Knife splashing

Chapter 683 City God Temple Fair
It’s just past Grain Full and approaching Grain in Ear.

Although the weather has changed since last year, with winter becoming colder and lasting longer, and the spring breeze coming much later, some warmth is finally beginning to show at this time of year.

When it was still dawn, a light rain fell in the capital.

The drizzle was as fine as silk, washing the bluestone road outside the City God Temple shiny.

When the sun rises, the drizzle stops immediately, and the steaming water vapor, wrapped with the smell of incense, sweat and hawking sounds, fills the three-mile-long street from Xingbu Street to the Duchenghuang Temple like fog.

The City God Temple has a long history, especially in this world, it is an important arrangement for protecting the city. Therefore, even the Golden Horde, which is mainly based on shamanism, built a City God Temple when it ruled Peking.

After the founding of the Daxuan Dynasty, an imperial decree was issued to confer titles on city gods throughout the country, and a four-level system of "capital, prefecture, state, and county" was established. The City God Temple in Peking was upgraded to "the General Temple of City Gods of the World" and renamed "Dahling Temple". The City God was named "Weiling Gong" and statues of the City Gods of thirteen provinces were erected to be worshipped together with him.

Since then, the Capital City God Temple has become the hub of all City God Temples in the world and is under the jurisdiction of the Xuan Priests of the Ministry of Rites. The major orthodox Xuan sects have sent their elite disciples to form the Law Enforcement Hall to jointly maintain the order of the Xuan sect.

With the establishment of the City God Temple, many customs were born.

For example, on the first day of May every year, Wanping and Daxing counties would carry the statue of the City God to the City God Temple to "report on their work". The ceremonial procession was like an official trip, with "empty streets watching" along the way, and incense meetings and acrobatics accompanying the procession, making it quite lively.

But even more lively is the City God Temple Fair.

The temple fair outside the City God Temple is known as the "ancestor of temple fairs" in the capital. It is open for three days on the first, fifteenth and twenty-fifth day of every month, and the sacrificial period will be extended during the Spring Festival and May.

The temple fairs in the capital are naturally extraordinary. Merchants from all over the world will participate in them. It is known as the place where the world's treasures gather. Even the ghost market at night is equally lively.

After all, being here can prevent someone from using illusions to deceive.

Some unclean things that are turned out from the tomb will also reveal strange phenomena.

Not everyone has the ability to identify evil spirits, so this place becomes their best choice.

Today happens to be the temple fair after April 25th. Even though a murder occurred in Piaoxianglou last night, the people and merchants in Beijing still went out to attend the temple fair.

Li Yan pressed down his hat, wrapped the Dust-Breaking Sword in a coarse cloth and carried it slantwise behind his back, then disguised himself as an ordinary peddler and squeezed into the crowd. When he passed through the Xingbu Street intersection in the east, he saw a bluestone road stretching for three miles, with merchant stalls winding like a dragon's spine, a bustling flow of people, and tens of thousands of merchants lined up in rows, with flags covering the sky.

On the flags, on one side were written "Suzhou and Hangzhou Song Dynasty Brocade" and "Xuan De Furnace Treasures" and on the other side were written "Four Treasures of the Study" and "Rare Treasures from Home and Abroad", all of which were held in the air with bamboo poles over a meter long.

Whenever the wind blows through the streets, it sounds like a battle.

This kind of place is obviously very suitable for hiding one's identity, but Li Yan's strong sense of smell and hearing make him suffer. Even if he does not use his magical powers, all kinds of smells rush into his nasal cavity, and his ears are filled with the noise of the city.

"New tea from Guyu! Longjing and Biluochun, three cents to watch the tea master brewing tea!" The tea vendors in the south of the Yangtze River, wearing bamboo hats, set up a green cloth tent. The boiling water in the copper kettle rolled like thunder. When the tea soup poured out, it condensed into the shape of a kingfisher spreading its wings in the air, attracting passers-by to throw money...

"The original painting of "Crows on Willow" by Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty! Selling it for fifty taels of silver!" The man dressed in silk and dressed as a shopkeeper shook out the scroll, and saw a crow standing on a willow branch on the silk, but its pupils were blood red.

Li Yan's nostrils twitched slightly, and he smelled the fishy and evil smell from the painting, and his brows slightly frowned.

This thing is not an authentic work of Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty, it is clearly a nightmare painting.

He had heard Wang Daoxuan talk about this thing. Some scholars and painters were obsessed with painting, and their regrets still remained after their death. If it was placed in a dark place in an old house for a long time, it would attract evil spirits.

If the evil spirit is weaker, hanging it in the house for a long time will make people have nightmares at night and feel uneasy.

If the evil spirit is strong, it may even transform into a demon and harm people.

What's worse, it can affect the surrounding land veins and turn them into dangerous and dangerous places.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, there was a strange case. It was said that in a dilapidated temple in the mountains, traveling merchants who stayed overnight often died and their blood was dried up. After a long investigation, it was discovered that it was an ancient painting from the Wei and Jin dynasties that was causing the haunting. The painting absorbed the evil spirit and was difficult to destroy, so it was later placed in Zhongnan Mountain to suppress it.

The picture in front of me is nothing special. At most it ruins the feng shui of the house.

If it is placed outside the City God Temple for a long time, the incense of the City God and the popularity of the streets will directly disperse it and turn it into an ordinary painting.

But unexpectedly, as soon as the stall owner let the painting out, a wandering man showed surprise and left quickly. Not long after, several Confucian scholars hurried over with the man, whispered to the owner, and bought the painting for a large sum of money.

After seeing this, Li Yan immediately shook his head slightly.

Needless to say, these Confucian scholars obviously wanted to buy it and give it away.

In the capital city, power conflicts are entangled like a thread, and grudges are inevitable.

At a stall not far away opposite, people were also arguing.

But at the four corners of the corridor, a group of old scholars gathered together, and the merchants were actually selling the fragments of "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". The masts of the canal boats in the painting were all inlaid with gold threads.

The merchants were shouting their wares loudly, but a young scholar sneered and mocked: "What fragment of the original? This is a 'Suzhou piece'! The real thing is in the treasury of Prime Minister Yan's mansion."

The so-called "Suzhou pieces" refer to fake calligraphy and paintings.

It is said that antiques are valuable in prosperous times, and gold is valuable in troubled times.

The Daxuan Dynasty was at its peak, and there were many wealthy families in the world. Silver would get moldy if left at home, and it was even more impossible to give it to a poor person, so the business of antiques, calligraphy and paintings became more and more prosperous.

The trend of counterfeiting then flourished and was called "Cemen" in the underworld.

The bronze ware made in Yuzhou and the calligraphy and paintings made in Suzhou are among the best.

The antique business is about buying and selling. If you buy a fake, it means you have poor eyesight. You can even lie and say you don't know anything. It will be difficult to bring a lawsuit to the government, so the demand is quite large.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Hearing what the scholar said, the seller became furious and rushed forward to beat the man up. The people around him followed suit and the patrolling officials pushed the crowd aside and squeezed in, causing another chaos.

Of course, this was just a small episode at the market.

Li Yan was too lazy to pay attention and just kept looking at the City God Temple.

Ever since Hu Yuanyuan got the "Peaches", the "Peach Club" organization has never contacted her again. Li Yan suspected that only if she ate this thing would the other party show up.

The only clue now is the City God Temple.

The evil energy that controls the "Night Wandering God" must be hiding in it. Through this evil energy, perhaps we can find Zhao Qingxu and the Jianmu organization.

As for the British Palace, there may be clues, but as Hu Yuanyuan said, the British Palace was alert because of the incident at the Tianjin Wharf, and last night's murder must have made them nervous.

It's not a good idea to go to your house now.

Taking advantage of the free time arranged by Hu Yuanyuan, it would be better to go to the City God Temple first.

The first stop is naturally the Duchenghuang Temple.

This place is also the headquarters of the Law Enforcement Hall. Li Yan had come here with his true identity, and considering his relationship with Wudang and Qingcheng, he would definitely be given a grand reception.

But if evil spirits invade, there must be an insider behind it.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, we can only investigate secretly.

It happened to be the City God Temple Fair, so I could hide in the crowd and enter without being discovered.

Unconsciously, Li Yan followed the crowd and arrived outside the City God Temple.

The square in front of the temple is lined with stalls and crowded with people.

On the east side is an incense and candle stall, with sandalwood, agarwood, and wormwood bundles piled up into a small mountain. The stall owner shouted loudly: "The City God and the first three incense sticks will protect the family and home!"

On the west side was a circus troupe, with shirtless men swallowing swords and breathing fire, causing the crowd to cheer loudly.

Farther away, a fortune teller was holding up a cloth banner with the words "Iron Mouth and Accurate Prediction" on it, and the copper coin divination tube was clattering. A wealthy businessman in a silk shirt was squatting in front of the stall with a frown on his face.

Despite the noise, there was a large fence separating the crowd from the City God Temple gate.

Li Yan leaned over to take a look and saw the towering temple gate, painted red with gold nails. On both sides were stone lions with wide-open eyes, with hydrangeas and cubs under their claws. There were still traces of red silk tied by believers between the lions' manes, swaying in the wind.

A gilded plaque with the words "Supervising Yin and Yang" hangs under the eaves of the temple. A gargoyle sits on the yellow glazed tiles, and the iron horses on the eaves jingle, making a clear sound in the wind. On both sides of the main gate, there are two clay statues of Zaoli, more than ten feet tall, with green faces and fangs, holding water and fire sticks. Although they are made of clay, they are stained by the incense all year round.
There seemed to be life between his eyebrows and eyes, which made the children passing by feel scared and look at him.

Ordinary people can notice the difference when they see it, let alone monks.

Li Yan could clearly feel that the two clay statues guarding the gate had the aroma of incense rising from their bodies, floating above the temple gate with a hint of solemn and majestic aura.

This is a complete guardian formation with great popularity. It is far more powerful than the two generals Heng and Ha in Fengdu Ghost City. If any cultivator uses his magical powers to investigate, he will probably fall into an illusion immediately.

The core of the formation at the entrance is undoubtedly the magic mirror hanging on the lintel.

Judging from the reflection on the mirror, it is far more powerful than the one hanging at the city gate.

Li Yan pressed down his hat and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

It is worthy of being the City God Temple and the main altar of the Law Enforcement Hall. This treasure does not even have any mountain gates.

If you want to enter, you must restrain your breath. With the cover of the dragon and snake cards, you should be able to sneak in. As long as you walk along the statues, the Gou Die will naturally sense it.

While I was thinking, I suddenly heard the sound of a gong and a crowd of people came out like a tide.

"Duke Wei Ling is on patrol!"

Accompanied by majestic shouts, eight shirtless strong men carried a black lacquered sedan chair and marched forward.

In the sedan chair was a wooden statue of the City God, with a golden face, long beard, silver armor and a red robe.

The clanging of gongs cleared the way, and the crowd surged in like waves.

This was the return of the City God from his tour. The pilgrims around him made way for him and kowtowed shoulder to shoulder. Many of them lit up the incense and candles in their hands. Amid the lingering green smoke, the golden plaque of "Dawei Lingci" seemed to be about to fall.

"Open the door!"

After the statue of the City God entered the temple, the soldier guarding the gate shouted loudly and led his men to move the wooden fence away. The people who had been waiting for a long time immediately rushed inside.

It is said that if you burn the first stick of incense, your wish will come true.

Especially the City God, who judges the Yin and Yang, so there are many people who have grievances and wait outside early, not watching the prosperity of the temple fair at all.

Just like the old woman beside Li Yan, trembling and muttering: "City God, please open your eyes..."

Unfortunately, people in the world do not know that the City God is already fulfilling his duty by guarding the city. Even the underworld will not care about the injustices in the mortal world, let alone this clay god.

The crowd was so crowded that the old woman was pushed all over the place and the incense in her hand broke.

Just when she was about to fall to the ground, her arm was suddenly supported by Li Yan.

"Old man, I'll go in with you."

Li Yan nodded slightly, exerted a little force on his body, and the people around him were immediately pushed away.

He used the power of the Immortal Seal so skillfully that no one could detect it.

"Many...thank you."

The old woman had something on her mind. She muttered something and then walked tremblingly into the temple.

In addition to the soldiers guarding the temple gate, there were also several Taoists looking around with sharp eyes, but it seemed that because Li Yan was supporting the old woman, even though he was carrying weapons, he did not attract their attention.

Soon, they followed the crowd into the City God Temple.

This Ducheng Temple adopts the official-style layout of "court in front and bedroom in the back", with three gates on the central axis, namely the Temple Gate, Shunde Gate, and Chanwei Gate.

The main hall is the Daweiling Temple, which is five bays wide and has a single-eaved hip roof covered with yellow glazed tiles with black edges. It has a hip roof in the front and three porches. The hall enshrines the statue of "Wei Ling Gong" and the standing statues of the City Gods of thirteen provinces, representing the "City God who rules the world."

The rear hall is the sleeping shrine, where the City God and his wife live.

Further back is the Law Enforcement Hall, which is prohibited from entering.

As for the east and west wings, there are "Eighteen Departments" symbolizing the underworld trial institutions.

Similarly, there are Taoists guarding outside the doors of each hall and in front of the statues of gods.

Li Yan lowered his hat and helped the old woman forward.

He could sense that there were restrictions in various places within the temple, making it difficult to detect with magical powers.

Li Yan frowned slightly and looked at him calmly.

It has to be said that this method can indeed resist the detection of cultivators, but many times, the problem often arises from within, just like in the cave of Zigai Mountain, there was a Taoist who was bewitched by evil spirits.

Rat Rat Two even hid inside a clay statue and was not discovered.

This is obviously a big loophole.

They followed the crowd and finally entered the Dawei Ling Temple.

City gods are gods believed to be worshipped by humans and most of them are famous heroes in history. For example, Ji Xin, the Great and Powerful Duke, was a general under Emperor Gaozu of Han. Because he died for Liu Bang in the Battle of Xingyang, he was revered by later generations as the "Chief City God of Thirteen Provinces."

In addition, there are Wen Tianxiang in Beijing, Qin Yubo in Shanghai, Zhou Xin in Hangzhou, Chen Wenlong in Fuzhou and others, all of whom have left their names in painting.

Li Yan supported the old woman and walked past the City God statues one by one, but Gou Die did not respond.

He was disappointed, but also felt a little relieved.

If there was a problem with the City God Temple, the capital city would probably be in tatters.

The other party can control the Night Wanderer, maybe it only infected the auxiliary statue?
After Li Yan followed the old woman around again, he was completely sure.

The statues in the City God Temple were not infected by evil spirits.

Looking at the old woman with a sad face beside him, Li Yan finally asked:

"Old man, what grievances have you suffered?"

"Injustice? There is no injustice..."

The old woman's eyes were blank, and she said in a trembling voice, "Hejian Prefecture suffered a disaster two years ago, and my family fled to the capital. My husband starved to death on the way, and my son died of exhaustion while repairing the river last year. This year, my daughter-in-law caught a cold and died with my grandson. Now I am the only one left alive."

"I came here only to ask the City God to let them have a good rebirth in their next life."

After hearing this, Li Yan fell silent.

He has seen too many things like this, and no matter how high his level of cultivation is, he still feels powerless.

The old woman said this as she walked out of the City God Temple.

At this moment, the letter in his arms suddenly became hot.

Li Yan suddenly looked up, stuffed a few taels of silver into the old woman's hand, and quickly entered the market.

Following the direction indicated by the certificate, he came to a stall.

The owner of the stall was a young man wearing a small hat. He kept looking around. When he saw Li Yan approaching, he immediately smiled and said, "Look, these are all good things. We have porcelain from the Song Dynasty, jars from the Tang Dynasty, and everything else..."

Li Yan raised his hand to stop him from speaking and pointed to one of the black pottery fragments.

"Where does this thing come from?"

There was a scent of "Peaches" on it...

(End of this chapter)