Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 203 Divination of Ancestral Food
The thick fog dissipated
The tranquil countryside gradually became noisy.

Early in the morning, men, women, and children of Wuhe Village left their homes and headed towards the village entrance.

Today is the day the He family from Daishan City comes to collect rent and select the Vajra, and it is also the village festival of Wuhe Village.

Both of these events are major events for the entire village, and Ding Youwei, the village chief of Wuhe Village, naturally attaches great importance to them. He arrived at the ancestral hall in the center of the village last night and has not returned home.

The ancestral hall was somewhat dim, and Ding Youwei was kneeling on a prayer mat.

In front of him was an offering table with thirteen memorial tablets on it.

Interestingly, the eleven memorial tablets in the central positions are all made of fine rosewood.

The memorial tablets are inscribed with the following words: "The Divine Tablet of the [Number]th Generation Ancestor of the He Family of Daishan".

From the first ancestor to the eleventh ancestor.

Wuhe Village exists in dependence on the He family and also shoulders the responsibility of worshipping the He family's ancestors.

Ding Youwei was quite uneasy at this moment. Yesterday, he was busy preparing for today's village sacrifice in the ancestral hall. Suddenly, the spirit tablet of the tenth generation ancestor in the He family ancestral tablet cracked and collapsed.

This is not a good sign!

Ding Youwei dared not speculate wildly, but immediately sent his son to Daishan City to report the matter.

I don't know what to do now.

Hopefully, this won't affect today's village festival or the He family's selection of the Vajra.

After devoutly kowtowing and offering incense, Ding Youwei went to a spot slightly to the left of the offering table.

Slightly lower than the eleven ancestral tablets of the He family, there are two other tablets. Unlike the He family's tablets, these two tablets are made of locust wood and appear somewhat ordinary.

The inscription reads "Position of the First/Second Generation Village Chief of Wuhe Village, under the He Family".

Ding Youwei's greatest wish in life was to have a new memorial tablet left here after his death.

After bowing deeply, Ding Youwei said in a deep voice:
"Grand Ancestor, Second Ancestor, the He family should be arriving soon. We should set off to greet them."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a "creak" was heard.

The door to the side room to the left of the offering table slowly opened, followed by the sound of footsteps echoing inside the ancestral hall.

Ding Youwei slowly turned around, and there were two black and gray pottery jars standing beside him. The jars were only about four feet tall, just reaching his waist, but Ding Youwei treated them with great respect.

He bowed to the two pottery jars and greeted them:

"Greetings, First Ancestor, Second Ancestor!"

Two faces suddenly appeared on the black and gray pottery jar and nodded at Ding Youwei.

Then the jar shook gently, and two little feet emerged from the bottom of the jar.

Although these two feet are wearing small shoes, it is immediately obvious that they are very different from human feet, resembling the feet of a goat.

Ding Youwei, however, remained calm and respectfully led the way towards the outside of the ancestral hall.

Wuhe Village Entrance

When Ding Youwei arrived with his eldest and second ancestors, the villagers had already set up an incense table.

Three turtle plastrons were placed on the altar, and a bonfire was set up in the open space directly opposite.

The two earthenware jars walked straight to the incense table and sat down on either side.

The central position was reserved for the main seat of the He family.

Upon seeing this, the onlookers knelt down and prostrated themselves, saying, "We pay homage to the village ancestral god."

Approaching noon
The villagers who had been waiting on the road in front of the village ran back to the village entrance, panting.

Before they even got close, they shouted loudly, "Village chief, the patriarch of the He family is here! Look at the flag, this time it's the lineage of the Seven Ancestors!"

Ding Youwei felt a chill run down his spine. The matter of collecting rent in Wuhe Village had always been handled by the tenth or eleventh ancestor of the He family, but this time it was the seventh ancestor who came. It seemed that something had really happened to the tenth ancestor yesterday.

With a gloomy expression, Ding Youwei asked in a deep voice:

How many people came today?

The villager who delivered the message caught his breath and hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the village chief, there is a carriage driven by a guardian deity, followed by a bridal sedan chair carried by several children."

He wasn't surprised that the car was driven by a Dharma Protector. Anyone coming to collect rent must be a member of the direct lineage, so it was normal for a Dharma Protector to be there.

But a sedan chair carried by children? It must be the Golden and Silver Boys. And who is inside the sedan chair?
Ding Youwei was filled with unease, vaguely sensing that it must be related to the events of the Ten Ancestors yesterday. However, Wuhe Village really didn't want to get involved in such matters, but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do.

Composing himself, he gave an order to a burly young man beside him:

"Ding Hu, take a few men and double the amount of sacrificial offerings. We don't know the Seventh Ancestor's tastes, so it's better to be prepared. Go quickly!"

"Yes, village chief!"

The burly young man clasped his hands in greeting to several other young men and headed into the village.

Not long after, a horse-drawn carriage sped through the swirling mist at the village entrance, with a wiry, expressionless man intently driving it.

Upon arriving at the village entrance, he first respectfully opened the carriage door, then jumped off the carriage and knelt beside it, becoming a makeshift stool.

Ding Youwei, along with the eldest and second ancestors of Wuhe Village, hurriedly went to greet them, just about to pay their respects to the distinguished guests from the He family.

A burst of laughter came from inside the carriage, and a middle-aged man in fine clothes led an arrogant-looking child out of the carriage.

Stepping off the carriage using a bench made of lean, muscular men, he ignored Ding Youwei's greeting and went straight to the back of the carriage. "Haha, Brother Li, we've arrived at Wuhe Village. Let's rest for a while. After I've taken care of the clan affairs, we'll return to Daishan City together for a good drink."

Ding Youwei was taken aback and looked towards the back of the carriage.

Suddenly, a bridal sedan chair appeared from the light mist.

Four rosy-cheeked babies carried the sedan chair and came to a steady stop behind the carriage. Ding Youwei only needed one glance to know that these children were not living people, but were indeed the Golden and Silver Boys.

In response to the greetings from Lady He, a clear and melodious voice rang out from inside the sedan chair:

"Brother He, you're too kind. Please rest for a while."

As soon as he finished speaking, a handsome young man in a Taoist robe stepped out of the sedan chair. The moment he stood still, Ding Youwei realized that the man was very tall and slender, a head taller than the noblewoman from the He family.

However, this Taoist's hobbies were quite peculiar. The sedan chair he rode in was so flamboyant that he had assumed a woman would emerge from it.

As if sensing his gaze, the young man in the Taoist robe glanced at him with a smile, and then Ding Youwei felt the First Ancestor and the Second Ancestor behind him tremble slightly.

This young man was none other than Li Wushou, who had just evacuated from White Bone Mountain.

After he finished eating roasted rabbit with the old beggar and Chen Gou'er in the desolate forest, the Paper Goddess immediately pointed out the way to the Upper Cultivation Cave.

After the fierce battle at White Bone Mountain, Li Wushou was too lazy to travel on his own, so he rode in a bridal sedan chair, resting as he went.

Because she had fainted, the paper goddess sedan chair had not yet been remodeled and still looked like the original flower sedan chair.

However, since it was a remote mountain area with few people around, Li Wushou thought that since no one would see it anyway, a bridal sedan chair would do.

Unexpectedly, they encountered He Shan from the He family of Daishan City not long after they set off.

When He Shan saw the bridal sedan chair, he assumed it was a young lady from some family in Daishan City, so he drove his carriage up to greet her.

He was taken aback when he saw Li Wushou's appearance, but when he saw the Yin-Yang Daoist robe Li Wushou was wearing, his expression became enthusiastic again, and he warmly invited Li Wushou to visit the He family in Daishan City.

My ancestor, Master Fufeng, is troubled by a matter and urgently needs a capable person. Judging from the other party's demeanor, although his preferences are somewhat peculiar, he should have some skills.

After some conversation, Li Wushou learned that he would pass through Daishan City on the way to Shangxiu Cave.

For a moment, Li Wushou couldn't help but think to himself, "What a tragic fate!"
They just killed a 31st-generation descendant of the He family, and now another one has appeared?
He had been thinking of killing them, but the way they had been chasing after his bridal sedan chair had already made him very unhappy.

On second thought, Li Wushou restrained himself and decided to wait.

Since he was going to pass through Daishan City, he decided to visit the He family.

Judging from what that descendant of the He family said last time, the He family should have a true master, whose Taoist name is Fufeng.

Li Wushou was worried that he knew too little about Golden Elixir True Persons, so it would be good to meet this Fufeng True Person now.

In addition, the He family has many ancestors.

He had just eaten the food of that tenth-generation ancestor inside the sedan chair, but he couldn't taste the flavor. However, the yin energy it provided was considerable.

This sparked his interest. If he was said to be the tenth generation ancestor, then there must be at least nine ancestors above him, right?
That's enough for him to have a good meal!

Both men had their own ulterior motives, but they hit it off immediately, and Li Wushou changed course and followed the other man to Wuhe Village.

open space at the village entrance

Ding Youwei asked the villagers to bring over three armchairs, and Li Wushou, He Shan, and his son sat on either side of the incense table.

After Li Wushou sat down, he learned that today was the day of the Wuhe Village Festival, as well as the day for the He family to collect rent and select the Vajra.

Of course, the latter is the main focus. Although it is called a village festival, the whole event is actually centered around the He family.

After arriving at the village entrance, He Shan stood before the incense table, took out three sticks of incense, placed them in the table, bowed three times, and respectfully said:

"He Shan, a descendant of the He family of Daishan, respectfully invites his seventh ancestor!"

Suddenly, a golden mahogany memorial tablet flew out of Wuhe Village, inscribed with: "The spirit tablet of He Cang, the seventh generation ancestor of the He family of Daishan".

Upon seeing this, Li Wushou couldn't help but lick his lips, but then withdrew his gaze with some disappointment. His true form hadn't come; it was just a gaze that was watching him.

After doing all this, He Shan returned to the seat next to Li Wushou.

Ding Youwei walked to the incense table, picked up the tortoise plastron placed in front of the incense table with both hands, and carefully passed through the incense smoke in front of the altar.

He then knelt down, took out a carving knife, and began to carefully carve something on the turtle's plastron.

Li Wushou stared intently at the tortoise shell, and the gist of what was written on it was that this year, Wuhe Village would be offering sacrifices to the Seven Ancestors, including ten cows, thirty sheep, and five young girls, and was asking the Seven Ancestors if this was acceptable.

After carving, Ding Youwei placed the tortoise shell into the fire behind him and burned it.

The tortoise shell crackled in the fire. Ding Youwei casually took it out and handed it to He Shan, who was sitting in a chair.

He Shan examined the offerings for a while and then said to Ding Youwei, "The Seven Ancestors have approved your offerings."

Ding Youwei and the villagers of Wuhe Village who were watching were overjoyed. Ding Youwei hurriedly returned to the incense table and bowed to the memorial tablet to express his gratitude.

He then removed the second piece of the turtle's plastron and continued carving.

The general idea is, how would the Seventh Patriarch like to eat it? Raw? Boiled? Fried or grilled?

After burning the turtle's plastron, He Shan examined it for a while and said, "The Seventh Ancestor likes to eat raw food!"

Ding Youwei respectfully accepted the order and continued carving on the third piece of the turtle's plastron: "Should we eat it now? Or take it back to Daishan City to eat?"

After the fire was finished, He Shan replied, "Send it back to Daishan City. This time, the He family ancestors will eat together!"

(End of this chapter)