Chapter 2: Repairing the Temple

Chen Ji had many memories of this temple. Though distant, those fragments lingered deep in his mind, as vivid as if they had happened only yesterday.

The Mountain Lord Statue blazed with colorful paints and gold leaf. Vibrant prayer flags draped every corner of the main hall where anything could be hung. The offering table was newly made, exuding a fresh scent of oil and wood. The table always held offerings—nothing fancy, but everything one could expect, all fresh and lively.

His gaze traced the spiderweb-covered beams to the view of distant mountains beyond the window. Something was missing. What was it?

Right, the copper bells. He remembered them hanging from the eaves as a child. Whenever the wind blew, their faint, clear chimes would ring out, carrying far across the mountains.

Chen Ji ambled outside and looked up, chuckling wryly as expected.

The Mountain God Temple’s visitors were mostly villagers from the base of the mountain. They lived off the land, so coming up to pray for bountiful harvests and safety made sense. But for every believer, there was a skeptic. No one had tended the place in ages, and those copper bells on the eaves were good brass—worth a dozen bucks a pound as scrap.

Chen Ji sat on the threshold. The morning breeze was cool and refreshing. Mist swirled around the distant green peaks, rustling with the wind. Birds occasionally burst from the trees, soaring skyward before gliding away, half-hidden in the clouds.

He took a sip of the Xiang Piaopiao he’d just offered up, tsked, and set it down. Then he munched on a small bun. Halfway through, the System Cat yawned its way out from inside. Chen Ji glanced at it sidelong, bun in his mouth. It looked up at him with amber eyes still foggy from sleep.

Chen Ji shifted back a bit. The System Cat draped its front legs over his thighs and went still. He couldn’t help but smile, scooping up the solid orange tabby and settling it on his lap.

【Gimme a hot sip~】 the System Cat requested.

Chen Ji held the Xiang Piaopiao in front of it. The System Cat clutched the milk tea can with its front paws and latched onto the straw with its mouth—though it looked like a half-grown kitten, it was high-tech through and through. Sucking down milk tea was no problem.

Man and cat thus enjoyed their breakfast against the stunning scenery. By the time they finished, the sun had risen, bathing them in cozy warmth. Chen Ji squinted in bliss, and so did the System Cat. After about half an hour, it suddenly leaped up: 【Hey, wait! We’ve got a mission here! Isn’t it weird that you’re just sitting around like this?!】

The System Cat’s full name was the 8839 Cultural Relic Protection System—a working stiff of a system itself. It issued tasks to Chen Ji, but it also had to meet quotas for its superiors. The System Cat was too guileless; Chen Ji had gotten the whole story out of it with a bit of prodding.

Chen Ji hugged it close and poked its plump belly, sighing: 【The emperor’s not worried, but the eunuch is.】

【Of course I’m worried! Setting you up with the max reward has a time limit. If we don’t complete the task…】 The System Cat caught itself mid-sentence and whapped Chen Ji’s face with a meaty paw: 【Pah! You’re the eunuch! Go sweep! Can’t you see all that dust?!】

Chen Ji grabbed the kitten’s paw, kneading its pink paw pads idly: 【Sweeping won’t cut it. Just wait and see.】

The System Cat eyed the utterly relaxed Chen Ji, a torrent of curses bubbling up inside, but it was helpless—otherwise, it wouldn’t have waited half a year for its host to get moving.

What other system had a host who, upon binding, didn’t jump straight into tasks? No, this one went to the psych ward the next day for a specialist consult on split personality!

He’d seen Western docs, then TCM practitioners, stringing the System Cat along the whole time. If it hadn’t dangled a ten-billion reward—complete with a demo proving systems were real—it wouldn’t be here now!

The System Cat flopped onto Chen Ji’s lap, the picture of despair.

Once bound, a system couldn’t unbind unless the host died. So what could it do?

Fine, whatever. Half a year was already over—no point sweating a day or two more!

About an hour later, man and cat dozed contentedly in the sun. Suddenly, the System Cat’s ears twitched. It perked up, peering down the path to the village, and swatted Chen Ji with its tail: 【Someone’s coming!】

Chen Ji scratched its fur lazily. “Someone coming is someone coming… Uncle Liu! Aunt Wang—over here!”

He called out loudly.

“Hey, Xiao Chen!” a voice answered from afar. As they drew near, the System Cat spotted the pair carrying tools.

Chen Ji set the System Cat aside and went to greet them, chatting warmly.

The wind stove’s water was still hot. Chen Ji brewed tea for them. After a short rest, they dove into work with gusto. Aunt Wang took a broom and rags into the main hall to clean. Uncle Liu circled the Mountain Lord Temple twice, noting every spot needing repair. He came back with his notebook to chat with Chen Ji.

Chen Ji offered a cigarette. Uncle Liu took it, and amid the curling smoke, he said, “Xiao Chen, we’re all family here. Your uncle won’t rip you off. These spots definitely need fixing, and the tiles have to be relaid. What do you say?”

Chen Ji smiled shyly, but his eyes were sharp and clear. Politely, he asked, “What do you think, Uncle Liu?”

Uncle Liu took a drag. “Twenty thousand bucks! All-inclusive labor and materials! Won’t gold-plate the Mountain Lord’s statue or anything, but it’ll be watertight and livable. Nod, and I’ll get a crew up here tomorrow!”

Chen Ji tallied it in his head and didn’t haggle. “Deal, just like you said! I ate at your place as a kid—we’re good. Grandpa stashed some good stuff in the cellar. I’ll dig it out later, see if it’s usable…”

“Sounds good. If it works, that’ll save hassle and let us upgrade things with the savings!”

The System Cat watched them seal the deal in three sentences—Chen Ji even paid the deposit—and it flipped out: 【Chen Ji! How could you?! This is your mission! YOUR mission!】

Chen Ji replied coolly: 【What nonsense is that? Pros should handle pro work. You expect me to learn masonry from scratch? I’d sooner not live here if you built it.】

Ratios for concrete, keeping walls straight, plastering, grouting, laying roof tiles—which of those could he master solo in no time? Better hire help than risk the roof caving in mid-sleep.

The System Cat fell silent—such logic, unassailable!

Uncle Liu pocketed the deposit, looking pleased. He drained his tea and joined Aunt Wang cleaning the main hall.

With no one living here before, the place had moldered unattended. Now someone did, so the main hall demanded a proper cleanup—a silent mark of respect.

Chen Ji sat contentedly, scrolling his phone to order daily essentials. He could hike down to pick up deliveries or pay a villager to bring them. He wasn’t great at making fire, so a gas stove and canister were next. Until then, self-heating meals it was.

Oh, right—internet too!

He stroked the half-grown kitten and sighed: 【Sometimes you don’t know how useless you are till life forces it out of you.】

The System Cat: 【Talking about yourself?】

【About you.】 Chen Ji tugged its ears: 【Can’t even hook up Wi-Fi—what good are you?】

The System Cat: 【Don’t push it! You little—】

Before it finished, Chen Ji cut in: 【Enough chatter. Settle the task rewards first. Stash those green bricks and whatnot in the cellar, or I’ll whoop you.】

Hearing actual business for once, the System Cat grumbled but got to work.

By lunchtime, the Mountain Lord Temple was mostly tidied. Chen Ji warmly invited Uncle Liu and Aunt Wang for self-heating hot pot. After they headed down, he checked the cellar’s building materials. The System Cat trailed at his heels: 【Stuff’s all here. Put your grandpa’s relics in the east corner… there.】

Chen Ji glanced over instinctively. The cellar had no lights, untouched for at least fifteen years—dank and foreboding by rights, yet it felt strangely serene. He shone his flashlight as he approached.

It was a camphor wood chest about half a cubic meter. Inside were mostly clothes, silky to the touch. Following Grandpa’s habits, Chen Ji felt around and found a small box. He pulled it out. Within lay four items: a palm-sized bronze bell, a hand string bracelet of unknown wood, a talisman of indeterminable material, and a small booklet.

For some reason, Chen Ji recalled last night’s dream. He snapped the box shut and took it out with him.

He often had eerie dreams like that, but yesterday’s felt too real. Grandpa had been the temple keeper—who knew if these things worked? Still, they held meaning. Better to keep them, for peace of mind.

The busy day passed uneventfully. That night, the System Cat jolted awake from sleep, eyeing Chen Ji oddly. Seeing him slumber soundly, it settled back down.

【Chen Ji… Chen Ji…】

【Chen Ji… Chen…】

As if someone were calling his name.

In his dreams, Chen Ji suddenly became aware of this, only for it to dissolve into chaos the next instant.

The handsome young man asleep on the bed furrowed his brow. Beneath the thin quilt, something bulged unnaturally, snaking along like a serpent. A faint murmur escaped his throat. His wrist twitched, as if pinned by invisible force to the bed, his tense fingers curling then forcibly prying open inch by inch.

Thin sweat beaded on his skin, shimmering like gossamer in the moonlight. Suddenly, he arched in agony, only to be slammed back down. His pant leg rode up in the struggle, baring his pale calf and ankle.

A red mark like a snake’s trail emerged slowly, darkening to purple bruise. His toes clenched; the sheets bunched with kick marks.

A similar red mark bloomed on his slender neck, nearly choking him.

【Chen Ji……】

【Chen Ji……】