Volume One, Chapter Twenty-Six: The Temple of Sun and Moon Demons

Sure enough, as they made their way through the valley and approached its mouth, a humble Daoist temple appeared on the hillside.

“That’s it! The Sun and Moon Temple!” the woodcutter hastily pointed.

“Uncle, thank you so much!” Jin Guishan quickly clasped his hands and bowed in gratitude.

“No need, no need! I’ll head home then!” The woodcutter nodded and turned to walk out of the valley. In the distance, curling smoke rose from a cluster of village houses.

“Take care!” Only after the woodcutter’s figure vanished did Jin Guishan lead the group up the slope.

As they approached the temple gate, two weeping willows flanked the entrance, and above the door was a plaque inscribed with three golden characters: “Sun and Moon Temple.” Jin Guishan glanced at Chubby Girl, who immediately stepped forward to knock. In a short while, footsteps could be heard from within, then the door cracked open, and a delicate-looking young Daoist nun poked her head out. “Benefactors, what brings you here?”

“Honored Daoist, we are travelers who lost our way. Night is falling, and we wish to request shelter for the night, if that would be possible?” Hong Peng quickly stepped forward, his Daoist robes lessening any suspicion.

The young nun surveyed him briefly, said nothing, and then peeked at those standing behind him.

“Please wait here!” she said, closing the door with a thud.

The group exchanged uncertain glances, left waiting at the threshold. Time passed without a sound. Hanyu, growing impatient, muttered, “Whether yes or no, they ought to reply!” She was about to knock again when Chubby Girl pulled her back. “Let’s wait a bit longer.” “Wait for what… hey?” Suddenly, Hanyu noticed a red-billed sparrow perched on the wall. She wasn’t sure when it had arrived but felt she’d seen it somewhere before. As she leaned in for a closer look, the bird fluttered away.

Just then, footsteps sounded inside, and with a creak, the temple gate opened. The young nun reappeared, followed by two others. “Brother Daoist, I asked my teacher. She says it’s possible, but since there are so many of you, and several men among you, we can only let you stay in the storage room at the front for the night. Will you accept?”

“Of course, we’re most grateful!” Hong Peng nodded eagerly; it was far better than sleeping in the wild.

“Good! Follow me, please.” The nun turned and led them into the temple.

Through the gate was the main hall with “Hall of the Three Pure Ones” calligraphed above the door. Beyond stood more courtyards, hinting at a three-tiered compound. A side room on the west side was brightly lit—their lodging for the night, as the nun led them straight there.

“This is it. Make yourselves as comfortable as you can,” she said apologetically. The room was piled with miscellaneous items, leaving just enough floor for them to sit.

“We’re deeply grateful! Thank you, Miss… I mean, Daoist!” Hong Peng bowed. The nun smiled, “You must be hungry. I’ll fetch you something to eat.”

“No need—” Hong Peng began, but she had already turned and left. Yibing and Chubby Girl immediately beamed with delight.

“Those two gluttons…” Meiniang winked at Hanyu, who nodded in agreement.

Soon, the nun returned with a basket of vegetarian buns, a gift from villagers earlier in the day. Yibing, dizzy with hunger, rushed over first, with Chubby Girl close behind. Hongkun and Jin Guishan exchanged embarrassed smiles.

“Hey… not even a thank you? That’s just rude…” Unexpectedly, Hanyu dashed over, snatching the buns from right under their noses.

“Oh! Thank you!” the two chubby ones called in unison.

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome!” the nun laughed, retreating.

“Is that enough?” Yibing stared longingly at the buns in Hanyu’s hands, nearly drooling.

“Enough for what? Our senior brother hasn’t eaten yet!” Hanyu, keeping an eye on the door, borrowed Meiniang’s silver hairpin and skewered each bun one by one. Hongkun couldn’t help but admire her caution—this little sprite was more thoughtful than the rest of them.

“Is something wrong?” Chubby Girl asked curiously.

“Doesn’t seem like anything’s wrong… but…” Hanyu glanced at Meiniang. Meiniang scratched her head, saying nothing; she hadn’t sensed anything odd, either.

Still unconvinced, Hanyu scrutinized the buns, finally breaking one open and sniffing it. She handed it to Yibing, who swallowed it in one gulp. As he devoured three more, the others rushed in, devouring the rest ravenously.

“No problem! Don’t worry!” Meiniang reassured Hanyu, who then hesitantly took a bite.

After finishing, they quickly tidied up. Using a coil of straw rope as a boundary, the men slept on one side, the women on the other. Though they had only the hard floor, hearing the wild wind howl outside, they felt secretly relieved.

“Think they’ll give us porridge in the morning?” Yibing grumbled, leaning against the wall—the buns were hardly enough.

“If not, we’ll just go eat in the village!” Chubby Girl called from the other side of the rope.

“Sleep! Let’s sleep!” Jin Guishan and Hongkun called out in unison.

Instantly, the room fell silent—so quiet, a pin drop would echo.

“Giggle… giggle…” Suddenly, Hanyu’s laughter broke out.

In the darkness, Hongkun pinched his thigh, while the others stifled their laughter with hands or gritted teeth.

“Hmph?” Laughing to tears, Hanyu thought she saw a bird pass by the window. With the wild wind outside, she figured she must have been mistaken.

After chasing for more than ten miles, Yibing finally spotted the little white rabbit. His eyes nearly popped with excitement as he reached for it, but the rabbit suddenly turned, “You fat fool! Trying to harm me again?” “Hanyu?!” It was Hanyu! Yibing jolted awake in terror.

“No… no…” he shook his head desperately.

“Fat fool! What do you mean, no? We’re tied up and you’re still sleeping!” Clearly Hanyu’s voice, but he couldn’t see her, only hear. He realized his face was pressed to the ground—he’d been trussed up like a bound animal. Turning his belly, he finally saw the tightly bound Hanyu, and the others in the same predicament!

“So the rope was really snakes!” Meiniang said in frustration.

“Ah!” Yibing bounced up in fright, making the whole room shake.

“What are you yelling for? A grown man with such a weak heart! They won’t bite you!” Meiniang scolded, giving him a kick, which spun him around again.

At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside. The first to enter was the nun who had opened the door earlier, holding a lantern and looking around. “Heh! Thought it was a pig being slaughtered!” The others burst into cackling laughter.

“Little devils, let us go!” Meiniang glared.

“Old hag! Not a chance!” The nun even stuck out her tongue.

“Old—” Meiniang was nearly beside herself with rage.

“Who are you, really?” Hongkun scrutinized the nuns.

“Heh… looking so closely, still can’t tell?” The nun casually lifted her robe, revealing smooth white legs, making Hongkun quickly avert his eyes.

“Shameless! Wait till I get out…” Biyi blushed and spat.

“And then what?” The nun leaned in, frowning, “Shall I strip you and let them see where you’re from… Ah!” She suddenly yelped—Yibing had rolled over and bitten her ankle.

“Fat brute, are you a dog?!” The nuns ganged up and began kicking him.

“I’ll fight you all!” Before the words left her mouth, Chubby Girl rolled over like a millstone, sending the nuns tumbling.

“Ha! Fat recognizes fat!” The nuns kicked Chubby Girl in retaliation.

“All right, enough! It’s late, we’ll settle with them later,” the lead nun called, checking her ankle and grinning at Yibing, “Fatty, I’ll have to harvest you!”

Then, the nuns blindfolded everyone. What happened next could only be guessed by feel. They were dragged and hauled onto a cart, while the nuns grumbled at Yibing and Chubby Girl, making Hongkun and Hongpeng feel a bit better.

A bumpy ride followed—up, down, jostling for the time it took incense to burn. The nuns rolled them off the cart, dragging them into a gloomy place.

“This feels like a dungeon!” Once the nuns left, Hanyu sniffed the air. Used to underground spaces, she was almost certain.

“It does,” Meiniang agreed.

“So this is the Echoing Cave!” Hongkun, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Echo… Sun and Moon… Oh!” Jin Guishan stamped his foot.

“Brother, what is it?” Qi Yuanxiao asked, baffled.

“Don’t you get it? The word ‘Echo’ has a ‘moon’ in it, and ‘Sound’ has a ‘sun’—Sun and Moon Temple, Echoing Cave!” Hanyu couldn’t help but interject.

“I never would’ve guessed! Not a single hint…” Meiniang trailed off; everyone knew she was referring to the lack of demonic aura. For cultivators like them, none had noticed a thing.

“We need to find a way to untie these ropes! I tried the unraveling spell, but it didn’t work,” Hongpeng said, disappointed.

“They’re living creatures—it wouldn’t work!” Hanyu muttered, “Hey… Meiniang, can’t you collect their essence?”

“Collect what, when we’re all tied up?” Meiniang snapped.

Their discussion led nowhere, and, still blindfolded, they gradually dozed off. But then, a sudden sneeze echoed in the dungeon—soft, yet thunderous. They all snapped awake. That damned turtle spirit!

“Turtle Brother, hurry and save us!” Yibing cried out.

“Keep it down! Where is this place? I was sleeping soundly, then froze awake. Hey, you lot…” The spirit turtle slowly crawled from Yibing’s arms and snatched the blindfold from his eyes.

“I don’t know either! Last night, snake-ropes tied us up in our sleep!”

“Snakes? Pfft!” The turtle rolled its eyes.

“Yes! We can’t break free—do you have any ideas?” Yibing asked urgently.

“Looks like even the turtle is stumped…” Hanyu sighed, though she sensed the turtle had a trick up its sleeve.

“Spirit Turtle! Spirit Turtle!” The turtle’s eyes bulged even larger.

“Pfft! If you really can free us, I’ll call you Spirit Turtle forever!” Hanyu said with disdain.

“Really?” The turtle’s neck suddenly stretched two meters, bringing its face nose-to-nose with Hanyu.

“Hey! Back off! Back off!” The turtle’s breath fanned her face. “Really! Absolutely!”

“Hmph!” The turtle snorted, then pecked at each snake in a flurry; in an instant, they all collapsed to the ground, curling into inert coils.

“Wow! Truly a Spirit Turtle!” Hanyu tore off her blindfold and jumped up. The turtle shivered with joy.

“Keep your voices down!” Hongkun whispered. “Don’t let them hear—let’s catch them off guard!” For once, Hanyu didn’t retort, only frowned.

It really was a dungeon. By the light of a few oil lamps, they searched the space. Other than the stairway and barred door, there was no exit. Jin Guishan tried the door with his strength—it didn’t budge. Hongkun tried a spell; nothing happened.

“We can’t use magic here—no way to earthwalk out!” Hongkun said, dejected.

“It was the same in the Guiyuan Cave!” Jin Guishan suddenly recalled that night’s ordeal.

“Brother, this demon is no simple thing,” Hongpeng frowned.

“We’ll have to be patient—pretend we’re still tied up. When they come to fetch us, we’ll break out together!” Hongkun looked at Jin Guishan.

“That’s all we can do.” Jin Guishan nodded, picking up a black snake from the ground and draping it loosely over himself.

“Are these snakes dead?” Chubby Girl asked nervously.

“No. Should I bring them back to life?” The turtle perked up.

“No, no!” Chubby Girl waved her hands frantically, and the turtle looked crestfallen.