Gods of the Nation: You worship the God of Longevity, I worship the King of Hell!

Chapter 129 (Please read on!) I want to worship the Kitchen God!!!
This is further linked to the deep bond between spiritual beings and deities.

Lu Chen vaguely sensed something unusual.

However, the clues were tangled and incomplete, and no concrete clues could be found for the time being.

"General, what are you thinking about?"

Lu Chen snapped out of his reverie and shook his head: "It's nothing, I'm just curious because it's the first time I've heard of this history."

He paused, then continued, "Just now, when the True Lord saw my surprise, he also showed a look of astonishment. I was wondering, the True Lord's reputation is so great, who doesn't know him? Now that I think about it, I was the one who jumped into the 'trap of knowledge' first."

"The trap of knowledge? What does that mean?" Xie and Fan looked at each other in bewilderment.

Lu Chen was taken aback, realizing he had said too much, and quickly waved his hand and laughed, "It's nothing, just something I said casually. Never mind, let's not think about it for now. Let me think about it some more and see if there are any other ways to solve the case."

He sat back down on the sofa and fell into deep thought.

Since the path of the Fourth Duty Officer is no longer viable, it seems that only three paths remain:
One hope is that Li Chenghuang will make a breakthrough and find clues as soon as possible;
Secondly, he organized the known information himself and handed it over to Yu Feng, so that he could search for suspects in the vast sea of ​​people.

Third, we should see if there are other deities with similar functions who can monitor the human world and understand worldly affairs that we can worship.

"But to observe the myriad aspects of human nature, one must have a thorough understanding of mundane affairs..."

Lu Chen frowned: "It really does seem to be one of the Four Duty Officers. Unless... we need a great deity to unleash their divine power!"

Just when he was racking his brains to no avail and his thoughts were lost in a fog—

and many more! !
—A household spirit?!

—A household spirit that monitors the people?!

boom! ! !
Deep within my mind, it was as if a thunderclap had exploded!
Lu Chen's eyes widened suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, and he sprang up from the sofa as if he had been electrocuted!
"Oh my god! How could I forget about him!"

Lu Chen slapped his forehead hard, making a crisp sound.

"General, what's wrong?! Who are you thinking of?"

Xie and Fan were startled by his sudden action and asked in unison.

The gloom on Lu Chen's face vanished, as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through, bringing a sense of clarity!
"The Kitchen God of the East—Destiny—Determines—Blessing—The—Kitchen God!"

"The Eastern Kitchen Master of Fate? Who... is that?"

"You didn't know that?" Lu Chen chuckled in surprise, "The Kitchen God!"

The two women still looked bewildered.

However, after her initial confusion, Fan Rusong suddenly widened her beautiful eyes: "The Kitchen God? I remember now! My father seemed to have mentioned him to me, saying that he, like the True Lord, was once a household deity, and was said to live by the stove, in charge of the food in the human world!"

Lu Chen explained with a smile, "It's not just about providing food. It also ensures the peace of each family and records their merits and demerits. Every year, like the Four Duty Officers, it records the situation of each family in a book and reports it directly to the Jade Emperor."

"He also has this kind of divine office? Doesn't that mean...!?"

Xie and Fan immediately understood and their faces lit up with joy.

“That’s right! Since I can’t worship the Four Duty Officers, I’ll just worship the Kitchen God! There might still be a chance for this to turn around!”

A flame instantly ignited in Lu Chen's heart.

Actually, there's something else he'd rather not reveal.

Unlike the four Heavenly Officials, who were arrogant and unyielding, he was different.

The Kitchen God can be bribed with "benefits".

After all, this is a "mortal god" who resides in the human world.

According to folklore, the Kitchen God has a "bad habit" of tattling.

So, in order to get Him to speak well of Him and complain less before the Jade Emperor.

They would often use sesame candy to cover His mouth as a sign of filial piety, hoping that He would downplay the seriousness of His report.

And you know what? This trick actually works.

Later, the Kitchen God repeatedly spoke well of humankind, which aroused the Jade Emperor's suspicion, so he sent General Tiger Might to inspect the mortal realm.

General Huwei discovered discrepancies in the facts, so he marked the walls of those houses, intending to report to the Jade Emperor before imposing any punishments.

Upon learning of this, the Kitchen God hurriedly instructed the households whose houses had been marked to erase the marks immediately.

This is the origin of the folk custom of "sweeping away dust".

Of course, all of the above are just legends.

However, this shows that the Kitchen God is still very humane, which is why the people love and respect him.

"We need to quickly find out if there's a statue of the Kitchen God in Jiangdu City!"

The torment of making the image.

Lu Chen still hoped to find something ready-made.

He immediately took out his phone and dialed Sun Yourong's number.

After two beeps, the call was connected.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Sister Sun, does your Sun family temple have a statue of the Kitchen God?"

"Who?"

"The Kitchen God of the East is the God of Destiny and Fortune."

Judging from the other person's tone, Lu Chen was clearly not familiar with them.

Sun Family Villa, south of the city.

Sun Yourong held the phone, her brows furrowing slightly: "The Kitchen God of Destiny and Fortune? Who is this deity?"

She looked at Sun Dechang, who was peeling an orange, and asked, "Grandpa, have you heard of this?"

Sun Dechang swallowed a segment of orange and shook his head: "I don't remember."

“Never heard of it,” Sun Yourong repeated.

"Wait!" Sun Dechang suddenly stopped what he was doing, raised his hand and said, "You mean... the Kitchen God? Is that Xiao Chen on the other end of the phone?"

"Ok!"

"Ask him if he's the Kitchen God?"

“That’s right, it’s Him! You know Him too!?” Sun Yourong nodded quickly.

"Oh dear, you child, I told you to study more but you wouldn't listen. Now you know the saying, 'You only realize how little you know when you need it,' right?"

Sun Dechang chuckled and said, "You may not know about the Kitchen God, but I do! This deity is no ordinary person!"
Legend has it that back then, every household worshipped Him, and His incense offerings were probably even more abundant than those of the God of Wealth!
If it weren't for the later imperial court's ban on privately inviting deities, it would have gradually faded into obscurity due to the prevailing trend.

Otherwise, who in this world doesn't know about the Kitchen God?!

"I see... So which temple in Jiangdu City worships the Kitchen God? Our family certainly doesn't."

"Yes, our family mainly worships war gods. The Kitchen God belongs to the civil service category, so the Zhao family or the Wu family in the east of the city might have one—their temples mainly feature civil service gods."

As he spoke, Sun Dechang took out his phone: "Tell Xiao Chen to wait a moment, I'll call and ask."

"Okay! Wait a moment, Lu Chen."

"Beep...beep..." Two beeps, and the call was connected.

"Old Wu, what are you busy with? I want to ask you something. Does your Wu family temple worship the Kitchen God?"

"It's not that I want to offer it, it's that kid Lu Chen—your son went to the City Lord's Mansion for a meeting yesterday, he must have seen him." "Yes, yes, he's my Rongrong's good friend, they're really close, hahaha..."

Sun Yourong, standing to the side, blushed crimson, the blush spreading all the way down her neck: "Grandpa~!"

Sun Dechang made a "shh" gesture, signaling her to be quiet.

"You said you have some? Okay! Got it! Thanks! Have dinner sometime!"

After hanging up the phone, Sun Dechang laughed and said, "Yes, the Wu family has them."

Sun Yourong nodded and said into the phone, "Did you hear that? Wu Clan Temple in the east of the city."

On the other end of the phone.

Lu Chen nodded: "Okay, Sister Sun, please thank Grandpa Sun for me!"

After hanging up the phone, Lu Chen instructed, "You two go back first. I'll call you if I need anything."

"Yes, General!" The two women turned into wisps of green smoke and returned to the underworld.

Lu Chen didn't waste any more time, rushed out the door, and headed straight for the Wu family in the east of the city.

"Mr. Lu, are you going home?" Zeng Rou, who had just returned from outside the office, couldn't help but ask when she saw him in such a hurry.

"Yes, I'm going out to run some errands and then heading home. I'm leaving things here to you. Keep an eye on you!"

Lu Chen threw down a sentence and rushed downstairs.

"You have high hopes for me?" Zeng Rou was taken aback, then chuckled, "Thank you for your appreciation, Mr. Lu!"

……

Meanwhile, inside the Sun family villa.

After hanging up the phone, Sun Yourong was visibly restless. She suddenly stood up and said, "Grandpa, I'm going out for a bit."

"Go find Xiao Chen?"

"Hmm...yes, I want to see what he's up to this time."

Upon hearing that Lu Chen was going to worship an obscure deity again, Sun Yourong couldn't suppress her curiosity.

What task did Yu Feng assign him?
“Okay, then I’ll go with you.” Sun Dechang said, standing up as well.

"You're going too?"

"What, you're not welcome? Afraid that Grandpa will keep you two in the way?"

"Grandpa! What are you saying..." Sun Yourong's cheeks flushed again.

Sun Dechang laughed heartily: "Since Xiao Chen is too busy to come, I'll go myself! He's my savior, how can I not see him? Grandpa will go with you."

Hearing him say that, Sun Yourong couldn't refuse any longer: "Okay, let's go then."

……

Jiangdu, inside Chenghuang Street.

At this moment, to Lu Chen's surprise, his every move was being projected onto the screen by the City God Seal.

The hall was empty.

Li Chenghuang stood with his hands behind his back, his imposing presence as deep as an abyss and as majestic as a mountain.

A vast and powerful divine consciousness was released.

He had complete control over the movements of the entire city.

Suddenly, two black lights flashed, and the Day and Night Wanderers, who had been away on official business and had been summoned back, were kneeling in the hall.

"grown ups!"

Li Chenghuang seemed not to hear, and simply raised his hand and waved it lightly.

A portrait floated before the Day and Night Wanderer, with an address attached below.

"Go to this place at midnight tonight and bring this person back."

When the day and night wandering god took the portrait, he saw a middle-aged man with a pointed mouth, monkey cheeks, and a goatee, who was immediately repulsive.

"My lord, may I ask what crime this man has committed? Is he related to the recent series of dismemberment murders in Jiangdu City?" Night Wanderer asked instinctively.

"Oh? Who told you?" Li Chenghuang's voice was slightly cold. "Third Sister?"

The day and night wandering god trembled and said in a trembling voice, "Yes!"

The air inside the hall suddenly seemed to freeze, then dissipated just as quickly.

"Very well, since He has brought it up, I will save myself the trouble of saying more."

Li Chenghuang slowly turned around.

"My lord! You...!!"

However, upon seeing the day and night patrol gods directly in front of Li Chenghuang, he was immediately terrified and his face changed drastically.

At this moment, Li Chenghuang looked as if he had aged hundreds of years, his face full of wrinkles like a withered corpse, and he no longer had any of his former heroic appearance.
"My lord, could it be that you used the City God's secret techniques to find this fellow?" The Day Wanderer looked at the portrait and suddenly realized.

The City God protects the people of the city. If a case like this, which is difficult to investigate, is encountered, the City God can use his secret arts to travel through time and space and go back to the day the case occurred.

However, this technique consumes a great deal of divine power. Each use reduces one's lifespan by several years and causes one's appearance to age prematurely, requiring several days to recover.

"For the safety of the people of this city, what is it to me if I expend my divine power and shorten my lifespan? You all must quickly muster the troops and make sure this matter is accomplished!"

"Yes, sir!!"

The day and night wandering spirits were moved and responded, then hastily took their leave.

The outer corridor of the palace.

Hu Sanniang watched as two streaks of black light streaked towards the horizon, her expression solemn.

Suddenly a gentle breeze stirred behind her, and her expression changed drastically.

Li Chenghuang's voice drifted over: "From now on, do whatever I command. Do not add anything unnecessary or act on your own initiative!"

"My lord, please calm down! Third Sister knows she was wrong!" Hu Sanniang hurriedly knelt down, trembling all over.

"If this happens again, we will punish them severely."

Li Chenghuang snorted coldly, and his figure flashed back into the hall.

Hu Sanniang repeatedly agreed, and only dared to get up after kneeling for a long time. She wiped her forehead and found that it was already covered in cold sweat.

……

At the entrance of the Wu Family Temple in the east of the city.

Lu Chen parked his car and strode toward the temple gate, only to unexpectedly see Sun Yourong already peering out from the entrance.

Standing beside her was an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face, whose features bore a striking resemblance to hers.

"Lu Chen!" Sun Yourong spotted him and quickly waved.

Lu Chen jogged forward: "Sister Sun, this must be Grandpa Sun, right?"

Sun Dechang looked Lu Chen up and down, his eyes gleaming: "Good lad, indeed a handsome young man!"

(End of this chapter)