Chapter 2, The Chaotic Ruins of the Temple

The ghostly-faced scholar, holding the unconscious Ke Yuequan, vanished into the night after a few rises and falls

As soon as he flew out of the house, he saw the strange scholar's feet barely touching the ground. With a twist of his waist, he turned in mid-air, performing a nimble somersault and diving into the eaves.

The third voice said: "So the flying dust just now was an illusion, then"

When the two blades and one palm were only two feet away from him, the ghostly-faced mad scholar remained motionless, his shoulders steady, while his feet continued to kick.

The ghost-faced scholar lowered his head and smiled at Ke Yuequan, saying, "Don't be afraid, girl, I just need your help with something."

Junior brothers, let's go together

Notably, the right half of this person's face is covered by a white mask, which features only a few winding red lines resembling fresh blood on the cheek area.

It is strange that not even a ghostly shadow can be seen. He has been injured and poisoned, so it is impossible for him to run so fast.

Senior brother is injured and should not be able to run fast; we should still be able to catch up with him

The person with the surname Jin had not finished speaking when they heard the tiles making a clattering sound, indicating that someone else had climbed onto the roof

Old man Ke walked around the temple but still did not see Ke Yuequan, and he wondered if he had just hidden outside due to the crowd.

The man surnamed Jin was furious upon hearing this: "What, share his surname? That would make me his descendants! Isn't this just a roundabout way of insulting me?"

Tonight, I won't cut you down; if I do, I won't bear the surname Jin

With a flick of his sleeve, dust rose from beneath the straw, which was lifted, and in an instant, the dust swirled wildly as the sleeve of the mad scholar swept through, leaving the dilapidated temple in a haze of confusion

Suddenly, three swift sounds echoed, and three figures descended from the sky, landing on the open ground in front of the temple gate. Startled, Old Man Ke stumbled and nearly fell, thinking to himself: "No way? Just now a group left, and another group has arrived?"

Upon seeing this, the ghostly-faced scholar smiled and tapped Ke Yuequan's sleep point. Ke Yuequan immediately felt a wave of dizziness in his head, and amidst the haze and confusion, it seemed as if he heard his grandfather's call. Before he could respond, he fell into a deep sleep.

Girl

The man with the surname Jin standing in the middle shouted angrily: "Sour scholar!"

The ghost-faced scholar nonchalantly looked at the man with a square face and said: "Hehe... who said I was going to escape? Tonight, this place will be your burial ground.

However, since he did not commit any major evil, both the underworld and the law enforcement chose not to intervene with him

The ghost-faced scholar mockingly said to the man with the surname Jin: "So, have you thought about what surname you would like to change to?"

Old man Ke, panting, ran to the temple gate, peering inside. The temple was empty, with only the burnt rice on the bonfire emitting a crackling sound. Ke Yuequan was not here

A rough voice said

Approximately thirty years old, with a pair of very sharp almond-shaped eyes, a slightly pale complexion, and bloodstains at the corners of the mouth, indicating that there are injuries.

Old man Ke steadied his heart and focused his gaze, hmm? Aren't these the three people who just left the temple roof?

As Old Man Ke and Ke Yuequan were still in astonishment, there was a loud bang!

Brother Luo, the man with the surname Jin, exclaimed, "Bastard!"

This person operates in the martial world with both righteousness and wickedness, and those who have died or been injured at his hands include both chivalrous heroes and disgraceful figures of the martial arts community

At this moment, Old Man Ke finally saw the appearance of the visitor

The man with a square face on the left shouted: "Ghost-faced mad scholar, as long as you are in Dongshi and Xishi counties, you can forget about escaping from the grasp of our Ruohai Village."

Brother Luo said: "Indeed, the ghost-faced mad scholar deliberately broke the roof to lure us out. He may be hiding in the corner of the beam, waiting to leave through the front door when we exit the room"

A hole was smashed in the roof, and the strange scholar, holding Ke Yuequan, flew out through the hole

The pale face of the Ghostly Face Mad Scholar appeared even more pallid under the moonlight, while the blood at the corners of his mouth looked even more vivid red. Coupled with the eerie mask of the Ghostly Face Mad Scholar, it frightened Ke Yuequan, causing his heart to race and tears to well up in his eyes

Before the black-clad man could steady himself, he laughed heartily and said: "Demon-faced mad scholar, this time I shall see where you can escape to"

Immediately following, there was a loud sound of tiles falling to the ground

With that, he brandished his sword and charged forward

At that moment, a loud crack interrupted Ke Yuequan's thoughts; the sound resembled that of something shattering.

At this moment, the ghost-faced mad scholar released his feet, grasped the beam with one hand, and with a swift motion, flew to a tree on the opposite side while holding Ke Yuequan.

Disciple Luo suddenly exclaimed in anger

Then, I heard someone speaking.

The newcomer was dressed as a Confucian scholar, wearing a grayish-blue long robe and a gray square cap, holding a red fan in his right hand

The dilapidated door of the Earth God Temple, which was already askew, was pushed down to the ground by a visitor, who simultaneously rushed into the temple and stood in the space between Old Man Ke and Ke Yuequan.

When those people were hurling insults at each other, Old Man Ke noticed that Ke Yuequan was still there, so how did he suddenly disappear? This temple is not large; the cooking fire can illuminate the entire temple.

You not only have internal injuries but have also been poisoned by our ghostly hand's chrysanthemum toxin; you cannot escape the confines of these two counties

The man with a square face on the right said: "A ghostly face and a mad scholar, do not boast of your verbal skills"

The sound just now may have been that of the Land God statue shattering, as the enraged man with the surname Jin vented all his fury on the statue of the Land God

At that moment, another voice exclaimed, "Senior brother, what is that beneath your feet?"

The ghost-faced scholar looked at the fierce assault of the three before him and smiled slightly, remaining still.

The person standing on the left is also wearing yellow clothing, has a square face with a mustache shaped like the character '八', and is empty-handed

This is quite physically exhausting, and if I cannot rid myself of these three individuals tonight, it will be dangerous for me to cultivate and heal myself

Old man Ke felt a sharp pain in his heart and wearily sat down on the threshold of the temple

Immediately, Ke Yuequan felt a lightness in his body as the strange scholar actually lifted him into the air. Then, Ke Yuequan saw the strange scholar kick the head of the Earth God away, and the head went flying with a loud bang

At that moment, a loud bang suddenly echoed from above.

The ghost-faced mad scholar has once again employed the tricks used at the inn

The strange scholar clutched himself with one hand, grasped a beam of wood with the other, and with his feet positioned on the wall and the beam of the eaves, he remained motionless, hanging under the eaves.

The term "Ghost-faced Mad Scholar" spoken by the three men in black refers to this scholar in blue.

Old man Ke finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw everyone leave. However, when he glanced to the side, he was immediately shocked—Ke Yuequan was missing

... ... is a broken avatar

The wind in the suburbs grows strong at night, and soon the flying dust in the temple is blown away by the wind

The man with the surname Jin, upon seeing this, said: "Chase!"

Old man Ke thought again whether Ke Yuequan had already returned to the temple, only coincidentally missing each other.

The man with the surname Jin shouted angrily: "Bastard!"

Suddenly, the straw beneath their feet shot towards the three individuals like arrows

No one knows his real name, nor does anyone know who his mentor is

After Old Man Ke saw the three leave, he let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly rushed out of the earth temple, calling out and searching around the temple.

We have been deceived

It is only known that his weapon is a peculiar fan with a red face and black bones, and his martial arts are unusual

The scholar in blue looked at the three individuals before him and said with a casual smile: "Do you really think that the three of you, mere cobblers, can capture someone like me, Zhuge Liang?"

Then Ke Yuequan heard a clattering sound coming from the roof, as if someone was stepping on the tiles

After hearing three swift sounds, there was no more noise from the roof, suggesting that the three individuals had already departed

Thinking of this, Old Man Ke hurriedly ran back to the earth god temple with the extinguished firewood, "Girl!"

Three individuals charged towards the ghostly-faced mad scholar from three different directions

Upon hearing this, Ke Yuequan speculated: Could this strange scholar who is pursuing me be the "Mad Scholar with a Ghostly Face"? Thinking of this, Ke Yuequan glanced at the strange scholar, who was still able to smile. His enemy was right above him, yet he could still smile!

Why have they returned again? These three individuals are indeed the same three from Ruohai Manor. After landing, they paid no attention to the old man Ke behind them and, without saying a word, rushed into the small grove in front of the temple, disappearing from sight

Standing on the right is a person wearing a yellow outfit, with a square face, holding a nine-ringed knife

At this moment, the three individuals discovered a hole the size of a person in the roof above the statue of the Earth God, which must have been created by the ghostly-faced scholar during the earlier chaos of dust and smoke.

The ghost-faced mad scholar knew that he was not wrong; now he was relying entirely on his internal energy to suppress the chaotic blood flow within his body and the spread of poison in his left arm

Ke Yuequan, startled, was about to call out when he suddenly felt a numbness throughout his body, rendering him unable to utter a sound, and he felt completely weak.

The three men surnamed Jin did not expect that the Ghost Face Mad Scholar had such a trick. Fearing that the Ghost Face Mad Scholar would take the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, they immediately became flustered, covering their mouths and noses with one hand while using the other to protect themselves from the flying straw, hurriedly retreating to the upwind area near the entrance.

Cut him down

The man with the surname Jin shouted angrily: "Chase!"

The man with the surname Jin exclaimed in alarm: "This is not good!"

As he was lifted up by a large hand, Ke Yuequan finally saw that the person who had embraced him was none other than the strange scholar wearing a half-mask

At this moment, a voice from the roof echoed the words of the mad scholar: "Haha... grandchildren, we shall meet again."

Old Ke and Tu Shuhan shouted loudly upon seeing the bright land temple

The scholar in green robes had just taken his position when, whoosh, three more individuals burst into the temple through the broken door, surrounding the scholar in a formation resembling the character "人".

The other two individuals, without saying a word, also launched an attack against the Ghost Face Mad Scholar

It is an inexplicable oddity to behold

The person in the middle is wearing black clothing, has a square face with thick eyebrows, a flat nose, and a wide mouth, and is holding a large knife

The feng shui of the Earth God Temple should be quite good

He is arrogant, behaves oddly, and is dressed in scholarly attire while holding a red fan

Hoo hoo hoo

At this thought, Old Man Ke hurriedly pulled a stick from the campfire and ran towards the temple entrance, just as he reached the temple door.

Leading the way, he leaped towards the hole, followed closely by the other two.

I will chase this bastard to the ends of the earth

Where has Ke Yuequan gone? It is said that at that moment, the ghost-faced mad scholar kicked away the straw, waved his sleeves to raise the dust, and forced the three individuals from Ruo Hai Manor. Just as Ke Yuequan was about to raise his hand to shield his eyes from the dust, a large hand suddenly appeared in front of him

Ke Yuequan seemed to hear the person holding him saying something, but his ears were filled with a rushing sound, making it impossible to hear clearly. He only felt a sudden dizziness, and the scenery before him became a blur. When Ke Yuequan finally regained his composure, he discovered that he was actually between the beams under the eaves.

The nickname "Ghost Face Mad Scholar" was given to him by people in the martial arts world, as he often wears a strange half-ghost mask, and no one has seen the other half of his face

Hehe... you can also share my surname.

Ke Yuequan recognized that this was the voice of the person with the surname Jin from the temple earlier

The strong wind outside blew around the temple for two or three circles before the firewood in Old Man Ke's hands finally extinguished. However, Old Man Ke still did not notice Ke Yuequan. At this moment, only the remaining red embers of the firewood flickered intermittently in the wind.

The three who came are all men, and they are approximately around thirty years old