I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 204 The Beggar Resurrected, Master Guo Searches for Paper (+2)

The paper was still the same as before, but the two legs were not of equal length. Jiang She looked it over and figured that Li Xuan probably didn't mind now.

"It's still a day too late, but I'll help you out anyway."

Jiang She gently blew a breath, and the light piece of paper fell into the mountains and forests of Bozhou.

It was stuck to the body of the beggar who was unable to move.

……

A few breaths passed.

Li Xuan suddenly found that he could move again.

This beggar had been dead for who knows how many days; his meridians were long since blocked, his bones heavy, and he was practically a corpse. Fortunately, fate spared him; suddenly, his energy flowed again, sparing him a life and allowing him to linger on.

He sat up and looked at the familiar mountains and forests.

The birdsong was very pleasant to hear, and the cold mountain wind made my clothes, which were tattered, stand on end.

Li Xuan's chest trembled.

He burst into laughter.

"Hahaha... Hahaha... Heaven has finally spared me!"

"Spare my life!"

He leaned against the tree trunk, used it to support himself, stood up, looked around, picked up the only gourd beside the beggar, and put it away. This was the beggar's only possession.

Li Xuan got up and realized that he was walking with a limp.

One leg appears to be lame.

The grass and withered branches in the forest pricked the soles of his feet, and the beggar had no shoes.

Li Xuan stood there for a while, but he couldn't stand the dirt and smell on his body. He took a step forward, thinking back to the location of the mountain stream, and decided to wash his body and clothes.

He limped and had great difficulty walking.

He clung to trees and grabbed onto wild grass, tumbling and crawling, until he finally reached the stream.

The stream was clear, with several fish swimming in it. In the distance, the ground trembled slightly, indicating someone was approaching. The fish nimbly swam away.

The stream reflected Li Xuan's face.

He was startled by his own face: a thick, messy beard, bald, and dark-skinned.

Like a demon.

Li Xuan was frightened and washed up.

In the woods, a hunchbacked old local official witnessed this scene from afar, was horrified, and quickly went to report it to the City God.

……

……

Inside the City God Temple in Bozhou.

The City God was sitting in the temple, looking at the worshippers and the thief under the statue. Just as he raised his hand to point, he suddenly saw the old local earth god, hunchbacked and leaning on a bamboo cane, walk in.

The City God was surprised.

"Why aren't you staying in the village? What are you doing here?"

The old man hurriedly rode his magic path, sweating profusely, his beard trembling.

He bowed and said.

"There's an old beggar on the mountain. I watched him starve to death these past few days, he was completely dead. But for some reason, he suddenly came back to life just now!"

The City God was puzzled, and the civil and military judges beside him also came over to take a look.

Judge Wu stood with his hands behind his back, listening to what the old local earth god had to say.

"If he is not completely dead, and his breathing catches up temporarily, or if he eats some herbs from the mountain, he might come back to life."

Why make such a fuss?

He spoke bluntly, but the old man dared not refute him and remained silent for a while.

Whisper.

"That man died right before my eyes. He was well-known in the village. He was a lame man with a terrible life. He was disabled and ugly. His family abandoned him and dumped him here."

"He was neglected from birth, wandering around begging for a living, always speaking obsequiously and asking for blessings. Other families took pity on him and would throw him half a flatbread or a little leftover rice, just enough to eat."

The old man was telling stories about the beggar.

Most unfortunate people in the world have similar experiences; this lame beggar is just exceptionally unfortunate.

The old man finished speaking.

And then he said.

“A few days ago, that beggar stole someone’s leftovers and was chased away. He was hit hard with a stick several times and walked all the way here looking for some herbs to treat his wounds. He was badly injured and had been starving for several days, so he starved to death before he could find any.”

"He died five or six days ago, and his spirit has already dispersed."

"If this old man tells a single lie, the sparrows outside will peck his eyes out."

The old man, leaning on his bamboo cane, coughed and said:
"Wenpan can check the register to see if he has been dead for quite some time."

The martial judge, intrigued, pulled the civil judge along to investigate. The civil judge, already knowledgeable, retrieved a booklet he hadn't yet seen and began searching for recently deceased individuals. His gaze paused on one particular page.

The judge looked toward the city god.

"He has indeed passed away..."

The City God became curious.

The author asked with an air of authority, "Is it a demonic possession? Or has some kind of spirit appeared on your mountain?"

The old local didn't know either. He had just seen it and was very scared. He quickly reported it to the authorities and didn't dare to go forward to investigate carefully. Feeling guilty, he only bowed and greeted them.

The City God smiled upon seeing this.

"Alright, let's go take a look."

The old local earth god repeatedly expressed his gratitude, explaining that the City God only managed matters within the city limits. Matters of misfortune or good fortune in the wilderness and mountains were handled by the local earth gods, who would then report to the City God Temple at regular intervals.

Fortunately, this time it was successful...

Several incense burners departed.

As soon as they left, the thief in the City God Temple was suddenly tripped by a cold wind and fell to the ground, the hairpin he had stolen falling to the ground with a crisp sound.

The worshippers in the temple looked over and immediately recognized it.

"This is a thief!"

"He stole it last time too, he's a habitual thief!"

Everyone rolled up their sleeves and surrounded them.

……

……

In Zhongtiao Mountain.

Zhang Guolao suddenly woke up from his sleep. He looked outside but saw nothing unusual. There were no officials standing there. It was as if the emperor had sent someone to find him again.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Guolao rubbed his forehead, lay comfortably on the bed for a while, then took out the paper donkey from his bosom, intending to let the white donkey run around outside to relax.

Thinking this, Zhang Guolao took out the two paper-cuts from his pocket.

One of them is a piece of paper that Mr. Jiang turned into his white donkey.

The other one was a rough paper figure that Mr. Jiang cut out three years ago for a monk to live in. At that time, the monk's spirit returned to life, and the paper figure fell to the ground, which he picked up.

The donkey brayed twice, then came over familiarly, clinging to Zhang Guolao and chewing on his sleeve.

Eh?
Where did that paper figure go?
The donkey kept rubbing against Zhang Guolao, who casually stroked it and said, "Good donkey, good donkey..." and told it to go eat grass by itself.

He gave the donkey a few perfunctory words.

Zhang Guolao continued searching for his paper-cuts, feeling every layer of his clothes.

Where did it go?
Very strange.

Unable to find any paper-cuttings made by Mr. Jiang himself, Zhang Guolao thought back carefully and even began to doubt.

Could it have been swept away by the wind?

Or perhaps it was overlooked somewhere due to carelessness?
With doubts in his heart, Zhang Guolao raised his hand and began to calculate.

Weird.

It was all so vague and unclear that I couldn't figure it out.

Zhang Guolao thought about it more and more and more. Similar things that couldn't be predicted had happened several times before, and they all happened to someone surnamed Jiang.

Could it be that Mr. Jiang has done something he doesn't know about?

Zhang Guolao was immediately filled with curiosity and decided to join in the fun.

He raised his hand and summoned the donkey.

"Stop eating and come with me to Yanzhou."

In no time, he arrived in Yanzhou. Following the directions of the neighbors in the alley, he estimated the route and, sure enough, found Mr. Jiang's trail on the riverbank.

Zhang Guolao raised his hand and exchanged a good ginseng with someone.

After receiving the money, he didn't bother to count it. He handed it to the shopkeeper, who was so pleased that the shopkeeper's face was full of wrinkles. He kept praising the donkey and its magnificent appearance all the way.

Zhang Guolao boarded the large ship and sailed onward.

At the end.

A man, not cooped up in the cabin, was dressed in a blue robe and reading by the sunlight. His cat lay asleep in his lap, looking quite content.

He suddenly stopped in a hurry and slowly walked over.

Jiang She looked up.

Zhang Guolao raised his hand in greeting, laughed heartily, and asked, "Sir, how have you been?"

【Ask for monthly ticket】

(End of this chapter)