Chapter 24: The Statue of the Broken-Horned Dragon God

"How should I know? I don't even believe in the Dragon God," Wu Sheng retorted unhappily.

Ji Huo nodded, walking thoughtfully toward the temple.

"Is that it?" Wu Sheng raised his voice a bit.

"Actually, I just hadn't seen an old friend in a long time and wanted to tease you," Ji Huo waved his hand casually.

"You damn..." Wu Sheng instantly snapped, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Give me back my wine!"

Ji Huo ignored him, swaying slightly as he carried the wine into the Dragon God Temple.

The top ten assassins in the world all kept their identities heavily guarded, either hiding deeply among the common folk or seeking seclusion in the wilderness where no one could ever find them. Only those with lower rankings wandered the Jianghu every day with their faces exposed, challenging anyone ranked higher just to make sure everyone knew they were in the assassination business.

Wu Sheng had originally been the number one assassin in the world, and no one could find him—not even the Qiankun Sect had any news of him. It wasn't until Ji Huo heard rumors that a master brewer of exceptionally good wine was hiding in the remote mountain corners of Chuanxi that he eagerly ran over to steal a drink.

And then... Wu Sheng became the second-ranked assassin and lost several jars of wine to boot.

After that, he moved away.

Ji Huo stepped into the Dragon God Temple. Unlike the noise and bustle outside, there were not many believers inside the temple. At this hour, most people were probably drinking and dancing around the bonfires. Such lively bonfire parties were held frequently and had become a local custom.

The main hall enshrined a tall stone statue with a dragon's head and a human body. It was impossible to tell how many years old it was, though it was presumably quite ancient. The statue was lifelike, resembling the legendary five-clawed dragon.

The right horn on the forehead of this Dragon God statue was broken off, which looked somewhat comical.

Ji Huo stared at the statue for a moment. He felt no sense of oppression from it at all. It was just a statue.

"Are you a kindred soul who has come to worship the Dragon God, young traveler?" A hoarse voice came from beside him.

Ji Huo turned his head and saw an elderly temple keeper walking slowly toward him. The years had left their marks on the man, who looked to be at least seventy or eighty years old, exuding an air of waning vitality.

The old temple keeper's eyes were cloudy, as if he were growing dim-sighted. Yet, there was an indescribable peace in his gaze, as though he had seen through the impermanence of the mortal world as time flowed by, and had learned to be content and find joy in tranquility.

"Old man, I'm just here for the first time out of curiosity, so I thought I'd come in and take a look," Ji Huo cupped his fists, smiling respectfully.

"I see," the old temple keeper chuckled. "Then feel free to look around as you please. Don't mind the formalities."

Ji Huo smiled and asked, "You aren't upset to hear that I don't believe in the Dragon God, old man?"

The old temple keeper smiled, turned around, took out three sticks of incense, lit them, bowed respectfully three times, and then inserted them into the incense burner.

"Belief is everyone's freedom; it cannot be forced."

Ji Huo laughed heartily and nodded. "That's very true."

He looked back at the statue and asked, "Old man, could you tell me the story of this Dragon God? I've never heard any legends about this Dragon God before."

"Gladly."

The old temple keeper walked over, sat down on a small wooden stool, and gestured to another small stool nearby.

Ji Huo sat down unceremoniously, looking like a schoolboy listening to a story.

"This Dragon God is a deity from ancient times who ruled over the seas and protected the land. Regardless of whether the fishermen believed in Him or not, whenever they encountered storms at sea, He would keep them safe."

The old temple keeper said with a smile:

"The worship of the Dragon God has always been limited to the seaside, and He never sought to expand His following; His believers were entirely fishermen. To be honest, they weren't even truly believers—it's just that many fishermen liked to come and pay their respects before heading out to sea. Over time, the habit was passed down and became a custom."

Ji Huo understood. Most of the other temples worshipped spirits, monsters, or evil entities that desperately tried to gather the power of faith. This Dragon God, however, felt much more detached and aloof, which explained why He had always remained obscure.

"Is this Dragon God responsive to prayers?" Ji Huo asked again.

He hadn't felt any sense of oppression from the statue. Theoretically, since he was now at the Grandmaster realm, he had a very strong resonance with such metaphysical matters. If this divine statue were truly spirited, he should have sensed it long ago.

"I wouldn't know," the old temple keeper looked at him, blinked, and smiled kindly.

"Huh?" Ji Huo's mouth opened slightly.

The old temple keeper chuckled, "Actually, I don't believe in the Dragon God either, nor do I know if prayers are answered. It's just that when I was a child, I was adopted by the temple keeper here. I've lived here for decades, outliving everyone else, and somehow I ended up becoming the temple keeper myself... The stories of the Dragon God I tell were just told to me as rural folk tales by the previous keeper."

"As for whether this Dragon God is efficacious, I have no idea. I've never been out to sea, so naturally, I've never been blessed by the Dragon God. I don't even know if I believe in Him myself. After all these years, it's just become a habit."

The old temple keeper blinked, let out a soft sigh, and smiled. "Young child, beliefs that are taken too seriously do not last long."

Ji Huo was enlightened, then smiled, cupped his fists and said, "You possess great wisdom, old man. I admire you."

The old temple keeper waved his hand, thought for a moment, and added, "Over the years, ordinary people have continually come to offer worship. I suppose prayers must be answered to some extent."

With that, he smiled and gestured toward the young men and women outside. "However, not *that* efficaciously."

"I've heard the prayers of many people. They throw down two or three taels of silver as incense money and pray that the Dragon God will turn it into tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Others want to trade two or three taels for a lifelong marriage, or just a passing romantic fling... That's simply making things too difficult for the Dragon God."

Ji Huo's mouth twitched slightly, then he let out a dry chuckle and nodded, "That's certainly true."

He asked again, "By the way, who is that middle-aged temple keeper at the entrance?"

"Ah, you mean little Wu? He's an orphan who grew up right here since he was a kid. Later, he went out into the world to make his way. In the past, he used to come back once a year. But in recent years, he hasn't gone out much, and even if he does, he returns very quickly," the old temple keeper said kindly. "Probably because he sees that I'm getting older and my health is failing, so he wants to spend more time keeping me company."

Ji Huo nodded thoughtfully.

"Little Wu is a talented person. It was he who somehow managed to get this osmanthus tree, and after that, the number of people coming to the temple suddenly increased. Sometimes, when I hear the hubbub outside, I find it quite interesting... At least it's not as desolate as it used to be," the old temple keeper said with a smile.

So that osmanthus tree was the work of that scoundrel Wu Sheng... Could the story of Cape Town also be a tourist attraction he specially crafted after reading the pulp fiction I wrote?

If I swindle a few more jars of wine from him based on this, it should be totally fine, right?

To be able to replicate the world of my novels to this extent, he must be a die-hard fan... Ji Huo muttered to himself inwardly.

After chatting with the old temple keeper for a while, Ji Huo felt it was about time to take his leave. Just as he was about to depart, a sudden curiosity struck him, and he asked:

"Old man, the horn on this Dragon God statue is broken. Why hasn't it been repaired?"

The old temple keeper shook his head and explained, "The Dragon God is meant to look this way."

"What?" Ji Huo was taken aback.

The old temple keeper looked at the standing statue and said softly, "I heard from the previous temple keeper, who heard it from the one before him... It's been passed down through God knows how many generations of keepers."

"According to legend, this continent was once completely barren, with very little moisture—less than a tenth of what we have now—making it difficult for living creatures to survive."

"The Dragon God took pity upon the land and broke off the horn from His own head, casting it down into the mortal world. The horn transformed into all the moisture of the world, giving the mortal realm streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. The moisture evaporated into the sky, condensed into rain, and fell back upon the earth once more, creating the cycle of water in the world."

"To ensure people would always remember the Dragon God's great merit, His likeness has ever since been depicted with this broken horn."