Good food and wine!
After three rounds of drinking.
The City God was very talkative and answered all of Lin Ye's questions. Lin Ye also knew about the City God's life.
Cheng Huang was a civil servant of the previous dynasty, his surname was Li.
After Li Chenghuang passed the imperial examination, the first unit he was assigned to was the magistrate of Poyang County. He had a very good reputation in the local area. After his transfer, the people built a shrine for him. He later rose to the third rank and was named Chenghuang after his death.
"Sir Li, I am sorry to have bothered you for so long today."
"No, it's my honor to have you two brothers come to my place. Please come often in the future." Lin Ye stood up and said goodbye. Li Chenghuang personally sent the two of them to the city gate and waved goodbye.
"Junior brother, this City God Li is not bad, much better than the City God of Shangyang County. No wonder he is so popular."
Daohai expressed his opinion that they were both City Gods, so why did the City God of Shangyang County only care about the incense.
"If the flowers bloom, the breeze will come."
Dao Hai was stunned, looked at Lin Ye, patted his head and said: "That's what I meant, but Junior Brother, what you said is as good as those scholars."
Lin Ye smiled. This was not what he said, but time travel is bound to be a free ride. He just didn’t have to admit it, deny it, or explain.
"Brother, do you think this Li Cheng Huang is a good Cheng Huang?"
"Yes, to be able to receive so much worship from the people, he must be a good City God. You saw the scene at the temple gate just now. The child was almost stabbed by the incense stick, but it was City God Li who intervened in time to stop him."
"It is precisely this scene that makes me feel doubtful."
Lin Ye looked at Dao Hai. Although Dao Hai had some violent tendencies, due to his long-term practice and growing up in Miaoying Temple, he had never experienced intrigue and had not seen much of human nature.
But I am different. I have seen too much darkness in the real world, and I have learned too much about darkness because of the rapid acquisition of information.
He might be talking about integrity in front of the camera one moment, and be in jail the next.
Be one thing in front of people and another behind their backs.
Isn’t that what officials are best at?
That scene was so coincidental that he couldn't help but think about it.
"Brother, what do you mean by this?"
Dao Hai was a little confused. Being a simple man, he didn't understand the meaning of the word "show off".
"There are many flaws in what this Li Chenghuang said."
Lin Ye lowered his voice and said, "First of all, according to what he said, he felt sorry for Ye Zhiyuan's death. Ye Zhiyuan's soul left, so he gave him the Soul-Fixing Orb. This can barely be explained, but if he felt sorry, then what about Ye Zhiyuan's wife and children? He stood by and watched knowing that Ye Zhiyuan's wife and children were helpless. As a city god, he cannot interfere in the affairs of the living. This reason can be explained, but since Ye Zhiyuan's wife and children are dead, what is the point of giving them the Soul-Fixing Orb?"
"Even if Ye Zhiyuan goes to another place and later passes the imperial examination and returns, he still has to face the fact of his own death. Besides, Ye Zhiyuan's wife and children only hate him. If they let him stay in the world of the living, what awaits him when he returns will only be his wife and children's resentment."
"If that City God Li really treated Ye Zhiyuan as his son or nephew, why would he let Ye Zhiyuan know of his death and endure the hatred of his wife and children before going to the world of the living?"
Dao Hai was a little confused, and after thinking for a while, he replied: "Maybe Li Chenghuang wanted to give Ye Zhiyuan and his wife and children a chance to meet for the last time, even if it's just a meeting of their souls."
"Even if Li Chenghuang thought so, he was the one who let Ye Zhiyuan go. He treated Ye Zhiyuan as his son or nephew. But when Ye Zhiyuan came back, he sent the ghost messenger to claim his soul. This is not the behavior of treating a son or nephew."
Lin Ye's eyes sank slightly. This was the main reason why he suspected this City God Li.
"It does make some sense, but Li Chenghuang is the City God, and Ye Zhiyuan is just an unsuccessful scholar. There should be no connection between the two."
"Who knows?" Lin Ye looked at Dao Hai and asked, "Brother, tell me the truth. If we fight, can you be a match for the City God?"
Dao Hai smiled naively and said, "Of course that won't work. This City God Li has been in office for two centuries. I can't deal with him. I'm actually no match for the new City God of Shangyang County. The reason why he dared to set fire to the City God Temple was because of the support of the master and his men."
Lin Ye: ...
He increasingly suspected that Dao Hai was pretending to be foolish, and was actually a wise man in disguise.
"If we want to know the truth, we have to find Ye Zhiyuan and his family. But now I'm afraid Ye Zhiyuan and his family have been sent away by Li Chenghuang."
"Junior brother, if you want to find out, just go back to the Shangyang County City God Temple."
"What's the meaning?"
Lin Ye was a little confused. Ye Zhiyuan was from Poyang County. What did he have to do with the City God of Shangyang County?
"Ye Zhiyuan has been in Shangyang County for six years. Although he is a spirit, his name must be in the Shangyang County City God's Book. As long as we get the City God's Book, we can summon Ye Zhiyuan's spirit and interrogate him."
"Is this still possible? Will the City God of Shangyang County give me the City God Book?"
"The City God goes out on patrol every fifteenth day of the lunar month. It's about time."
Dao Hai explained to Lin Ye some things about the City God. Only then did Lin Ye realize that the City God of the underworld also had to work.
On the 15th of every month, the City God would go out on patrol, inspecting various places within his jurisdiction. This was to prevent the local gods and the underworld officials from oppressing ghosts and doing evil, or colluding with the living. It was a bit like a patrol team coming down to inspect.
If it were any other City God Temple, even if the City God was on patrol, there would definitely be ghost messengers guarding the City God Temple. However, the City God of Shangyang County had only been in office for a short time, and the incense and offerings were not very strong, so not many ghost messengers were recruited. In order to maintain the pomp of the City God's patrol, there could definitely not be many ghost messengers left in the temple.
Just do it!
Lin Ye and Dao Hai did not waste any time and rushed back to Shangyang County overnight .
"Sir, these two have already left the territory."
Li Chenghuang was in the backyard of the City God Temple, listening to the report from his messenger. He waved his hand to signal his subordinates to retreat, and then sighed quietly, "One wrong step leads to all wrong steps."
…
…
Shangyang County.
Lin Ye and Dao Hai rushed back to Shangyang County exhausted. They did not go back to the county town immediately, but went to Miaoying Temple.
"Amitabha, absolutely not, Daohai, why are you following Daoji and doing this?"
Daoyuan listened to Lin Ye and Daohai's intention and flatly refused.
Is the City God Book so easy to steal?
The most important thing is that their Miaoying Temple is no longer the same as before, and there is no benefit in making enemies with the City God.
"Brother, a set of eternal lamps." Lin Ye quoted the price.
"Even if you have ten sets, it's useless. This is not at all..."
"Ten sets."
Daoyuan: ...
"Brother Daoji, are you serious?"
"Amitabha, monks do not tell lies."
"Forget it, you guys have your reasons, so if that's the case, then I'll help you."
…
…
The City God goes on patrol!
Yang people avoid it.
The fifteenth day of the lunar calendar!
The City God of Shangyang County sat in a sedan chair, with eight ghost messengers leading the way in front and behind, and began his inspection journey.
At a corner not far from the City God Temple, two dark shadows watched the City God patrol team leave the city, walked out of the corner, and headed towards the City God Temple.
There were no Yinchai guarding the temple gate. Two figures directly climbed over the wall and then returned to the temple hall through the side door.
"Where is this City God Book usually placed?"
The two figures were naturally Lin Ye and Dao Hai. Lin Ye glanced around the hall and found nothing, so he asked Dao Hai in a low voice.
“Usually it is placed near the statue of the deity.”
Dao Hai jumped onto the altar and moved the statue of the City God very roughly, causing quite a commotion. Lin Ye was about to speak out warn them when a voice came from the back door.
"Who is making noise here?"
A ghost came out from the back door and saw Daohai moving the statue. Without saying a word, he swung the iron chain in his hand.
"How dare you, you thief!"
Dao Hai stretched out his left hand, grabbed the chain, and then exerted force suddenly, causing Yincha to stagger and be pulled over.
"You came just in time."
Lin Ye's eyes lit up when he saw the ghost messenger appearing. He didn't know where the City God Book was, but the ghost messenger must know.
"You... who are you and why are you breaking into the City God Temple?"
Yinchai looked at Daohai with some fear, but both Lin Ye and Daohai had their faces covered, especially Daohai, for whom Lin Ye even found a hood to wear.
"If you don't want to be torn to pieces, tell us where the City God's Book is."
"City God 's Book, are you here for the City God's Book?"
The ghost was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "Only the City God can open the City God's Book. It's useless even if you get it."
"Stop talking nonsense. Just say what I tell you to say. Why are you being so long-winded?"
"The City God's Book is on the beam above the statue."
The ghost pointed at the beam and Lin Ye jumped up. There was a brocade box on the beam. When he opened it, there was a booklet inside.
Holding the booklet, Lin Ye found that he couldn't open it. The booklet looked thin, but the pages were as heavy as a thousand pounds.
Lin Ye gave Dao Hai a look, and Dao Hai's palm flashed with Buddha's light. While Yin Cha hadn't reacted yet, he knocked Yin Cha unconscious with a palm.
"Junior brother, if I want to open this City God Book, I need some time."
The City God Book is not only openable by the City God, but also by practitioners. It just takes time, which was something Lin Ye and Dao Hai had already expected.
"Okay, I'll trouble you here, Junior Brother. I'll go over there and drag the City God."
…
…
Yang Chenghuang was very happy. During his inspection, there were no evil ghosts or unjust cases in the area under his jurisdiction.
But the real reason why he was happy was that the new abbot of Miaoying Temple, Master Daoyuan, personally invited him to visit Miaoying Temple.
This was the first time that Miaoying Temple had taken the initiative to invite him since he took office as the City God. The new abbot of Miaoying Temple was personally waiting for him on his way out. From now on, he, as the City God, would have the final say in Shangyang County.
When Lin Ye rushed to Miaoying Temple, he happened to see Daoyuan having a good chat with the City God.
Dao Yuan saw Lin Ye coming and introduced him with a smile: "Lord City God, let me introduce you. This is Dao Ji, a disciple of the Su family of my Miaoying Temple. He is the best among the many lay disciples of my Miaoying Temple."
" I saw him last time. He was indeed outstanding."
Yang Chenghuang thought of the scene of the man cursing wildly in front of him that day, and it was indeed an outstanding one.
It's so rare.