Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 22: Hold Down My Conscience

The mountain god's statue was so miserable.

Granny Tang, a shamaness who had served the deity her entire life, felt an indescribable complexity in her heart.

She wasn't surprised.

Instead, she felt it was only natural.

She had personally seen the mountain god being swallowed alive by the bizarre white-robed old Daoist.

She had only heard it squeak three times.

It was just like the sound of a newborn, hairless pink mouse being eaten alive.

The mountain god had been eaten.

To still have a complete corpse was already a great fortune.

"Granny Tang, you can take it with you. Our temple doesn't keep idle gods, and certainly not dead ones."Chen Huangpi waved his hand, letting Granny Tang take the fox mountain god away.

He had promised the fox mountain god before to let it go.

Naturally, he would not break his promise.

After all, he was older now.

Not the naivety of an eight-year-old, nor the slickness of a ten-year-old.

What he had was the composure of a nine-year-old.

Yes, he was an honest and trustworthy good boy.

Hearing Chen Huangpi's words, Granny Tang felt a sense of bewilderment, as if she had drawn her sword only to find herself lost.

The mountain god their ancestors had worshipped for generations had now met such a miserable end.

Revenge was out of the question.

But how should she face the remnants?

And just at that moment, an extremely weak, intermittent, yet incredibly determined voice suddenly sounded in Granny Tang's heart.

"Quickly... take... me... away..."

Granny Tang was both happy and shocked.

"Mountain God, you're still alive."

"Go... don't... waste time."

The fox mountain god's will to live was simply too strong.

It hadn't even died from all that.

Granny Tang was overjoyed. How could she want to stay any longer with this master and disciple, who were strange and abnormal in every way?

"Young master, then this old woman will take her leave."

With that, Granny Tang cupped her hands at Chen Huangpi, then carefully put away the fox mountain god's statue, afraid that it would shatter with a single careless move.

"It's getting dark soon. Why don't you stay in the temple for a night?"

Chen Huangpi kindly reminded her, "Our temple is very safe. Evil entities don't dare to come over."

"No need."

"Then I'll see you off."

"Really, no need."

...

Outside the mountain gate of the Pure Immortal Temple.

Granny Tang couldn't refuse Chen Huangpi's enthusiasm and was still escorted by him to the mountain gate.

"Granny, my temple is very large. It can accommodate many people, and the rent is not high."

"Granny has no money."

"Medical books and medicine classics are also fine. I'm not picky."

"I have none."

"Oh, then forget it."

Chen Huangpi turned and left in disappointment.

How could these remnants in the Hundred Thousand Mountains have nothing?

When they fled, they only brought a mountain god.

Now even the mountain god was completely dead. Once it got dark, they would probably die at the hands of some suddenly appearing evil entity.

Watching Chen Huangpi leave without looking back, Granny Tang shook her head and turned to head towards the remnants.

Perhaps Chen Huangpi was a good boy.

Alright...

Not that good, but still good overall.

A likable young master.

But he was just too strange.

Right now, Granny Tang only wanted to take the mountain god and leave, the farther the better.

If she stayed any longer, she was afraid that the purple-robed old Daoist would take advantage of Chen Huangpi's inattention and eat the mountain god in one bite.

The sky gradually darkened.

During the day, the Hundred Thousand Mountains were very safe.

Therefore, Granny Tang flew with peace of mind and quickly found the remnants.

And to her pleasant surprise, the group of remnants, which had been reduced to eight or nine people, had gained a few more members in the time she was gone.

Those few people had been separated before but were extremely lucky and had followed the footprints all the way here.

"Granny, where is the mountain god?"

"The mountain god is fine. It's still alive, just seriously injured."

Granny Tang carefully held the fox mountain god's statue in front of her. Seeing this, the remnants were both shocked and overjoyed.

They were shocked that the majestic mountain god was so injured.

They were happy that the mountain god was still here and could still protect them through the night.

"Quick, light the incense and worship the god."

At Granny Tang's command, the crowd immediately rubbed dirt to make incense, all put their hands together, and knelt before the fox mountain god's statue to worship piously.

Selfishness and piety were not mutually exclusive.

Instantly, an invisible wisp of human qi rose from the top of everyone's head, then converged into a line and entered the statue.

"Hah..."

The fox mountain god took a sharp breath, like a traveler in the desert who hadn't drunk water for three days, or like a dog raised by a wealthy family, used to eating dry food, whose eyes would turn green at the sight of a dry latrine in the village.

"I'm alive."

The fox mountain god was overjoyed, "This god actually survived. This is great. Huh, why is a piece of my divine soul missing?"

"Who dealt such a vicious blow to this god?"

"Ah, it hurts, it hurts so much! It's killing this god!"

The fox mountain god only had to think about it, and it felt as if its divine soul was about to explode.

This made it even more terrified.

It couldn't remember what had happened, as if a part of its memory had been forcibly dug out.

It only remembered Chen Huangpi or someone saying they wanted to use it to make soup, which could nourish the kidneys and strengthen yang.

Then it only remembered that Chen Huangpi had let Granny Tang take it away.

"Mountain God, are you feeling better?"

Granny Tang was a shamaness. As the person most closely connected to the fox mountain god, she naturally noticed some clues.

The fox mountain god shouted in her mind, "Are you calling this god? Yes, you are Granny Tang, you are this god's temple keeper. Then who is this god?"

"You are the Mountain God, the Mountain God of Huanghu Village!"

Granny Tang said with some worry in her mind, "Mountain God, what exactly did that evil entity do to you?"

Although Chen Huangpi had repeatedly said that the purple-robed old Daoist had gone mad from his cultivation practice, Granny Tang dared not believe it.

What kind of technique could make one like this?

That was an evil entity!

An evil entity even more terrifying than the Yellow Peril!

"Don't mention it, don't mention it!"

The fox mountain god's head was splitting, almost about to explode.

It remembered the white-robed old Daoist, that is, Chen Huangpi's Second Master, was that evil entity.

But it had forgotten why it knew.

When the Evil Daoist broke free, it was equivalent to the fox mountain god losing that memory.

It only vaguely understood that the white-robed old Daoist was terrifying to the extreme.

It was best to stay as far away as possible. Once tainted, it would be an extremely terrible thing.

"Go, go quickly, the farther the better."

"Mountain God, it's getting dark."

Granny Tang shook her head. Looking at the exhausted remnants who had lost their homes, she really couldn't bear to make them continue on their journey.

And the mountain god had become like this.

This put her in a difficult position.

But in the end, Granny Tang still spoke, "Lord Mountain God, please protect us tonight. We will find another place to rebuild Huanghu Village tomorrow."

"Protect..."

Only then did the fox mountain god realize how much time had passed since it had woken up from its coma.

In less than half an hour, the sky would be completely dark.

"In this god's current state, I'm afraid I can't protect you."

The fox mountain god sighed.

People have their difficulties, and gods have theirs.

"Let this god think of a way, perhaps..."

The fox mountain god was extremely anxious. In its current state, it needed the worship of mortals to sustain itself.

Otherwise, it would turn to dust in a short while.

Therefore, the few remaining members of Huanghu Village must not die.

"Lord Mountain God..."

"Don't rush me, let this god think again..."

The fox mountain god did not blame Granny Tang for her urging. It had lost many memories, but Granny Tang had served it for many years and it had watched her grow up.

Therefore, the relationship between the person and the god was very tolerant.

Granny Tang shook her head helplessly. Looking at the group of remnants, she felt even more bitter in her heart.

The mountain god probably couldn't think of a way.

"Do you have any money on you?"

"Granny, what's the use of money in the Hundred Thousand Mountains?"

"Then did you bring any medical books or medicine classics?"

"We left in too much of a hurry, we didn't bring any."

...

A quarter of an hour later, in the Pure Immortal Temple, Chen Huangpi and Granny Tang and the other remnants stared at each other.

"Young master, just let us stay for one night."

"Stay? With what? You have nothing. The temple is not a charity!"

Chen Huangpi shook his head like a rattle drum, "Granny Tang, don't say any more. You are a good person, and I am a good person. Good people can't make things difficult for good people. You should go."

Granny Tang had taken him in once.

He had also helped Granny Tang once, giving those remnants a chance to live.

One for one, they owed each other nothing.

Chen Huangpi had grown up.

He no longer had the naivety of an eight-year-old, but he hadn't reached the worldliness of a ten-year-old.

At nine, he was mature and steady!

Granny Tang had a bitter face, but she was also in a very difficult position. She couldn't produce any money or goods, so it was reasonable for him not to take them in.

But it was about to get dark, and people would really die.

"If it doesn't work, just kneel and kowtow to him!"

The fox mountain god gave Granny Tang an idea, "He's young and inexperienced. If you kowtow and kneel, you can definitely get a hold of him."

To be honest, the fox mountain god knew its own situation.

In its current state, let alone protecting the remnants, it would be good if it didn't need the remnants to protect it.

Those evil entities didn't care if you were a remnant, a cultivator, or a deity.

They would kill if they had to.

Granny Tang had no choice but to give the crowd a look.

With a thud, everyone immediately knelt before Chen Huangpi.

Seeing this, Chen Huangpi sighed.

"Get up quickly. I'm young, I can't bear to see this."

But no one got up.

Granny Tang put on a pleading face, "Young master, this old woman knows shame. Just for one night, I will definitely repay you generously in the future."

"That's right, young master. We don't have money, but we have integrity!"

"We'll work for you to pay off the debt."

Hearing these words, Chen Huangpi looked at their faces. They were all ashen, their faces full of wrinkles. There was even a man carrying his old mother on his back. They were indeed all very pitiful.

"Chen Huangpi, you're feeling compassionate again."

The brass oil lamp hanging from his waist suddenly mocked him in his mind.

Chen Huangpi said, "I'm not."

"But your conscience is beating. I can hear it."

Hearing this, Chen Huangpi quickly covered his chest, wanting to press down his conscience.

But his conscience was beating too hard.

He really couldn't hold it down.

"It's over, Huang Er. I heard that the outside world is full of bad people. I'm already nine, but I'm still a good person!"

"It's okay, you're still young. You'll definitely turn bad in the future!"

"But my conscience is beating so hard, I feel very uncomfortable."

"If it beats for a long time, it won't be able to beat anymore."

Hearing the brass oil lamp's comfort, Chen Huangpi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright, then I'll take you in for one night. But you only say you'll repay me. I don't know what you're thinking. We must sign and seal it in black and white for it to count!"

As Chen Huangpi said this, he felt his conscience wasn't beating so hard anymore.

So, he added, "If you break the contract first, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

This time, his conscience completely stopped beating.

Coincidentally, the sky also darkened at this time.

(End of Chapter)