Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 188 The Three-Life Rope

"My benefactor, is that you?"

The woman from the Lu family was startled as she held the little copper coin, but she steadied herself and quickly tightened her grip on the little copper coin, lowering her voice.

Chen Ji nodded and replied softly.

"it's me."

"Didn't I tell you to leave immediately? Why are you still following the sedan chair? Do you think they can't see you?"

“I… am worried that my benefactor is in danger.”

"Even if I am in danger, you can't help me here. You should hurry to the City God Temple in Fenshan Town to find Master Xiyun."

"City God Temple?"

The woman from the Lu family stood there, stunned, and suddenly swallowed.

"Could our benefactor be a deity?"

"No, he is just a Taoist practitioner. Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. The sedan chair is about to leave, you may go by yourself."

As soon as Chen Ji finished speaking, the temple keeper beside the sedan chair spoke coldly.

"The lucky money has been distributed. Does the goddess have anything else to do? If not, don't waste time, lest you miss the auspicious time."

"Let's go."

Chen Ji watched the Lu family woman leave, then withdrew his gaze and slowly gave instructions.

"The blessing ceremony is over, the goddess lifts the sedan chair, and the wedding procession continues!"

The matchmaker called out loudly in a high-pitched voice from behind.

The suona players quickly got up, hid the copper coins they had just picked up, and started playing again.

As the sedan chair departed, Lu's daughter gripped the bronze puppet in her hand tightly and hurriedly headed out of the village.

She already knew that her benefactor was a capable person, and that following him would be of no use and would only cause trouble. She thought it would be better to go to the City God Temple to find a master and clarify things as her benefactor had suggested.

It's still early, so we can get going.

Inside the sedan chair, Chen Ji watched the Lu family woman leave before resuming his magic, leaving behind a bronze puppet in an inconspicuous place and sending a portion of his consciousness there.

The bronze puppet given to the Lu family girl was a token. When he arrived at the City God Temple, Master Xiyun and Miss Bai would know that he couldn't come over and needed their help, so they would naturally send someone over.

The bronze puppet was there to tell the bronze toad and the mudfish demon that he was here.

He obtained the Copper Puppet Technique from the Copper Toad. He had a way of sensing this aura. The Mud Loach Demon and the Copper Toad Demon had their own way of communicating.

I thought we'd still have time to exchange information, but time is so tight that we have to go see the River God right now, so this is the only option we have.

We don't know how things are progressing with the mudfish demon yet, but the bronze toad demon should have made some discoveries.

Otherwise, if the temple keeper and the matchmaker had both returned, it would have been impossible for them not to come back.

They must be investigating something while these two are out.

That's good, at least we can investigate.

only……

Chen Ji also realized that being the City God was indeed not an easy thing.

Having served as the City God for only a few days, he had already used every single one of his fellow Daoists and ghost messengers.

The Taoist priests of Qingfeng Temple, the monks of Wanshou Temple, and the foxes of Sendai Mountain were all assigned jobs in the City God Temple.

Even so, he still felt there were not enough people. If he weren't just acting as the City God, he would have applied to the underworld to transfer another batch of underworld officials to help.

Thinking of this, he shook his head again.

No wonder none of the city gods I've encountered have been good.

If everyone toiled and struggled like him, dying would be more tiring than living, then what would be the point of being the City God?
Moreover, the City God has dozens of underlings, and the monthly expenses for incense offerings are considerable.

Without extorting some money, the City God wouldn't even be able to pay his subordinates' salaries with the incense offerings he receives.

No wonder they're all thinking about making money and gaining incense offerings.

It seems I took it too seriously, wanting to be a good City God.

But are they really like them, caring nothing but collecting offerings and donations?

Chen Ji thought about it.

He shook his head again.

I'm definitely not cut out to be a corrupt official.

Thinking of this, he looked outside the sedan chair again.

Although the bridal sedan chair was covered with a thick red cloth, it meant nothing to Chen Ji.

The obstructions are easily seen through by the eye.

They watched as the soldiers protecting the village carried the sedan chair out of the town.

Red ropes can still be faintly seen tied to the trees on both sides of the road, especially the first few, which look newly replaced, with some bowls and plates placed below them, as if someone had recently performed a sacrifice.

Chen Ji's heart sank even further.

According to that old man...

The red ropes in the village are for counting, but the red ropes outside the village are the marks left when the bride was sent off to the groom's home.

The woman married the river god and never returned to visit her family.

The parents missed their daughter and dared not go to the river to burn incense and pray, for fear of offending the river god. At home, it would be against the rules, and the door gods and household gods would also obstruct them.

So they tied a rope to the spot where the bride was sent off at the last step, hoping that if the daughter could cross the river and take a look, she would know that this was left by her family. It was said that there was a Three Lives Stone in the underworld, and if a ghost looked back from the Three Lives Stone, it could know its past lives.

Therefore, the villagers also call these ropes the "Three Lives Ropes." As long as they see that the ropes are still new, they know that there are still people in the world who care about them.

It sounds wonderful, but as Chen Ji looked at it, he felt more and more that the red rope was full of human lives, which chilled him to the bone.

It's unknown what these women encountered in the river...

As Chen Ji pondered, something suddenly occurred to him, and his eyes lit up.

He coughed lightly and tapped on the pillar of the sedan chair.

"Is it convenient for you now, Temple Keeper? I have something I'd like to ask you."

They were the only group of people on the road, and the sound of the suona had been playing for so long that everyone's ears were tired of it. Upon hearing this, they quickly stopped and waited quietly for the temple keeper's reply.

Why did you stop?

The temple keeper gave the musicians a cold look.

After a deep breath, the suona horn sounded loudly again.

The temple keeper then gave him a look and stepped forward with the matchmaker.

"What does the goddess wish to ask?"

"I want to ask what happened to those women who married into the River God's Water Palace?"

"This……"

The temple keeper was taken aback for a moment before realizing what was happening and putting on a smile.

"What the goddess says is true. After marrying into the Water Palace, you will naturally live a life of luxury, eating and drinking to your heart's content. Your life will be incredibly sweet from now on."

"Then why don't they come back to visit their families?"

"This……"

The temple keeper paused for a few moments before slowly speaking.

"The goddess is unaware of this. In the beginning, she could have returned."

"But after all, there is a difference between humans and gods. After they marry into the Water Palace, they will have the mark of the Water Palace on their bodies. If they come back to the human world, it will not be good for their families or the Water Palace."

"So later, in order to protect their families, the goddesses stopped coming out."

Chen Ji sneered inwardly.

As expected of a temple keeper, he came up with a very good excuse.

If someone has no cultivation level, they could easily be fooled by him.

Unfortunately, Chen Ji did not believe his words and smiled slightly.

"Then why hasn't a single letter been sent? Does the river god forbid the goddess from writing back?"

"This... I don't know, after all, I'm just a temple keeper, and I dare not ask the deity about such things."

As the temple keeper spoke, he winked at the matchmaker, signaling her to speak.

If we keep asking like this, something bad might happen before we even get to the river.

The matchmaker understood and cried out angrily.

"You bunch of good-for-nothings! Didn't we prepare good rice and meat for you at noon? Why are you slacking off now and trying to save your energy?"

"It looks like we're going to miss the auspicious time. If that ruins the City God's important business, who will take responsibility?"

"Hurry up and leave!"

Seeing this, the village guards dared not utter a single word of dissent and hurriedly got up and quickened their pace.

Now it was as if they had some kind of magical blessing, and it was noticeably much faster.

The sedan chair swayed and rocked, interrupting the questions that followed.

The temple keeper hurriedly replied loudly.

"Goddess, please rest assured and ride in the sedan chair. Once we arrive at the Water Palace, someone will naturally explain things to you."

"Alright."

Chen Ji knew he wouldn't get anything out of these two people, so he sat down comfortably, put down his veil, and waited to go to the riverbank to see what was going on with the river god's marriage.

But when the red cloth was lowered, Chen Ji realized that he had become too immersed in the role.

He didn't really want to be the river god's bride. It was fine when someone was pretending before, but now that he was alone in the sedan chair, there was no need to pretend. He simply ripped it off and threw it away.

Then he looked at his arm.

I hadn't examined the paper doll closely when it was first integrated, but now I've discovered that this paper doll technique, when applied to the outside of my body, is indistinguishable from real skin.

I admire the founder of the Meishan lineage even more.

Puppetry, disguise, messenger, soldiers...

They truly took paper crafting to its extreme.

If I have the chance, I really should go to the ancestral temple of the Meishan lineage to learn a thing or two, and also tell them about Mei Minglun.

As Chen Ji was thinking, he suddenly felt the sedan chair slow down and stop after a few steps.

The matchmaker's voice rose again from behind the sedan chair.

"The newlyweds have arrived! Please, goddess, alight from the sedan chair, and prepare for the wedding ceremony!"

(End of this chapter)