Chapter 1904: Inviting the Deity

"What was the cause of death for the Wu County Magistrate?"

"He died in his sleep, said to be from heart failure." The attendant continued, "The Tian family has been in the medicinal herb trade in Tongxi for generations, but after being beaten down by Yangshan, they're in ruins and can't compete. The newly appointed Tian County Magistrate immediately arrested our people—it's hard to say there's no personal grudge."

Lü Qiuwei repeatedly said "good": "How dare there be such an ignorant official?"

An official who doesn't know Yangshan is no good official.

"A new official takes office, not knowing what demon or evil spirit is pulling his strings, and he wants to use us as a target?" Ding Zuodong nodded, "This newly appointed Tian County Magistrate has a narrow mind—should the Black Armor Army give him an eye-opener?"

Wherever Yangshan Merchant Guild operates, it is a mighty god of wealth. To offend it, the Tian County Magistrate has likely latched onto an even thicker thigh, or he merely thinks he has.

Lü Qiuwei stood up, drained the tea on the table in one gulp: "Just wait and see."

As he walked out of the Yangshan branch hall, over a hundred people followed behind him.

By the time they reached Tongxi, this hundred-plus had transformed into black-clad, black-armored warriors, brimming with killing intent!

Meanwhile, Ding Zuodong again buried himself in work.

At night, he received new intelligence from the east:

The Black Armor Army flashed into Tongxi, frightened the patrol guards, rescued the Yangshan personnel about to be taken for public parade, and in passing chopped off the Tian County Magistrate's head, then departed openly under everyone's eyes.

Only the Tian County Magistrate's head remained, hung on the county office's plaque, with a white banner beside it, written in blood with eight large characters:

"Human face, beastly heart—has eyes but no pearls."

Ding Zuodong merely sighed, "Their actions are getting faster and faster," then tossed the intelligence aside and focused on official duties.

Before, they had to handle such troubles with extra caution, lest people associate Yangshan with the Black Armor Army.

Now, that concern has been cast aside.

Just a quarter of an hour later, the copper bell hanging by the window suddenly began to sway, ling ling ling—

In the deep night, with all quiet, it sounded especially clear and urgent.

Clearly, there was no wind outside the window.

Ding Zuodong seemed to startle, immediately opened the drawer, and grabbed several volumes.

At this moment, a troop of soldiers suddenly charged in from outside the town, numbering several hundred. The guards of Kun Town rushed out to intercept, and in the firelight identified their attire:

"They are the Bixia people!"

The two leading riders charged straight ahead, galloping toward Ding Zuodong's office.

"Quick, quick—the target is right ahead, don't let him slip away!"

They were very fast, and the branch hall wasn't large—two horses burst through a round archway and reached Ding Zuodong's study door.

Who would have thought they hadn't even dismounted to push the door when they heard a tremendous boom—

The room suddenly exploded!

The blast wave nearly overturned both men and horses to the ground.

"Damn it!" the two leaders cursed.

Ding Zuodong is an important figure in Yangshan, surely knowing many secrets of He Xiaoyao. But he is extremely sly, never staying in one place too long. After great effort, the superiors located Ding Zuodong's position, and the Luodian people were ordered to capture him.

Who would have thought that before they even got close, this fellow had already detonated his own office.

After this explosion, those important documents were also reduced to ashes.

The entire Kun Town was stirred, with crowds of people coming this way.

Ding Zuodong could not be captured.

……

On the same day, in the kingdom of Beruli, the capital.

The sky was dim, a person came out from the back door of the temple, looked left and right, confirmed no one was paying attention, then returned to the palace.

Upon entering the palace gate, by rights one should present a tablet, then have identity verified—that is, be searched.

But this person needed no tablet; just by looking at his face, the palace guards respectfully welcomed him in, and the body search was waived.

The lamp in the Beruli king's study was blazing, this person raised his voice to greet, and inside they called him to enter.

"Everyone out, close the doors and windows." The Beruli king drove everyone away, then asked him, "Has the deity been invited?"

"The deity has been invited."

The doors and windows were already closed, the elderly palace attendant then carefully drew out an object from his bosom, entirely wrapped in red cloth.

Unwrapping the red cloth, this turned out to be a deity statue!

It had a lion's head, a forked tongue like a snake's, and was bluish-black in color.

The elderly palace attendant had brought it back from the temple's back door, and lo and behold, it was a small deity statue slightly larger than a palm.

"Your Majesty, is the deity you dreamed of this one?"

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The Beruli king has recently been dreaming every night, always dreaming of the same deity speaking to him, but he cannot hear clearly. So he had palace attendants go to the temple to seek.

This deity's appearance is unique; the Beruli monarch recognized it at a glance: "Correct! Who is this?"

"The deity Yu, attendant of the Battle-Heaven Venerable."

After Miao Zhantian fell, no one knows what changes occurred in the divine realm, but many deities no longer manifest their power. The Beruli temple originally enshrined the Goddess Fenghe, and this deity Yu was not placed in a prominent position. But this time, when the elderly attendant went, the divination slips thrown to the ground would each time slip to the front of the deity Yu's statue.

So he found the deity Yu's statue without much effort.

The Beruli king snorted coldly, self-mockingly said: "This is my royal city. I, the king, invite a deity here, yet still have to do it sneakily!"

Before, when he wanted to worship a deity, he would just go to the temple openly; now he must assign the most trusted elderly attendant to secretly invite the deity into the palace.

"The situation is special—every move of the king is watched and speculated upon by many, so caution is naturally warranted!"

To the east stood a tall-legged small table, holding a pot of orchids.

The Beruli king pointed at it, and the elderly attendant took down the flower pot, wiped a few sides, and used it as a temporary offering table.

He placed the deity statue on it, then set down an incense burner, and took out a row of tall incense sticks.

"This incense is specially made by the temple; when lit, it must be done at night, without strong light or wind."

King Beryl personally lit six sticks of tall incense and inserted them into the burner.

The tall incense is blue-green in color, and the smoke it produces is also blue-green, carrying a sweet fragrance that spreads everywhere.

Soon, the blue-green smoke filled the imperial study, reducing visibility greatly.

If the doors and windows were opened, the smoke would drift out, and most palace attendants would likely think there was a fire.

Yet King Beryl felt no irritation in his nose; on the contrary, his breathing became slow and prolonged, as if he had stepped into a misty world, everywhere a hazy blue-green.

He did not know that this was the state of "trance."

Communication between deities and mortals requires a medium, usually performed by temple priests; only those as powerful as Bai Zhan Tian and Tong Ming Zhenjun can transmit voice through condensed smoke.

But the old palace attendants could not bring temple priests into the palace—it would be too conspicuous. Yu Shen compromised, using specially crafted blue-green smoke to guide King Beryl into a trance state, facilitating their communication.

This also has the advantage that even if someone outside were peeking in, they would not know what was happening inside the study.

"Is— is anyone there?" Although surrounded by a world of blue-green smoke, King Beryl found he could still speak.

Suddenly, a huge blackish-blue lion leapt out from the smoke, startling him greatly, but his feet felt rooted to the ground, unable to move.

The giant lion stood at least fifteen feet tall, its jaws alone could swallow him whole, its presence terrifying.