I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 216 Sacrifice
The magistrate's voice was clear and solemn as he read the prayer word by word. Such was the custom in Yuqian County: sacrifices were offered year after year, and incense was burned and prayers were offered for every matter. He recited the prayer over and over again every year, and he had memorized it by heart.

In a place unseen by ordinary people, wisps of smoke drifted up.

Li Bai stared at it for a long time.

He asked the Old Deer Mountain God, "Is this incense?"

The mountain god nodded.

"Yes, faith and aspiration."

Li Bai stared at it for a long time, but the smoke drifted away, spreading out in layers, and he still couldn't see where it was going.

The sacrificial ceremony lasted for two hours and was very solemn.

After the "Three Offerings" and the accompanying music and dance, special dancers wearing pheasant feathers danced to special musical instruments, their movements divine and moving. The master of ceremonies then sang "Remove the offerings," and everyone knelt down to respectfully send off the deity.

After the sacrificial ceremony ended, the magistrate finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The county magistrates, yamen runners, and wealthy families in the city behind him also smiled.

"With the protection of the God, there should be no epidemic during this year's Poison Month."

"Haha, you're absolutely right. I'm counting on this year for a bumper harvest. Last year, the wheat ears in my village were all shriveled..."

The magistrate was walking out.

A voice, neither loud nor soft, came to my ear.

"Your Excellency, please wait."

The magistrate looked up and saw a young man in blue robes who had called out to him. The young man had a good bearing, but his face was unfamiliar. He stopped and smiled kindly.

Who are you?

Jiang She cupped his hands in greeting.

"My name is Jiang She. I have been traveling and have just arrived here. The customs here are quite different from those of other places. I was curious and happened to meet you, Your Excellency, so I would like to ask you for some information."

The magistrate looked at him; he had a youthful appearance.

It's quite strange that this scholar could summon a county magistrate so readily; he's quite bold.

The magistrate asked with a smile.

"May I ask where you have traveled before?"

“From Sichuan to Xiangyang, then to Luoyang and Yanzhou, and then by boat all the way to Yuqian in Hangzhou.”

Jiang She gave a rough account of the places he had visited. At that time, scholars loved to travel and learn, to see famous mountains and rivers, visit historical sites, and experience life. He blended into the crowd and would probably have been inconspicuous.

Upon hearing this, the county magistrate...

"You came from Shu Prefecture?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, he asked a few more questions to confirm that the man had indeed been to Sichuan and was not deceiving him. He was talking about old stories from more than ten years ago, many of which matched what the magistrate had heard in his youth.

The magistrate looked at the man again and felt a sense of familiarity. He remarked with emotion.

"I am from Shuzhou."

He told the people behind him to go back to the county office to work first, and then he granted himself leave.

He pulled Jiang She and the others to a place to sit down. Thinking about his experience as an official over the past few years, he felt a mix of emotions, including some sighs and reflections.

“You look younger than me. When I left Shuzhou, I was just over twenty years old. Now, it has been more than ten years since I last returned to my hometown.”

Jiang She looked at the county magistrate with a calm tone.

"It's a good thing that you've been promoted, Your Excellency."

The magistrate stroked his beard and smiled.

He sized up the group of people in front of him. They were either young and impetuous or calm and unhurried, all carefree and at ease. Listening to their conversation, he realized that there was plenty of room to roam in the world, and he couldn't help but feel envious.

But then she thought about how she was doing quite well herself, and that feeling of envy faded a bit.

The magistrate picked up his teacup and took a sip.

“I was transferred to Yuqian County last year, and as you said, the scenery is different from that of Sichuan. Even in Chu, which has always been fond of witchcraft and worshiping gods, there is no worship of gods so frequently.”

"Moreover, the god they worship does not have a specific name; when asked, they only say that they have worshipped him for generations."

Yuan Danqiu chimed in from the side, "Isn't this blasphemous worship?"

The magistrate smiled wryly: "Yes."

"When I first became an official, I thought the same thing. What's so great about the lewd worship that the people of the county have been making? But they've been worshipping this deity for hundreds of years. How can you possibly stop them?"

"Besides, it's just a simple prayer, it won't affect anything important, so let them be."

The magistrate had fasted for three days in preparation for today's sacrifice, and his body reeked of incense.

He then recounted that when he first arrived in the area, a flood struck. The rain came suddenly and quickly, lasting for three days. Not only were farmlands flooded, but many houses were also submerged. He was then rushed to perform the chief rites, praying for the rain to stop and the clouds to clear.

At this point, the magistrate paused and looked at the group of people.

"What do you think?"

"Has the rain stopped?" Li Bai asked.

"Yes, the rain stopped." The magistrate stroked his beard, recalling the scene. "Blind luck! After the sacrificial ceremony, the rain really did stop the next day."

As he spoke, the magistrate looked down at the cat next to the young man. It was shiny black, extremely beautiful, and listening attentively to their conversation, its head tilted slightly as if it could understand.

He is mischievous.

"I'm not talking about this cat."

The magistrate continued to talk about Yuqian County, and still missed his hometown.

He looked at Jiang She and the more he looked, the more familiar his face seemed.

He asked, frowning.

"Did you have a relative who looked somewhat like you, Mr. Jiang? He seemed to be around your age back then, so... he should be around forty this year, reaching the age of no longer being confused."

The magistrate's gaze held a mixture of inquiry and curiosity.

He had been away from Shu Prefecture for over ten years, and the more he looked at Jiang Langjun, the more he felt that his behavior resembled someone he had met before, but it had been so long that he hadn't remembered him at first.

Jiang She stroked the cat.

"I have no relatives; everyone in my family has passed away."

The magistrate realized he had made a mistake and inadvertently touched on someone's painful past. He changed the subject, and during the conversation, he learned that the person sitting opposite him was Li Bai, and that he had even read Li Bai's poems. He became even more enthusiastic.

"I wondered why you were so concerned about the matter of the God-King; it turns out you are intrigued by the idea of ​​gods and ghosts."

The magistrate burst into laughter.

"Since the legendary stories of Xiangyang can be written into poems, my Yuqian County also has many stories."

In high spirits, he even invited the temple keeper, and the two of them began to talk to the golden statue with its flowing robes on the high platform, as well as the dozen or so statues of gods on both sides.

"The people here have been worshipping the God for who knows how many years, starting with the older generation in their families."

"The Divine Lord has hundreds of disciples, among whom twelve have been able to enter the inner sanctum and learn the true methods. As for the temple keeper, he knows more about this, so let the temple keeper explain..."

The temple keeper stepped forward.

He introduced each of the Divine Lord's disciples to them. Each one possessed extraordinary supernatural powers, profound Taoist skills, and widespread virtue, earning them the respect and admiration of all.

Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu listened to their introduction for a while.

We were only halfway through the conversation.

Li Bai pointed to an empty statue; the rest of the place was filled with statues, but there was an empty space there. He asked.

"How come there's an empty seat here?"

He was pointing casually with his hand.

The temple keeper immediately became serious and said sternly, "Young master, you cannot point directly at the statue of the god; that is a great disrespect!"

Only after Li Bai put his hand down did the temple keeper answer.

"That was the statue of the Fourth Prince, Jin Yuan Shangren, who protected merchants and distributed wealth to help the poor. A few years ago, a clumsy kid smashed it, so the space was left empty."

"No new construction?"

(End of this chapter)