Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 205 The Mysterious Abdominal God Enters Daishan City

The Fragrance of Blood
Chen Gou'er was extremely tempted.
But Chen Gou'er didn't clamor for a taste. Although he wasn't very bright, he could tell that Li Wushou's mood was a bit off.

The old beggar didn't care why there were two more blood seeds that Li Wushou claimed to have already eaten.

He sat at the square table, fiddling with the human skin talisman that Li Wushou had used to catch the old snail, his expression somewhat inscrutable.

This time, he didn't say anything about dogma or survival strategies.

As Li Wushou becomes more and more complete, he should naturally have his own understanding and judgment of this world.

This is a basic human right!
It is inevitable that one day Li Wushou will break through some of the frameworks he set and redefine his own understanding.

The old beggar didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

But at least for now, it looks pretty good!

a quarter of an hour later

The shadowy figure silently led the paper goddess back to the bridal sedan chair.
Li Wushou didn't inquire about anything else; he trusted the Paper Goddess's abilities quite a bit.

The dark figure cautiously crouched behind Li Wushou. Although he had just been allowed to eat an extra village ancestral god, he was not as happy as he had imagined, because he knew that Li Wushou was in a bad mood at that moment.

With his limited wisdom, he couldn't understand why Li Wushou was bad, which made him even more terrified!
The sedan chair fell silent for a moment.

Li Wushou's mind was drawn to the Three Immortals Pavilion. He watched as the old beggar studied the old snail, and he joined him.

Chen Gou'er flapped his wings and, seeing that Li Wushou's mood had improved, came over and asked the old beggar:
"What's going on with this old snail? How did it manage to fool us?"

The old beggar placed the human skin on the square table, glanced up at Li Wushou, and then said to Chen Gou'er with some helplessness:
"Grandpa, can you please stop fanning your wings at home? I'm getting old, and you're waving them so much I'm almost catching a cold!"

Chen Gou'er pouted and slapped even harder.

I'll fan myself, I'll fan myself!

The old beggar had a terrible headache and called out "ancestor" several times before Chen Gou'er finally stopped.

Seeing the two playing around, Li Wushou's mood improved considerably.

After their playful antics, the three sat back down at the square table. The old beggar, holding the human skin, spoke:
"This should be a belly god. Whether it's an old snail or a white bone cicada, they are just the shells it parasitizes. I should be formless and invisible, able to silently parasitize in the belly and bewitch people's hearts."

The person or god being parasitized may not even be aware that they are being controlled.

Over time, it will be replaced by the Abdominal God and become his clone.

This kind of "belly deity" is extremely rare; I've never seen one before. I always thought it was something made up, but I never imagined it actually existed!

The old beggar's astonishment was evident in his words, and Li Wushou was also surprised. Could there really be such a thing?
Upon hearing this, Chen Gou'er suddenly clutched his stomach and said to Li Wushou in a panic:
"This thing is so dangerous, Li Wushou, you'd better eat it. What if it escapes from your skin and crawls into our stomachs one day? Let me tell you, the things that the old beggar draws aren't always reliable, you know... *sobs*"

Before Chen Gou'er could finish speaking, the old beggar grabbed a handful of white bone cicadas and stuffed them into his mouth.

He then glanced at Li Wushou, and seeing that Li Wushou's expression had not changed, he quickly composed himself, and coldly snorted:
"What are you panicking about? Which god would dare to enter your physical body? Let alone Li Wushou, even if he did, he'd just become a snack. As for me? Even if he had eight hundred lives, he'd need the ability to crawl in!"

Chen Gou'er chewed on the white bone cicada angrily, but he wasn't as panicked as before. As long as it didn't crawl into his stomach, it was fine.

Li Wushou narrowed his eyes. The thing he drew last time?

What unreliable scribblings did the old beggar do? Li Wushou has been using those talismans quite smoothly lately, hasn't he?
Could it have been drawn earlier? Li Wushou was somewhat puzzled.

The old beggar coughed twice, tossed the human skin back to Li Wushou, and said seriously:
"I suggest you don't eat this yet, you might need it later."

Without waiting for Li Wushou's reaction, he stretched, stood up from the square table, and walked towards the inner room, saying as he went:
"Oh, I'm so sleepy. I'll take a nap first. Wake me up when we get to Daishan City."

Li Wushou, holding the human skin, turned to look at Chen Gou'er. Chen Gou'er, seemingly lost in thought, also stretched, mimicking the old beggar.

"Oh dear, I'm so sleepy too, I want to take a nap."

The road to Daishan City

Obviously, it was not as fast as Li Wushou riding in a sedan chair, not to mention that Ding Hu was following behind in an oxcart.

He Shan was worried that Li Wushou might get impatient, so he urged the guardian deity several times to increase the speed of the carriage.

But when the Paper Goddess saw the little girls on Ding Hu Niu's cart who were being jostled around until they were dizzy, she did not speed up to catch up.

Just now, she returned to Wuhe Village and gave the two blood seeds to the two dying little boys. She thought that the Second Master was going to eat the two children, since they were about to die and it would be a waste not to eat them.

However, after the blood seed entered his body, the silver liquid that was quickly removed from the two children's bodies, as well as the sudden burst of blood yang energy, led him to conclude that he had misunderstood.

Only then did the Paper Goddess realize that the Second Master was angry because of what had happened to the two children!
She found herself somewhat unable to understand the Second Master. He devoured living souls, swallowed evil spirits, and killed gods without batting an eye, so why would he get angry over such a trivial matter?
She didn't understand, but she tried to understand!
So after several attempts, she slowed down the entire team's speed, and the five little girls behind her sat much more steadily.

Just then, Li Wushou opened his eyes and looked at the Paper Goddess with admiration.

The Paper Goddess was overjoyed; it seemed she had guessed correctly.

After walking for more than an hour, the road gradually widened.

Everywhere along the road were convoys transporting livestock, offerings from other villages to the He family.

Upon seeing the flag on He Shan's carriage, the crowd quickly and respectfully made way for him, then knelt down on both sides of the road.

These villagers were already afraid of the He family's power, and now, seeing the bridal sedan chair behind He Shan's carriage, they were even more terrified. Like Ding Youwei, they had also heard of the Golden and Silver Boys carrying the sedan chair; it seemed that even within the He family, such a grand display of the Golden and Silver Boys was rare.

I wonder which noble lady from the He family is sitting inside.

He Shan's guardian spirit drove the carriage with peace of mind, with the guardian spirit chosen by He Shan's son sitting beside him.

The bumpy ride made him very uncomfortable, but he gritted his teeth and dared not utter a sound, for fear of offending the important person.

After traveling another four or five miles, a tall gatehouse came into Li Wushou's view.

Next are the city walls stretching on both sides, their blue bricks mottled and covered with moss, and the three characters "Daishan City" on the city gate are vigorous and powerful.

Daishan City was built against the mountain. The direction Li Wushou and his group were facing was Daishan, hidden in the mist. However, Daishan City was quite large, and Li Wushou could not see the appearance of Daishan clearly at the moment.

They only took a look at the area at the city gate.

At this moment, the city gate was bustling with activity. Members of the He family, dressed in gray robes, were scattered among the various groups entering the city, busy checking something.

These past few days have been the days for the He family to collect sacrificial offerings. They need to categorize and register the offerings sent from the villages under their jurisdiction so that their ancestors can eat at any time.

When He Shan's carriage arrived at the city gate, the leader of the group greeted him with great enthusiasm.

"Uncle Shan, you've returned from collecting the sacrificial offerings?"

He Shan opened the carriage window and nodded, which was his way of greeting him.

"We brought back a portion of the offerings first, which consisted of five young girls. Register them and send them to Ding Shi Yuan. The rest are my honored guests, who do not need to be registered."

The young man from the He family who was at the head of the group was flattered and quickly nodded in agreement, then beckoned the others to walk toward Ding Hu.

He had been thinking of trying to build a relationship with He Shan again, but He Shan's car window was already closed.

Watching He Shan and Li Wushou's bridal sedan chair enter the city, another member of the He family beside him said with envy:

"Judging by the grandeur of this bridal sedan chair, I wonder whose daughter she is? Old Man Shan has several sons already, how come he still has such good fortune with women?"

The man who had just spoken to He Shan turned cold and rebuked him:
"Shut up! You'll die from that mouth of yours sooner or later!"

Although he had been guessing which family's young lady she was, he knew what he could and couldn't say. The person who was reprimanded turned pale and quickly fell silent, daring not to speak again.

Inside the Three Immortals Pavilion, Chen Gou'er and the old beggar, who had just said they were sleepy, burst out laughing.

Once you start trying to suppress your laughter, it's hard to hold it in any longer.

Laughter erupted inside the Three Immortals Pavilion.

Li Wushou cut off the sound inside the Three Immortals Pavilion with a blank expression, and glanced at the Paper Goddess who had also heard it.

The Paper Goddess shivered and quickly said:
"Second Master, I'm a little worried about those little girls. Should I go and keep an eye on them?"

next moment

A piece of white paper fell from the bridal sedan chair and silently floated back to the city gate.

The paper goddess was still shaken but also extremely relieved.

Luckily, I was quick-witted and didn't mention the bridal sedan chair, otherwise the second master would have lost face.

And indeed, the second master was concerned about those girls; I seemed to be gradually beginning to understand the second master.

The sedan chair followed He Shan's carriage, traveling along the main road of Daishan City.
As Li Wushou walked deeper into the mountain, he could see a corner of Mount Dai. A huge mansion appeared before him, and from the inscription on the plaque, he could tell that this mansion was the He family mansion.

Upon arriving at the gate, He Shan and his son alighted from the carriage, and several servants hurriedly came to greet them.

This time, Li Wushou didn't need He Shan to invite him. He immediately got out of the bridal sedan chair and used a Yin-Yang diagram to collect the sedan chair and the golden and silver boys inside.

He Shan glanced at Li Wushou's Yin-Yang diagram, his eyes lighting up again. He then warmly invited Li Wushou into the He residence.

His guardian spirit carried the newly chosen child and followed behind Li Wushou.

The He family truly lives up to its reputation as the premier family in Daishan City; its mansion is lush with flowers and trees, and filled with pavilions and towers, offering a feast for the eyes.

He Shan led Li Wushou straight to a secluded courtyard. Three large, gilded characters were written on the courtyard, which was the "Ding Shi Yuan" mentioned at the city gate earlier!
From afar, Li Wushou could smell a strong stench of blood.

Only after raising the perspective and focusing his gaze on Ding Shi Yuan did Li Wushou's expression turn completely somber.

After following He Shan into the courtyard, Li Wushou remained silent, but considerately helped the servants close the door.

Then they threw two pebble-like objects on either side of the entrance to Ding Shi Yuan.

He Shan's protective amulet was of unknown origin.

But the child he was holding rubbed his eyes unconsciously.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the young nobleman's shadow had moved strangely a few times just now.

(End of this chapter)