Chapter 231 Useless Travel Money

In the humid spring night, the six pairs of sincere eyes of the children were like the light that burst out after a small piece of firewood was lit. The fire was weak and tiny, and it seemed that anyone could extinguish it with a light breath.

But instead of going out, it lit a torch.

A small flame can start a prairie fire, lighting up the dark and boundless sea in the spring night and illuminating it clearly.

The Taoist priest in indigo robes followed the six children back home.

In the shabby thatched hut where there was not even enough oil to light an oil lamp, they discussed little by little what needed to be done next under the faint moonlight.

The Taoist priest told them that if they wanted the human stake's restraining ability to be most effective, the six of them would need to wear mourning clothes at the same time, in order to arouse the greatest hatred for Hai Gong in everyone's heart.

Then, after choosing the location for building the temple, they dug out the foundation that needed to be compacted and filled again, and then had the six children fast for three days to cleanse their bodies and complete the preliminary preparations.

After that, it was the human stake ceremony.

They would be buried alive, covered by rocks and earth, and forever buried under the earth, with the heavy temple on their bodies.

The Taoist priest deliberately told this part in a very realistic way, adding some actions and expressions, as if he wanted to make these children feel a little reluctant.

But no one showed a similar reaction. They were just horrified and scared. They looked at each other, and then a new determination arose in their eyes. It seemed that they had an inexhaustible supply of determination.

Early the next morning.

The Taoist threw his travel money to the little ghosts and told them that they could go to the market to buy some food and drinks. He then went to the county government office to explain the matter to the county magistrate and ask him to help him choose a site and carry out the rest of the cooperation work.

The children had not received pocket money for a long time. After suddenly receiving some, they thanked the Taoist priest and went to the market. However, they did not spend all the money. They were very restrained and each bought a piece of malt candy before stopping.

After all, although they were about to die, the Taoist priest had to leave after solving the problems here, and he needed money for the journey.

During the brief exchange last night, they learned that the Taoist priest came from a relatively famous Taoist temple, was adopted and raised by a master since childhood, and now going down the mountain is his experience. He wants to travel around and take a look, and also help those who are in trouble.

He had received kindness from his master since he was young, so he also wanted to repay the world with kindness.

After buying the candies, the children timidly ate them in small bites from a distance, standing outside the yamen, which was guarded by huge stone lions and runners with swords, waiting for the Taoist priest to come out.

But after they waited for a quarter of an hour, the Taoist priest did not come out, but instead they themselves were called in by the county magistrate. The county magistrate was an elegant bearded man in his forties or fifties. When he saw the children, his eyes flickered with admiration and he nodded continuously. Soon his eyes became moist again. Finally, he looked meaningfully at the Taoist priest sitting next to him, with the same emotion revealed in his eyes.

The children had never seen an official as high as the county magistrate. After all, normally, even Muramasa, who they knew was very powerful, would bow and nod when he saw a yamen runner with a long sword, let alone a county magistrate who could make the yamen runner kneel and kowtow.

"It is a blessing for Min to have all of you young heroes. If you need anything, just let me know and I will send someone to do it." said the county magistrate.

The young scholar had finished the maltose in his hand. He opened his eyes, as clear as glass beads, with a look of longing in them.

In the past, his family supported him to study so that he could take exams, become a student, a scholar, a juren, and become an official. Now, his original dream was right in front of him. How could he not feel excited? He whispered, "I have heard of your talent for a long time. I don't know the meaning of a poem I wrote. Can you explain it to me?"

That was the last article he read before he was kicked out of the house. Before he could fully understand it, his uncle and aunt snatched the book from his hand and kicked him out.

Naturally, they would not give him the book. After all, the book was expensive. Even the book he was reading was rented from the store and copied by himself.

The county magistrate was stunned for a moment and asked, "Which article is it?"

"It's from the Book of Shang..."

…

The county magistrate was indeed very knowledgeable, and he quickly explained the book to the young scholar clearly, much more clearly and thoroughly than the teachers in the academy.

The children made requests one after another, most of which were very small things that only children would care about.

*

The Taoist priest finally chose a location far out to sea as the site for building the temple. The yamen runners sailed along the direction he selected and indeed found a floating island on the sea, which was just the right size for building a temple.

In this way, the craftsmen took the boat every day, carrying stones and wood, working from sunrise to sunset. After a period of time, the preparations were completed, deep pits were dug out of the originally flat floating island, and the six children had already fasted and were ready.

Under the supervision of the county magistrate, the children were placed at the hexagonal corners of the pit. The county magistrate turned his head away and waved to the runners and craftsmen behind him. The shoveled sand, soil and rocks fell on the children one shovel at a time, gradually covering them.

Even though the craftsmen tried their best to avoid it, the stones would still inevitably splash onto the children's faces and bodies, leaving bloody marks, or knock them aside. The six children, dressed in snow-white mourning clothes for their father, would soon stand up straight again, and as the Taoist said, they would continue to stand up again and again with hatred for the Duke of the Sea and the desire to imprison him,.

Finally, as everyone expected, the loess covered the top of the tallest child's head, and their movements could no longer be heard or seen.

The Taoist priest lost no time and quickly took steps to the required position. One talisman after another was nailed in the right position as his face became paler and paler. Finally, the improved human stake formation was completed. The next step was to attract Hai Gong to this place with enough sacrifices.

The Taoist looked at the magistrate and said, "I will entrust the letter to you to explain the matter to the master."

Then, he smiled sadly, and the remaining half of his cultivation and soul began to burn at the same time, like a short-lived firework in the daytime. While enduring the severe pain, he still chanted the spell to sacrifice to Hai Gong.

A thick fog suddenly spread and enveloped the floating island. In the vast white sky and earth, the burning Taoist priest was the only point of light. He was keen enough to catch a certain point belonging to Hai Gong in the fog, and threw the talisman in his hand away when everyone was terrified and confused.

Buzz!

It was a buzzing sound that was enough to make everyone feel the same at the same time.

After a few seconds, it was as if something huge was being injected into the floating island. The soil under everyone's feet began to shake violently. Everyone screamed, thinking that the island was about to collapse, and ran frantically towards the direction of the ship.

But after that tremor, the floating island finally stopped its madness like a pacified beast. Everyone looked in the direction where the Taoist priest had originally been, but they only saw an indigo Taoist robe.

He had already planned to sacrifice his own cultivation, soul, and flesh and blood in the end in exchange for the interest of Lord Hai and his willingness to appear on the floating island.

That was why he gave the money for returning to his master to the six children to spend as they pleased, and asked the county magistrate to send a letter to his master.

The Taoist's last look was towards the southwest through the thick fog and the vast ocean. That was his hometown that he loved most in his life but could never return to.