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Chapter 158 It's not the bad people that are scary, it's their stupidity; we need to give Chang'e a good talking-to! (Please subscribe)

soon.

Song Tao and his companion finished writing their articles and presented them to the emperor.

"Please, Your Majesty, read this!"

The City God respectfully handed the examination paper to Guan Yu, allowing Guan Yu to review it first before making a decision.

Guan Di Shen took the exam paper, glanced at it with his big eyes, and then handed it to Niu Jun beside him, saying, "Fellow Daoist, you may wish to take a look and see how these two candidates' essays are."

"It is my wish, and I dare not refuse!"

Niu Jun said with a smile.

In fact.

He was also somewhat curious about the articles written by Song Tao and Zhang Xiucai.

In the story "The Examination of the City God" in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio", only the solution to Song Tao's essay is written, but the specific essay, as well as Zhang Xiucai's essay and solution, are not mentioned at all.

Therefore, he was very interested in seeing how good Song Tao's writing was.

Or rather, what kind of article could possibly garner praise from these spirits who have been dead for hundreds or thousands of years?

pity.

Niu Jun was quickly disappointed.

In his opinion, neither Song Tao's nor Zhang Xiucai's articles were anything special and could not compare to the works of true masters.

Even the problem-solving approach was utterly unremarkable.

However, this is normal.

If these two people were truly exceptionally talented, they wouldn't be county-level scholars who haven't even managed to cultivate their literary skills by the time they're in their forties or fifties and haven't even passed the provincial or metropolitan examinations.

As for morality?
Just by imagining the scene of starving people scattered across Changshan County, resembling a hellish landscape, and the extravagant lifestyle of Zhang Xiucai's mansion, one can discern the true character of this man.

If these two were truly virtuous and diligent in their studies, they would probably have already cultivated a strong sense of righteousness.

He has neither talent nor virtue.

Yet he was able to become one of only two candidates for the position of City God of a prefecture.

Niu Jun could only chuckle.

Then think back to the story in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, where the judge replaced a person's heart with their own and replaced a person's wife's head with their own.

It can only be said that the underworld city god system in this world is completely rotten.

The questions for this City God's exam were very simple.

One person, two people, with intention, without intention.

Song Tao's solution was: "If one intends to do good, one will not be rewarded; if one does evil unintentionally, one will not be punished."

Zhang Xiucai's solution was: "One person has a heart, and one person does not. The one with a heart lives, and the one without a heart dies. Everything requires heart."

to be frank.

If we really had to choose one of these two to be the City God...

Niu Jun preferred Zhang Xiucai.

Because he is a person with ulterior motives, even if his intentions are impure and he is good at opportunism, he is just bad, not stupid.

Often, stupidity is more terrifying than malice.

the reason is simple.

Because bad people know they are bad, and they know that their behavior and demeanor are hated and despised by people, they often try to conceal and restrain themselves, and even pretend to be good people.

But fools are different.

They lack the ability to distinguish between great good and great evil; their minds are muddled, their logic is chaotic, they parrot what others say, and they believe everything they hear. As a result, they are often misled and manipulated by people with ulterior motives, committing heinous and foolish acts in the name of justice.

Therefore, fools are more terrifying than bad people, and their potential destructive power is also greater.

They can even believe that as long as a bad deed is given the name of justice, they will actually believe it and then do bad things without any scruples, with a sense of righteousness, and even feel very honored and proud.

pity.

This exam was originally prepared for Song Tao.

Niu Jun's opinion is not important.

Even when Guan Yu asked him for his opinion on the two men's writings, he didn't really want to hear his comments on their work; rather, he wanted to demonstrate his fairness and impartiality.

Think of this.

Niu Jun shook his head and sighed, "People often say that there are gods watching over us, and that it is easy to oppress the common people but difficult to deceive Heaven."

"Little did they know that Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs, and even ghosts and gods have their own selfish desires. Justice delayed is no longer justice, and good results in the next life are no longer good results."

"You're asking me what I thought of these two candidates' essays?"

"I am not a Confucian scholar, so I don't see it very clearly."

"But if you ask me what I think of these two people in the hall, I can give you an answer: in my opinion, one of them is 'stupid' and the other is 'evil'."

"It must have been quite an achievement for the Venerable God to find two people to participate in the City God's assessment."

Niu Jun was an honest man and didn't care at all about the sudden change in expression of the ghosts and gods in the hall. He gave his heartfelt evaluation.

Done.

Ignoring the anger and malice of the ghosts and gods in the hall, he said in a low voice, "So, I will also give you ghosts and gods a word: most people are deluded by the result, fearing the result but not the cause, but they do not know that the way of heaven is cyclical. It is not that there is no retribution, but that the time has not yet come."

"You'd better drink rat tail juice instead!"

Niu Jun put down the two exam papers in his hand, glanced calmly at Guan Yu and the City Gods in the hall, and before they could speak, he disappeared.

See this scene.

Whether it was Guan Yu, the God of War, or the City God and other deities, their expressions all changed drastically.

In particular, Guan Yu's terrifying divine sense spread out and swept across the entire City God's domain, causing all the ghosts and spirits in the domain to tremble in fear.

Even the City Gods in the hall were terrified and filled with fear under the immense pressure of this divine power.

pity.

No matter how Guan Yu examined the place, he could not detect the slightest trace of Niu Jun.

This made Guan Yu's face extremely ugly, and the City God sitting in the main seat didn't dare to even breathe loudly.

Until much later.

The City God cautiously asked, "Your Excellency, what do you think of this year's City God examination?"

Nobody is a fool.

Those who rise to the position of City God in a dynasty are no fools.

Although he did not know Niu Jun's identity, it was astonishing that a mortal cultivator dared to comment on Guan Yu and the City Gods in the temple in such a way, and even managed to disappear right under Guan Yu's nose.

This made the City God think twice.

"Ignore that cultivator, just continue as usual!"

Guan Yu glanced at the City God, snorted coldly, then picked up Song Tao's essay and said without any pretense, "I think this candidate Song Tao's essay is quite good. What do you think?"

us?

We didn't see anything!
The city gods looked at each other, then unanimously praised the candidate, Song Tao, and agreed that he should be selected as the city god of Henan Prefecture.

……

"This world is rotten to the core!"

Niu Jun left the capital city of the Great Pine Divine Dynasty, the City God Realm, and let out a soft sigh.

At this moment, he strongly suspected that this world was not far from the legendary immeasurable eon.

As the saying goes: "When Heaven unleashes its killing intent, stars shift and constellations change. When Earth unleashes its killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land. When Man unleashes his killing intent, Heaven and Earth are overturned!"

When ghosts and gods can no longer control their selfishness and desires, the order of the three realms will no longer be stable.

It seems the time for the world to be turned upside down is not far off. Even if an immeasurable calamity does not erupt, a great calamity that sweeps across the entire Three Realms will be inevitable. "It's just a pity that the mythical power of the City God's Strange Tales will be wasted."

Niu Jun does not regret what he did.

Although he could gain mythical power simply by following the plot of "The Examination of the City God" in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," there was no need for him to tell the truth and offend the Guan Yu God, the Great Pine God, and the City Gods of this world.

But it's easy to deceive others and heaven, but it's not easy to deceive one's own heart.

To change one's bottom line and true nature for a wisp of mythical power.

That's not worth the loss.

Therefore, we might as well not have this mythical power!

Niu Jun shook his head, and with a thought, a path between Yin and Yang appeared beneath his feet, leading to the human world.

He was following the path between Yin and Yang, preparing to leave the underworld.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of sheep bleating.

Not far away, a somewhat lame shepherd was leading dozens of lambs toward the Underworld Royal City, where the Capital City God's Domain was located.

Coming to the underworld to sell sheep?

Upon seeing this, Niu Jun was slightly taken aback, and then looked again.

Then he understood.

The dozens of lambs being herded by the lame shepherd were not lambs at all; they were clearly infants who had been subjected to animal creation techniques, and moreover, infants with very special birth charts.

Then look at the shepherd.

what!
It seems there's some connection between him and this.

It turns out that this shepherd was none other than the master of the divination immortal in the Journey to the West universe that Niu Jun sent to him. He was none other than Song Dingbo, the swindler who sold ghosts in the Chinese textbook of his previous life, and now a heretical sorcerer of the Great Pine God Dynasty.

It's truly a case of "searching high and low without finding it, only to have the cause and effect resolve themselves effortlessly."

Most importantly, Niu Jun actually saw a few strands of mythical power in Song Dingbo.

well.

Song Dingbo has already qualified him to be sent to the Venerable One as a test subject.

Thinking of this, Niu Jun didn't bother to say anything more to Song Dingbo. He reached out and grabbed Song Dingbo, who was herding sheep, and used his transformation magic to turn him into a lamb about an inch in size, then threw him into his inner world.

Doesn't Song Dingbo really like turning people into lambs?

Let's keep him in a lamb-like state until he goes on the test bench.

After dealing with Song Dingbo, Niu Jun looked at the group of innocent lambs in front of him and sighed softly, "What a pitiful bunch of little guys. I imagine your parents must be looking for you anxiously. You should all go home now!"

While talking.

He waved his hand, and the flock of lambs in front of him instantly transformed into adorable babies.

Then, a gentle breeze blew by, carrying these babies through the realms of Yin and Yang, and returning them all to their original homes.

He was a parent himself, so he knew how anxious parents would be if their child was lost. Therefore, it was better to return these babies to their parents as soon as possible.

As for whether these babies were sold by their own biological parents?
Excuse me.

This has nothing to do with Niu Jun.

He was just a kind passerby, not a babysitter for these little ones. If they were to encounter those heartless parents, it would simply be their bad luck.

"very good!"

"It lost the mythical power of 'The Examination of the City God,' but gained the income of Song Dingbo."

"It truly is the cycle of heaven; every bite and every drink, every cause and its effect, has not been a wasted trip."

After sending all the babies that Song Dingbo had abducted back to their original homes, Niu Jun finally felt a little better.

All I can say is, thank you for the gifts of nature.

It made his trip worthwhile.

……

Time flies like an arrow; three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three months, Niu Jun traveled all over the country, covering almost the entire Great Song Dynasty. He not only witnessed many aspects of human life but also participated in dozens of ghost and monster tales.

Many of these ghost stories are familiar to people from their previous lives, such as Jiao Na, Zhong Li, Hua Pi, Ying Ning, Hua Bi, and Xia Nu.

Of course, some of them were things I had never heard of in my previous life, and most of them were related to the demons of this world.

As the saying goes: "Many drops of water make a deep pool, and many drops of soil make a mountain."

Through Niu Jun's unremitting efforts, he gained more than two hundred strands of mythical power after participating in these ghost and monster tales. Although he was still far from being able to synthesize a complete mythical power, it gave him hope.

but,

As Niu Jun became involved in more and more ghost stories and supernatural tales, he gradually made some discoveries.

I discovered that many of the ghost stories and supernatural tales in this world are related to scholars.

Then there are mythological stories like Xu Xian in the Legend of the White Snake, Yang Tianyou in the Legend of Erlang, and Liu Yanchang in the Story of the Three Holy Mothers.

Niu Jun was very suspicious.

The myths of this universe hold a certain appeal for scholars.

Especially in ghost stories and supernatural tales, those related to love are basically all about scholars as the main characters.

Just like now.

The semi-mythical story that Niu Jun was about to participate in was related to scholars.

What is a semi-mythological story?
So-called semi-mythological stories are those that have a direct relationship with gods and immortals but have not become true mythological stories.

Of course, the story that Niu Jun will be involved in next is also a story in "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio", titled "Chang'e".

The story is roughly as follows: Chang'e, the fairy from the heavens, had to descend to the mortal realm to undergo tribulations for some reason. She eventually married a scholar, but a fox demon caused trouble, leading to discord between the couple.

Then, Chang'e awakened her past life memories and magic powers, and persuaded her husband to take a fox spirit as a concubine, and the three of them lived together.

Ok.

That's roughly the situation.

Of course, there are also some delightful little touches in this story, making it feel like reading a short story about Liu Bei.

to be frank.

When Niu Jun came across this story from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio during his divination process, he was deeply shocked.

Although he had long known that the world was chaotic, he never imagined it would be this chaotic.

Chang'e descended to earth, married a mortal, and even arranged for her husband to take a concubine.

He meows.

If Hou Yi, Wu Gang, or even Yang Jian from the world of the Lotus Lantern knew about this storyline, they would probably smash the Heavenly Dao of this universe to pieces.

All I can say is, it was absolutely outrageous.

It's even more outrageous than the Weaver Girl marrying the Cowherd, Bai Suzhen marrying Xu Xian, and the Third Holy Mother marrying Liu Yanchang, completely shattering people's imagination.

So say it.

Who would say that the ancients lacked imagination?

Niu Jun was definitely the first to jump out and object.

If someone still lacks imagination, what would happen if they didn't? Would even the Queen Mother of the West have to descend to earth to experience love tribulations?

This was undoubtedly unimaginable for Niu Jun.

So after learning about this, he almost immediately put aside his other strange tales and rushed here to watch, wanting to give it a good critique up close.

Ok.

This matter needs to be thoroughly criticized!
(End of this chapter)