The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 100 Pinglan Gong

With a hint of curiosity, Du Yuan asked:

"Isn't the problem with the Mi River? How can it be said that the mountain god is angry?"

The woman hurriedly explained:
"Your accent sounds like you're from out of town, so you probably don't know that the Mi River next to our Qingzhou City didn't originally flow through here!"

"Not going this way?"

Du Yuan glanced back at the banks of the Mi River, but he couldn't see any signs of human intervention.

The woman continued:

"Yes, yes, or rather, it did pass through here at the beginning, but after a major flood, the Mi River changed its course."

"This riverbed, according to the elders, is the old riverbed before the flood. So you can't see any trace of it. Because it's an old riverbed created by God, naturally formed."

Although the woman who spoke of this was not a direct witness, she still spoke with lingering fear in her eyes.

"Qingzhou was originally built along the Mi River, and countless families on both sides of the river rely on the Mi River for their livelihood. But with this change in the river course, at least hundreds of thousands of people will be trapped."

She herself came from a farming family, so she naturally knew how great a disaster this was, and she was terrified just listening to it.

The area was already suffering from severe flooding, and then the river course was completely altered. What was supposed to be a year or two of hopelessness has turned into a hopeless situation with no end in sight.

Hearing this, Du Yuan roughly understood what was going on.

"So, the Mi River changing its course again, could it be related to that mountain god?"

"That's right! Back then, the governor of Qingzhou personally waded through the mud to measure the silt, calculated the blockages, and devised a waterway route in order to save the livelihoods of the people along the river. He gathered hundreds of thousands of villagers and spent three years to finally divert the Mi River back from its diversion!"

"It's a pity that the governor passed away shortly after the Mi River was brought back. People say that the governor held on to his last breath because he wanted to see the Mi River flow back steadily with his own eyes!"

"Everyone is grateful for the governor's kindness. After the governor left, everyone revered him as the mountain god and called him Lord Pinglan!"

As she spoke, the woman looked around before pointing to the majestic mountain in front of her and said:

“Look, that mountain over there is now called Pinglan Mountain. It was renamed in honor of the governor. His temple is on that mountain.”

Pinglan Gong?
Calm, calm.
As she listened, a sudden thought flashed through Du Yuan's mind. Her gaze abruptly fell upon the crimson-red Mi Shui beside her, and she subconsciously reached for the small seal that was always tied to her waist.

An imperial edict to govern the world?!
With a deep thought in her mind, Du Yuan removed the small seal.

He remembered that the Han family had mentioned that the leopard was almost made the mountain god of Songyin Peak by that person.

Combined with all the things I've seen and heard before
This seal... it couldn't be...
A bold yet seemingly feasible idea instantly became clear in Du Yuan's mind.

But before that, we need to find out the details first.

Du Yuan snapped out of her thoughts and asked the woman:

"Then why do you say that Duke Pinglan was angry?"

The woman sighed sadly:

"Alas, because no one worships Pinglan Gong anymore. Not to mention repairing and maintaining the temple, we haven't even seen the temple keeper for many years."

As she spoke, the woman lowered her voice even more seriously:

"Think about it, the Mi River that has flowed back was brought back by Lord Pinglan with great effort. Now we've even let his temple fall into disrepair and ruin. How could he not be angry?"

That makes a lot of sense. In fact, the color of the Mi River corresponds to the blood of countless people who were drowned when the river changed its course.

But this should have nothing to do with Lord Pinglan.

Because Du Yuan could not discern any entanglement of fate between Pinglan Mountain and Mishui.

After hesitating for a moment, Du Yuan asked:
Do you know why no one worships Pinglan Gong anymore?

Logically speaking, after performing such meritorious deeds, the temple should not have fallen into such disrepair that no one has been able to repair it.

The woman explained helplessly, "It's because Duke Pinglan was an important minister of the previous dynasty. After Emperor Taizu founded the dynasty, although he did not explicitly prohibit the worship of ministers of the previous dynasty, the governors of each dynasty were quite wary of it. Over time, it has become what it is today."

That's right, Duke Pinglan is the governor of the prefecture, while Qingzhou only has a prefect.

After the woman finished speaking, she cautiously inquired:

"Look, isn't this how it is?"

Du Yuan shook her head, her tone firm:

"This was absolutely not the work of Lord Pinglan. He was the one who brought the Mi River back for the sake of the thousands of people along its banks, and he even died from overwork in doing so. How could such a hero harm the people he risked his life to protect for the sake of mere incense offerings?" "Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"

These words made the woman even more ashamed, and she repeatedly bowed towards Pinglan Mountain, chanting:

"Guilty! Guilty!"

After the woman left, Du Yuan, who had placed a Yin De Bao coin in her basket, began to consider the feasibility of her idea when she suddenly heard the armored soldiers behind her cautiously ask:
"Taoist Master, do you think there's any hope for us?"

Only then did Du Yuan remember that the ghosts of more than a dozen armored soldiers were still lingering behind her.

Turning around, I saw that the ghosts of the dozen or so armored soldiers were all bowing their heads in panic.

They also knew why they hadn't left with them.

After all, it was they who killed those dozen or so servants.

How could they so easily attain rebirth in the Pure Land like them?

Although they knew they were wrong, they also secretly hoped that Du Yuan could come to their rescue.

Seeing this, Du Yuan knew they understood the gravity of the situation.

So he asked with his hands behind his back and a smile:
"Do you know you are wrong?"

How could the soldiers not know their mistake?

Not only would they be poisoned and their souls captured, but they wouldn't even be able to be reborn in the Pure Land.

How can you still not realize that you've made a grave mistake at this point?

Therefore, they all knelt down and said:

"We know we were wrong!"

"But admitting your mistake isn't enough!"

After all, it cost someone their life.

The soldiers kowtowed repeatedly, saying:
"Please, Taoist priest, show me the way!"

Du Yuan nodded and said:
“It’s simple. Go to the official road south of the city, and you can find a teahouse there.”

“Ah, remember to go there at night and tell them that you were sent by a monk and that you should stay with him to help him.”

The soldiers asked in bewilderment:

"Master, what does this mean?"

Du Yuan laughed:

"You have ultimately taken the lives of others, so I want you to accumulate good deeds to atone for your sins. As for that teahouse, it serves guests during the day and feasts ghosts at night. It is dedicated to helping all kinds of lonely and wandering ghosts fulfill their worldly wishes."

"When that time comes, once you have accumulated enough good deeds, you can leave in peace!"

The soldiers were overjoyed upon hearing this and exclaimed:

"We understand now, thank you so much, Daoist Master, for showing us the way!"

"Well, let's go!"

Amidst the soldiers' great joy, Du Yuan watched them depart.

With this kind of support, things should be much better for the shop owners.

After chuckling softly, Du Yuan prepared to head towards Pinglan Mountain.

Just then, someone shouted from the roadside:
"The prince says he has a way to cure the Mi River!"

The surrounding people were all excited and exclaimed in amazement, but Du Yuan shook her head repeatedly.

Because he clearly saw that although King Anqing's destiny was becoming increasingly powerful with the support of the people's faith, he was also being gradually trapped and killed by the surging crimson energy on the Mi River. He feared that he would soon be dragged into the river and die.

“Those who are deeply sinful and end up on someone else’s plate are not worth saving.”

It's thundering and raining outside, so I'll only be updating twice for now. I'll resume extra updates tomorrow.

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(End of this chapter)