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

Chapter 126 Conferring the Title of Mountain God (3k)

After saying that, Du Yuan walked straight out.

The young swordsmen inside the room looked at each other, all somewhat at a loss.

Finally, the person who started it all muttered:

"Let's go! There are so many of us, all of us have practiced martial arts since childhood, and our bodies are full of yang energy. How could we be afraid of these?"

With someone taking the lead, the rest naturally follow suit:

"Yes, let's see if he's really capable or just faking it!"

They all got up and followed.

However, the jade pendant that Du Yuan had left on the table, which remained unclaimed for a long time, was still left alone in its original place.

Whether they had all forgotten or were simply too afraid to notice, it's unclear.

It seems the latter is more likely.

Seeing that everyone had left, the homeowner wanted to hide in the inner room, but when he caught sight of the bright white jade pendant on the table, he muttered to himself.

After much deliberation, he jogged after him.

It's good to have many people! It's so good to have many people!

A large group of people can embolden you, and a large group of people can keep things from becoming chaotic.

As soon as everyone stepped out of the house, they followed closely behind Du Yuan.

Several heroes wanted to question them, but as their gazes swept over the increasingly gloomy, twilight-shrouded mountains and fields, they immediately fell silent and involuntarily moved closer together.

The later homeowner hurriedly squeezed in among them, his voice strained:
"Please slow down, everyone! This is our village. If you have any questions, just ask me."

As they were talking, Du Yuan, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped.

"Why did it stop?" someone blurted out.

Du Yuan turned around, her voice calm:
"because--"

He stepped aside.

"Here is the place."

As dusk fell, a small shrine came into view.

The shrine was clearly very old; not only had the red cloth covering it rotted and fallen to the ground, but the drooping weeds had almost completely swallowed up the entire shrine.

Upon seeing the shrine, the heroes were quite puzzled.

The homeowner exclaimed in surprise:

"This is the ancestral hall of Lord Zhang."

"Master Zhang?" a chivalrous man asked curiously.

The homeowner composed himself and explained:
"This old man was once a prominent figure in our village. Unfortunately, his only son died young, ending his family line."

"Then why build a shrine for him?"

“Alas,” the homeowner sighed, “In his later years, the imperial court wanted to rebuild the official road. The original route bypassed our village by a great distance.”

"The old man thought it wouldn't work, so he ran around trying to make arrangements. In the end, he even spent all his family fortune to make up for the extra cost of the detour! Only then was the official road allowed to pass by our village."

"So after the old man passed away, the villagers, grateful for his kindness, built this shrine in his honor and buried him beside the official road. However, all of this happened in the first year of the Jing era."

His voice lowered, carrying a hint of desolation:

“The last few elderly people in the village who remembered him have also passed away. Now, only during festivals do villagers come to weed and burn incense.”

Upon hearing this, all the heroes were astonished:
"Jingyuan year? Wasn't that during the time of our ancestor?"

Jingyuan was the reign title of the founding emperor of this dynasty, which means it has been nearly a hundred years since then.

“That’s right, it’s all ancient history from the time of the founding emperor.” The homeowner nodded in agreement.

Having received confirmation, the heroes first glanced at the overgrown shrine with suspicion, then suddenly turned to Du Yuan and asked:

"What exactly do you want to say by leading us here?!"

A subtle, enigmatic smile appeared on Du Yuan's lips:

"Don't you understand yet?"

"Understand what?!" Everyone's hearts tightened.

Du Yuan raised her hand and pointed to the dark path they had come from:

"The old man who gave you directions on the way here—that's Mr. Zhang!"

His gaze swept over the faces of the crowd, which had suddenly lost their blood, and he paused slightly before speaking:
"That is, what you call the guiding evil spirit!"

With each word Du Yuan uttered, the faces of the crowd paled further.

They never mentioned that they found this place thanks to an old man who gave them directions!
Then, considering that this person had just revealed Baoyu's origins at a glance.
All these factors combined, and a chill ran from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head—the creature I had just brushed past was actually a ghost!

"Then, then, that old man is a ghost?"

The chivalrous man who bought the precious jade was speechless.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, Du Yuan denied it:
"Hey, what ghosts and monsters? This is a legitimate local deity!"

Amidst gasps of astonishment from the crowd, Du Yuan chuckled and pointed to the desolate shrine.

The faint blue aura transformed from the yin virtue coins he lit in front of the old man's grave was now gathering wisps of energy into the statues inside the shrine.

No wonder the old man, despite his good deeds, did not know what the "treasure money of hidden virtue" was.

It turns out that his merits had long been used by heaven and earth to create this golden statue!
Unfortunately.
Du Yuan looked at the dilapidated shrine and shook her head helplessly:

“Mr. Zhang was a kind-hearted man, and repairing the road was a great act of merit. In addition, you built a shrine to worship him, and Heaven and Earth were moved and blessed this merit on this clay sculpture.”

"He should have naturally ascended to the position of Earth Deity, but alas—" He changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, "Your incense offerings have been extinguished for too long! As a result, the old gentleman cannot ascend to the position of deity, nor can he retreat into the cycle of reincarnation, and can only be trapped by the roadside, becoming a wandering soul that guides the way!"

The homeowner was stunned, as if struck by lightning: "Such a thing could happen?!"

Du Yuan nodded, her tone resolute:
"Of course. Otherwise, haven't you often heard passersby mention these past few days that they were led here by a kind-hearted old man?"

The homeowner was instantly stunned.

Almost everyone has said it!

But he didn't take any of them seriously!

Even now, when Du Yuan mentions it, he vaguely recalls seeing a kind old man by the roadside.

Seeing that the homeowner had understood, Du Yuan turned back to look at the desolate shrine. After a moment's thought, he took out the small seal.

As soon as the small seal was raised, the one in the temple stopped and looked towards the southwest.

"What, what are you trying to do?"

The homeowner seemed a little confused, so Du Yuan smiled and said:

"I want to bestow a divine title upon Lord Zhang!"

"Fengzheng?!"

A chorus of exclamations erupted! Not only the homeowner, but even the chivalrous figures were horrified.

The commotion startled the neighbors, who all opened their doors to investigate. They saw a large crowd gathered around the shrine, with more than a dozen villagers coming to see what was happening.

Muramasa pushed through the crowd and grabbed the homeowner: "What happened?!"

The homeowner, not daring to be negligent, addressed the village head:

"Village chief, this gentleman says he wants to bestow a divine title upon Elder Zhang!"

"what?!"

Muramasa wanted to scold him for his nonsense, but when he saw Du Yuan, he felt that the two words just wouldn't come out of his throat.

After hesitating for a long time, I could only manage to utter:
"Sir, are you telling the truth?"

Du Yuan laughed:

"Whether it's true or not, we'll find out soon enough."

After saying that, Du Yuan glanced at the small hill beside her and asked:

"I wonder if this mountain has a name?"

Muramasa immediately said:

I don’t know if it’s on the county’s catalog, but everyone in the village calls it Little Zhangshan.

Du Yuan nodded, then spoke towards the shrine:

"Imperial decree!"
Zhang Shoulu, a benevolent soul, guarded the road, protected the people, and cherished his homeland; his merits are worthy of remembrance!

I hereby appoint you as the 'Lord God of Xiaozhang Mountain'!
By controlling this land, we can protect the village and ensure its safety, and enjoy the blessings of the earth's veins!
"Quickly return to the village shrine and manifest your divine power!"

Upon hearing this, the old man, who was still happily watching the sunset by the official road, suddenly felt an invisible force pulling him away from behind.

"What's going on here?!"

He had barely uttered those words when the old man was astonished to find himself off the main road, and then returned to Zhangjia Village, a place he had never been able to reach before.

"My God! It's really happening!"

"Is that Lord Zhang?"

"No mistake! It's that old man who was giving directions by the roadside!"

Amidst the villagers' gasps of surprise, someone else exclaimed:

"Look at that gentleman! How come words have appeared out of thin air?"

Everyone hurriedly looked at Du Yuan in front of them.

Sure enough, the imperial edict that matched Du Yuan's words appeared out of thin air.

"Good heavens, what kind of supernatural power or magic is this?"

"I've heard that the emperor issues edicts when appointing officials. So, the investiture of gods should also require an edict, right?"

"So, is this some kind of decree conferring titles upon the gods?!"

"Heavens, an imperial edict?"

The villagers were utterly shocked.

And then the white jade bodhi in the distant temple fell back onto the altar.

The last character of the imperial edict was also completed.

Seeing this, Du Yuan first bowed towards Qingzhou to express her gratitude, then held up the small seal and asked the still bewildered old man:

"Mr. Zhang, would you be willing to accept the position of Mountain God of Xiao Zhang Mountain?"

The old man shuddered, as if waking from a dream, and hurriedly bowed deeply, his voice trembling with excitement:

"Yes, yes, this old man is willing!"

Du Yuan did not rush to place the small seal, but instead warned:
"Mountain God, Mountain God, protecting the mountains and the people is not a job for pleasure. It is a heavy responsibility. Are you sure you've thought this through?"

After a moment's hesitation, the old man bowed again and said:

"I've thought it through! I'm willing!"

"good!"

Du Yuan nodded and said no more.

The small seal in his hand rose into the air and landed steadily towards the floating golden imperial edict!
"Edict!"

The imperial edict has been issued and the seal has been sealed!

At this point, everyone was astonished to see the old man's figure suddenly rise higher.

Not only is it dazzling and shimmering with hidden golden light, but it is also a full ten feet tall!
Seeing this, Du Yuan immediately addressed the surrounding villagers:

"Gentlemen, now Elder Zhang is the mountain god of Little Zhang Mountain. In the future, we ask that you all work together with Elder Zhang to ensure the peace and well-being of this area!"

Upon hearing this, many villagers immediately knelt down and bowed in worship:

"Thank you for your guidance, Immortal!"

Amidst a chorus of thanks, Du Yuan, having carefully put away the small seal, approached the group of astonished young swordsmen and warned them:
“Even if you have come for fame, you still want to do a good deed, which is a good thing. However, you have been blinded by fame and fortune, so that you cannot see clearly who is the evil spirit and who is the good.”

"This is not your fault; after all, youth and vigor are bound to lead to recklessness. But things will be different in the future, as the world will only become more turbulent. Therefore, I must give you all one piece of advice—observe more, think more, and be more mindful!"

Finally, Du Yuan smiled and said:

"After you all return, please remember to teach that grave robber a lesson. Make sure he restores the damaged tomb to its original place, or he will regret it too late!"

Many heroes quickly bowed and agreed.

My heart was filled with awe and excitement; I had actually met an immortal today!

(End of this chapter)