Ye Weiguo was dead. He was chopped in half, and his blood had splashed everywhere. His intestines littered the bed, dripping blood to the ground.

It must have been done by Guan Yu. Except for him, no one could commit such a horrible crime. I guessed Ye Weiguo was able to let out a scream because his bulletproof vest had resisted the blade for a while. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a chance to scream.

I didn’t know why Guan Yu wanted to kill Ye Weiguo. Did Ye Weiguo hide something from me?

Ye Weiguo’s subordinates were shivering in fright when they saw the scene. I knew things weren’t as simple as that. I grabbed the collar of one of them and yelled, “What happened?”

“J-Just recently, while our leader was laughing, a shadow holding a big blade appeared. Our leader screamed painfully. When we got ourselves together, he was…”

The man’s voice was intermittent, but I could understand his words. If he was protecting Ye Weiguo, he had to be his close subordinate. He must know something. I asked the others to leave the room. Then, I asked him to tell me all that he knew.

“Why did Ye Weiguo laugh before he died?” The man glanced at me but didn’t say anything. “Ye Weiguo is dead. If this continues, we’ll all die. Do you understand this?”

Feeling hopeless, I had to call the others who had witnessed the murder to come back to the room. I rolled my eyes at them and said that they would follow in his footsteps if they didn’t talk. I wasn’t bluffing. Since Ye Weiguo was dead, they had to bear the punishment too.

They had accompanied their leader for quite a long time. All of them had mastered many skills, so they knew what was best for them. After a while, they started to talk in fright. “What should we do now?”

“Have you called the police?” I asked worriedly. If Ye Weiguo’s death became known, the people in this room, including me, would be the target of the critiques. Fortunately, they shook their heads.

I exhaled. “For the time being, try to conceal this news. Moreover, be honest and tell me what Ye Weiguo did before he was killed.”

“Before our leader was murdered, he gave us an order. He asked us to burn the Emperor Quan temple in Shiwu Lipu. Then, to kill you too!” One of Ye Weiguo’s subordinates couldn’t endure the pressure. He told me the truth. I was enraged after listening to him.

If Ye Weiguo wanted to demolish the Guan Yu Temple in Shiwu Lipu, that place would have a relation with Guan Yu’s spirit. Moreover, it also proved that the spirit had killed people under his influence.

But I didn’t know why he wanted to kill me. I didn’t know any weaknesses of his.

“Do you know anything else?” I asked.

“Leader Ye discreetly contacted foreign forces many times. I guessed it’s the cause of the dispute between him and Xiao Quan.”

“You know about their dispute. That’s why he wanted to kill you too!” Since one of them had started it, as soon as I asked, the others began telling me what they knew.

I got it now. Ye Weiguo had tried all means to destroy Xiao Quan, but it wasn’t for this country. It was because Xiao Quan had stood in his path to great wealth. In other words, he wanted to eliminate Xiao Quan and replace him to earn more money from the foreign forces!

If he killed me, he would feel somewhat safer. I looked at Ye Weiguo’s dead body, and my stomach churned in disgust. He had perfectly disguised himself as a righteous person. If his subordinates didn’t tell me the truth, I would have never believed that he was a bad guy.

I thought then asked Ye Weiguo’s team to submit the crime evidence of Xiao Quan and his people to the government. Although it couldn’t take Xiao Quan down right now, he would be damaged.

Then, I left the hospital and took a taxi to go to the temple in Shiwu Lipu. On the way there, I asked the driver about the place.

“It’s a small town in the western suburbs. It’s famous for the well-preserved ancient houses. The general architecture there is from the Qing dynasty. This place has better views than Phoenix Ancient Town and Pingyao Ancient Town. Unfortunately, it’s close to the Forbidden City. Not many people know about that place, as most of the tourists are attracted by the Forbidden City. Recently, the movie and television industries have been thriving. There are more and more film crews coming to film in the ancient town. People are gradually getting to know about Shiwu Lipu.”

As soon as I got out of the car, I was attracted by the style of the buildings in the town. The neatly arranged courtyards looked majestic. Rows of parasol trees were planted along the small paths. The chimneys on the roof were made of blue clay brick. All of them were full of charm.

If I wasn’t in a hurry to find the Guan Yu Temple, I would have liked to stay here for a few days. Since it was late at night, there weren’t many people walking on the streets. However, the roads were well-lit with many street lamps. I guessed they were for tourists like me.

I had walked for a short time when I reached the center of the town. There was a big display board that read, “Welcome to Shiwu Lipu for sightseeing.”

I was worried that I couldn’t find the Guan Yu Temple, so this advertising board could be helpful. However, it turned out the billboard didn’t mention anything about the Guan Yu Temple.

I was puzzled. Does this place have a Guan Yu Temple?

Who was Guan Yu? He was the Saint of War of China! From ancient times to the modern-day, he was the paradigm of loyalty and righteousness. The stone he touched or the place where he died would become a monument, let alone his temple!

To the people in Shiwu Lipu, tourism was one of their concerns. Why did they give up this opportunity? I thought there could be a discrepancy here. I studied the billboard again to see if I could catch any words about loyalty and righteousness.

Still, I got nothing. But I believed that the last order Ye Weiguo had given wasn’t fake. Moreover, his subordinates couldn’t get away from this. They had no reason to trick me.

So, where was the problem?

I reluctantly left the big board and was about to ask the locals for information. But when I turned around, I found a strange feature.

The entire Shiwu Lipu Town was shaped like an egg, which was divided into many small blocks with the names of the scenic spots. Even the residential areas and convenience stores were marked. However, I spotted a blank space that had no mark at all.

In a scenic area like this, every square inch of land was worth some gold. Such a vast space couldn’t exist. Even if there was a structure or a river, it should have a name.

If I were here under normal circumstances, I wouldn't care about it. But now, I was somewhat certain that it was where the Guan Yu Temple was situated!

I found my current location on the map and memorized the directions of that empty lot. With my intuition, I found my way there.

The town wasn’t big. After I had walked for around a dozen minutes, the road was blocked. Not only in front of me, but all the other directions were blocked from where I was standing. In other words, the unmarked area on the map over there was encircled.

I touched the iron fence and found a thick layer of rust. At some spots, the rust churned up. It seemed the iron fence had been here for years. I walked around the place and didn’t see an entrance. I became bewildered and skeptical.

If Guan Yu Temple was inside, how could Ye Weiguo have entered this place? Also, if it wasn’t a temple, what was this place?

To prevent intruders, this iron fence was around three meters high. Barbed wire was deliberately installed around it. Fortunately, I knew how to invite spirits to carry me. I immediately asked a spirit to jump over the fence and take me there.

However, as soon as we landed, the wild ghost turned into a wisp of smoke and fled before I could offer my blood to it…

Looking at the ghost leaving in fright, I suddenly recognized that I could be in great trouble. However, as I was here, I had to clench my jaw and continue forward.

The place inside the fence wasn’t different from the places outside. There were ancient buildings, and some of the trees looked so old and weathered. However, there was no street light here. I turned on the flashlight and moved forward. Eventually, I stood in front of a relatively imposing temple.

The temple had a black plaque, but the words on it were wiped out after years of different kinds of weather.

I didn’t want to linger at the door. I cautiously stepped in. From the entrance, I saw the altar, which had a statue. I went nearer and took in a deep breath. It was Guan Yu!