Chapter 43: Re-entering the Ancient Temple in the Fog

  No matter what Yu Luo went to find Bodhisattva for, the date of returning to Lin Yue Peak couldn't be delayed any longer. Luosi Qi left two Moon Maidens here waiting for Chen Xing, and took the rest of the people back to Lin Yue Peak.

  Along the original road, she still had to turn over that small mountain. This time when she turned over the small mountain, it was still far from night, but for some reason, a vast fog suddenly rose on the mountain near the waist of the mountain. The surroundings quickly became white and hazy. This change made Luosiqi more cautious, because this fog was not the kind that was generated due to temperature changes at dawn or dusk. When she arrived here, it was already around late afternoon, which should have been the strongest sunlight of the day, but now even three meters away, no human figure could be seen.

  Tsukihime followed her instructions and stuck closely around her. This thick fog was definitely not suitable for advancing, and staying in place in the wilderness was even more unreliable. She remembered that ancient temple from when she came to this time, it should be somewhere nearby, so with a heart of trying, she tried to find it, but under such low visibility conditions, it would be extremely difficult to find.

  However, reality always differs from imagination. Luosi didn't expect Yuexi to discover the ancient temple so quickly, and she soon saw it too. Compared to the vast fog around her, the ancient temple itself seemed to be independent of this endless white surprise. Within four or five meters around the temple, there was almost no fog at all, which made the situation seem somewhat eerie, as if it were a trap that attracted people to enter.

  But for now, entering the ancient temple to rest and wait for the fog to clear seems like the best option. Moreover, Luosiqi had spent a night in this temple when she came here before, so she is familiar with the owner of the temple. Although Chen Xing is no longer by her side, there are six Moon Maidens following her, so safety shouldn't be a concern. Thinking this, Luosiqi instructed everyone to follow her into the ancient temple.

  Just as the moon girl was about to push open the temple door, it creaked and opened by itself. Anyone would be hesitant in this situation. The moon girl who wanted to push the door took two steps back unconsciously, but because the temple wasn't big, Luo Siqi had already seen the two people sitting facing each other in the hall, seemingly just finishing a conversation. Upon hearing the sound of the door opening, they both turned their gaze towards the outside. Luo Siqi recognized that one of them was Chi Huang, the owner of the ancient temple, and the other was Shi Xiaofu, who had gone with his uncle to Ba Tu Shen to get the black witch grass.

  When Shi Xiaofu came, he was accompanied by his uncle, but when he left, he was the only one left. This scene made Luosiqi think of Chen Xing again, thinking that she had also come with Chen Xing. Compared to Shi Xiaofu, there were many more people accompanying her when she returned to Lin Yuefeng, but Chen Xing did not return with the people who accompanied him either. However, unlike Shi Hong, who paid a terrible price for his life, Chen Xing's fate was much better.

  Shi Xiaofu had a large cloth bag beside his luggage, which Luo Siqi guessed was already filled with black witchgrass. It went without saying that Shi Hong had voluntarily stayed behind at Ba Tu Shen's place and been drained of his blood. When Luo Siqi thought about the Ba Tu Shen she saw, who was so enchanting and beautiful, and her very affectionate attitude towards herself, as well as her childlike innocence when she saw Chen Xing's snowflakes, it was really hard for her to associate her with a blood-sucking demon.

  It was actually Shi Xiaofu and his uncle who went, but now he has returned alone. The two people in the temple also recognized her, and when they saw her bring in Yuexi, they nodded slightly. Luosi Qi sat down on a cushion, while the other Yuexi stood scattered around her. During this time with Chen Xing, Luosi Qi had slowly become accustomed to being a goddess of the Moon God Cult, superior to the followers. She was now used to sitting while the Yuexi stood, no longer feeling uneasy in her heart like when she first arrived at the Moon God Cult. Besides, the temple's conditions were simple and there were no chairs for rest.

  Luosi watched Shi Xiaofu and felt that he had a heavy heart, that night in the temple his uncle told everyone the story of how he brought back the Black Witchgrass, although the Bodhisattva gave him unimaginable preferential treatment, allowing him to easily take away the Black Witchgrass, promising to take his life next time.

  If Shi Hong goes back on his word and takes the Black Witchgrass without going to find Bátuó Shén, then his hometown is far from Yīn Yù Chéng (Shadow Domain City) and it's likely that Bátuó Shén won't be able to retaliate against him. This means that such an agreement is extremely unfavorable to Bátuó Shén, yet she still proposed or agreed to this condition. Perhaps Shi Hong did something that moved her at the time, which led her to agree to such an outrageous agreement.

  It doesn't matter how it was at the time, but now the reality is that Shi Hong has definitely paid the price he should have paid for his original promise. However, there's one thing that Luo Siqi still can't understand: after Shi Xiaofu's uncle finished telling the story, he seemed to be emotionally out of control and appeared to want Shi Xiaofu to die in place of him at the hands of Bado God and bring back the Black Witchgrass. But now it seems like he didn't succeed; could it be because Shi Xiaofu wasn't willing to let Bado God suck his blood, so in the end Shi Hong paid the price for his original actions?

  Luosi remembered that Shi Hong had said to Shi Xiaofu at the end of the story: "However, your father, although he appears dull on the outside but has a deep mind, also has times when he miscalculates!" He looked at Shi Xiaofu and gritted his teeth, saying word by word: "There's one thing your father should be clearer about than anyone else, that is, it's not necessarily the case that whoever can retrieve the Black Witchgrass will become the clan leader!"

  Now that Shi Xiaofu has brought back the Black Witchgrass, his merits are enough to earn him a prominent position in front of his clansmen. Moreover, the current clan leader is his father, and it's highly likely that he'll succeed his father as the next clan leader. That's why Shi Hong might have said those words out of resentment for not being able to become the clan leader himself despite risking his life to retrieve the Black Witchgrass back then. However, after hearing Shi Hong say those words that night, Luosi Qi couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to what he meant than just the literal meaning of his words. It's unlikely that Shi Hong would help his nephew achieve such a great feat when he himself is filled with resentment for being robbed of the clan leader position by his brother.

  Because Shi Hong and Shi Xiaofu were one step ahead of Luo Siqi in seeing the Bodhisattva, Luo Siqi could only ask Shi Xiaofu to know the truth. Fortunately, Shi Xiaofu did not hide anything, he just wailed again and cried, and Luo Siqi finally knew the truth from his crying.

  Originally, Shi Hong agreed to bring Shi Xiaofu to the Yin Domain City without intending for Shi Xiaofu to return alive. He wanted Shi Xiaofu to die in place of him at the hands of Ba Tu Shen and then he would retrieve the Black Witchgrass again.