From the Carp that Brings Children to the Celestial Officials

Chapter 61 Humans and Gods Team Up to Cause Trouble (Please Read On!)
A lean man, holding a handful of soot from the bottom of a pot, smeared his face black, then wore a red robe and a paper crown on his head, with a playful expression on his face.

But he walked at the very front of the procession, holding a torch in his hand.

"Pong."

He suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a ball of flame that shot out several feet, instantly illuminating the darkness. This caused a series of gasps from the onlookers, but immediately heightened the celebratory mood of the day.

"Is this... the Kitchen God?"

You Ming sat high up, looking down at everything, and found it extremely interesting.

The Kitchen God is also a celestial official, but his popularity among the people and his rank in the pantheon are unmatched.

Food is the most important thing for people, and the Kitchen God is in charge of food and drink, which also symbolizes the life, death, fortune and misfortune of the whole family.

The superior of all the Kitchen Gods in the world is the famous Emperor of Fate.

"Haha, I want to join in the fun."

The Kitchen God sat not far from You Ming, shaking his head and swaying his body. His black gauze hat trembled on his head. Then, with a slight gesture, the eyes of the actor playing the Kitchen God became deep and profound.

He suddenly grabbed a copper ladle from the side, flipped over and leaped into the basins of charcoal fire in front of him. His feet stomped on the charcoal ash, the copper ladle making a sound as it hit the ground. He took more than a dozen steps before he was able to stand steadily.

The surrounding audience cheered, and everyone was willing to believe that at this moment, he was truly protected by divine power.

Some elderly people held up incense sticks, chanting prayers for harmony in their families in the coming year.

Legend has it that prayers are most effective when a spirit possesses you.

In places unseen by the public, a power, like fragments of starlight, falls in abundance, dispelling resentment and estrangement in the world.

Some little monsters also quietly joined in the fun, secretly absorbing some of the blessings bestowed by the Kitchen God.

The blessings of the gods can help them better break through the ignorance in their minds and achieve higher intelligence.

Following closely behind was a "headless general" who held a paper head in his arms, but whose own head was wrapped in a black cloth.

He was shirtless, covered in blood, and even had more than a dozen bamboo arrows stuck in his body.

Of course, the arrowheads of these bamboo arrows had all been cut off; they were simply stuck to the body.

When he appeared, the cheers from the crowd immediately subsided, and the expressions of the crowd towards him showed more respect.

Compared to the kind and approachable Kitchen God, the one appearing now is the Door God of Changning County.

It is said that he was originally a general who encountered rebels when he returned to his hometown to visit his relatives. He led the able-bodied men in the city to fight to the death, and was eventually hit by dozens of arrows and died with resentment at the city gate.

In their fury, the enemy even beheaded him and hung his head outside the city to expose his body, hoping to demoralize the city's residents.

Unexpectedly, this move aroused the people in the city to fight against the enemy and defend the city to the death, and they finally survived until the rebel army withdrew.

Later, to commemorate this general, the people spontaneously built a temple for him. When the imperial court learned of this, it bestowed upon him the title of door god of Changning to commemorate his merit in defending the city.

You Ming looked up at the various seats and saw a dark-skinned man sitting below the City God.

This is the general who was posthumously deified and holds the rank of seventh grade, a very high position.

The door god slowly descended from his seat, his figure like a phantom, yet he walked into the human world and merged with the body of the actor playing him.

Despite his stern demeanor, this door god has the deepest affection for the people of Changning County.

When other deities encounter folk opera performances, they usually provide a remote blessing, but he always chooses to possess them personally.

Such blessings bestowed upon humankind are naturally even deeper. The actor playing the door god subtly changed his movements, and a faint sense of majesty and oppression seemed to rise from him.

He walked slowly through the world with measured steps.

Wherever he went, all evil spirits were broken through, and layers of power symbolizing blessings were bestowed upon all living beings.

A sense of security welled up in the hearts of the people, and many of the low spirits in their lives disappeared completely.

At the very end, he suddenly threw out the "head" in his hand, and the people reached out to catch it.

In the end, the head fell into the hands of a young man, who beamed with joy. Legend has it that on the day of the Shehuo festival, whoever catches the head of the Door God and enshrines it in the main hall will have their household protected by the Door God and enjoy peace from then on.

Some people were envious and wanted to pay to buy it, but the young man ran away quickly. This was a blessing from the gods, and who would be willing to give up such a blessing?

Following the door gods, "deities" continued to appear.

To put it simply, this folk performance is a "funny" show where humans and gods celebrate together.

Fire-breathing, charcoal-walking, sword-swallowing, and iron spears piercing throats—any performance that looks rather eerie and exceeds the limits of ordinary people's understanding—is most likely backed by a divine blessing from a deity.

You Ming thoroughly enjoyed the performance, but he was also somewhat looking forward to it. He heard that there would be a folk performance about him later, and he wondered what it would be like.

Do you expect me to demonstrate childbirth right here and now?

Is this something that can be broadcast?
Just as he was lost in thought, the Shehuo performance finally came to an end.

A thin, somewhat clumsy little fellow was dressed in a brightly colored patchwork outfit, with a huge paper head on his head, the cheeks of which were covered with bright red blush.

In his arms, he held a huge carp.

Yes, alive, the kind that can move.

The boy stumbled along behind the group, trying to control the fish in his arms, but the fish had just left the water and was at its most energetic, struggling incessantly.

At first, You Ming thought he was playing the role of the Golden Boy God, and that the carp was playing himself.

But in reality, the big-headed boy is himself, and the carp is his true form.

Every performer in a folk performance undergoes specialized training, and they are exposed to some information about deities. For example, regarding You Ming's deity image, since there was no statue of him in the side temple of the Niangniang Temple, it was only after a deity official appeared to the young man in a dream that he knew how to portray him.

Having finally managed to control the carp, the boy quickly ran a few steps and caught up with the group.

He didn't have any performance; he just had to hold the carp and let the people around touch its head to absorb some of the "pregnancy energy," before finally releasing the carp back under the bridge.

As long as the carp survives, it can carry the people's wishes to the fetal deity.

"Hahahahaha."

The boy's slightly comical movements drew laughter from the surrounding deities, but their smiles were not malicious, as if elders were watching a junior's strange performance.

"Carp Spirit God? Why not bestow blessings upon us?"

At the head of You Ming's table, a judge stroked his beard and asked with a smile.

"good."

At that moment, You Ming naturally understood what he should do.

He rose from his throne, and as if there were layers of steps in the void, he stepped forward and walked to the boy.

(End of this chapter)