The Taoist and the cat returned the same way.
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 bit."
"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 smelled a scent.
It tastes like scallion pancakes.
I don’t know what’s going on these days, maybe it’s rare to find good food or something, but there is a roadside stall selling scallion pancakes. The aroma can be smelled from across the street. The Taoist followed the scent to find it and touched the freshly made scallion pancakes in his arms. When I received a small bunch of copper coins, I couldn't help but buy one.
It cost only two cents each and was wrapped in a large bamboo leaf.
After one sip, the aroma is fragrant.
On the road, he 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 received two cents for these two small crucian carp.
People are comfortable, and cats are also comfortable.
Thirty coins were earned, and 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, 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 that 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 him first."
"when to go?"
"Is Sanhua Empress going too?"
"need!"
"Just a moment."
"Well……"
The cat turned around and took 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 busy at the moment, and people who have leisure time are taking a lunch break at the moment. Only a very small number of 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 had a fierce look: "The incense brought from outside can only be burned outside. It is inserted on the roadside here. 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 pull him away.
"..."
Song You looked at the old man, stopped, thought for a while, 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 he had no intention of buying it. He still spoke and pointed to the side: "If you buy this kind of big incense, I will tell you about it."
"How much does Daxiang cost?"
"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 dollars.
Still holding it in hand.
"The current Chenghuang Lord used to be the father-in-law of the previous emperor. However, the father-in-law's health was not very good. On the day when the empress was conferred the title of empress, 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, father-in-law."
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 pulled 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 he continued walking forward.
As worthy of being the head of the state, this City God's Temple is very large, bigger than many temples, magnificent and magnificent. To enter, you need to go through an archway first, then a courtyard. Next to the courtyard is a small temple, half a man tall, dedicated to small gods such as Tu Gong. The main hall directly in front has red pillars, gold walls and glazed tiles. The temple door is wide open, and the one enshrined in the middle is The city god is the Lord, with two auxiliary officers beside him, and 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 only crossed the threshold and sat down, looking at Song You and the golden statue.
Sure enough there is no one 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.
Song You took three large incense sticks, but did not light them. He just placed them casually beside them.
"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 thud and the temple door was closed. There was only the faint light of the bright lamp and a beam of skylight coming from the side window, which reflected the countless dust in the hall.
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 this god?"
"My surname is Song, and I am from Lingquan County, Yizhou." Song Xing bowed and said, "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. They were so daring that they not only murdered important officials of the imperial court, but also civilians. , so I wonder why this matter is still happening 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 is the City God 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."
"Lord City God also knows about Fulong Temple?"
Song You was a little surprised.
At this time, the City God had nothing to do with the underworld, but he had completed the transformation from a natural god to a human god, and was also included in 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 held by a historical figure, who is either high-spirited, outstanding in virtue, or has unparalleled talents in civil and military affairs. He is the patron saint of a city. Very important. Changjing is the capital of the Yan Dynasty, so it is normal for the city god to have heard of Fulong Temple. But firstly, this city god has not been in power for a long time. Secondly, it is obvious at first glance that this city god 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 I 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 makes it easier to talk.
Song You gave a rare 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 based on 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. The officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Changjing County Magistrate have written before, asking the little gods to help them subjugate these demons." The city god pretended to wipe away his sweat, "However, due to the war in the north, the demons are in chaos. , 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 is about another difficulty."
(End of chapter)
