From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 60 The Most Humanistic Folk Performance

As the sky above the entire City God's realm gradually brightened, more and more deities began to stroll through the streets.

The wandering deities of the [Juefeng Division] floated in the sky, their divine eyes like torches, scanning every corner of the city.

The bigger the festival, the more likely things are to go wrong, and they have to be careful to keep an eye on things.

You Ming wandered around the streets, seeing many sights he had never seen before.

Besides the eel that can freely change between male and female, there is also the skeleton old man who looks like a skeleton and is most skilled at puppet shows, especially the child puppets, which are incredibly lifelike. Guided by his silk threads, the child sometimes bursts into laughter, and sometimes covers his face in a cute and innocent way. If you don't look closely, you would really think it is a living person.

There were also silkworm maidens with naturally skillful hands who could weave fabrics as soft as clouds. Little Carp saw that the fabric was nice and had a garment made to her own.

He wore a plain silver robe and a gold and jade belt. The silkworm maiden also helped him tie a silver crown. Although he was short, he had a rather heroic air about him.

After all, You Ming has a natural good looks, so with a little effort, she can still be quite attractive.

"No fees are charged for attending the lectures, and a divine power is granted for answering questions."

The little carp changed its clothes and looked much more spirited, but suddenly it heard a somewhat familiar voice.

All that could be seen was an old man shouting at the top of his lungs at a street corner not far away. When he saw You Ming looking over, he quickly turned his head away and whistled as if nothing had happened.

But he held a cloth banner high in his hand, as if he wanted to paste the words "Heavenly Book and Insect Seal Teaching" onto the little carp's face.

When You Ming saw the old man, he immediately laughed. "Isn't this the chief clerk of our Archives Department? These past few days, the gods have been on holiday, and instead of resting properly, you've come out to set up a stall again."

"Cough cough."

The old man coughed a few times and glanced at You Ming.

He was very puzzled. This little fish usually took the bait very easily, so why was he so calm today? Could it be that he had gone too far with the conversation before and left the kid penniless?

That shouldn't be the case. In terms of personal wealth, how many gods in Changning County can compare to this carp, given the incense offerings of that Niangniang Temple?

"Registrar, setting up a stall?"

You Ming strolled up to the old man, seemingly only just noticing him, and said with a hint of surprise.

"hold head high."

The old man tried hard to maintain a certain aloofness, but looking at the little carp's calm and collected appearance, he felt as if a hundred little mice were scratching at his heart.

"Then you continue, I'll go take a look around there."

You Ming nodded, then turned and headed in another direction without looking back.

Do you really need to learn something like celestial script or insect seal script? Isn't it something anyone with hands can do?

Watching You Ming's heartless departure, the old man's heart broke.

……

"Clang, clang, clang."

You Ming and Zhu Xin were strolling on the street. You Ming was eating rice candy he bought from a local earth god and was about to go to the kitchen god to buy two catties of malt sugar when he suddenly heard a series of crisp gong and drum sounds, as if they came from outside the world.

"The folk performance is about to begin."

Zhu Xin listened to the direction from which the gong was coming and spoke.

Meanwhile, the monks and demons on the street also flocked to the direction of the gongs and drums.

The annual Shehuo performance is a day when the gods bestow blessings. Not only can ordinary people benefit from it, but cultivators and demons can also get a lot of good fortune.

If you arrive early, you can naturally get a good spot.

After hearing Zhu Xin's explanation, You Ming tried to squeeze through the crowd, but was stopped. "Sir, we are deities, and we have our own order. We don't need to squeeze with them. Besides, you are a member of the Shehuo Shenxi (a type of folk opera), so your position is probably not low."

Zhu Xin was both amused and exasperated. Many gods longed for this divine performance, but this guy didn't seem to care at all.

On a sweltering summer night, the moonlight and lanterns mingled in front of the City God Temple.

For the City God's realm, however, this was the brightest time of day.

Because time in the human world and the underworld is reversed, and the City God's realm is in the underworld, it is only overlapping with the human world in terms of time and space.

"Dong dong dong."

More than a dozen naked men, their bodies smeared with sesame oil, their skin gleaming in the torchlight.

They beat the drums wildly and unrestrainedly, the drumbeats booming.

Behind them, the elderly temple keeper lit a large bunch of incense sticks on the bonfire and inserted them into the bronze cauldron.

Flames soared into the sky, and wisps of smoke rose from the air.

Groups of people carried huge trays with three kinds of sacrificial animals that had been slaughtered.

"Let's invite the gods."

The temple keeper shouted a slogan, and then the gongs and drums became more frequent, and the people joined in the shouts, creating an extremely enthusiastic atmosphere.

"Invite the gods! The spirits are coming out!"

In a place unseen by all humans, surrounding the City God Temple and the blazing bonfire, rows of seats appeared out of thin air.

Each deity sat in a different position according to their rank.

You Ming was still running around on the streets of the City God's Realm when suddenly, an invisible force covered him.

The next moment, he appeared in the void.

Beneath him was an illusory seat, a position from which he could overlook the City God Temple in the human world.

Although his rank was only ninth grade, he was seated in a slightly upper-middle position, surrounded by deities of around eighth grade, and below him were local earth gods and other powerful ninth-grade deities.

Minor deities like the wandering god, the spring god, and the well god can only sit at the very bottom, in the lowest position.

As for the cultivators and demons who came to watch, they could only find a place to stand.

This is a festival of divine blessing, and one of the grandest events in Shintoism. Who cares about you freeloaders?

At the highest position among all the seats, naturally, is the City God of Changning County.

"In this midsummer season, let us celebrate the birthday of the gods. Tonight, in the folk performance, humans will dress up as gods, and the gods may also watch from below. Colleagues, let us drink this cup."

The face of the City God is always shrouded in a thin mist, making it impossible for anyone to see clearly, yet it gives people a strong sense of awe.

As his voice fell, the divine official beside him unveiled the brocade cloth and brought out a row of jade cups.

The divine officials placed the jade cup in the void, and immediately the jade cup, like a boat floating on water, swayed and drifted to the people in front of them.

The City God picked up the jade cup in front of him and raised it high.

The gods quickly raised their jade cups and drank them down together. Laughter and chatter filled the air, and the aroma of wine mingled with the incense.

You Ming took a sip of wine and felt a cool sensation flow down his throat and throughout his body. Instantly, he felt refreshed, as if his soul had been cleansed and his thoughts became clear.

At this very moment, the folk performances and religious dramas in the human world also begin.

(End of this chapter)