Chapter 582

Yang Chenghua's state was clearly somewhat wrong.

Carrying the wine jar, he gulped it down, looked toward Chengdu, gritted his teeth and said: "Some pray for peace, some pray for wealth, some pray to be free from a hundred diseases, it's noisy and endless; praying to gods is useless!"

"Erlang Zhenjun is just their delusion!"

"If Erlang Zhenjun really existed, how could there be natural and man-made disasters in Shu? How could today's situation happen?"

"Damn it, they're all a bunch of idiots!"

"I am Yang Chenghua, what does Erlang have to do with me?"

"I'd rather be a farmer, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, without these annoying things..."

Listening to these complaints, Li Yan's expression gradually became serious.

He vaguely understood what had happened.

This was a conflict between divinity and humanity.

All living beings cast gods with their desires, and incense combined with Gang evil energy to transform into divine power, but the most they could do was protect one side from being harmed by evil energy.

This is a vulgar god.

Not an omnipotent wishing pool.

Therefore, vulgar gods that have developed spirituality rarely respond.

Commoners offer sacrifices, praying for favorable weather, holding onto a thought.

Vulgar gods silently protect, each taking what they need.

Mystic Sect practitioners have summarized a rule: if a vulgar god responds, something must be wrong, either they have a request, like the few who asked Li Yan for help, or like the Yellow Demon God who saved people at the Three Gorges and asked for a temple.

Or, they are about to become demons.

But Yang Chenghua happened to be an exception.

A mortal body bearing a thousand years of incense and wish power from the Lord of Shu, humanity and divinity confronting each other; once cognition is lost, big trouble will arise.

At this moment, Li Yan knew he had thought wrong.

I'm afraid this is the tribulation of Erlang Zhenjun!

No wonder he wanted to stay away from the crowd.

Looking at Yang Chenghua, who kept drinking and had somewhat manic eyes, Li Yan's heart stirred, and he said: "Senior, have you ever responded to these voices?"

"Of course, and more than one..."

Yang Chenghua was already drunk, shook the empty wine jar, picked up the pepper and cypress wine Li Yan brought, and said while drinking:

"The first one was a fisherman, crying in the temple that his child was hooked by a water ghost; at that time, I had just left Guan County, my skills were insufficient, and it took all my effort to save the person and secretly send them home..."

"That fisherman was very grateful, and cried again that life was hard and the catch wasn't much, so I learned sorcery and secretly let him have enough to eat and drink, and beat away the bullies who came to oppress him..."

"Then this person demanded more, wanting to get rich, wanting to change his wife, wanting to be an official; I couldn't stand it anymore, left, and then all I heard were curses..."

Li Yan nodded: "Human greed is the norm, I'm the same; just because of this?"

"Of course not."

Seeming to have his attention diverted, Yang Chenghua's pupils regained some clarity, and he shook his head: "Over the years I've seen good ones, bad ones, greedy ones, stupid ones, and then I got tired."

"You're right, I'm not a person of this world; rather than living in seclusion and finding trouble for myself, I might as well leave early..."

After saying this, he gulped down the wine again, staring blankly at the bonfire.

Crackle, crackle!

In the dark night sky in the distance, the sound of firecrackers rang out.

Yang Chenghua leaned against the pavilion pillar, letting the wind and snow wet his clothes, not caring at all, like a walking corpse.

Li Yan laughed dumbly and shook his head: "Senior's affairs, I don't understand, and I can't empathize. Since that's the case, there's no need to think about it anymore."

"It's New Year's, drinking alone is too lonely. Why not go into the city for a stroll and join the commoners for some fun?"

Yang Chenghua was silent for a moment, "That's fine, ever since my mother died, I've long forgotten what New Year's tastes like."

"Let's go!"

He was also a straightforward person; after saying this, he stood up directly, shook the wind and snow off his clothes, gulped down more wine, and strode into the darkness.

"Senior, wait for me."

Li Yan shouted and followed closely behind.

This Yang Chenghua was fast; as he strode, wild winds accompanied him, the wind and snow stirred up his messy hair, and he drank strong wine gulp after gulp.

Li Yan was helpless, even using the Divine Form Technique to barely keep up.

Two figures broke through the wind and snow, stepping on the city wall to soar into the air; the patrolling soldiers in the distance didn't even notice.

The two landed on the main street, and the sound of horse hooves rang out in the distance.

Li Yan frowned and hurriedly said: "Senior, be careful, those are the Prince of Shu's Black Feather Guards, all carrying new-style firearms; it's better for us to avoid them."

"No matter."

Yang Chenghua didn't care, drank some wine, and sprayed it abruptly into the air; white mist surged, circling like a living thing.

A thick scent of incense instantly rushed into Li Yan's nasal cavity.

What kind of sorcery is this?

Li Yan was somewhat curious but didn't ask more.

This Yang Chenghua was the reincarnation of Erlang Zhenjun, with amazing aptitude, had once infiltrated the orthodox sect to practice, and now combined with incense divine power, had completely embarked on another path.

The paths were different; even if he said it, he feared he wouldn't understand.

"This Invisibility Technique can last for two hours."

Listening to the approaching horse hooves, Yang Chenghua didn't care, opened the oil-paper bag Li Yan gave him, took out two pieces of brown sugar sticky rice cakes, and chewed them in his mouth.

Rumble!

The sound of horse hooves rose, and snow splashed everywhere.

A team of Black Feather Guards rode past, with evil sorcerers following, forming seals to investigate, but they turned a blind eye to them, who were close at hand.

Li Yan looked at the surrounding white mist and secretly praised in his heart.

This is the real Invisibility Technique.

He could borrow the power of the Eight Generals of the Outer Altar to hide himself, but bringing others along was simply impossible; it was perfect for infiltration...

Infiltration?

A plan suddenly popped into Li Yan's mind.

Yang Chenghua didn't know what he was thinking, sniffed the air, and smiled on his face, "Haha, someone is stewing mutton, this trip wasn't in vain!"

After saying this, he strode toward the left.

Seeing him happy, Li Yan also smiled and shook his head, following closely behind.

Boom!

There was the sound of firecrackers in the distance again.

Although Chengdu Prefecture had already entered the night, with wind and snow howling, blue tiles covered in snow, and ice hanging from the eaves, it couldn't suppress the smoke and fire of the whole city on the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The two stepped on the creaking snow, passed through streets and alleys, and before long, arrived outside a large mansion.

One look and you could tell it was a wealthy family.

Bamboo was planted in front of the door, and large red lanterns shone on the courtyard gate in the snow.

The two leaped up and landed silently on the courtyard wall.

This was a three-courtyard mansion, with red lanterns visible everywhere, and maids and servants going back and forth, preparing for the banquet.

Various dishes were full and overflowing, set on three large tables.

The master's family was also prosperous, and at this moment, they were all in the front hall worshipping their ancestors, with the offerings on the altar table simply piled up like a mountain.

The spirit tablet of Erlang Zhenjun was also among them.

The leader was a fat old man wearing fox fur.

While lighting incense and adding oil, he sighed: "During the great plague in Shu, on the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month, I almost starved to death, and I stole the offerings of the True Lord to eat, which is how I survived; since then, I have offered sacrifices every thirtieth day."

"You remember, even if I'm gone, the rules cannot be lost!"

"Yes, Father!"

"Yes, Grandfather!"

The children and grandchildren below nodded and agreed hurriedly.

Seeing this, Li Yan laughed in a low voice: "This is a pious one; has Senior helped him?"

Who would have thought, Yang Chenghua just glanced at it lightly, "Piety is useless; the clay Erlang doesn't respond, and neither will I."

Just as Li Yan was puzzled, the fat old man below burned incense and kowtowed again: "True Lord above, bless me to get three times more salt permits in early spring..."

So it was a salt merchant.

Once Li Yan heard this, he instantly understood what was going on.

The salt merchants of Chengdu Prefecture were not good people. Li Yan had heard when he entered the city that they were not only accustomed to shortchanging, but also used inferior goods to pass for superior ones, the industry's atmosphere was not right, and the people of Chengdu hated them deeply.

If it weren't for this, the Salt Gang's actions over the past two days wouldn't have won the praise of the people; it was said that some salt merchants had gathered a bunch of people to claim them falsely, and even bought them at low prices from the people.

Greedy and insatiable, even the Salt Gang people couldn't stand it.

This family lived in luxury, not knowing how much blood they had sucked from others.

Perhaps finding the fat old man's voice somewhat annoying, Yang Chenghua frowned, gulped down more wine, and formed a seal to spray it abruptly.

Hu~

Wine mist surged out, and this whole family, along with the servants and maids, all collapsed to the ground as if drunk.

It was like some kind of curse, mixed with incense divine power...

Li Yan was still pondering his methods, but Yang Chenghua had already jumped down, walked straight to the tables of food and drink, laughed and said: "He ate my offerings, so I'll eat his banquet; come, cheers!"

After saying this, he smashed open a jar of wine, brought over all the stewed mutton from the tables, and ate and drank heartily.

"Cheers!"

!

Li Yan also picked up a wine jar and took a big gulp.

The two drank wine and ate meat without wasting words.

On this New Year's Eve, occupying the magpie's nest, regardless of anything, it unexpectedly gave people a sense of pleasure.

Before they knew it, the ground was covered with empty jars.

Not to mention that Yang Chenghua was already quite drunk, even Li Yan had seven or eight points of drunkenness, pulling open his collar, with a bit of wantonness between his brows.

The two swayed, looking for pen and ink.

Yang Chenghua was full of smiles, and on the fat old man's face, he wrote "The offerings from back then, Grandfather takes them back today."

Li Yan wrote on the screen at the front door:

Worshipping gods is not as good as worshipping the heart, seeking wealth is not as good as seeking virtue.

After causing trouble, the two left satisfied.

Borrowing a bit of drunkenness, they wandered around the city.

In the Wenshu Monastery alley, they saw a wind-proof lamp hanging under the eaves of a pharmacy; in the wind and snow, a woman wearing a blue headscarf knelt in front of the door, wailing and begging: "Divine Doctor Li, I beg you to save my son's life..."

"It's New Year's, why are you crying at a funeral!"

The clerk, full of drunkenness, pushed open the door and scolded:

"Can't you wait until tomorrow?"

"My son has been coughing for a whole day."

"Fine, but the remuneration will be doubled."

"I... I don't have enough money."

"If you don't have money, why see a doctor!"

The clerk was furious and slammed the door shut with a bang.

Before the old woman could say more, a wild wind blew around them.

When she opened her eyes again, there was a pill and a tael of silver in her hand, and a voice came to her ear, "Go back, don't tell anyone, take the pill with hot soup."

"Thank you, Immortal!"

The old woman was full of joy and hurriedly left.

Watching the back of the old woman leaving in the wind and snow, Li Yan laughed: "Senior is really generous; that's a lung-coughing elixir, right."

"An evil Daoist wanted to kill me, so I snatched it."

Yang Chenghua didn't care at all and waved his hand.

This person seemed to be completely drunk, listening to the voices of believers coming from his head, wandering around Chengdu Prefecture.

They pretended to be gods and ghosts, scaring evil people with bad intentions.

When they encountered kind-hearted people, they helped if they could.

That night, strange things happened frequently in Chengdu Prefecture.

Before they knew it, two hours had passed, and the two had drunk quite a bit more, running around confusedly to outside the city and arriving at the riverside.

There was also a small temple here, also dedicated to Erlang Shen.

The temple wasn't big, and usually, no one guarded it, so it looked somewhat dilapidated, but on this New Year's Eve, candlelight was lit.

Just seeing a dozen or so men in tattered clothes stomping their feet in the snow, then carrying sticky rice cakes and inferior wine, respectfully offering sacrifices and kowtowing.

The old man in front trembled and said: "Erlang Grandfather, if we get through the Ghost-Seeing-Fear Shoal safely in early spring, we'll offer you three jin of sheep head meat!"

"Hahaha!"

The men behind burst into laughter.

One person laughed: "Head Wang, you haven't paid back the sheep leg you promised last year, and you're owing another one this year?"

"Go, go, go."

The old man waved his hand: "Erlang Grandfather knows my heart, how could he dislike me for being poor? One day, old man I will pay it back."

After the crowd finished worshipping, they laughed and talked as they left.

Yang Chenghua laughed, "These few people, if you say they are pious, they never burn incense properly, and if you say they don't respect gods, they never miss a year."

"Tell me, what kind of god are they worshipping?"

"Incense isn't a business."

Li Yan already had a few points of drunkenness, shook his head directly and said: "What the commoners worship is the thought of having no way out, the hope of finding a way out of a desperate situation."

"People in this short life seek much; many times worshipping gods is just to seek peace of mind, just going through the motions..."

Saying this, he gulped down more wine, thinking of what he had seen and heard along the way, shook his head and said: "Some say, seeking gods is not as good as seeking oneself, but where in the world are there so many turns of events and desperate situations?"

"Most are ordinary commoners, nothing more than molding the toughness in their bones into clay, and then borrowing the incense to pass this spirit down from generation to generation..."

Yang Chenghua listened and also fell into silence.

After a long while, he finally spoke: "According to you, the clay has a use; I took this thousand years of incense, what does that count as?"

"Don't know."

Li Yan scratched his head, "Why think so much? A thousand years later your story will still be there, the commoners will still have a thought, that's enough."

"Is that all?"

"Should... just be that much."

"Then what are you seeking in your cultivation?"

"Don't know, let's walk first; a person lives a lifetime, until the end, who knows what they are really seeking..."

End of the Jia Chen year, beginning of the Yi Si year.

One man and one god by the small temple by the river, drinking wine under the snow until dawn...

The fifth watch drum sounded, ten Battalion Commander opened their doors.

The New Year arrived.

In the Divine Land, customs varied from place to place on the first day of the New Year.

If it were some wealthy households in Chang'an, they would inevitably have red-clothed children hold peach wood charms, stand before the steps, and the old woman in the family would sprinkle Tusu wine on the doors and windows with cypress branches.

Waiting for the sound of firecrackers, they would say loudly:

"On the first day of the year, receive a hundred blessings, evil spirits avoid three houses."

This is the ancient method of Chang'an, called "Cypress Wine Expelling Nuo."

And in Chengdu Prefecture, there were things more important than New Year's greetings.

On this morning, commoners would often determine the direction of the God of Joy and the auspicious time according to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, and go to the Wu Hou Shrine to worship.

This is called "The God of Joy Wanders."

According to the rules of previous years, they would hire many opera troupes in the city, with gongs and drums leading the way, playing "Facing the Son of Heaven" to open the road.

Behind them, there would be people playing civil and military officials, Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Zhuge Wu Hou, patrolling along the streets, with commoners following with incense to the Wu Hou Shrine.

This is a Chengdu custom, and also the first money earned in the New Year by opera troupes coming from afar.

If they met generous wealthy households, there would be no lack of rewards.

Just when the people of Chengdu Prefecture were worrying about whether it would be held as scheduled this year, the gates of Chengdu Prefecture were opened with a rumble.

The mansion guards rode through the streets, saying loudly:

"This year's God of Joy Wanders, the Prince will lead the way himself!"

(End of chapter)