Chapter 134: An Unexpected Turn

Yuan Wuji led the three of them into an inn in the town. Mingyu and Xika, who had never stepped foot outside of White Village, were fascinated by everything in the outside world, and the village chief’s eyes were filled with excitement as well.

"Waiter."

Yuan Wuji chose a table in the center of the inn and sat down.

"Sir, what can I get for you?" A short, shifty-eyed man scurried over to Yuan Wuji and asked.

"Bring me one of every best dish you have here."

"This..."

The waiter’s gaze drifted toward the village chief and his companions. Their attire was still stuck in the age of animal skins, leading the waiter to suspect that Yuan Wuji might be trying to dine and dash.

Yuan Wuji noticed the waiter’s hesitation and flicked a gold ingot into the man's face.

"Well? Get going."

"Yes... yes, sir! Right away!"

The waiter was stunned for a moment, then his expression shifted to one of ecstatic joy. His tone toward Yuan Wuji became entirely obsequious.

The surrounding patrons cast astonished glances at Yuan Wuji. In this region, seeing someone with such lavish spending habits was rare. In their eyes, Yuan Wuji was clearly either from a wealthy family or a high-ranking bureaucratic clan.

"Great General, isn't that too much?" the village chief asked nervously.

After all, Yuan Wuji had brought them out to eat, and yet he was the one footing the bill. The village chief knew exactly how precious that gold ingot was—their entire village combined couldn't scrape together even half of one, yet Yuan Wuji had tossed one away as if it were nothing. This made the chief uneasy.

"To them, this is equivalent to life itself, but to me, it is nothing more than a useless trinket. You must remember one thing: when you possess sufficiently great power, you can obtain everything you desire."

Yuan Wuji’s words were directed primarily at Mingyu and Xika. They were still children at heart, and by planting this seed in their minds now, he knew it would eventually blossom.

"Yes... yes."

Though Mingyu and Xika did not fully grasp his meaning, they took his words to heart with great seriousness.

"Coming, sir!"

"Braised chicken, sizzling iron-plate duck, roast meat..." A mountain of delicacies soon covered the table. The aroma made Mingyu and Xika drool, but as long as Yuan Wuji hadn't moved, they dared not touch the food.

"Eat."

As soon as Yuan Wuji gave the command, they began to sweep through the food on the table. These were delicacies never seen in their mountain village, and even the village chief couldn't help but indulge a bit more than usual.

While eating, Yuan Wuji casually questioned the waiter: "Waiter, are there any Taoist temples in this vicinity? This young master is quite curious about them."

"Yes, there are, there are!" The waiter, knowing he was dealing with a wealthy patron, dared not be negligent and answered every question.

"The only famous one around here is the Yi Zi Temple on the mountain. The Taoists there have real skills; they aren't like those other charlatans who are all talk."

"If you want to visit a temple, you won't regret going to the Yi Zi Temple," the waiter said, patting his chest with inexplicable confidence.

"You are very familiar with it?"

"I might as well tell you, sir—when I was a child, I was possessed by a ghost. It was only after we begged the Taoist priests of Yi Zi Temple for help that I managed to escape death."

"I see. In which direction is this temple? I shall pay a visit today."

"It's easy to find. It's on the mountain to the south. Just follow this path and you'll see it."

"Good. This is for you." Yuan Wuji tossed another gold ingot to the waiter, drawing envious stares from everyone else.

"Thank you, young master! Thank you!" The waiter was so overjoyed by the gold that he couldn't stop bowing; he nearly prostrated himself on the floor.

"Young master, young master, that Yi Zi Temple isn't as good as the waiter says," an old beggar suddenly ran in from outside, standing before Yuan Wuji while his eyes remained fixed on the gold ingot in the waiter’s hand.

"How so?"

"Well... the truth is, a hundred years ago, the priests of Yi Zi Temple slaughtered many outsiders and kidnapped their women and children."

"Go on."

As the old beggar hesitated, his eyes darted about. Yuan Wuji knew exactly what he wanted and tossed him a gold ingot as well.

"Good, good..." Seeing the gold, the old beggar couldn't keep his mouth from stretching into a wide grin. But when Yuan Wuji’s gaze settled on him, the old beggar immediately tucked the gold away and continued: "It is said that they took those women and children back to the temple to use them for... procreation."

When the old beggar finished speaking, the entire inn fell into a dead silence. While people in town had heard rumors, no one dared to speak them aloud for fear of offending the temple. They never expected a money-grubbing old beggar to blurt it out.

"Old beggar, stop talking nonsense! If you offend the priests of Yi Zi Temple, you’ll bring disaster upon us all!"

"Young master, don't listen to that mad beggar. Everyone knows he’s crazy," the waiter quickly explained to Yuan Wuji. He seemed terrified of the priests, his previous praise replaced by palpable dread.

"Yes, young master, don't listen to his ravings," others added. It was clear that the waiter was not the only one afraid; the entire town lived in fear of the Yi Zi Temple.

Yuan Wuji did not respond to them, instead looking at Mingyu and Xika. "Are you full?"

Most of the feast had ended up in their stomachs; the village chief had eaten some, but not much.

"Full... we're full."

If they had been ordinary children, Yuan Wuji would have believed them, but Mingyu and Xika clearly wanted more. Having spent so long in White Village, this was the finest meal they had ever tasted, which made their appetites unusually ravenous.

"Waiter, bring another round."

Yuan Wuji ordered, and seeing that he didn't pursue the subject of the temple, the waiter didn't mention it again, hurrying off to prepare the food. The others returned to their seats, and the old beggar had long since vanished.

"Village Chief, what do you think of what they said?"

"It must be the Yi Zi Temple." That past tragedy was the shame of White Village. Hearing the old beggar’s words—that their women and children had been turned into tools for those Taoists—the killing intent on the village chief’s face was undisguised. However, shielded by Yuan Wuji’s magic, no one else noticed the murderous rage on the middle-aged man’s face; all they saw was a smiling, jovial expression.