Strange Stories

Chapter 557: Eliminating the Year and Eliminating the Filth
"What if I meet the Door God or the Kitchen God?"

"Are you stupid? How many door gods are there in the world? There were two before, and even if we add the two newly appointed by the emperor of this dynasty for some reason, there are only four in total! How many doors are there in the world? How many stove gods are there in the world, and how many stoves are waiting for the stove gods? Even if they want to protect, they will go to protect the rich and powerful. How many incense sticks do ordinary people have to offer?" One of the monsters said, "Besides, today is New Year's Eve, and we don't know whether the gods in heaven are on duty! Maybe they have come down to play!"

"That makes sense..."

"Eh? Why haven't I seen this family before?"

A group of monsters stopped in front of an ordinary courtyard.

"I feel that way too! Why does it seem like it wasn't here before?"

"Whose family is this? I have no impression!"

"I remember! This family used to be here, but they never opened the door or turned on the lights before!"

"So that's how it is." A spirit said, "I see lights on in the house, but no one is there. They must have gone out to watch a show and join in the fun. This family hasn't been home for a long time. Now that they've come back, there must be a table of wine and meat. Let's take it away before they come back and find a secluded place to celebrate New Year's Eve. How about we?"

Many monsters applauded!
Some of the monsters immediately turned into shadows and passed through the door; some turned into a wisp of green smoke and floated in from the crack of the lower door; some were nimble and flipped in from the top of the courtyard door with a little effort; some turned sideways and became as thin as paper and squeezed in from the crack of the middle door;

Several monsters showed their magical powers, which looked quite strange, and just like that, they came to the yard with the pear tree.

The two monsters that could pass through walls and turn into smoke ran the fastest and had already entered the inner room.

The two monsters outside asked in a low voice:
"Is there anyone in there?"

"nobody."

There was also a demon climbing over the wall, probably a fox or something like that, who asked again, "Do you have a dog at home?"

"nor."

"Pa! Very good!" The monster clapped his hands and said, "What kind of wine and food do they have at home?"

"It's bad! There's nothing to eat! This family ate before leaving! There's no meat left for the first and second days of the new year!" said the goblin inside. "What a pity! The leftovers in the slop bucket smell delicious, greasy and full of spices. If it weren't for New Year's Eve today, we would have had a taste of it!"

"There's also a bowl of food! I wonder what it is!" said another spirit in the inner room. "It looks like a half moon, with noodles on the outside and meat and vegetables on the inside. It's a bit like the dumplings that are becoming popular in the northern capital, but each one is as big as a palm!"

"Let's come in and take a look too!"

"Come in quickly! Don't say that I don't know etiquette. I ate it behind your back so that I can teach you what it is after you come in and taste it together!"

In the quiet streets and houses, the sounds at night are only a little bit in the breeze. Most people can't hear them. If they hear them, they will definitely find them strange.

After a while, the four monsters entered the house.

Suddenly, a creaking sound was heard.

The gate outside seemed to be pushed open.

In an instant, there was a pause in the room, and the lights flickered.

A very light and subtle voice came from inside.

"Someone is back..."

"What should I do?"

"Don't be afraid! They should be afraid of us! Let's go out and scare them first, and you two can take the food and run out of the chimney!"

"it is good……"

With a bang, the door opened!

It was a pitch-black night outside, and extremely quiet.

Just as the two monsters rushed out, they saw a dazzling colorful divine light suddenly burst out in the yard, which forced them back. Even the monster who was about to roll up the food and leave was frightened and stunned.

"Empress Yuan-Yuan..."

If we talk about who knows the gods in the temple best, apart from the most devout believers and the gods themselves, it would be these little demons and monsters - they might not recognize Taoist Jiang when he became an ordinary Taoist, but now he is wearing divine clothes and surrounded by colorful divine light, which scares them out of their wits.

Some of the monsters were smart and were still thinking about how Yuanjun got here, while some of them were completely silent and just knelt down and begged for mercy. It was hard to tell which one was smart and which one was stupid.

"Where are the Heavenly Soldiers?"

"exist!"

Four heavenly soldiers appeared out of nowhere, wearing silver helmets and armor, and looked very powerful.

"Catch him and wait for interrogation and punishment."

"Yes!"

The heavenly soldiers immediately stepped forward, captured the four monsters, and transformed into divine light, immediately disappearing into the night sky.

At this time, a group of Taoists came in from behind.

"Empress Yuanjun is so majestic." Lin Jue said, and then asked with a smile, "What will happen to those monsters?"

"This is not the north. Even if there are demons or ghosts, they will be punished according to the law after interrogation. Although they broke into the house to steal and intended to scare people, they are not guilty of death. I have special judges to interrogate them." Taoist Jiang has returned to his ordinary Taoist attire. "However, the Purple Emperor has taken over the Nine Heavens, and the laws of heaven are also changing. The sentencing is now higher than in the previous dynasty. They may be whipped and suppressed for a few years, or sentenced to serve as servants in a god's temple or work in an orchard. It can be considered as education and correction. If you are lucky, you can have a good fortune."

"This is very humane." "What is humane?" Taoist Jiang frowned.

“It is benevolence.”

“So it’s the Ren of Rende.”

"almost."

While the two were talking, the eldest and second brothers had already entered the room and took a look at the large bowl of dumplings made by the disciples on the table, which were left for a midnight snack.

"It looks like it hasn't been touched by them much, so it's still edible."

"Only two have been touched." The eldest brother first picked up the one that fell on the table, then picked up the one on the edge of the basin, and directly took a bowl from the side and put it in it, "I will eat these two."

More disciples came up behind him and took out the snacks they bought at the Lantern Festival Night Market, including roast goose, roast duck, rice wine, and dried persimmons, all of which were placed on the table.

It is true that we had dinner before going out, but after strolling around the lantern festival and night market all night, I don't know how many streets and alleys I walked, probably half of the city. When I encountered lantern riddles, it took some brainpower, and I was also hungry. Tonight is a good opportunity to have a midnight snack and drink a glass of rice wine while watching the fireworks.

"Empress Yuanjun, please take a seat first." The little sister imitated her brother and said, "Follow us and try some human food."

Everyone sat down around the table and divided into two tables.

Taoist Priest Jiang looked calm as he glanced at the wine, meat and snacks he had bought at the Lantern Festival night market and directly picked up a palm-sized dumpling.

“Why isn’t anyone setting off fireworks here?”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a "chirp" sound, and as if in response, a firework rushed into the night sky and exploded on the roof that they could see through the door, shining brightly.

So everyone watched the fireworks and had a midnight snack.

Lin Jue couldn't help but look outside the house.

The pear tree stood quietly in the yard.

Lin Jue was reluctant to leave it, and also reluctant to leave this place.

Life here is quiet and peaceful. Every year I can eat as many pears as I want. It is very relaxing and comfortable.

If possible, Lin Juezhen would like to live here for another three years.

It's a pity that I have to leave tomorrow.

Lin Jue tasted a few mouthfuls of the food and wine, then quickly plucked off a goose leg, handed it to the fox beside him, and said to it:

"We will be leaving tomorrow, so please remove some of the spells hidden here and disperse some of the spiritual energy left by Second Senior Brother after he made the elixir."

"Mmmmm..."

While eating, the fox looked back and took a breath.

A barely perceptible wisp of smoke was sucked into its mouth.

Previously, it had been relying on these hard-to-see smoke to cover up the movement of alchemy here. Although sometimes the strange phenomena caused by heaven and earth could not be completely blocked, the medicinal fragrance, spiritual light, and spiritual energy emitted could still be covered relatively completely. In addition, this is not the capital, not the residence of Master Lin, and Master Lin has never refined the elixir here. Even if people see the occasional strange phenomena of heaven and earth, they will not think that Master Lin came here to refine the elixir. They will only think that it is a natural phenomenon and a sign from heaven and earth or gods.

Now that the smoke is less, the mysterious charm of the alchemy in the courtyard and the fairy spirit of becoming an immortal can't help but leak out a little.

Just a little bit.

If there are too many, it will scare the evil spirits.

This alone is a strong attraction for some fairies and ghosts.

Those who are honest and well behaved will naturally guess that this thing belongs to someone, and will at least come to check it out first. If they see someone in the house, they will not act rashly. Those who are not honest and well behaved will definitely try every means to find out what treasure these mysterious spiritual charms come from and seize the elixir.

Four immortals, a seven-tailed fox, and a Yuanjun from the southern god system were sitting here, watching the fireworks and eating supper.

"Rumble..."

There was a faint sound of thunder.

A dark cloud that could distinguish between good and evil quietly spread out and directly covered the entire Yangzhou City. It did not release lightning snakes, but just floated quietly in the sky, overlooking the city.

Until late at night, the fireworks stopped exploding.

"Boom!"

A thick, bright bolt of purple-red lightning struck down, piercing through the sky and earth in an instant.

Then there were several consecutive ones, crisscrossing like a net.

I don't know. I thought this was not winter but midsummer, and this was not land but the sea where a storm was happening.

Get rid of the old year and get rid of the filth.

This is Lin Jue's New Year's gift to Master Yun Chan, and it can also be considered a gift to Taoist Jiang and the southern gods.

(End of this chapter)