Chapter 66: Li Zhou's Kind Heart in a Dream
For everyone in the dilapidated temple, this night was destined to be a sleepless night.
They gathered here late at night because they had reasons to come.
There was a severe drought in Fengzhou. The government had been praying for rain for more than a month, but there was still no rain. It was said that this was because the saints did not cultivate virtue and angered the heaven.
The Shan family, a well-known family for their kindness, stood up at this juncture. The adults were naturally gentlemen who were dedicated to serving the people, but they had also read a few books and knew right from wrong. In the face of natural disasters, how could they ignore the lives of the people of the world for their own selfish interests?
Shan transported his own stored grain and provided porridge to his relatives and neighbors every day. Everyone praised Shan's righteous act and discussed privately why the court did not open the granaries to release the grain. Who was the person who ignored millions of people for his own selfish interests?
It’s hard to say.
If we continue discussing this, we may end up getting killed.
People all said so, but they had made up their minds. Thinking back to the initial rumors, it was the saint's lack of virtue that brought down divine punishment.
——Who else except the emperor on the throne could make God so angry?
I never expected that the emperor would not care for the people as much as the local nobles.
The Shan family became increasingly popular among the people, but there were too many monks and too little rice porridge. No matter how much rice porridge they gave out, it could not fill the stomachs of the hungry people.
The kind-hearted Shan family took in these people who could not survive, took over the land they could not cultivate, and repeatedly declined the imperial court's call for conscription.
What kind of ancestral art of praying for rain? The younger generation is so incompetent that they have completely forgotten the skills of our ancestors.
When they will remember it depends on when the imperial court can give the Shan family enough chips to make them excited.
The local officials did not dare to act on their own. While waiting for instructions from the capital, they practiced Tai Chi with the Shan family.
The game between the two forces has resulted in increasingly serious disasters and increasingly hungry people.
But life, like the weeds pressed under the stone, can always find a way out.
Those rural rituals that had been ignored before now welcomed long-lost incense and believers.
This Bala Temple is one of them.
The wild grass around the temple was originally a symbol of the temple's desolation, but during the drought, it became proof of the god's power.
There is not much land left where grass can grow.
The smart people who received guidance passed by this dilapidated temple inadvertently, either on their way home or on their way to deliver goods.
It was getting late and it was not suitable to continue on the journey. There happened to be a temple ahead, so we stayed there for the night. How normal and reasonable it was.
Who knew there were so many smart people.
In the middle of the night, this remote wild temple was surprisingly lively.
The witch Lu from Jijiao Village, Doctor Gou from Anluan County, and the "Invincible Fist" Song Gang from Changwei Escort Agency are all well-known figures in this area.
The remaining green-clad girl, beggar, and white-clad scholar were all unfamiliar.
But since he dared to explore the temple at night, he must have some skills.
Everyone went back and forth, testing each other, and gradually realized that something was not right.
Everyone who came today has received guidance from the City Goddess in their dreams.
According to the goddess, there are eight insect gods in the Bala Temple, each of them has great magical powers and can easily eliminate floods, droughts and insect disasters. It's a pity that people nowadays do not know the names of the true gods and have abandoned them.
The City Goddess saw that they were not ordinary people, and when she saw the dilapidated temple, she thought it was not effective, so she came to guide them to find the right path.
At this point, everyone's hearts were already pounding with fear. Didn't the Empress have anything else to do all day? She was sending dreams to people everywhere. Even if she was afraid that some people wouldn't believe her, she could have just found two or three people who were destined to be with her. Why would she call so many people at once?
Li Zhou's appearance made their hearts rise to their throats.
Whether it's the copper coin earrings on her earlobes, the blood-red spell on her neck, or the servants around her with hidden faces and suspicious looks, they are all frightening and one can't help but think of heresy.
Just when everyone was guessing that the mastermind who lured them here was the woman in plain clothes, the green-feathered parrot's words attracted everyone's attention.
Why do we say that everyone is here?
What exactly do the people who gathered them here want to do?
Before everyone could figure out what was going on, the temple door suddenly closed. The scholar in white clothes exclaimed subconsciously. Everyone looked up following his gaze and saw a mirror hanging behind the door.
It was hung high above the door, its surface polished to an extremely smooth state, clearly illuminating everyone's changing faces, as if to expose the deepest darkness in their hearts that they tried so hard to hide.
"Everyone here has a secret that cannot be known by outsiders."
The mirror began to speak, making everyone's already ugly faces even paler.
The scholar in white began to tremble all over, as if he was extremely frightened.
"Everyone has at least one life on their hands."
When Jingzi said the second sentence, there was suddenly a hint of blood in the tense air.
The trembling scholar in white froze for a moment, then turned to look at everyone else.
An escort behind Song Gang was about to say something, but he was stopped by him and shut up.
The girl in green frowned, and Doctor Gou quietly wiped the sweat off his forehead.
The expression of witch Lu, whose eyes were covered with a layer of white film, did not change at all. The beggar's face, which exuded a foul odor, was hidden under his messy hair.
Li Zhou looked left and right, feeling a little scared. Could she be the only good person here?
However, what the mirror said might not necessarily be true, for example, she had never killed anyone.
She never did anything so terrible, at most she would eat some monsters.
Just as Li Zhou quietly moved away from the crowd, fearing that one of them would suddenly rise up and kill her as an insider, Jingzi said the third and final sentence:
"There is only one person who has never harmed innocent people. If you offer this person's pure kindness to the Eight La Gods, the Eight La Gods will give you the water and food you want."
After the mirror said this, it stopped making any sound and dead silence spread in the temple. It sounded like the sacrifice that the Eight Wax God wanted was the only good person among this group of evil people.
The bonfire reflected the shadows of everyone. The dark shadows changed slightly with the firelight. They were still human shapes, but they looked a bit hideous.
Li Zhou sighed inwardly.
Got it.
This is directed at her.
The witch Lu, who had a white film on her eyes, lowered her eyes and was about to speak, but the only good man Li Zhou said calmly: "No need to guess."
Witch Lu was stunned, and the others turned around at the same time and looked at Li Zhou in surprise.
Li Zhou thought, fortunately she was a female doctor this time. In the female doctor's memory, the martial arts technique handed down from Yaowang Mountain, "Jade Cave Hundred Refinements Earth Emperor Sutra", could bring the dead back to life and turn bones into flesh.
In other words, even if she took out her heart, she would not die.
Li Zhou took out the scalpel that he had used to perform surgery on Fangshen followers from the storage bag on his waist, and began to gesture on his chest on the spot.
Isn't it just a pure and kind heart? She can afford it.
The green-clothed girl's expression changed slightly, revealing an expression of disbelief.
The scholar in white was so scared that he closed his eyes. The escort Song Gang couldn't help but reach out to stop him: "Miss, although this temple is strange, if we work together, we may be able to get out."
The kindhearted Li Zhou shook his head and said, "I heard there is a drought here and there must be a shortage of food. If I can exchange my heart for enough food and water to feed thousands of people, then why wouldn't I do it?"
As soon as these words were spoken, a surge of worry, thought, sadness and fear flooded into Li Zhou's body, and her lungs, spleen, heart and gallbladder immediately became much stronger.
Everyone had complicated expressions.
They just judged him by his appearance and misunderstood this kind-hearted man with a noble heart.
However, if they have to sacrifice such a good person in exchange for a chance to survive, they would rather not do it.
Everyone opened their mouths, trying to stop Li Zhou.
Li Zhou has already tasted the sweetness.
Very good, let's continue to consolidate the character and balance out the overly biased kidney.
She was delighted, and with a stroke of the knife, she couldn't wait to open her heart.
She took out a heart that was throbbing and full of mouths and teeth.
The moment she moved her knife, the scholar in white screamed, the girl in green rushed forward, the escorts frowned, the beggar's face was surprised even through his messy hair, and witch Lu did not hesitate to expose her magical powers, teleported in front of Li Zhou, grabbed her wrist, and tried to stop her...
At this moment, everyone except the Fangshen sect members was extremely moved.
Then they saw the pure heart of kindness with bright red lips and white teeth.
An even deeper silence spread throughout the temple, and everyone's face looked as if a paint palette had been overturned, even Li Zhou's.
Li Zhou couldn't believe it.
Why did those rich emotions only appear for a moment before being drowned out by the overwhelming fear?
If this continues, how can she continue to practice?
The "Jade Cave Hundred Refining Earth Emperor Sutra" was running, and the wound on Li Zhou's chest was restored to its original state. Could it be that the speed of cutting out the heart was too fast and frightened them?
Li Zhou glanced at the petrified crowd with dissatisfaction. Everyone stood there motionless with their jaws almost dropping to the ground, their expressions dull.
She shook her head in her heart. These people reacted so slowly. No wonder they had no kind hearts and couldn't even keep up with doing good deeds.
Li Zhou ignored them and pulled his arm out from the sweaty palm of the witch Lu. While searching the memory of the female doctor Tan Zhao for how to treat the symptom of excessive sweating, he walked towards the statue that was either sitting or collapsed.
After she has finished offering sacrifices and obtained water and food, she will provide free medical treatment to those who are sweating profusely.
It wasn't a hot day, but they were all sweating. It must be because of the humidity.
The expressions on the faces of the eight statues, which were covered with dust and spider silk, were surprisingly consistent with those of the mortals.
The faces of each statue were frozen, their pupils had lost all their luster, their mouths opened uncontrollably, and they looked as if they were dumbfounded.
The progress of things is quite different from the original plan.
Li Zhou walked up to the statues and suddenly realized that there were eight statues in total.
They don’t have knives, so it would be difficult to divide the offerings, right?
The thoughtful Li Zhou held the scalpel and divided the pure and kind heart that opened and closed the mouth into eight parts and placed them on the table.
The eight statues watched helplessly as the offerings in front of them opened their mouths and took bite after bite, tearing their spirits off the clay and wooden sculptures like eating skewers.
In a short while, the spirituality of the eight statues was completely stripped away.
If one is spiritual enough, who would be content to live in this shabby temple? He would have found a way to get ordination certificate and become an orthodox believer long ago.
After eating the barbecue, the eight pure and kind hearts reunited. Li Zhou opened her heart again and stuffed them back. After offering the sacrifices, it was time to work. She shook the statue and quietly burped with a barbecue smell: "When will we get water and food?"
Behind her, the people who had watched the entire process were still unable to come up with any effective thoughts.
Generally speaking, it is the gods who eat the offerings.
Few people can see the opposite picture.
Is there something wrong with their understanding of offerings...
The temple door had opened a crack at some point, and the mirror on the door carefully squeezed out through the crack.
Help, where does this evil spirit come from?
When it came to you in your dream, didn’t it remember about this thing?
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