Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Half a year later, winter was giving way to spring.

Chen Ji's shirt was already soaked through. Unconcerned, he lifted the hem to wipe the sweat from his face, his damp skin gleaming under the sunlight, so pale it seemed to glow. He was just checking on the interior repairs when an older worker nearby asked, "Xiao Chen (Little Chen), how should this carved panel be placed?"

Chen Ji leaned over to take a look and gestured, "This one needs to be placed at an angle."

"What... oh, oh, I see now!" The worker had a sudden realization and hurried off. Chen Ji picked up a case of bottled water that had somehow appeared beside him and followed to distribute it to everyone.

Although spring hadn't fully arrived, the weather was already getting hot. Combined with the high level of physical activity, everyone was sweating profusely.

The masters took the water bottles gratefully: "Thanks, Xiao Chen!"

"Xiao Chen, you're too kind! Just giving us well water to drink on the mountain would be fine! It's not easy to bring this bottled water all the way up here!"

Chen Ji brushed it off with a laugh.

Suddenly, a dark shadow dropped from the sky, landing precisely on Chen Ji's back. Even though it wasn't very large, the impact still made Chen Ji stagger two steps. Before he could turn around, a triangular head peeked over his shoulder. Chen Ji: "..."

The other: "..."

A worker: "Snake—!!!!"

Chen Ji immediately grabbed the stout Fifth Grandpa from his back and said in a nonchalant tone, "Uncle! Uncle! It's fine, it's fine! This is my pet, it doesn't bite!"

"Huh? ...Oh, that's good." The worker's relief was short-lived as he clearly saw Fifth Grandpa's distinctive pattern and the highly raised snout: "But that's a five-step snake!!!"

Chen Ji held Fifth Grandpa's mouth shut and said with a grin, "It's really fine. You know, old temples like ours are most afraid of mice. Keeping a snake is perfect for catching them—temple-raised ones are quite spiritual. As long as you don't provoke them, they're definitely harmless!"

The foreman nodded upon hearing this, feeling somewhat relieved. That snake, not to mention, was huge, almost as thick as his arm. Its scales shimmered with a purple glow under the sun, giving it a somewhat spiritual aura.

Chen Ji exchanged a few more pleasantries before taking Fifth Grandpa inside the building. "Fifth Grandpa, what brings you here? Is something up?"

Fifth Grandpa lay lazily on Chen Ji's arm, half its body still draped over his shoulder. Upon hearing the question, it slowly raised its head and said languidly: [The quail jerky... arrived... came to pick up the package...]

Chen Ji was taken aback for a moment, and the next instant, he heard a mechanical voice outside calling, "SF Express! Anyone home? Can I drop it off in the courtyard?"

Chen Ji opened the window and shouted, "Yes! Drop it inside the yellow circle!"

"Okay, dropping it now!"

With a *thump*, a huge express box was tossed into the yellow circle, raising a cloud of dust. Chen Ji looked at the box, which was nearly 1.5 meters tall, then turned to Fifth Grandpa perched on his shoulder. "Is this your package?"

Fifth Grandpa's dangerous-looking head nodded very honestly.

The workers busy nearby also saw it and asked with a laugh if they needed help moving it inside. Chen Ji didn't stand on ceremony and had them help carry it to the kitchen—in the kitchen, he could use the pretext that he had already unpacked and tidied up. If it suddenly disappeared in the courtyard, it would be hard to explain.

Anyone might casually bring in a case of water, but no one would casually carry off a heavy 1.5x1.5 meter box!

Once the express box was in the kitchen, Fifth Grandpa eagerly climbed onto it. Its tail tip slid along the seam, and the tape came undone. Its plump body *whooshed* into the cardboard box. Curious, Chen Ji leaned over and opened the box flaps to see Fifth Grandpa lying atop a pile of quail jerky boxes, using its tail to hold a phone and check off items on a list one by one.

Chen Ji glanced—wow, as expected of a demon who had lived for who knows how many years, it was really rich. It had bought the kind of gourmet stuff that Chen Ji only dared to buy a couple of for System Cat during holidays.

Chen Ji took Fifth Grandpa's phone, scooped it up onto his shoulder, and said, "Let me do it."

In theory, Fifth Grandpa could transform into human form—after all, having hands would make this kind of work much more convenient. But Chen Ji figured it was probably just lazy, preferring to take its time rather than exert the effort.

Upon hearing this, Fifth Grandpa just lay there, not wanting to move at all.

The Mountain Lord Temple, for reasons everyone knew—a gas cylinder explosion had blown it up. This time, it wasn't like before, where just repairing walls, re-laying tiles, or replacing pillars and bricks would suffice. This time, it had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Master Zhuo Jun, who worked at the National Museum, had been a huge help, gathering a bunch of old professors to help restore the temple blueprints and then sourcing all kinds of high-quality materials... Chen Ji alone truly couldn't have managed it.

After all, nowadays, some good things aren't something you can just buy with money alone.

Once the materials were gathered, the reconstruction began. It had been exactly half a year now, and it was finally nearing completion.

Chen Ji felt that since coming to Little Green Mountain, he had either been renovating, fleeing for his life, or just trying to stay alive.

Now... it was finally coming to an end.

Chen Ji deftly finished checking the items and taught Fifth Grandpa how to use the phone: "Fifth Grandpa, look, this package is damaged. In this situation, we take a photo of the shipping label—yes, the one stuck on the box—and then take a photo of the damaged item and send it to the seller. Wait for their reply; usually, they'll refund or resend."

Fifth Grandpa listened very attentively.

The Mountain Lord Temple had exploded, and naturally, Chen Ji's belongings had also been blown to smithereens. After recuperating in the hospital and returning home, he truly didn't even have a comb left. Everything had to be repurchased. Since everyone came over for meals anyway, they all learned a bit about how to shop online using their phones.

Previously, Fifth Grandpa, Second Grandpa, and the others knew how to use phones, but only for watching videos and sending messages to each other.

The seller, clearly attentive to a big customer, quickly replied, promising to resend the item and include an extra gift. Fifth Grandpa was satisfied.

"Please bring it in!"

Chen Ji walked out and saw a helicopter slowly lowering a large wooden crate to the ground. Master Zhuo was there with his students, directing them to quickly remove the wooden slats, revealing an exquisitely carved statue inside.

The statue depicted a handsome young man holding a jade disc, dressed in a purple-gold ceremonial robe embroidered with mountains, rivers, sun, moon, flowers, birds, and beasts. Behind the young man was a lifelike white tiger.

Chen Ji gazed at the statue for a long time before finally letting out a slow breath.

"Please bring it inside. Thank you for your hard work, everyone!"

"Not at all, it's our pleasure!" The workers stepped forward and, under Professor Zhuo's arrangement, carefully carried the statue into the main hall of the Mountain Lord Temple, placing it in the central position.

Master Zhuo launched into an enthusiastic explanation: "This is the result of our long restoration efforts. The actual piece is even better than the renderings! We..."

Chen Ji, holding a cloth, stepped onto the altar platform and gently wiped the statue's face.

"We used the oldest techniques and the newest materials..."

Suddenly, a gentle breeze came from nowhere, carrying a faint, subtle fragrance into the hall.

For an instant, the statue blinked at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji paused, then his smiling eyes blinked back. He raised a finger to his lips: "Shh—"