Chapter 17: Monster Catcher
◎ Offerings that cannot be borne◎
Zhou Lin was indeed able to hide in the black umbrella and enter the City God Temple with Yan Yue.
But when the two of them entered the hall, there was already someone inside.
The man had a handsome face and was wearing a robe of fine quality, but without any unnecessary pendants, so it did not look gorgeous. But the slanted long sword beside him, with its simple and heavy scabbard, intricate patterns and inlaid vermilion gems, seemed very valuable.
Seeing Yan Yue coming in, he subconsciously reached for the hilt of the sword.
Yan Yue was so scared that she took a step back and said, "No, don't kill me! I just want to avoid the rain... If you mind, I'll leave..."
The man frowned slightly and looked her up and down for several times. Seeing that she was carrying a bag and a food box, he glanced at her shadow on the ground in the light of the fire and said, "We are just passers-by taking shelter from the rain. Why do you mind? Please do as you please, young lady."
Yan Yue saw that man took out a white flour cake and ate it, then chose to sit down in another corner of the hall far away.
She opened the bag and originally wanted to take out the City God's cloak first and return it to the owner. I was busy and forgot about it. I have “borrowed” it for so long. I feel really ashamed.
Unexpectedly, the person behind him suddenly said in a stern tone: "Miss, please forgive me for being frank. You and your belongings seem to have a strange smell. May I ask if you have been harassed by any monsters or ghosts since you came in?"
Yan Yue remembered what Zhou Lin said, that monsters can track breaths, and she got goose bumps again out of fright, and pounced over immediately!
"Master, help me! I, I encountered a monster, so I had to flee in the rain at night! Master, please save me!"
The man was startled and said quickly, "Young lady, don't be afraid. I am Qi Zhaoyang, practicing in Qingxu Temple. If you believe in me, please accept this talisman."
Qi Zhaoyang said as he took out a yellow talisman from a cloth bag he carried with him. "This talisman can help you get rid of the evil spirit and avoid being entangled."
Yan Yue took it in a hurry, thanked him repeatedly, and then ran to the package and took out the beads that the madam had left for her. "Master, can you please help me take a look at these things? Can they be used to ward off evil spirits?"
Qi Zhaoyang looked at the dazzling array of evil-repelling beads and didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Well, it probably can only make you feel better, but it's not as effective as the talisman paper I gave you."
Yan Yue quickly took out another gold ingot and asked, "Master, can you give me a few more? I have money!"
Zhou Lin, hiding under the umbrella, felt that the man must be a liar. If he wasn't in the City God Temple, he would have wanted to get out to stop him.
But Qi Zhaoyang politely declined, "Miss, it's not about money. Since you and I can meet in this City God Temple, it is fate, no money is needed. Don't worry, as long as the talisman is not broken, I can drive away the evil spirits for you."
The other party refused to take the money, and Yan Yue couldn't shamelessly ask for it again, so she could only thank him repeatedly.
Seeing him continue to pick up the white cake and start to eat it, Yan Yue took the food box and said, "You gave me the talisman, so I will treat you to a meal!"
Qi Zhaoyang was stunned for a moment, then he smiled warmly and didn't refuse.
The night passed peacefully.
When Yan Yue woke up the next day, she tied the red cape that she had covered herself with last night back on the clay sculpture of the City God, and whispered, "Although I returned it a little late, it has been washed clean at least. I hope you will be magnanimous and not bear grudge against me!"
In the Hades, three city gods were preparing to deal with something when one of them suddenly felt a huge force appear out of nowhere, coming down from his neck like a mountain pressing down on his head! The force was so great that it caused him to sway and fall on his back to the ground!
Qi Zhaoyang was surprised: "I didn't expect that the girl is such a pious person."
Yan Yue smiled guiltily, and the two said goodbye outside the hall.
Unexpectedly, there was a sudden "clang" sound from inside. The two looked at each other and looked inside the hall at the same time.
The clay sculpture of the City God just collapsed on its own for no reason!
Most of the clay sculpture was lying on the table, its cloak hanging diagonally on its cracked neck and broken shoulders, its head was slightly drooped, and its expression seemed a bit hopeless.
"Oh my god! Run!"
Yan Yue was startled and pulled Qi Zhaoyang's arm and ran away.
In the underworld, the power of the City God suddenly disappeared again.
"What happened?" asked another City God.
The City God who was sitting on the ground stood up, rubbed his aching shoulders and neck, and said inexplicably: "I don't know! It seems that there is an incense offering in a certain temple that I can't afford?"
Someone asked, "What offering would you not be able to bear?"
Someone asked, "Isn't that the one from the demon world?"
Another person said, "That ungrateful bastard? Ha, even if he is seriously injured and dying, he will never offer sacrifices to people from the underworld!"
The man said, "He just deliberately messed with us! When the Lord was here, he would destroy the temple and provoke us from time to time. After the Lord passed away, he stopped for a while, but now he has started again."
"Hush! Don't mention that person. If the King of Hell hears him, he will be very upset!"
"Alas, since the new God of the Underworld has not yet been born, we still have to rely on ourselves and do our best to maintain peace in the world!"
*
Yan Yue was very strong. Qi Zhaoyang tried to struggle twice but failed to break free. He ran away from the City God Temple panting before the two of them stopped.
Qi Zhaoyang was confused: "Why are you running?"
Yan Yue said, "Are you stupid? If the City God is broken, what if someone comes and accuses us of intentional damage and puts the blame on us?"
Qi Zhaoyang smiled helplessly: "It's not uncommon for a hollow clay sculpture to collapse. There will be craftsmen to repair and restore it."
Yan Yue finally felt more at ease, and the two said goodbye again.
She first hired a carriage and went to Liu Jie's house.
Liu Jie's parents had two other children. The family received compensation from the brothel owner, so they lived a relatively well-off life. But Yan Yue hoped that they would not blame Liu Jie for dying for love, and even more so, not blame Chen Xiaomei for implicating their son, so she took out 1,000 taels of silver from the purse left by the brothel owner and gave it to Liu Jie's parents.
"I am good friends with Chen Xiaomei and Liu Jie. I borrowed money from them seven years ago, and they said that I could just pay it back to Chen's parents in the future. Now, I'll give you one thousand taels, including the principal and interest."
Liu Jie's parents were shocked and quickly let her into the house.
"But, but we didn't know about this!"
Yan Yue saw two seats in the corner of the main room. It was normal that Liu Jie’s was there, but what was surprising was that Chen Xiaomei’s was also there.
Yan Yue lit a stick of incense for the two, and Liu Jie's father sighed: "Alas, these two children have a miserable life!"
Yan Yue said: "I thought you would blame Chen Xiaomei for harming Liu Jie."
Liu Jie's father sighed, "Now that things have come to this, what's there to be surprised about? Xiaomei is a child we have watched grow up! She is a good child, but she is unlucky to have such a father!"
Liu Jie's mother said with tears in her eyes: "I regret it now. If I had agreed to let them be together earlier and married Xiaomei to protect her, the child wouldn't have ended up like that, and my son Jie wouldn't have... wouldn't have..."
Yan Yue comforted him, "This ill-fated couple is finally free. I hope they can achieve happiness in their next life."
Liu's father and mother scolded the madam for a while, saying that the madam was protected by government officials and she tried to make the story about the murder being caused by Liu Jie accidentally falling down the stairs, and that she would let the matter go if she paid two hundred taels of silver as compensation. Now that he has finally confessed his crime and been punished, it can be said that God has mercy on him.
In the end, they still didn't dare to accept Yan Yue's money, saying: "How can there be such a large sum of money? Besides, we don't have an IOU left by the child!"
Yan Yue smiled and said, "It's okay. Just treat it as a gesture of filial piety from them! They must be very sorry that they can't fulfill their filial duties for you two elders."
After saying goodbye to the Liu family, she carried a newly bought large wooden box to Zhou Lin's burial place.
Even though Zhou Lin said that he would be satisfied with just a cenotaph at home, Yan Yue thought that since he missed returning to his roots so much, he must want to go home very much.
She collected Zhou Lin's body, asked the driver to drive the carriage, and set out to take Zhou Lin home.
After three days of bumpy ride, the carriage finally arrived at the next small town.
The driver could not deliver the passengers too far and had to change carriages from town to town. Yan Yue paid the taxi fare, had a big meal, and had a good sleep, preparing to rest for a day before leaving.
Unexpectedly, the next day when I was strolling around after eating and drinking, I met Qi Zhaoyang again.
Qi Zhaoyang said that the two had met before. Someone had hired him for a large sum of money to catch demons and exorcise evil spirits, but his skills were not good enough and the demon escaped. Since he didn't catch the monster, he couldn't accept any reward, so he planned to move on to the next place.
Yan Yue was a little worried. Could it be that he was here to capture Bai Chen?
Although Bai Chen wanted to eat her, at least he had been nice to her these days, and she didn't want Bai Chen to be killed.
Qi Zhaoyang was surprised to learn Yan Yue's destination. "The town I'm going to happens to be close to Linjiang City where the young lady is going! The young lady is alone, why don't we go together so that we can take care of each other?"
Yan Yue was more than happy to agree, "That's great! Anyway, the carriage is the same price whether there are one or two people in it!"
Yan Yue hired a carriage, and Qi Zhaoyang didn't want to take advantage of her, so he paid for her accommodation and meals.
Qi Zhaoyang originally thought that Yan Yue was the daughter of a wealthy family. After all, she had to carry a sumptuous meal with her when she escaped from the City God Temple that night.
I don't think she is squeamish at all.
When the carriage got stuck in the mud, she would jump out without hesitation, take off her beautiful embroidered shoes, and step into the mud barefoot to push the carriage, saying: "Washing feet is much easier than brushing shoes!"
She seldom eats in restaurants, preferring to eat at roadside stalls, unless she hears that there is something new and fresh in a restaurant that she has never tasted before, then she will go and try it. It's true that I only want to try that one dish, and then go out and buy a bunch of weird foods.
Qi Zhaoyang spent several days trying to figure out Yan Yue's taste, but still couldn't figure out her taste. He only found that she particularly liked sweet food. She not only likes candies and snacks, but also sweet and salty, sweet and spicy, and sweet and sour dishes.
That day, someone was making peanut candies, sesame candies, and walnut candies on the roadside, and she watched them intently for half an hour! In the end, I bought a big bag of each and kept eating all the way.
Qi Zhaoyang reminded: "Aren't you afraid of toothache after eating so much candy?"
"Don't worry! No matter what happens in the future, be happy every day!" Yan Yue stuffed another piece of peanut crisp into her mouth and handed him another piece: "Try it, it's really delicious!"
Her cheeks are puffy, which is very cute.
Qi Zhaoyang took the candy and put it into his mouth. The sweetness with the aroma of peanuts filled his mouth. He chewed it gently, and the rich and fragrant sweetness filled his mouth, filling his internal organs with a sweet and satisfying feeling.
"Is it delicious?" When Yan Yue smiled, her eyes curved slightly, and there seemed to be a flash of light in them.
Qi Zhaoyang couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth and nodded: "Very sweet."
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