Who let him join the Sword Sect?!
Chapter 68: Novels Are Written Like This

Chapter 68: Chapter 68: Novels Are Written Like This

Five Rams Slope.

The Grand Monk and the young monk had wandered in the mountains for quite some time.

It was just noon, and neither felt tired, but the young monk was too lazy to continue.

It was time for a nap.

Coincidentally, through a gap in the mountains, not far ahead, there was a ruined house.

The young monk yawned, thinking to stay there for the night and continue the journey the next day.

"Disciple, go check that old temple. Whether there is someone or not, we’ll stay for the night."

"Master, that’s not a temple. It’s a Taoist Temple."

"No worries, it’s all the same. Go on."

"Oh."

The Taoist Temple wasn’t big, with only one entrance. There were no statues in the shrine, but the roof was intact, and there was firewood piled up in the corner for travelers to use.

"Disciple, tidy up this Taoist Temple, I’ll go have a look around."

The young monk walked out of the Taoist Temple, squinting as he examined the geomancy of the area.

Upon entering, he felt the Taoist Temple’s location was somewhat subtle, seemingly resembling the "Star Nurturing Dragon" pattern.

The "Star Nurturing Dragon" is a method of purging evil from treasures using the geomancy of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

But it’s said that this technique was discovered from a Secret Realm by a Celestial Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain, not passed down through generations.

The young monk searched the courtyard for a while but couldn’t make out anything unusual. He had the knowledge but was clueless about arranging arrays.

Scratching his head, he muttered to himself, "It can’t be that some cheap geomancer randomly chose this place, and it just happens to match the ’Star Nurturing Dragon,’ can it?"

The young monk left the courtyard, circled the Taoist Temple, walked around the yard, but still found nothing.

He also didn’t notice that with every step he took, a faint green light appeared beneath him.

"Forget it, forget it."

"Those Daoists are always making a fuss. Let’s go back for a nap."

The young monk turned around and took a step forward, and a burst of green light appeared beneath him.

Then the young monk disappeared.

"Is anyone there?"

Just then, an old man with a bamboo basket on his back appeared at the Taoist Temple entrance, poking his head in to look around.

He clearly heard someone talking in the courtyard a moment ago but saw no one upon entering.

"Ah, what’s the matter?"

A plain-looking woman came out of the Taoist Temple shrine and asked loudly.

"I got tired walking in the mountains, and I wanted to stop for a rest."

"But since you’re here, miss, never mind," the old man bowed slightly and was about to leave.

Standing at the front hall door, the Grand Monk looked left and right, seeing no lady, but he didn’t care much.

Having mingled between Buddhism and demons, he was unfazed by small matters, attributing the event to the old woman’s dim eyes.

"It’s no bother, old man, do come in."

In the old man’s eyes, the monk turned into a lady, and in the monk’s eyes, the old man became an old lady.

The two started chatting, unrelated to what was around.

Perhaps due to the old man’s naturally sociable nature, just as he sat down, he sparked a conversation on his own.

"For thirty miles, there’s only this place to go."

"I don’t know exactly when it was built, but it’s at least a hundred years old."

"I remember this Taoist Temple looked the same when I was a child."

"Hmm, but it’s weird indeed."

"Under normal circumstances, without someone worshiping and maintaining it, this Taoist Temple should have collapsed, but over the years, it’s remained the same."

"Some villagers thought it was auspicious and wanted to renovate the temple, but strange things always happened, stalling their efforts."

"We even reported it to the Sword Pavilion’s immortals, who sent people to investigate, but they found nothing."

"Later, they built a big road over there, and since there are few people on Five Rams Slope, other than us old folks who still live in the mountains, most people forgot about the Taoist Temple."

"Oh, you mentioned a big road, leading north?" the Grand Monk, who had been dozing off, perked up upon hearing that.

"Yes, don’t you know?"

"Thanks to the Sword Sect’s immortals and the northern demon lords, who blasted open a road."

"It cuts two days off our journey north."

The Grand Monk awkwardly smiled, saying he wasn’t local.

Today, he was supposed to ask for directions, but his master insisted he knew a shortcut at Five Rams Slope.

Who knows which lifetime’s ancient memory his master was recalling, it was utterly wrong.

The old man saw the huge and strong lady in front, thinking she must be a good worker.

He remembered his son had no wife and his thoughts started bubbling.

While recounting stories of the surrounding mountains, he lightly hinted about his good son.

Praising his looks, character, and skills.

"Try these dried fruits, made by my son himself."

The old man pulled out a bag of dried fruits from his basket and placed them on the ground.

"Hmm, not bad!" the Grand Monk tasted some, eyes lighting up, "Living with your son must be a real treat."

The old man chuckled, feeling he had found a wife for his son.

The Grand Monk grabbed another handful of dried fruits, thinking the lady’s son was a decent guy and they could drink together someday.

But the Grand Monk felt like he was forgetting something, though he couldn’t recall. Swallowing the fruits, he instinctively glanced towards the courtyard.

"Hey, look at that."

"What are those wildcats doing in the courtyard?"

The Grand Monk pointed towards the yard, noticing three wildcats pacing back and forth, occasionally meowing, as a big cat kicked the smallest one.

"Wildcats from the mountains, I guess. You get used to them; they’ve always been here since I was a kid."

"Let me continue telling you about my son..."

...

Outside the Taoist Temple.

Zhang Ze and Chen Qin halted, with a purple light from a ring pointing to the empty ground.

Zhang Ze glanced towards the shrine, which was dark, containing nothing except two stone blocks facing each other.

Zhang Ze felt something wasn’t right but couldn’t pinpoint it.

After pondering a bit, Zhang Ze dismissed it as an illusion, focusing on the task at hand.

Meanwhile, Chen Qin was full of fighting spirit.

"Brother, is it time to solve the puzzle now?"

"We need to find the various clues and arrays hidden in the Taoist Temple."

"Then decode the mechanisms to get new clues."

"And then keep solving mechanisms based on the new clues."

Zhang Ze saw the inexplicably excited Chen Qin and asked, "Who told you that?"

"You did, brother."

"Isn’t it like what you wrote in your book?"

"The latest Chapter, right?"

Zhang Ze scratched his cheek, "Wasn’t that just a plot necessity?"

"And Aunt Niao wanting Elder Wang to rescue her by making it so complicated is self-defeating."

"I estimate activating the ring once more should directly enter the Secret Realm."

Zhang Ze took Li off his neck, placing him on the ground, and put the ring on its tiny paw.

Li got the hint and let out an electric burp.

The ring glowed with green light again, causing changes in the Taoist Temple’s courtyard.

A woman’s phantom appeared before them.

With a gentle face, her long hair was braided and rested on her chest.

The phantom bowed to them and began to dance. When the dance ended, the phantom turned into light and dissipated, but no Secret Realm entrance appeared.

"Brother, you said that’s how novels work."

"Time to solve the puzzle," Chen Qin tugged Zhang Ze’s sleeve.

"Don’t rush, I’m thinking."

After a while, Zhang Ze patted Li again.

"Burp again, let me watch one more time."

The second time, Zhang Ze figured it out.

"I get it, Aunt Niao is lovestruck."

"What’s lovestruck?" Chen Qin asked.

"You’re too young to understand yet, but you will in the future."

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