For thirty years, he has roamed the Northeast, his divine might overwhelming all immortals under hea

"About five miles away, there is a City God Temple. The City God there asked my son and me for money to travel to the city."

The female ghost held the child and said with great determination.

"Five miles away..."

I muttered to myself.

There is indeed a City God Temple in Zhujiakan, but it's not five li away from here, it's twenty li.

The incense at the City God Temple burns continuously, and the villagers on either side of it frequently go to worship.

When I was little, I was silly. My parents took me there a lot, and each time they would drive a horse-drawn carriage, which would take almost an hour.

But the female ghost said it was five miles away, which clearly meant there was something fishy going on.

"Alright, I'll pay the toll for you. Also, you might have encountered robbers. The real City God Temple is twenty miles from here. Take the money and the child and hurry to the afterlife."

As I spoke, I gave Aunt Lin a wink.

"Aunt Lin, go buy some paper money and burn it at the crossroads when it gets dark, so that the mother and child can pass away quickly."

"Okay, no problem."

Aunt Lin nodded repeatedly, and I turned to look at the female ghost and the child again.

"Alright, come pick up the money tonight."

The female ghost nodded, and then disappeared before my eyes.

"Brother Sanlu, quickly help me get Grandpa Lin into the house."

Brother Sanlu didn't mind at all and helped me carry Grandpa Lin from the yard back to the kang (heated brick bed).

Aunt Lin took out ten yuan and handed it to me, which I naturally put into my pocket.

"Thirteen, this is just a small token of our appreciation. You know how your family is doing..."

Lin Da Niang's family consists of just the elderly couple, who have never had any children. Given their advanced age, they naturally don't have much money.

"It's alright, Aunt Lin. Uncle Lin is fine, so I'll be going now."

After leaving Aunt Lin's house, on the way back, Brother Sanlv acted as if he had found a treasure.

"Thirteen, how did you become a shaman?"

"Hey, that's a long story."

"Thirteen, it seems there was a reason why you were so foolish back then. I've heard that before you become a shaman, you have to suffer some hardships."

"Haha, let's not talk about that. Come on, let's go home for dinner."

"it is good."

Brother Sanlu readily agreed, but when the two of us got home, my dad had already returned from the construction site.

"Sanlu, come here, come here. Your aunt said you're back, but I didn't believe it."

"Come, sit down. We're really lucky to have you here today."

As my father spoke, he filled the wine glasses on the dining table.

"Hey, Dad, Sanlu is still a child, can he drink alcohol?"

"What kid? Our Thirteen is already eighteen, and Sanlu is even older than Thirteen. Why can't he drink alcohol? If this were the Qing Dynasty, he'd already be a father."

"Haha, Auntie, my uncle is right."

My dad's words made Sanlu and me laugh out loud.

"Sanlu, come here. We don't have any good food around here, it can't compare to what you eat outside. Try your aunt's cooking."

As my dad spoke, he placed a chicken leg on Sanlu's plate.

"Uncle, don't be shy, I can get it for myself."

Brother Sanlu took a bite.

"Mmm, it smells good. The chicken from our hometown is the best."

"That's right, Sanlu. Don't underestimate our chickens just because we don't have that many. The meat is firm and chewy. Our chickens eat grains and small insects from the mountains. They taste great."

"Come on, try some of our local liquor. Take a small sip, it's quite strong."

After my dad finished speaking, he took a sip himself first.

Brother Sanlv followed.

"what……"

"This liquor is really strong!"

"Haha, Brother Sanlu, if it's spicy, just eat the vegetables!"

Brother Sanlu put down his chopsticks and then asked about my family's current situation.

My dad also treated Sanlu like family, talking and drinking at the same time.

"Hey, what can you do? It's not much better than before."

"Uncle, I heard from Auntie that you went to work on the construction site. How about this, you can be my supervisor and I'll give you 30 yuan a day. You don't have to do anything, just watch the workers work."

"What! Sanlv, you're saying 30 yuan a day, and you don't have to do anything?"

My father put down the wine glass he had picked up, clearly taken aback by what Brother Sanlu had said.

"Sanlv, is this going to work? I don't want to cause you any more trouble."

"Dad, Brother Sanlu is a big boss now. Look at what he's wearing. He's the person in charge of building the winery here. He has power."

"Wow, Sanlv, you've really made something of yourself! You're amazing!"

"Then I'll have to rely on you, haha."

My father was overjoyed when he heard this. After all, he could earn thirty yuan a day without having to do any work. This was something my father had never dared to dream of in his life.

In my father's subconscious, the only way to make money was through physical labor.

After a few sips of wine, my father suddenly asked a question.

"Hey, Sanlv, how are your parents? Didn't they come back to visit you?"

"No, they died in a car accident when I was seventeen."

After finishing his sentence, Brother Sanlu drank the remaining half-cup of baijiu in one gulp.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.

"what……"

My dad was the first to react.

My deepest condolences, Sanlv!

As my father spoke, he refilled Brother Sanlu's wine cup.

I quickly changed the subject.

"Brother Sanlu, if the distillery is built, won't we no longer have to worry about selling our grain in Zhujiakan?"

"That's for sure. I've got my eye on the sorghum from our area. Sorghum liquor sells really well in the south. Our sorghum is of high quality, so the liquor we make is naturally of high quality and sells well too."

When acquaintances meet, they always have endless things to talk about.

Especially people like Brother Sanlv who have returned from traveling.

He described to me the development of coastal cities in the south, where tall buildings stood one after another.

I was completely bewildered when I heard what kind of clothes the people there wore and what they ate.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was dark.

"Brother Sanlu, please slow down."

"Sanlu, if you can't take it, then stay here. You've had your fill of drinking."

"That's right, Sanlv, why don't you take a nap first?"

Brother Sanlu drank quite a bit of alcohol, perhaps because he was genuinely happy to see his old friend again after so many years.

Or perhaps the dinner party mentioned deceased parents.

Brother Sanlu was already swaying as he walked.

"It's alright, Auntie, you can go back now. I can go back to the construction site by myself."

Brother Sanlu turned around and waved his hand, the smile on his face genuine and sincere.

"Thirteen, you'd better stay with us. It's getting dark, and we live in a remote, impoverished area. Your Third Brother is dressed so smartly, you don't want anything to happen to you."

Although my dad had drunk quite a bit and his face was a little flushed, he was still very sober.

After all, he started drinking in his teens and has been drinking for most of his life, so his alcohol tolerance is naturally very high.

"Yes, Thirteen, follow him around, watch him go back to the construction site and fall asleep, then come back."

"It's all your fault. Sanlu is so young, and you keep pouring him wine. And Sanlu, that kid, just drinks it all."

My mother started complaining about my father, but my father picked up his pipe and glanced at my mother.

"You old woman, what do you know!"

"Alright, you two stop arguing. You two go back first. I'll go check on things."

"Be careful too, it's getting dark, take the flashlight with you."

A flashlight—this is the only household appliance in the house.

I didn't call him Brother Sanlv; I just followed behind him.

Brother Sanlu swayed back and forth, almost falling several times.

It wasn't far from the construction site at the west end of the village, but it took us an hour to walk there.

I watched as Brother Sanlu went into the construction site dormitory, and I thought about going back, but I was still worried, so I waited a while longer.

I didn't turn back until I heard Brother Sanlu snoring.

But instead of going home, I went for a walk around the vicinity of Aunt Lin's house. At the intersection closest to Aunt Lin's house, there was a pile of ashes, still warm, which looked like it had just been burned.

I nodded and then walked out of Zhujiakan.

There is only one way to leave Zhujiakan.

This road connects the east and the west.

Zhujiakan is divided into two parts, north and south.

I've walked that road out of the village countless times.

It's so familiar that it's almost unbearable.

Five miles won't take too long.

I put the flashlight away.

The City God Temple mentioned by the female ghost must be suspicious. Since we're going there anyway, we can't alert her.

I walked for about half an hour along the road leading out of the village.

Then I stopped and stood by the roadside.

His eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings.

Sure enough, a small temple was found at the edge of the field.

It can't really be considered a temple; it's just a small building used to worship the Earth God, and you can find them in many places.

To put it bluntly, this kind of thing...

Although it exists, it has been abandoned due to the lack of incense offerings.

If it is abandoned, it will attract evil spirits.

I moved closer.

He crouched down and looked inside the small temple.

There was nothing inside, not even a rank tablet.

I stood up, my brow furrowed. Could it be that I've made a mistake?

Suddenly, a cold wind arose, rustling the leaves of the trees along the roadside.

I crouched down again and discovered traces of some kind of liquid soaking in front of the small temple.

I reached out and rubbed it between my fingers, then brought it to my nose and sniffed it.

A strong smell of blood rushed straight to my head.

It has a bloody smell, and such a strong smell could not have been formed in just one or two days.

"What kind of monster is this? How dare you claim to be the City God? If you dare to do it, why don't you admit it and instead cower like a coward?"

I got up and distanced myself from the small temple.

Sure enough, as soon as I finished speaking, the small temple emitted beams of red light, followed by a chilling voice.

"Heh heh, little brat, how dare you interfere with my good deeds? You overestimate yourself."

Then an old man with a cane walked out of the small temple.

It then slowly grew larger.

I looked him up and down.

Pointed mouth, and thin cheeks.

There was an indescribable feeling in her small eyes.

Especially his hands, no, I should say claws, with their black, pointed nails that exuded a chill.

This old man exudes an evil aura; he is definitely not a proper City God.

I had a feeling that, judging from the old man's appearance, he was probably some kind of spirit from the mountains who had taken over this place.

As for demanding tolls from the female ghost, it probably wasn't just about money.

After all, for the old man in front of him, those ghost tickets were completely useless; what was useful to him was the female ghost.

Female ghosts belong to the yin element, making them the best source of nourishment for those mountain spirits and monsters who do not follow the righteous path.

"You dare call yourself the City God? The true City God receives offerings from countless people, radiating righteousness, unlike you, with your weasel-like face and bloodstained appearance!"

"hey-hey………"

"Little brat, you're so sharp-tongued. How dare you speak so much when I'm handling matters?"

The old man slammed his cane down on the ground.

It made a "bang" sound.

"Since you're going to meddle in other people's business, then stay here. You've had enough of those wandering ghosts and rotting corpses, and it's been a long time since you've tasted the flavor of a living person."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, he turned into a wisp of black smoke and rushed towards me.

Black smoke drew closer, and sharp claws aimed straight for my face.

"snort!"

I snorted coldly and took half a step back.

A golden light burst forth behind him, and Huang Dalang's image appeared and disappeared.

They neutralized the old man's attack.

"You...you have a divine protector?"

"Who are you?"

The old man looked terrified and pointed his cane at me.

Where was the arrogance he had shown just moments before?

"Take care of your people!"

Seeing that things were not going well, the old man turned around and tried to run away.

How could I give him a chance to escape? I took three steps at a time and grabbed the old man by the back of the neck.

With a sudden burst of force, the old man turned into a wisp of black smoke, and then a large rat appeared in my sight.

"So it was a rat spirit."

I have an innate aversion to rats.

"Trying to run away?"

"Big Wave Bro!"

"have!"

A golden light blocked the rat demon's path.

It was Huang Dalang.

Huang Dalang squinted his small eyes, and his size was less than one-tenth that of the rat spirit.

But the mouse was trembling all over.

He turned his head and transformed back into an old man.

"Immortal, spare me! Spare me!"

"Spare me?"

"You impersonate the City God, extort souls, drain their yin energy, and now you dare to plot against the living? How can I forgive you?"

Huang Dalang wagged his tail, a hint of mockery in his expression.

"Thirteen, this thing is quite powerful, it's at least a hundred or eighty years old. Look at that tuft of white hair at the tip of its tail, that's an evil creature that grew after eating the spirits of infants."

"Infant spirits!"

My heart sank.

Infant spirits are children who died in the womb or shortly after birth.

These children were already suffering, and before they could even open their eyes to see the world, they were reincarnated once again.

This rat spirit actually feeds on the spirits of infants.

When I turned my head and glared at the rat demon, my eyes were already filled with murderous intent.

The rat spirit sensed my change in mood and shuddered.

"I had no choice! This entire area of ​​the Yin Road, spanning a hundred miles, has been taken over by a powerful figure. If I hadn't done this, I would probably have perished long ago."

"A formidable figure?"

I frowned.

Why haven't I heard of any impressive figures?

Have you seen it?

"I've never seen him in person; every time I do, I only hear his voice but never see him."

"Only their voices are heard, but their faces are not seen?"

The night wind suddenly picked up, making the corn leaves along the roadside rustle loudly.

A few barks came from afar, then stopped abruptly.

I stared at the rat spirit's shifty eyes, and I always felt that what it said didn't seem to be the truth.

"Even so, you shouldn't have impersonated the City God."

"Immortal, you may not know this, but I have never absorbed any of those evil spirits while impersonating the City God. All of them were taken away by that powerful person."

"If I don't protect myself in this way..."

The rat spirit only spoke halfway through his sentence, and then stopped there.

His eyes were wide open, his body was stiff, and even his thumb-thick tail was held straight up.

My heart sank.

That rat!

died!