Chapter 161: Driving on Occasion

"Are you still angry?"

Yang Wuchan looked at Tang Long, who had been walking in silence the entire way, and couldn't help asking in a soft voice. She was never the type of person who cared about how others felt; did it ever matter to her whether people were happy or not? Usually, it was others who panicked when she was displeased.

Now the roles were completely reversed, and she was the one panicking, terrified that this guy would be upset. As for why, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Tang Long rolled his eyes. He couldn't entirely blame her; in fact, even if some things had been anticipated before they entered, they perhaps couldn't be avoided.

"Tang Long, can you act like a real man?" Yang Wuchan gritted her teeth, suddenly stopping and calling out loudly.

This startled Tang Long, who was walking ahead. He turned his head to look at her, frowned, and muttered, "Are you out of your mind or something?"

Scaring the hell out of a man like that!

Yang Wuchan blushed and spat silently to herself. Last night, she had no idea what came over her. She hadn't actually intended to offer any 'comfort'; she simply wanted to go and discuss matters regarding entering the Ancient God Temple with him, only to somehow end up entangling herself in the process.

She knew full well the man probably didn't regard her as any kind of decent woman. But it didn't matter—as long as she found the 'Resurrection Grass' and went back to save her younger brother Wuji, the chances of them crossing paths again would surely be slim.

As for the promise to work like an ox or a horse for him, serving him like a beast of burden... that was just talk, how could he take it seriously? She was the dignified 'Ninth Miss' of the Yang family; acting like a beast of burden for him—what was he thinking? Letting him 'use' her occasionally should be enough, right?

"You—as long as you're not angry, I'll do whatever you want!" Yang Wuchan said with a flushed face, muttering quietly through gritted teeth.

Anyway, it wasn't the first time!

Tang Long shrugged, completely conceding defeat. They really weren't lying when they said that once a woman decided to throw away her shame, a man stood no chance at all.

"Let's keep moving!"

Tang Long turned around. The two of them had been walking for over ten minutes now. Although they didn't know how much farther they had to go to reach the 'Ancient God Temple,' Tang Long's intuition told him it was very close.

Thinking about it now, the 'Ancient God Temple' could be simply understood as an ancient temple built inside a mountain cave. Why would anyone build a temple inside a cave? Perhaps to shield it from the wind and rain, or perhaps to defend against hostile tribes. How could Tang Long possibly know? The ancestors of humanity used to live in caves anyway, so there were simply too many possibilities.

Regardless of the reason, the site selection and the scale of construction of this Ancient God Temple would undoubtedly shock countless people if word of its discovery ever got out.

Inside the mountain belly, putting aside the horizontal depth for a moment, the vertical drop was at least three to five hundred meters—virtually equivalent to descending more than a hundred stories straight down from the surface level.

And they hadn't even caught sight of the 'temple' or any gods yet!

"How on earth did the Japanese discover this place?" Tang Long couldn't help steering the conversation back. The runes on the 'Suppressing Mountain Stele' at the entrance were definitely linked to those little Japanese devils. A century ago, whether the Japanese hid something inside this Ancient God Temple or failed to take things out of it, the descendants of those who had entered back then must still be harboring thoughts about it today, even a hundred years later.

Perhaps the hidden black hand manipulating things from behind the scenes was connected to the Japanese devils?

Yang Wuchan shook her head. "Too much time has passed; it's untraceable." Pausing slightly, she continued, "But one thing is certain: the Japanese definitely came here. They gathered many capable and extraordinary individuals, and among that group back then were the ancestors of our Yang family."

"Did your Yang family ancestors make it out alive?" Tang Long asked thoughtfully.

These were events from a century ago, but the truth wouldn't lie. Leave aside a mere century; even if a thousand or ten thousand years had passed, what was meant to exist would still remain behind.

"No!"

Yang Wuchan shook her head and said, "The Yang family genealogies record that our ancestor, along with the 'Ram Classic' he carried, remained behind in the Ancient God Temple!"

Tang Long frowned, finding it somewhat difficult to understand. As if asking Yang Wuchan, yet also talking to himself, he murmured, "Why is this place called the 'Ancient God Temple' instead of the 'Ancient God Tomb'?"

He felt that this place looked much more like a cemetery built by someone.

Yang Wuchan said helplessly, "I honestly don't know about that. What else do you want to ask? I'll tell you everything I know!"

"How old were you when you first got soaked?" Tang Long asked.

"Thirteen..." Yang Wuchan glared at Tang Long, her face burning red. How could this guy never pick the right occasion and start driving without a license the moment he opened his mouth?

Tang Long shrugged and muttered to himself, "Forget it if you don't want to say!" He was simply trying to ease the awkwardness between them.

"Why can't other people get into the Ancient God Temple?"

Remembering what Yang Wuchan had said earlier, Tang Long asked. His mind had actually been spinning at high speed the entire time, never once straying from thoughts about the Ancient God Temple.

This place was rather strange and evil. If Tang Long wanted to get out alive, he certainly didn't want to stay here. Outside, his Secretary Xiuhua, Sister Yuniang, and little sister Handong were all still waiting for him. He hadn't even led Yutou Village onto the true path of prosperity yet, so how could he possibly stay in a godforsaken place like this?

No one was going to trap him here. Tang Long also had the confidence that as long as he wanted to leave, no place could hold him down.

"No one has ever stepped inside the Ancient God Temple."

Yang Wuchan hesitated for a moment before speaking in a soft voice.

Tang Long stopped once more, studying her for half a minute before saying helplessly, "Eldest Miss, can you please tell me everything in one breath instead of hiding half of it?"

Yang Wuchan gave Tang Long a look that seemed to say *you never asked*, making it look as though she were the reluctant one.

"Over the years, our Yang family has sent people into the Ancient God Temple four times, but every single time they were forced to return in defeat right before the temple doors." Yang Wuchan paused for a moment and continued, "Perhaps my third uncle managed to get inside the Ancient God Temple."

"So, he didn't come back?" Tang Long frowned slightly.

Yang Wuchan nodded and said, "If we start counting from the 'Suppressing Mountain Stele,' then we are already inside the Ancient God Temple. But if we count from 'ahead,' we are still outside the temple gates and haven't actually entered... I don't even know if the entrance the Yang family found is truly the door to the 'Ancient God Temple'."

In his mind, Tang Long quickly pictured the scene Yang Wuchan described and muttered to himself, "They didn't even enter the gates, yet so many people died?"

That just goes to show how treacherous this place was!

Yang Wuchan nodded, her face stern as she said, "Those who haven't entered the 'Ancient God Temple' still have a chance to walk out alive, but those who went in... not a single one has ever returned."

"One last question!"

Tang Long nodded and said calmly, "You mentioned earlier that the Yin Soul Wood and the Resurrection Grass grow in tandem. Since the Yin Soul Wood grows outside the Ancient God Temple, does that mean the 'Resurrection Grass' also grows outside the Ancient God Temple?"

Whether they could get inside the 'Ancient God Temple' or not didn't matter much. They had to remember they were here to look for the 'Resurrection Grass,' not to explore the 'Ancient God Temple,' so going inside wasn't an absolute must.

Tang Long's words left Yang Wuchan completely stunned!

"This... I don't know either!"

She truly had no idea where the 'Resurrection Grass' grew; it might grow outside, or it might grow deep within the Ancient God Temple.

If it grew outside, then... things suddenly seemed a lot simpler.