Chapter 5

The City God is a very important deity... It should be said that the City God of Jinling Cheng is very important.

As far as Gan Tian knows, the immortals of this world are divided into several kinds; earth immortals specifically manage human affairs. And earth immortals are mainly divided into two types: one type is nature gods, mainly mountain gods and water gods. The other type is formed by gathered popular devotion, consisting of the City God and their assistant officials.

City Gods are ranked, with provincial, prefectural, and county levels; as for rural areas where the City God cannot exert deep control, there are the Earth Elders in charge. Since Jinling Cheng is the seat of Yangzhou province, its City God is naturally a provincial City God! Moreover, there is a saying that Yangzhou, being the most prosperous of the Nine Provinces of Zhongyuan, subtly surpasses other provincial City Gods by half a notch, giving it the air of a 'Capital City God'!

But the saying of a 'Capital City God' is ultimately an eyesore... 'Capital' means capital city, yet there is no capital city, so how would the other eight provinces think? How would the immortals who divide and rule the Nine Provinces think? Thus this saying remains just a saying, and no one dares to speak it openly.

In the city, ordinary people are regulated by two sets of authorities: one is the government office, the other is the City God. The City God oversees the souls of the dead after death, also manages karmic retribution, and gives early warning when external threats arise. If the threat comes from mysterious forces, the City God is also responsible for dispelling those threats.

In short, whatever the secular world does not manage or cannot manage, the City God takes charge of!

The provincial City God of Jinling Cheng directly governs the Jinling Cheng area; its subordinate prefectural City Gods, county City Gods, and Earth Elders must obey its dispatch. However... however, if it is a City God within Yangzhou province but outside Jinling Cheng, it does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Jinling Cheng City God; overall, the City God system is quite flat.

This is also because of that point; although it has the advantage of gathering popular devotion, the existence of a provincial City God, which stands at the highest point of the City God system, still cannot compare with water and mountain gods—the water and mountain gods have a much longer history, but in the present era of ever‑more large cities, it cannot match the City God in terms of growth speed.

But water and mountain gods, even including sea gods, when they first existed, the Heavenly Immortals did not yet exist! Naturally they were not subject to any restraints, and their system was built as a hierarchical leadership. The water god system has the so‑called 'Four Rivers' as its pinnacle, while the mountain god system has the 'Five Peaks'; taking any one of them alone is already beyond what a provincial City God can match.

But even so, the City God of Jinling Cheng, which governs the Jinling Cheng area and influences several million residents, remains very important!

Because of this City God temple fair, not only locals from Jinling Cheng came, but also many people from other places—outsiders naturally would not come to pray for blessings from the Jinling Cheng City God; they simply saw this period as a business opportunity! They wanted to come and make a fortune.

The bustling temple fair set up connected stages on the City God Temple Street, each putting on its own performance.

Gan Tian had no interest in drama, but she finally stopped in front of one stage. After watching for a while, she asked the applauding spectators nearby: 'Little brother, is this a play about the City God?'

A thirteen‑ or fourteen‑year‑old child, his face flushed red with excitement, only then noticed someone beside him! Looking again, it was a clever little girl, her face also turning red. All that could be said was that, since his face was already red before, the additional redness now showed nothing unusual.

The youth muttered: 'Exactly! It tells of the City God in his youth traveling through the Hundred Yue, exterminating demons and evil!'

'Oh~~' Gan Tian nodded solemnly, indicating she understood, and while the performers rested on stage, she began to inquire of the other party about the affairs of the Jinling Cheng City God.

The youth was called Xiao Tong, a member of half a troupe—he himself did not sing opera, but his grandfather specialized in making costumes for troupes, with superb craftsmanship. He had been learning the trade from his grandfather since childhood; although he could not yet work independently, his talent was also excellent (really, he lacked any vigilance—Gan Tian asked casually and he spilled everything out in a stammer).

As for talking about the affairs of the Jinling Cheng City God, there was naturally nothing to conceal—no one would want to hide it, and such information could be easily gathered.

Under the current City God system, a City God cannot remain in office forever... mainly because the lifespans of cultivators are not long either (far from the thousands or tens of thousands of years that Gan Tian had once imagined), so when a City God resigns, is dismissed, or dies in office, a new City God must take over.

Such matters are also reported to the local government office, and notices are posted by the temple priests of the City God Temple.

Moreover, the biography of the new City God is not a secret; after a bit of inquiry, someone will know it, and once one person knows, it is not far from everyone knowing.

Furthermore, some things are naturally meant to be spread abroad. For example, the date of this City God temple fair, according to custom, falls around the birthday of the City God...

'The City God Lord's surname is Yang; I dare not utter his given name.' At first Xiao Tong was somewhat unfamiliar, remembering to observe the taboo. Later, as the conversation warmed up, he spoke fluently about the present City God's past 'great achievements,' his eyes shining.

But toward the end he grew a little disheartened: 'I don't know whether we will be able to welcome the deity this year... Grandfather each year makes the regalia for welcoming the deity with a few master craftsmen, yet every year it goes unused. They say the City God feels that the people of Jinling Cheng are lazy and unwilling to manifest his presence...'

The temple fair has a climax portion, namely the so‑called 'welcoming the deity', and the most important part of this is lifting the deity's palanquin □□.

In this process, those who need to participate must 'play' the role of the City God's attendant minor officials, which of course requires regalia. Being able to participate in making such regalia also shows that Xiao Tong's grandfather is indeed a highly skilled artisan locally!

As for whether the deity manifests or not.

Gan Tian seemed to have heard people say that, when welcoming the deity, one may lift the deity's image for a procession only after obtaining prior permission from the deity; and if the deity is even more pleased, it may even appear within the □□, which is a typical manifestation.

The regalia of several consecutive years have gone unused, which can only mean that the City God has refused the welcoming prayers of those years.

'You also said that the City God is just and stern, punishing evil and promoting good, and he pays great attention to the sufferings of the people of Jinling Cheng; if so, how could he possibly not like the people of Jinling Cheng? It must be that the City God is preoccupied with official duties and does not care about such matters!' This was not Gan Tian speaking nonsense; after Xiao Tong's description, she indeed recalled a bit about this City God.

It seemed to have been mentioned casually by family members... outwardly cold but inwardly warm, pragmatic and diligent, disliking ostentation.

All that can be said is that there is a slight lack of communication between the City God and the common folk!

Gan Tian racked her brains to recall what she knew, hoping to comfort the young man, but the young man was called away by his grandfather.

'Xiao Tong, it's time to work!' The voice was a bit hoarse, but he looked fine—a spirited little old man.

Gan Tian followed over to look, and indeed these were some regalia, the very items to be used in the welcoming deity ceremony, similar to those used for opera, differing only in details.

One could see that the makers of these regalia were very conscientious, attending to every detail without fail. Considering their age, doing such fine work must not be easy, and Gan Tian felt great admiration in her heart.

This was not something that could not be shown to people; Xiao Tong's grandfather thought it was just a child looking at something novel, so after telling her 'don't touch it,' he let her have a look.

'Old sir, how are the preparations for the regalia coming along?' A man in his forties, wearing a black cap and a long robe, walked over to ask. However, anyone listening to his speech could sense that his mind was not on the regalia but filled with worry.

The regalia were prepared very well, with not a single flaw, yet the man remained anxious—not because of the regalia, but because the welcoming deity ceremony was delayed.

'Old sir... do you think we can hold the welcoming deity ceremony this year?' His tone was full of uncertainty.

'If we fail again to hold the welcoming deity ceremony, what will everyone think!' The man sighed lamentingly, then added: 'In recent years, not having held the ceremony has already left people uneasy; if we fail again this year, we will probably have to first try to make amends.'

Making amends is not that simple; one must present offerings!

The provincial City God is no minor deity; if one deliberately offers sacrifices, the standards are very high... Jinling Cheng, a city of this size, would not lack the funds for it, but there is a fear that even if amends are made, the situation might not be resolved—and there are precedents for this. Often a bad situation arrives, and then an even worse one follows.

The saying goes, 'blessings never come doubly, misfortunes never come singly'...

Watching the worried few, Gan Tian quietly slipped away.

Standing on the main street, she stared at the City God Temple for a while. With a sound of 'Mm', she then said to the vendor selling incense, wax, and paper money nearby: 'Boss, pick out some good incense.'

Having bought the incense, Gan Tian did not rush into the City God Temple; instead, she took a stroll around while it was still not time.

Under ordinary circumstances one would rarely have the chance to see such a prosperous market; not only local shopkeepers and itinerant merchants from elsewhere, but all kinds of small vendors came to do business. Consequently the variety of goods became unprecedentedly rich, and Gan Tian even saw stalls of Western Region peoples along the two sides of the street.

Naturally, what the Western Region peoples sold were their local specialties.

Walking back and forth on the City God Temple Street, Gan Tian finally bought a packet of excellent 'one‑mouth crisp' pastries, freshly baked from the pastry shop. Then she purchased a stack of high‑quality flower‑and‑bird paper, placed it in a brocade box. Finally, after thinking it over, she bought a bouquet of fresh flowers, which she herself arranged.

The combination looked quite nice.

After purchasing these, Gan Tian then tethered her little donkey at the freight office opposite the City God Temple that could handle cattle and horses.

Gan Tian went straight to the main hall; looking at the imposing, tall statue of the City God, she did not feel herself insignificant. Like everyone else, she placed her 'offerings' on the shelf before the altar, then lit the incense and began to pray.

The people of Jinling Cheng hope that you will permit the welcoming of the deity...

Prayers made in the City God Temple can be heard by the City God or his assistant officials; of course, whether they choose to respond is another matter... Sometimes it is not that they are neglecting their duties, but simply that there are too many people praying, with all kinds of strange wishes, making it impossible to respond to everyone.

Gan Tian does not know the City God here, nor can she directly convey a message to him; thus she can only help in this way—at least her prayer voice will be somewhat louder than that of ordinary people, making it easier to be heard.

As for the pastries, flower‑and‑bird paper, and fresh flowers, they are gifts... just a little something to ask for a favor~

In the City God Temple, as usual, there were many voices of virtuous men and faithful women praying. Suddenly, as if sensing something, the previously listless temple priest jumped up and exclaimed: 'Agreed! The City God has agreed to the welcoming of the deity!'