Large snowflakes fell on the road, trees, rivers, and fields. When the wind blew, a dense layer of coldness assaulted people's faces. It was so hazy that pedestrians could not see clearly what was happening more than ten meters away.
Fortunately, it was almost the New Year. Most people who had been busy for a year were staying in their warm homes, happily preparing various things needed for the New Year. Thus, there were not many people walking on the road at this time. There was a thick layer of snow on the road. If it was in November, when there were many people going from south to north, the snow would have long been trampled, leaving only muddy roads.
An exquisite carriage stopped in the middle of the road. One of the wheels was already crooked because it was stuck in the snow. The coachman, who was wearing a decent cotton coat, was whipping the horses, but he still could not move the carriage. He cursed in a low voice, "Going out in such heavy snow? I don't know what Master is thinking. I think this person is most likely a quack doctor."
He tried to push the carriage again, but he found that he could not push it by himself. He wanted to call the guest off the carriage, but he was afraid of offending this person. If he said something like that in front of Master, his buttocks would blossom. Wait, a passerby walked out of the wind and snow behind him. He was of medium height, and his body and hair were covered in snow.
The coachman immediately went up to greet him, "This kind passerby, please do me a favor." He imitated the polite language of Master's manservant, but it was somewhat incongruous.
When the passerby heard this, he stopped. Only then did the coachman realize that it was a young man wearing a Daoist robe. He held a long black banner in his hand. Although his looks could only be considered average, he had the kind of grace that Master often said. Yes, grace!
Shi Xuan had been walking north from Mt. Tongxuan for a few days. The first two days were fine, as he passed through the city and did not encounter any obstacles. He did not expect that after he passed the Cai River, it would start snowing for a few days. The road became very difficult to walk on. Fortunately, Shi Xuan was not in a hurry, and he liked the snow very much. Thus, walking in the heavy snow every day was quite interesting.
Hearing the coachman's words, Shi Xuan only glanced at him and smiled, "You can get off the carriage by yourself. You don't need I's help."
The coachman smiled embarrassedly and lowered his voice, "How would I dare? The person in the carriage is my Master's guest. Little Taoist, please help me. When you go to Maiyang City in the future, I, Li San, Li Ji, have some reputation. If you need anything, just look for me."
"Hehe, okay, if I go to Feng City, I will definitely look for you." I Xuan was amused. Seeing the coachman 'expression, Shi Xuan found it funny.
"Oh, little Taoist, don't doubt, Master. Li Ji looked at the carriage behind him and said in a low voice, "My family's master was transferred from Liangzhou to this Feng Prefecture to be the provincial governor. The yamen is in Maiyang City. I, Li Er, can still have some say in front of my master."
Li Ji looked at the carriage behind him and said in a low voice, "My Master was transferred from Liangzhou to Feng Province. The yamen is in Maiyang City. I, Li Er, still have some say in front of my Master."
He stretched out his hand to test it, and then exerted force. The wheel rose from the depression, and the whole carriage moved a few feet to the side. Then, it stopped steadily.
After doing this, Shi Xuan was very satisfied with his current strength. The effect of Body Forging and Inner Qi was really good. He gestured to the coachman and continued forward.
The coachman's mouth was slightly open, and he could not close it. Until Shi Xuan's figure disappeared in the snow, he felt that his mouth was full of coldness. He came back to his senses and kept spitting to the side. Then, he rubbed his eyes, "Damn, this little Taoist doesn't look like he has a lot of meat, but his strength is boundless. Could he be some kind of monster? Bah, bah, bah! Don't scare yourself! "
He hurriedly returned to the carriage, raised his whip, and continued the journey in the snow.
Shi Xuan walked until dusk before he saw a small town. The street directly across the town was filled with children playing outside, running here and there in twos and threes.
The children saw Shi Xuan shaking off the snow on his body at the end of the street. Maybe it was because the road was blocked by the heavy snow, and they had not seen a foreigner for a few days. They immediately surrounded him, laughing and watching. Some even pointed at Shi Xuan's black banner. If Shi Xuan looked back, he would immediately hide to the side, and as soon as he looked back, he would immediately surround him again.
Seeing these happy children, Shi Xuan's mood was also infected, and he wanted to go and tease the children. At the other end of the street, firecrackers sounded, and the children became excited. "Let's go and see the firecrackers!"
"Don't fight with me for firecrackers!"
"Brother … brother, wait for me."
Then, they swarmed over. Shi Xuan smiled and shook his head, and asked a few aunties who were chatting by the side of the road for directions. "Aunties, where is the inn in town?"
The aunties had long noticed Shi Xuan, after all, he was the first foreigner to enter the town today. One of the aunties, with a round face and big eyes, pointed to the end of the street. "Here, go to the end of the street and you will see it."
Shi Xuan expressed his gratitude, and just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by a round-faced aunty. She said mysteriously, "Young man, I see that you are still traveling in such heavy snow, there must be something urgent. Let me tell you, go to the Temple of God Chi Xia at the west end of the street to pray, and you will definitely be able to fulfill your wish."
Shi Xuan thought to himself, "Auntie, look at my attire and this banner. I'm an orthodox Daoist priest. This Chi Xia Divine Lord Temple doesn't belong to our Daoist sect, right?"
The aunties' faces turned ugly, and another aunty, who looked very shrewd, spoke first, "Aiyo, little Taoist, you Taoists are useless. I have been going to the Temple of God Chi Xia for a few years, but my daughter-in-law did not give birth to a child. This Temple of God Chi Xia was only built a few months ago, and my daughter-in-law was already pregnant after a few days of worship. Little Taoist, don't be a Taoist priest, just believe in God Chi Xia."
"That's right, that's right."
"You Taoists who believe in crooked ways, you will go to hell after you die! Only by believing in God Chi Xia can you enjoy life in heaven after you die! "
The aunties were all talking at once, but Shi Xuan was not interested in these beliefs, so he turned a deaf ear to them and walked to the end of the street.
"This damn little Taoist, he will definitely go to hell after he dies and be fried by God Chi Xia!"
"I think he must have done too many bad things!"
* * *
Shi Shuan suddenly remembered that he had heard of this Divine Monarch Chi Xia in Xia 'an before. He heard about him from the gossip in the neighborhood. He didn't expect that this Divine Monarch had so many believers now. There is a temple in this small town. It is said that this person is very good at praying for children. Is she the child-giving Guanyin of this world?
At the end of the street, the children gathered in front of a large family's door and watched as the servants of that family set off firecrackers. When the sound of the firecrackers was heard, a group of children rushed forward, wanting to pick up the firecrackers to play with. However, they were stopped by the fierce-looking servants. A man wearing a strange red robe walked out of the door and shouted, "Invite the Deity Position ~!"
Then, a group of ten men dressed in the same way as him stood at the door, but in a light red color. They followed behind the leading man in a red shirt who was holding a wooden sign and walked through the door.
Shi Xuan did not see anything, so he bypassed the crowd and walked to the inn on the other side of the corner. As he passed through the crowd, he heard the children complaining, "Really, can't even pick up firecrackers."
"These people in red are so fierce, they even came to my house to take money. My father said that he won't eat meat in the New Year and must donate the money to some God Temple!" As he spoke, the child cried, "I want to eat meat."
"My family also donated a lot of things!"
"My family too, my family too!"
"Hey, kids, don't talk nonsense." A middle-aged man heard these words and lectured them, "This is to show sincerity to the God Chi Xia, the God Chi Xia will bless your family with a good harvest next year, and only after death will you go to heaven! If you dare to talk nonsense, you will go to hell in the future! Your hands and feet will be eaten by the evil spirits … "
The children were a little afraid when they heard this. They all made funny faces and scattered back home.
"These troublemakers, don't they know that this Zhang family didn't believe in the God Chi Xia previously? Great, now a few people in his family have fallen sick. Hehe, I wonder how much money they spent to invite the God Chi Xia's spirit tablet in." The middle-aged man showed off to the surrounding people.
"That's right, that's right." The crowd nodded.
Shi Xuan's curiosity was piqued when he heard this. He used the Qi Divination Spell to look at Zhang Manor and saw a white Qi pillar mixed with some black. Then, a red Qi pillar rose from the manor. It looked solemn and sacred, but there were some black spots on the inside. At the same time, the entire Qi pillar gave Shi Xuan the feeling that it was extreme and stubborn, but it was not strong in nature. At least, it was inferior to Shi Xuan himself. As soon as the red pillar of Qi hit it, the black color in the white pillar of Qi disappeared completely.
From the results of the Qi Divination Spell, this God Chi Xia did have some cultivation, but he did not know what the black spots were. After all, this was a "god". Shi Xuan had no experience and knowledge, so he could not tell what it was.
Seeing that it was not some evil god, Shi Xuan turned around and walked back into the inn.
It was the New Year's Day, and other than the inn owner and his family, even the waiters had gone home for the New Year. But this was also good. It was quiet and peaceful, and it was convenient for Shi Xuan to cultivate.
After a quiet night, Shi Xuan woke up early in the morning. The snow that had been falling for a few days had finally stopped, and the warm sun shone on his body, giving him waves of warmth.
Shi Xuan did not plan to stay in this small town for long. After breakfast, he was ready to pay the bill and leave. Just then, he heard waves of crying coming from outside the inn. Following the sound, he saw a middle-aged man in a cotton coat that had been washed so many times that it had turned white. He was carrying a large package in his hands, and he was struggling to move forward. His left leg was being hugged by a woman in her thirties, who was similarly dressed in plain clothes. She was being dragged forward by the man.
"My child's father, we can't give everything to the God Lord. Our family still needs to live, sob sob sob." The woman hugged him tightly and wailed. There was a little girl standing beside the woman, and she was also crying loudly.
"Damn you, this is the time to show our sincerity! It's not something that can be done by praying at home every day! "The middle-aged man pulled his leg with all his might.
"If we give everything, our whole family will starve to death!" "Father, Er Niu is hungry, sob sob."
"It's good that we starve to death like this! How sincere! The God Lord will definitely let us go to heaven! When that time comes, it will be good! "The middle-aged man's face was filled with fanaticism.
