Chapter 1 Deserted Temple

The night was dark, the moon was bright, and the stars were sparse above the desolate mountain temple.

This mountainous area was some distance from Luzhou City, with no village or shop in sight. The merchant caravan had no choice but to spend the night at an unknown, dilapidated temple on the hillside.

Being a small temple, it wasn't spacious. The caravan members laid out mats on the floor, stacked their goods in the corner of the courtyard, and tethered the horses outside the courtyard.

As for the few side rooms that were barely habitable, they were emptied and cleaned for the women to stay in.

These so-called women weren't members of the caravan, but rather the women whom Wanlifeng Dao had rescued from the bandit camp.

This group of bandits had been wandering around the area for months, evading the official army's encirclement and suppression time and time again, thanks to their caution and prudence.

In truth, even calling it an encirclement was a stretch. The situation in Nanjun was chaotic, and the soldiers were mostly ruffians, long out of practice in battle. It was hard to say whether they could hold their ground against the bandits without collapsing.

What's more, there was collusion between officials and bandits, who were in cahoots, so there was no real effort to eliminate the bandits.

The women were the ones who suffered. Most of their husbands had been killed by the bandits. With the strict laws of the time, they were afraid that even their families wouldn't accept them if they tried to return home.

Li Ang, draped in a black cloak, sat upright on the temporarily cleaned ground, reading the travelogue written by Zhu Xuemin by the light of the bonfire.

The sound of sobbing could be heard from the side rooms. Li Ang sighed softly and looked at the caravan manager behind the bonfire, saying, "Manager Xu, those bandits have bounties on their heads from the government, right?"

Hearing the words of the enlightened master, the stout Manager Xu hastily raised his head from his bowl and said with a smile, "Indeed. The leader of this group of bandits is that short, stocky man, nicknamed Dwarf Tiger. He has dozens of lives on his hands, and there's a reward of two hundred taels of silver for him."

Afraid that Li Ang would misunderstand, Manager Xu quickly added, "When we get to Luzhou City, I will definitely report it to the government. There's not only the reward of two hundred taels of silver, but also the bounty for eliminating other bandits, as well as a gift from our trading company..."

"No need."

Li Ang waved his hand. "You can distribute that money to the women for me.

For those who want to go back, find a way to send them back to their hometowns.

For those who don't want to go back, help them settle down in Luzhou City and find a livelihood. Consider it repayment for saving your life."

Manager Xu was stunned upon hearing this. He looked at Li Ang's calm expression, pursed his lips, cupped his fist, and said with emotion, "Daozhang (Taoist priest) is kind and generous. I will definitely do as you say."

*Thwack.*

Four palm-sized gold ingots were flung into Manager Xu's arms by Liu Wu Xie.

"Distribute more money."

Liu Wu Xie retracted her hand and said without looking up, continuing to look at the paper documents.

Well, the young miss is still generous.

Li Ang smiled, picked up a piece of the caravan's dry flatbread, and ate it with the thick soup.

Before entering a script mission, ordinary players should bring not only the necessary combat supplies, but also some hard currency that can circulate in the script world.

For example, gold and silver ingots, cheap modern-made ornaments (such as glass beads specifically used to deceive natives in ancient background scripts). These things take up very little space, but may come in handy.

Just like Li Ang used small commodities to trick rare extraordinary materials from the demons in the Guhan Temple.

As the chubby Manager Xu entered the side rooms with the gold ingots and spoke for a while, the crying of the women gradually subsided.

The moonlight gradually dimmed. Manager Xu, who had returned, asked several people to take turns keeping watch while the others fell asleep on the ground, using dreams to escape the torment of this day of life and death.

Wanlifeng Dao yawned and fell asleep, Liu Wu Xie leaned against the pillar and dozed, Xing He Chou closed his eyes and reached out to rub the iron sheet (he had taken a special affairs bureau's formula pill, which allowed him to go without sleep for several days and nights, but he would be mentally tired),

Li Ang looked at the bonfire, lost in thought.

The second layer of the Dream of the King of Southern Life,

It was simply comparable to a small world with all the elements complete. If he didn't know in advance, it would be hard to imagine that this was a dream.

Li Ang thought silently: 'The Vajra Indestructible bandit during the day also had real and feasible supernatural abilities.

According to Zhu Xuemin's statement in the data, the White Lotus Sect in this world has a cultivation method that allows mortals to possess low-end magic power through cannibalism.'

"Is there anything strange about this?"

Chai Da Xiaojie (Miss Chai) asked curiously, "Aren't there similar skills in the real world?"

"It's different."

Li Ang said silently, "Whether it's flowers, birds, insects, fish, or pedestrians and things, this world is exactly the same as the real world.

But one thing is very strange, the humans here seem to be able to provide me with more Faith Power."

"Eh?"

Chai Da Xiaojie (Miss Chai) was stunned when she heard this. Before, in the world of modified fairy tales, Li Ang pretended to be an Eastern monk who could treat medical skills and treated many people in the Kingdom of Rune.

In this process, he could harvest one or two points of Faith Power from the patients and their families to charge the Swamp God imprint.

According to Li Ang's guess,

As long as one obtains the worship and trust of others, the God's imprint can obtain Faith Power, and it is not necessary for others to worship and enshrine one as the only true God.

An ordinary person who has received great help can provide one point of Faith Power.

An ordinary shallow believer can provide three points of Faith Power.

So, the people of the caravan he saved during the day gave him almost a hundred points of Faith Power in one breath, far exceeding the real world and the world of modified fairy tales.

Could it be that it's because this is the Dream of the King of Southern Life, and the essence of all things is thought power?

Li Ang glanced at the sleeping caravan members from the corner of his eye.

Is this world really real, or is it fake?