That was actually a weasel.
The weasel stood at the window, surveying everything inside the temple. It neither entered nor left but just stared quietly at the sleeping scholar Lu Yue; then its belly began to swell as if it were breathing. Its breathing rhythm was very strange – whenever Lu Yue exhaled, it inhaled; whenever Lu Yue inhaled, it exhaled, repeating this as if practicing a form of breath control.
At this moment, although Lu Yue was asleep by the fire, he felt an indescribable coldness penetrating his entire body.
He wanted to wake up, but his eyelids felt incredibly heavy and wouldn’t open.
Old Liu dozed off and was unaware. However, the field mouse in his arms sensed the presence of the weasel and became restless.
While exploring his internal acupoints, Li Yi sensed an unusual aura, prompting him to open his eyes. His eyes were extraordinarily bright, standing out in the dim temple, and they saw something peculiar.
At this moment, wisps of energy were flowing out from the sleeping Lu Yue and into the mouth of the weasel by the window.
"Is it stealing human Essence Qi for cultivation?" Li Yi’s expression shifted slightly: "Is this how spirit monsters in this world cultivate?"
However, this cultivation method was somewhat sinister, as human Essence Qi is fundamental to the body; excessive depletion can lead to illness or even premature death.
But the advantage is rapid progress in cultivation, because human Essence Qi can nourish the soul and flesh. If enough is extracted, it could lead to significant results. Li Yi’s Heaven and Earth Qi Gathering Technique involves a similar method, but he collects not human Essence Qi, but the essence of heaven and earth.
He then picked up a stone from the ground and casually threw it.
The stone flew with a burst of Heart Fire Qi.
The weasel stealing energy at the window had just reacted when the stone pierced through its head.
Then, the Heart Fire Qi spread, immediately igniting the weasel’s body, and within an instant, its flesh and blood were burned to ashes, leaving only its beautiful fur.
"Return it to its rightful owner."
Subsequently, Li Yi made a grabbing motion in the air, extracting a stream of Essence Qi from the burned remains, and then infused it into the scholar Lu Yue’s body.
Although this Essence Qi was insignificant to him, for an ordinary person, it was a fortuitous transformation, enough to strengthen his body and eradicate all ailments.
Previously feeling very cold, Lu Yue now felt an indescribable warmth, as if he had returned to a cozy bed, and comfortably fell asleep.
After resolving this matter, Li Yi closed his eyes again to visualize the Divine Martial Arts Chart and explored the acupoints within his body.
He initially thought that he could pass the night peacefully.
However, another hour passed, and deep into the night, everyone in the temple heard a voice drifting in from all directions.
"Help, help me, someone save me."
It was a woman’s voice, sounding mournful and sorrowful, with an undertone of crying, invoking empathy.
The moment the voice appeared, everyone in the Mountain God Temple woke up in unison; no matter how comfortably they had slept before, they instantly became alert, as if the voice carried some magical power that was irresistible.
"I slept?" Old Liu, who had been dozing, was startled into standing up hastily. He had planned to keep watch but did not know when he had drifted off.
Judging by the state of the fire pile in front of him, he must have slept for at least two or three hours.
He gave himself a solid slap, feeling that his body could no longer compare to his younger days, otherwise how could he not last half the night?
Yet, when everyone heard the crying drifting in from outside, their faces turned ashen with fear.
"Old Liu, w-what is that crying? It shouldn’t be human, right?" the scholar Lu Yue asked in terror.
"You’re not too stupid for a scholar, understanding that the crying outside isn’t human; it’s a mountain ghost trying to lure people into the mountains. Don’t leave the Mountain God Temple; once you step out, you won’t be able to return." Old Liu said solemnly, then glanced at the Daoist not far away.
You’re quite calm for a Daoist; still resting with closed eyes at this moment.
Thankfully, nothing happened before midnight.
Suddenly, Old Liu looked around and promptly noticed a hole in the window, with weasel fur hanging at the hole. The fur was glossy and more substantial than ordinary fur.
He approached and reached out to take it.
Inside the fur, he saw no bones or flesh, only a layer of black ash, as if it had been scorched by fire; curiously, the fur remained intact.
"That Daoist indeed has real skill." Old Liu was both surprised and delighted, realizing that it must have been the Daoist who intervened.
Because not even incense ash was left at the window, the matter had nothing to do with the Mountain God.
Just as he was about to thank the Daoist.
At the hole in the window, Old Liu suddenly saw a bizarre, penetrating eye gazing from outside, and vaguely, he seemed to see the pale face of a woman.
Even though Old Liu had been a guide for over ten years, he was startled, shouting and retreating rapidly.
Others, startled by his sudden shout, also jumped in fright.
"W-where’s the ghost?" the scholar Lu Yue stammered.
Old Liu said nothing, retreating further from the window, fearing the fierce ghost outside might rush in and kill him.
The tightly shut temple doors suddenly resounded with knocking, and the force was tremendous, causing the heavy temple doors to shake violently, seemingly ready to collapse at any moment.