The City God Temple is outside the county town, six miles to the east.
Xu Qian'an and his party rode on horseback and arrived at their destination in a cup of tea.
A small temple with black tiles and white walls is located not far from the official road. The small temple is surrounded by white walls, and a narrow path connects the temple and the official road.
The City God Temple is very popular. There are always people in simple clothes and rich people in bright clothes going back and forth on the narrow path, entering and leaving the temple.
There are also several carriages parked outside the temple.
"Whoa!"
Xu Qian'an pulled the reins in front of the temple gate, turned over and dismounted, and helped Mu Nanzhi down. He and Li Lingsu and Miao Youfang tied the horses to the wooden stakes on the side of the road.
He closed his eyes and sensed for a mont, and was imdiately disappointed. There was no breath of dragon energy around.
Two burly n stood at the temple gate, stretched out their hands to stop them, raised their heads, and said:
"To enter the temple and burn incense, give twenty coins first."
There are also tickets in this era. Although the temple gods have nothing to do with dragon energy, since you have encountered it, go in and take a look...Xu Qiyan glanced at Li Lingsu, who curled his lips and took out twenty coins and handed them over.
The man on the left took it, examined the brocade robe on Xu Qiyan, and said:
"Twenty coins each..."
Mu Nanzhi frowned. This guy obviously saw that Xu Qiyan was wearing good clothes and was looking for an opportunity to ask for money.
"Why don't they use it?" She pointed at a young couple entering the temple.
"They are regular custors, so they don't need it." The gatekeeper had his own set of rhetoric. He didn't seem to be afraid of trouble. He said impatiently:
"If you want to burn incense, pay quickly. If you don't have money, get out."
Xu Qiyan looked up to comfort Mu Nanzhi and said, "Give it to him."
After paying the money, the four people crossed the gate. Xu Qiyan glanced at the yard divided into two halves by the bluestone road leading to the temple. On the left was a rit tower cast in yellow mud, burning yellow paper.
On the right were two rows of half-person-high candlesticks, with red candles burning and wax tears rolling.
Many pilgrims gathered on both sides, burning yellow paper or lighting candles.
The four people crossed the yard and entered the City God Temple. The offerings in the temple imdiately attracted their attention.
It was an ugly little ghost with no shirt and a big belly. It raised its hands high and dragged a stone mirror. The mirror seed to be damaged and only half of it was left.
It's not that the statue is broken, but the mirror itself is broken.
In front of the sculpture, a dozen pilgrims are worshiping devoutly. On the right side of the incense table in front, stands an old woman with gray hair. She has thin cheeks and a high and broad forehead, and looks a bit like a rat.
Both shrewd and rcenary.
There are no fluctuations in qi, no wronged souls, no evil spirits...... Xu Qi'an circulated his soul and scanned around, confirming that this is just an ordinary City God Temple.
Whether it is a City God Temple is still to be discussed.
A normal City God Temple obviously would not enshrine a little ghost.
Li Lingsu also examined this small temple with the eighth-grade "switch" thod of Taoism. He shook his head slightly at Xu Qi'an, indicating that he found nothing unusual.
Is the waiter exaggerating? Xu Qi'an was a little disappointed. Rather than saying that the things behind it are so sophisticated that he can't detect the clues, it is more reliable to say that the waiter is obviously deceiving people.
It is impossible for a small county town to have two young dragons and phoenixes like Tianzong, deceiving the great Xu Yinluo.
Xu Qian'an pondered for a mont, walked up to the witch, and said:
"We are outsiders. We heard that the City God Temple here is very effective, so we ca to the temple to burn incense. You must be the witch. May I ask what gods are worshipped in the temple?"
The old woman glanced at him, and when she saw Xu Qian'an wearing a robe made of fine material, her eyes lit up, coughed, and said in a deep voice:
"Young man, you have co to the right place.
"The temple worships the God of Heaven, which is an omnipotent god. The mirror in his hand is called the God of Heaven. Through this mirror, the God of Heaven can see the world.
"I see that your forehead is black, and you may have bad luck recently. You can co here to burn incense because the God of Heaven is protecting you. He sees your bad luck."
Xu Qiyan cooperated with a "horrified" expression and said:
"What do you an? I, I have been smooth all the way."
The old woman said lightly:
"It's just that the ti has not co. If you want to eliminate bad luck, I can show you a way."
After Xu Qiyan nodded, she examined Xu Qiyan's clothes and said:
"The temple god loves money. Offer two hundred taels of silver and worship for seven days to eliminate bad luck."
Two hundred taels, what a big appetite...Xu Qiyan wrote down the nas of the God of Heaven and the God of Heaven Mirror, and planned to ask the mbers of the Tiandihui in the fragnts of the Earth Book.
Although he was basically sure that this old witch was a charlatan.
At this ti, a middle-aged man in light clothes ca over. He was wearing a sweatshirt inside and a worn-out cotton jacket outside. Straw could be seen in the holes.
The cotton jacket was stuffed with straw.
The middle-aged man had a weather-beaten face. Years of hard work made him look a little dull. He said sullenly:
"Witch, my wife is dying. Why hasn't she recovered yet?
"You said that if you offer sacrifices to the temple gods for seven days, her illness will be cured, but she can't eat today."
The witch frowned: "That ans you are not pious enough. You need to continue offering sacrifices for three days."
The middle-aged man heard this and showed a bitter expression on his weather-beaten face: "I, I have no money. All my savings have been donated to the temple."
The witch said unhappily:
"That's your business. If you don't have money, you can sell your land or borrow from others.
"The temple gods are fair. They will not favor you just because your family is poor. Don't other pilgrims offer sacrifices? Don't their families have poverty?"
After a set of logic, the middle-aged man was speechless, his lips trembling slightly.
"But my wife can't eat, can't eat..."
In the simple concept of the people, not being able to walk or eat is a matter of life and death.
The witch snorted and said threateningly:
"The temple gods will protect us, and if anyone offends, they will punish us."
The middle-aged man seed to have thought of sothing, showing an extrely frightened look, bending his back, and dared not speak again.
Miao Youfang, who was not far away, listened to the whole process, his eyebrows raised.
......
On the other side, Li Lingsu cleverly asked the pilgrims for information. His target was a young man.
"Brother, you are so young, what are you praying for in the temple?"
Li Lingsu is handso and elegant, and it is hard to ignore him, but the young man is evasive:
"No, nothing."
Li Lingsu smiled and said, "Everyone is here to burn incense, why not talk about it."
Secretly exerting influence with the power of the soul, his voice is mixed with the charm of obedience and closeness, the young man unconsciously opened his heart and smiled bitterly:
"I am here to pray for a child."
Li Lingsu said "Oh" and said, "Seven days too?"
The young man nodded.
"It cost a lot of money." Li Lingsu glanced at the middle-aged man while speaking.
"Silver is not bad..."
The young man showed a strange look, and he wanted to say sothing, but at this ti, the curtain leading to the inner hall was lifted, and a beautiful woman walked out quickly.
Her face was a little flushed, and her hair was a little ssy. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she imdiately lowered her head and walked back to her husband quickly.
After a while, the curtain was opened again, and a burly man ca out. He glanced at the figure of the pretty girl, and his face was full of satisfaction.
"Mom, I have sent a child on behalf of the temple god, you should collect the money. The young lady is very satisfied."
The man said with a smile.
The old woman looked at the young couple and said with a smile:
"Young lady of the Zhang family, Mr. Zhang, are you satisfied?"
The pretty girl's blush faded and gradually turned pale. The young man surnad Zhang flashed humiliation and anger in his eyes, and smiled:
"Satisfied, satisfied......"
As he said, he took off the money bag with a forced smile and handed it over.
The man reached out to take it, weighed it, and his eyes wandered around the pretty girl, grinning:
"There are still four days, rember to co on ti, otherwise the temple god will be angry."
The young couple's eyes showed fear at the sa ti, and they nodded repeatedly.
"Why don't you report to the authorities?"
A sigh sounded in the ears of the young man surnad Zhang. He turned his head and saw that it was the handso man with a dignified appearance.
He was infected by the voice again, and inexplicably mustered up courage in his heart. With a slightly fearful tone, he said:
"All those who report to the authorities are dead, and those who are disrespectful to the temple gods are also dead.
"As long as we worship the temple gods well, the temple gods will protect us......"
Li Lingsu asked directly:
"Since you know that those who are disrespectful to the temple gods are dead, why do you still co here to burn incense?"
As locals, the young couple should know the trouble of being involved with the temple gods, and they can choose not to co.
The young man surnad Zhang gritted his teeth and said:
"It's not that we want to co, it's him, he has taken a fancy to my wife, and ca to our door, asking us to go to the City God Temple to pray for a child, otherwise the temple gods will punish us. "
Li Lingsu understood that this was the sa as the sons of the rich and powerful bullying n and won. The difference was that one relied on power and the other relied on the temple gods.
He couldn't help but look at Xu Qiyan and saw that he had a gloomy face and was silent, as if thinking about sothing.
"Mother, where did this fool co from?"
The man listened calmly, not afraid at all, and even a little disdainful.
The witch had a gloomy face and pointed at Xu Qiyan and Miao Youfang, saying, "These are foreigners who ca together."
Then, she looked at the young couple with a sneer:
"Mr. Zhang, Mrs. Zhang, you are disrespectful to the temple gods, and the temple gods have seen it all."
The young lady's face turned pale, and she said in a crying voice, "Please forgive , the temple gods, please forgive , the witch." "
After knocking the young couple, the witch snorted coldly, looked at Xu Qiyan and others, and announced:
"You are disrespectful to the temple god and have angered the temple god. You are about to die. If you want to calm the anger of the temple god, you must offer three hundred taels of silver. Otherwise, I can't save you. "
Her son clapped his hands in cooperation, and the three n outside the temple imdiately walked in and surrounded Xu Qiyan and others.
The pilgrims around pointed and whispered.
"These outsiders are really brave."
"Yes, hurry up and offer the silver, otherwise you will die without knowing how to die. "
At this ti, Mr. Zhang had co back to his senses and was no longer affected by Li Lingsu. He knew what he had just said and was so scared that his legs were weak.
He said in a trembling voice: "Please forgive , please forgive ..."
The witch's son ignored him, stared at him with tiger eyes, and threatened Xu Qiyan and others: "Hurry up and offer the silver. "
The pilgrims beside him hurriedly persuaded him:
"Stranger, please confess your mistake to the temple gods."
"Why do you want to die?"
"Yes, please give the silver quickly, and don't let Mr. Zhang get involved."
The middle-aged man opened his mouth, as if he wanted to persuade him, but his eyes flashed with anger, and he clenched his fists silently.
"Silver? Damn it, go ask the King of Hell for it. "
Miao Youfang cursed, took two quick steps, clenched his fist, and leaned back with his right arm.
Bang!
Before anyone could react, he punched the witch's son on the head.
The head exploded like a waterlon, and blood, flesh and bones splattered all over the ground, the wall, and the temple god sculpture behind.
The temple was silent for a few seconds, and screams suddenly exploded, and the pilgrims fled out in panic.
The three n who guarded the City God Temple followed the pilgrims to the yard.
"Son!"
The witch scread shrilly, fell in front of the headless corpse, and cried bitterly.
Miao Youfang took out a long knife from the storage magic weapon given by Xu Qian'an, smashed it, kicked over the incense table, kicked the incense burner, and finally cut the temple god sculpture in half.
"You..."
The witch stared at the four people with resentnt, and said sternly: "The temple god will not let you go, everyone will die. "
"Kill her!"
Xu Qian'an said calmly.
He still had doubts and confusions about the temple god, but it didn't matter. He would let Li Lingsu summon the spirit later, and he would personally interrogate the witch's soul.
Miao Youfang imdiately chopped off the witch's head with a knife, and then kicked her head to pieces.
It's different with a younger brother. I don't need to do it myself... Xu Qian'an nodded with satisfaction, staring at the Zhang couple and the middle-aged man who were stunned, and sighed in his heart.
God, the witch is dead... The young couple was stunned, their hearts trembling violently, and they couldn't tell whether they were happy or afraid at this mont.
The middle-aged man was also dumbfounded.
The pilgrims in the yard were also dumbfounded.
Xu Qian'an knew that these people needed to be comforted. He walked out of the temple, looked at the pilgrims looking around in the yard, and said:
"I am the head of the police from the capital, and I have been my colleague these days.
"Soone went to Beijing to complain that soone in Shengyi County was offering sacrifices to the temple and harming the people.
"I have been investigating secretly for a few days and have found out the truth. The witch learned so magic tricks and secretly hard people, and pretended to be the temple god to intimidate the people.
"Now he has been executed, and you don't need to co here to offer sacrifices."
When the pilgrims heard that the young man was from the governnt, they felt much more at ease.
The world is big, and the court is the biggest. Because of this, they feel more secure when the court cos forward.
"But, but the temple god is really effective." A pilgrim said.
If it is just intimidation, they can't burn incense and offer sacrifices willingly.
"The owner of the rouge shop on Guanghua Street was killed by the witch. This matter has been investigated by this official." Xu Qian'an said.
The pilgrims were relieved.
Xu Qian'an turned and went into the temple, took out an ingot of official silver from his bosom, handed it to the middle-aged man, and said:
"If you are sick, you have to see a doctor."
After asking the middle-aged man's address, he turned around and told Li Lingsu: "Go there later and see the situation."
He was worried that the middle-aged man's wife was terminally ill and ordinary doctors were powerless to save her.
Li Lingsu nodded.
The middle-aged man knelt down tremblingly: "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."
At this ti, Miao Youfang picked up the money bag next to the son of the witch, threw it to Mr. Zhang, and said:
"Forget about what happened here, don't look down on your wife because of this."
The young man surnad Zhang took a look at the bodies of the witch and her son and spat fiercely. He bowed to the three people silently and left with his wife.
Miao Youfang turned his head and spat at the corpse. He looked accustod to it:
"I have been in the martial arts world for many years, and I have killed so many villains like this that I can't count them all."
"This is not a good thing!" Xu Qian'an said.
This shows that the court's jurisdiction and rule over various places are already very weak. When the order is gradually shaken, chaos will occur frequently.
Soone will stand up to establish a new order. By then, either the dynasty will change, or the dynasty will experience great trauma and linger on.
Xu Qian'an glanced outside and confird that the pilgrims had been driven out. He imdiately closed the temple door and ordered:
"Li Lingsu, summon the spirit!"
As soon as the voice fell, Miao Youfang suddenly covered his chest, his face was ashen, and he slowly shrank to the ground.
His face was the color of suffocating liver, his eyes rolled back, and his life breath quickly passed away.
A martial artist at the peak of the spirit refining realm was inexplicably on the verge of death?
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