[The Orphan's Love Affair with a Beauty's Rivalry] (Volume 3, Chapter 171)

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Volume 3 ,

Chapter 171: The Shaman Temple.

On the third day, Xiao Fang told Wu Yue that he could no longer see him off, as they were now in

the territory of the Liaodong Jurchens. After a heartfelt farewell and exchanging wishes for good fortune, Xiao Fang reluctantly turned and left, walking very slowly.

These days with Wu Yue and Qing'er had given him not only the warmth of their compatriots but also a sense of respect—a

respect unheard of for slaves here.

Wu Yue and Qing'er continued their journey in the oxcart, but then he encountered a seemingly simple yet thorny problem.

The old ox was incredibly stubborn, almost as stubborn as Qing'er, and wouldn't listen to him.

Neither he nor Qing'er had driving experience, and they couldn't urge the ox to pull the cart northeast. Moreover, after Xiao Fang had gone only a short distance, the ox would turn around and follow him,

no matter how much Wu Yue whipped and scolded it. This stubborn ox seemed to have become quite familiar with Xiao Fang, sharing a deep bond.

Without the oxcart, he could barely move. He couldn't help but smile wryly at Xiao Fang, "Brother Fang, what should we do?"

Xiao Fang tried several times to sneak away when the old ox wasn't looking, but all his attempts failed. In desperation, he drove

the oxcart to the edge of a grove, wrapped the ox's head tightly with animal hide, and then tiptoed through the grove

to escape. A quarter of an hour later, Qing'er went down and led the ox by the nose eastward for a while before untying the cloth from its head.

The old ox turned its head and looked around, but couldn't find its master. It bellowed anxiously and refused to obey Qing'er's commands.

It ran around in circles nearby, seemingly trying to find its master, which made Wu Yue's broken leg ache terribly!

After more than a quarter of an hour, the old ox was tired and still couldn't find Xiao Fang. It stopped dejectedly, hanging its head in

the spot looking very sad. Its big eyes were red and moist.

Wu Yue was both amused and exasperated. Looking at Qing'er and then at the old ox, she concluded, "Have you noticed that whenever you

glare ,

your eyes almost match the ox's?" She indeed glared, "At a time like this, you still have the mind to ridicule me? Getting the old ox to walk is

the most important !"

Wu Yue carefully compared the eyes and confirmed that they weren't much smaller. No wonder she and the old ox were equally stubborn.

It was certainly a good thing that the old ox stopped running around, but getting it to walk again was a struggle. Heartbroken, it

seemed to have given up entirely, refusing to budge

an inch .

After a full half-hour struggle between man and ox, the initial sadness of losing its master subsided, and the old ox's daily

work instincts gradually took over, finally allowing it to pull the broken cart northeastward. It was good that the ox was willing to move

, but its speed and direction were entirely up to it. Wuyue and Qing'er could only

manage to stay on the general path, and the winding, diagonal route was quite awkward.

The trouble didn't end there. The old ox was unpredictable, ignoring the main road and venturing into

overgrown desolate areas, making it difficult for Wuyue to find his way. Especially after sunset, before the stars and moon had risen,

after more winding and turning, he lost his bearings and had to stop the cart, afraid to go any further. A

night wind picked up, and Qing'er huddled in his arms, shivering from the cold. He, too, couldn't help but chatter. He had

Qing'er get off the cart and lit a campfire, preparing to spend the night there. As the light dimmed, the old ox suddenly began to moo uneasily, cautiously

surveying its surroundings, stamping its hooves and snorting restlessly.

He gazed at the vast, gray, indistinct plain, a sense of unease rising within him. Judging from the old ox's behavior,

were ?

With a long, mournful howl, a pack of wolves gradually gathered around. In the fading light of the setting sun,

a stroll leisurely past from a distance of ten feet, seemingly lazy, but actually carefully observing its prey, calculating whether

and how to attack.

These forest wolves were larger and more ferocious than the grassland wolves he had encountered in the Hungry Wolf Valley. Each had a black back and

bear-like body, their eyes gleaming with a sinister green light, occasionally glancing up at him. Qing'er, who was gathering firewood, was terrified and quickly scrambled onto

the oxcart, shrinking into his arms, too afraid to move. She had witnessed the terror of wolves in the Hungry Wolf Valley, which often gave her

nightmares !

Being surrounded by wolves in the dark wilderness was tantamount to certain death. Wuyue had no choice but to urge the old ox to gallop

. The wolves followed at a leisurely pace, and after running a few arrow-lengths, they gradually approached the oxcart and began their

attack !

He drew his scimitar, bracing himself for danger, his left arm firmly around Qing'er, ready to slay any wolves that dared to leap onto the oxcart.

But the wolves didn't attack him and Qing'er; instead, they focused on the old ox, occasionally pouncing on its side and tearing at its

belly. He knew that if the ox fell, even if the wolves stopped attacking him and Qing'er after

they were full, how would he continue on his way with his weakened legs?

With Qing'er's help, he laboriously mounted the ox's back, wielding his scimitar to slash and hack, protecting the ox from the wolves

. After being bitten a few times on its hindquarters, the ox, in pain, bucked and charged, and

a chase ensued across the plains. Because of Wuyue's sharp blade, after felling several wolves, the pack dared not press too hard, continuing their

pursuit as if testing his endurance.

Lost and disoriented, they ran for what seemed like an eternity until they reached the edge of a vast forest. The old ox, exhausted and

panting heavily, was growing impatient when Qing'er exclaimed excitedly from behind, "Young master, look! There's a temple over there!"

She pointed to the right.

He looked up and, in the dim light of the night, saw a corner of a temple's eaves peeking out from among the branches at the edge of the forest. His spirits lifted,

and he spurred the ox towards it. Perhaps the old ox, having learned the importance of teamwork in times of trouble, or perhaps grateful for Wuyue

's protection, became unusually obedient. With its remaining strength, it ran for a while, and gradually

the outline .

At the temple gate, he stood on one foot, brandishing his knife to fend off the wolves that kept attacking. Together with Qing'er, they unloaded

the cart shaft, and, supporting the ox's head, Qing'er led it into the temple. She quickly turned back to close and bolt the gate.

The two of them collapsed to the ground with two thuds, panting heavily, ignoring the howling wolves outside.

Wuyue surveyed his surroundings. The temple faced south and stood tall and majestic. He and Qing'er were in a south-facing

courtyard , covering about ten acres. The temple was separated from the rolling coniferous forest by a rammed earth wall more than ten feet high.

Due to long-term neglect, it was unclear whether birds had spread their seeds or the forest had seeped in from the ground through the spread of its roots

. Sparse pine trees were scattered in the courtyard, their branches and leaves covered with ice and snow, blending seamlessly with

the white snowfield.

As his strength gradually returned, Qing'er helped him climb more than ten steps, pushed open the two mottled and

rotten , and entered the temple's main hall. She let the old ox dig through the thick snow by the courtyard wall and nibble on the sparse

weeds.

Night deepened, and Qing'er lit a dry branch as a torch. Even in the firelight, the spacious hall still seemed eerie. In the enormous shrine

directly opposite the entrance, a tall, majestic bronze statue stood proudly, its head adorned with a pair of

antlers. Between the antlers perched a majestic eagle, its wings outstretched, gazing straight ahead. A sun-

shaped mirror was inlaid on the statue's chest, and a cuckoo perched on each shoulder, seemingly male and female. The statue held a giant axe in its right hand and a

longbow in the other, as if hunting, its eyes wide open in fury, its jaws agape, as if about to unleash a thunderous roar!

In front of the shrine stands a large incense burner for burning incense and worshipping. Judging from the ash inside, it seems that no

believers have come to worship for many years.

Qing'er, supporting his body, trembled and leaned into his arms, saying, "This statue looks so frightening! Why

is it different from the statues I usually see in dilapidated temples?"

Having served his wife for a long time, he had a shaman high priest from his homeland to support in the household, and

thus knew a little about the shaman gods worshipped in her hometown. He explained to her, "This is a temple where the Jurchens worship their shaman gods, which is naturally very different from the Taoist and Buddhist temples

in the Central Plains They believe that heaven, earth, and man communicate through the breath of the soul. This is

the sun god, who holds a high position in the shamans, so it naturally appears imposing."

He looked to his left, where a slightly smaller shrine housed a stone statue of a goddess with a mysterious smile.

The head the face was clear, and the eyebrows were visible. She sat cross-legged in the shrine, seemingly taking a deep breath and performing a ritual with her breath

. She wore a jade horseshoe-shaped headband and a pair of white jade pig-dragons on her chest.

On the right, in a similarly sized shrine, was a goddess with a bare upper body, plump and

rounded with nine enormous breasts. Seeing the confusion in Qing'er's eyes, he explained, "This should be the shamanic

earth mother goddess, Nine-Breasted Mother. She symbolizes the vast and fertile earth and the chastity of women. The nine breasts symbolize

the earth 's nourishment of humankind."

Qing'er asked curiously, "Can a woman's breasts grow that big? Why don't I have any?"

Despite his awkward situation, Wuyue was amused by her childish words and chuckled, "You're still so young,

you haven't even started developing yet! Hehe~ Besides, adult women can't grow up like that. To express

their reverence for Mother Earth, the Jurchens deliberately exaggerated the goddess statues, understand?" Qing'er

nodded, seemingly understanding, then asked, "How does Young Master know what an adult woman's breasts look like?

Have you seen them?"

Wu Yue hesitated, then smiled awkwardly, patting her head and saying, "Uh... I've seen them occasionally... Hey...

Why are you asking this, you little kid!"

Supported by Qing'er, the two walked around the spacious hall, already a bit out of breath. Seeing

a small door to the right behind the sun god statue, presumably leading to the back hall, they said, "Let's go to the back to rest,

so we don't get disturbed by the howling wolves."

Before entering, Qing'er looked at the smiling goddess statue and asked, "Young Master,

what kind of deity is this goddess?"

Wu Yue shook his head, saying, "I don't know either. I haven't heard the high priest of the manor mention her. I'm wondering about that.

"

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