"I wonder how many people there are in Lei Qing Temple and what gods they worship?"
"..."
The man looked at Song You carefully, maybe because he didn't look like a villain. The man with the sword and the black horse, who was very brave, seemed to be his guard. He saw that he was not only gentle in his conversation, but also Being courteous and polite, he also slowed down a little, cupped his hands and said:
"My surname is Xu, and my last name is Mu."
"It turns out it's Mr. Xu, you're polite."
"To answer your question, as far as Xu knows, there are three masters and disciples in Lei Qingguan, which is not too many. As for the enshrinements..." Xu Mu was a little embarrassed, "Xu came here several times and didn't even look at it. All over, but of course there is the Red Gold Emperor and several important gods of the Heavenly Palace, and the main ones worshiped are a few Thunder Gods."
"Only three people?"
"Xu remembers that there were only three people."
"How many Thunder Gods are enshrined?"
"Exactly."
Song You couldn't help but narrowed his eyes.
Xu Mu seemed to be knowledgeable, and after thinking for a while he explained: "Sir, I don't know. There are wars all year round in the north, and demons are everywhere. Although this is the border of Angzhou, it is actually only a few dozen miles away from Hezhou. I often hear There are rumors of demons and ghosts causing trouble everywhere, so compared to the south, there are more Taoist temples and temples dedicated to Thunder God here."
"Sounds like you've been to the south before?"
"Xu went to the capital and walked through Shang."
"I see."
Song You had seen Zhou Lei Gong's demeanor. Although he didn't have much contact with him at that time, he had an intuition that Zhou Lei Gong was also an upright person. Therefore, even if he knew that the Taoist was in the temple on the mountain at this time, and knew that the Taoist temple mainly worshiped Lei Gong, he also knew that The Taoist was a demon through and through, and he did not make a hasty decision. He just asked Xu Mu again:
"Why are you here?"
"Oh, I'm telling you the truth." Xu Mu sighed, "Some strange things have happened in Xu's home recently, so I wanted to come to Lei Qing Temple to see the owner and help."
"Is this Taoist temple very effective?"
"Efficacy... I can't say it's efficacious, but the master of the temple is wise and good at exorcising and subduing evil spirits." Xu Mu paused as he spoke, with a look of helplessness on his face, and spread out one hand to weigh it, "It's just If you want to ask experts to take action, this is indispensable."
"I see."
Song You paused for a moment and then said with a smile: "I feel like I have a destiny when I meet you. I talk to you and receive answers to my questions. I am very grateful. It just so happens that I know some magic and am good at exorcising evil spirits and subjugating demons, but... Don’t you know what kind of strange things happen to your family?”
"Sir, do you also know magic?"
"Understand a little bit."
Song You knew that he was doubtful, so he added: "If it happens to solve your worries, I will save some incense and money for you. If not, then I am not good at studying. I can only say sorry to you. Please I still go up the mountain to find the owner of Lei Qing Temple."
When Xu Mu heard this, he became less suspicious.
After thinking for a while he said:
"Actually, it's not a big deal. It's just that Xu's mother has been possessed by some kind of evil spirit recently. She often talks to... seemingly invisible people at home."
Xu Mu's voice became softer when he said this, as if he didn't want to talk about ghosts and gods, and avoided those sensitive words.
"Sometimes she would say that someone was calling her, asking her to get up, asking her to eat, asking her to go out to pick peas and rapeseed, and asking her to do the laundry. Sometimes she would invite people to join her when eating, and sometimes she would lie in bed and say There was a person standing in front of her looking at her. But there was no one in front of her during all these things. We asked her who it was, and sometimes she could tell it, but the people who said it were different. Sometimes they said it was us who had been dead for many years. Sometimes she said she was her sister, sometimes she said she was another old woman who died in the same village, and sometimes she couldn't tell and said she was a stranger she didn't know. We were very scared after hearing this..."
"That's it."
Song You thought for a while and couldn't make a hasty decision: "We have to go over and have a look at this next time."
"Haha, thank you sir, but Xu is already here and has brought all his money with him. Let's go up the mountain. I just want to relieve my mother's worries at home as soon as possible and save my husband from traveling all the way."
"You are a very filial son."
"Haha, as the saying goes, filial piety comes first. What's more, Xu's family was poor when he was young. He lost his father at a young age. His mother worked hard to raise us. It's so hard, how can we be unfilial?"
Song You nodded and didn't say much.
So he and Xu Mu went together to the gate of the Taoist temple on the mountain.
The Taoist temple is neither big nor small, with red painted wooden doors.
"Tuk tuk..."
Xu Mu knocked on the door first.
There were footsteps inside.
Sanhua Empress already understood that the Taoist grave digger that day was the enemy of her group, and she also understood that she was here to find that Taoist today. Although she was confused by the attitude of her Taoist priest in talking to passers-by, it did not hinder her vigilance and protection. The Taoist priest's determination was already ready to go.
The swordsman's hand holding the sword also stretched forward.
"Squeak..."
The person who opened the door was a little Taoist priest.
"?"
The calico cat tilted its head and stared at him blankly.
The swordsman also frowned and did not attack easily.
The little Taoist priest looked like a teenager. When he opened the door and took a look, he couldn't help but ask:
"Who are you looking for?"
"My surname is Xu and my name is Mu. My mother seems to be possessed by an evil spirit. I would like to ask the temple master to relieve my mother's worries." Xu Mu was respectful.
"oh……"
The little Taoist priest nodded and looked at Song You again:
"Who is the Taoist Chief looking for?"
"I am a traveling Taoist. I saw a Taoist temple here and came to visit." Song You smiled, "Is it convenient?"
"..." The little Taoist priest looked at him up and down, "It's not that we don't know how to treat guests, it's just that our Taoist temple is not big. Apart from the palace dedicated to the gods, there are only two rooms that can accommodate people. There is really no place to stay for the Taoist priest and the Taoist priest. This hero is with the Taoist Master."
"We don't stay overnight, we just come in for a visit."
"That's it..."
The little Taoist priest was a little embarrassed again: "But my master had something wrong with his practice yesterday and is ill. I'm afraid he won't be able to entertain the Taoist priest..."
"My fellow Taoist master is a middle-aged Taoist priest with a beard, about as tall as me, and very thin?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
"I have met the temple master once, but I don't know the temple master's Taoist name."
"That……"
"Why don't you, my little fellow Taoist, let us in first, and then report to the temple master. If the temple master is willing to see you, I will have a long talk with him. If the temple master is really ill and inconvenient to receive guests, I will just leave."
"fair enough."
The little Taoist priest nodded and opened the door: "Then please invite a few people in."
"Sir, I won't go in and watch the horses outside." The swordsman in gray said to Song You.
"Thank you."
Song You knew what he meant.
Then, together with a man named Xu Mu, he followed the little Taoist priest into the Taoist temple and came to the main hall.
The young Taoist asked them if they wanted to burn incense. Xu Mu spent more than ten cents on three sticks of incense, but Song You declined. The little Taoist priest asked them to wait for a while in the main hall, and reminded them not to let the cat in, lest the cat would be ignorant and blaspheme the gods, and he would inform the master himself.
The calico cat turned around and stared at the little Taoist priest.
Looking back, she saw that her Taoist priest and the man she met on the road had entered the temple. She thought about it with flashing eyes, and then she actually sat down on the spot, licked her paws, and refused to go in.
There are bright lamps in the main hall, but no candles.
There are already several incense burning.
It should be respected by Taoist priests in Taoist temples.
Song You stood at the door with his hands behind his back, looking at the statues in the temple one by one.
In the center is indeed the statue of the Chijin Emperor. The statues on the left and right are different from most Taoist temples, but they are also some of the more important gods in Dayan Taoism.
In addition, there are several statues of Leibu gods and gods next to them.
It can be seen from the incense and tributes that this Taoist temple mainly enshrines the Chijin Emperor and the chief officer of the Thunder Department. Taoism honors him as the Nine Heavens Xuandu Thunder Universal Transformation Heavenly Lord. If the people just talk about Lei Gong, they are referring to him. The descendants of Fulongguan in recent generations generally call him Fu Leigong.
The remaining Thunder God statues are not well made, and it is difficult to identify who is who. There is no sign of absorbing the power of incense and aspiration. They have no spirituality or divine light. If there was spiritual light, no matter how different it was, Song You might be able to recognize a few familiar ones, but in this case, even he wouldn't be able to tell who is who.
Naturally, the gods themselves cannot tell the difference.
At this time, the smoke in the temple was curling up, almost only drifting in two directions.
One is Emperor Chijin, and the other is Duke Fu Leigong.
"You really dare to accept..."
Song You looked at the incense and smiled.
Worshiping the Chijin Emperor may be out of respect. After all, there is no one in the Taoist temple who does not worship the Lord of the Heavenly Palace. The other gods are purely respectful, and there is nothing else except respect. Lei Qingguan mainly enshrines Fu Lei Gong, the chief official of the Lei Department. The rest of the gods of the Lei Department are only symbolically placed with statues and their names written, but in fact they cannot be identified at all.
As for why these few have no spiritual light...
Maybe they have already noticed that the owner of this Taoist temple has gone astray and practiced evil. Maybe it is because when the Taoist temple was first established and when the statue was made, there was no sincerity in worshiping them, and there was no sincerity in doing anything. Unlike, naturally they don't feel that there is a statue of their own god here, or they feel it and don't care.
Xu Mu beside him was also sincerely offering incense. He lit the incense in his hand, knelt down and made a wish, and then placed it in front of Fu Leigong.
The incense and wish power still only drifted towards those two people.
"You two..."
The little Taoist priest ran back and said to them: "I just went to wake up the master and asked about it. The master said that he was ill and could not entertain guests. Please go back."
"Oh?" Xu Mu was surprised, "What should my mother do?"
"Master said he would come back some time later."
"this……"
"I'm really sorry." The little Taoist priest said, "If a good person comes back some time later, he can spare the money."
"Oh well."
Xu Mu had no choice but to agree and looked at Song You again.
"I don't know where I live?" Song You asked with a smile, "When I travel around the world, I might just come to you. If I haven't found another way by then, I can try it."
"Thank you sir!"
Xu Mu hurriedly bowed deeply. It was about his mother, but he did not refuse. Instead, he said: "Xu's family lives in Zhijiang County, Erqiao Street in the north of the city. After a little inquiry, you can find out. If Mr. Xu comes, although Xu's family He can’t be called rich and powerful, but he is treated with food and wine.”
"Walk slowly."
"Then sir..."
"I have a destiny with this Taoist temple, and I haven't offered any incense yet, so I will offer another incense before leaving."
"How long does it take to burn incense? Xu is waiting for you sir."
"Let's leave first."
"this……"
Although Xu Mu didn't know why, he had just met and didn't want to be entangled, so he had no choice but to agree and leave with a smile.
Song You also took it out in his arms, and looked back at the calico cat sitting in the yard. Under her burning eyes, he took out a handful of money, counted out a dozen coins, and handed it to the little boy next to him. Taoist priest.
We were both Taoists and came to offer incense. Logically speaking, we shouldn't charge money, but the little Taoist smiled and actually took it and put it into his arms smoothly.
"..."
Song You got three sticks of incense, blew on them, and the incense burned automatically, and placed them in front of Fu Lei Gong, the chief officer of the Lei Department.
"This Taoist Priest..."
Just as the little Taoist priest was about to persuade Song You to leave, he heard a slight explosion.
"Canopy!"
The three sticks of incense that had just been lit suddenly burst into flames.
The flames were so big that they were far beyond what incense sticks could burn. However, the statues were all covered in windbreakers and hung in red, which were good combustion aids. Once burned by the fire, they all burned.
If the gods do not work, the temple should be burned down.
(End of chapter)
