When he passed a deserted alley, the cat raised his head and asked him in a low voice: "How much did that man give us?"
"Thirty cents."
"Is it much?"
"not much."
"Less?"
"Quite a few."
"What can I buy?"
“I can eat two bowls of mutton soup cakes.”
"That's a lot!"
"But if it's the kind of small crucian carp that Sanhua Empress usually eats, if you eat one fish every day, you can eat it for many days."
"That's a lot!"
"..."
The Taoist smiled and said nothing.
The Taoist knows that doing things first and then collecting money is naturally not conducive to bargaining. He also knows that the people at the bottom have their own thoughts. Some may be more honest, and some may have more petty calculations. However, the money collected in this trip is only
A small part of the harvest, meeting all kinds of people and different little thoughts, isn't it a harvest?
The worldly affairs of the human heart are also practices.
Halfway through the alley, I could smell the fragrance.
It tastes like scallion pancakes.
I don’t know what’s going on these days. Is it rare to find good food or something? There is a roadside stall selling scallion pancakes. The aroma seems to be smelled from across the street. The Taoist followed the scent to find it and touched the freshly made scallion pancakes in his arms.
I received a small bunch of copper coins and couldn't bear to buy one.
It cost only two cents each and was wrapped in a large bamboo leaf.
Take a sip and the aroma is fragrant.
On the road, I met a fisherman who was carrying fish into the city to sell. He also bought two crucian carp, as wide as two fingers wide. People in Changjing did not treat fish as meat, so he only charged him two cents for these two small crucian carp.
People are comfortable, and cats are also comfortable.
Of the thirty coins earned, twenty-six were left.
Very good, very good.
Song You currently has only one idea for making money, besides wanting to stay in Changjing City for a while, that is, to be able to pay the rent and not starve to death:
Save some money to invite Empress Sanhua and the neighboring heroine to have a meal at Yunchunlou and see another wonder of Changjing.
Don’t be in a hurry, save slowly.
It was just noon when I got home.
The Taoist ate scallion pancakes and the cat ate two fish. They were not hungry at all, so they both sat at the second floor window to bask in the sun.
The Taoist looked down, thoughtfully.
The cat seemed to know what he was thinking, and came close to him, looked at him and said, "Are you thinking about that scary monster?"
"..."
Song You was actually wondering if something would fall from the second floor and hit someone, but he did think about what the calico cat said, so he nodded and praised her for being smart.
The calico cat's eyes were like amber, staring straight at him:
"Are we going to find the monster?"
"We can look for it, but it's not our job."
"Can't understand."
"I heard that there is a city god in Changjing City and other gods are enshrined, so we should visit first."
"when to go?"
"Is Sanhua Empress going too?"
"need!"
"Just a moment."
"Well……"
The cat turned around and picked up the ball from the side.
…
In the middle of the afternoon, the sun shines so brightly that people feel drowsy.
People who have no leisure time are all busy now, and people who have leisure time are taking a lunch break now. Only a very few people who really have something to do and want to burn incense or skip a nap will come to the City God Temple.
The Chenghuang Temple is on a small slope.
This time Song You learned from the experience of dealing with Zhou Lei Gong last time. No matter what, he first implemented etiquette, so he bought three incense sticks from outside and planned to offer them to the City God, lest the City God say he was rude.
But just as he was about to go up, someone stopped him.
"Later life!"
The person who stopped him was an old man.
This old man looks like a temple blessing, but not quite. He is quite young. He has set up a stall in front of the Chenghuang Temple to sell incense. People who come and go have to buy incense from him.
"If you want to burn incense here, you can't bring your own incense. The incense you bring yourself won't be effective!"
When Song You heard this, he was stunned.
This statement is somewhat novel.
So he turned around, smiled, saluted the old man, and asked, "Excuse me, old man, why is it ineffective to bring incense from outside? What's the point here?"
"You are not sincere!"
"Why bring incense from the outside and be dishonest at heart?"
"Our fragrance is better!"
"I see."
Song You understood, smiled, looked at the incense he bought, and then said to his father-in-law: "I'm just here for peace of mind, not for any efficacies."
"no!"
The old man suddenly became anxious, his eyes widened, and he actually looked a bit fierce: "The incense brought from outside can only be burned outside. It is inserted here on the side of the road. If you want to go in and burn it, you can only buy it from here."
Incense, if you bring your own incense to burn there, it is disrespectful to the City God, and I can’t let you in!"
The idea of pretending to win over him.
"..."
Song You looked at the old man, stopped, thought for a moment, and then smiled slightly: "Then I will buy three sticks of incense from my father-in-law. But I first came to Changjing and I am not familiar with the City God. I wonder if my father-in-law can do it?"
I would like to introduce it below so as not to disrespect the City God."
"When you light the incense, you worship God!"
Although the old man said this, he saw that the man had money in his hand but had no intention of buying it. He still opened his mouth and pointed to the side: "If you buy this kind of big incense, I will tell you about it."
"How much does Daxiang cost?"
"A piece of one hundred coins."
"This is really expensive."
"This is so effective!"
"Oh well……"
Song You thought for a moment, took back the copper coins, and then took out a small piece of silver from his sleeve, about three or four coins.
Still holding it in hand.
"The current Lord Chenghuang used to be the father-in-law of His Majesty the previous emperor. However, the father-in-law's health was not very good. On the day when the Queen was conferred the title of Queen, he was supposed to enjoy a happy life, but he suddenly fainted because he was overly happy.
When he woke up, he died. The emperor at that time was also very sad, so he was made the city god of Changjing and received the incense of Changjing."
"That's how it came about..."
"If you don't believe me, ask someone else!"
"It turns out there is no city god in Changjing?"
"How come there isn't? There must be!"
"What about the original City God?"
"You must have been promoted!"
"Thank you, husband."
Song You smiled, handed over the piece of silver, and bought three large incense sticks: "Can the cat be brought in?"
"Cat..."
"I didn't ask my husband for change."
"Don't jump on the altar!"
"nature……"
The Taoist then walked up the stone steps.
Halfway there, the calico cat quietly tugged on his trousers and looked up at him with worried eyes.
This kitten...
Song You shook his head and said to her:
"fake money."
Then continue walking forward.
As expected of being the head of the state, this Chenghuang Temple is very large, bigger than many temples, magnificent and magnificent. To enter, you need to go through an archway first, and then a courtyard. Next to the courtyard is a small temple, half a person tall, dedicated to the Lord of the Land and the like.
Little God, the main hall directly in front has red pillars, golden walls and glazed tiles. The temple door is wide open. In the middle is the City God enshrined, with two auxiliary officers beside him. On the left and right of the temple are the statues of six military attachés.
Song You walked in through the door.
The calico cat had also seen Thunder Lord's cat, so he became more courageous. He stepped in after him, but did not go to the middle. He just crossed the threshold and sat down, looking at Song You and the golden statue.
Sure enough, there is no one there now.
The incense I ordered at noon had just burned out, leaving only countless blackened bamboo sticks densely packed in the incense, with a little incense still left on them.
The bright lamp is burning to light incense for people.
Song You took three large incense sticks, but did not light them. He just placed the incense beside them casually.
"Please come out and see the city god!"
The sound was not loud, but it seemed to echo endlessly.
On the altar, the statue of the City God was originally golden, as if it were made of gold. It was extremely majestic. At this time, it was filled with light and the clouds and mist were rising, making it even more majestic.
There was another thumping sound, and the door of the temple was closed. Only the faint light of the bright lamp and a beam of skylight coming from the side window were left in the temple, reflecting the countless dust in the temple.
Smoke and mist swirled around, and the statue came to life, lowering its head and staring condescendingly at the person and cat below.
"Who calls me?"
"My surname is Song Mingyou, from Shanshan County, Lingquan County, Yizhou." Song Xuan said with a salute, "Your Majesty, City God, you are polite."
"Why are you calling me? And why are you bringing a cat demon?"
"This is Empress Sanhua. She has never done anything bad." Song You paused and got straight to the point, "I came to Changjing when I first came. I heard that demons and ghosts were rampant in Changjing City. They were so daring that they not only murdered important officials of the imperial court, but also civilians.
, so I wonder why there is such a thing when there is a city god in Changjing, so I came here to take a look."
"Are you here to question this god?"
"Interrogation is out of the question." Song You paused, "It's just that the City God is the patron saint of a city, but he failed to fulfill his duty of protection, so I wanted to ask, but the City God is in trouble?"
"Where do you come from? How dare you question this god?"
"Yin Yang Mountain, Fulong Temple."
"..."
The majesty of the city god suddenly disappeared, and the clouds and fog dispersed.
In a daze, the statue on the altar returned to its original state, but a figure appeared beside him. He was an old man, wearing an official robe, and he was shorter than Song You.
"I didn't know that the Immortal from Fulong Temple was visiting. Please forgive me for my sin."
"Lord City God also knows about Fulong Temple?"
Song You was a little surprised.
At this time, the City God has nothing to do with the underworld, but it has completed the transformation from a natural god to a human god, and has also been incorporated into the Taoist Heavenly Palace. Although not every city has a City God, as long as there is a City God, the City God is often composed of
It is very important for historical figures to serve as the guardian spirits of a city, either for their high integrity, outstanding virtues, or extraordinary talents in civil and military affairs. Changjing is the capital of the Yan Dynasty, and it is normal for the city god to have heard of Fulong Temple.
Yes, but firstly, this City God has not been in power for long, and secondly, at a glance, he can tell that he is different from other City Gods, and he actually knows about Fulong Temple.
I saw the City God bowing his hands and saluting, and responded: "Fulong Temple is famous, so you naturally know it."
"Have you met the tutor?"
"I'm lucky enough to have met you once..."
The city god quickly bowed to the ground.
"That's fine."
Those who came before us used violence, and those who came after us took advantage of it.
This will make it easier to talk.
Song You rarely gave a thumbs up to his veteran.
"What the Immortal Master said about the chaos caused by demons and ghosts in Changjing City is indeed under the control of the little gods due to emotions and reasons." Master Chenghuang showed his difficulty, "It's just that the little gods also have difficulties."
"tell me the story."
"First of all, those who are not little demons and imps are not so easy to apprehend. Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Changjing County Magistrate have written before, asking for help from the gods to make these demons subjugate themselves." The city god pretended to wipe away his sweat, "But at this time, due to the war in the north, demons are dancing wildly.
, all the gods of the Thunder Department of Tiangong have gone to the north..."
"I've heard of this."
Song You said and turned to look at the three military attaches on the left and right of the temple, a total of six military officers: "Is it possible that all the incense in the City God's Temple has been swallowed up by the City God, and the military attachés are so hungry that only empty statues are left?"
"This...this is not..."
The City God said awkwardly. He looked left and right, hesitated for a long time, and then said, "This brings us to another difficulty."