Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

In martial arts and fantasy novels, innate talent and comprehension are often mentioned together.

The strength of the latter directly affects the upper limit of a martial artist (cultivator), but the former determines the lower limit of a person, and even whether you can walk this path.

Even setting aside these high-end aspects, let's just consider how innate qualities manifest in ordinary people:

Some people are exceptionally gifted and can easily reach the limits of human physical function, while others work themselves to the bone and still can't get a perfect score on a physical education exam. This is the most basic and straightforward manifestation of innate talent.

Although the effect of this blessing will not be as obvious as the previous two times, the benefits for Zhang Wei will definitely far exceed those of the previous two times!

The only pity is that this is just a small sacrifice and not a grand sacrifice on the first or fifteenth of the lunar month, let alone the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, the special festival of the Kitchen God!

Otherwise, with the added bonus of the holiday, the rewards should be able to be increased even further.

After calming himself down, Zhang Wei got up and went to the offering table. He put two of the five offering pieces directly into his mouth, and then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, handed the remaining two pieces to Blind Wang, who was presiding over the ceremony, and to the old man kneeling in the second row of the crowd.

After returning to the village in the early morning, Zhang Wei not only prepared for the sacrificial ceremony, but also asked the village chief to help distribute the offerings to everyone.

As the core of the sacrifice, the most precious parts of the pig king were definitely not to be touched by anyone, and the remaining offal and scraps were also unrelated to others. They were the spoils of Zhang Wei and Blind Wang, and only a few of the Liu family relatives who went with them could get a little bit of them.

But on the way back, they took out all the wild boars they had killed and distributed them to the villagers who had helped them.

Of course, there are reasons for this allocation, but there's no need to go into detail about them.

All I can say is that while the old village chief may not distribute things equally, he will try to be as fair as possible. As for why others get more and you get less when you all put in the same effort... well, before you say that, should you consider what your surname is and whether you are more than five degrees of kinship with Gou Dan?

"This, this is the Kitchen God's reward for your child. I've already taken my share, so I really shouldn't be sharing this!"

With one hand, Zhang Wei gently pressed Wang the Blind Man's hands, which he was declining, back into his arms and said, "Those scraps are what you deserve, but this is my heartfelt gift, please don't refuse!"

"I already troubled Uncle Wang with his efforts yesterday. I'll need you to come with me to Xiakou Village and the mine later to take a look. I feel bad about troubling you so much, even though my family gave me some money and some pig offal. Please take these so I can be at ease!"

If we're talking about what young people hate most, social niceties are definitely one of them.

It's not that young people hate socializing, but rather that they find it difficult to adapt to the rigid, numerous, and hypocritical rules of the older generation.

Zhang Wei was originally the same way, but ever since his father abandoned him halfway through his life, and he witnessed his usually fierce uncle and quiet cousin running around for him, seeing how his so-called uncles, whom he hadn't seen many times in over twenty years, were running around for his father without any complaints, he suddenly stopped disliking them.

Whether you say he enjoyed the benefits or that he suddenly grew up, it doesn't matter.

To put it bluntly, besides your parents, who in this world would be kind to you for no reason?

Even your grandparents, maternal grandparents, and extended family members will only treat you as an extension of your parents' attitude.

Even the closest relationships become a bit laughable if you don't maintain them regularly and only think of them when you need them.

Of course, Zhang Wei did this as a precaution.

He didn't know what would happen to [Silhouette] after he left, but if there was even the slightest possibility that the favor left by the offering might help the Liu family again.

He has other ways to improve his innate talent, but they are slower. However, the effect may not be worse than the few pieces of offerings he gave away. It's a bit of a loss to overdraw his talent in advance, but it doesn't matter.

Cause and effect, retribution—these are words that the people of Yan and Huang often mention.

And he hadn't forgotten that brief introduction when he first gained the "Master's attention"...

As for the plot allocated to the old man, it was for roughly the same reason.

He didn't know what the future held, but Zhang Wei had ultimately benefited from the Liu family's descendants by using Liu Gou Dan's identity, and now he was giving back to ease his conscience.

"Besides my mother, no one else has ever cared for me like you have. I can't control who gets Grandpa's share, but this share is for you and your cousins!" Zhang Wei cut the piece of meat in half and held one half up to his aunt's mouth.

"Auntie, no, really no, Gou Dan, quickly put it away..."

"There's no need for all this politeness. Just accept it. With so many people watching, Gou Dan wants to save face. You can't expect me to kneel and beg you to accept it, can you?"

As he spoke, Zhang Wei's knees buckled, but before he could land, he was caught in someone's arms.

"Waaah, Auntie will eat, Auntie will eat. What you're saying is heartbreaking, it feels like you're saying something after you've finished speaking... Waaah..."

Making arrangements for his/her death?

Perhaps.

Patting his third aunt's back comfortingly, Zhang Wei watched as she ate the offering, her hair turning from gray to mostly black, and the wrinkles around her eyes smoothed out by an invisible force. He nodded to himself inwardly.

Sure enough, it wasn't that the offerings weren't effective, but rather that his base level was too high!

Indeed, he consumed the essence of the sun and moon for two consecutive days, and also ate two complete offerings. In addition, he also learned the Qi Refining Technique and the Strengthening Skin and Bones he just obtained last night. Although the latter two progressed slowly due to insufficient Qi in the pool, they still showed some growth given enough time.

Not to mention the temporary effect limited to the silhouette.

Although Zhang Wei still looks like a child, he normally has the strength of three or four hundred pounds with every move. With reduced physical exertion, his speed has almost doubled. Ten adults wielding cold weapons (not heavily armored) might not be his match. If you include Ya Zifa, it would be even more exaggerated!

Comforting his aunt, Zhang Wei turned to look at the Liu villagers kneeling before the ancestral altar, his gaze finally settling on the old man's face: "Grandpa, you're old and experienced. I don't know if anyone outside our village can obtain offerings from the gods, but even if they do, it's probably rare. You understand the saying 'possessing a treasure is a crime.' After the ceremony here, I'll watch you share this, so that a good thing doesn't turn into a bad one!"

"Oh well, I know better!"

After settling his personal affairs, Zhang Wei stood at the very front of the Liu family's ancestral altar.

As the most outstanding descendant in the existing Liu Family Village and the one who contributed the most to this table full of offerings, no one would dare to offer the first incense if he didn't.

Bearing the person's status, Zhang Wei kowtowed several times without any burden. Looking at the scrolling subtitles in front of him and the rows of ancestral tablets with the slightly bluish brushstrokes that were hard for ordinary people to see, Zhang Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

The scope of ancestral gods is quite broad.

He can be compared to the gods of heaven and earth, and he can also pierce through the earth's core. He can even beat up a wandering ghost.

Although the ancestral god of Liujia Village wasn't as incompetent as the latter, he was still a village god...

Therefore, even though Zhang Wei organized a very grand sacrificial ceremony this time, and the other party did their best to reciprocate, it still couldn't compare to the Kitchen God and the Ancestral Master.

Of course, he didn't care about that. As for the ancestral god, it was already good enough that he could continue to take care of the village. What more could he ask for?

We've done everything we could, and taken care of all the aftermath. It's time to set off and explore the hidden parts of this "silhouette"!