Chapter 125: Sacrificial Text for Deposing the Evil God

The face of the Kui Star is quite distinctive, as it is a famous "Ugly God."

If there were a ranking for ugliness among deities in the mythological system, Zhongkui might not even make the top three.

After all, since ancient times, Mumu has been famous for her ugliness, and being able to drive away ghosts and demons, she belongs to the early "guardian gods."

What Xu Jia painted for Niu Congcong was even more imbued with divine intent; he made it as ugly as possible, but not for the sake of ugliness—it was ugly with character.

The Kui Star is one of the four stars of the Northern Dipper, but its divine image is confused with the "Kui Star" of the Western White Tiger constellation.

It holds a brush in its hand, kicks a peck measure with its foot, and has a blue face, red hair, a bald head, and buckteeth.

After Niu Congcong's face paint was finished, he gained an inexplicable spirit, and a Daoist brought over three jars of wine: "These three jars were brewed last Winter Solstice using the new rice of that year, and they haven't been opened until now."

He immediately poured three large bowls of rice wine: "This wine is also known as 'One-Wind-Down'; if your tolerance isn't good, you mustn't drink too much!"

Niu Congcong immediately gulped down a bowl: "It's sweet! What nonsense are you talking about!"

Then he drank another large bowl.

Xu Jia sighed: "If it weren't for all that fat on you, I would have warned you that 'three bowls won't get you over the ridge'!"

Niu Congcong was drinking with gusto, and even Chang Yu became curious: "Is this stuff good to drink?"

Hu Jinhua said: "It's tasty, but you can't drink too much; if you drink until you pass out, it's easy to die."

Xu Jia nodded: "In my previous life, a master who brought me into the fold died from drinking."

"Ah? Then why did Brother Xu let me drink so much?"

"It's not you drinking, it's the Kui Star borrowing your body to drink. The Wine Qi is transformed by the god into Literary Qi; hurry up and perform the ritual!"

Wearing an ugly face, Niu Congcong began the ritual, lighting incense on his head, the smoke reaching the Azure Heaven.

Suddenly a point of mysterious light fell, the true path of the True Immortal descending, and immediately the little fat boy laughed out loud: "The wine is average, but the quantity is sufficient!"

Then he turned his head and said: "You want to invite the Star Lord to descend to the mortal world, but you won't be able to; only I, the Ink-Picking Boy under the Star Lord's seat, have descended in his stead. I already know about writing the essay, but I cannot make the decision to depose the Mountain God." He then looked at Xu Jia, smiling yet not smiling: "You cannot make the decision either! You must open an altar and make offerings to the Wuyue. Since your location here falls under the jurisdiction of the Nanyue, you must sacrifice to Zhurong Dashen. Only when Zhurong Dashen approves can it take effect."

"Of course, since you invited me, the Ink-Picking Boy, to descend, I certainly won't have made the trip in vain. Tsk tsk, although I am only a boy who picks up the ink lumps left over from grinding, you must know that these ink lumps in heaven are not mortal objects. I will give you one!"

The Ink-Picking Boy drank the wine, hiccuped, and asked for two more plates of dishes and a saucer of peanuts, exclaiming: "This little life in the mortal world—where do the gods in heaven have such comfort?"

Suddenly, a peanut got stuck in his throat, *cough cough cough*, and he spat out an ink lump. Looking again, Niu Congcong had already collapsed on the table, asleep, snoring like thunder.

The few Daoists looked at each other, and Xu Jia said: "Since we can't invite the Heaven Official, if we open a Wuyue altar, I'm afraid Zhurong Dashen won't easily handle such matters. Kicking it back and forth is meaningless; why don't I write it myself!"

Xu Jia took the ink lump, fetched an inkstone, poured wine as a catalyst, and ground the lump. Soon the ink color spread, and the fragrance of ink and wine blended into one.

Xu Jia also took a sip of wine, then sprayed it out, dampening the paper, and immediately began to write with the vigor of a dragon and snake.

Xu Jia's calligraphy was comparable to "dragons flying and phoenixes dancing," the character shapes elegant, the writing style free and easy.

"Sacrificial Text for Deposing the Evil God to the Azure Heaven and Thick Earth"

"Heaven observes, and the foundations of the earth are forever fixed. On this auspicious day, the masses gather at Yushan Shanju Guan, respectfully announcing to the universe with sincere hearts, to depose the evil, corrupt, and wicked god, to restore the upright Qi of the mountains and rivers, to protect the borders and bring peace to the people, in the hope that heaven and earth will bear witness and the deities will listen. I respectfully write this text to sacrifice, stating their rebellious acts and clarifying the righteousness of the deposition."

"Mountains and rivers have spirits, and deities reside within them. Yet recently, the Mountain God has lost virtue, rebelled against the Great Dao, colluded with Evil Masters, harmed living beings, demanded blood sacrifices, induced the disaster of earthquakes, and unleashed the plague of the earth."

"As a Mountain God, one should protect the mountains and rivers and bring blessings to the vegetation, yet their heart has departed from the righteous path, and their conduct is perverse. They either cause mountains to collapse and the earth to crack, destroying villages in an instant, or summon plagues to run rampant, causing the people to suffer from illness and pain. What they have done deviates from their divine duty, acting recklessly, defying heaven and abusing the people; the crime is grave indeed. Therefore, obeying the mandate of heaven and following the wishes of the people, I announce with this sacrificial text to depose their divine position, to rectify the discipline of the mountains and forests, and to return peace to the people."

"A god should follow heaven and respond to the people, protecting living beings. If they act in opposition, losing their divine status and betraying their divine duty, they are truly unfit to be a god. The Book of Rites says: 'When a country is about to flourish, it listens to the people; when it is about to perish, it listens to the gods.'"

"Now the hearts of the people are filled with fear, and with one voice, they all wish for deposition. Thus, heaven does not protect them, the wishes of the people are hard to defy, and the divine position must be deposed. We follow the will of heaven and the hearts of the people, hoping that the mountains and rivers will return to tranquility and all things will enjoy peace." "The sacrificial text is finished, and the gold and stone ring out. Looking up at the blue void and looking down at the thick earth, I hope the gods of heaven and earth will witness this sincerity, quickly remove the evil, and from this point on, the mountains and rivers will shine again, the evil god will be deposed forever, the people will be happy, and the world will be peaceful. Respectfully announced."

"In the third year of Jitai, on the 【blank】 day of the 【blank】 month, Xu Jia of Yushan County signs."

After writing this sacrificial text of deposition, Xu Jia let out a long breath, feeling quite the relief of expressing his spirit.

Although there was no official seal to stamp on it, there was a large red thumbprint. After Xu Jia pressed his, the others stamped their seals if they had them, or signed their names and made their marks if they did not.

After the document was written, Xu Jia said: "This is all we can do. After all, we are not officials, just common people."

At this time, the two little ghosts Duowen and Guangmu came to report: "Great Immortal, we have found the evil altar!"

"Where is it?"

"It's right there at Wugong Ling today. Inside that Qi vent, there is a strange person. He knows the bone-shrinking technique and the turtle-breathing method of feigned death; he is a dwarf. You only poured water in, but didn't check inside carefully. There is an evil altar inside, at the location of the poison sac. The dwarf was afraid you would return, so he only came out in the middle of the night to run away. We investigated it and hurried back to report!"

"A dwarf?" Xu Jia clicked his tongue: "It really is hard for the Evil Sect to collect these people one by one!"

He immediately ordered: "Chang Yu'e, Chang Yuying, you two Immortals, hurry and follow the two little ghosts Duowen and Guangmu to capture this Evil Master and bring him to justice!"

Once the two Snake Matrons were on the roster, they had to obey Xu Jia's orders. Plus, their husband Chang Yu was very obedient to Xu Jia, so they had even less reason not to listen.

They immediately left like a drawn bow shooting an arrow.

After the two large snakes left, Chang Yu suddenly said: "Someone is spying on us."

Then a burly, muscular man wearing leather armor emerged from the forest. He was pulling a large bow, his eyes fixed firmly on Chang Yu: "Sure enough, a nest of monsters and Evil Sect members!"

The Scripture Master recognized him: "Chen Pizi, why have you come?"

"Throughout Yushan, besides me, County Commandant Chen, who else would care about the evil god? You really are colluding with the Evil Sect!"

He had already assumed that Xu Jia and the people of Yushan Guan were members of the Evil Sect.

However, seeing him come here, the Scripture Master was not alarmed but happy, and said loudly: "County Commandant Chen, how could we be members of the Evil Sect?"

"Members of the Evil Sect always argue that they are not members of the Evil Sect; don't try to fool me!"

Xu Jia immediately slapped Niu Congcong awake. Niu Congcong had just been possessed and had drunk wine, so he was dazed. Seeing Xu Jia, the words he spoke were actually: "Hu Xiaomei..."

Hearing "Hu Xiaomei," County Commandant Chen turned his eyes over: "Are you also one of the same path?"

Niu Congcong was startled when he saw County Commandant Chen: "County Commandant Chen! Don't shoot, we are on the same side; my father is Niu Dafu!"

"You are Niu Ercong!" County Commandant Chen recognized him somewhat; after all, he and Niu Dafu had become acquainted at the Cuichun Pavilion and could be considered "comrades-in-arms."

"Yes! Yes!"

"Why are you hanging around with these evil Daoists? Could it be that your father has also joined the Evil Sect?"

The arrow pointed at Niu Congcong.

Niu Congcong was scared out of his wits. Looking at the tip of the arrow, he felt a faint stinging pain between his eyebrows and said repeatedly: "We are not members of the Evil Sect; we are here to eradicate the Evil Sect!"

"Brother Xu! Say something!"

Xu Jia took the "Sacrificial Text for Deposing the Evil God" and said: "County Commandant Chen, we are practitioners of the Dao. These large snakes, foxes, and weasels are all Protectors I have subdued, not members of the Evil Sect."

"Hehehe! If you were not a demon of the Evil Sect, how could you associate with monsters and demons!"

(End of this chapter)