Chapter 68: White Bone Hairpin 23: Saint's Prayer (Part 1)
Just after the hour of Mao, the chill of the night still lingered. Everything under the blue sky gradually brightened, as if covered by a veil, soft and hazy.
In the gloomy sky, before the roosters crowed, the village was already bustling with activity. Families bustled about, bringing carefully prepared offerings, donning their latest clothes, and donning their most precious jewelry, they journeyed to the shrine together. Their expressions were filled with joy and peace, genuinely delighted to participate in this biennial event.
The saint prayed, and the entire village came out, unable to hide the news from the outsiders who had been forced to stay in the village due to an accident. Furthermore, there were so many people staying this year that the village chief simply opened the shrine to the outsiders, allowing outsiders to stand on the outermost level to watch the grand celebration.
The crowd stretched from the village toward the shrine, filling the wide road to the brim. People walked slowly, not needing to discern the direction; simply following the person in front of them would ensure they reached the shrine.
Xun Shu and Li Xuanhe were also among them.
Li Xuanhe had a serious face, as if he was thinking about something. Xun Shu lowered his head, his earlobes were still a little red, and his mind was full of thoughts about what happened in the morning.
She had just woken up, stumbled into changing her clothes, and then looked at herself in the mirror with a gloomy face.
Her hand had been injured the past few days, making combing her hair difficult. Yesterday, she had spent a long time finally combing her hair into a double-loop bun, feeling smug all day. But then, when she returned to the inn that afternoon and ran into the innkeeper, she told her that her bun had been messed up, with the left side higher and the right lower.
Her world was falling.
The saint is praying today and the whole village will be watching. She doesn't want to wear a crooked bun on her head and make others laugh.
Just as Xun Shu was wondering which bun would be easiest to style, there was a knock on the door. Li Xuanhe was standing outside, holding a small wooden box. He shook it and said, "Let me help you comb your hair."
It is difficult to describe the specific feeling of hearing this sentence, but Xun Shu is sure that she will never forget it in her life.
It was like eating a burnt roast chicken. Just when she was feeling distressed, someone suddenly came, took the chicken away, and handed her a bowl of nectar, feeding her a spoonful. The sweetness seeped into her heart and brain, dispelling the burnt smell of the chicken, and the fragrance filled her every limb.
The matter may be ordinary, but when people keep it in their hearts and think about it all the time, how can they not be moved?
Xun Shu was full of longing. She sat in front of the mirror and handed all her long black hair to him, waiting for him to make great plans. Who could have thought that after an incense stick of time had passed and dozens of hairs had been pulled out, the bun was finally combed out. It was crooked and out of place, even uglier than the one she combed herself.
The only noteworthy thing is the silver hairpin, which is small and exquisite, very beautiful, and somewhat makes up for it.
It was too late to comb her hair again. Fortunately, Xun Shu was not a person who cared too much about these things. In addition, she heard the news about Jiang Zheng yesterday. After leaving Ningyuan Village, he would go to Beijing with Li Xuanhe and his party. She was in a very good mood. At this moment, she just sighed and pretended to be nothing and went out.
Li Xuanhe followed her, admiring her hairdo more and more. Once outside, he showed it off to Chi Xiao and Yu Chang. Yu Chang and Chi Xiao couldn't find a single word of praise for the twisted hairdo that made their master so proud. Chi Xiao, after examining it from head to toe for a long time, finally exclaimed, "This hairpin is quite unique."
Li Xuanhe sneered, "You have no taste. How can this hairpin match my bun? When I return, I will definitely find a hairpin with gold thread and jade, and the head of the hairpin must be inlaid with the most beautiful gems."
Yuchang and Chixiao: ...
Xun Shu, who was walking in the front: ...If you have the confidence, you will succeed in whatever you do.
Thinking of this, Xun Shu smiled with the corners of her lips pursed as she walked with the crowd, revealing a small dimple on her cheek. Li Xuanhe seemed to notice her strangeness and asked curiously, "What are you laughing at?"
Xun Shu shook his head and said frankly: "I won't tell you."
Li Xuanhe raised an eyebrow, but without further questioning, he pointed at the crowd in front and said, "We've arrived at the Shrine."
The shrine is located east of Ningyuan Village. You have to walk through a forest to reach it after leaving the village. The last time I was there, it was midday and the area was deserted, with not a single soul in sight. But today, the scene is completely different.
The sun rose, its rays filtering through the mist and illuminating the dark tiles of the shrine, like a thin layer of gold. The three characters "Palace of Eternal Life" shimmered brightly. The bluestone square in front of the shrine was packed with people, mostly villagers in their finery, mixed with a few outsiders dressed in ordinary clothes, like Xun Shu and his companions. The crowd, silent and reverent, slowly surrounded the shrine, leaving only a passage for the Saint Maiden to pass through and a small area in front of the shrine gate.
Xun Shu was short, so he stood on tiptoe and strained to see what was happening. Half the world was filled with heads. Fortunately, there were stairs in front of the shrine, much higher than the square, so he could just barely make out the faces of the people standing in the front.
The one on the far right is the village chief, the one on the far left is the head of the eastern village, and the person in the middle is wearing a Taoist robe, holding a shiny dustpan in his arms, with a token from the Hall of Eternal Life hanging around his waist. He has his eyes narrowed and is not smiling, looking like an immortal. He is none other than the Taoist Wuweizi whom I met at the altar of Wei's house yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon, Wuweizi followed Li Xuanhe's arrangement and went to find the village chief of Ningyuan Village. He explained his identity as a disciple of Changsheng Palace and showed his identity token to the village chief.
The village chief, who had held the position for over a decade and had never met a disciple from the Hall of Eternal Life, was immediately overwhelmed with emotion and insisted on inviting Wuweizi to the Saint Maiden Blessing Ceremony. Wuweizi readily agreed and stayed overnight at the village chief's home, where he was treated as a distinguished guest and received a warm welcome.
If the snake fish had not died, Wuweizi was afraid that the Changsheng Palace would hunt him to the ends of the earth, and he was counting on Li Xuanhe and others to help him cover up his lies and save his life. He might have betrayed Li Xuanhe and others and stayed comfortably in Ningyuan Village.
Li Xuanhe naturally didn't completely trust him, so he asked Yu Chang to follow him in the dark so that he could know immediately if he had any other thoughts.
It's just an exchange of interests, who can really trust whom?
Seeing that the auspicious time had arrived and everyone was almost gathered, the village chief was about to send someone to urge the saint and her entourage when the sound of gongs and drums came from the direction of the woods.
A two-column procession was marching through the woods toward the shrine. Leading the procession were children of seven or eight, while in the center stood four strong men, carrying a roofless sedan chair. Inside sat a beautifully dressed young woman, the same Bi Tao whom they had seen outside Xilizheng's house.
At this moment, she clutched her sleeves tightly, opened her eyes wide, and stared at the palace that was getting closer and closer in front of her, and the several people standing in front of the palace, feeling extremely uneasy.
She thought about what happened last night.
Seeing that the Saint's Blessing Ceremony was approaching, she had been completely desperate and was ready to make a scene at the Saint's Blessing Ceremony. She would rather find a pillar and kill herself by banging her head against it, and her blood would splatter all over the temple, so as to disgust all the beasts in this village to death. She would also turn into a ghost in the underworld and curse everyone there. However, she did not expect that someone would suddenly appear in her courtyard in the dead of night last night, tell her what to do today, and give her hope again.
It turns out that she was not abandoned, and someone was really trying to save her.
She memorized every word the man said, tossing and turning all night without sleep. She thought that no matter what, she must complete this request today, for herself and for all the young girls in the village.
The people carrying the sedan chair dropped it at the steps in front of the shrine gate. An old woman came forward to help Bitao get out of the sedan chair, straightened her clothes, and then stepped aside.
Thousands of eyes fell on Bitao, but she didn't care. She hunched her chest slightly, pretended to be scared, and walked up the stairs. She silently repeated what she was going to say in her mind for a while, trying not to make any mistakes.
Wuweizi watched the girl approaching with a sense of uneasiness. This was his first time meeting her, and he didn't know her name or whether she could perform the planned play completely without major errors.
Fortunately, he had the token from the Hall of Eternal Life, so no matter what happened, his life would be safe. As for the rest... it all depended on the luck of this group of people.
The blessing ceremony officially began.
The shrine's gates were pushed open, and under the gaze of the crowd, Bi Tao stepped into the empty hall, gradually being swallowed by darkness. She knelt before the statue, appearing reverent and reciting a prayer that had been passed down in Ningyuan Village for decades. The villagers outside the shrine clasped their hands together and bowed their heads as they listened to the prayer, as if praying for future blessings.
Halfway through the prayer, something unexpected happened. Bi Tao suddenly hunched over, holding her head in her hands, trembling all over, looking extremely painful. Those outside the hall looked at her in dismay, looking at each other, unsure of what was happening. At that moment, a voice rang out, drowning out all the chaotic noise: "Could it be that the gods are angry?"
"The gods are angry?!"
Outside the shrine, chaos ensued. The villagers, terrified, looked in the direction of the village chief and the village head. But how could these two have ever experienced anything like this? Even though they harbored doubts, they dared not speak nonsense at this moment.
Amidst the chaos, Bi Tao suddenly regained her composure. She straightened her back and stopped reciting the prayer. Instead, she turned and walked outside the hall, reaching the front and looking down at the audience. Her face was calm, a faint smile on her lips, and her delicate features seemed to gleam with a divine mercy.
She spoke, her voice fearless. "People of Ningyuan Village, I am the immortal stationed in this shrine. I have been worshipped by you for many years, and now I must return to heaven and leave this place. The saint you offered me, though her body was damaged, has cultivated an immortal body. She will serve as my maid and return to heaven with me. Before I leave, I will grant Ningyuan Village eternal protection and blessings, ensuring that the hardworking and kind villagers enjoy good weather and abundant harvests year after year."
All was silent.
Bi Tao's words froze everyone in their tracks, their faces filled with confusion, whispering among themselves, unsure whether to believe them or not. Before anyone could raise a question, Wu Wei Zi took a half-step forward to Bi Tao, drawing everyone's attention to him before beginning his performance.
His expression was extremely exaggerated. He was hesitant at first, then turned to shock. Finally, he exclaimed, "Could it be that the goddess, grateful for the offerings from Ningyuan Village, deliberately possessed this girl and appeared to speak to everyone?" Without waiting for the village chief and the headman to react, he fell to his knees, endured the pain in his knees, and prostrated himself, touching the ground with his forehead. "Disciple, I pay my respects to the goddess!"
Ningyuan Village was home to many followers of the Hall of Immortality. They believed in the Hall and, naturally, its disciple, Wuweizi, believing that Bitao was possessed by the goddess. They followed Wuweizi's lead and knelt, until within moments, most of them had already done so.
The sudden change made the village chief and Dong Lizheng look gloomy and want to get angry, but under pressure, they finally knelt down behind Bitao.
Xun Shu stood upright in the audience, watching the two people kneeling on the stage, he breathed a sigh of relief, and whispered, "It's done."
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