Anya’s princess temper flared up and she said in a displeased tone, “How dare he leave without informing me. I’m going to get him to come and pick me up.”
Chu Luo was silent for a few seconds. Thinking that since she was a princess, besides bringing bodyguards on the surface, she must also have someone secretly protecting her, she said, “Then be careful.”
“Got it. I’ll get someone to prepare a room for me. I’ll wait for him in the room later.”
At this point, Anya said to her excitedly, “Chu, there’s actually a temple fair here today. Many people are here. I think some people are so strange. They bowed to Bodhisattva for a long time.”
Chu Luo thought to herself, ‘How can they not pray more? These people are preparing to enter the tomb. Many people who enter tombs care about these things.’
However, she only responded with an “Mm” and hung up.
The two of them returned to the bedroom and changed into casual clothes before going downstairs. Li Yan took a car key from the butler and continued walking out with Chu Luo’s hand in his.
Chu Luo was a little surprised. “Are we driving there?”
She had thought that they would teleport over directly.
“Yes, we might meet an acquaintance there. It’s more convenient to drive.”
Chu Luo thought that since Anya was over there, they might meet her. It would be easier to bring her back then, so she didn’t say anything else.
The two of them got into the car and Li Yan drove out.
The temple outside the city was closer from here. It only took 40 to 50 minutes to get there by car on the expressway.
Chu Luo had been here once before and still remembered the big peaches here. As soon as the car arrived at the peach garden, she turned to look out of the window.
At this moment, the peach trees had already lost all their leaves and were bare. There was no moonlight tonight, and there weren’t many places illuminated by the streetlights. Actually, there was nothing to see.
Chu Luo looked at it for a while and exclaimed. She pointed at a row of lights not far away and asked Li Yan, “There weren’t any houses over there when we came last time. Why are there so many houses now?”
“Those are simple houses built by those people.”
“They’re staying here?”
“That’s right. There are a lot of people involved this time. They have to wait for a few days before they can gather everyone who’s going to the northwest.”
Chu Luo nodded in understanding.
The car drove for a few minutes before arriving outside Fangqing Temple’s wall. It was only past seven in the evening, and the temple was brightly lit. It was obvious that there were many people inside.
Li Yan kept driving until he reached the edge of the parking lot before finding an empty spot to stop.
Chu Luo opened the car door and alighted. A gust of evening wind blew past, bringing with it the cold fragrance of soil and the fragrance of incense in the temple. She turned to look at Li Yan. “Where are we entering from?”
Since they had come secretly, they had to keep a low profile.
“The back door.”
Li Yan grabbed her hand and led her to the back door.
The further they walked, the darker it became. Li Yan took out two pairs of night vision glasses from his pocket. He put one on and gave one to Chu Luo.
“Put on the night vision glasses.”
Chu Luo took it and put it on. The scene in front of her lit up.
They walked for a while before arriving at the back door. This place was close to the abbot’s courtyard. Chu Luo asked Li Yan, “Are you going to look for the abbot?”
“No.”
Li Yan took out his tablet and quickly swiped it. “Those people are in the temple hall. Let’s go take a look.”
The back door was closed. Chu Luo cast a spell and the door opened.
The two of them walked in. It was still very quiet. It was obvious that the abbot had not returned to rest.
They walked along the path towards the outside. After walking for a while, they heard voices and chanting.
After turning another corner, they arrived at the temple hall’s courtyard.
The door of the temple hall was wide open. Below the Buddha statue sat a group of monks chanting scriptures. Behind the monks sat more than twenty men who were kneeling.
The youngest of these men was only in his twenties, and the oldest wasn’t more than 55 years old. Everyone had a sincere expression on their faces, as if they were the most ordinary devotees who had come to pray to God and Buddha to protect their families or have a successful career.
Chu Luo and Li Yan didn’t enter.
The two of them stood in a hidden corner and looked inside.
After looking at it for a while, Chu Luo sneered. “These people want to enter the Emperor’s Tomb. What do they think Buddha can protect them with?”
“They’re just praying for peace of mind.”
The two of them waited for a while before the monks’ recital ended.
The people stood up and walked out.
Chu Luo and Li Yan pretended to be devotees and slowly followed behind them.
A young man who happened to be walking at the back suddenly asked the middle-aged man beside him.
“Uncle, why should we wait for those people to come? Can’t we go over first?”
“What do you know? That tomb is more dangerous than all the other tombs. It’s safer with more people.”
“How dangerous could it be? Are there dumplings inside?”
“Pfft, pfft, pfft. You jinx. Before I go to the tomb, there are some things that you’re not allowed to say. Bad luck.”
“I… Alright.”
The young man was silent for a while before he couldn’t help but ask, “Uncle, so many people are going this time. Do you think it will alert the higher-ups?”
“What are you worried about? It’s not peaceful up there now. Who doesn’t want to obtain the gold mountains, silver mountains, and the legendary divine herbs and divine weapons inside? How would they have the time to pay attention to us? Besides, we’ve disguised ourselves. Everyone will only think that we’re merchants who came here to participate in the goods exhibition.”
“Mm, mm. When we get what’s inside, we’ll definitely surpass Master Li and become the richest men in the world.”
“You… There are so many people here. You better hold back your words.”
“Okay, okay, okay. I’ll stop talking. This is my first time following you to the tomb. I’m a little excited.”
“Excited my ass. Everyone will be discussing how to get there in the next few days. Listen carefully.”
“Got it, Uncle.”
The two of them didn’t continue.
Chu Luo and Li Yan only stopped when they reached the outer courtyard.
Those people walked out of the monastery.
Chu Luo looked at Li Yan and asked, “Aren’t we going out?”
“Wait.”
After saying that, Li Yan pulled her back.
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s go to the temple hall to take a look.”
When the two of them arrived at the temple hall, the monks had already left to rest.
Other than burning incense candles, there were only candles placed around the temple hall. There were no electric lights, making it look especially solemn and sacred.
The two of them walked into the temple hall. Li Yan took out his tablet and swiped it for a while before looking around.
Chu Luo followed behind him and asked, “What are you looking for?”
“See if there’s anything they’re hiding here.”
“They’re hiding something here?”
Although Chu Luo didn’t understand why they were hiding something here, she still followed Li Yan to look for it.
The two of them searched for a while but didn’t find anything. Chu Luo asked, “What will they hide here?”
Li Yan tilted his head and whispered in her ear.
Chu Luo widened her eyes and said with a complicated expression, “They’re really bold.”
“This way, even if someone comes to investigate, they won’t be able to find anything.”
In the end, the two of them didn’t find anything and left the temple hall.
Li Yan put away his tablet and took out a Bluetooth earpiece to put on his ear. He moved his fingers and asked, “What’s going on over there?”
After a while, he responded with an “Mm” and stopped talking.
Chu Luo looked at him.
Li Yan pulled her hand and walked to the backyard. As they walked, he said, “Let’s go rest for an hour. There will be a good show to watch.”
“What show?”
“Someone in the capital knows who’s here. They’ll come over later.”
“Will they capture these people?”
“No.”
The two of them went to the room Chu Luo had stayed in before.
There was actually a pot of steaming water in the room.
Li Yan let go of Chu Luo’s hand and walked over to pour her a glass of hot water. “Drink some water first.”
Chu Luo took the cup and held it in her hand. She watched as Li Yan sat down, took out his tablet, and quickly swiped it.
She thought for a moment and took out her phone too.
Her phone had been turned to silent mode when she arrived. Unexpectedly, when she took it out, she saw that there were a few messages from someone.
Anya sent the most messages.
Chu Luo clicked on Anya’s messages and glanced at them.
Anya had merely sent her a few messages out of pure boredom. She had even attached a few photos.
The photo was taken by the large tree in the outer courtyard, and there were words attached to it.
“Heavens, Chu, look at this tree. It’s so big. I think it’ll definitely be very romantic to build a house on it.”
Then, there was another photo and matching text.
Unexpectedly, Anya really climbed up the tree branch from behind.
The moment Chu Luo saw this photo, she quickly tugged at Li Yan’s clothes. “Yan, look. Isn’t there something strange on the branch of that big tree in the outer courtyard?”
Li Yan tilted his head to look over. There was a lot of grass on it, making it look like a huge bird’s nest. At first glance, it didn’t look like anything. Then, Li Yan narrowed his eyes.
Chu Luo said, “It’s obvious that the grass here hasn’t been put up for long. It’s impossible for birds to build their nest here at this time.”
The weather was cold and the evening wind was strong there. If the birds wanted to build a nest, they wouldn’t do it there. Moreover, it was such a huge nest.
Chu Luo snorted and sneered. “Such a big nest can even fit an ostrich.”
Li Yan swiped on the tablet a few times and said, “I’ll get someone to go up and take a look. If there are no surprises, there should be something down there.”
