Volume 10: Days of Cultivating in the Republic of China
West Hebo Temple
The Hebo doesn’t ferry the broke-ass.
The number of believers at the West Hebo Temple was visibly, obviously huge.
The temple gates were wide open, revealing a path paved with marble slabs. In the center of the courtyard stood a giant bronze ding1, into which three exceptionally thick incense sticks had been planted, shedding flakes of ash.
In front of the ding was a square stone with a curved depression in its center. Devout men and women were lining up to kneel on it one by one and kowtow2. Afterward, they would rise, place their own incense sticks next to the large ones, press their palms together in another prayer, and then leave, satisfied.
These two sisters had quite the thriving incense trade3.
Shen Maomao lifted her foot to walk inside but was stopped by a man in a Daoist robe4 standing at the entrance.
The man had fox eyes5 that carried a hint of a smile even when his face was expressionless. When he smiled now, it gave him an even more approachable feel. He stretched out an arm and said, “Fellow believers, please wait a moment.”
Sisi asked curiously, “What is it?”
The man said, “You three believers have not yet purchased incense, so you may not enter the Hebo Temple.”
Shen Maomao: ? This thing is mandatory?
Sisi felt her pockets and asked calmly, “How much?”
“Three silver dayang6 per person. Non-negotiable.”
“Why don’t you just rob people?” Sisi’s voice shot up, instantly drawing dissatisfied looks from the surrounding worshippers. She quickly lowered her voice. “Three silver dayang? The nerve of you to say that!”
The man kept smiling, not the least bit angry. “These are the temple’s rules. If you are dissatisfied, believer, perhaps you could check out the other river god temples.” The subtext was: if you don’t have money, hurry up and scram.
Shen Maomao thought to herself: Your Hebo masters have business with me, you know. You kick me out now, you want them to come find you in the middle of the night?
With that in mind, she pulled Sisi back and stepped forward to speak with him herself, explaining, “We’re not here to worship. We’re looking for someone.”
The man smiled without a word, but his refusal was perfectly clear, his attitude exceptionally firm.
No money, no entry. The Hebo doesn’t ferry the broke-ass.
None of the three had expected to get stuck on the entrance fee. Sisi was incredibly frustrated. Her eyes darted about before she deployed the great art of pouting7, pressing close to the man. “Big Bro, just let us in, pleeease~”
When it came to seduction, Sisi definitely had the assets for it. She had a beautiful face and a smoking hot body—a sight that would make men fall silent and women shed tears. But the gatekeeper not only refused to let them pass but took two steps back and said, “Please have some self-respect, female believer.”
Instantly, several more pairs of gossiping eyes lit up nearby. The neighborhood aunties and grannies began to point at her, looking at Sisi with undisguised disgust.
“So shameless!”
“She doesn’t know a woman’s place! She should be dragged out and drowned in a pig cage8!”
“How dare a fox spirit9 act so brazenly before Lord Hebo! I think she’s tired of living!”
Sisi was thin-skinned, and her anger was so great she forgot the pain in her leg. Her face cold, she turned and stalked off.
Shen Maomao sighed helplessly, could only help her by glaring at the broken-mouthed10 villagers, and hurried after her with Golden Retriever.
Watching the three of them walk away, the man curled his lip in disdain before plastering a perfect smile back on his face to stop the next temple-goer who tried to walk straight in.
…
Meanwhile, Shen Maomao and Golden Retriever helped Sisi sit down under a large tree. Sisi took a couple of deep breaths and said irritably, “What a piece of work! Does he really think he’s somebody?”
Sisi had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice11. Her attempt at seduction had failed, and she’d gotten an earful for it, so it was only natural that she was angry.
It was a tricky situation, though. Sisi had technically made the first move, but Shen Maomao saw no need to reason with her while she was still fuming—wasn’t that just waiting to be cursed out until she was drenched in dog’s blood12?
So she only offered a few words of comfort before asking for her teammates’ opinions. “So, what now? Should we go back?”
“No!” Sisi said furiously. “We’re already here! We absolutely cannot return empty-handed!”
After saying that, she looked at Shen Maomao, suddenly slapped her on the shoulder, and asked, “Are you afraid of dying?!”
Shen Maomao’s answer was resounding: “I am!”
Sisi: “…”
Golden Retriever held it in for a long time before he finally managed to swallow his laughter without making a sound.
Sisi also took a moment to recover before continuing, “Right now, you’re the only one of us who has spoken with those sisters. I don’t have nine silver dayang, but I can still scrounge up three, so I was thinking of having you go in and take a look. But it will definitely be dangerous once you’re inside. You should decide for yourself whether you want to go.”
Shen Maomao fell into deep thought.
It wasn’t that she was eager to see the sisters on their home turf, but the current situation wasn’t about what she wanted to do, but what she had to do.
If she didn’t go, she’d be stuck in this game for the rest of her life. Let Golden Retriever go? She wouldn’t feel at ease. Let Sisi go? She guaranteed Sisi would turn right around and leave; otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked her so casually if she wanted to go.
After thinking it over, Shen Maomao decided the trip was necessary. She nodded in agreement. “Alright, I’ll go take a look.”
Sisi immediately pulled out three silver dayang and pressed them into Shen Maomao’s palm. Tucked in with them was a pile of small spheres.
Shen Maomao and Golden Retriever were both very familiar with these things. They were the explosion spheres they often used—not expensive, but quite effective.
“This is…” Shen Maomao said, confused.
Sisi said, “I don’t have much else on me. Take these. I hope you come back safely.”
Shen Maomao tried to return the spheres to her. “No need. I have my own. You keep these to protect yourself.”
Sisi: “Are you looking down on my stuff because it’s not much?!”
Shen Maomao: “?”
Sisi: “I know my things aren’t valuable, but it’s the thought that counts. It’s not like you can just look down on a gift someone gives you, you know.”
Shen Maomao was out of options and could only accept them for the time being, placing them in her item inventory.
Golden Retriever, meanwhile, also took out a pile of things and stuffed them all into her hands. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her twice with his big, bright, clear eyes, but his gesture was far more substantial and sincere than Sisi’s.
Who could survive this long without some life-saving items? Sisi was just trying to curry favor with these petty kindnesses, but she was too reluctant to part with her truly precious items. She didn’t stop to think that if something happened to Shen Maomao inside, they would definitely miss out on a crucial clue.
Shen Maomao had a clear door in her heart13; people are selfish animals, and she was no exception.
But she would remember the gift. Because no matter the reason, it was better than getting nothing at all.
She put away Golden Retriever’s items before Sisi could get a good look, then closed her hand around the three silver dayang and bid them farewell. “I’m heading in, then. If I’m not back by dark, don’t wait for me.”
Golden Retriever gave her a worried look, then made his right hand into a fist and gave her a very cute little “you can do it” gesture14. Sisi also waved at her, watching as she walked toward the temple.
Shen Maomao returned to the entrance of the Hebo Temple, handed over the entrance fee, and received three short incense sticks from the man.
The man had a high level of professional ethics. As soon as money was exchanged, her status was immediately elevated from “broke-ass” to “believer,” and she was now free to wander the temple.
Most of the believers chose to line up at the entrance to offer their incense. She didn’t have much time, nor did she have any wishes to pray for, so she walked straight through the crowd toward the main hall. She had only taken a few steps when a force suddenly materialized at her back—it was the wind passing through the woods, pushing her forward.
She stumbled into the temple. The moment she entered, all the people—the worshippers, the people in line, the ones burning incense—froze in place, turning into rigid clay statues. Only she could still move freely.
Shen Maomao looked up at the divine statues in the center: they were two identical little girls standing shoulder to shoulder, carved so vividly it was as if they could come to life in the next second.
As if to prove her thought, the two stone statues slowly lowered their heads, their two pairs of stone eyes gazing at her, devoid of joy or sorrow.
The two sides stared at each other for several seconds before Shen Maomao clapped her hands to break the deadlock. “Alright, stop pretending. You think I don’t know what you’re really like?”
The temple doors slammed shut with a thud. The sunlight vanished completely from the temple, leaving only the dim, flickering light of the candles on either side. Water began to seep from the statues, and two puddles pooled in front of her, coalescing into two blurry shadows that finally took the form of the twin sisters.
The two sisters bared their teeth at her and said in unison, “Between the two of us, who is the older sister? And who is the younger?”
Shen Maomao looked at the sisters expressionlessly. “Regarding a question I’ve already answered once, I don’t believe I need to answer it again.”
The sisters separated. One of them walked up to her and said, “You came looking for us. Are you prepared to help?”
Shen Maomao answered truthfully, “No. It’s just that Kang Yuanhuai… ah, to you he should be Hu Qinghuai… he assigned us to this area, so I came by to take a look.”
At the mention of this person, identical expressions of disgust appeared on the sisters’ faces.
Shen Maomao continued, “If you can tell me Hu Qinghuai’s true identity and your objective, perhaps I can help you.”
The sisters glanced at each other and fell silent.
Shen Maomao wasn’t in a hurry at all. She leaned against a pillar, crossed her arms, and watched them leisurely. “Your believers have some real class15,” she said. “They have to offer up three silver dayang just to worship. Shouldn’t you guys be reimbursing me for the fee?”
“What silver dayang?!” the girl on the left exclaimed in surprise. “I didn’t know anything about that!”
A smile touched Shen Maomao’s lips.
She had already figured out who was the older sister and who was the younger.
The one on the right shot the other a helpless, exasperated look. “What do you know? You think temples don’t cost money to maintain?!”
The younger sister pouted, moved herself to a corner, and faced the wall, muttering to herself.
The older sister looked at Shen Maomao and said, “Can you guarantee you’ll kill Hu Qinghuai?”
Shen Maomao never liked to make absolute statements, and this time was no different. “Of course… I can’t.”
The older sister glared at her in a huff.
Shen Maomao added, “But if you don’t say anything, you’ll have to rely on your own efforts. The festival is tomorrow, though. If you don’t act soon, I’m afraid it’ll be too late, won’t it?”
The older sister frowned and flew right up to Shen Maomao’s face, their noses almost touching. “How do you know so much?”
Shen Maomao’s expression didn’t change; she didn’t even blink, staring right back at her. “There’s a lot more that I know. Now, it’s up to you whether you’re willing to tell the truth.”
The author has something to say:
The word 渡 (dù, to ferry/save) is probably a Buddhist term, and from what I can tell, the Hebo is probably a Daoist god (?). But the phrase here is a meme reference, and I couldn’t find a more suitable word for the time being, so I just used this one.
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