Chapter 19 Human Desire to Become a God, All Laws Mixed 2 If the medicinal bath pack is for…

If the medicinal bath packs are for "becoming gods" and the books are for "education," then what are these instruments for?

Lianxi said, "In order to dispel all evil spirits that hinder their cultivation."

Thinking of those cloaked figures outside whose faces were completely hidden, Yan Chao blurted out, "Judging from their attire, even if a real evil spirit came, it would have to give them some leeway."

Yao Xu laughed and said, "Even if a ghost comes, you have to be suspicious. Who is the real ghost?"

Yan Chao still didn't understand and asked, "Since the main purpose is to enjoy life, shouldn't you be living a glamorous life? Why do you have to live like this?"

Lianxi turned to a page, pointed to the text, and said, "The moon is yin, and the sun is yang. Since they proclaimed themselves gods, they have wanted to stand on the sun. Spring is the first of the four seasons, the center of yang, from which all things are born, and yang is the foundation."

Yao Xu asked, puzzled, "Could it be that they are paying homage to the God of Spring?"

“No, they are showing contempt for the God of Spring.” Yan Chao’s eyes flashed with coldness as he said, “Do you remember the person we met at the Temple of the God of Spring? He said, ‘The god has fallen, and has become a god.’ The one who has fallen is the God of Spring.”

"Although the God of Spring is the head of the four seasons, he governs all four seasons and pays the most attention to the balance of the four seasons. If the god comes to our door but only talks about the yang energy of spring, isn't that taking advantage of the God of Spring's name to do something unjust!"

Lianxi and Yaoxu both looked at Yanchao. Yanchao was furious and his voice unconsciously rose. He didn't realize that his reaction seemed a bit too much.

Yan Chao chuckled dryly and said, "I think I got a little too excited."

Lianxi smiled, rested her chin on her hand, and turned her head to look at her.

Yao Xu pouted and said, "This is boring. Why are you stealing other people's lines?"

Yan Chao laughed and said, "This is what I call striking first!"

Lianxi glanced out the window and said, "It's getting late, let's get some rest. Maybe that 'true god' will come knocking on our door tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, a wave of drowsiness washed over him. Yao Xu yawned and urged, "Right, right! Sleep is the most important thing in the world! Go and rest now!" With that, he got up and walked out.

Yan Chao followed behind, but stopped at the door and said, "There's something I'm curious about."

Upon hearing this, Yao Xu stopped and asked, "What is it?"

Yan Chao blinked, his expression extremely serious, and asked, "Do you all need to rest too?"

Yaoxu: "..."

Lianxi laughed a few times and said, "What does Peach Blossom think?"

"I think..." Yan Chao began, but Yao Xu stopped him, "Of course we need to rest! We're all human, not sleeping will affect our appetite!"

Yan Chao said, "Hahaha, so no matter how big the sky or the earth is, eating is the most important thing!"

Yao Xu said, "Wait! No! This seems to be my room, why would I go out! Lianxi, go back to your room!"

Lianxi patted his shoulder, her expression playful and unspoken.

Before he could even utter a "hello," Lianxi slammed the door shut, trapping him inside.

Lianxi smiled slightly and said, "Peach Blossom, sweet dreams."

Yan Chao smiled and said, "You too."

As soon as Yan Chao returned to her room, she saw a child wearing a large straw hat carrying a bucket of hot water follow her in. He was so short that the hat covered his face, and she would not have noticed him if it weren't for the hat and the bucket of water.

Yan Chao noticed that the child was holding the water unsteadily, and she was about to step forward to take it from him when the child said, "I can manage by myself."

The voice was both childish and stubborn, so Yan Chao had no choice but to withdraw his hand that wanted to help. He then saw the boy take small, slow but firm steps, climb onto the low stool next to the bathtub, and finally pour the water into the tub steadily.

It seems this isn't the first time he's done this.

Yan Chao said, "Thank you, little friend." She took out a dried apricot from her bag and added, "These dried apricots are delicious. Here, take one as a thank you for fetching water for me, okay?"

Yan Chao wanted to take the opportunity to see what he looked like, but he quickly took a few steps back as if on guard, pulling his straw hat down even lower.

She then noticed that the hand emerging from the wide sleeve was deathly pale, and that beneath his slightly oversized robe was an extremely thin body. She was startled; that bucket of water had been quite heavy.

The child was a little nervous and said, "I...I don't want to."

Yan Chao said gently, "Don't be afraid, I just wanted to thank you. If you don't like it, then forget it."

The child stood still, and Yan Chao thought that he must still want it, so he stood aside and waited for his response.

He hesitated for a moment, then timidly asked, "May I try some?"

Yan Chao said, "Of course." He then handed him the dried apricots in his hand.

He reached out and took it, but still covered his face, turning away to eat it in small bites. He seemed to find the dried apricots really delicious; after taking a small bite, he ate the rest directly.

He slowly turned around, head down, his small hands clasped together, looking somewhat troubled.

Before he could even speak, Yan Chao had already taken out a bag of dried apricots and held it out to him, saying, "Isn't it delicious! Here, this whole bag is for you."

The child was initially hesitant, but when he heard that he was to be given a whole bag, he excitedly raised his head, completely forgetting that he couldn't show his face.

Yan Chao finally saw his face. He had goldfish eyes, a saddle nose, and a bamboo leaf mouth. His mouth was crooked, his eyes were slanted, and his face was pale. Under the shadow of his bamboo hat, he was not good-looking at all, and even a little scary. No wonder he wore such a big bamboo hat.

The child belatedly realized he had been exposed, and was instantly terrified. Clutching his straw hat, he stumbled backward, tripping and falling. The hat rolled to the doorway, and he instinctively covered his head with his hands, repeatedly shouting, "I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! Don't look at me... don't look at me..."

But Yan Chao still saw it.

His small body was topped with a head as big as a ball, making him look even smaller. On his bald head, a few scattered, limp, yellow hairs were tied into a small tuft. His skin was frighteningly white, and the veins beneath it were like a spider web, dense and clearly visible.

And so, he lost his armor, completely exposed without any cover, helplessly awaiting judgment.

But what he received was not a cold, piercing sword, but a soft, warm embrace.

This is the scene that Lianxi and the others saw when they entered.

"Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid."

Yan Chao knelt on the ground, gently hugged him in his arms, patted his back soothingly, and hummed a nursery rhyme softly.

"Lotus leaves, my little bed, I lie here enjoying the cool breeze. In my dreams I see carp leaping, in my dreams I smell the fragrance of lotus blossoms..."

After a long while, the child hugged Yan Chao back, and while crying in her arms, he suddenly laughed.

The old woman standing at the door was moved to tears by this scene, but she covered her mouth to stop herself from crying out loud.

The child turned to the old woman and exclaimed excitedly, "Grandma! Grandma! See, I told you so! This lady is a really good person!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Chao thought to himself, "Huh? What does that mean? Do I look like a bad guy?!"

The old woman laughed upon hearing this and said, "Yes, yes, yes. This young lady is a good person, and Xiaoshan is the smartest."

Yan Chao said, "So your name is Xiaoshan."

At this moment, Lianxi walked to Yanchao's side and pulled her up from the ground. Xiaoshan was still holding on tightly, and when he saw Lianxi, he buried his face even deeper.

After kneeling for a while, his legs were numb. Yan Chao picked up Xiao Shan and plopped down on the stool. He smiled at Lianxi and said, "Lianxi, thank you."

Lianxi smiled back and stood beside her.

Xiao Shan peeked out with his eyes, looking at Lian Xi with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Lian Xi looked back at him and smiled faintly, her expression unreadable.

Upon seeing this, Xiaoshan quickly looked away.

Yao Xu wanted to greet Xiao Shan, but he was afraid of startling him, so he gave up.

Lianxi looked at the old woman and asked, "What exactly happened?"

The old woman sighed deeply and said, "What a tragedy! It's all because of that wicked god who comes knocking on our door!"

The old woman's real name was Chi Amei. She was an outsider who had married into this place. With the money she and her husband had saved by working outside, she opened an inn in Shengchun Town and lived a relatively comfortable life.

Long ago, Shengchun Town was a peaceful and tranquil town. Although it was located in a remote area and life was not very prosperous, the people there were optimistic and simple, and they lived a pretty good life.

At that time, they still believed in the previous generation's Spring God.

The people of the whole town pooled their money to build a tiny temple to the God of Spring outside the town, where they made daily offerings.

Until ten years ago, a man claiming to be "the true god" came to Shengchun Town, established a shrine there, and said he would grant the people of the town all their wishes. At that time, their greatest wish was to live a prosperous, peaceful, and healthy life.

At first, no one believed it.

One day, a beggar from out of town came to his hall and wished for a full meal and a life of wealth. The beggar was so hungry that he was dizzy and thought he was about to die. What he said was nothing more than an unrealistic fantasy in his dying moments.

Unexpectedly, the "true god" conjured up a table of fine wine and food with a flick of his finger. After he had a hearty meal, the god also gave him a lot of gold and silver jewelry. The beggar was transformed and began to reach the pinnacle of life.

Overnight, the news spread throughout Shengchun Town.

People flocked to his church to make wishes, hoping they too would become wealthy. But the "true God" made a demand: as long as people believed in him, he would give them inexhaustible wealth.

Many people immediately worshipped him on the spot, regarding him as a god, and they received the wealth they desired.

However, some people are still observing.

One day, he suddenly transformed into a golden Maitreya Buddha statue, claiming that he was going to enter the snowy mountains to cultivate asceticism, to relieve the suffering of believers, and in this way create more wealth for them and help them one day ascend to the ranks of immortals.

The people of Shengchun were moved by his actions and had no more doubts, and they all worshipped him as a god.

Before anyone knew it, the Temple of Spring had fallen into decline.

The number of officials in Heaven is limited, but the number of believers under them is countless. The officials are too busy with their daily affairs to manage the wishes of so many believers, and even if they are fortunate enough to have their wishes fulfilled, they may not be perfect.

Now that a new "god" has arrived who can be direct and treat everyone equally, who would still worship those ethereal, long-retired, and useless old gods whose fates are unknown?

Nostalgia is something you can't eat.

Of course, even if everyone follows the crowd, there will always be a few outliers among them.

Grandma Chi was one of them.

She always believed that nothing can be obtained without effort, and that money acquired so easily would inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later.

She repeatedly warned her son and daughter-in-law not to become too addicted, but they had already become faithful believers in the "true god," and nothing she said could change their minds.

Sure enough, although people lived a good life, their former optimism and simplicity disappeared, and they became increasingly greedy and more convinced of everything about the "true God".

People even started taking so-called miracle drugs, and on the surface, nothing seemed to change until Xiaoshan was born eight years ago, when everything changed.

Xiao Shan was born with facial deformities, and his mother died in childbirth. Believers said it was punishment for their disrespect of the "true god," but Grandma Chi knew very well that it was because her son and daughter-in-law had taken so-called divine medicine that Xiao Shan became like this.

How could a true God treat his believers in such a way?

Shortly after Xiaoshan was born, Grandma Chi's son committed suicide by self-immolation to atone for his sins, and their family fell into poverty overnight, becoming outsiders in Shengchun Town.

Grandma Chi was heartbroken and wanted to take Xiaoshan away from here, but she was repeatedly stopped by the believers and failed. Someone suggested that the grandmother and grandson be executed, but the "true god" said: "They have only gone astray for a time, and they will come back to the right path sooner or later."

The believers were grateful for the "true god's" mercy and did not execute him, but they also did not allow them to leave Shengchun Town.

The grandfather and grandson have lived together in this way, relying on each other for survival, until now.

After hearing all this, it seems the mutant I saw at the Spring God Temple must have taken the divine medicine. Since taking this medicine causes mutations, and according to Granny Chi, there are quite a few people who have taken it. Could it be that all those people under the veils have already mutated?

Yao Xu, seething with anger, held back for a long time before finally losing his temper. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up, shouting, "Damn it! What kind of bullshit god is this? He's nothing but a pile of swindling dog shit! No, he's not even as good as shit!!!"

Lianxi said, "I originally thought it was a cult that used drugs and words to bewitch people. If that's the case, it should be the monarch of this country to manage it."

"But he can conjure up an endless supply of gold and silver treasures. If he's not a demon or monster, then there must be some kind of ghostly thing maintaining him. That makes things much more interesting."

Grandma Chi was startled upon hearing this and said, "Are you saying that this 'true god' is a monster?"

Lianxi gave a cold laugh, remaining noncommittal.

Granny Chi was somewhat worried and said, "If it really is a monster, wouldn't you be in great danger? I think you should leave here tonight."

Yan Chao held Xiao Shan in her arms without saying a word. Thinking about it, it made sense. If it really was just a cult established by humans, given the identities of the two people beside her, whether they were gods or ghosts, it would be unreasonable for them to rashly interfere in human affairs.

But since this is the place mentioned in the Heavenly Ranking, things are certainly not that simple.

Yan Chao said, "What's there to be afraid of? We're already here. If we don't go and see them, wouldn't they think we outsiders are impolite? I think that 'true god' must also want to see us."

Yao Xu crossed his arms and said, "Tomorrow we'll go and meet the 'True God'."

A note from the author:

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