Chapter 6

The City God Temple is in a bustling district of the city, yet the City God himself and all the minor officials are absent—this is to stay away from the noisy market for easier cultivation and administration, and also because handling the populace is truly no easy task.

If the people knew the City God was in the City God Temple, even the most cautious would still try to rush in—not out of disrespect, but because they are anxious, carrying grievances and hopes they wish the immortals could fulfill.

Generally, anyone who dares to break protocol and disturb the divine for such a reason must be a person of conviction, and the matter is unlikely to be a simple personal grudge—just like the old practice of suing officials or blocking their carriages, those who do so usually have a credible justification.

But what good is a reason? This is certainly not a justification for acting recklessly!

How many worldly affairs of the populace does the City God Temple handle? Everyone feels their own matters are most important and justified, but the truth is that once inside the City God Temple, everyone is much the same.

Therefore, having the City God Temple too close to the populace is not good; being a bit farther but not too far is best, and the proper distance must be judged by oneself.

But to avoid neglecting official duties, the true City God Temple is able to monitor everything that occurs in the city's City God Temple.

For instance, the prayers of the populace in the city's City God Temple hall can be heard on the other side, differing only in volume and clarity. Generally, the stronger the resolve, the clearer it is; the greater the spiritual sensitivity, the clearer as well.

"My lord, have you approved this welcoming of the gods?" The Senior Divine of the Records Office, having sorted the documents, expressed some confusion. Thinking of the recent commotion, he asked the Senior Divine of the Blessings Office: "I heard that a commoner moved the lord, causing him to change his mind… could that really be true?"

It's no wonder the Senior Divine of the Records Office is doubtful—if the populace's prayers truly worked, Jinling Cheng would not have gone so long without a god‑welcoming ceremony! It's not that the present City God is bad; everyone has their own temperament, and some simply dislike pomp and pretense, regarding the welcoming of the gods as mere folk revelry, so what can be done?

Actually, from the perspective of these cultivators, such an understanding is not wrong.

While the populace sees the welcoming of the gods as entertaining the deities, how many City Gods truly find it enjoyable? Especially those who have attained the position of prefectural City God—what trials have they endured, what cultivation have they achieved? Such immortals would hardly find that activity interesting.

Therefore, the activity of 'welcoming the gods on tour' is less about entertaining the gods and more about the common folk entertaining themselves, merely indulging in revelry.

Some City Gods simply don't mind and go along with it, but the present City God of Jinling Cheng dislikes such affairs, which is why he deliberately withholds permission.

The Senior Divine of the Blessings Office is always busy, and lately the temple fair has made things even busier. He is processing documents sent up by his underlings—frankly, he feels a bit envious of the leisurely bureaus: among the City God Temple's twenty‑four offices, the Records Office is certainly not the most idle, but compared with the Blessings, Yin‑Yang, and Documents Offices, which are 'busy with business,' it is already 'simple mode'.

With a few swift strokes of the brush for review, he didn't even look up and said: "Indeed, someone's prayer caused the lord to change his mind… but it wasn't an ordinary commoner."

Frankly, what seems like a major affair to the populace appears to these people as needless self‑trouble, and sometimes they cannot even comprehend what these ordinary folk are thinking. Thus, even if the people of Jinling Cheng worry in this way, no one in the City God Temple feels that the City God's reluctance to welcome the gods poses any problem.

It's merely a small preference of the City God—what is there to say about it?

Therefore, if the City God truly changed his longstanding habit because of a single person's prayer, that would be strange… Did no one ever pray before? Where would that leave those who had earnestly prayed earlier?

Now, hearing the Senior Divine of the Blessings Office explain that it was not an ordinary person's prayer, the Senior Divine of the Records Office nodded in understanding—although it remains hard to fathom, given the exalted status of a prefectural City God, how many immortals could dare to 'point fingers'? And those qualified to speak would hardly bring up such a trivial matter as 'welcoming the gods on tour'.

This is like a conversation between big shots—no matter how trivial the topic, there is still a bottom line.

"How interesting—could it be some great deity, or perhaps a true person who has set foot in Jinling Cheng? How could we have failed to notice earlier?" The City God Temple can monitor its jurisdiction; especially powerful divinities stand out like a bright lamp in the night.

The Senior Divine of the Blessings Office shook his head: "Not exactly… I only know it is a little fairy, but I don't know whose she is—or perhaps the lord knows."

"Which family's little fairy could make the lord act this way?" The Senior Divine of the Records Office laughed helplessly.

The Day‑wandering God entered from outside at that moment and said: "I actually know about this—I just saw it… it is actually the daughter of the Peach Blossom Fairy!"

"Peach Blossom Fairy? That isn't—" He seemed to think of something, the Senior Divine of the Records Office fell silent, then asked strangely: "How do you know that is the daughter of the Peach Blossom Fairy? Could it be you have seen her before?"

The Day‑wandering God appears as a remarkably handsome young man—though whether he is truly young is unknown. Upon hearing this, he merely smiled: "I once caught a distant glimpse of the Peach Blossom Fairy; her little fairy resembles her quite closely… Moreover, a junior disciple of mine follows not far behind the little fairy, and I hear he is now an attendant of Lord Jiang. Tell me, if it is not the daughter of the Peach Blossom Fairy and Lord Jiang, who else could it be?"

Even the City God Temple's upper and lower ranks are buzzing about this, let alone the common folk of Jinling Cheng.

Because the City God has agreed to this god‑welcoming, those who had been preparing the event naturally sprang into action. While preparing, they also announced it to the whole city—essentially, this truly is a revelry; those who heard the news became more active, practically pushing the temple fair toward its climax.

Gan Tian was also pleased with this result—although saying so sounds strange, she seems to have always been this way; her luck is astonishingly high, and she often gets what she wishes for. At first she thought it unscientific, but later… later it just felt right.

She vaguely felt it might be related to her background, but she didn't know how those 'immortals' knew her origins… perhaps they have their own identification methods, and since she is still a child who hasn't formally encountered them, she doesn't know?

She doesn't know, but she will soon uncover the mystery—every child with cultivation talent formally begins studying these matters at age twelve.

After thanking the City God once more, Gan Tian then left the City God Temple.

Coincidentally, she met a little boy who also knew about the god‑welcoming; he had previously come to the City God Temple to pray for this matter, and now he is here to fulfill his vow.

Upon seeing Gan Tian, he seemed a bit embarrassed, but still called out to her: "Miss Gan, wait a moment… this is your first time in Jinling Cheng, you're not familiar with the place… let me, having fulfilled my vow, show you around the temple fair!"

Gan Tian blinked, thought it a good suggestion, answered with an 'uh,' and stood at the doorway waiting for him.

The little boy's face reddened further; he hurried off to fulfill his vow, his steps somewhat clumsy as he walked.

Gan Tian stood idly near the temple keeper at the gate, the temple keeper attending to many pious men and women. Suddenly she looked up and saw a middle‑aged person dressed as a scholar, with a sword hanging at his waist; her eyes widened! She was about to speak, but seeing the person opposite shake his head, she barely restrained herself.

Gan Tian was idly picking at her fingers when suddenly her vision dimmed and someone stood before her divine presence. Looking up, she saw a refined and dignified middle‑aged person who also bore a chivalrous aura—appearing aloof and keeping strangers at bay, yet Gan Tian felt the person harbored goodwill toward her.

The person's gaze toward her was exceedingly kind.

Gan Tian felt the person might be a great figure… of that sort in the cultivation world.

"You're out alone? That's a bit too playful." Though he said that, there was actually no blame; his tone was clearly made as light as possible. Moreover, he handed Gan Tian a small sword: "This is our first meeting, so consider it a greeting gift—originally meant to be given at your birth, but it was delayed by some matters."

What matter could delay something for over a decade?

Although it invites a bit of teasing, considering that the immortal world cannot be judged by ordinary common sense, his words made Gan Tian believe him.

Another elder who knows her parents… well, that's that.

"Thank you, Uncle Yang!" Gan Tian said without a stutter, her voice sweet, and she had no intention of refusing the gift.

Yes, Uncle Yang… a great figure in the immortal world, who just happened to appear at the Jinling Cheng City God Temple at this moment—who else could be the local City God?

Yang Zhen's lips curled slightly; if his subordinates saw this scene they'd likely be shocked—their City God is famous for being stern! He has sat in the position of Jinling Cheng's City God for nearly twenty years, and he smiles so rarely you could count the occasions on one hand.

"No need to thank me… you are more courteous than your father." A well‑behaved child naturally draws more affection and certainly deserves a reward.

Although he didn't say it outright, Yang Zhen meant exactly that.

Only then did Gan Tian notice that the City God, in one hand, was holding the offering she had just presented during her prayer.

Yang Zhen's gift to Gan Tian, the small sword, looks rather unremarkable—no pearls or gems, at most finely crafted. It resembles a young lady's plaything, ordinarily used to trim paper or open envelopes.

But… this is a gift from a prefectural City God to a junior; one can tell it's not ordinary. The plainer it looks, the more extraordinary it is!

Gan Tian fiddled with it, found it cute and dainty, and hung it on her waist. It hardly seems like a weapon; it feels more like a little ornament.

Yang Zhen was about to say something more when the little boy came out. In the end, Yang Zhen merely patted Gan Tian's round head and then vanished.

Apart from the temple keeper, no one else noticed this strange sight.

The little boy felt a bit strange: "Just now, was someone speaking with the young lady? Was it her elder?"

Gan Tian touched the small sword at her waist with one hand and laughed: "What are you talking about… you probably just saw wrong."

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Thanks to the little angels who cast domineering votes or poured nutrient solution for me during the period 2020-04-1008:45:05~2020-04-1107:48:11~

Thanks to the little angel of the irrigation nutrient solution: the phoenix flower has opened another bottle;

Thank you very much for everyone's support; I will continue to work hard!