Sword from the Immortal Mountain

Chapter 16: Ancestor God
There are many differences between the immortal way and the Shinto way. One is self-transcendence, while the other is the worship of all living beings.

But in essence, they are all pursuing extraordinary power.

There are four major stages and twelve realms. When you reach the top, you can live forever and enjoy freedom in the world.

As someone who was once close to the peak, Chen Jin has a deeper understanding and knows the truth that the world is so close yet so far away.

At times like this, if you think too much, it is easy to fall into delusion.

So he returned to his room and continued reading:

"The Master said: Time passes by like an arrow, it never stops day or night..."

Time passed quickly and by dusk it was almost time to go to the banquet.

Chen Jin packed up briefly, locked the door, and walked towards the village.

After he had the money, he asked his uncle to hire someone to do a comprehensive renovation of the house and change the door locks, etc.

These are all trivial matters, no need to elaborate.

Before entering the village, I heard a lot of noise, and saw that the inside was decorated with lights and was very lively.

Just as Chen Abu said, that scene.

It's all money that supports the scene.

In Chenze Township, the township head Chen Jiande is highly respected and wealthy, a true gentry landlord.

He has two sons and one daughter. Chen Liang is the youngest son and is 30 years old this year.

If Chen Jin passed the examination for Tongsheng when he was less than 20 years old, he still had potential; Chen Liang passed the examination for Tongsheng at this age, even if he is not an "old Tongsheng", he is not far away.

Time flies by and is gone in the blink of an eye.

Perhaps because of this, Chen Liang became more eager to pass the imperial examination, so he invited a household god to guard his house to improve the feng shui and fortune, so that he could pass the exam next time.

Walking into the village, you can see bright lights along the way.

Tonight's banquet will all be held outside the ancestral hall to inform the ancestors.

Before the meal started, there were various sacrificial and worship rituals, which were all performed at Chen Jiande's home and had nothing to do with others.

The space outside the ancestral hall is not small and can accommodate more than 20 tables at the same time.

Chenze Township has over a thousand households and a population of several thousand, but on tonight's occasion, not many are qualified to sit at the table and eat.

First, women and children were excluded. They could bring their bowls to the pig-killing dinner, but they could not sit at the table.

There are also many low-level farmers and villagers who cannot get a seat at the table.

In Chen Jin's view, this is nothing more than a rural bad habit.

But the rules are like this, and he is not the owner, so it is difficult for him to change anything.

After entering the village, go straight towards the ancestral hall.

Chenze Township, as the name suggests, is populated mostly by people with the surname Chen. They live together in a community and, tracing back several generations, they are all from the same lineage and are basically related.

It is convenient to build an ancestral hall if we are of the same clan.

I have never heard of the same ancestral hall enshrining people of different surnames.

If that were the case, it would be impossible to distinguish clearly during sacrifices, and the incense would be scattered all over the place, which would be a disgrace.

This ancestral hall doesn't cover a large area, with blue bricks and black tiles. There is a locust tree planted on each side of the entrance, with shady canopies and lush branches. There are many red cloth treasures hanging on the tree. When the villagers come to worship, they make wishes under the tree and then throw the red cloth treasures up to the tree, which are hung on the branches and flutter in the wind.

The banquet was set up under the tree, divided into three rows, with chairs and tables arranged neatly. Workers were busy coming and going, creating a bustling scene.

With such a large occasion, Chen Jiande's family alone cannot handle it, so they have to look for help from the township.

Chen Abu was one of them, responsible for running various errands, inviting people to banquets, etc.

So he went to the hillside in the morning to call Chen Jin. His nephew was on the invitation list, and Chen Abu was proud of it.

You have to know that in such occasions, those who are qualified to sit at the table are considered to have some respect in the village.

He was also worried that Chen Jin would not come. After all, his nephew had never liked socializing.

Now that he saw the person, he felt relieved. He took a look at him and couldn't help but whispered, "Ah Jin, you came to the banquet and didn't even change into a new set of clothes."

Chen Jin laughed and said, "It's a greasy place, but old clothes are more resistant to stains."

Chen Abu: “…”

It was not easy to say anything more: "Wait a moment for me, the meal will be served soon, I will go and get busy."

The banquet had not started yet, so it was naturally difficult to take a seat. Everyone was waiting at the side, chatting among themselves.

Chen Jin had no social connections in the village. He stood there all alone, like a minion.

A gaunt old man passed by and called out to him, "Ah Jin, you're here."

This person is none other than Chen Mingcheng, the teacher of the clan school. He is an old scholar who is over 60 years old. He has participated in the provincial examinations many times, but unfortunately, he has failed repeatedly due to bad luck. When he reached a certain age, he finally became discouraged and stopped taking the examinations. He honestly worked as a private school teacher in the village.

Chen Jin was not yet an adult and had no achievements, so he only had a name and no courtesy name. People who knew him called him "Ah Jin".

He returned the greeting: "Hello, teacher."

Chen Mingcheng nodded slightly: "It's a pity for you that you didn't pass the final college entrance examination this year. I've read your essay and it's well written, just a little lacking in quality. Write more and you'll have a good chance of making a comeback next year."

After giving him a few more words of encouragement, he left.

Chen Jin turned his gaze and looked towards the ancestral hall, and only felt a thin divine light shrouding there.

This situation is consistent with the spiritual outlook of this ancestral hall.

Ancestor God, Ancestor God, with the word "God" added to the end, it is often just a respectful title, and is far from the real gods.

Ordinary clan branches lack foundation and have no powerful up-and-coming talents, so it is difficult for the ancestors they worship to gather enough divine aura.

In daily life, relying on the incense and prayer power on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, or during the New Year and other festivals is far from enough.

Just with this accumulation of incense, it often takes hundreds of years to form some divine light.

In other words, the people of Chenze Township come to the ancestral temple to pray and make wishes, hoping to be blessed by their ancestors, but they are just seeking peace of mind.

There will be almost no response.

The symbolic meaning is far greater than the practical meaning.

Even so, people still have to continue to worship and offer incense.

It is precisely because of the continuous sacrifices from generation to generation, which accumulate over time and become a stream, that we do not forget our ancestors.

Only after the ancestors are blessed with the power of vows can they have the opportunity to become true "gods" and thus bestow their ancestral blessings on their descendants.

This is a mutually reinforcing relationship.

However, if there is war, or the clan splits and falls apart, the ancestral hall will fall into ruin, and all the ancestors will disappear, and even their names will be lost in the long river of history.

When the ancestors had not yet become gods and could not show their spirits to protect the family, people would ask the household gods to guard the house.

Just like the current village head Chen Jiande.

However, there are many rules and regulations for inviting household gods, which have both advantages and disadvantages. If one is not handled properly, it will end up being "easy to invite gods but difficult to send them away".

Chen Jin is a Taoist who practices Taoism and has always advocated that "it is better to rely on oneself than on others", so he is not impressed by this kind of behavior.

I come here just to have a feast.

Suddenly, a bit of malice arose, like a drop of black ink falling into a clear spring, and spread towards him.

(End of this chapter)