Chapter 305: Virtuous Heaven Temple (1)
"Don't…don't do anything rash. I… I know how to close the door…" As the horde of densely packed monsters continued to draw nearer, the party of six prepared to face the coming onslaught. Just then, they heard the halting voice of a person behind them.
The six of them looked back as one and found a youth who was covered from head to toe in blood leaning against the frame of Virtuous Heavenly Temple's door. His hair was a mess, and there were several terrifying scars on his face. He looked like he'd just returned from a great battle.
When everyone's attention was focused on him, the youth straightened his body with great difficulty. With one hand pressed against the other, he stumbled as he jogged towards the brass door. He then started feeling around the left side of the door. He appeared to have found something, as a series of clicks could be heard and the door slowly shut on its own.
Everyone took a step back as they watched the door gradually close. Thankfully, when they'd previously opened the doors, they hadn't opened them too wide, or the monsters would've been able to make it inside in an instant. With that, the enormous doors were shut tight.
'Bang. Bang. Bang.'
The moment the doors closed, the people inside could hear the distinct sounds of several weighty objects slamming against it in succession.
Seeing the party standing there in silence, the youth thought that they were worried about the monsters outside breaking in, so he put on a weak smile and said, "Don't… worry… this door has my Master's seal on it; they won't be able to enter."
As soon as he finished speaking, the youth fell to the floor; almost as if he'd used up the last of his strength. Luckily, he was caught by The Winds Of Ximen who'd instinctively reached out to support him.
The youth's eyes unfocused for a moment. It took him a long while before he was able to regain consciousness. He struggled to stand up before giving his thanks.
Looking at the condition the youth was in, Quiet And Steadfast had no idea when the youth was going to kick the bucket. "Your wounds are extremely severe and you need immediate attention."
"Then I'll have to trouble the young… young heroes, to help support me into the temple's interior where there's medicine that I can use for healing."
With The Winds Of Ximen's help, the youth made his way into Virtuous Heaven Temple. Under his guidance, Pure Crane found some medicine that could be used to heal the youth. After applying the medicine, the youth's face turned a healthy shade of pink in the blink of an eye.
So, it looked like he was an NPC.
After completely recovering from his injuries, the youth was full of vigor when he spoke. "I really have to thank you, young heroes, for your help today. If it weren't for you, both Virtuous Heaven Temple and I probably wouldn’t be around anymore."
The six of them still weren't clear on what was going on with the youth and Virtuous Heaven Temple, so Quiet And Steadfast stepped up to the plate and asked, "Little Brother, could you tell us what exactly that giant bird outside is? Also, what's Virtuous Heaven Temple's current situation?"
The youth had a somewhat innocent look about him, but he didn't seem to be all that simple a person. Upon hearing Quiet And Steadfast's question, a corner of his mouth curled up into a momentary smile, and he returned Quiet And Steadfast's question with one of his own in an attempt to sound him out. "May I know who you young heroes are? Why have you come to Virtuous Heaven Temple? The Southern Sea is filled with danger, and few outsiders ever drop by."
"We're the Lead Disciples of the Six Great Sects. We've been tasked by our sect leaders to travel here and search for someone. Unexpectedly, instead of finding the person we were looking for, we ran into this situation instead," Pure Crane replied.
The youth's eyes immediately lit up. "You're the Lead Disciples dispatched by the Six Great Sects!"
The sudden joy on the youth's face might have been too much for the group to immediately adapt to, so they exchanged glances with one another instead.
"Yes, we are," Quiet And Steadfast confirmed.
"Do you carry any proof of your identity?"
"Proof?"
Asking them for proof would be putting them in a bit of a bind. After becoming a Lead Disciple, the system publicised their new position, and the everyone else had accepted it just like that. Thus, they had nothing on hand to prove their identity. If they really needed to do so, then the only thing they could probably do was bring over an NPC from one of the sects and get them to testify. But, they obviously couldn't do such a thing.
Noticing the difficulty that they were facing, the youth didn't push them for proof any longer. He rolled his eyes in contemplation before he switched to a different question instead. "You said you were looking for someone. Who's this person you're looking for?"
The Winds Of Ximen wasn't all that happy with the way the youth was questioning them. "Why're you asking us so many questions? Regardless, we did help you, and you show your gratitude by interrogating us? Also, we don't even know who you are. For all we know, you could be one of the bad guys! If you were, wouldn't it be horrifying if we revealed everything to you?! Why don't you tell us who are you are first instead?"
The youth's face turned dull and lifeless for a moment before he recovered his previous vigor. "Young hero, what you've said makes complete sense. My apologies for offending you. My name is Shao Feng, and I'm one of the disciples of Virtuous Heaven Temple. Several days ago, my Master foretold the future and said that there would be some changes coming to the Southern Sea. He left the temple to patrol the area, and till today has yet to return, leaving me alone by myself to guard it," He said somewhat apologetically.
"By 'it', you mean that giant bird?" Shen Jingbin asked.
Shao Feng nodded his head. "That bird is actually the legendary Vermillion Bird…"
Before he even had the chance to finish, Shen Jingbin cried out in astonishment, "The Vermillion Bird? You mean that thing outside is the Vermilion Bird?!"
Seriously? The Divine Beast, Vermillion Bird, has such a ghastly appearance? Are you screwing with me?
"Yup, it's the one and only Vermillion Bird. Ah, that's not right. I'm not quite sure it counts as the Vermillion Bird in its current state. It's a rather complicated situation. I'm not too clear on the details, but my Master knows what's going on. You can ask him about it when she returns… Anyway, things have been fine ever since my Master left, but I never expected the Vermillion Bird to go crazy today and try to break through my Master's seal. I'm no match for it, so I was planning to activate the seal and use it to suppress the Vermillion Bird. But alas, I… pressed the wrong button… and accidentally released it by opening the temple doors."
Quiet And Steadfast rubbed his chin and said, "So the reason we managed to open the Virtuous Heaven Temple's doors just now was because you pressed the wrong button?"
Hahaha. He was wondering why they were able to open such enormous doors so quickly. It ultimately went against Yiju's trollish way of doing things.
Shao Feng awkwardly scratched his head. "That's…about right…"
"…"