Chapter 104: Chapter 98: Collapse—Dragon and Tiger Temple Can’t Hold On
With the incense extinguished, the wish was fulfilled.
In just a moment, the ghost broke free from her restraints, turning from ethereal to corporeal.
The price was her ghostly body burning intensely, exchanging for a fleeting moment of brilliance.
Although Wang Yang knew the Daoist arts, even possessing the orthodox Nourishing Spirit Skill, he strayed down the wrong path and ultimately faced his own backlash.
With the Five Thunders Talisman from Ning An, there was only a dead end ahead.
Indeed.
As they left the tunnel, a desperate scream faintly echoed amidst the sizzling thunderbolts.
Ning An stood on a rock, looking in that direction, lost in thought.
Xiaorong fainted, her fever not subsiding, and was sent to the hospital overnight by the director, causing the filming to be indefinitely postponed.
By the middle of the night, the police urgently dispatched two large teams from the city, but this time, Ning An had no acquaintances among them.
The police donned protective gear and brought Wang Yang’s body out. The younger officers looked pale and couldn’t stop retching after removing their gear.
According to them, in all their years on the force, they had never seen such an inhumane death.
After checking again to ensure no hidden dangers remained, Ning An returned to the city.
The next day, the small mountain village was placed under lockdown by the army, who came from afar.
Under the persuasion of leaders at all levels, the villagers moved to the county, living in high-rises with water and electricity. In a way, this was one of the few good deeds by Wang Yang.
...
Meanwhile, as Ning An slept happily, the side hall of Dragon and Tiger Temple was once again brightly lit.
The same familiar faces were there.
"Brother Xuan Ye, we can’t go on like this. In just a few short days, Changchun Temple’s reputation has soared again!"
"If we don’t sanction Changchun Temple, it’ll soon be pissing over our heads! Everyone’s seen the sudden drop in incense offerings, right?"
"Brother Xuan Ye, what’s Han Xiuxian’s itinerary like? Whenever you need our help, just let us know."
They were indeed anxious, as Changchun Temple’s development was too rapid.
With the internet’s promotion, Changchun Temple’s popularity soared daily, directly squeezing out Dragon and Tiger Temple’s incense offerings.
If this trend continued.
Sooner or later, Dragon and Tiger Temple would become just a few lines in the annals of history.
Sitting at the head table, Daoist Xuan Ye appeared calm on the surface, but was actually quite anxious inside.
Currently, Dragon and Tiger Temple’s incense offerings hadn’t decreased by much, but a dike of a thousand miles can be breached by an ant nest.
Therefore, the only current strategy was to secretly urge Han Xiuxian to offer incense at Changchun Temple.
They could even leverage Dragon and Tiger Temple’s extensive network to have influential people speak on their behalf at a critical moment, ensuring Han Xiuxian offers incense.
By then.
Ning An’s reputation among the Dragon Country people wouldn’t be much better than Qin Hui’s.
Changchun Temple would become a rat that everyone would be eager to stamp out, and Dragon and Tiger Temple would take the opportunity to win over people’s hearts.
First, they would righteously denounce the betrayal of the country, then solemnly distance themselves from Han Xiuxian and the like, finally successfully taking over Changchun Temple and acquiring the Divine Invitation Incense!
Even if Ning An doesn’t let Han Xiuxian offer incense?
That’d be even better!
As long as they secretly communicate with Han Xiuxian, if he cannot offer incense and pray at Changchun Temple, they’ll stop exporting aircraft carrier arresting gears to Dragon Country as a threat.
No matter how the calculations played out, there was only one outcome:
Han Xiuxian successfully offers incense at Changchun Temple, Ning An is ruined, and Dragon and Tiger Temple takes control.
Not to mention.
This multi-pronged strategy was comparable to the ancient tactic of killing three talented men with two peaches.
If Ning An didn’t have the system’s rewards, he’d have no way to deal with it.
"Boundless heavens."
Daoist Xuan Ye said compassionately: "Brothers, don’t fret. Chairman Han’s visit to Dragon Country is a certainty, just a matter of days."
Hearing these words, the other Daoists all smiled.
It’d be good if he comes.
As long as Han Xiuxian comes, they have a hundred ways to operate, ensuring Ning An’s total downfall!
"Alright, let Changchun Temple stay arrogant for a few more days."
Unaware of Dragon and Tiger Temple’s scheming, Ning An was left in the dark.
The midnight terror that day was too complex for most to handle. Aside from Dragon Country leaders discreetly contacting Ning An, no one else mentioned it.
Hence, the past few days had been quite comfortable for Ning An.
He continued his usual live-streaming and banter with his followers, savoring the beauty of life.
On the third day following the tomb robbery terror.
As Ning An was live-streaming, happily engaging in verbal jousting with netizens.
A discordant message in the live chat immediately caught his attention.
"Damn Koreans! Their tiny country dares to threaten our Celestial Empire! Temporarily cutting off exports of aircraft carrier arresting gears, claiming a shortage?"
"I think they’re just too densely populated, just nuke them twice and it’d be over!"
"Damn! They say our aircraft carrier arresting gears are still in experimental development stages, unsure if Changchun Temple’s ancestor can help?"
"There’s hope, but not much. Carbon fiber was just a mental bottleneck, easily overcome, but aircraft carrier arresting gears...they’re still far from the application stage."
"Damn! Is there really no other way?"
...
The barrage of angry comments in the live chat made Ning An realize what was happening.
Damn it.
Led by Han Xiuxian, three major Western groups exporting aircraft carrier arresting gears all announced a suspension of exports to Dragon Country citing stock shortages.
Even other industrial products showed signs of this trend.
But for other countries, aircraft carrier arresting gears were unaffected, even decreasing in price.
This was clearly Western countries taking advantage of Han Xiuxian to suppress Dragon Country.
After understanding the ins and outs, even the usually calm Ning An couldn’t help but curse:
"Damn it, do you believe I won’t send Ox Head and Horse Face to claim your lives! Courting death!"
At the same time.
In the suburbs of Kyoto, the high-energy research institute established by Elder An was running at full speed like an engine on a chain.
After returning from Z City, Elder An went straight back to the lab.
What he liked most in his life was the eternal smell of disinfectant.
Because that symbolized that Dragon Country remained prosperous and stable.
As Elder An fervently calculated on scratch paper, someone knocked on the door and respectfully said:
"Professor An, someone’s looking for you."
After completing the last calculation, Elder An happily set down his pen and paper.
"No problem, the last hurdle is overcome, just these figures...huh? Xiaolin, why are you here?"
Grabbing the results, Elder An was about to share the joy with colleagues, when he looked up to see Xiaolin standing straight in place.
"Someone’s looking for you."
Xiaolin spoke concisely, his expression calm, having encountered such situations many times before.
"Who?"
When Elder An arrived at the reception room, he saw an equally white-haired old man stand up excitedly, stepping forward to shake An Ruolin’s hand:
"Old An...this time, you must help me, accompany me to Z City."
