Chapter 23 Bowing to Heaven and Earth "Why is this like a dog marking its territory, leaving a space..."

"If I hadn't offered to help you first, I definitely wouldn't have done it now!" Zhong Ying said bitterly, recalling how she had been bewitched and so easily promised to help Li Changgui fulfill his last wish.

Li Changgui smiled obsequiously, "Sister, no, cousin-in-law, this is just a formality."

Zhong Ying let out a breath. If it weren't just a formality, she really wouldn't have done it now. She couldn't possibly put herself in this situation just to help someone else.

Li Changgui was afraid that Zhong Ying would really give up, after all, the only person who could see him and help him now was Zhong Ying. "This matter is known only to heaven and earth, you and ghosts. It won't delay your normal marriage in the future. My brother and I will be reincarnated sooner or later."

Li Linshi looked at his cousin with a gloomy and cold gaze.

Li Changgui felt a chill run down his spine. Turning his head, he saw his brother staring at him intently, motionless. A chill ran down his spine, and he instinctively took a step back. He quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Brother, now that you've fulfilled your wish, go and be reincarnated too. Humans and ghosts are ultimately on different paths..."

Li Linshi's dark eyes regained some clarity, and he realized that what his cousin said was not wrong, it was just... unpleasant to hear.

"Hurry up, stop talking nonsense," Zhong Ying urged. Since we have to go through this, we might as well get it over with quickly. "It's so late, let's finish this so I can go to sleep. We need to recarve the memorial tablets tomorrow."

The thought of this made Zhong Ying's resentment stronger than a ghost's; nothing is more infuriating than having to redo something.

It was the dead of night again, and the location was still Zhong Ying's room. The door was wide open, but this time there was an extra ghost in the room. Brown Sugar smelled a strange scent. It wanted to scream, but its mouth was once again held shut.

Cao Fang couldn't help but straighten her back, nervously smoothing out her clothes, but her eyes were filled with excited joy. "This is the first time I've ever officiated at a wedding. It's been sixteen years. I never thought I would be able to personally participate in a happy event again."

As Zhong Ying's aunt, Cao Fang was an elder and the only one who could participate in this marriage between a human and a ghost, so she was chosen to be the witness and elder.

Zhong Ying and Li Linshi stood facing each other. She felt uncomfortable everywhere. Even though she was facing a face that was very much to her aesthetic point, Zhong Ying felt extremely strange. Just over a month ago, the two of them, one human and one ghost, were fighting for survival and sharpening their knives. Now they were standing face to face, preparing to worship heaven and earth.

This is the most absurd thing in the world.

Zhong Ying said patiently, "It's all for your cousin."

They were too close, barely inches apart. Li Linshi lowered his eyes and calmly repeated, "For my cousin."

Li Changgui watched the ceremony from the side. He looked at Zhong Ying, then at Li Lin, and scratched his face in confusion. What was going on? Why didn't either of them smile? According to his assumption, this ceremony should have made up for the regrets of his cousin and Zhong Ying. Shouldn't they be holding hands and looking at each other with tears in their eyes?

Cao Fang cleared her throat and announced in a clear voice, "First bow to Heaven and Earth."

Zhong Ying and Li Linshi silently turned around at the same time, facing the night sky with the moon hanging high outside the door, and bowed deeply.

"Bowing to the parents twice."

Looking at the young man and woman bowing to her, Cao Fang was filled with emotion. After her death, she had forever lost the opportunity to sit in the hall and receive the bow of her children. She never expected that she would receive a bow from her niece and nephew-in-law at this moment...

Cao Fang pursed her lips, her smiling eyes glistening with tears. Suddenly, she felt half of the regret that had been weighing on her chest disappear. Once she saw her daughter Zhong Ni get married, all her worries would be gone, and she would truly be ready to be reincarnated.

"Husband and wife bow to each other—" Cao Fang controlled her emotions and recited the last step of the ceremony.

Zhong Ying then turned to stand face to face with Li Linshi, glanced at him, leaned down, and once again cursed inwardly, "What kind of mess is this?"

After getting up, Zhong Ying felt that the whole ceremony was like children playing house. This time, she was the one who was unsure of herself. "Will this really work?"

“It should… be done.” Li Linshi raised his left hand, and saw that a thin red hair tie had suddenly appeared on his wrist. Against his pale skin and blue veins, the color looked strange and eerie.

"My hair tie!" Zhong Ying subconsciously touched her hair. The ends of her two braids were still tied with red hair ties, neither missing. However, anyone with eyes could see that the red hair tie on Li Linshi's wrist was exactly the same as the one Zhong Ying used to tie her braids.

Li Changgui looked back and forth, puzzled. "Why is it like a dog marking its territory?"

Zhong Ying turned her head and stared at him coldly with a blank expression. Who are you calling a dog?

Li Linshi also looked over with lifeless eyes; he wasn't the one who had been urinated on.

Li Changgui, realizing he had said the wrong thing, shrank back and avoided eye contact.

Cao Fang stepped in to smooth things over, "Oh dear, never mind what happened. Anyway, the strange appearance of this thing means that we've already paid homage to Heaven and Earth. Heaven and Earth have accepted it, right? So this time we'll definitely be able to leave the production team successfully!"

“That’s true,” Zhong Ying conceded, since it wasn’t her who had the extra red ribbon on her wrist.

Suddenly, rain began to pour down from the night sky. Zhong Ying quickly closed the door and asked in surprise, "Why did the rain start so suddenly?"

The sound of raindrops hitting the tiles instantly woke Li Ming from his deep sleep. He was about to get up and rush outside, but his awakened mind stopped him at the last step.

Li Ming breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down. "Luckily, all the wheat has been dried and stored in the warehouse..."

A sudden downpour fell on the ground, each drop leaving a small crater. In the darkness, a woman who looked to be in her fifties emerged from the muddy earth. She was not tall and was soaked to the bone, but she made no move to seek shelter from the rain. Instead, she raised her hand to catch the raindrops, closed her eyes, and quietly sensed something.

After a long while, she suddenly opened her eyes, her face full of astonishment, "The mountain god is getting married?"

At the same time, golden carp leaped out of the small lake, and a gnarled branch on Meijie Ridge transformed into a bent arm...

"The guardian deity of Yuqianwa is Yuling, and the guardian deity of Meijieling is someone who became a god after death; the medicine god of Panpokou is gone..." Hu Kunxin, who is also the local earth god worshipped by the people of Liwangou, counted on her fingers after her initial surprise. Heaven and earth sent down sweet rain to announce the good news of the mountain god's marriage. As a guardian deity of the same area, she must congratulate her colleague.

The rain came down suddenly and stopped just as quickly. Hu Kunxin frowned deeply. "Which mountain god is this? Why is he getting married in the middle of the night?"

Weddings evolved from "twilight ceremonies," and it is customary for weddings to take place at dusk. However, this is the first time in hundreds of years that Hu Kunxin, who has been the "Earth God," has ever heard of a wedding that was held almost in the middle of the night.

After counting and recounting, Hu Kunxin concluded that the only mountain god in this area who could be respectfully called a "mountain god" was the old donkey from Black Donkey Mountain.

"Tsk," Hu Kunxin clicked his tongue, "That old donkey actually got together with the production team's female donkey?!"

If that's the case, then getting married in the middle of the night isn't so strange.

With even more bizarre events preceding her, anything slightly strange became easier to accept. Hu Kunxin's attention shifted entirely to the eye-catching anecdote of the mountain god of Black Donkey Mountain marrying the production team's female donkey. She straightened her clothes, the moisture instantly dissipating, and immediately set off to gossip, cough, to offer her congratulations.

From a distance, Black Donkey Mountain resembles a reclining donkey. Someone once mistook the mountain's silhouette for a black donkey in the darkness of night, a story that amused many and spread by word of mouth. Since then, people have called the mountain Black Donkey Mountain.

The mountain god of Black Donkey Mountain also felt that he was a donkey, but he was a mountain. Unwilling to accept reality, the mountain god found a cave in his physical body and most of the time transformed into a black-haired wild donkey, living in the cave.

His actions weren't too outrageous. Each guardian deity had its own way of surviving. Some preferred to be "human" and stay in human society, such as the local earth god of Liwangou.

There are also those who hide in the lake and like to secretly observe and guard, like the one in Yuqianwa. However, she was originally a carp spirit, so it is normal for her to retain her original lifestyle.

The guardian spirit of Meijie Ridge likes to be a tree, looking down at Shenjiagou Village from the bottom of the cliff. She is a tough-talking but soft-hearted person. Even though she died tragically, she still loves this village and protects this land even after her death.

Then there's Yingshan, which is even further away. The mountain god of Yingshan was born in accordance with the will of the people only a few decades ago. In the eyes of the mountain god of Heilvshan, he is still a child, just like the children in their Zhoujiawowo production brigade who go to school in the village school. These children leave home and go out to school. The mountain god of Yingshan leaves Yingshan and enters the world to experience life. It's pretty much the same thing.

The mountain god of Black Donkey Mountain has been around for over a thousand years, old enough to be her great-grandfather. Isn't it normal for the old man to be a bit eccentric? Lu Heixin continued to pretend he was a donkey, curling up in his den in a more comfortable position.

Suddenly, Lu Hei's eyes snapped open. It wasn't because something had happened at the Zhoujiawowo production brigade where he was responsible, but because he sensed that other guardian spirits had come to his territory, and there was more than one.

The black donkey straightened its bent hooves and stood up smoothly, transforming into an old farmer wearing a sleeveless, front-buttoned undershirt and baggy pants. He looked serious and wondered who had upset them in the middle of the night.

As Lü Hei walked out of the cave, he wondered if he had done anything foolish lately. He had jokingly called the Earth God "Earth Goddess," tried to see if the carp could live on the ground after it became a spirit, and wondered if the tree could walk back to its original position after being moved. After all these things, he had become well-behaved. After all, he was just a stupid old donkey who could only get beaten.

He was thinking so intently that he didn't come to his senses until his foot stepped into the muddy ground. "When did it start raining?"

"Just now!" A woman who looked to be in her early twenties suddenly moved closer to him, staring at him as if he were watching a spectacle. "Old Hei, you married a female donkey from your production brigade? Which one? Is she intelligent? How do you two usually communicate?"

The one who kept throwing out these questions was Yu Ling, the spirit of Yuqianwa. She was incredibly curious: a love story between a divine donkey and a mythical creature! Unheard of! No one could even imagine it! She had only ever read stories of love between humans and ghosts, between humans and demons, or between fairies and cowherds in books. But a donkey! Had the mountain god of Black Donkey Mountain truly become distorted in his emotional needs after his cognitive abilities were warped?

Lu Hei was furious that he was immediately attacked with slander as soon as he came out. He was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. "Who said that?!"

Yu Ling turned to the Earth God and shouted excitedly, "Just like you said, he's panicking!"

The local deity, Hu Kunxin, stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with gossip. "Hey Lao Hei, don't be shy. Heaven has sent down sweet rain, announcing the good news of our mountain god's wedding. We've come here to congratulate you."

“Although we don’t need to have children and reproduce like humans, we don’t have to be single if we want an emotional connection. Congratulations, Lao Hei, for finding a soulmate. We’re truly envious. You have unique taste. I wonder which female donkey caught your eye? It doesn’t matter if she’s a donkey. Spending too much time with you, the mountain god, will eventually give her a sense of self…” Hu Kunxin kept repeating the same thing over and over, but the underlying meaning was—could you show her off to them?

Even Sister Mei, who always had a cold expression, couldn't help but prick up her ears.

Lu Hei gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, "I didn't marry a bride, and I didn't marry a donkey either!"

He thought donkeys were the most wonderful animals in the world.

But he's an old mountain god, over a thousand years old, and has long since lost any emotional needs! For him to marry at his age—isn't that disrespectful to his elders? And to marry a female donkey? Absurd! Outrageous! Ridiculous!

Hu Kunxin was taken aback. "It wasn't you?"

"If it's not you, then there aren't any other mountain gods, are there?" Hu Kunxin was completely puzzled. "It can't be that one from Ying Mountain, right? In this area, the only ones who can be called 'mountain gods' are the two of you, but didn't that one go into the mortal world? I haven't heard of him returning to his position."

Yu Ling recalled something and chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, last month I even encountered Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and that ghost from the Tonggan production team, Wushen, even wandered into my territory!"

After much deliberation, the gods finally reached a consensus: the wind must have blown the dark clouds to the wrong place! That's why they sent the wrong message!