Chapter 3: Treasure Hunting in the Land God Temple

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Treasure Hunting in the Land God Temple

"Yes, exactly!

"Erhu needs to know about this so he can avenge Ergou."

At the mention of Wang Erhu, the Wang Family widow seemed to find a pillar of support. She shot Fang Xu a grateful look, yet a strange surge of affection fluttered in her chest. Her cheeks flushed as she quietly held onto his arm tighter.

Feeling the softness pressing against his arm and catching the faint scent of her rouge, Fang Xu fought back a sudden, intense urge to pin her down. Instead, he gently helped her up. "Mrs. Wang, we shouldn’t disturb the traces at the scene. Let’s go back and report this to the authorities right now."

The Wang Family widow gave a subtle nod. Leaning nearly half her body weight against him, she followed him back toward Fenglin Town.

"Mrs. Wang, why did Ergou argue with the Zhang Family’s young master?" Fang Xu asked casually on the way, hoping to break the awkward silence.

"I don’t know...

"I only heard Ergou mention that the Zhang Family planned to tear down the Land God Temple to build shops, but he stopped them.

"He never cared for gods or Buddhas before, so I have no idea why he suddenly cared so much about that temple. He always liked wandering over there whenever he had free time."

The Land God Temple? This remark from the Wang Family widow struck Fang Xu as odd. Why would Wang Ergou, a man who never believed in the divine, suddenly obsess over a ruined Land God Temple? Could it be...

Committing this detail to memory, he continued walking with her. Half an hour later, they arrived at the town’s Government Office.

In the Great Yu Dynasty, towns were governed by a Town Mayor, supported by the Si Ji office, which was responsible for maintaining order and catching thieves. These Si Ji were perfectly fine for handling petty disputes among the common people, but a murder case—especially one involving the brother of a Government Soldier—was clearly beyond their capabilities.

Listening to the tearful account of the Wang Family widow, Town Mayor Huang Dechuan rubbed his forehead in silence. When his gaze shifted to Fang Xu, he asked doubtfully, "Are you Old Fang’s grandson from town?"

Fang Xu cupped his hands in greeting. "I am."

"Why were you with the Wang Family widow late at night, and how exactly did you discover Wang Ergou’s death?" Huang Dechuan’s tone was heavy with interrogation.

Fang Xu replied calmly, "During the day, Ergou asked me to repair his plow. He mentioned wanting to introduce me to Butcher Wang’s daughter. Since I had nothing to do tonight, I brought some homemade wine over to chat with him.

"When I arrived at his house, Mrs. Wang told me he hadn’t returned even after dark, so I went out with her to look for him."

He had prepared these excuses on the way. Wang Ergou’s death had nothing to do with him, and he absolutely refused to be dragged into this mess.

"Sir, Wang Ergou’s brother is a Government Soldier and a Martial Artist. Now that Ergou is dead, you need to send someone to notify him immediately. While you’re at it, request that Qinghe County send an official investigator.

"It’s a murder case. Our Fenglin Town isn’t equipped to handle this," whispered a scrawny man standing next to Huang Dechuan. He held a folding fan and sported a handlebar mustache along with a mole near his mouth.

Huang Dechuan pondered for a moment before nodding. He stood up and looked at the Wang Family widow and Fang Xu. "You two head back for now. I will have someone transport Wang Ergou’s body to the Yizhuang for temporary storage. We will wait until the county officials arrive to handle everything else."

Fang Xu gave a slight bow and helped the Wang Family widow, who was slumped on the floor, back to her feet. "Mrs. Wang, let’s go home first."

Supporting the Wang Family widow as they left the Government Office, Fang Xu escorted her straight to her front door. He planned to use the cover of darkness to check the Land God Temple and see if his suspicions were correct.

But at this moment, the Wang Family widow leaned against the doorframe and tugged at the corner of Fang Xu’s clothes. With a mix of fear and inexplicable affection in her eyes, she said softly, "Fang, I... I’m scared."

As she spoke, her beautiful eyes shimmered with a seductive allure, staring at him full of anticipation.

For Fang Xu, a man who had remained a bachelor across two lifetimes, such a charming young woman was a fatal temptation. His feet felt rooted to the spot, making it hard to walk away. The sheer power of the system had already altered the Wang Family widow’s mindset. Fang Xu knew very well that if he stayed tonight and did something with her, the Wang Family widow wouldn’t put up the slightest resistance.

But he didn’t dare.

Wang Ergou had just died. If he and the Wang Family widow fooled around at a critical time like this and someone found out, he would be painted as guilty no matter the truth. It would be an impossible stain to wash off.

"Don’t be afraid, Mrs. Wang. The county will definitely send someone to handle this tomorrow, and once Erhu gets the news, he’ll rush back as soon as possible."

After offering the Wang Family widow a few words of comfort, Fang Xu hastily fled from the fatal temptation.

Watching Fang Xu’s retreating figure, the Wang Family widow’s gaze held a touch of resentment, as well as a trace of worry. With her looks, how could she have ever willingly married a filthy lout like Wang Ergou? But alas, the man had a brother who was a Government Soldier. Being his lawful wife was still far better than becoming a concubine to some local tyrant.

Leaving Wang Ergou’s house behind, Fang Xu hurried straight to the Land God Temple in the center of town.

Ever since the current Emperor Yu of the Great Yu Dynasty ascended the throne, he had forbidden the common people from worshiping traditional gods and Buddhas. From massive State Mansions down to modest counties, towns, and villages, Emperor Yu Temples had been constructed everywhere, with each enshrining a statue of the reigning Emperor Yu.

Once the incense offerings stopped, Fenglin Town’s Land God Temple fell into complete ruin. Most of the time, it merely served as an overnight shelter for travelers passing through Fenglin Town on their way into the mountains.

Stepping into the Land God Temple, Fang Xu fished a fire starter out of his robes and blew on it. By its faint, flickering glow, he surveyed his surroundings.

Half of the ruined temple’s roof had collapsed. Among the crumbling walls and debris sat a massive, headless stone statue, covered in thick cobwebs and thoroughly dilapidated. In front of the statue, sparse patches of straw were scattered over several piles of wood ash—clear evidence that no one had spent the night here for a long time.

Standing before the statue, Fang Xu frowned slightly. He wondered where he would hide the hundred taels of silver if he were Wang Ergou.

As he scrutinized the environment and ran through scenarios in his mind, Fang Xu realized that there seemed to be no place in the crumbling Land God Temple capable of concealing a hundred taels of silver.

Had he guessed wrong? Was Wang Ergou’s secret stash not hidden in this Land God Temple after all? A sliver of doubt crept into his heart as his gaze swept over every corner of the ruined temple once more.

When his eyes brushed past the colossal headless stone statue on the altar, he let out a soft sound of surprise, his pupils contracting slightly. There was something different about the statue’s extended left arm!

The ruined temple was generally blanketed in cobwebs, with massive webs bridging the statue and the ceiling beams. Yet, the webs around that left arm were suspiciously sparse.

Noticing this, Fang Xu immediately leaped onto the altar and brought his fire starter closer to the statue’s left arm. Just as he suspected, he found fine traces of fresh dirt on the stone.

In a dilapidated temple, dust on a statue was normal, but fresh dirt was completely out of place.

Looking up at the thirty-foot-tall statue, Fang Xu clamped the fire starter between his teeth and scrambled up using both hands and feet.

At the top, Fang Xu perched on the statue’s shoulder. He took the fire starter from his mouth and shined it down the statue’s hollow neck. Sure enough, resting within the hollow chest cavity was a wooden box!

The box was well within arm’s reach, allowing Fang Xu to retrieve it with ease.

Holding the fire starter in one hand, he opened the wooden box with the other. He was greeted by the sight of neatly stacked silver ingots. Each silver ingot was slightly larger than a thumb and weighed two taels. There were exactly fifty silver ingots of this size!

One hundred taels of silver!

Staring at the silver ingots before him, joy washed over Fang Xu’s face.

Although he hadn’t obtained this inheritance through the system, he had secured these hundred taels of silver through his own intelligence and wits.

With this silver in hand, he was one step closer to reaching the Martial Disciple realm.