OBS Chapter 226: The river mother raises a demon?
Chapter 226: The river mother raises a demon?
Seventy-second year of seeking change, December 7th.
The drizzle was hazy, the road was slippery, it was cold and difficult to walk.
The Lingtian Dynasty was very large, with counties and villages arranged in a very organized manner. The official roads were like blood vessels in the human body, connecting all the places together.
Li Chang passed by many places and met many talented people in the world. Some of them drank and chatted happily, while others passed by him without even looking back.
At dusk.
He stayed in an inn outside a village. The decoration of this inn was unique. There was a circle of wooden fence outside, forming a small courtyard. The main building was a wooden attic, about two stories high.
He knocked on the door, and the waiter came out to open it. With a playful look on his face, he said apologetically, "Don't blame me, don't blame me. It's cold today, so I'm closed."
There were four wooden tables on the first floor, and one of them happened to be empty. It was December, and the weather was getting colder, so a charcoal fire was burning in the corner to keep people warm.
Li Changxiao sat down at an empty table. Within a few breaths, his body warmed up. After asking the waiter what kind of food the restaurant had, he ordered a few at random.
Li Changxiao soon noticed that behind the counter, there was a strange-looking statue.
The god had a tiger's head, a snake's body and a ferocious face. He stopped the waiter who was delivering the food and asked him who this god was.
Upon hearing this, the waiter was immediately delighted and said, "This is the God of Wealth!"
Li Changxiao was stunned. When did the God of Wealth look like this?
He whispered, "During this long journey, I have seen seventy-seven gods of wealth, each one is different, which is quite interesting."
He didn't dwell on the issue.
After finishing his meal, he asked the shopkeeper for a room and went upstairs to sleep.
There are about eight rooms on the second floor, neither too big nor too small, just enough for one night. After all, this is not a prosperous place, just an inn at the entrance of the village.
He slept until midnight. With his personality, if he wanted to sleep, normal noise would not wake him up. But it rained heavily that night, and the raindrops as big as beans hit the roof, making a lot of noise.
Many wanderers like him who stayed here were unable to sleep because of the noise and kept cursing. The next morning, Li Changxiao woke up and prepared to leave, but the shopkeeper suddenly tried to keep him.
The shopkeeper looked strange, and his general meaning was that it would be better to stay here for a few days, as the mountain roads nearby were difficult to travel on.
Li Changxiao asked again.
The shopkeeper didn't know what to say, so he waved his hand impatiently. If the swordsman insisted on leaving, he wouldn't bother to stop him.
Li Changxiao took out one or two taels of silver and placed them on the counter. The shopkeeper immediately showed a wry smile on his face. It turned out that money could make things happen. The shopkeeper then pointed to the village behind.
He lowered his voice and said, "There are a total of 329 households in that village."
Hearing this, the people who were having breakfast at the table were also drawn to this side and looked over.
They are a man and a woman, both of whom are well-known martial artists in the Lingtian Dynasty. Judging from their appearance, they should be quite young, and can be considered a perfect match.
Li Changxiao had some impression of the two men. They slept next to him last night and he could hear the sounds of their intercourse clearly, but he was no longer surprised.
The woman asked, "Shopkeeper, how many households are there in the village? What does it have to do with you? And what does it have to do with us going out?"
The shopkeeper said, "Don't worry, listen to me carefully."
"That village has 329 households, which is considered a large village. Because it is located next to a river, a river mother temple was built. The river mother in the temple is made of bronze."
"Oh?" Li Changxiao became interested immediately after hearing it.
The shopkeeper continued, "This temple has been receiving a lot of incense, but as time went by, a monster was born!"
Hear the words.
Fortunately, it was broad daylight, otherwise the shopkeeper's bluffing statement would have scared people.
"What kind of monster is it?" the woman asked curiously.
The shopkeeper continued, "Just thirty years ago, cracks suddenly appeared on the bronze body of the river mother, and then with a clang, a humanoid figure crawled out of it... It flashed by so fast that I couldn't see it clearly. Since then, ghost stories have continued to occur, and the mountain road nearby is no longer as easy to travel on as before."
"Later, the village invited a group of talented people to perform rituals and set up a temple, which barely solved the problem. However, the beginning of December every year is when the ghost wreaks havoc."
The shopkeeper said, "So everyone, you should stay here for a few more days."
The shopkeeper muttered to himself, "This isn't the first time a river mother has raised a monster."
Li Changxiao frowned and quickly paid a considerable amount of money, intending to stay here for a few more days. The boss was all smiles and very happy, but the couple had a different opinion, thinking that this was just a crude trick made up by the shopkeeper to retain customers.
The two cursed at each other and then went out.
At noon.
Li Changxiao also left the inn and walked around. The inn was located at the entrance of the village. After leaving the inn and walking to the right for less than a hundred meters, he entered the village. The houses in the village were low, and most of them had thatched roofs.
After walking a few steps, I saw a building that was completely different from the surrounding houses. It had red walls and painted tiles, and was very imposing. The words "City God Temple" were written on it.
The inside is filled with incense.
Go inside.
It is a golden statue, holding a sword, looking into the distance with an angry expression, but with lowered eyebrows, he looks somewhat kind.
"The City God is made of gold?" Li Changxiao was a little surprised. From the smoke of incense, it was not difficult to see that the local people still trusted the City God very much.
He narrowed his eyes slightly. Although the village was not small, building a temple like this was not an easy task. It required a lot of manpower and material resources.
Li Changxiao walked out of the City God Temple and wandered around the village. Unexpectedly, after walking a few steps, he saw another temple in front of him: "Mountain God Temple"
When we walked into the temple, we saw several hunters kneeling and burning incense devoutly.
It turns out that the mountain god enshrined in this mountain temple is a mountain god called "Changkong Mountain" three miles west of the village.
Why is a temple to a mountain god set up in a village?
Li Changxiao walked on, and after a few more steps, he saw another temple, with red walls and red tiles, and thick smoke, in the alley: "Ding'an Temple."
This time, Li Changxiao did not enter the temple. He just continued walking. The village with more than 300 households was not very big. After walking for more than an hour, he had almost finished the walk.
What made him frown was.
In a village with only more than 300 households, there are more than 20 temples!
City God Temple, Mountain God Temple, Ding'an Temple, Ziwu Temple...
Among them, there are seven mountain god temples, each different.
Every temple enshrines a golden statue, is surrounded by red walls, and receives incense and worships...
Looking at the common people again, they are burdened with heavy taxes. All that money on the golden bodies and red walls is ultimately squeezed from the common people.
So pitiful and sad.
Li Changxiao never thought that he would see such a scene just after entering the Lingtian Dynasty.
Walk to the end of the village.
Li Changxiao came to the last temple.
The temple has been abandoned and no one worships it.