Chapter 475: Chapter 306: Festive Temple Fair, Gathering of Heroes, Each Showing Their Talents, Winds and Clouds Converge

In the eastern part of Flying Dragon City stands a towering mountain, over a thousand zhang high, named ’Qisheng Mountain’. Within it, the ’Flying Dragon Temple’ is situated, renowned for its efficaciousness, said to grant prayers for favorable weather, prosperity, offspring, warding off evil, and avoiding disaster... Every temple fair sees crowds gathering from all directions, pushing and shoving, a scene of great festivity.

Li Xian feared that the five people of the ’Five Elements Flower Array’ would divulge the ’Flower Cage Sect’ identity, prompting an attack and causing trouble. Therefore, he ordered the five to stay at the inn and not to leave. In the early morning, he simply drank a bowl of plain porridge, then smeared his face black with rouge, messed up his hair, and came to the foot of the ’Flying Dragon Temple’ like a commoner.

Looking tall towards the mountain top.

The Flying Dragon Temple stands high, with buildings towering, revered by the people. As the slanting sun shines from the east, half of the golden light dazzles the eye.

At the mountain foot, there are several ’Incense Pavilions’ inside selling ’incense’, ’offerings of fruits’, ’tribute tea’ and other items. Everyone passing by must first purchase incense items from the pavilion before heading to the temple.

Li Xian heard that ’Ms. Wang’ was going to the temple and wanted to observe closely, thinking: "I can use the crowd as cover to secretly employ the Heavy Pupils to spy. Observing her appearance, if she practices the cruel Martial Arts like Hao Qingsnake’s Poison Skill, there should be some indication. Even if nothing is revealed, approaching this woman in advance can help understand her far better, which can only be beneficial."

He gazed at the high temple, mumbling to himself: "This temple is indeed strange, set so high, does it not cause inconvenience? Since it is a temple, fulfilling the wish of the people, it should blend into the community, facilitating the multitude. Well, if you’re putting on a show, you should do the whole act, now that I’m here, I can’t go empty-handed."

The Incense Pavilion was noisy like a market, with all kinds of incense displayed.

Li Xian looked around and realized incense was extremely expensive, a three-inch stick of incense costing ’three wen coins’, and to distribute evenly among all the gods and Buddhas of the temple, offering every statue three sticks, he needed a total of thirty-six sticks, which amounted to ’one hundred and eight wen coins’.

Li Xian felt quite surprised, knowing full well how precious ’one hundred and eight wen coins’ could be, enough to buy meat for several meals and ensure a full stomach. Purchasing rough cloth and hemp clothing to stay warm in winter.

The pavilion owner, with a bulging belly and two curved black mustaches by his mouth, smiling like a catfish, his rich appearance with oily lips, and a faint smell of rotting meat on him.

The three-inch incense was the most common, and there were also ’Nine Palace Incense’, ’Ask Buddha Incense’, ’Filial Respect Incense’... ranging from six inches four to nine inches nine in length, varying in thickness, with prices rising accordingly.

Additionally, ’Paper Yuanbao’, ’candles’... and other offering items, all divided by grade. Li Xian roughly understood that for common people to enter the temple and pray, wishing for peace, they needed to purchase ’incense’, ’candles’, ’yuanbao’... various items, totaling more than two hundred wen coins.

Even though Flying Dragon City was wealthy, with streets lined with jade towers and green tiles, common folks finding life hard, saving more than a hundred copper coins each month was considered quite wealthy.

Li Xian looked throughout the first floor, noticing a staircase leading up, feeling curious: "The incense on the first floor is quite expensive already; what could it be like on the second level? Rarely do I come here, how can I not take the opportunity to broaden my horizons?" As he wished to ascend to the second level of the Incense Pavilion, the owner, dozing on a chair, suddenly saw Li Xian intending to go upstairs. His two long and thin eyebrows immediately furrowed, scanning Li Xian from top to bottom, seeing him dressed in plain, common attire, immediately blocking him and saying: "Hey hey hey, where’s this commoner from, lacks discernment. Is that place for you?"

The worshippers were mostly ordinary folks, the majority couples together, not dressed richly. Li Xian hid among them seamlessly, naturally inconspicuous. There were also many traveling Jianghu guests, wealthy young masters, or dressed in luxurious clothing, intimidatingly, or dressed plainly, yet their Jianghu spirit undeniable.

If these people went to the second floor, the owner dare not stop them. Li Xian grumbled inwardly: "Since it’s like this, never mind. Why entangle with such people?" Turned around, purchased a bundle of incense, candles, yuanbao... spent two hundred taels wen coins and left. Not bothered with such mundane matters.

Soon after he left, three guests arrived at the Incense Pavilion, two men and a woman, precisely Gu Nianjun, Li Xiaofan, and Zhou Shijie.

Today, the Flying Dragon Temple hosted a temple fair. Gu Nianjun and Zhou Shijie heard about the event and wanted to join the excitement, got up early, specially came to pay a visit. Li Xiaofan had some free time, thus accompanied them. Arriving at the foot of Qisheng Mountain, they saw dense crowds, extremely lively, feeling right about coming. Decided to climb the mountain to enter the temple.

Gu Nianjun came from a unique background, had heard about many things, knew the temple fair’s rules, adeptly entered the pavilion, purchasing the necessary items. She glanced at the first-floor incense items, then headed straight towards the second floor.

The owner’s eyes flashed, seeing Gu Nianjun in a purple dress, exceptional, beside her another young master, tall, handsome, with an extraordinary presence, also unusual. Another fair-skinned youth, genteel and calm, stood out like a crane among chickens.

Not daring to hinder, he immediately greeted them with a smile, full of compliments, ingratiating words, flattery, parroting along, bowing his body, escorting them up the second floor.

On the second floor, the incense was all placed in specially made boxes.

The owner opened a box, a fresh fragrance wafted out, introducing: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jade Incense, its body like jade, burning with the fragrance surrounding the head, blessing all people, the incense body is five feet seven inches long, could burn for three days and nights!"

Zhou Shijie nodded slightly, lightly waving his folding fan, saying: "Nianjun, it’s rare that we’re here this one time, how about using this incense?"

Gu Nianjun said: "No hurry, there are many incense here, let’s look further." Walking forward. The owner immediately followed, successively introducing several kinds of incense items.