Chapter 1685: Chapter 1685

The night passed quietly, everything at the Li family was as usual. Early the next morning, Li Yifei packed Bai Shan in a small box, carried it, and went to find Murong Yuanqing and Elder Feng. As for Master Liu, it was said that he had gone wandering and had long left here.

After the three had breakfast, the helicopter landed on the helipad of the Li family.

The three boarded the helicopter and headed straight for the destination of this trip.

It wasn’t a famous mountain, but the scenery and vegetation were quite unique, and the air was remarkably fresh. This mountain belonged to Master Void. Master Void neither wanted money nor an official position then, just this place. The leaders at the time approved it generously, and it became Master Void’s property. In name, it was designated as a nature reserve, but upon entering, it revealed a different world. The nearest village was over thirty miles away, and rarely did anyone come here. It had been built into a temple, and besides Master Void, there were only about a dozen people at the temple. Master Void didn’t take apprentices, so these people were affiliated with the temple, some were pilgrim monks from various places, and others were taken in by Master Void when they were young.

They varied in age and type, but without exception, they all sincerely followed Buddhism, with no second thoughts. Believing in Buddhism differs from believing in Buddhism blindly; some believe yet follow blindly, some believe rationally, and some believe without truly believing.

"I have a belief, but it’s not in gods or Buddha." This was something Murong Yuanqing said when Li Yifei asked him what he believed in. After getting the answer, Li Yifei didn’t ask further. He understood what kind of belief Murong Yuanqing had.

The helicopter landed on an open space in front of the temple. Once it steadied, Li Yifei jumped down, followed by the two masters. The helicopter slowly rose and headed back the way it came.

They observed the surroundings first. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the temple remained in its original state, without even electricity — not because it couldn’t be installed, but because it wasn’t needed. They worked at sunrise and rested at sunset. The monks emphasized not eating after noon, and their daily routines were very regular.

Li Yifei glanced around and quickly walked toward the temple gate. He missed his child and the child’s mother dearly, having not seen them for such a long time.

The temple gate was closed. Li Yifei went over and pushed it, finding it tightly shut, likely latched from the inside. So, Li Yifei knocked on the door. The temple gate wasn’t large, nor was the entire temple. The knocking sound was loud and seemed to break the temple’s tranquility.

Behind him, the two masters walked over. The two of them had just sighed that it had been fifty years since they last visited. It was during the building of the temple after the founding of the nation that they last came, and it seemed not much had changed since then. Even the trees opposite the door hadn’t changed.

The two stopped and watched Li Yifei knock at the door. Elder Feng joked, "Void knows we’re coming and still closes the door. In his rundown place, even if it were unlocked, nothing would go missing in a month."

Murong Yuanqing chuckled, "That’s different. A temple needs its door closed; opening it for guests to come in doesn’t suit a temple."

Elder Feng pointed at him and said, "You’re criticizing all temples in the country with that statement."

"I’m just stating a fact," Murong Yuanqing shook his head.

While the two joked, Li Yifei had been knocking for a minute. Afraid that those inside couldn’t hear him, he banged harder a few times. The sound could easily be heard from afar, not just outside the door but also from the back of the temple.

However, when Li Yifei paused to listen for any sound inside, there was nothing. He knocked again, but no one came out.

Li Yifei turned to look at the two masters, pointed at the temple gate, and said, "What’s going on? Nobody’s inside? We’re not at the wrong place, are we?"

Both Murong Yuanqing and Elder Feng stopped smiling. They looked at each other and shook their heads, saying, "How could we be in the wrong place? This is it. Even though it’s been decades, we couldn’t be mistaken!"

Elder Feng added, "It has to be here. What’s with this old bald fella, playing tricks again? He spoke clearly on the phone yesterday, and today he won’t open the door? Step aside, let me knock. Damn it, if he doesn’t open, I’ll smash his door down."

Murong Yuanqing added, "Take it easy; this door is old. If you break it, we won’t have anything to compensate him with."

Elder Feng walked over, started banging with his fist, and shouted loudly, "Hey inside, those who are alive, get out here now! Why’s the door closed!"

After a bout of banging, Elder Feng stopped, tilted his head to listen, and found no response from inside. He frowned and muttered, "Are they all dead asleep? With all this noise, still no one?"

This time Murong Yuanqing stopped joking too. He put away his smile, walked to the door, and pushed at it, finding it firmly closed. Murong Yuanqing clicked his tongue, "We said yesterday that we’d come. Why is no one here today?"

All three of them were experts, capable of sensing, but they felt no one inside, at least not within tens of meters.

Upon reaching this conclusion, they couldn’t hold back anymore. Elder Feng stepped back two steps, put forth his strength, and rammed the door. The gilded wooden door, weighing over a thousand jins, was knocked open, and the panels flew into the courtyard, which was clean, with not a single weed on the stone-paved path. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✦𝕟𝕖𝕥

The courtyard was about the size of a basketball court, with rooms on both sides and a large hall directly ahead, its door open, and several statues could be seen inside. The courtyard was just as silent. Li Yifei took out his phone and began dialing Jiang Ningxiang’s number.

Murong Yuanqing also took out his phone to call Master Void, while Elder Feng quickly headed towards the main hall.

What was going on? They talked yesterday, confirming the place, and now there’s no one here?

Li Yifei’s call connected, but no one answered. Murong Yuanqing’s call didn’t even connect. He quickly tried Yao Lingfu’s number. This time it connected, but again, no one picked up.

The two felt tense. Could something have happened?

Just as this thought crossed their minds, Elder Feng’s voice came from the main hall, "You two come here, there’s someone here!"

The two dashed over to the main hall, where they saw someone lying at Elder Feng’s feet. Elder Feng said, "This person was behind the Buddha statues. There are two more."

Murong Yuanqing bent down to check the person’s breath. After a few seconds he said, "Not dead, but the breath is weak."

Li Yifei had already pulled out the other two people. These three were dressed in monk robes, varied in age. One looked older than Murong Yuanqing, and the other two were slightly younger. They lay on the ground. Li Yifei checked them too, they weren’t dead, but even after using True Qi to stimulate them, they didn’t wake up.