Divine Level Witch Doctor

The old village secretary was very supportive of Zhao Yuan’s plan to rent the mountain for a medicinal herb plantation. He immediately called a village committee meeting, where everyone else proved just as supportive. They quickly handled the paperwork and signed the mountain lease agreement with Zhao Yuan.

After it was all settled, Zhao Shiquan extended a cheerful invitation, ”Everyone, come to my place for drinks at noon!”

The old village secretary took the cigarette Zhao Shiquan offered him and said, ”Absolutely! You’ve raised a fine son. He’s become successful, but he hasn’t forgotten to help our village prosper along with him. He’s a truly good kid!”

The other members of the village committee also chimed in with praise, making Zhao Yuan blush with embarrassment.

After settling the mountain lease, Zhao Shiquan led Zhao Yuan to the village’s dilapidated temple.

Ever since the Elder Daoist passed away, no one had lived in the temple. However, the villagers still frequently came to offer incense and pay their respects, helping to clean and maintain it. As a result, the place was still very clean and had not fallen into ruin.

The Elder Daoist’s grave was right behind the temple. Zhao Yuan went over, offered incense, and burned joss paper to pay his respects.

The White Cat had come along with him, but while he was offering incense and burning the paper, it darted off into the temple’s main hall.

A thought struck Zhao Yuan. Whenever the White Cat acted strangely, something was bound to happen. ’Could there actually be a treasure hidden inside this dilapidated temple?’

After he finished burning the joss paper and paying his respects, Zhao Yuan followed the White Cat’s path into the temple’s main hall.

The dilapidated temple enshrined a statue of a Mountain God. Zhao Yuan glanced at it once before looking away.

’This Mountain God statue is just an ordinary clay sculpture. It has no Qi, so it can’t be a treasure.’

”Xiaobai, where are you?” Zhao Yuan called out, activating his Qi Observation Technique to survey his surroundings.

”MEOW.” A cry came from overhead. Zhao Yuan looked up to see the White Cat perched on one of the temple’s crossbeams.

”Huh?”

With his Qi Observation Technique active, Zhao Yuan could tell at a glance that this crossbeam was anything but ordinary!

The crossbeam, which looked pitch-black and unremarkable, was actually shrouded in a dense layer of Qi. Furthermore, this Qi was filled with Wood Qi. But this Wood Qi was different from any he had seen before. It emanated a powerful and imposing aura!

’Without a doubt, this crossbeam is a treasure! And judging by the way the White Cat is lounging on it and refusing to come down, it must be something special.’

’What on earth is this crossbeam?’ Zhao Yuan’s mind was filled with questions. He wanted to go up for a closer look, but his father had just followed him into the temple, making it awkward for him to act.

Fortunately, the Information Leaf did not disappoint, displaying an introduction: ”Top Grade Thunderstruck Wood! Three hundred years ago, a snake coiled around a jujube tree, attempting to shed its beastly form and become a Spirit Monster. This attracted Celestial Thunder. The snake was ultimately struck down, its spiritual essence trapped within the jujube wood. As the wood was charred by the lightning, it absorbed a great deal of the Celestial Thunder Aura. After a century of fusion between the Snake Spirit’s essence and the Celestial Thunder Aura, it transformed into Top Grade Thunderstruck Wood. It has the power to vanquish demons and exterminate ghosts, making it a superb material for crafting offensive Magical Artifacts!”

’Holy cow, this is an incredible treasure!’ Zhao Yuan was practically drooling.

’A superb material for crafting offensive Magical Artifacts! To have both the aura of a Spirit Monster and a Celestial Thunder Aura... it’s beyond anything I could have imagined!’

After finding an excuse to send his father away, Zhao Yuan hugged a nearby pillar and quickly scrambled up. The moment his hand touched the Thunderstruck Wood, he felt waves of stinging pain. He knew it was the residual Celestial Thunder Aura within the wood.

Overjoyed, Zhao Yuan didn’t hesitate. He immediately activated his Storage Ring and pulled the Thunderstruck Wood into his Storage Ring Space.

The White Cat, which had been lying on the crossbeam, suddenly lost its perch and landed on the ground. It tilted its head back and let out a series of dissatisfied meows at Zhao Yuan, as if scolding him for hogging the good stuff.

Zhao Yuan had no choice but to say, ”Alright, stop meowing. When we get back, I’ll use this Thunderstruck Wood to make you a little nest. How about that?”

Only then did the White Cat stop its yowling, a satisfied look on its face.

Zhao Yuan shook his head in resignation and sighed to himself, ’This little guy is getting more and more cunning.’

As he walked out of the temple, Zhao Yuan glanced back. ’It doesn’t feel right to just take the Thunderstruck Wood like this,’ he thought. ’I should do something to give back to the temple and the deceased Daoist, right?’

With this in mind, he went back to the village committee, found the old secretary, and proposed renovating the dilapidated temple.

The village secretary was extremely supportive of the idea!

The temple was the village’s spiritual pillar. Although it was run-down, everyone still went there to offer incense and pray for blessings. Being able to properly renovate it would be a wonderful thing for the villagers.

After returning home, Zhao Yuan told his father about his decision and handed him a bank card. ”This card has about a million in savings...”

Before he could finish, he was cut off by Zhao Shiquan’s trembling cry, ”H-How much?”

”About a million,” Zhao Yuan replied.

”That much?” Zhao Shiquan felt breathless. He had never seen so much money in his life. For a moment, the bank card in his hand felt as heavy as a mountain. He took several deep breaths to calm himself slightly. ”We’re just renovating the temple. We don’t need this much money, do we?”

Zhao Yuan explained, ”Besides the money for renovating the temple, there’s also the cost of the mountain lease and building the medicinal herb plantation. The rest is for employee salaries. If it’s not enough, just give me a call, and I’ll transfer more to you right away.”

”Oh, so that’s how it is. Alright, I understand.” Zhao Shiquan nodded and accepted the bank card.

The father and son then began discussing the construction of the medicinal herb plantation. About ten minutes later, a commotion erupted outside and the sounds carried into the house.

”I heard Brother Yuan is back! Where is he?”

”Brother Yuan, come out quick! We need help!”

”Someone’s hurt! Brother Yuan, you’re a medical student, quick, come take a look!”

Zhao Yuan and Zhao Shiquan immediately stopped their conversation, stood up, and went outside. They were met with the sight of a group of people rushing into the courtyard, carrying an injured person.

The injured person’s eyes were shut tight, their body covered in blood. It was impossible to tell if they were alive or dead.

Zhao Yuan recognized him at a glance. It was Feng Ming, a fellow villager about his own age. Feng Ming had dropped out of school long ago to work in the county town. It seemed he had come home to visit for the New Year’s holiday, but somehow, he had gotten hurt. And from the looks of it, his injuries were severe.

Just as the group entered the courtyard, a stranger followed them in, yelling, ”What are you doing bringing him here? I told you, we need to get him to a proper hospital down the mountain for surgery, now! His injuries are serious! If he doesn’t have an operation soon, his life will be in danger!”