Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 783 Conspiracy Can't Beat the Oddball
With his spiritual senses activated, Xu carefully sensed the special nature of the object in his hand. As his fingertips lightly touched the surface of the wood carving, a wisp of Buddhist power quietly seeped in.

In an instant, he frowned slightly—this seemingly ordinary statue of the God of Literature actually contained three layers of restrictions, interlocking like a nine-linked ring.

"interesting……"

Xu Xuan's lips curled slightly, and golden light shimmered in his eyes. He had seen through the outward appearance and finally seen the true face.

The white crown resembles mourning clothes, yet it is embroidered with a distorted Big Dipper pattern; the red robe is stained as if with blood, with tadpole-shaped incantations hidden at the hem; the black scroll is neither bamboo nor wood, but upon closer inspection it is an unknown leather scroll; the green shoes have upturned toes like hooks, as if to bewitch souls; two black pearls are embedded in the pupils, and staring at them for too long will cause you to hear whispers.

What a magnificent wooden sculpture, outwardly divine but inwardly malevolent. It appears solemn and dignified, yet every detail conceals hidden mysteries. It doesn't possess an obvious aura of corruption, but the overall composition exudes an inexplicable sense of incongruity.

What's even more striking is that the statue's facial details are too human-like, with fine wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, a faint smile on the lips, and even the eyebrows and eyes sculpted with lifelike realism.

This runs counter to the traditional Shinto statues' idea that "divinity is superior to humanity."

The wood used is top-quality century-old peach wood, with traces of traditional incense burning still remaining on the surface, making it an excellent material for carving statues of deities.

The technique was also incredibly delicate; if it weren't for the undeniable power of the eyes, even an ordinary cultivator wouldn't have been able to detect the slightest clue.

It is quite valuable, as both the labor and materials are of the highest quality.

With such talent, there are so many other things you could do, why do this?

Therefore, it is said that:
"You've been plotting this all along, Jin Chan. Tell me the details."

Although Qi Jinchan is not old, she has experienced many ups and downs in her life, and she now recounts the course of her mission in a clear and organized manner.

Originally, this operation was a routine crackdown targeting cult members and swindlers, but under the strict control of the officers, a group of "abnormal consumers" were unexpectedly uncovered.

Baoan Hall's special operations have always been primarily carried out within the human administrative system, with practitioners playing a secondary role.

Once the power of the twenty counties of Wu Prefecture was mobilized, it was like an invisible net, covering the entire area. With the full support of Song Qingtian, it truly became a "vast ocean of people."

Those swindlers and wicked underlings hiding among the people, who dared to stir up trouble during the imperial examinations, were all caught and wiped out.

Among this group of people, a few scholars stood out.

They were originally a group of good-for-nothing playboys, wealthy but utterly ignorant, who spent their days frequenting brothels and couldn't even recite the Analects of Confucius. But recently, they suddenly became "devout," even spending a fortune to bring back a statue of the "God of Literature" from outside the city for worship.

At first, this wasn't surprising—after all, the imperial examinations were approaching, and scholars were everywhere praying to gods. But what really made the Qi siblings suspicious was the "blessing" offered by the statue.

According to the arrested scholars, as long as they sincerely worshipped the Star Lord, he would appear and protect them... so that they could cheat safely.

Qi Jinchan lowered her voice and said, "It is said that this statue can 'blind the examiners' eyes and the patrollers' ears' in the examination room, allowing candidates who bring cheat sheets to enter as if no one is there."

"Cheating???"

"As if they were in an empty place???"

Xu Xuan tightened his grip on the wooden carving slightly, his expression a mixture of absurdity and shock, as if he had heard something utterly unbelievable.

What kind of postmodern twisted Holy Grail is this, with such a refreshing and unique way of fulfilling wishes?
And... which deity is this, whose business scope is so wild?! I really want to complain, but I don't even know where to begin.

Logically, shouldn't those selling deity statues boast about mystical effects like "star deities appearing in dreams to answer questions" or "writing with divine inspiration"? Why would they directly promise "guaranteed pass or cheating"? They've even skipped the most basic platitudes like "sincerity brings results" or "accumulating virtue and doing good deeds," going straight to the point in a simple and crude manner.

"No even this basic rhetoric..." Xu Xuan sighed, "Isn't that a bit too pragmatic?!"

But it was this strange "pragmatism" that made the Qi siblings realize something was wrong.

After joining forces with the Wu County Commandant to destroy the hideout in Jiande County, the siblings finally met the mastermind behind the scenes who called himself the "Temple Keeper of the God of Literature".

A middle-aged man with a greasy face and sly eyes was being pinned to the ground by the yamen runners while still shouting, "I'm a legitimate businessman."

It was only after interrogation that it was discovered that the temple keeper was originally a street thug named Zhang San. Later, after hearing a fortune teller say, "The name Zhang San is too heavy, and your fate is too light to bear it," he was so frightened that he changed his name to Zhang Si overnight.

But changing his name didn't improve his luck; he remained dirt poor until one night a group of mysterious people came knocking on his door...

"They were dressed like night ghosts, their faces covered, only their eyes showing!" Zhang Si, bound like a dumpling, kept chattering. "The leader threw me a bag of silver and said that from now on, we'd sell these kinds of statues, and he'd take 30% of the profit from each one sold!"

Qi Jinchan frowned upon hearing this: "You just agreed like that? Without even asking where it came from?"

Zhang Si retorted confidently, "Kid...you little adult! I've been in this world for so many years, and I only know one principle—whoever pays is the boss! Who cares about gods or monsters!"

This guy is quite a "talent." After getting the statue, he didn't foolishly open a temple and set up an altar. Instead, he hid in a village on the outskirts of the city and secretly sold it.

With his quick wit, he could have easily gotten away with it without anyone noticing. But he just happened to run into a few exceptionally talented scholars—

"Those good-for-nothings!" Zhang Si spat as he spoke, "When I said I could bless them with success in the imperial examinations, they insisted they were hopeless! When I said I could enlighten their minds, they yelled, 'They can't even read the Four Books and Five Classics properly, what's the point of enlightening them!'"

Finally, left with no other choice, Zhang Si had to resort to his trump card: "Then... can I help you cheat?"

To everyone's surprise, as soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of those few underachievers lit up, and they immediately took out money to buy a statue of a deity.

Even more outrageous, after the exam they went around boasting that "the God of Literature had appeared," which finally attracted the attention of the government.

It was precisely because it was so absurd that he got caught; he was really unlucky.

"Serves him right for being arrested!" Zhang Si lamented. "I've seen plenty of bad people, but this is the first time I've seen someone this stupid!" He then suddenly looked at Xu Xuan obsequiously. "Sir, do you think this counts as me making amends for my crimes? Or perhaps..."

After hearing this short story, Xu Xuan fell into a long silence.

"..."

This well-informed and knowledgeable White Lotus Demon Lord was speechless with shock at the absurd actions of a mortal.

No wonder humans have become the protagonists of the world; such imaginative thinking is something even the gods could not have predicted.

To be honest, if it weren't for my duty, I would have turned a blind eye.

(End of this chapter)