In the middle of the night, the famous red-light district of Luping City was still brightly lit, and the sounds of beautiful women in the buildings along the street were noisy and pleasant.
"Sir, you are really amazing!"
"Brother Niu, you are generous and pleasing, and the more you look at me, the more handsome you look~"
"Master Niu, why don't you stay here tonight~~" "Yes, Master Niu, you really have the heart to abandon us!"
Four or five beautifully dressed girls surrounded Niu Batian, who walked out of the building with a flushed face, surrounded by girls on both sides, as he was escorted by these girls.
"No, no, Lao Niu. I have something important to do tomorrow. I have to visit the home of a famous guard outside the city. If I stay here overnight, I will be very anxious if my followers can't find me tomorrow morning!"
Lao Niu answered the girls' questions with a chuckle, and refused their repeated requests to stay with difficulty.
"Wow, Master Niu is so busy!" "Brother Niu, don't forget us!"
"Goodbye, sir~~~" "Brother Niu, come again next time~~~"
“Hahahaha… Definitely, definitely, I’ll come again next time!”
Old Niu smiled as he reluctantly broke free from her embrace and walked out of the building. When he got outside, he looked back and saw a plaque with the name of the brothel he had just come out of hanging high, and the red flowers on it were so pleasing to the eye.
"Soft Jade Tower is so nice. I really want to stay here overnight. Unfortunately..."
Niu Batian reached into his arms, took out a shriveled purse and shook it. The few copper coins left inside made sporadic clinking sounds.
"Hey, next time I won't call so many famous ones... The ordinary girls in there are also very good, tsk tsk tsk..."
Niu Batian smacked his lips as he happily left this gentle alley, looking back every three steps as he walked along the street bathed in the night.
For ordinary people, the visibility ahead gradually decreases, but for Niu Batian it is as clear as during the day.
"Wenxiangruanyu, Wenxiang Pavilion, and Ruanyulou, the names are all very appropriate."
This moderate and peaceful voice suddenly sounded at the corner of the alley, and Niu Batian was startled.
"Hey Mr. Ji, why are you here? You scared me to death!"
Niu Batian patted his chest and looked towards the alley at the side. Ji Yuan in a white shirt was standing there looking at him, his pale eyes seemed to have never seen Poland.
Seeing that Mr. Ji was just looking at him without saying anything, Niu Batian smiled awkwardly.
"I like to take a walk at night, so I just came out for a walk. Um, you're not here to catch me, are you?"
Ji Yuan looked at the money bag hidden by Lao Niu, then looked at the lip marks on his face, and shook his head.
"I'm not here to arrest you. Your promiscuous behavior is none of my business. Just follow me to a place."
"What is it?"
Lao Niu was a little confused.
Ji Yuan looked towards the south of the city while speaking.
"It's rare for a big city to have no gods patrolling the streets after midnight. Don't you find it strange?"
"ah?"
Niu Batian was stunned for a moment. How could he pay attention to such things? Besides, the absence of ghosts and gods was a good thing for him, so he wouldn't get into trouble sometimes. Moreover, he had been in the brothel and couldn't pay attention to the situation outside at all.
But after hearing what Mr. Ji said, Niu Batian naturally understood what was going on.
"Yes, Luping City is not small..."
"Let's go. Now that I've met you, maybe you can be my thug if we run into any tough situations."
Ji Yuan said this very seriously, which made Lao Niu laugh.
"Hehehe, what are you talking about, Mr. Ji? You told me to go east, but I, Old Niu, will never go west! By the way, where's Brother Yan?"
"Let him sleep."
"oh."
Lao Niu responded, and seeing Ji Yuan had already walked out of the alley and walked forward, he hurried to follow.
. . .
It is a prosperous area in the south of the city. It is bustling with traffic and people during the day, but very quiet at night. In the center is a City God Temple. The eternal lamp in the temple is still on, but the temple priests and workers have already gone to bed.
Ji Yuan and Niu Batian walked all the way from the brothel to this place, stood in the square in front of the temple and looked inside. The Shinto atmosphere was faint and the power of wishes was scattered but not condensed.
Ji Yuanzhang observed with his Dafa eye, and within his sight, he saw bursts of faint white smoke rising above the temple in front of him.
"Go in and take a look."
The two men took a few steps forward, leaped lightly across the temple courtyard, and then entered the temple like a gust of breeze, passing through the side halls and going straight to the main hall.
"Squeak..."
Pushing open the door, the eternal lamp in the temple illuminated the main hall. In the dim light, the statue of the City God was still majestic, but in Ji Yuan's eyes, it had lost all its charm.
"Hehe, this is interesting. I, Lao Niu, a monster, entered the main hall of the City God Temple. This is interesting!"
Niu Batian was laughing on the side, but Ji Yuan's expression was a little gloomy.
"The fire in the temple has gone out, the gates of the underworld have disappeared, and this temple has been empty for at least several months. Naturally, there are no gods waiting to come out to punish you. I didn't expect that even Luping City has no gods to protect it..."
This was indeed something beyond Ji Yuan's expectations. Considering the scale of Luping City, if the City God was still there, his Taoism should not be weak.
Niu Batian also saw the problem with the temple and was just waiting for Ji Yuan's words as the final judgment.
"So, the city god here really died a long time ago?"
"Whether the gods have fallen or I have severed my ties with the gods, now that I have lost the City God, the foundations of the other ghosts and gods have been greatly damaged. They should have hidden in the underworld and sealed the gates of hell, waiting for the City God to return."
"Return?"
Ji Yuan nodded.
"The affairs of Shinto are extremely mysterious. As long as all living beings worship them, the gods and ghosts will not die. Even if the City God of Luping City dies, as long as the people in the city continue to worship him for a dozen or dozens of years, this god will naturally return from the world and take over the throne again."
Although Niu Batian was a powerful monster, this was the first time he heard of such a thing. To him, it was a secret.
"Doesn't that mean that ghosts and gods won't die?"
"Haha, every resurrection is a new beginning. One only remembers the so-called 'previous life events' in the hearts of believers and in the temple records, but not the last time one saw ghosts and gods. One's Taoism, magical powers, and golden bodies all start from scratch. Is it really immortal? And if the City God Temple collapses, or if the Emperor conferred an honor upon him, or if another great man appeared in the village and the villagers re-elected the City God, and changed the person to worship, there would be no resurrection."
Ji Yuan looked at Niu Batian who seemed to be thinking about something, and said something with emotion.
"It is in the service of humanity, but it is also detrimental to humanity. Otherwise, why would the City God be so afraid of turmoil in the human world? Being a great man is one reason, and being concerned about one's own survival is another."
But it was obvious that Niu Batian was not expressing his feelings, but thinking about something else.
"Mr. Ji, if the City God is lost and the underworld disappears, won't all the mortals who die become wandering ghosts?"
Niu Batian imagined this scene. With so many people in the city, if all those who were born, grew old, got sick and died turned into ghosts, wouldn't it be the same as the Endless Ghost City
Ji Yuan had already turned around and left, and Niu Batian hurriedly followed him, not forgetting to close the door of the City God Temple.
"Death without gods is a way of life without gods. If there are family members worshipping them, they are not considered wandering ghosts. During the funeral, they will follow the soul-calling banners carried by their relatives to the graves and the underworld will still be watched over by the land god. There are also spirit tablets in the family, but it is difficult to connect with the underworld."
As they were talking, the two had already left the City God Temple, but Ji Yuan obviously had no intention of going directly back to the inn. Instead, he took Niu Batian and walked directly in the city.
From the streets and alleys in the south of the city, all the way to the north of the city, it seems to be completely aimless.
In this quiet night, you can hear the gongs and clappers of the night watchmen, the crowing of chickens and the barking of dogs in the streets and alleys, and even some thieves wandering around.
After half an hour, Niu Batian couldn't help it anymore.
"Mr. Ji, what are we doing?"
Ji Yuan kept walking, facing forward without looking around.
"I can't do much, just patrol the streets and alleys on behalf of the Night Tour God and take a look at Luping City..."
Niu Batian scratched his head, feeling that Mr. Ji was looking for trouble.
When the two men walked to a street with several gambling houses, Ji Yuan and Niu Batian stopped, and a faint demonic aura filled the air.
"Really? Mr. Ji, let me take care of Lao Niu."
"Not urgent."
Ji Yuan raised his hand to stop the thug who was about to rush over. The two waited on the street for a while, and then they saw a carriage driving out, with evil spirits lingering on the carriage.
In Ji Yuan's ears, he could still hear bursts of crying.
In the carriage, two vicious servants were guarding three or four children and two women inside. They all had tears in their eyes and looked terrified.
"What are you arguing about? Your man has already exported you all!"
"You keep crying! I'll chop you up and feed you to the dogs!"
One of the evil servants raised the short whip in his hand, and after cursing, he looked at a corner of the car in a flattering manner.
"Oh, Sixth Master, please forgive me. Are you satisfied with these?"
"Hehehehe... Satisfied, of course I'm satisfied!"
As he spoke, the Sixth Master licked his lips, and his eyes scared the children so much that they stopped crying.
…
On the street outside the gambling house, Ji Yuan opened his eyes slightly and heard the noise from the carriage.
"Humph, enemies always meet! Do you remember the monster in Wuya City who wanted Gao Tianming to eat young boys and girls? He is in the car, let's chase him!"
A wisp of white air spurted out of Niu Batian's nostrils, and he also revealed a sinister smile.
"Moo..."