After Old Ma entered the house, she stood respectfully in front of the shrine, lit three incense sticks, and then turned to me and asked, "Do you have a household deity worshipped in your home?"

"No."

I shook my head: "Didn't you already guess my identity? People like us can't invite gods home, otherwise we'll have too much yin energy and be easily punished by heaven."

"That's good."

Old Mrs. Ma nodded: "Do you know what I'm worshipping here?"

"Is it a guardian spirit from Northeast China?"

I tentatively asked, "Religions everywhere, whether they are large religions like Buddhism or Taoism, or local deities worshipped in certain areas, all emphasize a certain pomp and circumstance. As the saying goes, Buddha is adorned with gold! In my impression, the guardian spirits of the Northeast are the most simple and unpretentious, and they emphasize that sincerity is the key to success! Even without erecting an image, writing the name on yellow paper is enough to receive incense offerings."

"At your age, it's already quite remarkable that you understand these things so thoroughly."

Old Ma smiled and said, "The deity worshipped in my home is the Great Master Hu of the Hu family, one of the Hu, Huang, Bai, Liu, and Hui gods. He is considered a very high-ranking deity in the Hu family."

As an unlucky thief, I didn't know much about the shamanic practices and household spirits in Northeast China. At that moment, I didn't understand Old Ma's wife's intentions, so I didn't say anything.

"The guardian spirit culture in Northeast China is unique. This kind of trick, which is somewhat similar to ancient spirit possession and spirit writing, was actually influenced by the local shamanistic beliefs in Northeast China. My master took me in because I believed in shamanism."

In the realm of immortals, the original social kinship relationships of the deities in Buddhism and Taoism have been diluted.

Whether Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Three Pure Ones, and the Four Emperors have family or relatives is no longer important.

Even though the Buddha was once a prince, he didn't pay attention to his family life after attaining enlightenment; immortals don't need families.

Old Ma's wife looked at me and said, "But the guardian spirits are different. Fox, yellow, white, willow and gray spirits, each of them is a family. Speaking of our Hu family of spirits, there are Hu the Great Grandfather, Hu the Second Grandfather, Hu the Third Grandfather, and their wives: Hu the Great Grandmother, Hu the Second Grandmother, Hu the Third Grandmother, and the younger ones include Hu Cuihua, Hu Xiaonao, Hu Tiaotiao, and so on."

I sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and saw Old Ma's wife pick up her pipe, so I also took out a pipe and lit one.

"In Northeast China, many people worship guardian spirits, but few can actually act as spirits! Guardian spirits are usually worshipped on a special altar in the home with offerings. Each family has a different spirit, and the spirit invited into the home is there to protect that family."

A shaman is someone who falls ill or encounters misfortune. A powerful spirit possesses a specific person and performs rituals to help them overcome the difficulties. This is commonly known as inviting a deity to possess someone.

A shamanic practitioner must appear in a specific place, generally called a shamanic hall, and each shamanic hall has a head shaman.

In Northeast China, all the deities associated with the Five Great Immortals are headed by the Hu Immortal, so most of the high-ranking deities in a shrine are members of the Hu family. Among the groups that worship the Five Great Immortals, the lower-ranking deities are worshipped more often, because the higher-ranking deities cannot be worshipped by just anyone!

I nodded, seemingly understanding, and asked, "So, what level does the Great Master Hu you worship belong to in the Hu Immortal family?"

"At the top! In the entire Northeast, I am the only one who worships Grandfather Hu. I am the leader of the Hu family among the five great immortals today."

Old Ma paused for a moment: "The Hu Xian family is not a formal sect, so I am the sect leader in name only. No one in the Hu Xian family needs to obey my orders. But if any member of the Hu family encounters difficulties and comes to me, I will definitely help them."

Having heard this, I had a general idea of ​​what was going on: "You mean, someone from the Hu family is asking you for help, but it's inconvenient for you to come forward, so you're going to hand this matter over to me as a condition for exchanging information? Am I right?"

"You're quite clever, little one, but you're not helping anyone else, you're helping me! Or rather, you're helping the entire Hu family!"

Old Ma's wife said, puffing on her pipe, "The Five Immortals' Struggle for the Throne is about to begin this year."

"Five Immortals vying for the throne?"

I underestimated the word and licked my lips as I said, "It sounds like the Five Immortals are having an internal conflict?"

"Although the Fox, Weasel, White Fox, Willow, and Gray Fox are known as the Five Great Immortals, they are not actually one family. Each of them is a separate sect, but they have maintained a good relationship over the years. When one of them is in trouble, the others will come to their aid. They can be considered a small alliance."

Old Ma tapped her pipe: "The Five Great Immortal Sects have countless disciples who can act as mediums. With so many people working together, someone has to take charge. So every three years, an election is held to elect a leader, just like the leader of the martial arts alliance."

From the late Qing Dynasty to the present day, the head of the Five Immortals has always been the Hu family! However, in the election three years ago, the Liu family seized this position.

I interrupted and asked, "Is this location really that important?"

Old Ma smiled and said, "The Hu family has always been the leader of the Five Great Immortals of the Northeast, and it has nothing to do with the position of chieftain. But since the Hu family has taken this position, they must hold on to it! Otherwise, it will be a loss of face!"

I looked at Old Ma with curiosity: "Old Immortal, what you're saying is going to confuse me! You brought up the Five Immortals' struggle for the throne, you must want my help, right? But I'm not a disciple of the Hu family, I don't even know the rules, so how can I be of any help?"

"The struggle for succession among the Five Immortals is not a contest of the inherent strength of each immortal family, but rather a contest of the abilities of the younger generation. Every three years, the five immortals will send their elite disciples to compete, and the winner will represent the immortal family as the next leader."

Old Ma's wife paused for a moment: "This so-called leadership is actually a thankless task, because it doesn't pay any money and it doesn't give you any decision-making power."

The things the Five Immortals Alliance does are all decided by the elders of each family, and then the younger generation carries them out! This so-called leader is just someone who takes the lead in carrying out the orders of the elders! It is not only tiring and dangerous, but it is also a good experience.

Since the Hu family is the head of the Five Immortals, they naturally wouldn't shirk their responsibility in this matter. It's understandable that the younger generations of the other immortal families are ambitious and want more experience! However, the Liu family secured their leadership position in the last Five Immortals' succession struggle by relying on outsiders.

I didn't quite understand: "Which kind of outsider are you referring to?"

"unimportant."

Old Ma shook her head: "The Five Immortals are naturally undisciplined and have no strict rules. No one has ever stipulated that outsiders cannot participate in the Five Immortals' struggle for the throne! With the Liu family setting this precedent, this year's Five Immortals' struggle for the throne will probably be even more exciting."