Bearing the blue sky

Yu Xiucai's eyes were lifeless; he was in a state of utter daze.

Although he was wearing a straw hat, he was only wearing it mechanically, and his body and head were actually completely soaked.

His basket was filled with all sorts of colorful mushrooms.

There are all sorts of mushrooms, including Boletus edulis, Laminaria japonica, Dried mushrooms, Termitomyces albuminosus, and many more!

Moreover, Zhu Ge, who possessed the original owner's memories, discovered at a glance that none of these mushrooms were poisonous; they were all safe to eat once cooked.

It can only be said that people in Yunnan really love eating mushrooms.

Even in his zombie-like state, Yu Xiucai instinctively and mechanically picked mushrooms, managing to pick out the edible ones.

Moreover, Zhu Ge instinctively started salivating when he saw these fungi.

Indeed, mushrooms are a delicacy that is ingrained in the genes of the people of Yunnan.

"We're picking mushrooms today, for the Mushroom Festival," Yu Xiucai replied blankly.

"That's true." Zhu Ge nodded, then tentatively asked, "My family has also picked a lot of mushrooms. You must come to my table and try some."

The phrase "singing a blessing song" is a very normal invitation exchanged among villagers.

He wanted to use some experiments to prove whether Yu Xiucai could be used when he was not in a conscious state.

If possible, the method by which Yu Xiucai sacrifices his lifespan to activate the "Confucian" character can then be used in crucial situations.

"Alright." Yu Xiucai nodded stiffly, then added reactively, "There are gods in the village. You should hurry home, close the doors and windows, and not let the moonlight in."

Seeing that Yu Xiucai had responded, Zhu Ge continued, "Have you ever heard the Master mention Mr. Insect?"

"Never heard of it," Yu Xiucai replied.

Seeing that Scholar Yu could indeed answer the questions, Zhu Ge was satisfied.

It would be such a waste of Yu Xiucai's lifespan to have to summon him into a conscious state for every problem.

"I think I've discovered traces of God, perhaps we should talk about it..." Zhu Ge coaxed gently.

"You...discovered traces of God?" Upon hearing this, Yu Xiucai mechanically raised his head, meeting Zhu Ge's gaze with a rigid expression.

"Yes, it might be the Tiger God." Zhu Ge nodded slowly.

Upon hearing this, Scholar Yu lowered his head: "If you've discovered it, then you've discovered it. Don't make any moves."

Such a small reaction?

Zhu Ge was almost certain that the Tiger God was definitely a fake.

But he wouldn't say it out loud; instead, he would continue to try to get information out of her.

"By the way, let's hold a long street feast on the day of the mushroom festival, to gather everyone together, to guard against the Tiger God's sneak attack, and also to stir-fry some mushrooms to eat and shake off the recent bad luck," Zhu Ge suggested.

This was also the idea that had been agreed upon with the clear-headed scholar Yu.

The mushroom festival brings everyone together in a place where even if the village is overrun, it won't be affected.

Then ignite and detonate the entire village.

They didn't even need to burn down the entire village; simply forcing the god out would be enough to succeed.

After all, he was only a god of a certain realm, and Yu Xiucai was able to fight against him with the "Confucian" character left behind by his teacher.

To everyone's surprise, Scholar Yu shook his head.

"No way?" Zhu Ge was taken aback, then raised an eyebrow.

Should we not hold a long street banquet? Or should we not gather everyone together to guard against the Tiger God? Or should we not stir-fry mushrooms? Or should we not ward off bad luck?

"No," Yu Xiucai replied stiffly, "The mushrooms must be cooked at home."

Zhu Ge breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

So that's why it didn't work.

Indeed, the mushrooms at the mushroom festival are all cooked at home.

"Furthermore, I suggest we train the villagers. We need to be able to protect ourselves at least until the master returns," Zhu Ge continued.

"Whether it's training in martial arts or Confucianism and Taoism, what do you think?"

"Hmm, that makes sense," Yu Xiucai replied blankly.

Seeing this, Zhu Ge breathed a sigh of relief.

This way he can create more opportunities.

Scholar Yu took the lead in gathering everyone together, and Zhu Ge was able to spread gunpowder everywhere.

However, the timing must be right; it cannot be on a rainy day.

Fortunately, the original owner, who had lived in the mountains for a long time, was extremely sensitive to the weather, which caused Zhu Ge to inherit this instinct as well, knowing that the weather would indeed clear up the day after tomorrow.

The spring rain here is different from the summer rain.

Spring rain is light and continuous, while summer rain is sudden and heavy.

The rain will stop tonight, and then we just need to start the fire the day after tomorrow.

"By the way, have you noticed anything strange lately?" Zhu Ge continued to probe.

He didn't even understand the principle of "not recognizing the true face of Mount Lu".

His findings on Yu Xiucai in his conscious state were limited; perhaps Yu Xiucai in his controlled state had more information?

"I've noticed that those who used to do manual labor aren't farming anymore, those shovel-carrying men," Yu Xiucai instinctively replied, "They have a lot of strength, but they're not doing any work."

The pile-carrying men? Ma Laizi and his gang?

Zhu Ge subconsciously wanted to ignore them, after all, he now knew that Ma Laizi and the others were controlled by Xi Guihua Liusha, so it was normal for them not to do any work.

But then another idea suddenly came to him.

Why didn't Ma Laizi feel controlled by the Xi ghost when he met him before?

At that time, Ma Laizi even spoke rudely, insulting his father and mother, and seemed to be exactly like the original.

"Something's fishy here..." Zhu Ge's mind was racing.

It seems that Yu Xiucai, under control, indeed had a different perspective from them.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Yu Xiucai might have been naturally hostile to the person controlled by the Xi Gui when he was being controlled.

But regardless, this made Zhu Ge realize the difference between the pile-carrying men and the others.

What's the difference?

"The stake carrier, the hunter..." Zhu Ge pondered carefully what made these people special.

At first glance, these people seem to be just physically stronger, so they are often asked to do heavy and tiring work.

But upon closer reflection, everyone actually has some differences.

However, those differences are relative to ordinary people.

For example, Ma Laizi is a scoundrel who owes money and refuses to pay it back.

Other differences include being more outgoing, more introverted, and so on.

"No, the problem lies in her physique?"

After thinking it over, the common feature of these people is that they are all physically strong.

This commonality is what distinguishes them from ordinary villagers.

"Could it be that Hua Xiaomei likes muscular men?"

A ridiculous conclusion flashed through Zhu Ge's mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

Without knowing the full picture, I will not comment.

Let's leave this question open for now and draw conclusions later if we discover anything.

Zhu Ge first noted down this point of doubt, then said goodbye to Yu Xiucai and went home to sleep.

The next day, he continued practicing martial arts and recalled the Confucian classics from his previous life one by one, hoping to use them someday.

Then, something strange happened again that night.

"That sound..."

Hearing the sounds of gongs and drums outside, Zhu Ge, lying in bed, couldn't help but frown.

In the few days I've been here, something has happened almost every night.

It made him somewhat neurasthenic.

But in a life-or-death crisis, let alone neurasthenia, even if he were depressed, he would have to force himself to live and then slowly become depressed.

"Groom, the auspicious hour has arrived! Come out quickly and the wedding will take place!"