Mountain God Temple

The three words "Mountain God Temple" had lost its original color because of the wind and sun. A few tiles fell from the top of the temple. From afar, it looked like a person had lost a few front teeth. It was leaky and ugly.

Cai Yulin stopped outside the Mountain God Temple to take a look. He realized that the place was terrifyingly quiet. Other than the rustling of leaves, there was not even the sound of insects. Two dark red wooden doors were half-open, like gaping bloody mouths. He hesitated and did not step into the temple.

"Did you come to the Mountain God Temple to pray?" An old voice slowly sounded in the temple, especially clear in the silent mountain.

Hearing that there was someone in the Mountain God Temple, Cai Yulin raised his head and took a few more glances. He still remembered encountering Shadow-Eating Worms on the path outside. He especially looked at the ground. This person had a shadow and was human. He mustered his courage and walked into the Mountain God Temple.

It was past nine in the morning. The sun was shining brightly outside, but there was no sunlight in the Mountain God Temple. It seemed that because of the location, the temperature inside was much colder than outside. Cai Yulin could not help but pull the zipper of his jacket.

The Mountain God Temple was built against the mountain. There was a huge incense cauldron in the spacious front yard. It was filled with incense ash and dust mixed with dried leaves. The temple guardian stood beside the incense cauldron and watched Cai Yulin walk closer and closer.

"You are?" He glanced at the old man in the temple and saw that the old man's hair had long turned white, and his teeth had long fallen out. However, he was in good spirits and was smiling at him.

"I'm the Keeper. Come, as long as you sincerely pray, the Mountain Goddess will fulfill your wish." For some reason, when Cai Yulin heard the Keeper's old voice, he obediently knelt on the tattered futon.

————

Lunchtime, at the Middle School.

"Hey, I just told the teacher that you went to the washroom because of your stomach. Don't expose yourself." Wei Cong placed his hand on Cai Yulin's shoulder. Early this morning, he had received a message from Cai Yulin asking him to help keep the secret. Cai Yulin was his friend, so he naturally agreed.

"Okay, got it." Cai Yulin smiled and nodded, thanking Wei Cong for covering up for him. He had gone to the Mountain God Temple early in the morning, and now that he was back, he felt much more relaxed.

"Did you encounter anything strange when you went to the Mountain God Temple?" Wei Cong glanced at Cai Yulin and realized that there was nothing wrong with him. However, he still remembered that Feng Nian had saved them on the way to the Mountain God Temple that day. He had advised Cai Yulin not to go, but Cai Yulin would not listen to him.

"I have a shadow. Look." Cai Yulin pointed at his feet. "There was someone in the Mountain God Temple. Nothing happened." Although he felt that Wei Cong's worries were unnecessary, he still told him that there was a guardian in the Mountain God Temple. Perhaps this way, more people could go to the Mountain God Temple to pray. Strange, why would he suddenly have such a thought.

"That's good. By the way, can you lend me your meal card?"

Wei Cong scratched his head. When he returned home that day, he honestly told Uncle Zhen where the 88,800 yuan went. Unexpectedly, after Uncle Zhen smiled, he turned around and went upstairs. He was a little afraid. Uncle Zhen's smile was even rarer than an iron tree blooming. In a moment of fear, he forgot to ask Uncle Zhen for money for food. Now, there was only a dollar and sixty cents left in his meal card. He was hungry when he smelled the fragrance of the food.

"Let's go. I'll treat you to lunch." Cai Yulin threw his bag on his back and walked towards the dining hall with Wei Cong.

The Mountain God Temple was really effective. In the next few days, the Guo Family's grandmother's illness slowly improved. Guo Kai and Yao Jie specially called Cai Yulin and told him the good news. He was very happy and specially went to the Mountain God Temple to return his wish. He still saw the temple Keeper in the Mountain God Temple. The Mountain God Temple was still deserted.

————

Cai Jiarong and Chen Chunni did not go home for dinner that night. Cai Jiarong helped someone buy more goods, while Chen Chunni took on the cleaning job of the family. Only Cai Yulin and Cai Yanzhen were left at home.

Cai Yanzhen picked up a piece of fish and placed it in Cai Yulin's bowl. "You don't look well. Eat more." Ever since she poured him a glass of water in the kitchen, the relationship between the siblings had eased a lot.

"Sis, you eat too." Cai Yulin picked up a sunny side up and placed it in Cai Yanzhen's bowl.

"Actually, Dad and Mom also want you to live a better life, but their abilities are limited. I know that you haven't been used to coming back from the Guo family." Cai Yanzhen took a bite of the egg. Her relationship with her brother had improved, but her brother and parents still barely spoke.

"I just feel that everything here is unfamiliar." Cai Yulin put down his bowl. There was still half a bowl of rice left in it. He had not had much of an appetite recently.

Cai Yanzhen also put down her chopsticks. She told her brother what she knew because she did not want him to face his parents with hatred.

Back then, when Grandma came to take care of the siblings, she had indeed put in a lot of effort.

At that time, Cai Jiarong and Chen Chunni's bun shop was very busy. They had very little time at home. Everything was taken care of by their grandmother, Chen Jing, who took care of the family and the siblings. Until their uncle was getting married and the woman wanted betrothal money, the family was still short of 30,000 yuan. Thus, the conflict happened.

Grandmother asked Chen Chunni to lend her 30,000 yuan. Chen Chunni and Cai Jiarong had just arrived in the town and were unfamiliar with the place. The bun shop was also rented, so they did not have as much as 30,000 yuan on hand.

Chen Jing did not listen to their explanation and continued to be unreasonable. She kept blaming Cai Jiarong for being incompetent. Back then, he did not give much money for the betrothal gift. In other families, the dowry money their daughters received were used for their other sons' marriages. The money he gave was not even enough to buy a bicycle.

In order to let his mother-in-law continue to help take care of Cai Yulin and Cai Yanzhen, and to not let Chen Chunni be sad, Cai Jiarong borrowed 5,000 yuan from his fellow villagers and gave it all to Chen Jing. He asked Chen Jing to send it back to Chen Chunni's brother. Only then did Chen Jing stop.

Originally, Cai Jiarong and Chen Chunni thought that this matter would end just like that. They did not expect Cai Yulin, who was only four years old, to disappear.

Chen Jing told them that she had left Cai Yulin outside the public toilet for less than five minutes because she was extremely urgent. At that time, Chen Jing was so anxious that she cried and kept slapping her mouth, making Cai Jiarong and Chen Chunni believe her. The Cai family closed the shop and began to search for Cai Yulin.

Cai Jiarong and Chen Chunni had been searching for 10 years. They had never given up. They had gone to many cities and sent many flyers. Many people had persuaded them to give up, but they had never done so because they firmly believed that they would definitely be able to find their son.

"After that, Mom received a call from the village secretary saying that Grandma couldn't hold on for much longer and asked her to go back quickly." Cai Yanzhen sighed heavily.

When Chen Chunni saw Chen Jing, she was so skinny that she was beyond recognition. Her legs were almost devoid of flesh, leaving only a piece of skin hanging on them.

Her uncle's wife had always disliked Chen Jing and was very harsh on her. She chased her to live in a dilapidated old house. After falling seriously ill, Chen Jing could no longer hold on.