David Carter twisted his left sleeve with his left hand, revealing his right hand, and gave a vigorous thumbs-up: “Good, Little Simon is farsighted and chivalrous!”

Samuel glanced at him—what’s this old guy flattering for now?

He strode toward the temple, and David Carter called after him, “Little Simon, may I ask, if you go all out, who is stronger, you or Penny?”

Samuel frowned and thought for a moment, then said, “If I go all out, to be conservative, I’d say the odds are forty-sixty between us.”

David Carter asked nervously, “Who’s forty and who’s sixty?”

Samuel replied, “Take a guess.”

“You’re forty, it’s sixty?” David Carter guessed the worst outcome first.

But that was still a good result, because he knew all too well how terrifying Penny was, having suffered from it himself.

He couldn’t help but sigh—Little Carter looks young, but he’s really strong!

Then Samuel smiled slightly: “Wrong guess.”

Hearing this, David Carter was shocked: “You’re sixty, it’s forty? Simon, your cultivation is that high?”

“Still wrong,” Samuel said frankly, “Penny forty, Penny sixty!”

The only reason he managed to escape the temple was his quick wits; if it had been anyone else surrounded by so many ghosts, they’d already be lying in a funeral hall.

David Carter hadn’t expected such an answer. He was stunned for a moment, and by then Samuel had already walked on ahead.

In his eyes, that departing figure was resolute and unhesitating.

It reminded him of Jing Ke by the Yi River in the books.

“Knowing full well it’s certain death, yet still insisting on doing the right thing! ‘The wind is bleak and the Yi River cold, though tigers lurk in the mountains, he still heads for Tiger Mountain!’ Little Simon truly is a first-class hero under heaven!” he murmured.

Then he watched as Samuel walked up to the temple gate.

He watched as Samuel poked his head in for a secret look.

He watched as Samuel, in a flash, pulled the half-open door shut.

That door panel had been knocked loose by him yesterday and hadn’t been properly closed. Samuel lifted it and wedged it into place before finally shutting both doors.

After closing them, he took a vine he’d prepared earlier, used it as a rope, and tied the two handles together from the outside.

He tied ten dead knots in a row!

After shutting the door, he turned and asked, “Blessings from the Supreme Celestial Lord, Mr. Carter, did you bring brush, ink, paper, and inkstone?”

David Carter didn’t react at first and said blankly, “N-no, I didn’t.”

Samuel muttered, “Good thing I came prepared.”

He took out a sharp stone he’d found and scratched a few words onto the intact door panel: Ghosts inside, do not enter!!!

Three exclamation marks, each bigger than the last.

After finishing, he breathed a sigh of relief, tossed the stone aside, clapped his hands, and said, “Blessings from the Dao Ancestor, danger averted.”

David Carter was left bewildered in the wind.

He asked, “Little Simon, what are you doing?”

Samuel said, “You don’t get it? Little Samuel has locked Penny and the ghosts it attracted inside the temple.”

David Carter asked blankly, “Will that work?”

Samuel said, “It should work, and if it doesn’t, it’s no big deal.”

“Didn’t you say so yourself? When Penny harms people, it starts with the head of the household. Now it’s in our temple, and the head of our temple is the Three Pure Dao Ancestors. If it dares, let it go harm the Dao Ancestors.”

David Carter said, “Little Simon, these little tricks won’t work. It harms the living…”

“That’s even less of a problem,” Samuel cut in. “A teacher for a day, a father for life. By that logic, my master is the head of our temple family, so if it wants to harm someone, it’ll have to go after my master first.”

Said with perfect confidence!

David Carter was left speechless.

Thinking back to what Samuel said yesterday evening when he asked for food—‘my master took all the rations down the mountain’—he really didn’t know how to comment on this.

He blinked a few times, and in the end could only sigh, “A loving father and filial son!”

Chapter 009: A Desolate Village in the Rain

Looking at the tightly locked temple, Samuel felt a sense of melancholy.

After inexplicably crossing over, this temple was basically his home. Now, having to leave it behind, he couldn’t help but feel a bit wistful.

What a pity for masterpieces like “The Dual Cultivation Health Manual of Dragon and Tiger,” “The Mysterious Lady’s Bedroom Yang-Locking Classic,” “The Great Joy of Heaven and Earth Yin-Yang Union,” and other Daoist classics!

Last night, to deal with the ghostly situation, he’d brought some Daoist scriptures for protection, but they were all things like “The Supreme Clarity Great Cavern True Scripture,” “The Great Cavern Supreme Eight Elements True Scripture,” and the like.

Those treasured classics he valued so highly were all bundled up and hidden under his pillow, to be savored before sleep.

Now, it seemed, he wouldn’t be savoring them for a while.

With Penny occupying the temple, he didn’t dare risk going back.

Still, he couldn’t help but worry about those books. He’d flipped through them before, and they were all handwritten copies—absolutely unique secrets!

So, as he walked down the mountain, he kept looking back.

Like the peacock flying southeast, glancing back as it flies.

But in David Carter’s eyes, it looked different.

David Carter asked, “Little Simon, are you looking back because you can’t bear to leave the temple, or because you’re worried the ghosts inside will break out and harm the world?”

Before Samuel could answer, he added comfortingly:

“No matter what, it’s fine, Little Simon. You’ve already sealed Penny and the ghosts it summoned inside the temple. Once you go down the mountain and notify your fellow Daoists, you can all come back together to reclaim the temple.”