Early the next morning, the first ray of sunlight scaled the mountain peaks, illuminating the towering temple outside Chaoyang City that seemed to reach the clouds.
From a distance, it looked like a mirage.
The first to discover the temple was Old Man Wang, who sold tofu near the city gates. He set up his stall before dawn every day, pushing his wooden cart laden with tofu from the west side of the city toward the gates.
Today, he woke up early as usual and pushed his cart out of the alley. However, the moment he looked up, he froze in shock.
The wooden cart crashed into a stone block by the roadside.
The snow-white tofu spilled all over the ground.
Old Man Wang didn't even notice. He craned his neck, his eyes bulging so wide they looked ready to pop out of their sockets.
“A... a celestial palace...” His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, shouting at the top of his lungs, “It's a celestial palace!”
This shout was like poking a hornet's nest.
The nearby commoners pushed open their doors one after another, grumbling as they tried to see who was wailing like a ghost so early in the morning.
Then, they saw the temple.
The curses died down one by one.
In their place came a succession of gasps, shrieks, and the sound of things shattering on the ground.
“What... what is that?!”
“Wow, it's so beautiful! It's even more beautiful than the Governor's estate!”
“Didn't the Divine Lady return to the heavens?” a white-haired old woman muttered to herself. “How did such a celestial palace appear out of thin air outside the city?”
From yesterday's skyship to today's temple, their hearts, shaken by divine miracles, had not known a moment of peace.
“During the funeral procession last night, I secretly followed them and took a few peeks. I vaguely heard that there was something fishy about Governor Fang's death, which is why the Divine Lady descended to the mortal realm again.”
“I heard it too. The Divine Lady also said that Governor Fang was an immortal reincarnate undergoing a tribulation, but he was brutally murdered by a villain. Because of that, he couldn't ascend to the celestial realm, leaving him with immense resentment.”
“Then... isn't the Divine Lady here to demand accountability? If she takes her anger out on us, will we even survive?”
The person who knew about last night's events shook his head with a bitter smile, explaining to those around him, “The Divine Lady was not angry. She even stepped in to suppress Governor Fang's resentment.”
“That's wonderful.”
“The Divine Lady is truly merciful...”
“Don't celebrate too early. The Divine Lady only gave Young Master Fang three days to uncover the cause of Governor Fang's death. If he fails, Governor Fang will turn into a malevolent ghost.”
“And the Divine Lady will not interfere with a malevolent ghost's revenge.”
“Letting the young master of the Fang family investigate? Then we're doomed...”
Everyone was instantly struck with fear and panic.
Who in Chaoyang City didn't know that Governor Fang's only son was an uneducated, useless playboy? What could he possibly figure out?
If Governor Fang turned into a malevolent ghost, who could guarantee he would retain any human reason and not harm the innocent?
The more they thought about it, the more they felt a great catastrophe was about to befall Chaoyang City.
【A'han Shock Value +100】
【Old Man Wang Shock Value +100】
【Granny Liu Shock Value +100】
【...】
【Current Shock Value: 6,825,000】
Yun Shu was awakened by a barrage of system notifications. She sat up in her three-meter-wide bed, rubbed her messy hair, threw off the soft silk quilt, and got out of bed.
She freshened up in the bathroom.
She couldn't help but feel once again that spending 2,000,000 Shock Value to win this temple in the auction yesterday was truly worth every penny. Not only could it be used to farm Shock Value, but it also improved her living conditions.
The temple had an ancient charm to its architecture, but the furniture consisted of modern smart appliances. There were over three hundred rooms in total, and aside from the electronic devices not being able to connect to the internet, it had everything she could possibly need.
Sitting in the spacious dining room, eating breakfast made by a home robot, Yun Shu felt as if she had returned to her modern life.
The little fox sat cross-legged on the dining table, eating its own breakfast while saying with a full mouth, “Host, Shen Yu and the others seem to be arriving in Chaoyang City soon.”
“We can't let them arrive in Chaoyang City so early.” Yun Shu put down her glass. “System, eat quickly. We need to go and give Shen Yu and the others some of nature's bounty.”
The death of the Governor of Chaoyang was actually not hard to investigate. With Shen Yu's intelligence, he probably wouldn't even need three days to figure it out.
She couldn't count on Shen Yu to catch her true intentions every single time. To prevent him from disrupting her plans, she had to find a way to delay his arrival in Chaoyang City by two days.
Opening the system wardrobe, she thought for a moment and put on the Miao Holy Maiden Set, which could summon venomous insects.
...
Atop the cliff, the wind howled fiercely.
Yun Shu stood with her hands behind her back. Numerous silver ornaments hung over her forehead, neck, and wrists, chiming softly in the mountain breeze.
Her purple pleated skirt was layered, with butterflies and floral vines embroidered on the hem looking lifelike.
She raised her hand, bringing the jade flute to her lips.
This jade flute was the Illusionary Sound Gu Flute, a handheld accessory of the Miao Holy Maiden Set. By simply playing it, she could command tens of thousands of insects.
Below the cliff was a winding path through a canyon, where a grand procession of troops was marching.
Their iron armor clanged, and their banners fluttered in the wind.
The bushes along the roadside suddenly began to rustle. First came a soft, scratching sound, followed by the dense noise of countless crawling creatures.
A sharp-eyed soldier noticed the anomaly.
“Insects! So many insects!”
“Be on guard! Full alert!”
Shen Jue, who was leading the procession, decisively drew his blade and barked out orders.
He had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but he had never seen tens of thousands of insects swarming from all directions. They formed a dense, black mass, completely blocking the path ahead.
The army came to a halt.
The soldiers' hands trembled uncontrollably as they gripped their spears. Even the warhorses neighed anxiously, pawing the ground with their hooves.
Yet, the insects did not attack.
They merely lay quietly on the path, completely motionless, blocking the entire army's advance.
Lin Xun, who accompanied the army, composed himself. He dismounted his horse and carefully approached the swarm of insects.
“Young Physician Lin! It's dangerous!”
Lin Xun waved his hand, indicating he was fine.
He took out tweezers and a porcelain vial from his medicine chest, slowly squatted down, and reached out toward the nearest insect.
It was a pitch-black beetle.
The tweezers gently picked up the beetle.
Lin Xun held the beetle up to his eyes.
After squinting and studying it for a moment, his expression gradually shifted from initial tension to pleasant surprise.
“This... this is...”
Shen Jue dismounted his horse and strode toward Lin Xun.
“Physician Lin? What is it?”
Lin Xun suddenly stood up and turned around. His eyes were red with excitement, as if he had just stumbled upon some priceless treasure.
“General Shen!” he said excitedly. “These aren't ordinary venomous insects! They are all extremely rare medicinal ingredients!”
He held up the black beetle in his hand.
Hearing the commotion from the carriage behind them, Shen Yu walked over to ask what was happening.
However, the moment he arrived and saw the massive swarm of insects, his face turned pale for an instant, though he still forced himself to remain calm.
“Brother, what is going on?”
Shen Jue's tone was filled with bewilderment. “Fuyan, these insects suddenly emerged to block our path just now, but they didn't attack us. Physician Lin even said they are rare medicinal ingredients.”
Shen Yu lowered his eyes in thought. “Brother, since they are rare medicinal ingredients, why don't we find a way to harvest them first? It won't be too late to head to Chaoyang City afterward.”
On the other side, Yun Shu stood on the cliff.
Watching the people below frantically catching the insects, she waved her sleeve and vanished on the spot.
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