By the time Zhao Youliang finished the aforementioned tasks and leaned Zhao Hongwei against his own hall like a wooden stake, it was already night.
After quickly washing his hands and closing the shop, Zhao Youliang went straight to the barbecue stall.
Looking up, everyone around me eating barbecue seemed to be surrounded by bad luck, and the gray bad luck seemed to be turning black.
When it turns completely black, it's not bad luck, it's death.
"Quantum, you've arrived?" The pretty widow Yingchun greeted Zhao Youliang with a smile.
"I heard you went out of town with Li Mao, is everything alright?"
"It's nothing, sis," Zhao Youliang replied with a smile. "I'm just going to pick up a friend."
"Oh, it's alright." Sister Yingchun nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
"I don't know why, but I've been feeling uneasy these past few days."
"Besides, the whole town is acting very strangely today, so we should be extra careful."
"This is unusual. What's unusual?" Having been away from the town for most of the day, Zhao Youliang was naturally unaware of the situation.
The one who answered him wasn't Sister Yingchun, but Li Mao, who approached him with smoky makeup.
“Quantum, you don’t know, starting this afternoon, all the dogs in our town started barking wildly, and many of them were even biting their owners and dragging them outside.”
"At first, everyone thought it was the big yellow dog giving the order. But in the end, they found out it wasn't; it was the dogs' own initiative."
"Besides the dog, a hen actually crowed this morning? Isn't that amazing?"
"It's not just hens; roosters also crow, but at the wrong time."
"Some were done in the middle of the night, some were even in the middle of the day..."
"This..." Upon hearing Li Mao's words, Zhao Youliang immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.
Because what the other party just said was clearly an omen of "the four things being abnormal, an omen of misfortune in the home".
Besides the aforementioned disturbances involving chickens and dogs and the crowing of hens, another "abnormality" refers to the rats.
For example, rats are active during the day, or they leave human-inhabited areas in groups and run into the wild.
"It seems that the warlord family, who were killed by the five major surnames, is about to begin their revenge!"
Just as Zhao Youliang was muttering to himself, a commotion suddenly broke out among the barbecue diners.
Zhao Youliang quickly followed the gaze of the crowd and saw a group of monks and Taoist priests escorting an altar to the small square across the road.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Youliang immediately realized: it must be the water and land ritual that Guo Zhengde had asked someone to perform, as Li Mao had mentioned during the day.
The Water and Land Ritual, also known as the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, Water and Land Ritual, or Compassionate Relief Assembly, is the most solemn of all Buddhist rituals.
This ritual was originally developed by combining the "Six Paths of Compassionate Repentance" (also known as the "Emperor Liang Repentance") of Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasties with the "Unobstructed Great Fasting of the Underworld" of the Tang Dynasty Esoteric Buddhism.
There are many rules and regulations for water and land rituals, and the process is extremely complicated, so I will not go into detail here.
However, judging from the situation in the small square across the street, what they set up was probably a simplified version... or perhaps the monks and Taoists they invited were not skilled enough and were just putting on a show.
Upon realizing this, Zhao Youliang became even more worried: he hoped it wasn't the latter.
Otherwise, not only will you fail to deliver the souls of the dead in the town, but you will also anger them and even strengthen them.
"Sis, I'm going over to see what's going on."
After Zhao Youliang finished speaking, he walked straight towards the small square.
He was worried that if something unexpected happened, he would still be able to control the situation.
"I'm going too, Quantum, wait for me!" Li Mao, who was both bad at the game and loved to have fun, immediately followed closely.
But if we go and take a look, wouldn't all that smoky eye makeup he wore today have been for nothing?
When Zhao Youliang arrived, the Water and Land Dharma Assembly was in the first step of "establishing boundaries and sprinkling purification".
It means to purify the altar area inside and out, and to respectfully invite all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and other holy beings to grace the altar with their presence.
Eight young monks were seen carrying "golden alms bowls" and walking around the altar.
While walking, he chanted scriptures and sprinkled the holy water from the "bowl" onto the ground.
Zhao Youliang, who possesses both Yin and Yang abilities, can see that every time the holy water lands, it stirs up a pool of black mist.
The black energy struggled for a while, then calmed down amidst the solemn and dignified scriptures.
They gathered little by little around the altar, like novice monks attentively listening to the sutras.
Seeing this, Zhao Youliang was somewhat relieved: it seemed that the monk Guo Zhengde had invited was indeed capable.
Judging from the current situation, he is at least not a con artist.
However, the Water and Land Dharma Assembly should be a Buddhist ceremony. What does it mean that he invited so many Taoist priests to come?
Just as Zhao Youliang was pondering this, Liao Zhiyuan walked up to him.
At this moment, Liao Zhiyuan was not dressed casually, but had changed into the Taoist robe he wore when they first met.
Zhao Youliang was certainly not foolish enough to think that Guo Zhengde had invited him, so he was full of questions.
Liao Zhiyuan explained in a low voice with a serious expression: "Brother Quantum, neither you nor Uncle Liu are here today, so I'm doing the deductions myself in the coffin shop."
"To give the town a glimmer of hope."
"Unfortunately, after nine consecutive calculations, the result was always either the Qian hexagram or the Kun hexagram... both ending in certain death!"
At this point, Liao Zhiyuan suddenly began to cough violently. When he took the handkerchief away, it was covered in blood.
It is clear that the events of that day caused great harm to Liao Zhiyuan's body.
This has led to the current "adverse" situation.
"Wind Reversal" is the professional term used by those within the sect to describe the backlash they suffer, rather than the more commonly known "going astray in cultivation."
Upon seeing Liao Zhiyuan's condition, Zhao Youliang quickly reached out to help him up.
"Xiao Liao, are you alright?"
"Oh right, I have some pills made from Blood Spirit Mushroom. I'll have Brother Huang give you one later."
Liao Zhiyuan knew the value of the Blood Lingzhi, but he didn't pretend to refuse; instead, he looked delighted.
After all, at such a critical juncture, every bit of extra cultivation increases the chances of survival.
Most importantly, his fate was now inextricably linked with Zhao Youliang's.
Seeing that Liao Zhiyuan had stopped coughing up blood, Li Maocai leaned over and timidly asked a question.
"Xiao Liao, what do you mean by the Qian and Kun hexagrams you just mentioned?"
"Are we really going to die?"
The book subtly suggests that the Qian hexagram is the first hexagram in the I Ching and one of the ten hexagrams of death.
The Qian hexagram symbolizes heaven and represents the highest authority and power.
The Qian hexagram also signifies death and end.
In the Qian hexagram, the yang line is in the upper position and the yin line is in the lower position, which symbolizes the decline of yang energy and the increase of yin energy, implying the arrival of death and the end.
The Kun hexagram is the second hexagram in the I Ching and one of the ten hexagrams of death.
The Kun hexagram symbolizes the earth and represents stability and peace.
The Kun hexagram also implies death and the end.
In the Kun hexagram, the yin line is in the upper position and the yang line is in the lower position, which symbolizes the decline of yin energy and the enhancement of yang energy, foreshadowing the arrival of death and the end.
Today, the town can be described as a place where "the universe is revealed".
This means that both heaven and earth are plotting to kill; in such a situation, there is virtually no chance of survival...
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