Sword from the Immortal Mountain

Chapter 28: The Immortal Dreams, the Ghost Gets Married
In Chenze Township, Daxian Temple, located at the north end of the township, is a relatively special place.

The witch Chen who lives in the nunnery is also a special person.

She had a lot of experience and was a hot-tempered person. When she was young, she was very ambitious and wanted to marry in the city. Once when she went to the county town, she met a man on the street and then ran away with him.

This man seemed to be generous and lavishly adorned with gold and silver, but his real identity was a bloodthirsty horse thief who had committed many evil deeds such as robbery and murder.

Later, they were surrounded by soldiers and the man died, and Chen the witch escaped back.

When she came back, she was pregnant, but later on, her belly was gone.

Her family was furious that she had eloped with a horse thief and did not welcome her back.

However, Chen the witch claimed that she was not in an affair with the horse thieves, but had learned magical skills from a great immortal in the mountains and was given divine powers, allowing her to summon gods to exorcise evil spirits and fulfill people's wishes.

If anyone dares to disrespect her, they will suffer retribution from the immortal.

So they began to plan and build Daxian Temple.

At the beginning, people in the village didn't believe it. How could someone go to the mountains to learn a skill and come back with a big belly?
It's so immoral that even my own family can't accept it.

But then, several people who spoke rudely to Chen the witch suffered accidents, either breaking their hands or legs;
Even the family members who refused to accept Chen the witch into their home met with inexplicable accidents and became seriously ill.

At this, the people of Chen Zexiang were shocked and dared not say anything against Chen the witch anymore, for fear that they would speak out of turn and suffer retribution from the immortal.

Daxian Temple was built in this way.

This is a low and narrow temple, with a temple in front and a hall in the back. A statue of a great immortal is enshrined in the temple, and the hall in the back is where the witch lives.

The statue was very small and was placed in a shrine. It was covered with red cloth, making it difficult for outsiders to see the statue's face clearly.

In fact, since the establishment of Daxian Temple, for decades, the witch has only claimed to be a "great immortal" but has never said which "great immortal" she is worshipping.

This kind of common name can be found everywhere, even those fortune tellers walking around the streets dare to call themselves "great immortal".

Therefore, in Chenze Township, the incense of Daxian Temple is not that popular.

As the years passed, the deity in the nunnery rarely appeared, and the villagers' reverence for him gradually faded.

In the eyes of the younger generation, Chen the witch is just an old woman who talks nonsense and spends her days guarding a temple.

It won't cut off the incense.

When some villagers met with accidents or were seriously ill and had no other options, they would come to the nunnery to pray and ask for a cup of magic water to drink.

See if you can get the mercy of the immortal and bring him back to life.

For example, Chen Abu and his wife once knelt here to pray for a child, but it was not answered.

Fortunately, after taking the medicine prescribed by Chen Jin, he finally came back to life.

Seeing Chen Abu's family of three, all of whom looked happy, Chen the witch asked: "Abu, why are you here to burn incense at this late hour?"

Chen Abu did not hide this and spoke out.

After hearing this, Chen the witch grinned and said, "That's a happy event."

Inexplicably, facing that wrinkled, toothless smile, Chen Abu felt a little embarrassed: "It is indeed a happy event."

Chen the witch reminded him, "Abu, you once came to me and made a wish. Now that your wish has come true, you must remember to come and fulfill your wish. Otherwise, the immortal will blame you and punish you, which will be bad."

Hearing this, Chen Abu felt quite uncomfortable.

In the past, he took his wife to the Daxian Temple to make a wish, which cost a lot of money. However, after a year or two, there was no movement.

Now that I'm pregnant, it has nothing to do with Daxian Temple or Chen the witch.

But Chen Abu would not say that in front of the other person. He responded, "It's too late today. Next time, I will buy something good and go to fulfill my wish."

"That's good, that's good." Witch Chen's eyes suddenly fell on Chen Min: "This is your girl, I haven't seen her for a few years, and she has grown so beautiful."

Being stared at by those turbid eyes, Chen Min felt uncomfortable and subconsciously hid behind her mother.

Chen Li said hurriedly: "Don't blame me, witch, girls are shy."

Chen the witch smiled sinisterly: "It's okay, you'll be fine when you grow up, and you can get married when you grow up. When you get married, you won't be shy anymore."

After saying this, he picked up the basket, leaned on a bamboo stick, and slowly left the ancestral hall.

As he walked, he whispered, "Son, I have a son too..."

Watching her back, Chen Li couldn't help but whisper, "Boss, why is Chen the witch acting so strange today?"

Chen Abu curled his lips and said, "People like her, how can they not blame each other? They make money from this."

Chen Li asked again: "Should we go to the Great Immortal Temple to fulfill our vows?"

Chen Abu pondered and said, "Our family's wedding is obviously not related to him. I have no wish to repay it, so let's put it off for a while. I will go to consult with A Jin tomorrow. He is knowledgeable and can make a decision."

Chen Li nodded and said, "Okay."

Chen Min suddenly said, "The way the witch looked at me just now, no, it was as if she wanted to eat me. Dad, what kind of retribution did she talk about?"

Chen Abu thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it was a dream or something like that, trying to scare the children. You don't have to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid. I'm going to be a big sister soon. I won't be a child anymore."

The girl plucked up her courage and spoke loudly.

……

But Chen the witch returned to the Daxian Temple and walked in.

It was already evening, and the lights were not on. The nunnery was a little dark and cramped, filled with a strong, choking smell of incense.

Pass through the front temple and enter the back hall.

This is her residence.

The place where an elderly person lives alone is naturally untidy and untidy, and is filled with a sour and rotten smell.

She walked in, her eyes showing a strange light, and she murmured: "You are going to have a son, good, very good... I also have a son, good, very good..."

As he spoke, he walked to the old and mottled bed, bent down, and picked up something from under the bed.

It turned out to be an urn.

It is not big, and is completely black, with the mouth of the jar wrapped in a red cloth.

The red cloth is so thin that it seems transparent.

Holding the urn, Chen the witch had a kind face. She stretched out her hands, which were as thin as old pine bark, and kept stroking the urn: "Son, my dear son, our family is going to have a wedding. The girl that mother chose for you before has grown up, and you can finally get married."

Buzz!

The red cloth wrapped around the urn suddenly bulged, as if something was about to burst out.

Chen the witch hastily comforted him, "My good son, you can't be impatient. She is in the ancestral hall. You have to wait until she returns home and falls asleep before you can marry her. Do you understand?"

These words worked and Hongbu regained his composure.

Witch Chen breathed a sigh of relief, walked out again, lit an old lamp in front of the shrine, then sat cross-legged and began to chant and perform rituals.

(End of this chapter)