Chapter 153 The Ancient Temple in the Cloud-lying Village (1/2)

The Cloud-lying Village was located in a valley surrounded by mountains which were shrouded in fogs, making the village look as if situated between clouds. This was why the village was called the ”Cloud-lying Village”.

There was no road in the village, only a dusty road leading to the outside. It was said that the nearest town was more than 60 kilometers away from here, and villagers needed to walk for two days to enter the town for market. There was no way to develop the economy here because of the lack of traffic. When they got to the village, Ning Tao felt as if he had gone back in time to a village decades ago.

Jian Mi pulled Ning Tao over to his house. Ning Tao met his mother, who was not very old, but had white hair on her head due to years of hard work. Besides, her hands were rough, and she had calluses on her fingers and the part of the hand between the thumb and the index finger.

When Jian Mi's mother heard that Ning Tao had saved her son and the archaeological team, she insisted that Ning Tao had lunch at her home and asked Jian Mi to catch chickens. Ning Tao couldn't refuse, and agreed. Those archaeologists also stayed at Jian Mi's house. Ma Tongtong and another woman help Jian Mi's mother with the cooking. Jian Mi's mother's family name was Jiang, so they all called her Aunt Jiang.

Instead of staying quietly at Jian Mi's house, Ning Tao took Qing Zhui to wander around the village.

At the end of the village was a small, old temple, with two Phoebe zhennan in front of it, which were so thick that several people could just get their arms around. Beside the steps of the small temple stood a stone tablet, which was covered with moss, full of signs of weathering, but the inscription on it could still be discernible, Temple of Yan Emperor.

It turned out that the small temple was dedicated to the Yan Emperor, also known as Shennong.

The Yan Emperor, Shennong was the leader of the tribe with the surname Jiang, and Jian Mi's mother's first named was also Jiang. Ning Tao could not help but have some inexplicable associations in his heart.

The door of the temple was open, so Ning Tao could see the statue of the god sitting in the shrine, with a blade of grass in one hand and a tool for shoveling soil in the other. The statue was carved out of the rock, and his face had been weathered in a complete mess, with his appearance invisible.

Under the shrine was a stone tripod for burning incense, but there was no burning incense in there.

The temple was quiet. Ning Tao didn't see anyone inside.

Ning Tao had a sudden idea, and then he said to Qing Zhui, ”Qing Zhui, be the lookout.”

Qing Zhui asked, ”Are you going to pee? That's not good. This is the temple, but I can accompany you to the grove.”

Ning Tao wasn't interested in explaining. He opened the small medicine chest carried on his shoulder, took out the small porcelain bottle with an incomplete Ancestor-seeking Elixir, pulled out the cork, and poured the elixir out of the bottle to his palm. Subsequently, he put the incomplete Ancestor-seeking Elixir to his nose before he sniffed it deeply.

He soon developed an allergic reaction to the incomplete Ancestor-seeking Elixir. He felt his eyes burn, and after a brief period of blindness lasting about two seconds, his vision suddenly changed.

The small temple still existed, the stone statue of the Yan Emperor was still sitting on the shrine, but his face was very clear. A kid crouched at the foot of the steps, playing with grass, and his pant had an open crotch, so his dirty penis was exposed to the air.

Ning Tao didn't know whose kid he was or what period of time he was from, but he was pretty sure his grave was already covered with grass.

Ning Tao blinked his eyes and looked at the small temple. Suddenly he stunned on the spot.

The woman appeared again. This time she stood at the door of the temple and looked at him. Her face was meager and beautiful, with delicate eyebrows and a pair of pale green eyes which bent upwards. If she did not have these two demon eyes, she must be a beauty, and might leave a famous name in history, just like the four great beauties, Xi Shi, Yang Yuhuan, Diao Chan and Wang Zhaojun. Perhaps she would become a poet, like Shangguan Wan'er and Li Qingzhao.

She just stood there, without saying a word, but she gave the impression that she was full of stories, each of which was extremely mysterious, full of the vicissitudes of history and the weight of it.

This was the first time Ning Tao had seen her face, in this sudden situation.

Last time when she wore a red cheongsam, he thought she was a figure of the Republic of China. But this time she wore a set of red Han clothing, crossed collar and wide sleeves, and wore a gold hairpin on her head. She looked exactly like a lady from the Tang or Ming dynasties.

Their eyes met, and time and space seemed to blur. The past was not the past, and the present was not the present.

”Are... Are you Zhu Hongyu?” Ning Tao broke the weird mood.

The woman said nothing. After all, he had just an image that somehow appeared.

However, after Ning Tao said the sentence, the scene in front shook a little, like the snow melting under the sun. He lost sight of the woman for a second or two. When he got back to normal he never saw the woman again. The small temple of the Yan Emperor, Shennong's face was no longer clear, years blurred its face.

His allergy to the incomplete Ancestor-seeking Elixir should disappear.”

”Brother Ning, who did you call just now?” Qing Zhui asked curiously. ”I don't see anyone else.”

”After sniffing the Ancestor-seeking Elixir, I get some weird visions,” Ning Tao said. He didn't want to hide it from Qing Zhui.

Qing Zhui suddenly walked up to him and sniffed the incomplete Ancestor-seeking Elixir in his hand. But she had no respond. She even put out her tongue and licked it, but there was still no reaction.

”You've got one yourself,” Ning Tao said. ”If you had reacted to it, you would have seen what I saw.” He put the incomplete Ancestor-seeking Elixir back in the small porcelain bottle, and said, ”Let's enter the temple.”

Qing Zhui followed Ning Tao into the temple.

Behind the main hall of the small temple was a small yard, surrounded by a circle of stone walls. Small huts were built along the stone walls, with piles of debris, such as buckets and brooms. There was nothing else.

Ning Tao was disappointed. Then he left the small temple at the end of the village and went back to Jian Mi's home with Qing Zhui.

Aunt Jiang and Ma Tongtong were still busy cooking in the kitchen. Ning Tao went in and helped tender the fire.

”Doctor Ning, you don't have to do this. Take a break. You're our guest of honor. How can I allow you to tend the kitchen fire when I invite you to have lunch?” Aunt Jiang said with a sorry look.

Ning Tao laughed and said, ”It doesn't matter. I have nothing to do anyway. Aunt Jiang, please don't say any more polite words. I come to tender the fire because I want to talk to you.”