"Sir, please come this way."
The sky was dark, and the old man's voice was speaking in front. With a long "creak", the wooden door shook and opened inward. Lu Liangsheng followed behind and walked into the courtyard. The courtyard was not very big, with earth walls on three sides, and the pits were full of holes made by earth bees. There were only two houses, and a thatched hut outside with an earthen stove.
"Don't be disgusted, young man. There are a lot of people of all ages in this village, and most of them have no vacant rooms." The old man put down his hoe and kettle, touched the flint on the stove, pushed open the door and went in. With a few bangs, sparks flew, and the dark room was gradually lit up by a dim firelight.
In the yard, Lu Liangsheng tied up the old donkey, took down the bookshelf and carried it into the house, put it next to the table and said with a smile: "Don't mind, it's good to have a place to shelter from the wind and rain, but it's a pity to bother the old man."
"Don't bother me, don't bother me. I'm very happy to have a scholar in my house."
The old man covered the oil lamp and put it on the table, invited the scholar to sit in, poured some cold water, and then ran outside excitedly. After a while, he came back with a few scallions in his hand and went outside to light a fire on the earthen stove to cook.
From time to time, he tilted his head towards the bright room and said with a smile: "Young Master, you haven't eaten yet, right? There's nothing good to offer in the mountains, so just make do with this."
"Haha, since my father-in-law invited me, I'd be very sorry to refuse. It just so happens that there are some dry food I bought on the road in the bookshelf."
Lu Liangsheng opened the bookshelf, took out two pancakes, tore off half of one and put it back under the glaring gaze of Toad Taoist, and took it to the old man to bake.
"It will be fine in a moment. Sir, go back to the house and have a drink of water."
"Okay, I'll go in then."
The old man refused to help, so Lu Liangsheng had to go back into the house. In the dim light of the oil lamp, he saw that the room he was in was square and simply furnished. There was a paint-chipped wooden table and two stools, and only a wooden bed. On the end of the bed was the door to the next room. There was no door, only a blue cloth curtain.
There is also a tribute platform in the corner, covered with a white cloth, which is high and bulging. There should be a statue of a god inside. This is also commonly seen in ordinary people's homes.
"There's only one bed... I guess I'll be sleeping on the floor later."
While thinking about it, Lu Liangsheng walked over to look at the statue on the altar covered with white cloth. He did not reach out to tear it open. After all, it would be inappropriate to rummage through things in someone else's home.
"You can watch it if you want, sir."
The old man brought in two bowls of taro paste, put them on the table, wiped his hands on his clothes, and smiled naively: "That is the Qi Water God, who blesses us with safety. Young master might as well worship him too."
Qi Water God
Lu Liangsheng was a little confused, but there were countless mountains and rivers in the world, and there were many unknown gods. As long as they protected peace and prevented the local people from suffering, there would be no harm in worshiping them.
Over there, the old man saw that the scholar believed him, so he came over and pulled open the white cloth and put it aside. What was revealed was not the statue of a god as Lu Liangsheng thought, but a spirit tablet with just four simple words "Qi Shui God's Position" written on it, without even a name.
"Young man, please pay your respects." The old man looked delighted. He stared at the scholar and stretched out his hand towards the spirit tablet.
When Lu Liangsheng saw the spirit tablet without a name, he originally had some thoughts of not wanting to worship it, but seeing that the old man was so attentive and took him in for the night, he nodded and bowed towards the tablet, but he did not yet bow down.
The spirit tablet placed on the altar broke in the middle with a crisp sound and split into two pieces.
“This… this… ouch!”
The old man turned pale with fear, and quickly pushed the scholar aside, kneeling on the ground, clasping his hands together, knelt down, and begged: "Qi Shui Shen, please bless me, please bless me, my family has no shortage of offerings..."
The scholar standing aside frowned slightly, looking at the broken tablet with confusion on his face. After thinking for a while, he probably figured out the connection, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curled up.
In a small place, a wild spirit or monster attained enlightenment. In order to attract worship from nearby people and help them practice, he displayed some magic and deceived them into offering sacrifices. Lu Liangsheng himself was a living person who conferred the title of ** Demon Spirit Xian Zhenren, and he also had the status of an imperial teacher who had appealed to the heavens.
"It probably can't bear my worship... However, if it is worshiped for protecting the people, then let it practice here in peace."
Thinking about it, he helped the old man up from the ground and said with a smile: "Don't be afraid, old man. Maybe you left the shrine for too long and it became rotten inside, so it just happened to break at this time."
The old man felt much better after being comforted by someone. He leaned over the scholar's arm and said repeatedly: "It should be like this, it should be like this." He carefully covered the cake with the white cloth again, went outside to bring in the baked cakes, and handed a pair of chopsticks to Lu Liangsheng.
"Eat quickly, young master."
"My father-in-law eats too."
Lu Liangsheng took the chopsticks, picked up the half cake without hesitation, took a bite, and gulped down the taro porridge. There was a lack of oil and salt in the mountains, so the taste was naturally not as good as the usual Taoist meals, but the taro was smooth and greasy, and it was quite refreshing in the mouth and not difficult to swallow.
During the meal, I was also curious about the Qi Shui Shen mentioned by the old man, so I asked directly:
"Father, how long has this Qi Shui Shen been in the village?"
"How long?"
The old man put down his chopsticks, thought for a moment, and pointed a few fingers: "It's been about two or three years. Young master, you don't know that since you are outside, the Qishui God is very powerful. He controls the entire Qishui River. According to rumors, it is a huge turtle, bigger than my yard, and it must have lived for at least a thousand years."
When he got excited, the old man put down his chopsticks and gestured a few times.
"Zhao Daxian said that as long as we can please the Qi Water God, we will not suffer from floods and we will have a good harvest every year."
Insects chirped in the corners of the night, the night wind blew in through the open door, the oil lamp on the table swayed, Lu Liangsheng held the bowl, ate mouthful by mouthful, and listened quietly to the old man's story about the so-called "Qi Water God"
…
The bright moon illuminated the night sky and was cast on the river flowing outside the village, reflecting the silver glow of the waves. On the muddy road near the river bank, a donkey cart was driven towards them with a clanging sound.
There were seven or eight men on both sides, following behind with wooden sticks and hatchets, staring at a bulging burlap bag in the wooden bucket of the donkey cart, struggling and twisting from time to time.
It seemed like there was a person inside, and moaning could be heard.
"Still not being honest!"
The man walking behind picked up a wooden stick and knocked on the pocket, and immediately a woman's wailing came from inside. Another man next to him quickly reached out and grabbed his companion's arm.
"Why are you fighting? You've already come to the village. Are you afraid that someone will know?"
He grabbed the stick and threw it to the side of the road, then pulled the man forward and said, "What if he's beaten to death? Are you going to marry your daughter to Qi Shuishen?!"
The man who was told off turned his face away unconvinced and muttered, "What's the point of beating her to death? I've beaten my wife many times, but she never died."
But when she saw the man next to her, she still said "Hmm" heavily: "Got it, I won't hit her."
Woof woof woof—
There were a few barking sounds from the village. The men driving the donkey carts looked at the village under the moonlight and said, "Go and inform the villagers."
Immediately, one of them nodded and ran quickly to the village, while the other men continued to drive the cart. The rotating wooden wheels creaked over the rugged road and swayed towards the river section ahead.