Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 126 Guo Bei Rebellion

Lunar New Year's eve.

Guobei is very lively.

People who used to cut and cheat each other have temporarily put aside their daily lives.

At the beginning of the year, it is better to resolve conflicts than to create them, and harmony should be valued above all else.

Even Guo Bei at this moment must abide by this rule.

Moreover, something even more exciting is about to happen today: on New Year's Eve, the goddess will bestow alms, welcoming blessings and good fortune.

Everyone felt their hearts pounding, their blood boiling, and their desires building.

Since the goddess descended to earth and performed miracles a month ago, these evil spirits have had new hope.

Just then, a jarring voice suddenly rang out, making the person who heard it extremely unhappy, wishing they could drag that person out and cut open their heart to see what their intentions were.

Reading a book so early in the morning?!

Is this the kind of voice that Guobei County should have?!

Mencius said: “Those who rise at cockcrow and diligently do good are the followers of Shun; those who rise at cockcrow and diligently pursue profit are the followers of Zhi. If you want to know the difference between Shun and Zhi, there is nothing else but the difference between profit and good.”

Early in the morning, the student sat upright and recited the classics of the sages aloud in his room.

Although he carved a thousand "early" characters, he never got up early when the college was on holiday.

It was only when I got home that I felt the urgency to study.

Instinct compels the body to act, especially reciting texts in the morning, which dispels the bone-chilling cold in the body and even causes sweating.

Only at this time can he feel at ease.

After memorizing it, it's time to write. I'll write the character "早" (early).

The more I write, the more grateful I become for Teacher Xu's painstaking efforts; literature carries the truth.

When I leave Guo Bei and return to the academy, I will definitely share the benefits of engraving with my friends.

Last night, he experienced a scene that was both normal and abnormal – a display of fatherly love and filial piety.

In the letter, the elderly father, who was unwell, sat in the main hall with great spirit, his eyes deep like those of a night owl.

For the first time ever, she managed a smile when her son returned. They ate together, chatted, and she even asked about his studies.

The seemingly harmonious scene is actually chilling.

I still remember that ever since his family fell into poverty and he returned to Guobei, this man has been very self-blaming and irritable.

They put on a facade of harmony with outsiders, but internally they resort to violence and verbal abuse.

Sending him to Chongqi to study was the last bit of kindness, or perhaps it was an expectation that he could bring honor to his ancestors.

This time, instead of urging his studies, he came back to say that the family had found a new way out.
What options does Guo Bei have?
Zao Tongxue ended his anxious father-son meeting.

I slept very restlessly at night, always feeling like someone was watching me, and shadows would occasionally appear outside the door.

How could I possibly fall asleep in such an environment? I could only manage to drift off to sleep by putting the carving knife under my pillow, just as Instructor Xu had told me during the pre-holiday training.

Thinking about this really makes me feel a bit mentally exhausted.

I just stopped writing because my hand was sore.

“My son is very diligent, and I am very pleased with him.”

"It just so happens that a goddess is giving alms today, let's go and see."

The familiar yet unfamiliar voice behind him sent chills down Zao's spine, and cold sweat poured down his back.

"No, Father, that's not necessary."

"I just had a sudden realization and want to study it further."

Before he could finish speaking, a withered but very powerful hand grabbed his wrist, like a cold vise from which he could not break free.

"If you go too late, you'll miss it, my son."

Zao was thus forcibly dragged out of the room.

He instinctively sensed danger on this trip and decided to try to survive by following the self-rescue methods taught by Instructor Xu.

"Wait, wait! Father, should we prepare a carriage? There's so much fighting outside, and we're a respectable family. How can we get involved with those?"

"No need!" Delaying tactics are useless; there's no chance to hide the weapon on one's person.

Instructor Xu, theory and reality are different!
Only after stepping outside did I notice the changes in Guo Bei today.

No peach wood charms were hung, no New Year's goods were bought, and no bamboo joints were burned; everyone walked towards the county government office with fervent expressions.

Someone, naked and wielding a bone club, beat a drum, the rhythm eerie and captivating.

Someone was carrying a strange wooden carving and singing and dancing in the crowd, attracting many followers.

Someone was carving stone statues by the roadside. Upon closer inspection, they were not any deities or Buddhas; instead, they evoked a sense of fear.

An inexplicable rhythm and atmosphere are spreading.

The father and son, without any guards or servants, followed the flow of people to the center of the county town. There, people lit bonfires during the day, and there were also iron gates burning red-hot.

Various eerie images were plastered all around, making it feel like entering hell.

The old father's eyes grew increasingly fervent, and he joined the others in saying something unintelligible.

Early remembered what Instructor Xu had said: when encountering strange things, one can silently recite the teachings of sages and steadfastly uphold one's principles to overcome difficulties.

"When facing important matters, one should remain calm and composed; I do not believe that there are no wise men in this era."

"Cultivate oneself with tranquility and nurture virtue with frugality."

Mencius said

A bloodied bull's head flew past, and those large eyes met in a deep gaze.

"Is it not delightful for a mother to have friends coming from afar?"

The burly man beside him, whose face was smeared with strange patterns of blood, looked over in an instant.

Another deep, affectionate gaze.

"That, those two little ones, debating the sun?"

Zao had to admit that he was almost scared to death; how could he possibly stay calm at a time like that?

My mind was in a daze as I was swept forward, and only when I reached the center did I hear the surrounding roar of a hundred times more frenzied noise.

Screams, roars, and deafening drumbeats.

"Goddess! Goddess!!!"

"Goddess! Goddess!!!"

"Mine, all of them are mine!!!"

Then I looked up.

Several fairies gracefully flew out from afar, carrying flower baskets. Their figures were like orchids swaying in the night breeze, both delicate and beautiful.

She wore a gossamer-thin gauze dress, the hem of which swayed gently in the wind, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin.

Snow-white little feet tread on the air, their alluring gazes lingering as they walk.

A faint fragrance seemed to permeate the air, fresh and refined, with a hint of sweetness, and it smelled quite unique.

Zao was also somewhat captivated. Although these fairies looked a bit worldly and dressed a bit daringly, they were truly beautiful.

It was a hundred times more beautiful than the painted boats, and my heart began to gradually sink into it.

Everyone went mad after the fairy gave alms.

What was scattered in the flower basket was not flowers, but piles of silver coins and gold ingots one after another, and the people below almost fought over them.

Even more lucrative were the fruits mixed in; old people who ate them had their white hair turn black and gained immortality, while lame people whose legs had been broken recovered and could walk as fast as they could.

Guo Bei was in a state of utter chaos; even his own father was lunging at others to snatch fruit, resulting in countless deaths and injuries in an instant.

The highlight of the ceremony was the goddess's physical act of offering herself to the gods, engaging in sexual intercourse right there on the high platform.

All kinds of desires were fully aroused—evil, filthy, bloody, and deathly—and such auras rose into the sky, making the dark clouds even thicker.

The principles of morality have vanished here; ethics have been abandoned. It seems to be detached from the human world.

Zao was trembling in the audience, feeling his blood surging. If Ji hadn't taken him to pleasure boats a few times, he probably would have already succumbed to temptation.

(End of this chapter)