The incense was soon burned out.
Before Ning An could speak, the man with the baseball cap had already stepped into the main hall to make a wish.
Watching the man's sincere bowing, Ning An couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
With the sin of killing, which Daoist immortal would protect you?
Soon enough, the man finished his wish and then softly asked Ning An:
"Friend, do you think I can find peace?"
Ning An first shook his head, then nodded:
"Originally, you couldn't, but now you can."
Puh-chih!
The man laughed, his shoulders shaking, but the sunlight just happened to hit his face, revealing a handsome face marred by a centipede-like scar on his brow.
"If it doesn't work, I'll smash your Daoist temple."
Ning An's eyes were clear:
"Once you leave, it will be your destiny."
"Once I leave, I'll find peace?"
The man with the baseball cap smirked, Ning An nodded and quickly added:
"If you seek something, you will lose something. If you force it when it's not meant to be, today's incense and prayers will come at some cost."
Hearing this, the man adjusted his cap further down, sarcastically saying:
"Cost? As long as it doesn't cost me my life, I can handle any price."
Watching him leave, Ning An couldn't help but smile and took the opportunity to adjust his sweat-dampened robe.
"Of course, it can't be your life, otherwise I'd be an evil god, and who would come here to burn incense?"
"It's just that you'll end up under maximum security detention!"
Turning around to look at the pile of incense money, Ning An's mood brightened again.
After all, in his old temple on this desolate mountain, maintaining a steady stream of incense was already the limit.
But with a glance at the live stream, his mood dropped a bit once more.
"Alright, alright! Thank you, Daoist Master, for the lesson. I'm Li Ritian, troubled about becoming a pyramid scheme leader. Today's lesson was enlightening. From now on, I'll regard you as my godfather in this trade."
"What is this? That man with the cap is stupid, throwing away so much money, and a simple 'leave and find your destiny' tricked him out?"
"I have to say, I think the little Daoist is a natural for this career. Not only is he handsome, but when he tricks you, he doesn't even bat an eye—a born scam artist."
"Hey, the guy said if it doesn't work, he'd smash the Daoist temple. Anyway, I'm a local. I'm going there to guard it, and I'll live stream it tomorrow for everyone!"
Ning An just took a glance and walked out while holding his phone.
Explanation? What's there to explain?
What explanation could be more visually impactful than the facts?
Meanwhile, the man with the baseball cap exited Changchun Temple, walking along the road, feeling increasingly uneasy. He slowly shifted his backpack to his chest and muttered loudly,
"What a lousy temple, damn it, one stick of incense cost me three thousand, cursed place!"
But the backpack shift was too slow, and the man with the baseball cap made a hasty decision, turning around and grabbing the bag, ready to ascend the mountain furiously, shouting,
"Little Daoist, give me back my money..."
However, a more intense shout startled a flock of birds into flight.
"Li Tie, come back with me!"
A massive capture net descended from the sky, firmly restraining the long-striding man with the cap.
"Who's Li Tie? I don't know him."
No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly widened his eyes, inwardly cursing the ancestors of those across from him.
Damn it, is it necessary to deploy so many people just to catch one guy?
In the depths of the forest, countless large lamps pierced the darkness, along with dozens of ominous gun barrels emitting a chilling aura!
A black anti-riot truck drove out directly, followed by dozens of stout men in uniforms, equipped with batons or riot shields, looking fierce and formidable.
The strong men rushed forward, their stun batons turned up to the maximum, creating puffs of blue smoke as they pinned him down like Arhats.
"Calling command center, calling command center, the suspect in the 913 pregnant woman murder case has been captured, requesting immediate return, immediate return!"
...
The thousands of viewers in the live stream were eagerly waiting to see Ning An get his comeuppance!
Suddenly, Ning An's live stream went black!
On the screen were the large characters "Streamer Lost."
The viewers in the live stream widened their eyes in surprise.
"Wow! I've been online for decades, and this is the first time I've seen a streamer with official backing!"
"Huh? Do we really need this much manpower just to catch Spider-Man? This isn't even necessary for anti-terrorism in the city."
"666, this guy made a wish, turned around, and got caught? What kind of mysterious temple is this?"
"One second he's wishing for peace, the next he's caught and taken away, without even rising, just a straight fall, my friend."
The chat in the live stream was hot, but no one took it seriously.
At that moment, Ning An returned to the temple, reconnected the signal, and resumed the live stream. Seeing the comments, he didn't offer any explanations. After all, who would believe the cost of seeking peace is imprisonment?
If admitted, who would still come here to burn incense as the next in line?
Just as Ning An was thinking about how to explain things, two sturdy uniformed men walked into the temple.
He saw them squint their eyes, and Ning An moved the camera aside.
"Do you know the person who was just burning incense here?"
Ning An shook his head: "I don't know him; he just came to burn three sticks of incense. I've never seen him before."
The two men immediately perked up and urged, "Incense? Where is it?"
In Ning An's somewhat astonished gaze, they carefully sealed the wooden sticks left behind by the man with the baseball cap.
If the incense burner and the man with the cap weren't directly connected, Ning An was certain these two men who were practically drooling over it might have really taken it!
Once they finished their task, Ning An stepped forward and asked, "Gentlemen, what's happened with that incense burner?"
One of the men looked up, showing a tired expression, saying somewhat brusquely, "If it's something you shouldn't ask, don't ask!"
Ning An stepped back, touched his head, and said shyly, "I just wanted to ask if I could keep the incense money he left behind?"
Seeing Ning An's decent attitude, the man softened his expression slightly and said faintly,
"If you don't mind keeping money from a murderer, you can certainly keep it."
"A murderer..."
Ning An smacked his lips and then muttered, "Even a murderer needs to pay. Back in the day, even poor scholars had to pay when they engaged with courtesans."
The two men shared a laugh, saying, "Hey, you little Daoist, your understanding could use some work!"
Ning An watched with pain as the incense money was taken away, his expression turning dark.
It seemed that this incense money wasn't coming back.
One of the men sighed and explained, "We're not taking it because we want to, but because it's... not exactly clean. It's... ah, who kicked me!"
Before he could finish, the man next to him gave him a kick, his face serious:
"You, kid, just wait to write essays on the confidentiality regulations. You can't just say anything aloud!"
After saying that, the man took out five red banknotes from his pocket and handed them to Ning An.
"Don't say we're unreasonable. Keep this money; we won't let civilians suffer."
The man pointed righteously at the sealed incense money and declared:
"But this, we must take away, please understand."
After saying that, the two men turned in unison to leave.
Ning An couldn't help but ask, "Will he be able to come out?"
The two men laughed heartily, "Haha, if life-sentenced prisoners can come out, then we'd all deserve to be in there."
As they disappeared from view, the temple was once again enveloped in silence.
In Ning An's live stream, although the viewers couldn't see, they heard everything clearly.
"Hey, not only is the little Daoist's temple mysterious, but it also disperses wealth. I thought it was a big donation for the ancestral master, but it turns out to be a big loss, tsk tsk."
"Come on, that was a murderer. The little Daoist can consider himself lucky to keep his life. Having money is nice, but you need to stay alive too."
"But did you hear? Didn't the officer say it's a life sentence? The kind where he stays in prison for a lifetime?"
"Gulp, I swear, isn't there nothing more stable than a national agency? And the king of stability is the prison?"
"Was this incense effective?"