Chapter 462: Entertaining Ghosts and Deities, and Asking for Help from Little Ghosts
The sound of drums gradually became more frequent, like thunder rumbling and thousands of troops ready to go.
Another deep and desolate horn sound was heard, and in an instant, the desolate mood of ancient times was present.
Jin Ting Daxian's eyes lit up, and then he discovered the beauty of this opera troupe.
The old man in feathered robes was adorned with bone tools and shells, and held orchids and fragrant herbs in his hands, which he offered in the incense burner.
The billowing smoke from the incense burner lingered, floating and swaying in the courtyard, and was sucked into the ghosts and gods that were invisible to the naked eye.
This troupe that specializes in performing ghost and god plays is indeed very skilled. Not only is it skilled, but it also has a very long tradition.
The old man plays the role of an ancient wizard, offering fragrant herbs to the gods.
The moment the incense burned, the scene was no longer a play, but a sacrifice, a ritual.
The old man seemed to be unable to see the scattered cigarette smoke, as if it had been eaten by something. He stamped his feet, sang a line, and introduced his identity.
This was an ancient wizard who had come to consult the gods on behalf of King Yu, asking them whether he could succeed in regulating the mountains and rivers and controlling the flood.
The old wizard was throwing divination blocks around the incense burner. This was certainly not the way the ancient wizards used to tell fortunes. It was just a way of interpreting the meaning, not the form.
The old wizard pretended to ask for divination, but after throwing the divination blocks, he actually asked about the ghosts and gods in the garden.
The ghosts and gods in the garden were originally outside the play, but after the throwing of the divination blocks, they became part of the play.
King Yu would naturally not fail in his flood control efforts. The nearby ghosts and gods raised their hands, and the divination blocks thrown by the old wizard fell down and turned into one yin and one yang, which were sacred divination blocks.
The old wizard was overjoyed and hurried to report to King Yu.
Thus began the first act of the play.
The Holy Mother of Tai Commandery laughed and said, "This is a song about King Yu controlling the floods. There are many pieces about how blocking is worse than draining, splitting the mountain to open a path, subduing the demons, passing by the door three times, and the tripod at Tushan."
King Tonghui asked, "Has mother heard about it?"
The Grand Virgin of Tai County said, "I asked for the playbill to watch it."
When Jin Ting Daxian listened to the performance himself, he understood why so many ghosts and gods came to listen to the opera.
Although the people in this troupe are all mortals and cannot see ghosts and gods, they are knowledgeable about ghosts and gods, so there must be a tradition.
The beating drums and blowing horns are all old things, and you can hear the traces of time on them.
By integrating opera singing with sacrificial rituals, ghosts and gods receive offerings during the singing.
This sacrificial method is quite similar to Gong Mengbi's moon-worshipping method. When Gong Mengbi worshipped the bright moon, he transformed himself into thousands of foxes, singing and dancing, and worshipping the moon.
Although the current sacrifice cannot be compared with the moon sacrifice, it is also a good way to please ghosts and gods.
Those invisible ghosts and gods like to listen, and the visible ghosts and gods also like to listen.
Jin Ting Daxian sat aside and listened to the opera attentively, but his mind was already on the other side of the screen, on Prince Linchuan and Madam Chen.
Goodbye, Prince Linchuan and Madam Chen from the Owl House. The last time they met, Prince Linchuan rewarded Ma Qingji with a spider egg from the Heart-Confusing Spider.
I wonder if I will bring any other gifts to the Immortal Jin Ting when we meet today.
One scene ends and the scene changes.
As expected, the Prince of Linchuan came to pay his respects from behind the screen. He bowed respectfully from head to toe, saying, "Greetings to the Holy Mother, the Great King Tonghui, and Fairy Qiong."
The Holy Mother of Taijun looked at King Tonghui, who smiled and went to meet her. He took her arm, helped her up, and said, "King Linchuan, there is no need to be so polite."
Prince Linchuan smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I last saw you, Your Majesty. I wonder if you still remember that I'm the Consul of the Owl House?"
King Tonghui waved his hand and said, "When did I ever agree to let you stay at the Owl Pavilion? You're plotting against me, boy?"
Prince Linchuan said awkwardly, "I dare not."
He cast his gaze towards the Immortal Jin Ting and asked, "Who is this?"
King Tonghui said, "My friend, the Immortal Jinting, has invited him to come and listen to the opera today."
The Immortal Jin Ting bowed in greeting, and the King of Linchuan also bowed and said, "Greetings, Immortal Jin Ting."
King Tonghui pointed at King Linchuan and introduced him, "This is King Linchuan, the youngest son of King Wu, who now manages the Owl Pavilion."
Jin Ting Daxian showed a puzzled expression and asked, "Owl Pavilion?"
Prince Linchuan took over the conversation and said, "My father is eager to seek talented people, so he has established two academies, Chongming and Chixiao. Chongming is the bright academy, where he observes the stars, prays for blessings, and exorcises evil spirits. Chixiao is the dark academy, where he obeys my father's orders and works for him."
He spoke vaguely, saying that the Dark House had a bad reputation and that the things it did were not acceptable.
But the Immortal Jin Ting clearly understood. He glanced at King Tonghui and said with a smile, "Then wasn't the Owl Pavilion built for the king?"
King Linchuan said, "That's right! But none of the five kings wanted to come, so I'm the only one who holds the title of director."
King Tonghui said, "If you invite us to Chongming Pavilion, we would be happy to go. As for Chixiao Pavilion, you can just manage it yourself."
Prince Linchuan didn't dare to say anything more, as if he continued, he would violate taboos.
King Tonghui stopped him and said, "You never release your eagle until you see the rabbit. If you have to fart, do it now and don't delay my opera."
Prince Linchuan leaned over and whispered a few words in his ear.
King Tonghui frowned and said, "There are some troubles."
He turned his gaze and landed on the Immortal Jin Ting. He smiled and said, "It's not impossible."
The Immortal Jin Ting looked at King Tonghui and asked, "Do you want me to take action?"
King Tonghui nodded, then pushed King Linchuan over and said, "Boy, I've found a good man for you, but whether you can impress him depends on your ability."
King Linchuan was stunned for a moment, then looked at the Immortal Jin Ting. The Immortal Jin Ting remained calm and said, "If you want me to do something for you, you have to pay me."
King Linchuan smiled and said, "Okay, okay."
Prince Linchuan whispered in the ear of the Immortal Jinting: "I would like to ask the Immortal to help me rescue someone from the underworld..."
Jin Ting Daxian stretched out his hand to block the mouth of King Linchuan, telling him not to continue. Then he said to King Tonghui, "If the king wants me dead, there is no need to beat around the bush."
"Go, go, I don't have this ability."
Prince Linchuan stood between the two of them, and for a moment he didn't know who to ask for help.
King Tonghui laughed and said, "The Immortal is proficient in the Taiyin method, so don't say you can't go to the underworld."
The Immortal Jin Ting shook his head and said, "Going to the underworld is one thing, snatching people from the underworld is another. The king is not afraid of the underworld, but I am very scary."
King Linchuan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Don't worry, Great Immortal, we won't confront the underworld."
The Immortal Jin Ting looked at King Linchuan and made an expression that showed he was willing to hear more details.
King Linchuan said: "This person is trapped in the ghost fog of the underworld, and he just needs a master with Taoism to go down and lead him."
"The Netherworld's ghost fog is so dense that even ghosts can get lost in it, and there are even more unknown dangers like the old ghost god of death. Once you enter it, let alone returning to the living, even escaping the ghost fog and reaching the underworld is difficult. I'm only at the fifth level of merit, how can I return?"
King Tonghui laughed and said, "This is easy. I will make sure you come back."
The Immortal Jin Ting walked slowly, looked at King Linchuan, and said, "Come and tell me about the situation, who it is, and what kind of help is there."
"The most important thing is what price you can afford."
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