Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

Xia'an City, together with Chunhua, Qiuming, and Dongjing, guards the four sides of Yongningzhou's main city.

The Great Zhou Dynasty built Xia'an City at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain to guard against the hordes of monsters that would rise from the mountain. Over time, the people of the city developed a martial spirit, and the residents were generally courageous.

However, three hundred years ago, the Zhongshan Black Serpent, in order to quell the severe drought in Yongning, was granted the title of Zhongshan Serpent God by imperial decree of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The people of Xia'an began to worship the snake god, a practice that continued for hundreds of years.

But now, the situation has suddenly changed.

"Sir, sir... I really don't have a snake god statue here..."

In the old commercial street of Xia'an East City, a group of monks were searching house to house.

Dressed in uniform and exuding an air of authority, they declared: "The Zhongshan Black Serpent has fallen into depravity. If you offer it sacrifices now, hundreds more soldiers may die when the demonic beasts attack Xia'an City in the future."

"Huh?" The shop owner's face was filled with disbelief upon hearing this. "That can't be... Your Excellency, how could the Snake God have fallen into evil ways?"

"Don't call us officials. We are disciples of the Crimson Immortal Sect of the Four Immortal Schools. We are here by order of the Immortal School to manage Xia'an City together with the City Lord's Mansion."

"Call us..."

"Master Daoist, Master Daoist!" the shop owner said with a fawning smile. "My shop is just a small business, there's not much space to hide anything."

After saying this, the shopkeeper stepped forward and secretly handed over a silver note from his sleeve: "I still have business to do, gentlemen..."

"Remember what I said: possessing an image of an evil god is punishable by exile. Privately worshipping an evil god is punishable by immediate execution." The cultivator accepted the silver note and walked to the next house.

At the end of the day, the cultivators of the Crimson Immortal Sect returned home laden with spoils.

"They're finally gone..." Many merchants on the old commercial street gritted their teeth, calculating their gains and losses for the day.

After a thorough search, they lost everything.

The bosses looked grim: "These scumbags, it's probably them who have fallen into depravity!"

*

*

*

"Boss, all the business we did today has benefited those people from the Crimson Immortal Sect!" At the Wen family's old residence, the managers of Wenshu Mountain and Sea Pavilion's many branches gathered to complain to Wenshu Yan.

"Alright, alright, we have to endure it no matter how tough it is."

Wen Shuyan lay on a chair made of rosewood and took a sip of the fine pre-rain Longjing tea: "Only after the Chixian Sect and the City Lord's Mansion have finished their battle can we have peace of mind."

"When will this fighting ever end?" the shopkeepers asked with long faces.

If the shop loses money, his dividends will also decrease. Besides, even if the Wen family's old shop is large and powerful, it can't withstand daily losses...

"Stop making that long face. What's the use of looking so miserable? You're still just being squeezed dry."

Wen Shuyan tapped his teacup on the table and ordered, "Close all the branch stores and send all the staff out of the city to do business with people in the countryside outside the city."

"We haven't worshipped the snake god for two years, and now that we're out doing business..."

"If I dare to go, why can't you?" Wen Shuyan slammed his hand on the table. "If we're locked up in the city, we're all doomed!"

"Besides, I went to the new village at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain! There was no sign of it being attacked by monsters, and not a single person in the village, regardless of age or gender, was afraid of Zhongshan Mountain!"

"What are you afraid of?"

"This..." The branch managers exchanged glances.

After a long while, they chose to believe the document and stood up one after another: "We will discuss and organize people to go out of the city to trade."

The document indicated that his anger had subsided slightly.

The group then changed the subject and began discussing how to leave the city to trade.

As darkness fell and the branch managers left, they agreed to discuss the matter in detail after closing the store the next day.

Wen Shuyan took a sip of the tea, which had been changed several times, to moisten his throat, which was already parched.

The butler suddenly entered and said softly, "Master, the old master has woken up and wants to see you."

"Really awake?" Wen Shuyan asked in surprise.

Seeing the butler nod affirmatively, he immediately got up and ran to the backyard.

The Wen family's old residence occupies a large area; it takes a full ten minutes to walk from the front courtyard meeting hall to the back courtyard wing rooms.

Shu Yan approached her father's room and knocked on the door. She heard a weak "Shu Yan" respond.

The chubby businessman's eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Father, you're awake? Are you feeling well?" Wen Shuyan wiped his eyes outside the door and pushed it open to enter.

Only the old patriarch of the Wen family, Wen Bin, was in the room.

Upon seeing this, Wen Shuyan immediately peeked out, and after confirming that no one was around, closed the door and sat down next to his father.

"Father, you..."

"I'm asking you, where did that ginseng you gave me come from?" Wenbin asked in a low voice.

"New Village," Wen Shuyan answered truthfully. "When I went to ask for the ancient book back then, the village chief refused, and in the end, I used that precious ginseng to pay off the debt."

"Did they dig it up from the mountain?" Wenbin asked again.

"It shouldn't be," Wen Shuyan recalled the past, "Back then, I was even willing to tear down the village chief's and Yang Er's houses to pay off the debt..."

"You demolished it!?"

"No, no... Suddenly a wad of cloth was thrown at me, followed by a ball of dirt, which contained the ginseng you were given."

"It looks like a great thing to replenish qi and blood, but when I asked the village chief to name a price, he only offered to pay for the 'pregnancy pills'..."

Faced with his father's sudden glare, Wen Shuyan waved his hands repeatedly: "But I didn't take advantage of them. Five days later, I sent a lot of wound medicine, rice, flour, oil, and salt to the new village. The wound medicine was the best new medicine!"

"Thank goodness... thank goodness..." Wenbin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Father, why are you asking this?" Wen Shuyan asked in a low voice.

Wenbin did not reply immediately. Instead, he got up and carefully pressed his face against the doors and windows to feel them.

After confirming that no one was around, he turned around, found paper and pen, and began writing in tiny characters with great effort, while beckoning Wen Shuyan to sit next to him and whispering:

"This matter must not be made public, son. You only need to remember that I was able to wake up entirely thanks to the help of a deity in my dream."

"God—" Wen Shuyan exclaimed in surprise, then immediately realized what he meant and lowered his voice to a whisper, "The new village is at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain, but...?"

Wenbin put down his pen and nodded in affirmation.

"This—" Wen Shuyan was speechless.

He did not believe that the Zhongshan Snake God had fallen into depravity.

However, over the past two years, the rumors have intensified, with countless people in the city speaking with certainty, yet the city lord's mansion has never come forward to refute them.

Even if it hadn't fallen into evil, the serpent god must have encountered a serious problem, at least for their human race.

But now, that god can actually send himself to you in a dream, and...

"Choose several villages as cover, don't head straight there. Once you enter a new village, find the village chief and have him take you into the mountains."

Wenbin wrote down the information he received in his dream and handed it to Shuwenyan: "I am old and my eyesight is failing. You should decide for yourself which guards and helpers to take on this mission."

"With the decline of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the immortal sects and aristocratic families have begun vying for power and connections. The safest way for our Wen family to ensure the continued transmission of the Wenshu Shanhai Pavilion's plaque is this..."

"After entering the mountains, do as I write, and find the god written on the note." Wenbin wrote the last word with his hand on Wen Shuyan's chest.

"Understood, Father. I'll arrange it immediately."

Wen Shuyan glanced at the note quickly.

At the very top, the old man had written four characters in an extremely neat and upright manner.

"The candle of Zhongshan burns red."