The lightning that pierced people's eyes gradually faded away, but the thunder was still there, and the window frames and doors of the buildings in the city were still buzzing softly.
Near the burning tree, more than a hundred gangsters standing on the street kept their mouths tightly shut, not daring to make a sound. The lightning completely faded from their sight, and the thunder rolled away into the distance.
After a while, a voice whispered, "That... that scholar... just now... attracted thunder?"
"Fuck, I just... Ugh, I just scolded him, will I be struck by lightning?"
"Being struck by lightning is a small matter. I'm afraid that if you become a god, even your soul will be destroyed. In the next life, you won't even be able to be an animal. That would be miserable."
"…Have you seen it?"
"No... I've only heard of storytelling. Didn't Zhang Jiao at the end of the Han Dynasty do it?"
"He can only attract thunder, not the souls of the dead. Otherwise, why would he be beaten so badly by the soldiers?"
“… Maybe they didn’t have the chance to use it.”
…
The residual power of the thunder dissipated, and in the City God Temple twenty miles east of the city, the bells on the eaves of the buildings kept ringing and shaking.
Anxiously pilgrims burning incense and worshipping knelt in front of the cauldron to pray. In the smoke-filled hall opposite, several clay statues flashed divine light that mortals could not see. A figure in an official robe walked out of the clay statue of the City God and looked towards the city to the west.
"Judges of all departments, quickly come with me to investigate who is driving the thunder in Yancheng!"
Four clay statues on both sides walked out, holding magic tools and bowing to the City God in the middle who was wearing a jade crown. In an instant, five divine lights flashed and came to the top of the city wall where soldiers were running in panic. Ordinary people could not see them, but the City God and the four chief judges could clearly see all the people in the city.
"The official aura has dissipated. The city governor is dead."
The judges of the Punishment Department who were standing on the far left in a row could not find the most powerful official in the city. It went without saying that the man had been killed by the thunderbolt that had just struck him.
The City God hanging in the center, his eyes fell on a figure on the roof of a building in the distance. He moved over in an instant with the four judges and stopped about seven or eight feet away.
With his beard shaken, the City God's voice sounded majestically.
"Who are you to be a Taoist monk? How dare you raise a thunderbolt and kill officials on earth?"
Lu Liangsheng stood on the roof of the restaurant with his hands behind his back in a white robe, his hair and robe fluttering in the wind. He felt the power of the incense and the chill of the soul behind him, and roughly guessed who had come.
The wind blew on his face and his hair fluttered. He turned around and looked at five figures floating in the air eight feet away, then raised his hands and saluted.
"Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain has met the City God of this place."
On the street below, a group of people from the martial arts world suddenly saw the scholar turn around and bow, as if he was talking to someone, but there was no one on the opposite side, especially when they heard the word "City God".
Many people swallowed hard and shuddered together. Even though they were used to fighting and killing, their hearts were beating wildly. No matter how fierce a person was in life, after death he would be under the jurisdiction of the City God. How could that scholar actually talk to the City God
Zuo Zhengyang grabbed Xiahou Sui who was also at a loss. He was now considered a cultivator, so he could naturally see the five figures hanging in the air. It was also his first time seeing them, so he couldn't help being a little curious. However, from the tone of the other party's voice, it seemed a little unfriendly.
The judges of the various departments had angry looks on their faces, and were indeed somewhat dissatisfied when they saw the scholar bowing, but they were not in a hurry to take action. They all looked at the City God who made the decision.
The City God of Yancheng frowned and murmured, "Lu Liangsheng?" He suddenly remembered the decree of the emperor on earth, and raised his hand to ask the judges to put down their magic weapons.
Then, he bowed in return and his tone softened.
"It turns out to be the ** demon spirit who revealed himself to be a real person."
He glanced at the crowd below and made a gesture of invitation: "Please move over and follow us to the City God Temple to talk."
"please!"
Lu Liangsheng naturally knew that this was not the place to talk, so he stretched out his hand and let the other party go first, then blew a whistle and called Lao Lu and Wang Banxia to follow.
"Qian Wei, I'll take my leave first."
"No problem."
Zuo Zhengyang was standing in the crowd. When he saw Lu Liangsheng coming towards him, he couldn't help but puff out his chest and respond loudly in front of everyone. He watched the scholar riding his old donkey and his old servant disappear at the end of the long street. He turned around, picked up the long sword and put it behind his back, and snorted coldly at Xiahou Sui.
"Now do you know why Zuo stopped you?"
He put on his bamboo hat, leaped up, and disappeared among the buildings and streets, leaving a group of people from the underworld looking at each other, not knowing what to do next.
…
The dark clouds dispersed, the sun peeked out again, golden color spread across the earth, spots of light swayed on the ground with the treetops in the wind. Lu Liangsheng rode his old donkey in the direction of the incense and divine power, and found the City God Temple located in the eastern suburbs. It had green tiles and earthen walls, and a row of willow trees in front of the gate, with willow branches swaying over the turbulent surface of the stream.
Pilgrims can be seen coming and going in front of the door, so it is not in decline.
Lu Liang gave birth to Old Donkey. He went to Shiqiao and bought three incense sticks from a vendor outside. He asked Wang Banxia to look after Old Donkey outside. The latter was a little worried. Although he couldn't see clearly, he could feel the five auras that distinguished the practitioners.
"Master, do you really not need Cheng'en to go in with you?"
"It's no use for you to go in."
As soon as he finished speaking, the voice of the Toad Taoist priest came from the bookshelf, "Are you going in to have your fortune told by the City God? Just wait outside with me."
"Just wait outside. Don't worry about what's going on inside. There won't be a fight."
Lu Liangsheng, who was walking up the stone steps over there, turned around and smiled, then walked into the temple gate. He raised his hand to light three incense sticks, blew away the sparks, and inserted them into the incense burner in the main courtyard of the temple to burn incense for the other party, which was considered as bringing a gift.
Seeing that the incense in the cauldron was still there, he thought that the other party was not angry. He lifted the hem of his robe slightly, strode into the main hall, and then disappeared at the door.
That is another scene that ordinary people cannot see. It is like a government office in the human world, with ghost messengers walking around busy, and judges from various departments reviewing documents and checking rewards and punishments for the ghosts captured from this place.
Seeing Lu Liangsheng coming in, the judges of various departments stopped their official duties and waved their hands to let the ghosts around them go away. Not long after, the City God came out from the center of the statue with a smile on his face.
"Please take a seat, real person!"
As soon as he stretched out his hand, a chair appeared out of thin air behind Lu Liangsheng, and he asked someone to add more tea. However, it was all some spiritual things. There was no substance in the mouth when he drank it, but he could taste the flavor and feel the fullness of the tea.
"Thank you for the tea, and call Lu Liangsheng over to ask why the thunder has fallen."
"Exactly."
A local city god and a real person personally appointed by the emperor of the human world, the two are incomparable, but Lu Liangsheng appeared at the city god's place without prior notice and was suddenly struck by thunder, which was really a disgrace to the other party.
But at the moment, the City God of Yancheng also has concerns.
"Please come here, Immortal, firstly to avoid mortals, and secondly to ask why you are killing mortal officials?"
Lu Liangsheng looked at him and did not hide the whole story. He started by telling the story of encountering Li Yishu's ghost when passing by Wanhe County. When it comes to storytelling, he has not read books in vain over the years. He ended with the story of how the prefect of Yancheng killed his wife for fame and framed Li Yishu, which made the City God walk back and forth several times.
His beard was standing on end. He had known that the magistrate's wife had died unjustly, but he did not know how she died, nor did he know what the woman's ghost was. He was brought to the City God Temple in a daze.
"Please wait a moment, sir!"
The City God bowed to Lu Liangsheng, waved his robe and called two ghost messengers, "Quickly arrest the soul of Chen Bingyuan, the prefect of Yancheng!"
Two shadowy figures dragged iron chains, held up umbrellas and floated out of the hall, riding on the gloomy wind and flew into the city.
Thinking that it would take some time to wait, Lu Liangsheng put down his teacup and started chatting and laughing with the other party, during which he also mentioned the matter of Li Yishu.
"This man had been practicing medicine and doing good for many years, but he died suddenly for no reason. When I passed through Wanhe County, I happened to meet the City God's messenger, so I offered him a guarantee for a few more days. According to the time, it is time for him to come back and report. I wonder what the City God will think of it?"
The City God of Yancheng pondered for a moment and didn't know how to answer for a while.
The scholar in front of him left a very good impression on him. Compared with those ascetics from the major sects, he was much more knowledgeable and elegant.
More importantly, this person was conferred an imperial title by the current emperor. If I offend him... and the emperor demolishes my temple, that would be very difficult to deal with.
what to do