Chapter 52

After a moment of dizziness, Sun Ran slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the dim sky, with a crescent moon hanging in the sky, accompanied by a few cold stars. Turning his head slowly, he saw a small house with black tiles and white walls. Oh, no, it should be a small temple.

The small temple was no more than 1.5 meters high and had an area of no more than two square meters. Inside, there was a statue of a deity, and in front of the statue were some offerings of vegetables and fruits. On either side were a couplet, which read, "Earth is the root of life, and the land is the foundation of existence." The horizontal inscription read, "Land Deity of Liuye Village."

So, this was the land temple of Liuye Village.

Sun Ran sat up and looked around. He saw a woman lying next to him, whose face and figure were nine-tenths similar to Bai Tingxuan. She was dressed in tattered clothes, with messy hair and a face covered in mud, dressed like a beggar.

Looking down at himself, he was the same.

Well, the two of them had both possessed the bodies of beggars.

Not long after, Bai Tingxuan also woke up. Women love cleanliness, and upon waking, she immediately noticed her appearance. She frowned and then raised her hand, gently waving it. A faint light appeared at her fingertips, which she pointed at herself and Sun Ran, saying, "Purification Spell."

The clear light flew from her fingertips, circling around the two of them, removing all the dirt from their bodies. Their clothes became clean, and the stench, lice, and fleas all disappeared.

One advantage of maintainers is that once they enter the virtual world, their magical power is replenished in a very short time, reaching the maximum limit that a maintainer can control.

Sun Ran also had magical power. In the fabricated resume given to him by the central AI, he had once been the national master of a country, practicing the Great Clarity Technique, with extremely profound cultivation. To allow him to leverage his advantages in Daoist techniques, the Ru company naturally did not skimp on replenishing his magical power.

This was something the disruptors could not match. They had to carefully replenish their magical power to avoid being detected by the game AI, a process that was very slow, often taking thousands or even tens of thousands of years in the game. Disruptors often infiltrated the virtual world in the form of beasts, and ordinary player cultivators did not know this, leading to the belief that humans, as the most intelligent beings, naturally harmonize with the Dao, and human cultivators are far superior to demon cultivators.

"Good spell," Sun Ran praised.

Bai Tingxuan was also delighted, smiling, "It's because of your good teaching. My magical power can mobilize a very high amount of data, even exceeding the limit of level two permissions."

Sun Ran smiled proudly, not being modest at all, "That's natural."

The Longevity Technique was created by him when he first became a Daoist ancestor. This time, when teaching, Sun Ran added many years of insights, almost completely changing the Longevity Technique, increasing its power while not worrying about being recognized. Bai Tingxuan was equivalent to a direct disciple of a Daoist ancestor; how could she not be powerful?

At this moment, a beam of light shot out from the land temple, and a figure walked out from the statue of the land deity. The figure quickly turned from a blur to a solid form, becoming an old man with white hair and a hunched back.

He held a cane and bowed to Sun Ran and Bai Tingxuan, "I am the land deity of Liuye Village, greetings."

His ancient Eastern cultural demeanor confused the two of them.

Bai Tingxuan asked, "Are you a game administrator?"

The old man coughed lightly and said seriously, "To be precise, I am a game monitor. We have a complete monitoring network. Also, in the future, you must call me Land Deity to avoid being overheard and affecting the game experience."

Sun Ran knew that in the Ru world, every village had a land temple, and every city had a city god temple, used to monitor the entire game world to prevent minor issues from becoming major problems.

He laughed and clasped his hands, "I've heard that the Ru company values player experience. Now I see it's true."

The Land Deity was very pleased with Sun Ran's attitude and smiled, "Since you are here, I will give you a detailed account of the situation in Hebian County."

Sun Ran and Bai Tingxuan became serious.

The Land Deity held up three fingers and said, "There are demons and ghosts causing chaos in Hebian County, with three major problems!"

After saying this, he paused, and Sun Ran naturally continued, "We wish to hear more."

The Land Deity stroked his beard and smiled, "The first problem is that the Wenxu River, on which Hebian County relies, has a water monster causing chaos. The water monster is only level two, but it often causes floods, capsizing cargo ships on the river, flooding farmland, and causing widespread crop failure. The people are very discontented, and it is the most harmful. It is very powerful in the water, skilled at using the water's momentum, and most maintainers have been defeated by it, making it the first major problem.

The second problem is that in the Daxing Mountain within the county, there is a wild boar demon who has taken over the mountain. The wild boar demon is also level two. He has sealed off the mountain and forest, and very few hunters who enter the mountain survive. His subordinates often come out of the mountain at night to steal chickens, ducks, even cattle and women, killing anyone who stands in their way. They are extremely cruel, making it the second major problem."

Hearing this, Sun Ran said with disgust, "What a ruthless method!"

The Land Deity's expression turned serious, "Because of this, we have deduced that the disruptors belong to the Scorpion Mercenary Group."

Sun Ran nodded. He despised such unprincipled disruptors, like the Dragon King of the Dragon Era, who never left anyone alive. Naturally, others would not leave them alive either.

"What about the third problem?" Bai Tingxuan asked.

"The third problem is that the Hu Guangyong family in the village has all died, and their house often emits mournful cries, turning it into a haunted house in Hebian County. The haunted house disturbs the people, and no one dares to live within a kilometer, creating a no-man's land in Hebian County. The county magistrate, Yang Tingyong, is in a difficult position. If these issues are not resolved within the year, his performance evaluation will be the lowest, and his official career will be over."

It was now the eighth month of the lunar calendar, with only four months left, and the situation was very serious.

Sun Ran asked, "We are now in tattered clothes, hungry, and have nothing. Can the Land Deity provide some assistance?"

"Of course," the Land Deity nodded and pointed to the fruits and vegetables offered in the temple, "Take these to satisfy your hunger."

In this world, there were real ghosts and deities, so even if the two refugees Sun Ran possessed were starving, they would not dare to steal the offerings.

The fruits and vegetables were cold but still fresh, so the two of them made do, prioritizing filling their stomachs.

The Land Deity then entered the temple and pointed to a corner where a wooden stick was placed, with a green gemstone embedded in it, which turned out to be a magic wand.

"This is a level two magic wand, left by a previous maintainer mage. You are proficient in spells, so take it and use it."

Sun Ran was delighted. This saved him a lot of trouble. He tried the wand and found that it was not simple. The green gemstone at the top of the wand stabilized the spell structure, basically enhancing the data structure's strength by half a level.

Although he could use Daoist techniques, his true maintainer skills were only three Western spells. This wand was excellent, and he naturally accepted it with pleasure.

The Land Deity then pointed to a rat hole behind the statue and said, "There is a thief in the village who has hidden money here. You can take it, and no one will dare to complain."

It turned out to be stolen money. Sun Ran walked over, reached into the hole, and pulled out a handful of silver and over a hundred copper coins. Counting them, there were about ten taels, enough to support them in Hebian County for four months at the current prices.

He hid the silver and then took a steamed bun from Bai Tingxuan and started eating.

Taking advantage of this moment, Sun Ran asked, "Does the Land Deity have any more advice?"

"Of course," the Land Deity said, pointing north, "The county magistrate has posted a notice on the city wall, recruiting capable Daoists to eliminate the demons. You can disguise yourselves as Daoists and answer the call."

Sun Ran nodded. This was the best way to quickly gain the support of the official world.

However, the Land Deity added, "But, there are many Daoists and monks who are only famous in name. Even if they have genuine skills, they are no match for the disruptors. Many have already answered the call but have returned empty-handed, or even lost their lives. The county magistrate, Yang Tingyong, has lost trust in cultivators, so it's best to show your abilities before answering the call. If you can resolve one of the problems first, that would be even better."

This was crucial for gaining the full cooperation of the county magistrate, which was important for a protection mission. Sun Ran nodded in agreement.

"There is one last point. Yang Tingyong has great fortune. He may even become a high-ranking official in the future. His position must not be lost, and his family must not be harmed. This is the top priority," the Land Deity said seriously, not joking.

By "great fortune," it meant that this person was a VIP player who had paid a large number of credit points to become a high-ranking official. According to Sun Ran's knowledge, to become a real prime minister for ten years in a unified and stable world, one would need to spend at least one million credit points.

These VIPs were not just here to play. They were often the children of wealthy people in the real world, coming to the game world to train their emotional intelligence.

Naturally, the company would prioritize their interests.

"Rest assured, I will be careful," Sun Ran said.

After finishing, the Land Deity clasped his hands at Sun Ran, "That's all I have to say. I look forward to your good news."

"Thank you."

The Land Deity was just a virtual entity, a spirit, who could only transmit information and not interfere with the real world. Now that the matter was settled, his body became virtual again and disappeared.

The offerings were not much, and the two of them quickly finished eating, their stomachs full. Sun Ran looked at the sky, which was about ten o'clock at night, or rather, the second watch. He said, "Xuanxuan, Hebian County is only a dozen miles away. Let's go to the haunted house tonight to check the situation."

"Okay," Bai Tingxuan agreed. She knew that Sun Ran was a great being who could protect her. Her own magical power was also much stronger now, so she had no fear.