I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 160 Rats have their ways, and officials have their ways of thievery.

The "Rat's Marriage Proposal," also known as "Rat's Daughter's Wedding," "Rat's Bride," or "Rat's Wedding," is a popular folk belief.

As a result, many folk rat-worshiping activities arose.

In the Jiangnan region, people often say that rats are harmful and unlucky, so they marry them off on New Year's Eve to ensure peace and good fortune in the coming year.

Further south, in some places, when the rats get married, every household fries sesame candy, saying it's a wedding candy prepared to celebrate the rats' marriage.

Once the rats have eaten the wedding candy, they can no longer come out to harm people.

In some places, the custom of celebrating the day of the rat's wedding is still practiced, and 'wishing children witchcraft' is performed.

The rat is the "Zi Shu" (子鼠), which symbolizes the blessing of offspring. Families that practice fertility rituals will make "rat buns" (鼠馍馍) when the rat's daughter gets married.

It is said that if a new bride eats the tail of a rat-shaped steamed bun, she will become pregnant.

In Tianjin, there is also a folk belief about rats finding a husband, but the date is usually during the first month of the lunar calendar. Now that it's neither a festival nor a holiday, what kind of husband are these rats in the granary seeking?
Faced with Xu Qing's question, the leading rat squeaked and squeaked again.

The official in charge of stipends was astonished and couldn't help but ask, "What is it saying? Do you perhaps understand the language of beasts?"

Who's the beast? Why are you swearing?

Xu Qing turned his head and looked at the granary official with a smile: "These rats say that their king is getting old and urgently needs to find a capable son-in-law to inherit this granary."

"My lord, if we want to subdue that demon rat, we must first find a way to enter its lair."

"what do you want to do?"

Seeing Xu Qing's eerie smile, the official looked around and sensed something was amiss, so he was about to call for help.

Xu Qing reached out and grabbed the official's sleeve, saying, "The great task of subduing the demon rests on your shoulders, sir. You are the head of this granary, and are clearly the most capable person here. As long as you are willing to marry the Rat King's daughter, are you afraid of not being able to enter the Rat's den?"

"Then the Rat King will probably be escorting you to your bridal chamber in a grand sedan chair carried by eight men!"

"Who wants to go into the rat hole?" A wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. The official brushed Xu Qing aside and said, "I've asked you to subdue the demon, not to use yourselves as bait. Besides, subduing demons is your assigned task. I'm not in that position; why should I put myself in danger?"

"Go and subdue the demons yourselves. I will wait for you outside!"

Standing to the side, Guo Dongyang eagerly asked, "Brother Xu, what do you think of me?"

"You? What are you doing, you little old man nearing fifty? If you didn't know better, you'd think the Rat King was looking for a son-in-law, not a living father!"

"."

Seeing that he had finally gotten rid of all the troublemakers, Xu Qing felt a sense of relief.

"My lord, there is no need to worry. As the saying goes, the rooster crows at dawn, the cat catches mice, and the dog guards the house; each has its own duty. Since we have been assigned the task of controlling the mice, it is only right that we go and solve the problem."

As he watched the several large rats lead Xu Qing away, the official in charge of the granary felt that something was amiss.

Cats catch mice, dogs guard the house—isn't that a roundabout way of calling him a corrupt official?
Xu Qing followed behind several large rats, with Xuan Yu and Da Zhuang staying close by on either side.

The lead rat trembled with fear, but dared not even entertain the slightest thought of escaping.

A stiff body, two cats, and several mice circled along the warehouse path, eventually arriving at an unused storage room on the east side of the warehouse.

The rats chattered and said that the rats welcoming the bride couldn't see the cat, otherwise they might not open the door to let her in.

Xu Qing looked around but didn't see the so-called door.

After thinking for a moment, he told Dazhuang to stand guard outside the door.

Xuan Yu found it amusing, but was also afraid that she would be sent away as well. So she raised her head, looked at Xu Qing very seriously, and said, "Those rats are very cunning. If you marry into their family, they might not let you come back."

Xu Qing laughed and said, "No matter how smart a mouse is, it can't be as smart as a cat. Why don't you come with me in a bit?"

Xuan Yu's eyes lit up, but he hesitated and asked, "What about the rats that come to greet the bride?"

In front of several large rats, Xu Qing took off his clothes and gestured for Xuan Yu to hide inside them.

"."

Xuan Yu stared at Xu Qing's open chest, which revealed a white inner lining and an open collar.

The large rats were clearly disappointed, but when they remembered that the big cat had already been sent away, their minds became active again.

Seeing Xuan Yu hesitate, Xu Qing gently coaxed, "If Xuan Yu doesn't hide, then he'll have no choice but to guard the granary gate."

As soon as Xu Qing finished speaking, a smooth sensation came from in front of her.

The collar was pulled up, and the black cat peeked out, its warm, fluffy head touching Xu Qing's neck and chin.

He reached out and tucked Xuan Yu's exposed head back in; at this moment, Xu Qing's pectoral muscles appeared exceptionally well-developed.

"Now you can't see any cats. You'd better lead the way quickly, or you'll be in trouble." As he spoke, Xu Qing pulled down his collar, and Xuan Yu grinned and hissed in agreement.

The fat rat trembled and had no choice but to obediently squeak around the ground.

After about three to five breaths, the rammed earth ground suddenly collapsed like quicksand, and soon a hole about a foot wide appeared in the ground.

Feeling the demonic aura emanating from the cave entrance, Xu Qing was filled with astonishment.

Although this demon rat may not be very powerful, its ability to build rat dwellings and alter the terrain is extraordinary.

At the cave entrance, a scout carrying a small drum came out to investigate. Xu Qing's large rat talked with him for a while, and then the scout happily went back to report.

Xu Qing waited quietly. After two incense sticks had burned, the hole, which was about a foot wide, sank again, but this time it opened up a passageway large enough to accommodate a sedan chair.

A group of dark-faced, short-armed, narrow-faced, long-mouthed dwarfs, dressed in human robes, came out from the hole to greet them.

Xu Qing looked at the wedding procession in front of him and subconsciously activated his Qi Observation Technique. He saw that the dwarf-like men and women had instantly turned into large, gray-black rats.

These upright rats, carrying pots and pans, welcomed Xu Qing into the bridal sedan chair, making a racket all the way, just like a real wedding procession.

"The son-in-law has arrived!" "Please, son-in-law, enter the mansion!"

When the bridal sedan chair stopped, Xu Qing stepped down and saw a large mansion occupying a considerable area in front of him.

The house was built deep underground, where the sun never rose overhead, and it was dark and starless.

At the main gate of the mansion, two red paper lanterns are hanging, and the plaque in the middle has two large lacquered and gilded characters that read "Ancient Mansion".

Xu Qing followed the wedding procession into the mansion. Before even entering the hall, a cacophony of voices reached her ears.

The sound of guests and servants banging pots and pans with their palms was like the beating of gongs and drums.

Inside the hall, tables and chairs were moved around, and guests dressed in gray jackets and black robes raised their glasses and offered their congratulations to the homeowner, who was sitting in the main seat of the hall.

"Congratulations, Master of the Family, on the arrival of your new son-in-law!"

"Congratulations, Brother Zixu!"

Xu Qing glanced at the head seat and saw an old man in white clothes and a white hat, with a mustache on his face, sitting in the chief seat with a ruddy complexion.

"Please, young master, take a seat!"

A pair of dark-faced children led Xu Qing to the table.

On the table were a bowl of raw rice, a basin of wheat flour, a dish of peanuts, and some millet and other grains, making it look like a sumptuous feast with four dishes and eight bowls.

Guests came to offer toasts.

"Since you have caught Brother Zixu's eye, you must have some skills. Today is an auspicious day, so why don't you show us something so that we can be truly convinced?"

Xu Qing looked at the middle-aged man wearing a scholar's cap and a scholar's robe, and said with a smile, "That makes sense. Since it is a joyous day, I should give the head of the family face."

As he spoke, Xu Qing asked the servant to bring a stone. Then he recited an incantation and performed the technique of "borrowing soil to generate gold, turning all things into gold" on the stone.

After reciting the incantation, Xu Qing pointed his finger at the stone, and the ordinary stone suddenly shone with golden light, turning into dazzling gold.

"Excellent skill! Brother Zixu's judgment is indeed remarkable. With such ability, you are worthy of being the son-in-law of the Gu family!"

After saying this, the middle-aged man in the Confucian robe bowed and left his seat.

A murmur of gossip drifted over from the side: "Young Master Lou has been eyeing Miss Gu for a long time, and now look what's happened, she's been snatched away by the new son-in-law."

"Young Master Lou only knows how to move money; he's nowhere near as good as the son-in-law at turning gold into cash."

Sitting in the main seat, Gu Zixu's smile grew even more fervent. He beckoned to a servant and whispered something in his ear.

Before long, a bride wearing a crimson veil and a white dress arrived at the hall, escorted by servants.

Xu Qing's smile widened as he looked at the graceful bride approaching.

Rising to his feet and walking to the front of the hall, Xu Qing, holding a tray, addressed Gu Zixu, who sat at the head of the table, saying, "Father-in-law, your son-in-law has another gift to offer."

This child is good and polite!

"You're too kind, son-in-law." Gu Zixu stroked his beard and nodded, then looked at the empty tray in Xu Qing's hands and asked with some curiosity, "What gift is it?"

Xu Qing smiled slightly, holding the tray to her chest. With her other hand, she reached into her robes and ripped open the tightly wrapped collar!

A black cat with its back arched and its mouth panting jumped onto the tray.

Good heavens! On this joyous occasion, how could a cat come to cause trouble at the wedding?!
In the large hall, the sounds of pots and pans being overturned and tables and chairs falling over suddenly filled the air.

Xu Qing glanced to the side and saw that the guests and servants who looked like real people had turned into big black rats in the blink of an eye and were scurrying out of the hall.

In the blink of an eye, only a few large rats cowering in the corner, a few servants, Gu Zixu, and the bride whose name was unknown remained in the hall.

Gu Zixu's eyelids twitched rapidly. He looked at the black cat whose gaze was fixed on him, and felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

Xu Qing calmly pulled up a chair and sat down. To catch the thief, you must first catch the king. With Guan Dazhuang guarding the ground, no matter how much those little mice and demons run, they can't escape this cave.

Placing the tray on his lap, Xu Qing slowly began to speak:

Do you know why I'm here?

Gu Zixu let out a long breath and said, "You are the sorcerer invited by the grain official here to capture me, and you are a master from the Cat Immortal Hall."

"Oh?" Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you find out before the wedding, or are you just guessing now?"

Gu Zixu replied irrelevantly, "I have long heard of the Cat Immortal Hall's great reputation. My cultivation is inferior to itss. If it sets its sights on me, the rats I protect will never have a moment of peace."

"If you don't make a fuss, I would really like to become your son-in-law."

"."

Xu Qing reached out to calm the restless Xuan Yu and laughed, "Stealing government grain is a capital offense. Are you trying to bribe me with money and women? Can a person be related to a rat by marriage?"

Gu Zixu frowned and said, "You only know that I stole government grain, but do you know why I knowingly committed a crime and still came here to steal?"

Xu Qing's heart stirred slightly, and he waited for the next part to continue.

“I was once a celestial being. In recent years, natural disasters and man-made calamities have been constant. The imperial court set up relief granaries in Tianjin. For this reason, I once ordered the rats not to approach the grain storage granaries.”

"Which granary in the world is free from rats? But in the past two years, Tianjin has not had a single rat infestation!"

"But when the number of refugees increased and it was time to open the granaries to distribute grain, the grain officials said that the Tianjin granaries were infested with rats. Not only were the grain in the relief granaries damaged, but most of the grain in the other granaries was also destroyed by the rats."

"Without food, we cannot open the granaries to distribute grain, and my branch has become like a rat crossing the street, hated by everyone."

"Back then, the people destroyed my temple, and I had no incense to offer. Why do you think I would come here to steal government grain?"

(End of this chapter)