Forty miles north of the capital.
Houtu Temple.
After Li Ziye heard the old man's answer, he was extremely shocked.
It's not because of the old man's name. It's not unusual for him to have the same name.
The key is the old man's surname.
The surname is Xu!
In Dashang, there are not many people with the surname Xu. It can even be said that there are very few people.
Coincidentally, Xu Jingzhi, one of the Taoist ancestors, has the surname Xu.
The person named Xu built the earth temple behind Daomen, and his identity is about to be revealed!
"Old man."
Soon, Li Ziye came back to his senses, stepped forward, wiped the incense stand for the old man with his sleeves, and said, "You're here so early, have you eaten? I have some pastries here."
While talking, Li Ziye placed the package behind him on the incense stand, first placed two pieces on the tribute plate for Empress Houtu, and then handed one piece to the old man.
"I'm really hungry, thank you."
Old man Xu saw the pastry handed over by the young man in front of him, reached out to take it, took a bite, and praised, "It tastes good."
"The girl behind me made it with her own hands."
Li Ziye smiled and said, "You, old man, are in a good mood today."
When Old Man Xu heard this, he looked at the girl behind the former and said with a gentle expression, "You are a clever girl, a good one."
"Thank you for the compliment, old man."
Yu Qingxuan bowed gracefully and thanked him.
"Old man, how about we find a place to sit down and have a chat?" Li Ziye asked very politely.
"OK."
Old man Xu wiped the incense table clean, then nodded and responded.
Li Ziye looked around, then walked to the corner of the temple, blew the dirt on the ground, and shouted, "Old man, here."
After saying that, Li Ziye put the package on the ground, took out all the pastries inside, and found a few futons to put aside.
When Nan'er saw this, she immediately ran over.
Old man Xu followed suit and sat down in front of the futon.
"Qingxuan, sit down."
When Li Ziye saw that the girl was still standing in front of him, he patted the futon beside him and said, "This is not a mansion, so there is no need to be formal."
"Thank you, Prince... Young Master!"
Yu Qingxuan responded and sat down aside.
"Old man, have some tea."
Li Ziye took the teapot, poured a cup of tea for the old man in front of him, and said, "This pastry is a bit dry and not easy to swallow."
"Thank you."
Old man Xu took the tea, took a sip, and said, "Young Master is so elegant. When you come here, Tu Niang Niang brings so much tea and cakes to offer incense in the temple."
"Isn't there a child?"
Li Ziye smiled and said, "If you get hungry, there is no place to buy food around here, so you have to bring it yourself."
"Young Master is really a careful person." Old Man Xu said after taking another bite of pastry.
"Old man, why are there not a few refugees in this temple?"
Li Ziye asked, looking at the deserted scene in the temple.
"They were all blown away."
Old Man Xu sighed softly and said, "A few days ago, every once in a while, officers and soldiers would come here and drive away the homeless refugees."
"What's the point?"
Li Ziye frowned and was about to say something when he suddenly understood. A cold look flashed in his eyes and he said, "I understand. This place is too close to the capital and there shouldn't be any refugees gathering."
"Um."
Old man Xu nodded and said, "I didn't think enough about it."
"It's not your fault, old man."
Li Ziye said softly, "When refugees gather and are led by people with bad intentions, riots can easily occur. Therefore, in the eyes of some people, refugees are equal to mobs and must not gather. What's more, this place is close to the capital of the Great Shang Dynasty."
"Not only the refugees, but also the people who came to offer incense were bombarded several times."
A look of exhaustion flashed in Old Man Xu's eyes, and he said, "So, fewer and fewer people have come to this Houtu Temple recently."
"They're all bad guys!"
On the side, Nan'er said angrily while eating cakes.
"While the rich wine and meat smell, the road with frozen bone."
Li Ziye looked at the cakes in his hand that were getting tired of eating, and laughed at himself and said, "This world is really getting sicker and sicker."
"Bless me, Empress Houtu."
While the two were talking, a woman dressed in coarse linen clothes walked over in front of the Houtu statue not far away. She knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times in succession, praying for something unknown.
"Bad guy, can Empress Houtu really fulfill other people's wishes?" Nan'er asked with concern after seeing this scene.
"cannot."
Li Ziye shook his head slightly and responded, "Worshiping gods is just for peace of mind. In fact, what people in the world worship is not gods, but their own hearts."
"But, my mother said that the Immortal God can hear our prayers and fulfill our wishes." Nan'er said.
"Because people in the world always like to attribute the results of their efforts to gods."
Li Ziye reached out and rubbed the hair of the girl next to him, and said, "If the final result is as you wish, you will unconsciously think that it is because of the blessing of the gods, and everything is the credit of the gods. If the result is not as expected, You don’t dare to question the gods, but think that your heart is not sincere enough, or that your life should be like this, and it is your own fate that is miserable.”
Opposite him, old man Xu heard the words of the young man in front of him, and looked at the person in front of him blankly, with uncontrollable emotions in his heart.
On the side, Nan'er heard the words, thought hard, and said, "Then our sacrifice is also a lie? But the tribesmen say that he is very effective and can use the power of the Changsheng Heaven to cure diseases and eliminate disasters for the tribe."
"Ah."
Li Ziye smiled softly and said, "I won't comment on whether you lie to others or not. If you want to ruin people's jobs, I won't do it if you can. Let me give you a very simple example. If I want to eat the fortune teller's job, People will definitely spread rumors that I am the reincarnation of the Zhenwu Emperor, who can peek into the heavens and make perfect plans. Then I will pay a few people to come over and perform a show of gratitude. After my reputation is established, as long as someone comes to tell fortunes, it will be the first success. One step, the next, even if I lie, people will believe me."
At this point, Li Ziye paused and said with a smile, "For example, if Qingxuan comes to ask for marriage, I will definitely say that she is destined to have a good marriage in the future, but the premise is that she has to meet her lover. Mr. Right, in this way, if she seeks a good marriage, in her heart, I am a living god. If she cannot seek a good marriage, she will think that she and her Mr. Right have not yet been destined, and there is no fate in this life. See you in the next life.”
Next to them, Nan'er and Yu Qingxuan were stunned for a moment after hearing the former's words.
"Sincerity leads to spiritual success."
Old Man Xu sighed deeply and said, "How many people in the world are not deceiving themselves?"
"What the old man said makes sense."
Li Ziye nodded and said, "Just like the woman just now, it's worth it if she can have peace of mind and live peacefully."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ziye's eyes suddenly froze and he looked outside the Houtu Temple, frowning slightly.
What bad luck!
At this moment, a group of officers and soldiers swarmed outside the temple. Inside the temple, the faces of the people who came to offer incense and pray and the three or five homeless people in the corner all changed.
"It's all gone!"
At the front of the officers and soldiers, a fat man with big ears looked at the common people and refugees in the temple and shouted sternly, "If I see you again, I will arrest you all!"
"What bad luck."
Li Ziye looked at the situation ahead and sighed.
"Young master, it's better to leave first, and don't come here anytime soon, so as not to get into trouble." Old Man Xu stood up and said in a solemn voice.
"Need not."
Li Ziye also stood up, looked at the group of officers and soldiers in the temple and the fat official, and said coldly, "I mean, their luck is really bad!"
