When he arrived at the rumored Empress Temple, Wu Gen stopped. This is the season when peach blossoms are in full bloom, and it is also the time of year when the scenery is the best. Horses and carriages stretched for several miles, actually blocking the road to the Empress Temple.
Everywhere there are young men and women, excited by the spring breeze, wearing fresh clothes and makeup, talking and laughing while enjoying the mountain scenery. Rather than worshiping the Taoye Empress, it is better to say that she is out to find love. From time to time, a beautifully dressed woman would return happily accompanied by a maid. When she heard about it, she found out that she had drawn a marriage lottery in the temple and got a good lottery.
Wu Gen couldn't help but be speechless. I'm afraid Taoye Empress was not married during her lifetime, but she was concerned about marriage after her death. Wouldn't it be absurd? However, this is in line with the habits of the people of Zhao State. Generally, these gods in temples are often given some inexplicable responsibilities.
For example, those who are in charge of rain must also be in charge of children, those who are in charge of war must be in charge of wealth, and those who are in charge of grains must be in charge of marriage. All in all, they have one specialty and many abilities. The gods have more and more responsibilities and their business scope is getting wider and wider. I just don’t know if these great gods can handle it.
But no matter what you try, it won't work at all. Just tear down and rebuild a statue of a god. Now that you are in this business, you have to work hard and be diligent, otherwise I will do nothing else.
On the road, there were also travelers like Wu Gen who wanted to take a boat. Seeing that they could not enter the temple, they were anxious and wandering around.
Wu Genyang, with his chest and belly raised, and relying on his strong physique, squeezed through the crowd and walked towards the Empress Temple.
Dissatisfied accusations came from time to time on the road, but Wu Gen didn't care. Pregnant women always have to enjoy some privileges. They don't see their belly bulging, even though the baby is just an egg.
After finally squeezing his way to the Empress Temple, Wu Gen stretched out his hand to take a stick of incense from Miao Zhu, an old woman with a walnut-faced face, and confidently prepared to enter the temple. Miao Zhu stopped him and stretched out his hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Incense money, one tael of silver."
"One tael." Wu Gen's eyes widened. Although he now had a lot of thorn jade coins, including one of Yao jade, Wu Gen still couldn't bear to part with these taels of silver.
One tael of silver is enough for a secular person to have a big meal or buy a lot of clothes. Wu Gen didn't even blink his eyes when it came to spending money that should be spent, and he couldn't pay a penny out of money that shouldn't be spent.
Miao Zhu glanced at Wu Gen with disdain, then turned his gaze to the person behind him, as if he didn't want to give him anything he wanted.
In desperation, Wu Gen paid the incense money. When I walked into the simple temple with green bricks and green tiles, I regretted that I had paid so much money. In the center of the main room, there is a statue of the Peach Blossom Empress. The paint on it is still very bright, and it is far less dignified than in other temples.
The Peach Blossom Lady has a face like the full moon, kind eyebrows and kind eyes. She twists a peach blossom in her hand and has a white deer carved beside her. The white wall next to it is covered with poems, probably written by literati who visited this place.
At the top, there was a small poem that attracted Wu Gen's attention. He only envied the gold and jade in the book, but nine out of ten people would be disappointed. This crooked poem is quite ironic when placed atop these beautiful verses on the wall. This temple blessing is not wiped off, allowing this poem to overwhelm all other texts.
Wu Gen smiled and took a colorful silk bracelet from another temple blessing, which was a certificate of worshiping the Peach Leaf Empress. He threw the incense on the table and turned around to go out. Temple Zhu quickly stopped him and reminded Wu Gen that it would be disrespectful to only offer incense but not worship the empress. No matter traveling in the mountains or crossing rivers, unsafe things will inevitably happen to him.
Looking back at the statue, Wu Genshu smiled and said: "It is difficult to save yourself while alive, but how can you save others after death." After saying this, he ignored the obstruction of the temple blessing and walked away.
When he got out of the door, looking at the crowd of people, Wu Gen felt a little worried. It took a lot of effort to squeeze in. If he went out again, it would be dark and he would not be able to catch the ferry today.
Looking around, there was no one on the slope beside the road. There were many peach trees growing there, but there was no path under the trees. Wu Gen slapped his head, why didn't he choose to walk through the slope when he came in? It was a waste of time.
Angrily, he walked up the slope. There was a burst of exclamation from behind, and Wu Gen was slightly surprised, wondering why these people were making such a fuss. In the eyes of everyone who was puzzled and gloating about his misfortune, Wu Gen walked into the peach forest.
"Why don't you stop this person?" A tourist who was about to offer incense asked the temple's blessing.
"Those who don't even worship the empress should be reminded of what they are doing. Only after suffering the consequences will they realize that the empress's power cannot be disobeyed." Miao Zhu curled his lips, with tears in his eyes.
Happy.
As soon as we entered the peach forest, the surroundings suddenly became much darker, and the cold wind blew around in the forest, making a low moan. There was a layer of rotten leaves and branches piled up in the forest, and a rotten smell hit his face. The peach blossoms on the trees looked pale in the darkness, like the crudely made paper flowers in the Yin Yang Shop.
Wu Gen tightened his clothes, held up the bird's eggs in his arms, and stepped on the thick leaves.
The forest was lifeless, not a single living thing could be seen, even the bees and butterflies that were disturbing in the spring had disappeared, and only the rustling of footsteps could be heard.
On the black bark of the surrounding peach trees, wounds were opened, and reddish-brown peach gum flowed out, just like human scars. The branches that bend and stretch out in all directions form a rough fence, blocking out the noise outside and the breath of spring.
Wu Gen snorted coldly, drew out his broken knife, and moved forward into the forest while cutting down the branches blocking the road. While walking, a gust of wind blew, and a few crimson peach blossoms fell on my shoulders.
The dense peach trees in front of me gradually became sparse, and a small forest path appeared in front of me. Wu Gen patted his arm gently and continued to move forward. The road is getting smoother and smoother, as if someone is cleaning it from time to time. The peach trees on both sides are also coming back to life. The rich floral fragrance is like old wine. After smelling it for a long time, it actually has a smoky meaning.
At the end of the road, a small courtyard appeared with white walls and gray tiles. The walls of the gate tower were exquisitely carved, and the black door was ajar. He walked to the door and gently clicked the knocker a few times.
With a creak, the door opened, and a woman in green was sitting under a peach tree, quietly doing her nemesis and turning a deaf ear to Wu Gen's arrival.
The peach trees are like coiled dragons and majestic figures. They stretch out in all directions and occupy half of the yard. The peach blossoms on the tree have faded, and there are red and tender peaches on the tree.
Wu Gen walked carelessly into the courtyard, not shying away from the distinction between men and women. He crossed his arms and looked at the woman.
After a stick of incense, the woman finally finished the last stitch and gently bit the thread with her teeth. ..
"Where did the guest come from, and why did he break into the house without permission?" The woman said with blame when she saw Wu Gen.
Wu Gen smiled coldly, "Since you invited me here, why would you dare to trespass?"
The woman has clear eyebrows, a soft body, and a melon-shaped face, which makes her appear graceful and graceful. Smiling slightly, "My guest is also a capable person, and he is not afraid of the little girl's tricks. Do you know that this peach forest is my private property and no one is allowed to pass through."
Wu Gen sighed and brushed the petals off his shoulders, "Who would have thought that the admired Lady Taoye would look like this."
The woman chuckled and said: "So what? When you get here, even if you have some means, it's not up to you. Either go back to the temple to worship, or stay here."
Wu Gen touched his nose and said, "I have been alone since I was a child. If I marry a girl, I'm afraid the family will lose all the love. It's better to find someone else. Besides, the girl is already so old, and we are really not suitable."
The woman's almond-shaped eyes widened, "I have been worshiped by others over the years, but I have become more compassionate. I have good intentions of sparing you a life, but I don't know how to appreciate it, so just stay." As soon as the words fell, a strong wind suddenly rose, blowing all the wind. The petals on the ground were like butterflies, and they were broken into pieces, blocking Wu Gen's sight.
After the wind passed, the scene in front of me had changed. The exquisite yard was gone, leaving only a peach tree with a cloud-like cover. @ The peaches on the tree turned into human heads. It was disturbing to see Wu Genjian yelling and the harsh sound came out.
The woman changed into black clothes and had a cold look on her face. Pointing a finger at Wu Gen, several peach blossoms suddenly shot out. The delicate peach blossoms were like sharp arrows at this time, and the edges of the petals were as thin as blades, making a sharp whistle through the air.
With a clanking clang, Wu Gen danced his sword to protect his whole body, and the peach blossom hit the back of the sword, making a crisp sound.
The woman snorted coldly, stretched her hands to both sides, her black skirt hung down, her body slowly floated up, and her fair face was covered with a layer of green. At the same time, countless peach blossoms that fell on the ground also flew up, gathering more and more, and turned into a peach blossom cloud.
"Go." The woman screamed sweetly, and heavy snow fell from the clouds. Thousands of peach blossoms were in full bloom, and they surrounded Wu Gen. The sword suddenly shone brightly in the field, and there were endless sounds.
The clouds dispersed and the snow cleared, and Wu Gen's figure emerged, unscathed. Ever since he set foot on the land of Zhao, Wu Gen had been wearing golden silk clothes and lined with exquisite armor. Naturally, these methods of women were useless.
.
The woman under the tree frowned, and after thinking for a while, she stood on the peach tree with her slender feet, and with a move of her hands, countless peach blossoms flew from a distance. Using gestures with both hands, the peach blossoms in the air began to spin, and finally they spun faster and faster, forming dozens of circles.
The woman patted the peach tree, and the heads on the tree fell down to the center of the circle, like giant human eyes. The peach blossoms kept spinning, and the heads in the middle made low rhythms. Wu Gen couldn't help but feel dizzy and drowsy.
The woman scolded, and the circles made of peach blossoms flew towards Haogen. A burst of strange fragrance wafted out from the circle, and the eye-like circle seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. The bursts of floral fragrance make people want to be intoxicated, and the beautiful scenery appears in front of them.
The woman's ethereal voice came, as if whispering in his ear. Wu Gen's eyelids were heavy and he stood motionless.
"Even a cultivator would find it difficult to resist the fragrance of my peach, let alone a rough man like you who has no spiritual energy at all. He has a decent appearance, so he would be good as a flower fertilizer." The woman sat on the peach tree and shook her head slowly.
Suddenly, Wu Gen, who was on the ground, opened his eyes with a joking look on his face, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of the woman. The cold light of the broken knife flashed, and the woman was split into two halves without saying a word. The body fell to the ground without bleeding, and gradually turned into a peach branch.
Circles in the sky that looked like human eyes were flying towards Wu Gen one after another as if they were going crazy, and the teeth of the human head in the middle were chattering. Along with this, the black soil on the ground rolled, the ground undulated like waves, and withered hands emerged from the soil.
Soon, rotten corpses, white bones and skeletons slowly emerged from the soil, and some even held weapons in their hands. Looking at the remaining clothes on their bodies, there were dozens of them, some strong and some young, surrounding Wu Gen. The kind empress in the temple actually hides so many innocent souls.
Wu Gen chopped away the rotting corpses and heads in front of him, ignoring the woman who reappeared in the distance. @ The divine movement technique was activated, and after a soft sound, the person was already under the peach tree. Without being sloppy, Wu Gen avoided the blocking branches, inserted the broken knife deeply into the tree, and slashed down hard.
The body of the tree is very tough, like dozens of pieces of cowhide stacked together. It is very obscure to handle and does not feel overwhelming at all.
The knife went down two feet and then stopped with all its strength. As the woman screamed, the branches twisted and shot towards Wu Genchan. Ignoring the approaching rotting corpses, Wu Gen pulled out the broken knife from the tree. Next to the huge peach tree, a string of Wu Gen's afterimages appeared. The sword light almost formed a curtain of light, and countless broken leaves and branches fell from the trees, like a shower in a summer afternoon.
This kind of little demon only bullies mortals. It is really no challenge to Wu Gen who is used to fighting and is not afraid of charm.
"That's enough." The woman cried out in pain. .
