Da Zaojun

Chapter 276 City God

After the Hu Fang clan was destroyed, Song Wuji set up a special "Immigration Bureau".

People from secret realms migrate to the mortal world, such as those from the Blessing Monk Secret Realm and the Magpie Bridge Secret Realm. In these two secret realms, there are people who have been reborn from the hungry ghost realm and heavenly beings, as well as people who are constantly waiting to migrate under the big locust tree.

Every so often, a new group of people would migrate from unknown places to replenish the population of the people who had migrated from the Big Locust Tree.

Song Wuji had already regarded this secret realm as a "refugee respawn point," but these people were of "low quality" and were not sensitive to the power of rituals; they were ordinary people from before the great changes in the world.

Using his supernatural powers, Song Wuji deduced that the constantly respawning refugees in the secret realm belonged to the "Minor Thousand People," who were actually randomly acquired from the River of Time.

The name means "great migration" or "great immigration".

The people of Xiaoqian are lacking in fundamental qualities, and therefore somewhat dull. However, they will be able to adapt to the present world in just one hundred days, and at that time they will also be able to obtain the corresponding ritual power.

Meanwhile, Master Bao and Li Guang, along with the other envoys, entered Hongzhou City.

The prefect of Hongzhou attached great importance to the delegation.

Of course, what they valued even more were the new technologies brought by the envoys, as well as the various elixirs, magical artifacts, and divine weapons they had created.

The officials in charge of receiving them were the prefectural school official, the prefectural magistrate, and the military and household affairs officials of Hongzhou.

The envoy's post station was arranged next to the government camp, which served both as surveillance and protection.

Since the prefect of Hongzhou didn't know Song Wuji's situation, their contact needed to be tested little by little.

After the delegation stayed overnight, they were allowed to explore Hongzhou Prefecture the following day.

This time is for private talks; the official conference can only be held on the third day.

The first invitation Master Bao received was not from the Prefect of Hongzhou, or the General of Hongzhou, or any other prominent family in the prefecture, but from the City God Temple of Hongzhou.

Master Bao and Li Guang discussed, "Why has the City God invited us?"

Li Guang pondered for a moment: "This is a test, and also a means to sow discord."

“If we don’t go, he will know that we are going to deal with him.”

“If we go, the prefect of Hongzhou and the general of Hongzhou will become suspicious. They have already sent messages that believe that the rituals of the City God of Hongzhou Prefecture are the same as those of the previous Rakshasa City God, which are heretical and require the execution of sinners and the sewing of corpses, such as these kinds of rituals.”

"It's just been given a different name, called Yinye, which means living people doing business in the underworld: painting skins, sewing corpses, carrying corpses, walking through the underworld, choosing burial sites... They all received the City God's edict, but they called it Gou Die Yin Lu."

"So, are we going or not?"

“Go,” Li Guang said. “Our lord said he hopes for a bloodless victory, and it would be best to prevent the City God from causing trouble.”

Master Bao recalled the previous Rakshasa City God of Taichang County. When he unleashed his power, all the believers and the twenty-four officials were drained of their vital essence, spirit, and even their souls.

So he nodded and said, "Then I'll go meet them."

Li Guang said, "I will contact the general first, but you must be careful."

"I'm not afraid of dying, because I might be reborn by some miracle!"

Master Bao, however, was confident: "Let's see what he's up to. On this trip, the Lord of the Realm taught me the method of gathering firewood. With the White Bone Instant Kill Slash, I can instantly rise to the seventh rank. I have nothing to fear from his mere ghosts and gods." He said this, but Master Bao was still a cook at heart. He was just talking big. But it was precisely because he was a commoner that he could hide his sense of national righteousness.

Li Guang nodded. Song Wuji had also given him similar instructions: if things really didn't work out and negotiations broke down, he should leave.

Generally speaking, messengers are not to be killed. Furthermore, Song Wuji's killing of demons was a favor to Hongzhou Prefecture.

The two sides had already discussed the matter beforehand and were going to hold a meeting. The main thing they needed to do was to find out which voices were truly in favor of the alliance and which were dissatisfied.

After tidying up his clothes, Master Bao headed towards the City God Temple, while Li Guang used a teleportation technique to go to the General's Mansion.

After entering the City God Temple, Master Bao felt that the temple was solemn and grand.

Although it is a City God Temple, and the main deity worshipped is the City God, there is also a City God's wife, judges who reward good and judge evil, twenty-four officials, day and night patrol gods, gatekeeper generals, soul-collecting messengers, and land inspectors.

Each of them was terrifying and imposing; one held instruments of torture, another held a soul-destroying club or a soul-beating stick, and they all stared at the newcomer.

It was as if only one thought remained: "You have committed sins and must go to hell!"

The hall was inscribed with the words "The laws of the underworld are merciless," and below it was another sign that read "A clear mirror hangs high."

Although Master Bao was protected by the stove fire, he still felt a chill all over his body, as if this City God Temple had transformed the world of the living into the world of the dead.

After a while, seeing that the City God had not yet appeared, they frowned: "Since the City God has invited you, why don't you come out to meet him?"

Then a temple keeper emerged from behind the temple. This temple keeper had a pale and emaciated face, and was covered in tattoos, even on his face. These tattoos were all of the appearance of evil spirits.

He coughed and said, "The City God is currently handling official business in the Underworld. You can enter the Underworld by offering a stick of incense."

Master Bao chuckled: "It seems the City God doesn't want to talk. I'm not one of those ignorant commoners. I represent the Lord of the Territory. Does he even deserve to talk?"

The temple keeper coughed and said, "There are gods watching over us. How dare you disrespect the gods? If it weren't for the City God's rituals that brought prosperity to all industries, the entire city would have perished. Such merit is immeasurable. How could we not accept your offering of incense?"

"Very well! If such merit is truly attained, you may accept a stick of incense from me. It is to protect all people, without any selfish motives!"

Master Bao took out the "Incense of Justice" he had prepared. This incense was made from nine kinds of righteous and holy medicines. It can be used to worship the god of justice, but if one's virtue is lacking, one will be tortured by justice.

This incense comes from the "Incense Manual," which originated from the Iron Pillar Palace. The Taoist boys there learn their skills by making incense and paper. Incense is used to worship the gods, and paper is used to write talismans.

As soon as the incense of righteousness was lit, the City God in the Underworld saw the entire Underworld become scorching hot, and the coldness was boiled away. It was the incense of righteousness, which had the meaning of "loyalty and courage" and could dispel the cold and evil, and warm people's hearts.

The City God, sensing the surging incense offerings, wanted to suppress it, but then heard a poem: "Since ancient times, who has ever escaped death? Let my loyal heart shine in history."

But even with special efforts, it couldn't be suppressed; a wisp of fire, a fire of humanity, burned here along with the incense stick.

He then regretted it: "I thought I could use the incense to establish karma and use the fragments of the mirror to see my destiny, but it turned out to be like pouring hot oil on cold water!"

Fortunately, he did manage to protect a portion of the people. Although he was guilty of personal malpractice and enjoyed the food and drink, he has not lost his integrity so far.

Just like corrupt officials, they can also lead troops into battle at critical moments. Although they may embezzle military funds, they know how much to embezzle and do not become corrupt.

(End of this chapter)