A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the mountains under the cover of the cold night. Without the guards on night watch saying anything, the guards who had fallen asleep with their swords in their arms all crawled out of the carriages. Some of them, still not fully conscious, grabbed a handful of snow from the ground and stuffed it into their mouths to force themselves to stay awake in preparation for the abnormality.
What was that sound just now?
A bodyguard, startled awake from his sleep, had a look of terror on his face.
"It's a bear!"
The old镖头 (bodyguard/escort) had aged on his face, but his body was still upright. He stared intently at the snow-covered mountains and forests. In the darkness of night, all he could see was darkness, with only faint outlines.
"With so many of us, if a bear dares to come near us, we'll kill it and eat its paws."
The many bodyguards were startled upon hearing this, but some immediately spoke up to boost morale.
"Yes, it's just a bear!"
The swords and knives in their hands kept the bodyguards calm and prevented them from panicking.
"They've already been scared away."
The old镖头 (bodyguard/escort) said this, but there was little joy on his face.
"What?"
The bodyguards were stunned upon hearing this. What could possibly scare away a hungry bear? If this thing went mad with hunger, it would dare to tear apart even tigers and leopards.
"Don't sleep tonight. Take out the wine and meat, sit in a circle, make sure there are no blind spots, and turn up the fire."
The old head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) remained calm, but the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) became somewhat uneasy upon hearing his words.
"Chief镖师, what do you think scared the bear away?"
"I don't know, but it's definitely not something easy to deal with. However, there are many of us, so that thing has probably noticed us. The fact that we're alright now means it's still observing. We shouldn't panic and just wait until daytime."
"You're absolutely right!"
The镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) all agreed that the advice made sense, and they all perked up, heads held high and chests puffed out. The originally weak campfire rose nearly ten feet high, and sensing the danger, the镖师 gathered around it, swords in hand, some even singing passionately.
"I hope everything's alright now!"
Looking at the young bodyguards around him, who were shouting loudly with their hunched voices, the old head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) felt much more at ease. After all, it was a peaceful world now, and those evil spirits dared not show their faces.
What is that?
Suddenly, someone cried out in surprise. It was the young bodyguard who was sitting with his back against the cliff. He stood up, gripping his knife, and looked at the two will-o'-the-wisps drifting from the darkness.
The sudden shout startled all the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts), but when they turned around and looked at the so-called will-o'-the-wisp, fear appeared on everyone's face, even the old镖头 (head镖师) who had traveled all over the country.
roar!
A roar that shook the mountains and forests, accompanied by an overwhelming and terrifying aura, swept across the land. Then, an angry roar filled with barely suppressed fear resounded:
"Evil spirit!"
...
Crackling sounds!
The deafening sound of firecrackers rang out, and the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air. A hazy wisp of smoke lingered around the ancestral tablets, and more than a hundred incense sticks were inserted into the incense burner, burning quietly.
"Wen'er, come over here quickly and kowtow!"
The young man, reeking of incense, beckoned to his son. Feng Bingwen walked over, knelt on the prayer mat in front of the incense table, and kowtowed to their ancestors along with his father and grandfather.
The rituals for worshipping ancestors are quite complicated, but Feng Bingwen is no longer a child and can naturally endure them. As for kneeling and bowing to his ancestors, he has no qualms about it; it is only right to do so.
"Let's go, let's go worship the Earth God!"
Three generations of the family, carrying offerings, firecrackers, incense, and paper money, walked out of the ancestral hall, which was not much larger than an ordinary house, and headed towards the village's land temple.
Fengjia Village is a small village with only a dozen or so households, which cannot compare to those large villages with hundreds or even nearly a thousand households. The ancestral temples and ancestral halls of the large villages are full of carved beams and painted rafters, pavilions and towers, and are magnificent.
If the ancestral temple in the village is in such a state, then the land temple is even smaller and more dilapidated, only a little over a meter tall. Its size is such that only one person can step forward to offer incense, and if three people go in, they can hardly even turn around.
Such a small temple naturally didn't have any special features. Feng Bingwen looked around with his eyes wide open, but couldn't see anything unusual; the clay statue of the Earth God, surrounded by incense smoke, was quite ordinary.
“Our village and the neighboring Chenjia’ao village worship the same Earth God, and their Earth God temple is much better than ours.”
Feng Zichuan placed offerings in the small earth god temple. Feng Lingjun, who was waiting outside the temple, said something to Feng Bingwen, which made him think.
Compared to the hundreds of households in Chenjia'ao, the dozen or so households in Fengjia Village are nothing. If the local earth god were truly efficacious, he probably wouldn't even have time to come to this small village at this time of year, so it's no wonder he couldn't see anything.
After Feng Zichuan finished setting things up, they lit candles, burned paper money, set off firecrackers, and offered incense, similar to the process of worshipping ancestors, but at a lower level of respect.
Because there is no need to kneel and worship, you only need to cup your hands, offer incense, and bow.
Kneeling and bowing are not common practices in Dagan. Normally, even if the recipient is a deity sitting on a high altar, a simple bow and incense offering are sufficient. A full kneeling ceremony is only performed when someone requests a favor—it's quite pragmatic. Even the county's City God Temple operates this way.
After the worship was over, Feng Bingwen, who had come with high expectations, returned home with his elders in disappointment. He had wanted to see what the land god of Fengjia Village looked like, but there was nothing he could do since the land god was not there.
"Should we go to the City God Temple in the county to offer incense?"
On the way home, the old man suddenly made the suggestion.
"There's no need for that. It's freezing cold. Why bother going all the way to the county town? Wouldn't it be better to go and offer incense at the temple fair?"
Feng Zichuan's face was full of reluctance.
"How can that be the same? Besides, you'll be taking the imperial examination next year, so you can go and offer incense to the City God."
"If you're going to offer incense for the imperial examinations, you should go to the Confucian Temple!"
"Just tell me, are you going or not?"
"Go, go."
Feng Zichuan bowed his head and yielded, but he was also a little puzzled. He remembered that his father did not like to pray to gods and Buddhas, and it was usually his elderly mother who took care of these things.
After trekking through the snow, Feng Bingwen followed his family to Qingshan County. It was nearing the end of the year, and the streets were packed with people, bustling and crowded. Even in the dead of winter, the joy on people's faces could not be suppressed.
When they arrived at the City God Temple, the crowd density was even more exaggerated. On New Year's Eve, everyone in the county wanted to go to the temple to burn incense. Feng Bingwen followed the adults and finally managed to squeeze in. But even inside the temple, the crowding was even greater than on the street.
However, Feng Bingwen no longer cared about these things, because as soon as he stepped into the City God Temple, he met several pairs of golden eyes.
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