402: Chapter 402 The Duel

Zhou Jianjun thought for a moment and shook his head. "No. Because of the construction, the village has suspended receiving tourists, so there hasn't been anyone besides the locals during this period. Moreover, the villagers are working here every day; if there really were outsiders, they would have noticed immediately. But I haven't heard anyone mention anything."

Han Jingyang sighed. "You'd better ask around thoroughly."

Zhou Jianjun's expression changed drastically. "Is the situation that serious?"

"It's quite serious. If we can't find the thief, there's no point in building this temple anymore."

"A thief?"

"Yes. Someone stole the 'spirit' of this old elm tree."

"A spirit?"

"You can simply understand it as a deity—a soul born from vegetation by a stroke of luck. Although rare, they possess certain divine powers from birth and are extremely precious. Now that the soul has been stolen, it's uncertain how much longer this tree can live. Naturally, building this temple would be useless."

Zhou Jianjun blurted out a curse and pulled out his phone, sending several voice messages to the village group chat in succession: "Everyone in the village, think back carefully. Have you seen any outsiders or strangers near the Great Elm Tree over the past few days?"

"Hurry up! Everyone, drop what you're doing and think hard. Any suspicious clues must be provided immediately."

"Even if it's an acquaintance or even someone from our own village—as long as they are suspected of being involved with the Great Elm Tree, speak up."

"There will be a reward for accurate information, starting at a hundred thousand yuan."

"Don't dawdle."

Soon, Zhou Jianjun began receiving various replies one after another.

Zhou Jianjun brought his phone over to Han Jingyang. "Brother, take a look. Which clue do you think is valuable? I'll personally go find the person."

Han Jingyang stared at the rapidly scrolling messages and suddenly pressed his finger on one of them. "Does someone from the neighboring village count?"

The neighboring village was, naturally, Xipo Village.

Han Jingyang pointed at this message. "Find this person and ask about the situation."

Zhou Jianjun's expression turned even more unsightly. "Is it the people from Xipo playing tricks?"

"I'm not sure, but the possibility is not small."

"Dammit! If it's true, I'm not done with them. Do they really think our Dongpo Village is easy to bully?"

"Let's get the facts straight first."

"Alright."

Soon, a middle-aged man in his fifties arrived. "Jianjun, and Mr. Han, what's going on?"

Han Jingyang waved his hand. "Let's get down to business. What's the situation with the person from the neighboring village you mentioned? Have you seen people from the neighboring village here?"

The middle-aged man nodded and then shook his head. "I've seen them, but not here."

"Where?"

"Over by the reservoir. I was on duty three nights ago with Little Liu. In the middle of the night, we saw some blurry figures. When we shone our flashlights, it was Huang Jianshe from Xipo Village and their Militia Captain, Liu Cheng."

"And then?"

"I asked them what they were doing. They said they were going to take care of some business and just happened to pass by, so they came to see how the construction was going."

"And after that?"

"They watched for a while and then went back."

"What was the specific time?"

"Around two in the morning, definitely past two-thirty."

Han Jingyang sighed inwardly.

Damn it, Xipo Village was such a tiny place, yet it hid so many secrets—one after another, never-ending.

It was truly a headache.

Moreover, Xipo Village had always been quite eerie. Even Great Monk Kongyun was quite interested and had invited him to explore it together; it was only because he was truly busy that they hadn't taken action yet.

Otherwise, he would have turned Xipo Village upside down long ago.

Now it was time for a final showdown.

Zhou Jianjun asked tentatively, "Brother, can you be sure now?"

Han Jingyang waved his hand. "You don't need to worry about this; leave it to me to handle. Whether I succeed or not, I'll give you an answer. For now, stop the construction work on this side."

"Stop all of it?"

"Just this..." Han Jingyang started to say, then suddenly changed his mind. "Wait, I'll adjust things for you. Once I've adjusted them, continue construction as fast as possible. Build the temple quickly. Once it's built, we'll perform a proper deity-invitation ritual; we might even turn this misfortune into a blessing."

"Ah? Good, good, that's great."

"Of course, there's a prerequisite: we must find the stolen deity. If we can't find it, then forget everything else."

"Alright, just do your best, Brother."

Han Jingyang nodded, reached into the black luggage bag Yang Jinyuan was carrying, and pulled out twelve peach wood nails.

These peach wood nails were something he had commissioned experts to craft carefully.

The design was simple: four-sided wooden nails with a groove at the end for tying a red cloth.

However, the dimensions of the nails were almost identical.

Holding his compass and the peach wood nails, he began to wander around, driving a nail into the ground every few steps.

Liu Jing followed and helped, striking the end of each peach wood nail with her palm. With one strike, it sank half a foot into the ground; with another, the eighty-one-centimeter nail was buried, leaving only a strip of red cloth visible.

They drove in twelve nails in total.

Han Jingyang nodded with satisfaction. "Construction can resume normally tomorrow, but be careful—you must avoid these twelve peach wood nails at all costs, or something terrible will happen. You'd better find a few people to specifically watch this area, just in case."

After saying that, he turned and left directly, driving back to Jiguang Zhai.

Shi Xiaoya was very puzzled. "We're not going to Xipo Village?"

"We are, but not right now," Han Jingyang sighed. "I promised Great Monk Kongyun last time that we would explore Xipo Village together. It wouldn't be right to break my word, so I should notify the Great Monk. Besides, I need to make some preparations."

"Make preparations?"

"Yes."

"I've rarely seen you prepare before; you usually just charge in. Does this mean Xipo Village is very dangerous?"

Han Jingyang nodded. "It's more than just dangerous."

Shi Xiaoya asked in a low voice, "Is it Huang Jianshe or that Liu Cheng?"

"I'm not sure. That's the main reason I want to prepare and bring Great Monk Kongyun along. I don't know the enemy's background or even their identity. If it were just Huang Jianshe and Liu Cheng, it would be simple—I could capture them easily. But I've always suspected that Xipo Village has a bigger boss."

"Should we scout the situation first before deciding?"

"No need," Han Jingyang patted the precious sword in his hand. "With my current strength, I can hold my own even against a powerful enemy. Preparing in advance is just to minimize losses and maximize gains. If the losses are too great, it won't be worth it. If I work for nothing and the gains don't cover the costs, then what's the point, right?"

"Then I'm relieved," Shi Xiaoya let out a sigh of relief. "I was afraid you were getting overconfident, thinking you were the best in the world."

"Hahaha, I'm not that kind of person."

Liu Jing nodded heavily. "The boss isn't that kind of person."

Returning to Jiguang Zhai.

Han Jingyang called Monk Kongyun directly. "Great Monk, do you remember the matter of Xipo Village?"

"Mr. Han, are you ready to explore?"

"Yes. Shall we set a time?"

"This..." Monk Kongyun sighed. "Mr. Han, I'm truly sorry, but I really can't get away right now. Thousand Buddha Mountain and Xingguo Zen Temple are facing a life-or-death crisis. How could I possibly leave the mountain? I will die on Thousand Buddha Mountain; I will die at Xingguo Zen Temple. If I am lucky enough to win, then we can discuss the Dao together."

Han Jingyang was silent for a moment. "Great Monk, you're being sentimental, aren't you? You're quietly using reverse psychology on me to get me to help you."

Monk Kongyun laughed heartily. "I've been found out by Mr. Han; it's quite embarrassing. However, I'll say it again: I sincerely hope Mr. Han can lend Thousand Buddha Mountain a hand. I won't talk about national grievances or justice and morality; I'll only talk about the price. Mr. Han, if we are lucky enough to hold Thousand Buddha Mountain, you can take your pick of any dharma instrument, large or small, in Xingguo Zen Temple."