"Miss Sanhua."
"Well?"
"Isn't it cold in the snow?"
"Sanhua Empress has hair on her soles."
"Will it still be cold?"
"Miss Sanhua is not afraid of the cold."
"Then can I hold Sanhua Empress?"
"?"
The calico cat that was walking forward paused, turned its head and stared at him. After a while, it spoke:
"OK."
After speaking, he walked towards the Taoist.
The Taoist also bent down and picked her up.
It was really cold and windy in the wild. Even though Sanhua Empress was covered in fur, the outer layer of her hair was cold when she was hugged. However, the cat’s body was hot after all. With a little force, she touched her body and the heat was transmitted through her fur. The temperature is enough to make people feel warm.
Hezhou, especially Gui County, suffered from military disasters, demons, severe droughts and plagues, and the people were really suffering.
The Taoist is just a passer-by. War disasters cannot kill him, and demons are not afraid of him. The drought has passed, and the plague cannot trouble him. However, after walking through it, his mood will inevitably be affected by it.
Only by hugging Empress Sanhua can you feel calmer.
But it's not just this moment.
This has been the case for four or five years.
Continue heading north.
The world here is flat, and the heavy snow makes the sky and the earth white. From a distance, it is a vast expanse. When the wind and snow blow, it becomes a little more turbid. Two figures, a Taoist and a swordsman, one red and one black, are standing in front of them. This vast and white world is really inconspicuous, just like a few small black dots.
It's like once you throw it in, you can't find the way out.
The timid are undoubtedly fearful.
A magnanimous person is naturally open-minded.
Forty or fifty miles, only half a day.
However, the place near Hansu County was better. Although it was not sunny, there was not much snow or wind. As we got closer to the snowfield, the wind and snow became heavier and heavier. The snowflakes were almost flying sideways, and an ordinary person would have to exert a lot of effort to even take a single step. If he wasn't careful, his body would be blown sideways. The sky in the distance was even more gloomy, as if there was always a blizzard.
It is difficult to tell the weather and the time, and it is difficult to distinguish west from east.
The group of people walked very firmly.
Even the swordsman's dark horse, which has been following the Taoist for nearly a year, seems to be infected with a bit of spirituality. Not only is it not anxious due to the wind and snow, but it moves forward silently like a bay horse.
When did you know you had reached the snowfield?
It’s the temple that appears on the distant horizon.
Looking from a distance, I saw a temple almost every other section between the dull and turbid sky and earth. It seemed that there was a divine light in the wind and snow. But when I looked carefully, there was no temple there.
"There is a temple."
The calico cat in the Taoist's arms stretched out a round paw, wearing a white glove, and pointed in that direction.
"Miss Sanhua has sharp eyes."
Song You said something and walked away.
The temple is not high or big. It is no more than a private house and is poorly built. There are many gods and goddesses inside.
There are not only the righteous gods of the Thunder Department of the Tiangong, the priests of the Fighting Department, but also several famous Dharma protectors, and even Buddhist Bodhisattvas and Dharma Protector Heavenly Kings. The front of the altar is almost filled with clay cubes, and each clay cube is densely packed with burned out incense candles. They are so tightly packed that it would be modest to say that there is almost no room for any other incense sticks. It is It really can't be inserted. Some of the incense sticks on the back really have no place to insert them. You have to make a piece of mud and put it on top, or you have to insert it on the bamboo sticks that were burned out but packed tightly. , treating the bamboo sticks as new clay cubes.
Song You stared at it, feeling inexplicably shocked.
At this moment, the people's beliefs and visions seemed to take on substance. It's on this densely packed clay incense stick. Ordinary children and old people can see clearly.
It seems that we can see the spiritual sustenance of the people in it.
fear of demons;
trust and hope in gods;
Yearning for peace...
They are all on these densely packed incense sticks.
"call……"
Song You took a breath, and the altar was filled with dust.
It can be seen that no one has come to offer incense for a long time. Maybe the last time was on the sixth day of June last year, maybe even longer. But except for the dust on the altar, the statues are all spotless.
These statues are also worth seeing.
It is not uncommon to mix the gods of Buddhism and Taoism - many village temples are like this. Apart from not knowing whether the gods will argue over the distribution of incense, I have never heard of anyone having any objections. However, there are neither There is no Buddha in the Emperor of Heaven, only gods who can defeat demons and eliminate demons.
The statues of gods are all images of the five internal organs.
What is the image of the five internal organs?
Legend has it that a Taoist priest who came down from Qingcheng Mountain passed down the method. When shaping the statue, although mud and grass were used, the complete five internal organs were fabricated for the statue. From then on, the statue was naturally spotless. Later, even some exquisite temples would fill in the internal organs, meridians and bones for the statues when making statues. However, at this point, it was just unnecessary attention and had no other effect.
It is beneficial for the idols not to be stained by dust.
I don’t know whether it was built by the local government or the imperial court, or whether it was built by the people on their own initiative, but no matter where it was, there should be guidance from experts.
Song You stopped in front of an old acquaintance.
"..."
Looking back at the quilt bag, Song You frowned.
"What are you looking for, sir?"
"nothing."
This time I forgot to bring incense again.
"well……"
But I can't blame myself.
It was only after he left the city that he heard from the officials that there was a temple on the border of the snow field. Besides, where could Hansu buy incense and candles now?
Song You could only sigh, then his expression condensed, and he solemnly said to the front:
"Please come out and see Mr. Zhou Lei!"
Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you fight without danger.
This snowy demon is probably special, but I don’t know what’s special about it. If I ask who is the best, it is the priest who has been fighting with it all year round.
Silently——
On the altar, the statue of God of Thunder shines brightly.
The plastic paint that was originally applied gradually became natural, and the hard edges and corners became softer. The eyes of the statue flashed with luster, like thunder at night. The statue seemed to come to life quickly, with a pair of eyes staring straight down. There is terrifying majesty.
However, in the past year in Hezhou, Song You had met Zhou Lei Gong many times at night, interacted with him several times, and had other encounters with him that he had never interacted with before. He was much more familiar with him than before.
"Thunder Lord, long time no see."
The Taoist's voice was gentle, but it did not melt into the cold wind.
"Heyuan?"
Zhou Lei Gong's voice was like thunder, as if it was rolling with thunder, deafening.
When a competent god is invited to the lower world, he will naturally know which temple and which statue it is.
"Exactly!"
The Taoist replied.
"..."
Zhou Lei Gong sat upright on the altar and glanced around. He saw the cat squatting at the feet of the Taoist and looking at him, a swordsman, and two horses outside, but he didn't care. Focusing his gaze on Song You, he squinted his eyes and figured it out.
"You summoned me here because you want to ask this snowy demon?"
"Exactly."
"What do you want to ask? And you want to ask me why Lei Bu Zhengshen failed to get rid of this monster? Or is it something else?"
Although he said these words, his tone was much softer than when he first met at Jingdao Lake.
"I was passing by here, and I heard that a big demon was entrenched here, turning the vast fertile fields into a demon kingdom, spreading plague, and harming all living beings. I also heard that a few years ago, the Heavenly Palace tried its best to suppress the demons here, but failed. I don’t know what special abilities this snowy demon has, so I came here to ask for advice.”
"..."
Although it still sounded like he was questioning, Zhou Lei Gong also heard his intention.
"You want to get rid of the demon?"
"Exactly."
Lei Gong lowered his head, and the Taoist raised his head.
The two eyes looked at each other across the distance.
"This monster is the innate spirit of the grassland, not the spirit of grass, trees, beasts and birds." Lei Gong lowered his head and stared at him, "The innate spirit is the most difficult to destroy. This monster also has incredible life-saving magical powers. Is there anything you can do?"
"Listen and then talk."
“There is spiritual water underground in Heyuan, which has endless aura and full of vitality. Wherever it comes out of the ground, it is called Lingze.
“This is how Lingze County, the county seat, got its name.
"This spiritual water is spread all over the ground of the Heyuan, and the spiritual water exposed above the ground is also spread all over the Heyuan.
"This monster was originally an innate god in Heyuan. It was just that he was always chaotic and did not care about good or evil. He did not appear often and there was not much movement. Until the great war in the north of the human world, at least 200,000 soldiers were lost. Here, the people of Heyuan were slaughtered, their blood dyed their souls red, their resentment soared into the sky, and ghosts were everywhere, and the most powerful person was cultivating. This evildoer seemed to have tasted the sweetness, and his resentment rose again with the flesh and blood essence and ghost souls of hundreds of thousands of people. Dao Xing became addicted and got out of control, and soon turned into a land evil god, entrenched here, spawning demons, feeding on blood, and wanting to expand outwards."
Zhou Lei Gong finished speaking in one breath and continued to stare at him: "Although this demon is strong, the Heavenly Palace is not helpless. It is just that it is the incarnation of the spiritual charm of Lingze underground in Heyuan, and it is Lingze itself. I don't know where it learned it or what it is. I have realized an incredible magical power, and it is impossible to remove it unless I drain the spiritual energy all over the ground of the Heyuan, or turn the whole Heyuan into a dead ground."
After hearing this, Song You couldn't help but praise:
"This magical power is really amazing."
How easy is it to drain away the underground water that spans hundreds of miles? How can it be an easy task to completely wipe out the vitality of the entire grassland and turn it into a dead land, not to mention how high the cost is?
If the mountain gods of hundreds of miles away in Pingzhou had such magical powers, how could they worry about the suppression of the Tiangong?
I heard Lei Gong say again: "You said it wrong."
"Please give me some advice from Thunder Lord."
"Tiangong Zhengshen not only tried his best to eliminate demons a few years ago, but the Lei Bu and Dou Bu jointly eliminated them twice. I, the Lei Bu Zhengshen, did it once a year. But because of what I said before, although we can We defeated it, but there is no way to completely destroy it for the time being." Zhou Lei Gong still sat on the altar and said in a deep voice, his voice was like thunder, "So we had to build a temple on the border of Heyuan, worship the statue, and guard it here. Prevent this evildoer from continuing to expand the land and endanger the common people, and also be wary of the evildoer going out and causing harm to the people. In addition, once a year, our Lei Department will clear out the demon soldiers and generals in the plains, which also weakens its power, leaving only a few more to the north. Destroy all the demon kings, and then use your hands to deal with him slowly."
"I see."
Song You nodded, thoughtfully.
This became a tug of war.
(End of chapter)
