Inside the dilapidated temple with a missing roof, a small fire was lit. Two poor scholars in shabby clothes sat next to the fire, constantly adding wood to the fire, hoping that the fire would grow bigger.

Under the broken statue not far away, there are two old book boxes stacked. On the top of the book boxes, there are two road flags for going to Beijing to take the exam.

There are two swords at his feet, probably brought by the poor scholar for self-defense on the road.

As Xu Chong, escorted by four woodcutter, slowly walked into the ruined temple.

In an instant, the two poor scholars turned back warily, and one of them even picked up his sword unconsciously.

"It turned out to be two poor scholars!"

Xu Chong noticed their vigilance, so he smiled and said: "Don't be nervous, I am also passing by to stay overnight."

After hearing this, the two scholars looked at him and their expressions softened a lot.

After that, there was no further communication between the two parties.

Xu Chong found a corner and sat down in the ruined temple.

Not long after, a woodcutter came in carrying a large pile of firewood.

As the fire burned, Xu Chong felt a lot warmer in an instant, but his stomach growled with hunger.

He reached out and touched his luggage. The four steamed buns he brought out today had already been eaten.

He was a little depressed. Why did his appetite become so big now?

All day long, I am always hungry and always want to eat.

You know, when he was on Earth in his previous life, he didn't have such a big appetite at all.

I took the bamboo tube I carried with me and drank a few sips of water, hoping to relieve my hunger and make myself feel better.

Being idle and bored, he looked towards the scholar and found the road flag on the book box, and he suddenly understood.

No wonder these two poor scholars dared to go on the road together. They turned out to be candidates going to Beijing.

According to my understanding of this world, Datang attaches great importance to candidates. As long as they put up road flags, bandits and refugees will generally not pay attention to them.

If anyone tries to attract the attention of the examinees, the imperial court will immediately send people to suppress the bandits. No matter how high the price is, they will kill those short-sighted guys.

Because robbing candidates is a thankless task.

A poor candidate who is alone and has little luck.

Rich candidates are often protected by high-ranking people, so candidates from Datang run around so unscrupulously.

At this moment, the sky outside was completely dark.

Outside the ruined temple, the night birds screamed strangely, giving people an eerie and scary atmosphere.

Two poor scholars gathered around the fire, shuddered unconsciously, and then began to whisper.

Because they were relatively close, Xu Chong could clearly hear the conversation between the two.

"Before entering the mountain, I heard from people passing by that there is a fox demon in the ruined temple area, which appears in the middle of the night and specializes in confusing people's minds and absorbing their essence..."

"Fox... fox demon, Brother Zhang, please don't scare me."

"This is not a suitable place to stay for a long time. We must find another place to spend the night."

"Where is there any safe place to spend the night in this barren mountain?"

"There's one at the foot of the mountain! I heard someone say before that a great scholar from the previous dynasty, after retiring from old age and returning to his hometown, built a house to live in seclusion in the nearby Peach Blossom Valley."

"Brother Zhang is talking about Mr. Bai, the former bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, isn't he?"

"Exactly! Mr. Bai is good at charity and has a compassionate heart. He will help the candidates and common people passing by when they are in trouble. Mr. Bai is even more upright and has an immortal master to guard his house. The demons and evil spirits in the mountains and forests dare not approach. Let's rush there.

There, you will definitely find shelter.”

"In that case, Brother Zhang, let's go there quickly. If the demon fox comes out in the middle of the night, we won't be able to leave even if we want to..."

As they spoke, the two of them had already begun to pack their things and prepare to leave.

Seeing this scene, Xu Chong was moved in his heart and thought to himself: "The great scholar Bai Gong they just talked about is living in seclusion at the foot of a nearby mountain. He is a philanthropic person who always helps when there are difficulties. My stomach is growling with hunger now. Where can I go?"

It should be okay to beg for food, right?"

While they were thinking, the two poor scholars walked to the entrance of the ruined temple carrying their book boxes.

Suddenly, the scholar surnamed Zhang looked back at Xu Chong and others and said: "There is a fox demon causing trouble here. It is most dangerous in the middle of the night. Will you come with us?"

"I?"

Xu Chong hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded, "Okay, I'll let you two gentlemen lead the way!"

After saying that, he put out the fire, sat on the wicker chair, and swayed out of the ruined temple with the help of four woodcutters.

Originally, when he heard that there was a fox demon near the ruined temple, he didn't really want to leave the ruined temple.

After all, you can also gain merit points by defeating demons.

But when I think about it carefully, I have no previous experience in fighting monsters, and those monsters are mysterious and weird. Who knows if the "axemen" I transformed can kill them?

If the fox demon is immune to physical attacks, wouldn't he be in danger?

After careful consideration, he decided to stay put for a while and followed the two scholars to Bai Gong's house, which was secluded at the foot of the mountain, to seek shelter and fill his stomach.

It was pitch dark at night, and it was hard to see even one's fingers in the forest.

Two scholars held dim yellow lanterns and led the way. Probably out of fear, they walked very fast when they went down the mountain, fearing that they would be dragged away by the fox demon if they walked slowly.

Xu Chong was sitting on a wicker chair, commanding the four woodcutters to follow closely all the way. At the same time, he kept holding the mung beans tightly in his hand. As long as there was anything abnormal nearby, he would immediately scatter the beans to form an army.

The group of people walked for about more than an hour.

The terrain ahead gradually becomes gentle.

At this time, a valley appeared ahead.

At the end of the valley, there are faint lights flickering.

When he got closer, Xu Chong clearly saw that there was a simple and magnificent mansion there.

The outside of the house was filled with lanterns, especially the two huge lanterns hanging at the gate of the house, which illuminated the outside of the house brightly.

The two scholars stopped and carefully arranged their clothes. After they were done, they politely stepped forward to knock on the door.

Soon, the heavy door was opened, and a kind-faced old servant walked out.

The old servant glanced at the people outside and asked, "How many gentlemen, do you want to stay here for the night?"

The two scholars hurriedly saluted and said: "Exactly, please inform us."

The old servant smiled and said: "My old master said that as long as someone comes to stay overnight and seeks shelter at night, he must not refuse."

"My gentlemen, please come in..."

Xu Chong never expected that it would go so smoothly. In an instant, he couldn't help but feel a lot of affection for the great scholar Bai Gong.

Under the leadership of the old servant Mian Shan, several people entered the house.

The house is very big, and there are many servants and maids inside.

"Sir, please come with me..."

At this moment, a handsome maid in green clothes came to the front, bowed and saluted and said: "The room is ready. I will take some of my husbands to have a rest."

"It's time to work."

Xu Chong nodded, and then took the four woodcutters, following the maid in Tsing Yi, to the room where he would spend the night tonight.

The room is very large, with a big shop inside, probably specially prepared for those who are passing through and staying overnight.

As for the two scholars, they seemed to have been taken to some side room, and hot water for bathing was prepared for them.

Scholars are good, but they are all staying overnight, but their treatment is different.

But this is no wonder. The great scholar Bai Gong was a scholar, so he must take more care of scholars.

After bringing Xu Chong into Datongpu, the maid in Tsing Yi said again: "I wonder if your husband has any other instructions?"

Xu Chong thought for a moment and said, "Can you send me some food? I...I'm a little hungry now."

The maid in green clothes said: "I will prepare for your husband now..."

Looking at the maid's swaying back, Xu Chong slowly walked to the door, where the four woodcutters sat on the bed, bowing their heads and saying nothing.

Standing at the door of the room and watching for a moment, Xu Chong felt that it was very quiet here and there was no sound.

There are obviously crowds of servants and people coming and going in this huge house, so it should be very lively, but the atmosphere here is obviously too quiet.

After observing for a moment, he found that except for the maid in green clothes just now, he heard no one talking.

"Are all those slaves mute?"

Suddenly, for some reason, he always felt that something was wrong everywhere in this brightly lit house.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Chong returned to the room.

For safety reasons, he quietly grabbed a handful of mung beans from the Qiankun bag and sprinkled them evenly on the ground.
Chapter completed!