After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

Chapter 236 Strange Statues (Part 1)

With the moonlight thin and dark clouds looming overhead, the Niangniang Temple standing by the river resembled the open mouth of a giant beast.

Holding a lantern, she stepped into the cold, eerie temple. The temple was gloomy and filled with various unpleasant odors. Lu Zhiyuan closed her eyes, trying to distinguish the smells with her nose.

Despite the illness affecting her five senses, she still used her extensive experience to distinguish the foul smell of river water, the scent of burnt incense and candles, the stench of rotting animals, and the strong smell of blood from the various odors. Among these smells was also a very peculiar scent of hallucinogenic herbs.

In special circumstances, hallucinogenic herbs can be used as an alternative to anesthetic. Unlike anesthetic, however, hallucinogenic herbs are toxic and must be used precisely. Too much will render someone mentally impaired, while too little will induce a state of painless euphoria, making them uncooperative with treatment and potentially causing harm.

The first time she used the hallucinogenic herb was at the assassin training camp, when she and Ye Fan were left to fend for themselves in the primeval forest. Ye Fan was injured and needed stitches, and without anesthetic, they had to use the hallucinogenic herb. The herb was originally meant to deal with the animals in the primeval forest, but it ended up being used on Ye Fan. Because there wasn't enough, Ye Fan became extremely excited. Have you ever seen someone stitch up their own arm?

She was biting her arm, head down, eyes bright, a distorted smile still playing on her lips, as she pierced her own flesh with a needle. It was fortunate she was a former assassin; an ordinary person would have been terrified.

The scent of the hallucinogenic herb in the temple was fresh, proving that it had been used recently.

He turned his head and looked at the guard standing at the temple gate.

The guard looked down at his toes, lost in thought.

Noticing Lu Zhiyuan's gaze, he looked up with a puzzled expression. Their eyes met, and he suddenly shuddered.

"What would you like to ask, Madam?"

“Little girl, you said there was a little girl carrying something outside this temple when the riot happened.”

"Yes, there was a little girl, holding something dark and indistinct." The guard gestured. "Today is the annual Lantern Festival in Chunfeng Town. Unlike other places where lanterns are released for blessings, the lanterns in Chunfeng Town are used to guide the way and appease the souls of the dead. At the time of the incident, many lanterns were floating on the river, casting shadows on the temple. A little girl, with her hair in a bun, was sitting at the temple entrance, holding that thing. She looked like she had gotten separated from her family."

"The giant shadow you're talking about is..."

"The goddess in the temple is Miss He's ghost, who floated up from the river and enveloped the entire temple."

"How do you know that's Miss He's ghost? Anyone who has seen her and remembers her is at least fifty years old, while you're only in your twenties. Did you hear it from someone else?"

"Although I have never met Miss He, I have seen the statue of the goddess in the temple. That dark figure looks exactly like the statue in the temple. And that little girl, when the dark figure appeared, someone called to her and told her to leave quickly, but she didn't move, as if she had been stunned."

That matches up; the little girl's unusual behavior must be related to the hallucinogenic herb.

Ghosts don't need to use hallucinogenic herbs; those who use them are people with ulterior motives.

Seeing the guard glancing at his feet every now and then, Lu Zhiyuan gave Lu Yun a look. Seeing Lu Yun walk towards the door, the guard took two steps back, still staring at the ground. There was a patch of blood on the ground that hadn't yet congealed, with some hair still stuck to it.

Lu Yun used a handkerchief to collect the bloodstains and hair, then brought it to Lu Zhiyuan.

"The blood was still sticky and warm to the touch. The fur was stiff and smelled like a rat, so it was from a rat."

Lu Zhiyuan looked at the guard: "What clothes was that little girl wearing? What did she look like? If we saw her again, would we be able to recognize her at a glance?"

"The clothes were patched up. The candlelight on the lantern was too dim to see the color clearly. I only remember that the patch on the front was the largest and the color was very light. It should be gray or white cloth. She looked... I can't describe it, but I'm sure she'll recognize me if I see her again."

The guard rubbed his hands together: "Spring Breeze Town isn't big, finding someone isn't difficult. I'm willing to help Madam find that little girl."

Lu Zhiyuan nodded and told him to take the person to the inn after he found her. However, considering the little girl and the rumors about the Black Goddess in Chunfeng Town, she changed her mind and told him to bring a message back after he found her.

Seeing the guards leave, Liu Ying asked, "Is there something strange about this Black Lady Temple? Did Madam notice anything?"

"I didn't see anything, but I have a bad feeling that this sacrificial ceremony is not so simple." Looking up at the statue of the Black Goddess, a bolt of lightning flashed, and a strong wind suddenly rose outside the temple gate, blowing the things in their hands all over the place.

"close the door!"

The moment the wind blew in, the Crown Prince pulled Lu Zhiyuan into his arms. Lu Zhiyuan stood on tiptoe and whispered in the Crown Prince's ear, "If this wind keeps blowing, all the lanterns will go out."

Before she finished speaking, the firelight on the firefly's side brightened considerably. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the lantern had been blown apart by the wind, and the candle inside had tilted and set her sleeve on fire. Without thinking, Lu Yun used his sword to pry open her clothes and flung the burning garment onto the statue of the goddess.

As the firelight grew stronger, they were able to see the Black Lady's appearance clearly.

In other temples, the deities all have kind and benevolent faces, but in this Black Goddess Temple, the goddess has disheveled hair and closed eyes. Not only that, her clothes are also in disarray, with half a fish head vaguely visible from her collar. Looking at her neck, one half is intact, while the other half looks like it has been gnawed off by something.

I couldn't see it clearly before and thought the scar on the neck was a shadow. But by the light of this fire, I can see that it is neither a shadow nor a bite mark. It was made that way on that side of the neck when the statue of the goddess was made.

Not only the neck, but also the hands of the statue—her other hand was sculpted into the shape of a skull, making it even more terrifying in this gloomy temple.

"It's not clay, it's wood. Wood doesn't burn when exposed to fire, could it be related to these black things?" The prince reached out and touched the table at the feet of the statue. The tabletop was black, looking the same as the statue.

The spot where his fingertip touched was sticky, and when he held it to his nose, it had a strong, foul odor. He figured the stain on the statue was the source of that strange smell. The prince took out his dagger and scraped the table surface, scraping off a thick layer of something that smelled fishy and pungent, the nature of which he couldn't identify.

Lu Zhiyuan frowned and asked the Crown Prince, "Has Your Highness ever seen pond mud?"

The prince was stunned: "What is pond mud? Mud made of sugar?"

“It’s not mud made of sugar, but silt from the pond,” Lu Zhiyuan explained. “Ponds can raise fish and grow flowers. As flowers bloom and wither, fish are born and die, sinking to the bottom of the pond and turning into silt. The mud in the pond is different from the yellow mud in the ground. Because it has been submerged for many years, it is fishy, ​​sticky, and smelly. For some unknown reason, when they built this temple to the goddess, they not only used silt to build the walls, but also smeared it on the statue.”

"I know!" Liu Ying raised her hand gracefully: "Master, Madam, this servant knows."