Research Institute 2
s on the verge of collapse. He was accompanied by Shen Qingrui, who looked smug—it seemed that Hou Shaowen was being driven mad and went to seek Shen Qingrui's help once again.Who knew that by the tim...Mu Xiaoqiao is a kind person, sometimes she can be a little timid.
But she wasn't a foolish woman, not the kind who was naive and always whining. She could stand her ground when it mattered.
We followed Master Yun Fan to the back of the village. The entire village was deserted, with not a single person in sight, not even a dog guarding the entrance except for the one we saw earlier.
The village was divided into two parts by the terrain. There was a temple dedicated to the land deity built on the mountainside, a semi-natural cave. Yunfan Master said that Mu Xiaqiao was guarding here.
Behind the Land Temple there's a mountain fissure, you wouldn't notice that there's another cave here unless you look closely.
My and Yunfan master's physique went in without any problem, but Mu Wanchen's tall figure got stuck in this narrow gap, making him frown.
"This is a safety production accident, and you covered it up!"
As soon as I squeezed in, I heard Mu Xiaoqiao reprimanding someone in a low voice.
Workplace safety accidents Is this blaming the village head
Inside, it was pitch black. In the distance, there were two shimmering green lights. Upon closer inspection, they were two ghost attendants carrying lanterns to light their way for their young mistress.
This is just like the legendary ghost fire, isn't it The little junior wife can actually stand so calmly in the middle of the green light. In a way, she's a bit of a tomboy too.
"My lady, please forgive me… Yin and Yang exist separately with their own rules. Especially in the mortal world, there are so many grievances and karmic debts that naturally follow the laws of heaven and earth. Therefore, I dare not interfere, nor can the Underworld intervene…"
A trembling voice, belonging to an old man, replied.
Huh Underworld
Is this the village head of the underworld
I didn't know whether to go over. There, in the green spectral light, were several hazy figures (ghosts).
"Don't lecture me with those empty platitudes. I hear them every day, and you think they can fool me!" Mu Xia Qiao snorted indignantly.
The elder immediately賠 smiled and said, “Yes, yes, yes… To be by the side of Your Majesty the Emperor is truly a great blessing for the young lady. She can daily listen to divine teachings…”
"Don't interrupt, you said you don't care about worldly cause and effect, karmic debts, I can't argue with that. But this cave is a land temple! This is your territory. There are these poor people being controlled by something appearing on your own land, how can you just stand by and do nothing Heaven still has mercy for living beings, this entire village has become deserted, not even a single soul left. Aren't you worried about losing your earthly incense offerings"
Oh, oh. It's rather scary when the little wife gets angry...
"...Having spent so long with Jiang Qiyun, she also knew how to reprimand these lazy grassroots officials..." Master Yunfan bit on his pipe stem and muttered to us, tilting his head.
The somewhat terrifying atmosphere was dispelled by half thanks to Master Yunfan's words.
Those people also heard the sound and turned to look.
I saw a thin old man, holding a dragon-shaped walking stick in his hand, wearing... that... that...
A large, red and green checkered garment with a diagonal flap and wide outer robe, wearing a square gauze hat on the head.
This shape is really indescribable.
The old man's eyes met mine directly, and I was taken aback for a moment. I stammered awkwardly, "Hello, Village Head."
"Village chief" The old man was taken aback, his beard bristling with anger. "How dare you address me with such vulgar terms!"
“Come on, in the underworld you’re just a village head or something similar, right Little Lady scolded you and you wouldn't sincerely apologize, instead making excuses. Have you grown tired of your position and want to act recklessly” Master Yun Fan spoke up in my defense.
Mu Wanchen leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "This is the local deity of good fortune."
“Oh… Lord of the Land.” I scoffed.
This is so different from what I imagined the Earth God to be. The Earth God is one of the Five Lords of the Hall, and besides being worshipped by those in business, many families also welcome the Earth God into their ancestral hall for worship, essentially setting up an altar and worshipping him on the first day of every lunar month.
The statue of the land god in my house wears a rich and noble robe, holding a cane in one hand and a large ingot in the other. He has a kind smile and looks approachable.
I've always thought of this as a happy god since I was little.
Now it seems, the bigger the forest, the more kinds of birds there are. It's not that every local deity is a beautiful image.
This Land God had a bit of an air about him, he thumped his cane against the ground and asked, "Little Madam, who are these people They can actually see yin and yang"
"... This is my brother. This is the Imperial Lord's disciple and his daughter-in-law, you should be careful with your words." The junior wife reminded him.
The Land God's face stiffened for a moment, then he coughed lightly to ease the awkwardness: "Ahem... I see. I wonder why you all came to my humble domain My lady didn't give me any notice beforehand, so I wasn't prepared to welcome such esteemed guests..."
Yun Fan's master snorted and said, "You pretended to be unaware beforehand With a deserted village appearing on your territory, as the guardian spirit of this land, you don't know what's going on"
The Land God stroked his beard and whispered, "Of course I know the situation here, but this is a grievance between mortals, and it involves witchcraft…"
He rambled on for a while, and with Master Yun Fan beating up the female cosplayer beside him, we managed to find out quite a bit. I think I have a general understanding of what happened.
This fashion icon is actually related to the Dragon King, being one of his neglected sons. He sneaked into the country when he was young and ran some shady businesses. Later, he discovered that the Dragon King only saw him as an ordinary pawn, so in a fit of anger, he stole the Gu from the Palace.
He knew that the Shougu gu was one of the Five Venomous Gu, and the Dragon King had taken away one back then. This was because the Shougu gu was the easiest to tame among the Five Venomous Gu. As long as he took this one away, the Five Venomous Gu in Wuwang Mountain City would be missing a part and become imperfect.
To survive within the country, he would need a source of income, and also somewhere to keep this extraordinary guiling.
After selling several offspring of the Guiling, he made a fortune. He lied about coming to develop this small village into a resort and colluded with the village headman. Every household was given "compensation".
The young people who got the money immediately went to the county to buy houses and do business, leaving behind some elderly people and left-behind children. He laid eggs on these people, allowing the eggs to absorb energy and grow rapidly to feed on.
Inside the cave, there was a smaller opening where twenty or so people of all ages lay, weak and emaciated as if on the verge of death.
The village head was also inside, a neither-human-nor-ghost sort of figure.
"Although Guiling is artificially cultivated, it is also a spiritual creature of heaven and earth. As an old man, I naturally cannot interfere. As for these people, they send some mountain stream dews every day to sustain their lives, which is within my duty, and I cannot intervene any further... These people's children and grandchildren spend money outside and do not return home to look after them. The elderly are left destitute and nobody cares about them. This is also a matter of karmic retribution..."
The old man wiped it clean, the young mistress was a little angry, but she held back and didn't say anything more.
The Underworld governs the cycle of birth and death, not the justice of heaven or earth. No one is qualified to be a messenger of justice.
In this world, good and evil are not absolute, and every cause has its effect. None of us is qualified to blame such a "minor god."
"Forget it, saving people is more important. What about Teacher Ou" I asked.ic, then watched as the Ghost Princess was dragged into hell by us, and sneered: "It's not that this star master has broken his promise, but your luck is so meager."He possessed a somewhat aloof and s...