Lord Liyang
A Qiu was overjoyed to receive such a positive reply from Qi Luo, and said in disbelief, "Please enlighten me, senior."
Qi Shang shouted, "Sister!" clearly intending to stop her from speaking.
Qi Luo waved her hand, her quiet gaze meeting A Qiu's expectant eyes, and said deeply, "The Six Generations Dance was originally a revelation given to humankind by the gods. Since it came from the gods, if it has been lost to humankind, it can be asked to the gods to manifest it again."
This answer was something A-Qiu hadn't expected.
As a top-tier martial artist, A Qiu only knew the limits of human powerhouses, but could not go any further to speculate or imagine a world where gods truly exist.
If gods truly exist, how would they view the injustices of this world and the absurdity of human nature?
Do the gods really need the music and dance performed by mortals?
Qi Luo seemed to see through A Qiu's thoughts and replied, "Whether gods exist or not is not a question for us mortals to prove. They are there, eternal and endless. Otherwise, our clan of shamans, who serve gods, would not have existed since ancient times. But what I want to talk to you about now is not this issue. In fact, there is also a divine abode in this Jianzhang Palace, and it has a long history. You might as well go and ask him to teach you the dances of 'Shao' and 'Wu'."
Qi Shang's expression changed, and he shouted, "Sister! How can you disturb the gods so casually? Don't you remember how we almost lost our lives when we offended this god back then?"
Qi Luo looked at him with pity and serene eyes and replied, "The re-establishment of the 'Shao' and 'Wu' is related to the fate of the nation. Even the gods should not stand idly by."
She said softly, "Brother, I think that over the years, we have been too concerned about our own safety. Shamans serve the gods, but do the gods really need mortals to serve them? Shouldn't the so-called service to the gods actually be the service to all living beings?"
She continued, “Back then, we didn’t want to get entangled with the court, but we ended up in the palace anyway. We dared not pray to the gods because we were afraid of karma, but we still couldn’t escape the calamity of imprisonment today. In fact, as shamans who communicate between gods and men, it is impossible for us to stay out of the turmoil of the times. We have been too demanding.”
Qi Shang wanted to say something, but ultimately he was speechless.
When Lady Sun suddenly saw this beautiful witch appear, she was naturally surprised. But when she heard that she had a way to restore the original appearance of the Six Generations Dance, she immediately bowed solemnly and said, "Please enlighten us, the entire dance troupe is deeply grateful for your great kindness."
Qi Luo's gaze swept over Lady Sun, and she asked, seemingly unrelated to the question, "Lady Sun, you seem to have been in the palace for quite some time. Have you heard of the legend of the God of Liyang in Jianzhang Palace?"
Lady Sun paused for a moment, then said blankly, "To be honest, although I have been in the palace for a long time, I have spent most of my time learning arts at the Tangli Music Academy. I only know how to sing and dance, and I am not well-informed about other palace affairs."
Qi Luo sighed, "That deity is indeed very rare to appear. Back then, after my brother and I entered the palace, we could only hear its voice from afar in the abandoned palace gardens, but we never saw its appearance."
A Qiu, however, noticed something amiss and interjected, "If this God of Liyang, who guards Jianzhang Palace, rarely appears, how did the Great Shaman know of his existence back then?"
Qi Luo replied, "Witches naturally have the ability to observe the clouds and qi. It is our instinct to carefully investigate and sense the feng shui of each place we visit. When we entered Jianzhang Palace, we noticed abnormal fluctuations in the area. Later, we discovered that the strange qi was located in the abandoned Liyang Palace in the southwest."
Under the candlelight, Qi Shangyingwei's expression changed, clearly recalling the situation at that time.
Qi Luo said, "We will follow the rules of the shamans and go to greet them. As shamans from elsewhere who have come to a new region and have been invited to perform rituals, we should communicate with the local deities first to avoid being mistaken for demons or something similar." As she said this, her expression, which had been calm all along, suddenly gasped.
Even now, the Great Witch Qiluo can't remember clearly whether it was the gods who broke the rules, or the two of them, the outer witches, who broke the rules.
She had always believed that something her brother and she had done must have offended the gods, leading to the subsequent accident. After all, gods couldn't make mistakes, so the only ones who could have erred were them, the two mortals.
But then I realized that the Zhuyou School has a long history of serving the gods, and all the rituals are customary and have been practiced thousands of times. The rules and etiquette for burning incense, presenting petitions, and praying to different deities vary slightly and may change over time, but as the head of the Zhuyou School, he would never make such a big mistake as to cause such a commotion.
After all, in front of the half-collapsed stone gate of the ruined Liyang Palace, there were scattered various half-burnt yellow paper, gold foil, rotten fruit, and incense and candles. These must have been left by the palace servants who came here in secret and made random prayers. In terms of etiquette, they were certainly more incomplete and irregular than these two shamans, but it seemed that the gods did not blame them.
Just as she finished her prayer, a sudden gust of wind arose from the ground, and the entire sky seemed to darken instantly.
She instinctively sensed something was wrong and flew backward.
From within the dark and secluded gate of the abandoned palace, two lantern-like, green lights suddenly appeared, sweeping down upon her.
Qi Shang also sensed something was wrong and immediately drew his scimitar to protect Qi Luo as they retreated.
Inside the door, life and death swirled and churned endlessly, and at the same time they both smelled a cold, viscous aura and caught a glimpse of a huge scale flashing past inside the door.
The scales were extremely thick and had a colorful pattern.
Although Qi Luo and Qi Shang were sorcerers or magicians hiding among the common people, they rarely ventured into deep mountains and marshes, had never seen such large poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, and had even less experience fighting against humans. For a moment, they were both flustered.
At the same time, they all thought of one thing: no one knew whether the gods living in the ruined palace of Liyang were good or evil.
In the Jiangnan region, there are also many illicit worship practices, where the deities worshipped are not orthodox gods but heretical ones. However, Qi Luo and Qi Shang adhere to the traditions of the Zhu You sect and try to avoid dealing with these heretical practices as much as possible. If they absolutely must exorcise evil spirits or cure diseases, they mostly follow the rules by burning petitions and appealing to the authorities, and dare not act arbitrarily according to their own will.
When they arrived at Jianzhang Palace, Qi Luo and Qi Shang never considered this possibility, because all palaces and royal tombs are protected by righteous gods, and they never dreamed that there would be evil gods in the palace.
Qi Shang gripped his curved sword tightly, shielding Qi Luo behind him, and shouted, "Qi Luo and Qi Shang, shamans from Wu, have come to pay homage to the deities of Jianzhang Palace, but we do not know where we have offended them, causing the guardian deity to punish us?"
He had just seen clearly that if the thing inside the door hadn't been restrained, it probably would have already rushed out.
Even now, the crisis is not over. The monster, which is neither dragon nor snake, is still circling inside the door, making a sound like flying sand and stones.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a lazy voice, tinged with cold indifference and murderous intent, rang out: "How did shamans come to Jianzhang Palace? Who sent you?"
The sound seemed both near and far, as if it came from within the ruined palace before them, yet it was also very close, ringing right next to their ears.
Qi Shang felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
Summoning sorcerers to the palace has always been taboo. Unless the monarch is incompetent and the court is in disarray, sorcerers would never enter the palace. Surely the deity of this Liyang Palace doesn't intend to eliminate them here as wicked monsters bringing disaster to the country?
Qi Luo answered, "Reporting to the Divine Lord, my brother and I are shamans of the Zhuyou Sect. We were forcibly summoned by the Emperor to consult on matters and resolve doubts, not for fame or profit. We came here out of necessity. Once this matter is resolved, my brother and I will immediately return to our hometown and live in seclusion. We will never stay in the palace. Please investigate, Divine Lord."
The voice paused slightly, then asked in surprise, "You're from the Zhuyou Sect?"
Qi Shang did not know the god's intention, but dared not lie to the god, so he could only reply, "Yes."
Inside the ruined palace, another churning sound rang out. After a moment, the divine voice calmly said, "At this moment, the monarch is tyrannical, the palace is in chaos, and the court is on the verge of collapse. Disciples of the Zhuyou Sect would be better off not getting involved in this mess. You should all take care of yourselves."
After he finished speaking, the sounds of sand and stones flying inside the door fell silent, and the sky became completely dark. It was as if no one had ever been inside.
Knowing the danger, Qi Luo and Qi Shang dared not advance rashly. They bowed repeatedly before carefully retreating from Liyang.
Upon hearing this, Lady Sun asked, "So, you two have never even seen the face of this deity, only heard his voice from afar. How can you be sure that he can help us restore the original appearance of the 'Shao' and 'Wu' music and dance?"
Qi Luo said quietly, "That happened later. At the time, we didn't know what kind of being this deity was; we just went to greet him by observing the clouds. But later, we heard from the palace servants that a divine dragon had appeared in the ruined palace of Liyang, and that a deity had been wandering there for many years. Judging from the words of that deity, he must have always been concerned about the political situation and the fate of the nation. Such a deity, residing within the imperial palace of the human world, must care about the inheritance of the orthodox sacrificial rites of the human world. Therefore, I believe that if we ask him, we will surely get the results we want."
After a moment's thought, A Qiu said, "The only problem is that the two sorcerers met this Lord Liyang at the end of the Huan Dynasty, but now a new dynasty has been established, and the atmosphere is completely different. At least since I entered the palace, I have never heard of any legends about this deity. Therefore, it is also a question whether this deity is still detained in Jianzhang Palace."
Even now, A-Qiu doesn't truly believe in the so-called gods. It's something completely beyond the scope of the world she's known since childhood.
However, she was broad-minded and would not categorically deny the existence of something described by others simply because she had never seen it herself. Especially since the other party was an elder of the Zhuyou sect, and his words carried credibility and authority, he was by no means a pretentious charlatan.
If there were truly no ghosts or gods in the world, then sorcerers like Qi Luo and Qi Shang, who made a living from this, would be living a life of self-deception. But no matter how you look at it, they don't seem like that kind of people.
Qi Luo only answered with four words: "The clouds are still there."
A-Qiu immediately understood what she meant.
Back then, Qi Luo and Qi Shang followed the clouds to visit the spirit of Liyang. Now, more than ten years have passed, and this is Qi Luo and Qi Shang's second visit to the palace. If the clouds symbolizing the spirit of Liyang have not dissipated, it means that the spirit is very likely still in this place during this period.
Qi Shangyi immediately said, "It's strange, actually. When we first entered the palace, I felt that the clouds were a little thinner, and I wondered if there was some change in the gods. But at that time I was still in prison, so I had no time to care about other things. But after these days, the clouds have become as strong as before, which is really strange."
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