Chapter 67: The River's Favor!

Clang! Clang! Clang...

Nine gong strikes echoed over the pier, rolling on endlessly.

On both sides of the altar, the shaman held a short staff, singing the prayer song, but if one listened carefully, one could find that every tone was a tremolo.

Hearing it for the first time, one might truly think this was a feature of the prayer song.

The priest looked at the figure on the side, his chest heaving as he took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and shouted in a deep voice.

"Chief Officiant, proceed!"

The musician raised a copper horn, and the large drum with yellow cowhide skin was struck by a large mallet. The drum sound resonated through the entire bluestone street, becoming increasingly deep and majestic, as if striking at people's hearts, *kiong-kiong* echoing.

Liang Qu stood up. With every drumbeat, he took a step. Under thousands of gazes, he walked slowly along the central axis of the altar, ascended the thirteen steps, and stood on the altar.

In the center of the five-foot-long offering table, the massive Mountain Ghost head faced the great river, its yellowed vertical pupils dim and lusterless, with thick black blood beneath.

"Offer incense!"

Liang Qu lit the incense with charcoal and bent down to insert it into the incense burner.

"Offer wine!"

Liang Qu took the wine pot, filled three wine cups, and stood still.

"Chant, the sacrificial text!"

"River God above, I borrow the land of Yixing City, approach the waters of the Huai River, bear the entrustment of the masses, gather the hopes of the people, and lead the masses to worship before your honor today, presenting this sacrificial text..."

"When chaos first opened, heaven and earth were born. Heaven governs the sun and moon, earth travels the rivers and streams. Irrigating the Central Plains, nurturing all things. White mountains and black waters, there is the Huai River..."

The river was calm for ten thousand *li*, then suddenly waves arose.

Heaven and earth were vast, and the lingering sounds were manifold.

"Worship!"

【Sacrificing to the Huai River, River's Favor +0.0001】

Liang Qu remained calm, bowing low.

"Worship again!"

A great wind surged from the river surface, vast and mighty, never ceasing for ten thousand *li*, his long robes and wide sleeves fluttering in the wind.

The villagers bowing their heads couldn't help but look up, seeing the blood-red white clothes under the black cloak, their hearts shocked, as if seeing a god!

Liang Guangtian mingled behind the crowd, bowing again and again. By the time he stood up, his back was completely soaked with cold sweat.

The figure on the altar had a divine might like a mountain, completely unable to overlap with the figure who had been hunched over begging for grain three months ago.

He suddenly felt that his nephew was so strange, so terrifying!

In his fear... there was a trace of regret.

His gaze glanced at Chen Qingjiang, who was standing in the front row of the altar. If he had lent the grain earlier, would it have been a completely different scene?

Firecrackers crackled.

The priest shouted, and Liang Qu stepped down from the altar.

Several men in straw rain capes went up to the altar to dance, and the drumming became cheerful.

Everything ended, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief in unison.

The sacrifice was finally completed smoothly; the Mountain Ghost attack was not an omen of disaster.

Chen Zhaoan's hanging heart dropped. He was already seventy-two years old. He remembered the founding of the Great Shun sixty years ago clearly, but having lived so long, he had never experienced such a thrilling sacrificial activity.

A Mountain Ghost attacked during the sacrifice, and it was actually killed and offered to the River God...

Seen it all in a long life.

Truly seen it all in a long life.

Better to live a long life.

Liang Qu stepped down from the altar, and Chen Zhaoan and a group of village elders immediately surrounded him.

The sacrifice was finished, but none of the questions in their hearts had been solved.

Why did the Mountain Ghost appear here?

Was it the one that killed martial artists in Pingyang Town, which was making such a big fuss?

Would there be more, and was there danger?

Liang Qu waved his hand, pointing to the wounds on his body: "Wait for me to take a bath first, then we'll talk. Help me call a physician first."

"Oh, good, good, good, as it should be, as it should be. Let's all go to my house."

Chen Zhaoan and the others then remembered that Liang Qu was still injured. A village elder hurriedly greeted everyone to go to his house—the large mansion guarded by the stone lion where most of the villagers had taken refuge next to the pier.

The village elder entered the mansion and ordered people to boil water. Just as he was about to send his eldest son to call a physician from the medical hall, the physician himself stood out busily.

"Young Master Liang, I am right here."

Sacrificing to the River God was a major event; even those who weren't fishermen had to come if they could. As a physician in Yixing City, he was naturally at the scene, and even stood in a high position, in the front row near the altar, second only to some wealthy families, and in the same row as the craftsmen.

On the contrary, most of the fishermen were in the middle and back sections, with only a few able to stand in the front row.

Liang Qu nodded, half-undressing his upper garment, revealing his upper body: "I'll have to trouble the physician to take a look for me."

His two most serious wounds were on his chest and shoulder, as well as his right arm, all clawed and bitten by the Mountain Ghost, all on his upper body.

The physician leaned forward, and after an examination, he said in surprise: "I don't know what material Young Master Liang's cloak and robe are made of."

Liang Qu said: "The cloak was a gift from my second senior brother, made of dog-bear fur, impervious to blades and spears. The robe was a gift from my eighth senior brother, blended with heavenly silkworm silk."

Being able to defeat the Mountain Ghost this time was, first, because he had broken through the skin barrier, greatly increasing his strength and defense.

Second, his fusion degree had skyrocketed, and his physical fitness had taken a leap.

Third, the centipede's deadly poison, though slow to take effect, played a crucial role, giving a fatal blow when the beast was trapped.

Finally, it was his full set of divine equipment.

He was a noob, but he had a full set of six divine items.

Whether it was the arm guards or the cloak, including the robe blended with heavenly silkworm silk and the mountain-ox leather belt, they had blocked several fatal attacks.

After the whole battle, he was completely unscathed, not even a loose thread.

The village elders had never heard of any dog-bear or heavenly silkworm, but it was precisely because they didn't know that they felt it was powerful.

They secretly sighed that he was worthy of being Master Yang's disciple; even the clothes he wore were so extraordinary.

"No wonder, no wonder." The physician clicked his tongue in wonder. "Protected by this cloak and clothes, and with a sturdy and powerful body, Young Master Liang's injuries look serious, but in fact, they are all just flesh wounds. It's just that the wounds are quite deep and have bled a lot, so you need to be careful about suppuration. Fortunately, the weather is cold, so it's not easy to get inflamed. Wipe the wounds, apply medicine, and bandage them. You'll be fine after recuperating for twenty days."

Liang Qu nodded. It was good that his bones weren't injured; if his bones were injured, he would suffer greatly.

He pointed to Li Libo and Chen Jiechang on the side: "Physician, please take a look at my two good friends as well?"

"Easy, easy."

The physician went to the two of them to check.

Chen Jiechang was fine; apart from some exhaustion, his most serious injury was that he kicked the Mountain Ghost, fell on his butt, and scraped some skin off his hand.

Li Libo was miserable. The Mountain Ghost's arm sweep cracked his forearm bone. It wasn't broken, but it would take two or three months to heal from the muscle and bone injury.

Li Libo looked like he had lost his parents: "It's over, how can I practice martial arts now?"

Li Libo's father, Li Dakang, on the side, also showed a look of worry.

Liang Qu laughed: "Don't worry, I will explain the situation to the senior brothers, and I'll ask for three months' leave for you."

If the two hadn't handed him the knife to assist, the Mountain Ghost wouldn't have been easy to take down. Liang Qu naturally had to help.

"Really? Then it doesn't need three months; it's not broken, two months will do, two months will do."

"I don't mind, it's up to you."

Li Dakang was overjoyed: "That's really troubling Ashui."

"No trouble, Uncle."

"Physician, physician, come quickly and take a look at me, I'm also in so much pain."

"Go take a look at them first."

The physician apologized and got busy.

There were quite a few injured people lying in the courtyard.

During the Mountain Ghost incident, many people fell to the ground in the chaotic escape, causing a stampede. Fortunately, no one died, but some people were seriously injured.

There were also a few who jumped into the water in a panic. It was only because Liang Qu and the others ended the battle quickly that they were fished out in time and didn't freeze to death. These people were all carried into the mansion by the village elders.

After Liang Qu finished bathing, cleaned off the blood, and changed into clean clothes, the physician returned to apply medicine and bandage him.

The village elders gathered again, urgently wanting to know the answer to the question. ===== CHAPTER 68 =====