Large snowflakes fell on the roads, trees, rivers, and fields. When the wind blew, a dense layer of coldness pounced on people's faces. It was so hazy that people couldn't 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. 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 was imitating Master's manservant's refined language, but it was somewhat inappropriate.
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 the people in the carriage to come down. You can push it yourself. You don't need I's help."
The coachman smiled embarrassedly and lowered his voice, "How would I dare? The one in the carriage is my family's master's esteemed guest. Little Daoist, please help me out. In the future, when we reach Mizar City, I, Li San, Li Ji, still have some reputation. If there's anything you need, feel free to look for me."
"Hehe, well, if I ever go to Feng City, I'll definitely look for you." Shi Xuan found the coachman's behavior somewhat funny, but since it was convenient, he decided to help him.
"Aiya, Little Daoist Master, don't doubt me." Li Ji looked at the carriage behind him and said in a low voice, "My family's master has been transferred from Liangzhou to Fengzhou to be the provincial governor. The yamen is in Maiyang city. I, Li Er, can still have some say in front of master."
Shi Xuan didn't care about this. He smiled and didn't say anything. He walked with the coachman to the side of the carriage. He didn't know what the esteemed guest in the carriage was doing. In any case, there was no movement.
He stretched out his hand to test it. Then, he exerted his strength and the wheel rose from the depression. Then, the entire carriage moved a few feet to the side and came to a steady stop.
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 to move forward.
The coachman's mouth was slightly open and couldn't close. It wasn't until Shi Xuan's figure disappeared in the wind and snow that he felt his mouth was full of coldness. He came back to his senses and kept spitting to the side. Then, he rubbed his eyes and said, "Damn, this little Daoist doesn't look like he has a lot of meat, but his strength is boundless. He can't be some kind of demon, right? Bah, bah, bah, don't scare yourself! "
He hurriedly returned to the carriage and raised his whip to continue the journey in the wind and 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 groups of twos and threes.
When the children saw Shi Xuan shaking off the snow on his body at the end of the street, they immediately surrounded him. Maybe it was because the road was blocked by the heavy snow and they hadn't seen a foreigner for a few days. They laughed and looked at him. Some even pointed at Shi Xuan's black banner. If Shi Xuan looked back, he would immediately hide to the side. As soon as he looked away, they immediately surrounded him again.
Seeing these happy children, Shi Xuan's mood was also infected. He wanted to go and tease the children. At the other end of the street, the sound of firecrackers rang out. The children became excited when they heard it. "Let's go and see the firecrackers!"
"Don't fight with me for firecrackers!"
"Brother … brother, wait for Little Ya."
Then, they all ran over like a swarm of bees. Shi Xuan smiled and shook his head. He 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 them, who had a round face and big eyes, looked very kind. She pointed to the end of the street and said, "Here, walk to the end of the street and you will see it."
Shi Xuan expressed his gratitude. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by the round-faced aunty. She said mysteriously, "Young man, I see that you are still traveling in such heavy snow. You must have something urgent. Let me tell you, go to the Temple of God Chi Xia at the west end of the street and pray. 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. Another aunty, who looked very shrewd, spoke first, "Aiyo, little Taoist, you Taoists are useless. I have been worshiping in the Temple of God Chi Xia for many years, but my wife has not given birth to a child. This Temple of God Chi Xia was just repaired a few months ago. I have only been worshiping for a few days and my wife is already pregnant. Little Taoist, don't be a Taoist. It would be better to believe in God Chi Xia."
"That's right, that's right."
"You Taoists who believe in crooked ways 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. Shi Xuan was not interested in these beliefs. 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 Xuan suddenly remembered that he had heard of this God Chi Xia in Xia 'an before. He heard it from the gossip in the neighborhood. He did not expect that this God Chi Xia had so many believers now. There was also a temple in this small town. It was said that this person was very good at praying for children. Could she be 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, I 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 for the new year, he must donate the money to some Divine Lord Temple!" As he spoke, the child actually 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 who was watching scolded them when he heard these words, "This is to show their sincerity to the God Chi Xia. The God Chi Xia will bless your family with a good harvest next year and will only go to heaven after death! 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 home.
"These troublemakers. Don't they know that this Zhang family did not believe in the God Chi Xia previously? Great, now a few of his family members 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 in unison.
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. After being hit by the red Qi pillar, the black spots in the white Qi pillar disappeared completely.
From the results of the Qi Divination Spell, this God Chi Xia did have some cultivation. However, he did not know what the black spots on the inside were. After all, for a "god" to have such a situation, Shi Xuan did not have the experience and knowledge to be able to tell.
Seeing that it was not some evil god, Shi Xuan turned and walked into the inn.
It was the New Year's Day. Other than the inn owner and his family, even the waiters had gone home for the New Year. However, this was also good. It was quiet and peaceful, and it was convenient for Shi Xuan to cultivate.
The night passed uneventfully. Shi Xuan woke up early in the morning. The snow that had been falling for a few days had finally stopped. 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 eating breakfast, he was ready to pay the bill and leave. At this moment, he heard waves of crying coming from outside the inn. Following the sound, he saw a middle-aged man wearing 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 held 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 it all to the God Lord. Our family still needs to live, sob sob sob." The woman hugged him tightly and wailed loudly. 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 it all, our whole family will starve to death!" "Father, Er Niu is hungry, sob sob."
"It's good that we starve to death like this! What sincerity! The God Lord will definitely let us go to heaven! When that time comes, everything will be fine! "The middle-aged man's face was filled with fanaticism.
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