Chapter 75

The area of the Lanruo Temple is indeed quite large. Pushing open the gate with its mottled red lacquer, one enters a spacious and clean courtyard. Directly ahead is the main hall, and on either side are rows of side rooms, totaling six in number.

"Is anyone here?" Li Yan stood at the door and shouted at the top of his lungs.

The rain pattered, and his voice didn't travel far before being swallowed by the darkness. Apart from startling a few night bats, he received no response.

Li Yan shouted a few more times, but still no one answered. He turned to Yang Tingyong, who was behind him, and said, "Sir, it seems to be an abandoned temple. It probably hasn't been deserted for long, as it's still quite tidy, which saves us the trouble of cleaning up."

Finding such a shelter from the rain on a stormy night, Yang Tingyong was also delighted. He wiped the rain from his face and said with a smile, "Let's rest in the main hall tonight."

The servants immediately started a fire in the spacious main hall, boiled water, and cooked dry rations. The maids changed the soaked clothes of the men and placed them by the fire to dry.

Ke'er, now serving as Sun Ran's maid, brought dry clothes for him to change into. Taking advantage of the moment, Sun Ran whispered, "There might be some trouble tonight. Once everyone is settled, protect Yang Tingyong well and don't let him be harmed."

Ke'er nodded and asked, "What about the others?"

"Can't do much about them. It's just a game; at worst, they'll be eliminated. No big deal," Sun Ran said casually.

After a brief exchange, Ke'er returned to the women, while Sun Ran, Yang Tingyong, and Li Yan gathered around the fire, chatting for a while. Sun Ran then got straight to the point, speaking softly, "Brother Wenchang, I sense a strong presence of yin energy here. It's probably not a peaceful place. If anything unusual happens tonight, don't panic; it won't harm anyone."

It was late at night, and they were in an abandoned temple. Hearing Sun Ran's words, Yang Tingyong couldn't help but shudder, his face turning pale. He hurriedly asked, "Brother Changqing, can you handle it?"

Sun Ran smiled, "They're just minor spirits, nothing to worry about."

Yang Tingyong felt a bit more at ease, calmed himself, and said, "I understand."

Li Yan, however, wore a mocking expression and sneered, "Daoist, you're just pretending to be mysterious. If they're just minor spirits, I'll cut them down with one stroke."

Sun Ran didn't argue with him, only bowed slightly, "Then I'll leave it to you, Brother Li."

The servants worked quickly, soon boiling meat soup and heating the dry rations. Everyone began to enjoy their meal, and the temple fell into a peaceful silence.

"Yi~ya!"

Suddenly, a shrill scream came from outside the temple, growing louder as it approached. The night was too dark, and a violent storm raged, making it impossible to see what it was. Everyone in the main hall was shaken, their faces turning pale, and they huddled together for security.

Li Yan's face was also pale, but he bravely picked up his Xiu Chun Dao and stood at the door of the main hall, shouting, "Who's causing trouble? Come out!"

Only Sun Ran remained unmoved, calmly drinking his meat soup, unaffected. Seeing Li Yan's tense demeanor, he smiled, "Brother Li, no need to panic. It's just an owl."

"Ya!" Another shrill cry, this time from the wooden beams inside the main hall. Everyone looked up and saw a black shadow on the beam, which turned out to be a large black bird.

Li Yan breathed a sigh of relief, sheathed his Xiu Chun Dao, and laughed, "This feathered beast."

Sun Ran smiled slightly, looking up at the black bird on the beam. In his eyes, the owl was surrounded by a pale aura, clearly not a good omen. It was likely a spy sent by a demon cultivator to gather information.

Sure enough, after a while, the black bird flapped its wings and silently flew out of the main hall, disappearing into the night.

At that moment, the voice of the administrator Chang'e echoed in Sun Ran's mind, "There's a mission here. Do you want to take it?"

"How much is the reward?" Sun Ran got straight to the point. If the price was right, he would do it; if it was too low, he would have to think about it.

"Can't you be a bit more refined?" Chang'e was a bit frustrated. This man looked like a transcendent being, but his words were full of the stench of money.

"Ha ha, can't help it. Even a transcendent being has to make a living," Sun Ran said without concern.

"It's a rescue mission. There's a tree demon nearby that has taken control of a player named 'Nie Xiaoxian,' preventing her from logging out. The mission is to ensure Nie Xiaoxian's absolute safety. If possible, kill the tree demon. Xiaoxian is now a spirit, the lowest level of yin soul, very fragile. If she is injured, her real self will suffer irreversible mental damage," Chang'e explained the mission.

Sun Ran frowned, "So, Nie Xiaoxian is a hostage of the demon, right?"

These demons are despicable, no different from kidnappers and murderers in the real world, and perhaps even worse.

"Right. This makes us hesitant. The mission has been posted for three days, and no maintainer has dared to take it," Chang'e explained her dilemma.

Sun Ran was interested and asked again, "How much is the reward?"

"100,000 credit points," Chang'e said.

"So high?" Sun Ran was very tempted, "Is Nie Xiaoxian rich in the real world?"

"Yes, she lives in the Garden District. Her father is a shareholder in a small company. She spent money to experience life here. I didn't expect this to happen."

Chang'e continued, "If Xiaoxian has any problems, you lose the credit points and must also bear 10% responsibility, which is about 50,000 credit points. For other maintenance tasks, failure usually just means no credit points, but this mission involves player safety and is subject to federal law."

Sun Ran thought for a few seconds and agreed, "Rescue Nie Xiaoxian, right? I'll take it."

As soon as he spoke, there was a light 'beep,' and a mission contract was automatically generated, marking the start of the maintenance.

Chang'e began to detail the mission, "This demon cultivates some evil technique, using essence blood to aid cultivation. It often tricks Nie Xiaoxian into luring young men staying at the Lanruo Temple. The owl has already come to investigate. Nie Xiaoxian should be coming soon. You need to seize the opportunity."

"Understood," Sun Ran replied.

Time passed quickly. Everyone was full and their clothes were dry. They put down their luggage and lay down in various corners of the main hall to rest. Ke'er, to protect Yang Tingyong, slept with Yang's wife. Li Yan slept next to Yang Tingyong for close protection. When it was Sun Ran's turn, he specifically instructed that his bedding be placed at the entrance of the main hall, so he could be the first to act.

Yang Tingyong thought Sun Ran was doing this to protect him from the demons, and he was deeply moved.

After a day of travel, everyone was exhausted. Soon, snoring filled the main hall, and many people fell into a deep sleep. The two male servants on night duty sat by the fire, their heads nodding as they dozed off. Even Ke'er was asleep, but she would wake up at the slightest sound.

The main hall gradually became quiet, with only the sound of the rain and wind outside. The fire in the center of the hall dimmed, leaving only a few flickering blue flames, casting a dim light.

A soft 'creak' sounded, and Sun Ran's ears perked up. He turned to look at the door of the Lanruo Temple. The entrance was dark, and he could only hear light footsteps approaching.

Gradually, a white figure appeared in Sun Ran's sight, floating like a cloud to the entrance of the main hall and stopping.

By the dim light of the fire, Sun Ran could see a young woman, drenched and her white dress clinging to her body. She was shivering, her arms tightly hugging herself, and her bright eyes fixed on Sun Ran, with a hint of pleading.

This must be Nie Xiaoxian.

Despite her disheveled appearance, she was still stunningly beautiful, like a painting, especially with her wet, thin clothes, which made her both pitiful and alluring.

'This girl is really beautiful,' Sun Ran thought. It seemed he would have to show his skills to save her from her plight.

"Come over," Sun Ran said softly, but in his mind, he knew she was just a consciousness, the lowest level of yin soul, with no shadow and no water marks on the ground.

She could be seen only because she wanted to be seen; otherwise, even an AI couldn't detect her existence.

Nie Xiaoxian came over, crouching next to Sun Ran, and said in a trembling voice, "Sir, I'm cold."

"If you're cold, take off your wet clothes and come in to warm up," Sun Ran lifted the bedding and invited her warmly.

Nie Xiaoxian was taken aback, clearly not following Sun Ran's pace. She had just said she was cold, and this scholar was already asking her to undress?

She whispered, "Sir, men and women should not be so intimate."

"No problem, no one will know. Hurry up and take them off; I'll warm you up," Sun Ran urged, but his face showed no urgency.

Nie Xiaoxian was even more confused. She had never met such an active person. But then she thought, this man's thoughts were so dirty, wanting to deceive a stranger into intimacy; he shouldn't be alive, and she could fulfill his wish.

However, in the past, just verbal seduction was enough. Scholars always talked about propriety and never asked to undress. Her grandmother often warned her not to let these dirty men defile her.

Now, should she undress or not? Xiaoxian hesitated.

In the Moon Palace, Chang'e was also confused. What was this rose tree up to? She had clearly asked him to protect Nie Xiaoxian, so why was he doing this?

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