Chapter 216 "Dragon God" - Simple and Honest Folk Customs
After last night's ordeal, no one in the house slept well, and when they woke up, their bodies ached and their heads were spinning.
Fortunately, there wasn't much farm work to do in winter, so Zhao Yu and Liang Shi took a nap and told Shen Lixia that they could freely take the ingredients from the kitchen. After last night's experience, she knew that these people were kind-hearted and she wouldn't have any ill intentions towards other people's property.
Shen Lixia stayed in bed for a while until two people outside started knocking on the door.
"Fellow Daoist, are you still not up? I'm hungry!" This was Simmons's perfectly justified statement.
He then added hesitantly, "Actually, we can do it ourselves..."
"She's a good cook," Simmons said bluntly.
Shen Lixia mumbled a soft "hmm," barely managing to open her heavy eyelids. She instinctively turned and hugged the other person, pressing her face against their shoulder and burying it in their chest, looking rather aggrieved: "I want to sleep a little longer... I don't want to get up..."
"Okay." Qiao Yanshen patted her hair and then didn't respond to the sounds outside. The two of them knew better, whispered a few words to each other, and then their footsteps faded away.
When she got up again, half an hour had passed. After kneading dough and making a few pancakes, Shen Lixia cooked a soup with winter bamboo shoots and dried meat. The bubbling sound of the soup pot echoed, and Qiao Yanshen sat at the table, glancing at her from time to time.
Su Jiang was helping out. She had gone out but hadn't found anything, so she resigned herself to helping by chopping scallions and peeling bamboo shoots.
The scene in the kitchen evoked a sense of inexplicable tranquility. Some were busy, some sat quietly, and some were studying maps closely. Everyone had their own tasks, and no one took anyone else's work for granted. Naturally, there were no disputes, and time flowed by harmoniously.
After finishing their meal, they informed the two homeowners and then set up an array around the house before leaving. Shen Lixia kept thinking about the place they had chased the previous day, but because it was dark then, even though she had groped her way back, she couldn't remember it very clearly. She only marked a few points in the hopes of exploring again.
But after following the markings for a while, they found nothing different. The light in the forest was tinged with a pale green by the leaves, and a cold wind whistled through the treetops. The two racked their brains for a long time, but could only find some broken leaves at a spot where they thought the vines had left a deep mark the night before.
Shen Lixia brushed aside the broken leaves, revealing tangled roots. It looked as if some thin roots buried in shallow places on some tree had also been broken.
Feeling sorry for the tree, she used the tip of her shoe to dig some soil and bury the roots.
Returning to the route marked on the map, the group traversed giant trees and swamps. The damp air filled the daytime landscape, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Like a layer of moss being brushed away, the prosperity of Tianchi Lake is finally revealed when you reach the clusters of villages. Rolling paddy fields and houses, bamboo buildings perched on the shallow water, and gentle ripples on the turquoise lake. Swallows fly through the tender green leaves, gradually disappearing into the distance, skimming past the white clouds.
In the distance, a golden pagoda gleamed, appearing and disappearing in the mist. Simmons glanced at it and then turned away in disgust. Su Jiang also seemed uninterested, which piqued Qiao Yanshen's curiosity, prompting him to ask, "Want to go see it later?"
“No need.” Su Jiang shook her head. “The beliefs of Garan and the Central Plains are different. Although it is impolite to say so, we are the ones to whom the Buddha entrusted his ideals.”
"Other schools and branches are merely using the World Honored One's name to deceive others."
Simmons snorted coldly.
However, she quickly turned her attention to Qiao Yanshen: "What, have you made up? You speak much more gently now, you seem to be in a good mood."
Qiao Yanshen chuckled, "So you all figured it out."
Shen Lixia felt like she was being watched, but Qiao Yanshen casually pointed out, "Whether they've made up or not is up to my junior sister. As for me, I'm just waiting for her to say something."
When exactly did she learn this trick?
They deliberately put people in a difficult position, yet they also have a soft heart.
Simmons gave her a teasing look, but Shen Lixia turned her face away, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
The layout of Tianchi City was no different from that of any other kingdom. It was surrounded by many small towns and villages governed by local chieftains, while the capital city of the king was at the center. The chieftains and the king maintained a distant relationship, and when the chieftains went to war with the king, the king only had the power to mediate.
They did not intend to go to the central city of Tianchi, but rather to find the disciples of Taiyin Temple and inquire about the recent events that had occurred at Tianchi.
Upon arriving at the village, the xenophobic nature of the Tianchi people began to emerge. The crowd on the street scattered as if fleeing a flood or a ferocious beast. At first, Shen Lixia didn't think much of it—people were naturally anxious, and who could say what outsiders were up to? It was good enough if they didn't throw eggs at them. However, thanks to her excellent hearing, she caught snippets of conversation.
"Why did you choose this time to come?"
"We must not disrupt the ceremony and anger the Dragon God..."
These words seem rather strange.
Shen Lixia sighed inwardly. If it were like those musicals she'd seen before, where people could splash water on each other and dance to get closer, she would be willing to do that. But even though the people of Tianchi loved dance and music, they wouldn't be willing to perform in this tense atmosphere.
However, the words "festival" and "dragon god" they mentioned caught Shen Lixia's attention. The others, of course, overheard as well and were trying to figure out how to get some information out of them.
"Let's change into some local clothes later," Qiao Yanshen said in a low voice. "That might be better."
I should have asked Zhao Yu for two sets.
Seeing that one of the two people in the team was not good at negotiating, quietly looking around and the other with his head down, seemingly lost in thought, Shen Lixia sighed, exchanged a glance with Xi Mengsi, and the two split up. One of them rushed to the vegetable vendor's stall, and the other went to the vendor selling sour plum tea.
The boy held up five fingers, prompting Su Jiang to ask curiously, "Who's the other bowl for?"
“I’ll eat two bowls,” Shen Lixia said matter-of-factly. “This wild ginger is crystal clear, and the brown sugar water is so fragrant that it’s been boiled for miles around. It must taste great.”
The vendor, flattered by her words, smiled and said, "Nonsense. Adding a bowl here is free; four bowls are enough for you." No one would turn down money, so after accepting the silver coins, she stood up to fetch brown sugar water, sprinkled bay leaves, sesame seeds, and hawthorn slices on the sour plum, and then drizzled a spoonful of thick fruit syrup on top.
Shen Lixia then asked what the steaming thing next to her was, and the vendor lifted the lid and took out two pieces, which turned out to be steaming hot plum blossom cakes. This is a kind of cake made by steaming ground rice flour and brown sugar, and it is eaten with sour plum, which is a common "afternoon tea" for the people of Tianchi.
Once they sat down, they became less conspicuous, slowly enjoying their sweet soup under the cover of the large leaf decorations. As the vendor kneaded rice flour, preparing to steam another pot of plum blossom cakes, all the grudges and resentments seemed to vanish with the rising aroma of rice. She took the initiative to strike up a conversation with Shen Lixia and the others.
"From out of town?"
"Yes." Shen Lixia nodded. "Auntie, I remember people here used to be quite averse to outsiders, why are they so... "
She glanced meaningfully at the bustling market that had reopened.
As expected, the other party said something similar to what Liang Shi said, complaining about recent events at Tianchi.
"But thankfully, there are children from Taiyin Temple..." She breathed a sigh of relief and took a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her face. Her arms, strong from years of labor, gleamed with a bronze hue in the sunlight, looking full of vitality.
"With their patrols day and night, the number of people being abducted has decreased somewhat. It's just a pity—a pity..."
Shen Lixia leaned forward and blinked: "What's a pity?"
The vendor's face showed regret as he lowered his voice: "The king and the chieftain have made a deal with the Dragon God to offer up several of their disciples! Look at what's going on... Some of them aren't even as old as my daughter..."
"How could this be?" Shen Lixia was slightly startled. She hadn't heard Liang Shi mention this before, only knowing that several disciples had been sent to Kunlun Mountain to investigate and never returned. So, it turned out they were being plotted to be offered as sacrifices to those evil spirits?
She feigned doubt and said, "Don't joke around. Taiyin Temple has always protected Tianchi, and most of its disciples are descendants of the natives of Tianchi. Why would the king sacrifice his own people? Besides, what is the Dragon God? Is it some kind of monster that comes out to eat people?"
"It's true, absolutely true!" the merchant exclaimed hastily. "Those were all just guesses before. A few days ago, the chieftain announced that the Dragon God had given them a revelation, telling them not to offer cattle or sheep, but to sacrifice a batch of living people to Kunlun Mountain... Those children from the Taiyin Temple are definitely in the first batch! It's just a pity for their mothers, who sent their daughters to become immortals, only to have them become part of the Dragon God's..."
As the discrepancies grew larger, the group frowned. Qiao Yanshen put down his wooden spoon and asked, "Are there any other disciples of the Taiyin Temple nearby?"
The merchant paused and pointed. Shen Lixia followed his gaze and saw a person wearing a short jacket and rolled-up trousers sitting on a small stool, eating a small bowl of cold noodles. Her hair was tied in a bun, and her exposed arms were as strong as the others'. She wore straw sandals.
She felt her vision was being assaulted.
—It turns out that the women who came to participate in the competition that day were wearing the most formal and best clothes in their temple.
Just then, Simmons returned. Shen Lixia looked at the things she had put on the table with a strange expression: "Why did you bring back a bag of groceries?"
Qiao Yanshen answered first: "I told you before that you can be very focused at times. She was haggling with that vegetable-selling old lady so hard they almost started a folk song duet."
Simmons said triumphantly, "I won." She pointed to the bag of groceries, which had only cost half the usual price.
Shen Lixia readily clapped her hands: "I admire you, so did you find out anything?"
Simmons was silent for a moment, then suddenly pulled out a round fruit and stuffed it into her mouth, "Can't you shut your mouth with food, huh?"
Shen Lixia turned her head away, saying helplessly, "After we finish eating, let's go ask that person sitting over there. She seems to be from the Taiyin Temple. Although she doesn't look like it..."
“Why doesn’t it look like it?” Simmons looked in the direction she was referring to.
"That's how it is at Taiyin Temple. Unlike the cultivators in your Central Plains, many of them are daughters of local people, so they come back to help their mothers in their spare time, doing farm work and selling vegetables. Oh, your Taihuizong Temple even has special servants to do these things, right? They don't have such distinctions."
Just then, someone suddenly blew a horn and beat a drum heavily.
"The festival is about to begin. Please hurry to the altar and offer your gifts to the Dragon God!"
It's the Dragon God again...
They quickly got up, not even bothering to change their clothes, and hurriedly joined the suddenly agitated crowd, running in the direction of the so-called "altar".
This place worships the true dragon, and the Taiyin Temple regards the Azure Dragon as the head of all dragons. In short, they have an extraordinary reverence for this group.
Could it be that a long-extinct dragon has truly been raised in Kunlun Mountain? Then why does it refuse to appear in the world and instead demand that others offer it up alive? Is it because it is too weak to leave its cave?
Shen Lixia's many doubts surfaced even more intensely amidst the clamor of the crowd. She instinctively took the hands of Qiao Yanshen and the younger Su Jiang, one on each side, afraid they would be separated by the shoving and pushing of the crowd.
These women formed a stream, flowing downstream, propelled by fervent fear and worship towards the grove where the altar was located.
Yet, like a summer downpour, a sense of unease lurking beneath the surface was palpable. They were praying, pleading, begging this ethereal deity to return their missing daughter and bless their elderly mother—
But can that insatiable god on the other side really grant their wishes?
As dusk fell, the masked chieftain tossed down sparks, igniting a ring of brilliant fire around the altar. It was more of a slightly elevated spot, separated from the altar by three stone steps. The surrounding trees swayed and danced, and the firelight, in the dim light, seemed weakly menacing.
The drumbeats were muffled, then someone began to play sharp, ancient music, breaking through the shouts of the crowd and echoing in everyone's ears.
Shen Lixia looked up and saw a familiar-looking person walking slowly up the altar with their back to them. Gu Le paused, then turned around. The gorgeous robes she wore billowed in the wind, revealing a pair of straw sandals on her feet.
It turned out to be the same disciple of the Taiyin Temple whom I had just met at the market.
Wearing a long sword and a feather cloak, the solemn expression between her brows gradually softened with the ripples of ancient music, suddenly transforming into gentle water as she reached out her hand to the chieftain holding the torch.
The chieftain put down the torch, took her hand, and the two gradually drew closer in the bright moonlight, their figures like swans with their necks intertwined, constantly merging and tearing at each other.
They are performing a ritual dance.
Despite wearing a mask, the chieftain jumped with unusually joyful steps, which seemed quite eerie. In contrast, the disciple of the Taiyin Temple walked steadily, firmly holding the other person's hand.
From a distance, the long ribbon behind her swayed and floated, its bright colors illuminated by the firelight.
—Like a long, slender dragon tail.
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Author's note: The outline is complete and will not be changed unless there are unforeseen circumstances.
It will definitely be completed smoothly. Some things have happened recently that have affected it, but I will no longer be involved in these matters, nor will I publish any private content on any accounts registered under my author's name.
Currently, the main storyline includes the following supporting characters: Wu Lu, Xiao Lin (solo), Xi Mengsi (solo), two pairs of master and apprentice, and the Shuangyue sisters. If I've missed any, please let me know. You can also leave a comment and tell me what you'd like to see.
For side couples/other characters' storylines unrelated to the main plot, I will mark them as "Bonus Chapters" before the chapter title. Please also note this if you have auto-renewal enabled. I'm still not entirely clear on Jinjiang's system, but it seems that full subscription is required to access bonus chapters. Therefore, our future bonus chapters will be based on requests from full subscribers.
The reason I didn't include it in the book "Past Events Like Smoke" is because I only plan to write about the past life storyline and a small part of the story about the master and his wife (some fragments of the master and his wife's youth), as well as the Simmons solo story "The One Who Never Returns in the Snowstorm." Therefore, it won't have any connection to the protagonist of this story, nor will it be in the current timeline, so it probably won't be included there. Although I hope everyone can spend less money, I still want to write it with the mindset of not ending it abruptly once I've started.
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