Chapter 6 : “Haunted Soul Within Temple Halls I”

Arc 2 : "Righteous Worship Waits Hardships"

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Bu Chongyao began to work on the piece of wood, he finally said. "We need to build a boat." He pointed at the edge of the mountain. "After we're down building, we have to carry it down onto the shore and began swimming to the mountain." After he said those words, a piece of information was missing and Bu Chongyao just realized as he added. "We need to build paddles as well."

This was probably the most Bu Chongyao talked since they've met.

Yongyuan nodded as he rolled up the map and placed it in his sleeve. Yongyuan sighed a deep breath. A long day of building was ahead of them.

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As Yongyuan held the wooden planks tight in his arms, as he walked over to Bu Chongyao. Who was slamming down wooden planks after wooden planks, nailing it down like a coffin with a jagged, stone-cut rock from nearby. Hammering down with the rock like some makeshift homemade hammer, a substitute. There are moments in life where you won't actually have the actual item so you gotta make up, somehow..

For Bu Chongyao, it was a rock. Creative, not the best, but creative…

As Bu Chongyao kept hammering and nailing down onto the wood, Yongyuan dropped the wooden planks he held beside Bu Chongyao.

Yongyuan could only stare at Bu Chongyao. He knew that this plan would never work unless Jesus himself blessed them with a miracle from his hands and angels.

The handcrafted-like boat misshapen and deformed. It didn't even look like a boat at that point, it looked like piles of wood forced together like a hollow block of timber and logs. Held together with basically gum and elmers glue from the dollar store.

With gaps in between the wooden planks, open spaces for water to wash right it. It seemed like swimming across the damn ocean to get to the goddamn island seemed more possible then whatever this damn boat is.

The chances of survival with the swimming plan seemed more legit than using the fucking makeshift boat. Built with ripped-off wood and chewed up leafs, the substitute for nails.

Yongyuan could only watch and stare at Bu Chongyao, hammering down with the jagged, unevenly, chopped up piece of stone he found nearby his foot onto the make-do already-wrecked-enough ship. Beeds of sweat dripped down Bu Chongyao's face, his face was stone, indifferent. It was not until the short lived, slapdash of a boat was finish that the tiny curse of his lip started to form up into a small subtle smile. As if the donkey half-ass boat he created out of tree bark could be something to be proud of.

It was when Bu Chongyao took his attention off of the boat for a mere second was when it fell apart like dominos. Crumbling down as the pieces of the wooden boards hacked over each other.

Bu Chongyao face was crushed as he held the cut-up, toothed, rugged rock in his hand. The subtle joyful smile became joyless in the matter of seconds.

His eyes sorrow down as he turned to look up at Yongyuan. Scared to meet the same disappointment look on his face like everyone else's. Bu Chongyao clenched his teeth and mouth as he uttered muffled words and sounds. Trying to make an apology of some kind, but before Bu Chongyao could really actually say anything, Yongyuan knelt down next to him as he grabbed the pieces of wood together. He turned his head to look at Bu Chongyao who still held a shocked look.

"Bu Chongyao, stand up and empty everything you have." The shocked stare turned into a blank one, even when confused, Bu Chongyao stood up. His finger tug and dug into his robes, emptying everything he had as Bu Chongyao continued to move his fingers down into his pockets, emptying them as well.

Nothing came out, until Bu Chongyao reached up into his coat, pulling out a pocket knife. It was curved, almost looking bent. As he flashed it out Yongyuan could see that the tip of the blade was dull. With rust patches, like it was never cleaned in the months or even years Bu Chongyao had it.

Bu Chongyao reached his hand out towards Yongyuan, handing over the pocket knife while Yongyuan only nodded in response.

The wooden chopped down tree log that Bu Chongyao somehow managed to get, near the piles after piles of stripped timber planks was carved down into the shape of a boat. It didn't take minutes of course, it took hours of carving and chipping away the wood down into a solid shape of a ship. Yongyuan was a god,no, something not even a god could comprehend, a Primordial One. But that doesn't mean he can make fucking miracles happen in a damn finger snap.

After the hours of constant and endless nonstop work Yongyuan had to pull through. There stood in front of them a (actually workable) boat. Bu Chongyao stared in awe, he lowered his head, feeling ashamed for not being able to help in any way so far.

His eyes darkened as he slowly and lightly clenched his fist into a ball. Feeling anger towards himself until he felt a soft pat on his head. Bu Chongyao lifted his head up at a fast pace, yet it was subtle, turning up to see Yongyuan. A warm toned small smile on his face instead of the expecting dispointed or anger of some kind Bu Chongyao was used to.

Yongyuan lightly ruffled his hair as he softly spoke it. "Don't dwell on your thoughts. You did more than enough, Bu Chongyao."

Bu Chongyao 's face blushed into shades of red as he nodded timidly.

"Help me push down the boat." Yongyuan spoke softly again, as he handled Bu Chongyao's pocket knife over, pointing towards the side of the cliff where an opening could be seen.

Bu Chongyao void black-brown eyes glimmered a hint of determination, as if he saw this moment as an opportunity for redemption for not being able to build a boat with just wood and no nails or even a proper hammer.

Grabbing one side of the boat, Bu Chongyao pulled the front, dragging the boat along the dirt. When he got the boat to the very edge of the cliff, he ran down the hillside, sliding down like a surfer on waves.

Bu Chongyao stretched his arms out wide, his eyes were gleaming and beaming as he shook his head up and down. Confirming his confidence for Yongyuan to push the boat down. Yongyuan sighed as he raised his index finger and pushed the boat as lightly as he could. Sure he was basically a human, an Immortal Mortal, but that doesn't mean he didn't have a lot more natural strength compared to a human. Nevertheless a 14 year old.

Even with the little force Yongyuan converted through his finger the wooden curved boat came crashing down, sliding down the hill at 50 miles per hour.

It was gonna be more than damaging to the 14 year old teenager, not having a fast reaction reflex, Bu Chongyao was met with a (basically) crushed stomach, as he was the one coughing out a mouthful of blood.

As he laid there like a dead corpse, Bu Chongyao slowly started to sink in the sand of the beachy shore. The weight of the boat crushed him harder into the ground as Bu Chongyao could only wheeze out a singler cough.

By the next morning, he should be fine with his Micheal Myers healing cells or something.

Yongyuan walked down the cliff-like hill as the same hand that gently pressed the wooden canoe pushed the boat off the crushed teenager, 6ft deep into the sand.

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Sounds of calm flowing waves entered into the now conscious teengar, waking up in a hazy daze. Bu Chongyao could feel a sharp pain at the back of his neck but the pain was mostly around his stomach. It was piercing, still feeling the indent of the boat that stabbed him.

A silk black hair figure stood tall, rowing the boat while Bu Chongyao laid there unconscious for god knows how long. The boat shaked as Bu Chongyao got up, his head in a throbbing sensational pain. The ethereal like figure turned his head. His eyes were warm as Yongyuan's soothing-like voice spoke out.

"How's your stomach?" The warm-toned voice made it easy for Bu Chongyao to fix his focus. His hand grabbed the pierced area around his stomach, as Bu Chongyao coughed out, choking almost.

"It's okay. Don't worry too much Xiansheng. I had worse." Bu Chongyao choked on his own breath, coughing. Damn that boat really did something to his stomach. His arm reached out towards the paddle Yongyuan held in his hands.

"Xiansheng, you've done enough for me, let me pay you back." Was all Bu Chongyao said. As the paddle slid out of Yongyuan hands, now in Bu Chongyao's as he started to paddle to boat, his physical state was in no way to do repetitive work like paddling a boat yet Bu Chongyao pushed through. His bones crackled.

The boat halted as Bu Chongyao hacked up mouthfuls of blood. Sounds of bits and pieces of bone cracking and falling apart just by the air and gravity reached Yongyuan airs like a bolt of lightning as he rushed over to Bu Chongyao. Laying him down as he checked for any other injuries, internal or not.

The trees rustle against the winds, ringing in Yongyuan ears, the sound of birds chirping and giggling and echoing against nothing. The air becomes hard to breathe, becoming thinner and thinner at every moment that passed. Even if Yongyuan had a weak body compared to his past lifetime, he still had that inhumane-like resilience to things the human body would get weak of easily. Bu Chongyao collapsed all the way down, gasping for anything to hand on to, holding Yongyuan wrist for comfort of any kind. The air becomes thicker and harder to breathe as mist and fog clouded up the sky. Areas became even and patchy at every corner Yongyuan turned his eyes to. Appearing only in some parts in his limited field of vision. Drifting along the endless sea, Bu Chongyao held onto Yongyuan arm tight. Yongyuan grip was just as firm, afraid of losing Bu Chongyao at any moment, afraid that very tight hold will soon come loose.

The very own environment surrounding the two individuals seemed hostile towards them. Unwelcoming them, demanding for them to get out. Isolating them in the middle of the open sea, enclosing them in clouds of grey mist and eerily silence. As howls of crows from a place unreachable echoing.

What should've been a long journey at sea, turned into just a couple minutes. Time shifting around with Yongyuan or Bu Chongyao even noticing, the fog and mist mess his mind and sense of time.

The boat halted, making Yongyuan turn his head, taking his attention off of Bu Chongyao. They made it on to the island mountain, by drifting for god knows. Bu Chongyao coughs up and spits out a mouthful of blood, using all of his remaining strength, Bu Chongyao tries to get off the boat after all, that's why they even went on this journey. Yongyuan wraps his arm around Bu Chongyao, helping him off without Bu Chongyao hurting himself anymore.

Bu Chongyao falls down, getting a mouthful of sand and blood in his mouth. He spits it out, picking himself up, ignoring the pain of his own body deteriorating before him like a stubborn grandpa.

Even with his bones breaking and crushing each other inside, and limping like a wounded animal, Bu Chongyao still got up. Limping to the staircase surrounding the whole mountain in a spiral, chiseled out stairs, craved deep into the mountain with faint footprints on it. Cut clean, smoothed down like pure modest marble.

Running up the stairs like a runaway child trying to get up all the way up, with snacks in his hands from the bogeyman, sweat dripping down as Bu Chongyao wheezed and cough. Feeling two arms wrap under him as he felt being picked up in the air. Laying down his head on a shoulder with soft silk-like black hair. Veils surrounding a straw hat fall over Bu Chongyao head. Still in that haze, his eyes droop down half way down, in the corners of his eyes, Bu Chongyao could see the same pale snow-white skin, and black void eyes, engulfing thousands of stars inside.

The sound of stepping on solid marble-like stone curved stairs ring in Bu Chongyao's ear like a constant bell. As both Yongyuan and Bu Chongyao were walking up farther up the mountain staircase, built filled Bu Chongyao's heart. Throughout all of this, he only got that map for Yongyuan, everything else Yongyuan had to save him or do it for them. He hadn't done a single thing besides be dead weight for Yongyuan.

While looking down at the clean-cut stone edges of the mountain stairs, Bu Chongyao uttered in a shaky manner, his undertone filled with dishonor of some kind. "Xiansheng, you've done enough for me, let me pay you back." Bu Chongyao spoke out in a insisting way. Trying to get Yongyuan to stop carrying him, so he could actually help out Yongyuan like he said.

Yongyuan only shook his head, replying back. "You're in no state to be helping me. Carrying you is no burden."

Even when it was clear Bu Chongyao whole heartedly disagreed with this, he didn't want to argue with Yongyuan. Raising his head down, he just let Yongyuan carry them both all the way up the mountain. Feeling the warmth of the daying daylight on his skin. Staring at the warm tones of the setting sun, Bu Chongyao shrugged, turning his attentions back on Yongyuan.

It wasn't long until they made it all the way up. Reaching the top after days and weeks of journey. Standing in front of them was an ancient-looking Paifang [1]. The wooden pillars bounding the gateway together was crumbling apart, minutes away from really falling down. It was clear that this was probably built around the same time as the map as well, thanks to the ancient decaying look and vibe. The gateway was colored in a faded shade of red, decorated in Chinese calligraphy and the falling apart roof covered in broken colored tiles.

As Yongyuan stepped forward on the surface pathed dirt of the peak mountain, walking through the wooden broken down gateway, Bu Chongyao alerted him before he could fully step in. His grip and hold onto Yongyuan unconsciously getting tight as he warned.

"Xiangsheng. Everything everyone warned you about this mountain shouldn't be something to ignore. Once you got what you come for, we have to leave."

The word choice and tone were a direct message, a clear cut warning to Yongyuan. Yongyuan knew it was his willing choice to make it his journey so far to this "cursed" mountain, but he wasn't stupid to just ignore all the warnings everyone gave him. The red flags were in his face, screaming. Not ignoring it but rather taking it into deep caution, each move and choice he would make had to be calculated.

Yongyuan only nodded back to Bu Chongyao in response, but it was enough as an answer to Bu Chongyao. Walking deep into the forest that surrounded them.

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[1[-Paifang

A paifang, also known as a pailou, is a traditional style of Chinese architecture, often used in arch or gateway structures

Paifang or Pailou reflects people's life aspirations in feudal times, which usually can be read from inscriptions on the beams. It exhibits folk customs of ancient China. The sacred emotions of the ancient Chinese rested on Paifang too. Erecting a Paifang was a very solemn event.