Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 254 The Buddha Who Grants Children is Haunted, Yang Yixiao's Inscription

The light rain and misty clouds did not dampen the enthusiasm of the devotees in the slightest.

The temple on the mountainside, which was converted from a Buddhist temple, was bustling with worshippers. Even the trees on both sides of the road were covered with red ropes and incense sticks tied to them as a wish.

The worshippers who came to the mountain to pray to the gods and Buddhas were all dressed well; there were almost no poor people among them. Clearly, the poor were not the temple's target customers.

Among the crowd were women with slightly protruding bellies, clearly having obtained offspring from the temple for granting children, who came to the ceremony with their husbands to fulfill their vows.

And of course, many obviously unmarried young men and women also came to join in the fun.

Just like Lao Wang and Lao Yan's original intention in choosing this place for their children's blind dates, all the gods in charge of granting children are also designated to have the business of matchmaking.

"what!"

On the mountain path near the temple gate, a woman who was clearly pregnant, about three months along, suddenly slipped and fell backward with a scream.

To show his piety, her husband carried a full basket of offerings and fruits on his own without asking the servants for help, leaving no time for them to react.

Fortunately, a petite but surprisingly strong young woman passed by behind them and easily supported the pregnant woman with a simple gesture.

The woman's husband, covered in cold sweat, came over and thanked the girl profusely.
"Thank you so much, ladies, for your righteous help. My Wu family are salt merchants in Jiangnan, and we have only had one son for three generations. You not only saved my wife, but also my entire Wu family."

Please accept my bow. If you need anything from me at my residence another day, I will gladly oblige.

The girl waved her hand, but also asked a question:
"It was just a small favor, don't worry about it."

However, the mountain path is difficult to traverse, and for a pregnant lady to come to worship the gods is quite risky.

The man surnamed Wu supported his wife with one hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with the other, not hiding anything from her:
"Miss, you are unaware of this."

My wife and I have been married for many years without children. Three months ago, we unintentionally prayed to the "Fertility Buddha" who had not yet been invited into temples. Unexpectedly, my wife became pregnant after returning home.

We should be among the first believers to receive divine favor.

We came to fulfill our vow, as instructed by the temple keeper that we must attend the ceremonies held at the temple to ensure the safe delivery of our child.

The girl nodded, without giving it much thought.

"I see. We still need to fulfill our vows."

After helping to take care of the pregnant woman as they entered the temple, they waved goodbye to the couple they had just met and headed towards the Marriage Hall on the side.

It is said that prayers for marriage at this temple that grants children are very effective.

In fact, Tianbaoshan is one of the locations where the ancient love story "The Snail Girl" took place.

Similar legends exist in many places, such as Luohu in Sichuan, Liuzhou in Lingnan, and Luozhou Town near the capital of Minzhou. The last one is Tianbao Weir on Tianbao Mountain.

The stories are all similar and need no further elaboration. The details may differ, but the main theme is the simple love between the snail girl and the farmer.

The various legends of this world possess their own power. To determine the era in which a folk legend took place, there is actually a very simple criterion.

If the protagonist of the story is a farmer, a cowherd, a woodcutter, or other working-class person, then it must be from a very distant era, possibly dating back to before the Sui, Tang, Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties.

However, if the protagonist is a scholar, then it will most likely take place after the Song Dynasty.

The logic is simple: whoever tells the story becomes the subject of creating and spreading the story.

Creators subconsciously project themselves or familiar identities into their work to create resonance, and this approach is always effective.

The petite female dog crept up to the lush tree of marriage, looked around to make sure no one she knew was there, and then hung a marriage plaque on a branch that she had "obtained" at great expense from the temple keeper for one tael of silver.

Of course it's "seeking," not "buying." How can Buddhist matters be called buying and selling?
So tacky!

The back of the sign was engraved with a snail, and on the right side of the front was written her own name, "Han Shushu," while on the other side was written, "Even gods and ghosts envy Lu Yunchen!"

Then, with her ears slightly reddening, she clasped her hands together and prayed softly:
"May the gods protect Shushu and Brother Lu's affair from being discovered, and may they be able to get married smoothly and form a happy union."

If my wish is fulfilled, I, Han Shushu, will definitely return to have a golden Buddha statue made for you, and I will never break my promise!

Little did they know that their entire series of actions had been clearly seen by a pair of eyes in the sky.

"Good heavens, so that's why you suddenly learned trigonometric functions. It's all thanks to the power of love."

And then there's Lao Lu. I really thought he was a kind-hearted old man who couldn't stand seeing stupid people, so he would stay by your side every day explaining math problems to you and using all his skills to enlighten you.

It turns out he was also in love at first sight, and his true intentions were not what they seemed.

The covert work was truly impressive; you managed to fool even me without me noticing.

Looking at this lovestruck young woman, Wang Cheng's gossipy heart swelled, yet he couldn't help but sigh:

"Shushu, listen to your brother's advice, Lao Lu, you can't handle this!"

There's a song that goes something like this: "That year you were so radiant, and I was so insecure. How could I, with nothing to my name, dare to waste your youth?"

I happened to see you smiling radiantly, while I was young and inexperienced. I would spend my whole life making amends for that one glance at you.
It's just that for you, the roles of men and women are reversed.

The Han family was certainly well-off. The five brothers of the Han family had built a vast fortune, and they were not short of gold and silver treasures. They also possessed the top-grade talisman and talisman, the "Overlord's Remains," from the Haishaozi lineage.

But compared to the powerful Lu family of the White Scale Guard in the capital, they were nothing more than insignificant country bumpkins.

Love may be a matter between two people, but marriage inevitably involves two families, or even two clans.

Take Wang Cheng himself as an example. Although he, Sister A Xiao, and his senior sister have reached the point of discussing marriage during this period.

However, if he himself achieves nothing and misses out on the Donghai Kingdom left by his father, he will not choose to pursue both Sister Axiao and Senior Sister at the same time; instead, he will keep his distance.

Even if his senior sister were attracted to his good looks and took the initiative to pursue him, he might not accept her.

Just like how her predecessor, as a working-class person, would never have bothered to figure out how to pursue a fairy-like woman, they were from completely different worlds and were destined to have no future together.

Even if they force themselves to stay together, they are destined to part ways.

Moreover, Lu Yunchen is the eldest grandson of the first branch of the family, making a political marriage inevitable.

When Han Shushu finished her prayers and opened her eyes again, she found a temple keeper standing beside her, handing her an incense tablet and bowing respectfully.
“Benefactor, the Buddha of Fertility will personally appear at today’s Dharma assembly to pray for the thirty-six believers.”

You are destined to be with the Buddha who grants children; he has chosen you. Please follow me to the side room to wait quietly.

The renovated temple for granting children is quite large. Those lucky enough to be chosen by the Buddha of Giving Children will be led by the temple keeper to a separate room to sincerely worship the Buddha statue and wait for the ceremony to begin.

"Really? That's great!"

Han Shushu was overjoyed to be chosen and followed the temple keeper.

Wang Cheng followed her footsteps, but in front of the door of the same row of side rooms, he saw another familiar face, none other than General Qi's wife, Madam Wang!

She wore a simple bamboo-smoke horse-face skirt, dignified and gentle, showing no trace of the fierce and evil spirit who had been chasing after the three-rank living ghosts and gods.

He just looked gloomy and seemed to avoid others.

The corvée labor, taxes, grain, cloth, and talent that the common people provided to the imperial court all constituted part of the divine energy of Emperor Shi Huang.

The Qing Dynasty banned illicit worship and limited the size of temples in order to protect its core interests.

If even legitimate Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian beliefs are like this, let alone those Mao gods that are not recognized by the Twenty-Four Solar Terms.

All of them must be condemned as illicit worship and are forbidden from being offered sacrifices!
Lady Wang was desperate and grasping at straws. After more than ten years of being childless after marriage, she couldn't help but want to seize every opportunity, even if it meant encountering a shady cult that was not officially recognized by the state.

"Madam Wang, please come in."

Each of the thirty-six lucky individuals had a private room, and hers was right next to Han Shushu's.

Not long after the two went in, the mistress of the salt merchant Wu's family was also led in by the temple keeper and entered the same row of side rooms.

Wang Cheng glanced at her casually and didn't notice anything unusual about her label.

Just as he was about to look away, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he exclaimed in surprise:
Why is her belly empty?

There's absolutely no information?

He immediately turned to look at the other women.

To her horror, she discovered that it wasn't just her; all the pregnant women who came to fulfill their vows were the same.

There was no fetus inside the bulging belly!
at the same time.

It is located in a secluded mountain valley not far from the Temple of Sending Children.

A group of hundreds of temple soldiers and ghost soldiers (scribes) had been lying in wait for who knows how long.

The practice of using a knife and scribbler can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and more specifically to a type of artifact from the Bronze Age—the knife.

When ancient people used bamboo slips, they would cut off any mistakes with a knife. Therefore, scholars and politicians at that time often carried knives and pens with them to correct errors.

Because they used both pen and knife, civil officials throughout history were called "pen and knife officials".

During the reign of Emperor Dazhao, officials were appointed as assistants to government officials, but were never allowed to hold office.

These temple soldiers and ghost soldiers (scribes) trained by the imperial court did not have to shorten their lifespan, but they had to have their faces tattooed in gold like criminals.

The inscription on it is in oracle bone script, which can be used to communicate with the divine through this ancient script that is closest to the time when Cangjie created characters.

At this moment, two tortoise shells floated above the procession, their ancient characters forming the words "Passerby A," radiating divine light that enveloped everyone within them.

Whether it was the local Buddha who grants children, or Wang Cheng and Yan Yunxiao who had set up the grand formation, they all subconsciously overlooked them.

The two leaders at the front of the group were discussing the mission in hushed tones:

"We've been investigating slowly and painstakingly for two months, and we're pretty sure the target is right here!"

"When will we do it?"

"Wait! With Yang Yixiao's inscription here, that scumbag immortal can't do anything smoothly. Something will definitely happen today."

The two looked at an old stone tablet at their feet, smeared with dried blood.

He wrote in his letter: "I first studied literature, but failed the imperial examinations for three years; then I learned martial arts, and in the training ground, I fired an arrow that hit the drummer, and was expelled; so I studied medicine and became quite proficient. I wrote a good prescription, took it, and died."

This is the inscription on the stele of "Auspicious Talisman and Suppressant - Unlucky Ghost" (by Yang Yixiao of the Northern Song Dynasty).

Although it is only a treasure of one prefecture, it is an excellent vessel for bad luck and misfortune, and it is quite powerful.

Anyone who leaves their blood on it will suffer the same bad luck as Yang Yixiao, the former owner of the inscription, and will most likely achieve nothing!
(End of this chapter)