Mythology Returns! Starting with Folklore and Strange Tales

The Qi of a Gentle Breeze!

The description says it's a rare item, but the quantity is a bit too small.

Zhang Wei wasn't surprised. After all, the fact that these pigs could "obediently" stay in the pigpen instead of actively eating people like wolf spirits already proved that they were easy prey for them.

However, these weren't Zhang Wei's targets. He was already grateful if the unplanned items could yield any rewards and he could make a profit; why make so many demands?

He turned around, jumped out of the pigpen, looked at the dumbfounded village chief and his uncle, and finally at Blind Wang: "They're all good-for-nothings. Go to the sorceress; she'll explain things after she tells you!"

"good!"

"No, what do you mean 'understand'? What are you talking about?"

The village chief was like a badger in a melon patch that couldn't get any melons; his aged face was full of curiosity.

Neither Zhang Wei nor Blind Wang offered him an explanation.

What did you say?

It was common knowledge that the mountain god was having problems. Although the village chief and my uncle said that it was because of the lack of sacrifices that the mountain god had punished the village, causing livestock to be restless and homes to be uneasy.

But no matter how Wang the Blind Man listened to this reason, it seemed a bit far-fetched.

He started doing this job with his master when he was young. When he was 28, his master died unexpectedly in the Taihang Mountains while looking after graves. He then settled in Liujia Village to make a living. Now he has been doing this job for over 30 years. How come he has never heard of a righteous god punishing someone for missing sacrifices?

Not to mention that long ago, the gods in heaven and on earth gradually disappeared, and even the temples of the Earth God and the City God lost their spirituality more than a hundred years ago.

If Zhang Wei hadn't managed to revive the Kitchen God and received the sacrificial rewards, he would have thought that this was the beginning of the Dharma-ending Age as described in Buddhist and Taoist scriptures!

If this is true for righteous gods, then evil gods have even less reason to do so.

Don't think that evil spirits are above the law. In fact, inviting evil spirits to bring harm is no easier than inviting righteous spirits to punish you. If you don't make sacrifices casually, don't worship at temples, and don't speak carelessly, even if an evil spirit is right in front of you, it won't bother to harm you.

Of course, live sacrifices, or the extremely rare cases of city sacrifices like those of the White Lotus sect hundreds of years ago, are not included... Anyway, these evil things don't bother you if you don't provoke them.

As for Zhang Wei, his thinking was even simpler.

He doesn't have time.

Since we're going to have to fight the mountain god sooner or later, why not prepare now?

The entire village has been severely damaged, and the vitality of everyone from the villagers to the livestock has plummeted to an extreme. As the saying goes, misfortune follows misfortune, and this is certainly true.

In Zhang Wei's view, Xiakou Village, which should have been as bustling with people as Liujia Village, was instead filled with an eerie atmosphere, yin energy, earth evil spirits, and even traces of ghostly and demonic energy.

Although Zhang Wei had never seen what a Yin-Nourishing Land looked like, Xiakou Village was not far from the former.

In the short term, it may just be a constant stream of illnesses, but if we look at the bigger picture, the entire village will probably turn into a ghost village and a dead end!

Of course, this had no effect on Zhang Wei; in fact, the more evil and wicked the better!

Compared to spirits and evil spirits whose malevolent energy has to be fought over with their masters, and who even have to fight to plunder it before they can be completely drained, this wandering malevolent energy is practically like giving them a free buffet.

The Yazi Law operates spontaneously.

Along the way, wherever Zhang Wei went, a layer of fine, coal-ash-like substance fell to the ground.

The black slag mixed with the dust emitted an eerie smell, but it melted away in the sunlight in no time.

Under the pretext of protecting the rear, Zhang Wei, who was walking at the back, naturally did not have anyone notice the unusual thing under his feet. Of course, the others, each with their own thoughts, had no time to pay attention to the little bit of trash on the road behind them.

After walking for about half an hour, winding through streets and alleys and past many houses, the group finally arrived at the shaman's small courtyard, located at the edge of the village.

Before they even rounded the corner, the village chief was still warning Zhang Wei and the others: "That old woman Gu has a strange temperament and many rules. Please bear with her if she says anything strange or vulgar!"

While the village chief was speaking ill of the sorceress, the crowd that had circled around the corner of the courtyard wall saw the old woman, leaning on a cypress cane, standing outside the gate with her hands tucked in.

"..."

A blush appeared on the village chief's pale face.

Of course, the village chief's embarrassment didn't affect anyone else.

Upon seeing the shaman waiting outside the door, Blind Wang and Zhang Wei exchanged a glance. The former quickly stepped forward and said, "Grandma Gu, I was asked to come to Xiakou Village to take a look. It was my fault for not visiting beforehand; please don't be angry!"

Those in Gan Wang's line of work, once they establish a branch in a fixed location, even if they aren't very familiar with each other, are known to everyone in the surrounding area. Unless absolutely necessary, they won't readily accept requests from others within their designated area.

Firstly, to avoid offending each other and ruining each other's reputations; secondly, to maintain goodwill so that if we encounter difficulties in the future, we can ask others for help.

Zhang Wei, being both highly skilled and young, coupled with the fact that Blind Wang had taken too much, left him with no excuse to back down. However, upon his return, the proper etiquette couldn't be neglected: "I've prepared some nice things, I wonder if you..."

"Alright, no need for gifts. When you entered the village, Seventh Sister saw the magnificent incense offerings, and she has already told me about it!"

The witch doctor stepped aside, opening the courtyard gate behind her: "Come in, all of you!"

After everyone entered the courtyard, when it was Zhang Wei's turn, the old woman looked him up and down several times before letting out a long sigh: "At least I can see the boy; this old woman's trip wasn't in vain!"

"Thank you for your help!"

Blind Wang once mistook him for the Kitchen God's attendant, and now the Goddess of Grain is the same. Zhang Wei didn't want to explain further, nor could he. After all, others prayed daily but couldn't get the gods to look down on them, while he received a response whenever he made offerings. What else could this be but a favored relative?

The room was slightly dimly lit, with old-fashioned tables, chairs and benches. The simple layout was not much different from the main house of a farmhouse. The only difference was that on the wall directly opposite the door, a precious mahogany altar was set with various fruits and vegetables. A shrine inscribed with the title of Hu Qiniangniang sat in the center. The red cloth that should have been covering the shrine was now lifted, revealing a small statue of a woman with a fox head sitting inside.

Across half the room, Zhang Wei's gaze fell upon the statue. He felt as if something was observing him through the statue, and upon closer inspection, he could even see a faint hint of a smile beneath the fox's face.