Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 189 Entering the Water Mansion

With a shout, the suonas (traditional Chinese wind instruments) began to play.

The music being played was not the grand wedding ceremony from before, but the famous suona piece "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix".

Chen Ji was also familiar with the local etiquette.

This is a tune that officials of the fifth rank or above can use when getting married, but this is not the capital, or even a prefecture.

In a small rural village, the people getting married are not officials, but deities, so there is no need to follow human laws.

If you think it sounds good, just have someone play it for you.

Anyway, no one will submit a memorial to the throne.

However, this hastily assembled suona band rarely had the opportunity to play this piece, so at this moment, it could only be described as orderly, without much joy in its performance.

However, no one present cared how much they boasted.

Any sound is enough.

"The auspicious hour has arrived, please alight from the sedan chair, goddess!"

The matchmaker shouted a second time.

The sound of the suona became even more intense.

Sitting in the sedan chair, Chen Ji also sensed something different.

There seemed to be too much moisture in the air; it felt less like being on the shore and more like standing in the middle of a river, with the moisture constantly hitting our faces.

Moreover, there was a faint sense of demonic energy emanating from it.

Although it is upright, it is not entirely so; it also contains a trace of evil and dark energy.

The mules and horses at the back of the wedding procession pawed at the ground, making a sound, hinting at a sense of unease.

"The River God's retinue has arrived; we respectfully welcome the Goddess back to her palace!"

A voice came from not far away. Chen Ji immediately recognized it as the voice of the turtle spirit from the Hutuo River Water Palace.

Chen Ji smiled slightly as he recalled the past, but decided not to waste any more time.

He had originally planned to go into the Water Palace to find out what was going on, and now that a Water Palace demon had come to fetch him, it was naturally more convenient.

Lifting the sedan curtain, the temple keeper and the matchmaker stood on either side, bowing to a group of turtle, fish, shrimp, and crab demons in front of them.

As expected, the one in the front row is also a turtle spirit.

"Welcome, messengers. We will now leave the goddess to you and return to our quarters."

The temple keeper bowed and said.

The turtle spirit stretched its neck and slowly nodded.

"Good, we haven't wasted any time. We can report back to the Prefect now. You may go back."

Then, remembering something, he asked if there had been any trouble along the way.

"Your Excellency, the locals knew that today was the River God's wedding day, so they dared not cause any trouble. The journey was smooth and there were no problems whatsoever."

"That's good!"

The envoy then nodded in relief.

"You can go now; leave the rest to us."

"I will obey the messenger's orders."

……

After a few meaningless pleasantries, Chen Ji was too lazy to listen carefully, but at this moment he could only pretend to listen attentively.

After a while, the matchmaker and temple keeper left, and the turtle spirit stepped forward to continue speaking.

"Please move forward, Goddess. This carriage cannot enter the River God's Water Palace. We will have to find another way."

"What kind of method?"

"The goddess will know at a glance."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ji didn't stand on ceremony and lifted the veil, only to see the grand scene before him... which was indeed very familiar.

Clam maidens lit lanterns, golden carp scattered flowers, shrimp soldiers carried flags, crab generals wielded hammers, sea horses pulled chariots, and dragon-character flags fluttered on both sides of the procession—a magnificent spectacle of aquatic life.

It was exactly the same as the grand procession of the Ji Ming River God I had witnessed at the Hutuo River. Only, it was very different from the Ji Ming River God.

The clam maiden wasn't particularly slender, the carp demon's clothes were a motley collection of colors, with no two of them being the same color. The shrimp soldiers and crab generals were passable, at least they looked more imposing in their armor.

"Is the goddess dissatisfied?"

The tortoise spirit noticed Chen Ji's indifferent gaze and asked earnestly.

Chen Ji blinked, paused for a few moments, and then quickly shook his head.

"No, it's just that I've never seen such a procession before. I was a little frightened. I didn't expect the River God's procession to be so much more imposing than the town's."

Upon hearing this, the turtle spirit glanced at the object twice more, then burst into laughter, completely unsuspecting.

Someone who can't even distinguish between the River God and the Town Supervisor wouldn't have any other thoughts; he's overthinking it.

So he explained with a smile.

"A town supervisor is the lowest-ranking official, only one rank higher than a village head who is not even in the official rank. He is considered respectable if he has a paper sedan chair. How can he be qualified to compare with our king?"

"Although our king is a river god of a local area, he is also a river god under the Four Great Rivers Dragon Gods, and the most trusted one, with unparalleled power."

"It means that the evaluation of this place has not yet progressed. Otherwise, based on his achievements in governing this place, he could easily be transferred to the position of Jiang Shen."

"Moreover, deities are revered, and mountain and river gods are even more revered than ordinary gods. Let alone a mere town supervisor, even the prime minister would have to respectfully address him as the River God."

“A mere town magistrate like you isn’t even worthy of carrying our king’s shoes.”

The aquatic creatures burst into laughter, which was considered a form of cooperation.

Chen Ji quickly nodded, pretending to suddenly understand.

"That river god is indeed powerful."

"Of course, once the goddess marries the river god, she will no longer have to worry about anything in the future."

The turtle spirit looked towards the water as it spoke.

"Oh dear, if we continue, we'll be late. Please, goddess, get into the carriage."

Several seahorses pulled the carriage to a stop in front of them. Naturally, a clam maiden came over and revealed her true form, closing her clam shell and placing it under the carriage for the goddess to step on.

Chen Ji then stepped forward and boarded the carriage using the clam spirit.

Then the turtle spirit personally rode in the carriage and led the way, while the group of aquatic fairies sank into the water.

It was similar to my experience visiting the Dragon Palace on the Hutuo River the other day.

The carriage had a water-sheltered space, so you could still breathe.

Chen Ji had previously worried that the paper-crafting technique wouldn't last long in water, but now it seems it can be used for quite some time.

Chen Ji was simply a little curious.

When Lu Xiaoyou mentioned the River God's marriage, Chen Ji felt that the River God was tyrannical.

Upon entering the village and inquiring, the old man and several others said the same thing, plus the Ghost King said he wanted to join forces with the River God to make some arrangements.

After meeting the temple keeper and the matchmaker, they saw that they indeed had an evil aura about them, so they concluded that it was the river god's fault.

However, as they traveled along, especially after seeing the river god's procession and the demons and ghosts in the area, they began to have some doubts.

If the river god were truly tyrannical and a blood-eating deity, how could he have such courteous subordinates?
Chen Ji's cultivation level is now much higher than that of these aquatic creatures. He can easily tell at a glance that these aquatic creatures are quite powerful. Although they cannot compare to the aquatic creatures under the command of the Hutuo River Ji Ming Dragon Lord, they are still considered quite good among demons.

In particular, the aura emanating from him was not the pure aura of a blood demon, but rather mostly benevolent, with only a trace of the yin energy caused by the poison of the moon.

That's strange.

So, while the river god's procession was still on its way, he pretended to be frightened and asked the turtle spirit for advice.

"May I ask, Immortal, what has become of the women who married into the Water Palace?"

"Of course they're all perfectly fine in the Water Palace. The King gave them precious medicines to preserve their youth and health, and there haven't been any changes since. Why does the Goddess ask this?"

"Ok?"

Chen Ji was taken aback upon hearing this, as there was no trace of malevolent energy emanating from the tortoise spirit, and he was momentarily unsure whether what it said was true or false.

If the turtle spirit wasn't lying, the women and children who worshipped the river god decades ago are still alive in the water palace.

So what exactly has the river god of Shanghe Village been doing all these years for?
(End of this chapter)