Burning incense is also called burning incense, worshipping incense, etc.

In every place and in every person's heart, there may be different opinions on why people burn incense! But in summary, there are only a few of them.

Incense is a signal incense, an incense that transmits signals. For example, the signal smoke on the Great Wall is lit to transmit military intelligence. Incense is to convey the information of the person who burns incense to Buddha, Bodhisattva, gods, ghosts and monsters! It is a symbolic function! At first glance, it seems that there is nothing special about it. If it is placed in modern times, it is at most a cultural heritage.

But unfortunately, this taboo really exists in this world.

When the Great Jin Dynasty was founded, it used the Dynasty Dao to gather the momentum of the dynasty. Anyone who had great merits and good deeds during their lifetime had the possibility of being canonized as a god by the Great Jin Dynasty after their death, thus embarking on the process of practicing the God Dao. Most of the City Gods and Land Gods came from this way.

(If you're lucky, it can even be passed on to the next dynasty, so that the faith and the gods will live on.) And because ghost plagues occur frequently in various places and the people are in a panic, the people of this world have a natural awe of ghosts and gods throughout the dynasties.

Therefore, the tradition of burning incense and offering sacrifices has become a special ritual here. This is why the old butler went to burn incense as soon as he entered the land temple. After all, they did not open the transparent world and could not realize that the local land was dead.

(Zhang San has already entered Taoism, and Taoism does not distinguish between high and low. He is on the same level as the City God and the Land God, so there is no need for him to burn incense.)

The Analects of Confucius states, "The Master does not speak of strange things, supernatural powers, or the gods."

This can generally be translated as: The Master does not talk about weirdness, bravery, rebellion and ghosts and gods.

That is to say, Confucius believed in the existence of ghosts and gods, but did not advocate the pursuit or worship of them. If righteous thoughts fade, evil thoughts will take over.

Of course, this is the realm that only Confucius, or Confucianism, can reach. For ordinary people, fear and awe of unknown things are the most real instinctive reaction of human beings.

It is not wrong to fear ghosts and gods, and it is also okay to burn incense and pray for blessings, but the prerequisite is that you must know what you are worshiping.

Is he the once-ascended God of Fortune? Is he the orthodox priest appointed by the Yun Dynasty? Or is he just a vagrant who has taken over the magpie's nest and is arrogant? Ordinary people cannot see through the monks' background, but the incense of the Shinto faith will not deceive people.

People are most afraid of three long and two short, and incense is most afraid of two short and one long! If this kind of incense is produced at home, someone must have died! The Gu family, which has been passed down for thousands of years, and Zhang San, who is nostalgic for telling stories in teahouses, although they have not seen this kind of situation with their own eyes, they have more or less heard some rumors.

Knowing this, after hearing the old housekeeper's words, Zhang San gripped the knife even tighter, and his fingertips even showed signs of turning white due to poor blood circulation.

At this point, it is time for him to explain things to this group of people. Perhaps they will be a great help, at least they will have some knowledge.

…

The night deepened, and the moon that was originally hanging high in the sky was covered by clouds at some point. A strong wind blew through, and the campfire flickered.

Along with a burst of thunder, the temple gate that was originally sealed by the guards was blown open by the whistling mountain wind, and under the illumination of lightning, a thin shadow began to walk towards the crowd.

From far to near, I don’t know how deep it is.

“Tap, tap, tap…”

"His breathing is not smooth, his steps are disorderly, and he seems to have no idea how to release the force. He should be a man, but he is not a martial artist."

The nameless old butler is indeed a knight-errant with great external skills. Although the noises from the outside world are noisy and chaotic, they can hardly affect his judgment.

The old butler glanced in Zhang San's direction, as if asking him what he thought. However, when he saw that Zhang San's hand was tightly holding the sword, he understood the other party's attitude.

He waved his hand at Zhao Zhen, and several alert guards reacted instantly. Although "using courtesy before force" is a long-standing virtue in China, our ancestors also summed up another saying in the long river of history.

Don't have the intention to harm others, but be on guard against others! "Hu~Hu~"

"Fifty steps!"

You can hear his voice before you see him. Perhaps it's because he has neglected exercise, or maybe he was too anxious to climb the mountain, the man's condition is obviously not very good at this moment.

"Fortunately, there are still people in this land temple. Wencai, you must hold on. I will go and ask someone to save you... huh..."

The voice was deep and powerful, it was definitely a man's. The old butler's first inference was correct. And judging from the words of the visitor, it seemed that the other party had encountered some difficulties and wanted to ask for help.

"Thirty steps!"

When faced with this situation, Zhang San had no idea how others did this, but the old housekeeper's approach made him feel enlightened, and he even wanted to beg the author to add a surname for him.

"Help, is there anyone here? I'm a student going to Beijing to take the imperial examination. There are tigers in the mountains here that eat people~"

"Twenty steps!"

The man outside the field was anxiously calling for help, and the old butler was still counting in a deep voice. Gu Xuanyan seemed to have heard something. Her eyes, which had been a little dim due to weak blood and qi, were now shining brightly. Even the darkness could not suppress the brightness of her eyes.

But all this has nothing to do with Zhang San, because twenty steps is enough distance.

Transparent world - open!

Get rid of all distracting thoughts, return consciousness to nothingness, and enter the state of selflessness in the state of true self.

At this moment, Zhang San's perception and control have reached their peak, and this is just the beginning.

The contraction of his own muscles, the rhythm of his opponent's blood, the fluctuation of the surrounding spiritual energy, and even the long river of time in the dark, all swarmed into Zhang San's brain. In his impression, he had never been so powerful.

Gu Xuanyan was pulling at his clothes, as if she wanted to express something. Although Zhang San had lost the ability to "hear" at this time, he fell into another more mysterious state.

Just like the Buddhist telepathy, he really couldn't hear what Gu Xuanyan was saying, but he could clearly understand what she wanted to express.

[Be careful, there is something wrong with that person, the time for the Spring Examination has passed! ]

(Note: The examination is also divided into three sessions, held on the 9th, 12th and 15th of February. Now it is just after the Waking of Insects, around the 22nd, and candidates are waiting for the announcement of the results in the capital) Is there something wrong with the person who came? Of course there is. The moment that person, no, the puppet entered the scope of the transparent world, Zhang San knew that there was something wrong with him.

Although his body still retains the physique of a young man, his decayed soul reveals the ravages of time.

There is no doubt that this is a ghost plague, and it is a ghost plague that has been lingering for decades. After such a long time, even a dog would not be too weak.