Inside Lingyun Temple, it was quiet; there were no visitors today.
The rice bin was inconvenient to carry, so Lu Fei hid it.
Huzi found a suitable tree outside and climbed up, holding the small black dog as they watched for any movement from the meditation room.
Meanwhile, Lu Fei stealthily entered the temple.
He deliberately avoided the meditation room and headed towards where there was some activity.
In the front courtyard, two young Taoist priests were sweeping the ground.
There was no look of panic on their faces, but rather they were filled with gratitude and excitement.
"Do a good job; if Master Lingyun sees us, he will definitely let us stay."
"We have food and drink here, and we get paid quite a bit every month; it's much better than working in a factory."
"We're lucky to have met someone as kind as Master Lingyun! He's not like those greedy bosses who take advantage of us because we don't have parents."
"The only downside is the senior disciples; they are always grumpy and bossing us around!"
"None of us have parents, and they only came here a few months before us,"
"Let's work harder; once we become formal disciples, we won't have to put up with their nonsense anymore..."
The two young Taoists chatted in low voices and worked even more diligently.
After sweeping the floor clean, they took rags and started wiping down everything, working very hard.
Their attitude was completely different from that of the previous three young Taoists.
"They are newcomers and do not yet know the horrors of this Daoist temple." Lu Fei noticed that these two young monks were also not old, no more than twenty years of age.
"From their words, it seems they are orphans."
Thinking of the decaying bones buried in the woods, Lu Fei couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Orphans die and no one cares...this Master Lingyun, is truly despicable!"
There weren't many people in the temple, just a few young monks in total.
The layout of the buildings was simple: the front was for receiving pilgrims, the middle was where the young monks lived, and at the back was the courtyard where Master Lingyun resided.
The three young monks who had buried the bodies were inside, mechanically going about their tasks.
They knew of the terror of Master Lingyun, but could not leave, clearly controlled by him in some way.
If they did not comply, they would end up like the bodies in the woods, rotting to death.
"I wonder what kind of person this Master Lingyun really is..." Lu Fei mused.
The phone vibrated slightly.
Hu Zi sent a message: "Boss, that strange Taoist has come out of the meditation room."
This fast?
"I'll be right there."
Lu Fei quietly stepped back and found a hidden corner to hide in. He saw the head of Lingyun Temple come out from the backyard, seemingly with something urgent to attend to, and hurriedly left the temple.
"Here's my chance!"
Seeing the head of Lingyun Temple leave, Lu Fei quickly made his way back to the backyard.
"Boss," at the entrance of the meditation room, Hu Zi and the small black dog were already waiting.
Hu Zi took out a small piece of wire, inserted it into the lock, and fiddled with it for a few moments, unlocking it.
"Xiao Hei, keep watch at the door!"
The two of them closed the door.
The room was very dim and sparsely furnished, with only an old wooden bed and an altar table with statues of the Three Pure Ones.
A large water vat stood silently in a dark corner of the room, without a sound.
"Be careful."
Thinking of the tragic state of the young Taoist priest earlier, both of them were somewhat tense.
Lu Fei gripped the lightning-struck jujube wood stick, making Hu Zǐ follow behind him. He took a deep breath and cautiously approached the large water vat.
The vat was about half a person's height and had a very ordinary design, just like any common earthenware vat.
After approaching and waiting for a couple of seconds without any movement inside the vat, Lu Fei slightly bent down to look inside.
The vat was full of water, completely still, like a black mirror reflecting the tense faces of Lu Fei and Hu Zǐ.
Hu Zǐ turned on the flashlight.
A faint light reflected to the bottom of the jar.
Lu Fei narrowed his eyes, and then was greatly surprised.
It was empty inside!
"How can it be empty? Could it have been taken out by that strange Taoist?"
"No way!" Hu Zi widened his eyes, "When that strange Taoist came out, his hands were empty, he didn't have anything."
Where did the contents of the jar go?
"Not good, we've fallen for a trap!"
Lu Fei immediately felt uneasy and quickly pulled Hu Zi away.
As soon as they stepped out of the door, they saw the strange Taoist hurrying towards the back yard from a distance.
Sure enough.
He had already noticed someone entering the monastery, and he had deliberately pretended to leave earlier to lure Lu Fei and his companion out.
Now, if they were to climb over the wall, they would surely be exposed to the sight of the strange Daoist. Lu Fei and Hu Zi moved quietly along the base of the wall, heading outside.
As the strange Daoist walked back to his meditation room, the two of them just managed to sneak into the central courtyard.
"Hmph! As expected, there are people here!"
The strange Daoist kicked open the door, his gaze sweeping around. Sensing something, he immediately turned and rushed toward the central courtyard.
"We've startled the snake; it will be even harder now to uncover the truth."
Lu Fei was frustrated, and was about to leave with Hu Zi.
Suddenly, the door to a nearby meditation room opened, and a young Daoist poked half his face out, urgently waving for the two to come over.
"Come in quickly."
Lu Fei and Hu Zi were taken aback, but still ran into the meditation room.
"Hide here."
The young Taoist monk lifted the bedsheet, signaling the two to hide inside.
As soon as they hid, the door was kicked open with a loud bang.
"Master!"
The three young Taoist monks immediately stood up and respectfully called out.
"Have you seen any suspicious people come in?"
"Master, we have been in the room since we returned from the back mountain. We haven't gone anywhere and haven't seen anyone."
"Is that true?"
"We dare not lie, Master!"
"Master, I think I heard footsteps running outside."
"Worthless! What's the point of keeping you?"
After a moment of silence, the strange Taoist slammed the door and left.
The three young Taoists waited in fear for a while before they dared to go and close the doors and windows again.
"You can come out now."
Lu Fei and Hu Zi, with the small black dog, crawled out from under the bed.
"Why are you helping us? Aren't you afraid we might be bad people?" Lu Fei asked, looking at the three pale-faced young Taoists.
"Are you?"
The three young Taoists looked at them timidly.
"Of course we aren't thieves; we are very good people!" said Hu Zi.
"Then what were you doing in the temple?"
Lu Fei smiled and said, "If I said we're lost, you probably wouldn't believe me, right? But anyway, we're not bad people. Thanks for your help just now. We'll be on our way and won't cause you any more trouble."
The three young Taoist priests looked at each other, and the one in the lead plucked up his courage and said, "Are you here to steal the spirit ganoderma? I can tell that you're not ordinary people. If you save us, we will help you find the spirit ganoderma!"
They seemed to have grasped a lifeline.
"We were all tricked here by our master. On the surface, he is a great person, but in reality... he, he's a devil! He eats people every once in a while!"
These young Taoist priests were indeed in a pitiful state.
But Lu Fei didn't express himself easily. Instead, he asked in surprise, "Eating people, what do you mean?"
He had thought that the head of Lingyun Temple was raising these young orphans to cultivate the spirit ganoderma.