Chapter 47

Ding Ning held his waist and pressed his chest, taking a deep breath to calm himself before slowly walking towards the small temple.

The Land God ran fast, but Ding Ning’s cultivator senses were not to be underestimated. He could smell the faint aroma of roasted meat in the air, an effect of the lightning.

Like a police dog, Ding Ning followed the scent to the front of the small temple.

He looked up. The temple was small, about the same size as a Guandi Temple, with a couplet at the entrance.

The top line read: "The earth is thick, thus it is the land."

The bottom line read: "Even if the mountain is not high, it still has a god."

The horizontal scroll in the middle read: "Land God Temple."

Inside, the dim yellow light was on, and Ding Ning stepped in.

In the middle of the temple were two clay statues of deities, an old man and an old woman, representing the Land God and the Land Goddess.

In front of the statues was an incense burner and an altar, with thick layers of incense ash and a few extinguished incense sticks. There was also a donation box in front, and looking inside, he could see some loose change.

"Pretty good incense offerings."

Ding Ning glanced at the donation box with some interest, feeling a sudden urge to kick it open and take the money.

However, he had more important tasks at hand. He didn’t use more lightning balls to kill the Land God at the casino entrance because he needed the Land God to lead the way.

Through the statue of the Wealth God, he had overheard the Land God’s conversation, knowing that his master was likely trapped in a secret place.

By letting the Land God escape, he hoped the Land God would lead him there. The Land God’s abilities were definitely inferior to his master’s, but if he could trap his master, he must have used similar tricks.

The smell of roasted meat became fainter as he approached the Land God Temple. Ding Ning trusted his senses; the Land God must have disappeared inside the temple.

He circled the temple but found no sign of the Land God. Finally, his gaze fell on the two statues.

The statues were ordinary, with a smiling Land God and a kind Land Goddess, but Ding Ning felt a faint, fishy smell coming from them.

The smell of roasted meat had been strong earlier, but now it was fading, and Ding Ning noticed the fishy odor.

It wasn’t a bloody smell but a fishy stench.

Though faint, it was still detectable. Ding Ning climbed up to the statues and searched carefully.

"Hmm!"

Ding Ning looked down and noticed a gap under the Land God statue!

Normally, the statue should be one piece with the base, but the gap indicated it was separate.

Ding Ning’s eyes narrowed. There must be something strange under the statue.

He tried to push the Land God statue, but despite his strength, he couldn’t budge it after struggling for a while.

His heart raced. He knew he couldn’t use brute force.

He began searching for a mechanism to open it, but finding such a mechanism wasn’t easy. After a long search, he still couldn’t find it.

These clay statues were not afraid of lightning or water, and he didn’t have the time to wait.

Suddenly, the sound of a car approached.

Ding Ning went to the entrance and saw the dazzling lights of the BMW returning.

At the temple entrance, Yue Ge'er, looking anxious, got out of the passenger seat. Seeing Ding Ning unharmed, she sighed in relief.

Jiajia also got out. Ding Ning glanced at her, slightly annoyed. He had told them to leave, so why did they come back?

Before Jiajia could speak, Yue Ge'er said, "I insisted on coming back. You saved my life, and I couldn’t leave you behind with a clear conscience."

Ding Ning frowned. "You don’t need to feel guilty. I already took five hundred yuan from you, so we’re even."

"Sir... How should I address you?" Yue Ge'er felt it was awkward to speak this way.

"Classmate," Ding Ning replied.

"Classmate, you don’t have to lie to me. You’re not greedy."

Ding Ning was taken aback by Yue Ge'er’s words. "Are you sure I’m not greedy?"

"Yes... Although you acted convincingly and even fooled us, you don’t care about millions. How can Ge'er believe you care about five hundred yuan?"

Yue Ge'er’s beautiful eyes sparkled with a hint of pride, as if she was pleased to have seen through Ding Ning’s act.

Ding Ning was speechless. He couldn’t tell her that he didn’t care about the money because he knew the Land God and his gang wouldn’t take it. This was something only he knew and would always keep to himself.

"Do what you want, but I know the truth."

Yue Ge'er nodded slightly, a smile on her face. Ding Ning’s composed demeanor was something she had seen many times. At sixteen, the beautiful Yue Ge'er was never short of admirers. She possessed everything a woman could desire—beauty, wealth, and a gentle nature. It would be strange if no one pursued her.

Her admirers used all sorts of tactics—some pretended to be deep, some tried to be cool, some were persistent, and some played hard to get. Some even tried to do favors for her to gain her favor.

Ma Yinxiong had tried this, but Yue Ge'er hadn’t fallen for it.

This chubby boy in front of her was likely wealthy and capable. If he wasn’t after her money, what did he want? Yue Ge'er thought she had found the answer.

She didn’t think Ding Ning would be her choice, but that didn’t change the fact that he had saved her, and she needed to repay him.

"I’ve already reported the illegal gambling. The police will be here by dawn."

"Police?" Ding Ning sneered. "If the police were effective, the casino wouldn’t exist."

Yue Ge'er seemed to expect this response. She smiled. "The police are from the provincial department, which is why they can only arrive by dawn."

Ding Ning looked at Yue Ge'er deeply. This girl had significant influence, able to get the provincial department to act. She wasn’t simple.

"Classmate, when the provincial department arrives, they will arrest the criminals. I won’t mention you, and if you don’t want trouble, it’s best to leave now. The law will take care of them, whether it’s the Land God or Wang Baihua."

Hearing Yue Ge'er’s words, Ding Ning realized something.

If he didn’t leave now, he would definitely have trouble. As a cultivator, many things couldn’t be exposed, and he didn’t want to cause too much trouble.

But he hadn’t found his master yet. How could he leave now?

Without much thought, Ding Ning said, "I haven’t finished my business. I can’t leave now. Besides, if I leave, the provincial department might not catch the Land God. He has enough time to escape before dawn."

Yue Ge'er sighed. "I haven’t found my land deed either. I don’t know where the Land God hid it. What can we do? You should leave with me."

Ding Ning shook his head stubbornly. Jiajia frowned, thinking that even if Ding Ning had something to do, it couldn’t be more important than Yue Ge'er’s matter. Why was he so stubborn?

Yue Ge'er was surprised by Ding Ning’s repeated refusal. She asked anxiously, "When will you leave?"

"It depends on how things progress. I’ll try to leave by dawn."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Yue Ge'er couldn’t bear to leave without helping.

Ding Ning had wanted them to leave, but he suddenly noticed the BMW SUV. His eyes lit up, and he asked Yue Ge'er, "Does this car have a steel cable for towing?"

"Yes, do you need to tow a car?" Jiajia replied.

"No, tie the cable to the Land God statue and pull it down. That will help me."

"Demolish the Land God Temple!" Yue Ge'er was reluctant. It was a temple, and demolishing it might cause trouble.

Ding Ning, seeing the opportunity to remove the Land God statue, said, "This temple belongs to the Land God. You saw how he used the temple’s prestige to gather a group of thugs and commit many crimes. This is no longer a temple but a den of iniquity. How many families has it destroyed? How many marriages has it ruined? They say it’s better to demolish ten temples than one marriage. How many happy marriages has this temple destroyed? How many children have become single-parent or orphans? Do you think it should still stand?"

When Ding Ning mentioned broken families, Yue Ge'er’s expression changed. When he mentioned orphans, her eyes misted over.

Biting her lip, she softly repeated, "It’s better to demolish ten temples than one marriage... Sister Jiajia, tie the cable and pull down the Land God statue!"

*****

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