temperature of the entire crimson space to rise sharply and become unbearably hot.
Fang Yi felt his soul burning.
Before he could even think further, he was horrified to discover that the entire space was ablaze.
Flames filled the sky and the ground; it seemed to have become a sea of fire!
"No, I can't hold on any longer!"
Fang Yi had a premonition that if he didn't regain consciousness and return to his physical body soon, he would likely be burned to ashes.
Helpless, his thoughts retreated back into his body like a receding tide.
The next moment, the red light, the golden dragons, and the sea of fire vanished.
Before him was still a pitch-black night, as if it had all been an illusion.
Only the pain emanating from the "depths of his soul" told Fang Yi that everything that had just happened was real.
"What's going on with those two golden dragons?"
Fang Yi frowned, clearly understanding one thing: if he didn't deal with those two golden dragons, he would never have a chance to reclaim his golden core.
Golden dragons…
wait!
His gaze fell on the couplet on the door, guessing, "Could those two golden dragons be these two on the door couplet?"
Fang Yi thought it was possible and reached out to peel off the couplet.
However, the moment his fingers touched the couplet, the golden dragons invaded his consciousness!
Fang Yi quickly withdrew his hand, and the golden dragons indeed dissipated again. He dared not touch the couplet again.
"I should knock on the door and go in to check on things, but not now. Otherwise, if Old Miao is really a cultivator, I might be annihilated. I'll wait until someone comes to burn incense."
Since he hadn't seen any superhumans in modern society, he figured the secular laws must have some constraints on them.
If someone was around, even if Old Miao was arrogant, he wouldn't dare do anything to him in front of others.
Fang Yi simply found a place to sit down and quietly waited for dawn.
One hour.
Three hours.
Soon, dawn broke.
Footsteps came from afar.
Then, two women's voices came.
"Is your old man any better?"
"Sigh, he's still half-dead. I don't know what evil he's been cursed with. It's been almost a week, so I came to pray to the immortal for protection. And you? It's not the first or fifteenth of the month, why are you burning incense?"
"My grandson just graduated from school, so I'm asking the immortal to bless him to find a good job."
Fang Yi recognized the two voices; they were his neighbors, Aunt Wang and Grandma Wu.
Although he could hear them clearly, it was still quiet in the early morning, so it would probably take them a while to get here.
Fang Yi felt much more at ease when someone came.
He stood up, pretending to have just arrived, and reached out to knock on the door.
Perhaps because he hadn't touched the couplet on the door, the golden dragon didn't enter his consciousness this time.
Thump, thump, thump.
After several knocks, an old voice came from inside, "Who is it? So early."
Fang Yi said, "Old Miao, it's me, Fang Yi. I just came back from outside and wanted to burn some incense."
"Annoying, wait a minute,"
Old Miao's annoyed voice rang out.
After waiting for about a minute, the small wooden door with two golden dragon patterns on the couplet creaked open from the ground.
Immediately, a foul stench wafted out, and a thin, scruffy-looking old man in his sixties or seventies poked his head out, saying irritably, "Why aren't you sleeping so early? You're disturbing everyone else's sleep too?"
Fang Yi pointed inside, "I want to burn some incense for Huang Daxian."
Old Miao showed no intention of moving aside, "Where's your incense?"
Fang Yi looked at the village shop not far away, which was still closed, and could only smile helplessly, saying, "You have incense, don't you? Lend me three sticks to worship Huang Daxian."
"Is the incense here free? Twenty-three yuan, I'll give you three sticks," Old Miao said.
Fang Yi chuckled, "I think you're asking me for cigarette money, not incense oil."
Old Miao, who had been impatient, chuckled again, rubbing his hands together, "I'm short on cash, give me some to buy a pack of Yuxi cigarettes."
Fang Yi reluctantly took out his wallet, pulled out twenty-three yuan, and handed it over, shaking his head, "Even working people don't smoke as good cigarettes as you."
"They have elderly parents and young children to support, of course they can't afford it," Old Miao snatched the money from Fang Yi's hand, scoffing, "I'm only eating my fill, my whole family isn't hungry. If I don't treat myself well, who will burn incense for me when I die?"
His words were crude, but the truth was valid.
Fang Yi didn't say anything more, pointing inside, "Can I come in?"
"Come in,"
Old Miao yawned, making room.
Fang Yi first carefully examined Old Miao, not sensing the same aura as himself.
He felt something was strange.
Could it be that Old Miao wasn't a cultivator?
Then who stole his golden core?
Fang Yi entered the small temple while pondering.
It was much the same as he remembered; there was only a statue of Huang Daxian.
The statue was surrounded by red cloth, and the candlesticks and incense burner on the altar were quite clean, showing that Old Miao had put in a lot of effort.
Old Miao handed him three incense sticks, saying, "Hurry up and finish burning the incense
and get out of here." Fang Yi was easygoing and wouldn't get angry at all. He simply said thank you, took the incense, lit it, and offered his prayers.
While kneeling and kowtowing, he closed his eyes, allowing his thoughts to transcend his physical body once more.
The next moment, the thunderous roar of a dragon resounded once more.
This time, the roar was just as fierce as before.
Without thinking, Fang Yi's consciousness returned directly to his body.
Huh?
What's going on?
My thoughts were attacked by the dragon's roar outside, how come they're still being attacked inside?
Fang Yi looked around the statue in confusion, truly unable to understand what was happening.
"What are you kneeling there daydreaming about? I'm trapped here, hurry up," Old Miao's impatient voice rang out again.
Fang Yi was certain the two golden dragons were caused by the couplet on the door.
Would things be different if the couplet were removed?
Unsure if his guess was correct, Fang Yi stood up and pointed at the couplet, saying, "Old Miao, take this couplet down."
"You're so nosy! This was put up by the village committee. Won't I get scolded if I take it down?" Old Miao's eyes widened.
Fang Yi pulled a fifty-yuan bill from his wallet. "Can I take it down now?"
Old Miao's face instantly changed, beaming. "Sure, of course!"
He snatched the fifty-yuan bill, then turned and carefully peeled off the dragon couplet, muttering, "I have to put it back up after you leave, otherwise the village committee will really scold me."
Fang Yi shook his head helplessly.
To be honest, he wasn't rich.
Normally, he wouldn't want to give so much money, but to get his golden core back, he had to be "extorted."
A minute or two later, Old Miao finally removed the couplet intact.
At this moment, Aunt Wang and Grandma Wu also entered the small temple, chatting.
"Why did you take down the couplets on the door for no reason?" Grandma Wu asked.
Old Miao glared at her and said, "What's it to you?"
Aunt Wang rolled her eyes. "Look at your bad temper, can't I even ask?"
"Enough nonsense, hurry up and burn incense." Old Miao didn't want to pay attention to the two women.
Fang Yi was too lazy to care either, and once again let his consciousness transcend his physical body.
This time it was completely different from before!
The two golden dragons were indeed gone!
Moreover, as soon as his thoughts entered the void, he immediately "saw" a strange and wonderful scene appear before him!
- Writer
