In Order To Ascend, I Became A Modern Wage Slave - Chapter 30: Elemental True Monarch (3)

Chapter 30: Elemental True Monarch (3)

Hardly anyone came to this place—a number you could count on one hand. The Ghost Sisters had been here for so long that their sense of time was blurred, but they could roughly say that Chen Zhidao was the most recent person they’d seen.

Recent enough that they even remembered what Chen Zhidao had done the last time he climbed the mountain.

Xi Yu cast his gaze in the direction directly ahead of Chen Zhidao’s feet, muttering softly, “It should’ve been just a few days ago.”

At this moment, Chen Zhidao, who was walking in front, suddenly took a sharp turn. His movements were extremely peculiar as he brushed against tree bark, stepping over a patch of dirt beneath the tree roots, and leaped forward. Then, speaking into his phone, he said, “Haha, look at my walking style—cool or what? Doesn’t it have that wilderness explorer vibe?”

Xi Yu stopped in his tracks. Chen Zhidao walked a few steps forward, then turned back, calling out to Xi Yu with a terrifying level of enthusiasm, “Hey, why aren’t you moving? Did something happen? Are you scared?”

“That move just now was really cool.” Xi Yu glanced around. “How did you do it? I want to try.”

Chen Zhidao rubbed his nose bashfully, thinking, Of course! Such great taste—but still not enough.

Grinning broadly, Chen Zhidao said, “Eh, don’t bother trying. It’s really hard. Just walk straight over.”

Ahead of Xi Yu was a pit.

This pit was one that Chen Zhidao had dug himself, intending to fall into it for a bit of dramatic effect for his show.

But now, it was reserved for Xi Yu.

Once Xi Yu falls into this pit and looks ridiculous, it’ll make me seem even cooler by comparison. Chen Zhidao deliberately aimed the camera at Xi Yu, ready to live stream his embarrassing moment.

“Don’t go, don’t go! He set a trap there!”

By the time the Ghost Sisters recalled their warning, it was too late. Xi Yu had already taken a step, unable to pull back, his foot landing on the thick layer of leaves.

Under the watchful eyes of one person and two ghosts, Xi Yu walked across the pit as if it were solid ground, without the leaves sinking even an inch.

Standing still, Xi Yu looked leisurely at the dumbstruck Chen Zhidao, who was staring at him in disbelief, and asked with concern, “Why are you looking at me like that? Is something wrong?”

That’s impossible! It was definitely a pit! Could I have made a mistake? Chen Zhidao hurried over to check and ended up overshooting…

…He blinked, hovered in the air for a moment, and then fell down along with the dirt and leaves.

“Ahhhhhh!” A shriek echoed from the bottom of the pit.

Fortunately, the pit was initially meant for Chen Zhidao to stage a scene, so it wasn’t too deep. But the sudden fall caught him off guard, and he ended up with some scraped skin. As Xi Yu pulled him out, Chen Zhidao began interrogating him, “Didn’t you just walk through there? How come nothing happened to you?”

“Maybe I’m just lighter.” Xi Yu shot back, “By the way, since I already crossed it, why did you go back?”

“I forgot something,” Chen Zhidao replied, scratching his head sheepishly.

Luckily, Xi Yu didn’t press further, nodded, and let the matter slide. They resumed their journey, with Chen Zhidao sighing in relief into the camera. Looking down at his stomach and then at his face on the live stream, he frowned.

He wasn’t fat. His face was even gaunt to the point of sunken hollows, and his limbs were slender. But his stomach bulged out, plump and round.

He had set up three traps in total. The first was the pit they had just encountered. The second was a giant white plastic bag—to fake a ghost. And the last, the heavyweight, was Yuan Zhen Temple.

Chen Zhidao braced himself mentally, looking around, still feeling a bit uneasy. Later, Xi Yu would definitely be scared out of his wits, crying and screaming in terror!

The audience in the live stream chat played along enthusiastically. They had initially come to watch the handsome man but had been infected by the eerie, creepy atmosphere and started to feel nervous.

【This is so terrifying! Host, there seems to be something behind you.】

【Hubby, aren’t you scared? How are you still smiling?】

“Not scared, not scared,” Chen Zhidao replied, knowing they weren’t asking about him. He turned around, feigning a casual glance at Xi Yu, and asked, “Are you scared?”

“Scared.”

Chen Zhidao didn’t pick up on the nonchalance in Xi Yu’s tone and thought, He’s already so scared he’s losing it. He’s frozen stiff!

From a distance, Chen Zhidao spotted his hanging white plastic bag. The night breeze rustled it gently, swaying it eerily. It looked just like the ghostly image of a woman in white from a horror movie.

The thought made his skin crawl. Pointing it out to Xi Yu, Chen Zhidao exaggerated his tone. Xi Yu glanced at him and thought, When I was a child, no one ever played along with my performances, but now I have to humor this guy like a kid.

Recalling what it felt like to be scared, Xi Yu crouched down, held his head, and muttered softly, “A little scary.”

Chen Zhidao puffed out his chest. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!”

Outside the screen, Bai Fan couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “This kid is about to spoil him rotten.”

At least it could be called humor. At worst, it was just going with the flow, too lazy to argue.

But who could’ve guessed that just as Chen Zhidao was basking in his heroics and preparing to check it out, a gust of wind blew, sending the oversized white plastic bag hurtling straight toward him!

In an instant, the bag seemed to teleport right in front of him, skipping past the crouching Xi Yu and landing squarely on Chen Zhidao’s face. The icy, silky texture felt like a hand sliding over his body. Goosebumps erupted all over him as his earlier bravery vanished. He let out a scream.

Hearing the commotion, Xi Yu stood up and saw Chen Zhidao running around in a frenzy, his legs practically flying into the air. Meanwhile, the two ghost sisters were chasing him with the white plastic bag.

Xi Yu stepped in to stop the farce. Chen Zhidao was terrified, nearly out of his wits, clutching Xi Yu’s leg and bawling, “Waaahhhh, ghosts! Ghosts!”

“All this over a plastic bag.”

“If we suddenly ‘poof’ and appeared before him ourselves…”

“He might just drop dead right here and join us.”

“Forget it. Too ugly. Let’s leave him to the human world.”

The two ghosts bickered as they criticized Chen Zhidao. When he finally came to his senses, he jumped away from Xi Yu’s leg. The awkward tension between them was palpable. Xi Yu felt that if he didn’t say something, Chen Zhidao might dig a hole and disappear like a pangolin.

“…” Xi Yu sat down on the ground, clutching his chest and gasping. “I was so scared just now, I didn’t even dare to move.”

Chen Zhidao stood up, regaining his composure. “Haha, see? That’s why I ran so fast. It was to protect you. You can’t just stand there doing nothing. I already figured out it was just a plastic bag, you know. Just messing with you, haha.”

Not much further up the path was Yuan Zhen Temple. Chen Zhidao stopped fooling around, and the sisters ceased their antics, giving Xi Yu time to ask serious questions. “When was this Yuan Zhen Temple built?”

“A long, long time ago.”

“Not that long. Maybe just a few decades. It used to attract a lot of visitors, but then people stopped coming after they debunked the existence of the Elemental True Lord.”

“But not entirely no one.”

“Did they come here to play or to worship?”

“Of course, to worship.”

“No one’s that brainless to come here just to play in the middle of the night.”

The Elemental True Lord, known as Elemental Qingxin Zhenjun, was said to be a gentle and handsome deity with a kind disposition. Legend had it he was a healer who saved countless lives. He ultimately ascended with perfect merit, and people built temples in his honor, naming it Yuan Zhen Temple. After becoming a god, he frequently descended to the human world to help the gravely ill, granting them new life.

This was what the Ghost Sisters recalled about the Elemental True Lord.

They claimed he must exist because the protective wards around the temple prevented even ghosts of their level from entering.

It’s hard to understand why True Lord seems so indifferent to his own temple, rarely even visiting it over the years, letting it fall into disrepair without any promotion. Did he ultimately exhaust his merits and transform into starlight, falling into the mortal realm?

The protective barrier suggests that True Lord is still present, and the idea that he has come back to life, as claimed in the divine registry, must be false.

If the manipulator behind this is Xi Yi, Xi Yu is fairly confident in his speculation that True Lord was either replaced by someone or imprisoned until he was nearly destroyed before being rescued.

If this is true, True Lord must harbor great hostility toward Xi Yi. Perhaps he could even be persuaded to join forces against Xi Yi.

The two ghost sisters stopped three meters from Yuan Zhen Temple, pretending to cry while covering their faces. “Take care of yourself in there.”

“That person must be stirring up trouble inside again. He stayed in there for a long time last time. Be careful!”

The Yuan Zhen Temple was dilapidated, its wooden doors creaking with a scratching noise that made one’s body itch with discomfort. The treetops above offered no cover, leaving a bright moon to hang over a massive locust tree. Its gentle, eerie light poured down, creating a mix of light and shadow, with sound amid the stillness, unsettling yet captivating.

Chen Zhidao’s livestream was still running, and he introduced the viewers to Yuan Zhen Temple, including True Lord.

“Legend has it that True Lord was a renowned doctor capable of curing all illnesses. Unfortunately, he encountered a patient who couldn’t afford to pay. That patient went mad and killed him. So, while True Lord appears to be a benevolent deity, he’s actually a vengeful god filled with resentment! He particularly despises poor people like us. So, dear viewers, if you have money, send me some hearts, and if you don’t, at least give me some likes!”

Xi Yu reached out to push open the door, but his hand was swatted away by Chen Zhidao, who spoke with reason. “Wait a minute, going in recklessly is asking for death!”

Xi Yu was too exhausted to keep pretending and ignored him. “Not afraid.”

Smack!

Xi Yu’s hand was swatted away again, and Chen Zhidao glared at him, trying to salvage his image. His tone was harsh, much like Xi Yi’s scolding in the past. “What are you doing? Now is not the time for you to act tough!”

“Oh, really?” Outside the screen, Bai Fan wore an expression of pure amusement.

“Looks about right.” Lian Bei stood up. “Heading out now is just perfect.”