Nightwatcher

The Town God's Temple is outside the county seat, six miles to the east.

Xu Qi'an and his party rode on horseback and arrived at their destination within a cup of tea.

A small temple with black tiles and white walls is located not far from the official road. The small temple is surrounded by white walls, and a narrow path connects the temple and the official road. .

The Town God's Temple is quite popular, and there are non-stop ordinary people dressed in plain clothes and rich people in bright clothes going back and forth to and from the narrow path, entering and leaving the temple.

There are also several carriages parked outside the temple.

"Hoo!"

Xu Qi'an reined in the horse in front of the temple gate, got off the horse, helped Mu Nanzhi down, and tied the horse to the wooden post on the side of the road with Li Ling Su Miao Youfang.

He closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, and was immediately disappointed, there was no dragon aura around him.

Standing at the entrance of the temple were two tall and thick men, they stretched out their hands to stop them, held their heads up, and said:

"When you enter the temple to burn incense, you will be given twenty Wen."

Tickets are also available in this era. Although the temple god has nothing to do with the Dragon Qi, since you have encountered it, let's go in and have a look. Xu Qi'an glanced at Li Lingsu, who curled his lips and took out twenty cents and handed it over.

The man on the left took it, looked at the brocade robe on Xu Qi'an's body, let out a hey, and said:

"Twenty Wen per person."

Mu Nanzhi frowned, this guy was obviously looking at the nice clothes Xu Qi'an was wearing, and was waiting for an opportunity to ask for money.

"Why don't they use it?" She pointed to a young couple entering the temple.

"They are regular customers, so of course they don't need it." The man at the gate had his own way of saying it. He didn't seem to be afraid of trouble at all, so he said impatiently:

"If you want to burn incense, give the money quickly, and get out if you don't have any money."

Xu Qi'an raised his head to appease Mu Nanzhi, and said, "Give it to him."

After paying the money, the four of them stepped through the gate, and Xu Qi'an glanced at it. The yard was divided into two halves by the bluestone road leading to the temple. On the left was a merit pagoda cast in yellow mud, burning yellow paper.

On the right are two rows of candlesticks half a person's height, and each red candle is burning, and the wax tears are rolling.

Many pilgrims gathered on both sides, or burned yellow paper, or lit candles.

The four of them walked through the courtyard and entered the Town God's Temple. The things enshrined in the temple immediately attracted their attention.

It was an ugly, shirtless kid with a big belly. It raised its hands high and dragged a stone mirror. The mirror seemed to be damaged, with only half of it left.

It's not that the statue is broken, but the mirror itself is broken.

In front of the sculpture, more than a dozen pilgrims are worshiping devoutly. On the right side of the incense table in front, stands an old woman with gray hair. She has thin cheeks and a high forehead, which looks a bit like a mouse.

Shrewd and philistine.

There is no energy fluctuation, no wronged soul, no evil spirit. Xu Qi'an circulated the primordial spirit. After scanning around, he confirmed that this was just an ordinary Town God's Temple.

Whether it is the Temple of the City God is yet to be discussed.

A normal Town God's Temple obviously wouldn't enshrine an imp.

Li Lingsu also inspected the small temple with the "switch" of the eighth grade of Taoism. He shook his head slightly at Xu Qi'an, expressing that he found nothing unusual.

Is the waiter exaggerating? Xu Qi'an was a little disappointed. Rather than saying that the behind-the-scenes tricks were so sophisticated that he couldn't detect the clues, the truth that it was obviously the shop boy who was deceiving people was more reliable.

It is impossible for a small county town to be like Tianzong, where two crouching dragons and young phoenixes appear to deceive the dignified Xu Yinluo.

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, walked up to the sorceress, and said:

"We are foreigners. We heard that the Town God's Temple here is very efficacious, so we went into the temple to burn incense. You are a witch. May I ask what kind of gods are enshrined in the temple?"

The old woman glanced at him, saw Xu Qi'an wearing a robe of good material, her eyes lit up, she coughed, and said in a deep voice:

"Young man, you have come to the right place.

"In the temple is worshiped the God of Heaven, which is an omnipotent god. The mirror held in his hand is called the Mirror of Heaven. Through this mirror, God of Heaven can see the affairs of the world.

"My old man sees that your seal is black, and you are afraid of bad luck recently. You can come here to burn incense, because the god of heaven is protecting you in the dark, and he has seen your bad luck."

Xu Qi'an showed a "horrified" expression cooperatively, and said:

"Why do you say that, me, everything has been going well in my journey."

The old woman said lightly:

"The time has not come. If you want to eliminate the bad luck, the old body can show you a clear way."

After Xu Qi'an nodded, she examined Xu Qi'an's clothes and said:

"The temple god loves money, so if you offer two hundred taels of silver and worship for seven days, you can eliminate bad luck."

Two hundred taels, what a big appetite. Xu Qi'an memorized the names of Huntian God and Huntian Shenjing, and planned to ask the members of the Tiandihui in the fragments of the book from the ground.

Although he was basically sure that the old witch was a swindler.

At this time, a middle-aged man in light clothes came over. He was wearing an undershirt and a worn cotton jacket outside. Straw could be seen in the hole.

The cotton-padded jacket is stuffed with straw.

The middle-aged man has a weather-beaten face. Years of hard work made him look a bit dull, and he said sullenly:

"Witch, my mother-in-law is going to die, she, why isn't she well?

"You said that if you worship the temple god for seven days, her illness will be cured, but she can't eat anymore today."

The witch frowned: "That means you are not pious enough, you need to continue offering for three days."

When the middle-aged man heard the words, a bitter expression appeared on his weather-beaten face: "I, I have no money, and all my savings are used in the temple."

The sorceress was displeased and said:

"That's your business, if you don't have any money, you can sell the field or ask someone to borrow it.

"The temple god is fair, and will not favor you just because your family is poor. Don't other pilgrims offer offerings? Don't they have poor families?"

After a set of logic, the middle-aged man was speechless, his lips trembling slightly.

"But my mother-in-law can't eat anymore, I can't eat anything anymore"

In the simple concept of the common people, being unable to walk or eat is a fatal matter.

The sorceress snorted and said threateningly:

"The temple god will protect us, and if someone offends, he will punish us."

The middle-aged man seemed to have thought of something, showing an extremely frightened expression, bent his back, and dared not speak any more.

Miao Youfang not far away was listening to the whole process, his eyebrows were raised upright.

On the other side, Li Lingsu tactfully asked Xiangke for information, and his target was a young man.

"Brother Tai is young, what do you ask for in the temple?"

Li Lingsu is handsome and personable, it is hard to ignore, but the young man's words flash:

"No, nothing."

Li Lingsu smiled and said, "Everyone is here to burn incense, so why not talk about it."

Secretly exerting influence with the power of the primordial spirit, his voice is mixed with the charm of obedience and intimacy, the young man unconsciously opened his heart, and said with a wry smile:

"I'm here to ask for a son."

Li Lingsu said "Oh" and said, "It's also seven days?"

The young man nods.

"It must have cost a lot of money." When Li Lingsu spoke, he glanced at the middle-aged man.

"Silver is fine."

The young man showed a strange expression, and he was about to say something. At this moment, the curtain leading to the inner hall was lifted, and a delicate woman walked out quickly.

Her face was a little flushed, and her hair was a little disheveled. Seeing everyone's eyes, she immediately lowered her head and walked back to her husband quickly.

In a short time, the curtain was lifted again, and a thick and sturdy man came out. He glanced at the figure of the delicate woman, and his face was filled with unsatisfactory feelings.

"Mother, I have already delivered the child on behalf of the temple god, you should collect the money. The little lady is very satisfied."

The man said with a grin.

The old woman looked at the young couple, smiled and said:

"Little lady of the Zhang family, Mr. Zhang, are you satisfied?"

The blush on the delicate woman's face faded, and she gradually turned pale. Humiliation and anger flashed in the eyes of the young man surnamed Zhang, and he forced a smile and said:

"Satisfied, satisfied"

As he spoke, he took off the money pouch with a forced smile and handed it over.

The man stretched out his hand to take it, weighed it, turned his eyes around the delicate woman, grinned and said:

"There are still four days, remember to come on time, or the temple god will be angry."

Fear appeared in the eyes of the young couple at the same time, and they nodded repeatedly.

"Why didn't you report to the police?"

The young man surnamed Zhang sighed in his ears. He turned his head and saw that handsome man with a dignified appearance.

Infected by the voice again, he summoned inexplicable courage in his heart, and said with a slightly fearful tone:

"The people who reported to the officials died, and those who disrespected the temple gods also died.

"As long as we worship the temple god well, the temple god will bless us"

Li Lingsu poked at the essence and asked:

"Since you know that those who disrespect the temple god are dead, why do you still come here to burn incense?"

As locals, the young couple should have known the trouble of getting involved with the temple gods, so they could choose not to come.

The young man surnamed Zhang gritted his teeth and said:

"It's not that we want to come, it's him, it's him who fell in love with my wife and came to my door, asking us to go to the Town God's Temple to pray for a child, otherwise the temple god will punish us."

Li Lingsu understood that this was the same as the children of the rich and powerful bullying men and women, the difference was that one relied on power and the other relied on temple gods.

He couldn't help looking at Xu Qi'an, seeing that his face was gloomy and silent, as if he was thinking about something.

"Mother, where did this stupid bag come from?"

The old god of the man was listening, not afraid at all, and even a little disdainful.

The sorceress looked gloomy, pointed at Xu Qi'an and Miao Youfang, and said, "These are foreigners together."

Then, she looked at the young couple with a sneer:

"Zhang Xianggong, Mrs. Zhang, you are disrespectful to the temple god, and the temple god sees it."

The little lady's face turned "shua" pale, and she said in a crying voice: "The temple god forgives the sin, the goddess forgives the sin."

After beating the young couple, the sorceress snorted coldly, looked at Xu Qi'an and the others, and announced:

"You have disrespected the temple god and offended the temple god, and you are already dying. If you want to appease the temple god's anger, you will offer three hundred taels of silver, otherwise, I will not be able to save you."

Her son clapped his hands in unison, and three men from outside the temple immediately walked in, surrounding Xu Qi'an and others.

The pilgrims around pointed and whispered.

"These strangers are really brave."

"Yeah, hurry up and offer the silver, or you won't know how to die."

Zhang Xianggong had come to his senses at this time, no longer affected by Li Lingsu, knowing what he said just now, his legs were so frightened that his legs went limp.

Trembling voice: "Temple God forgives sins, Temple God forgives sins"

The sorcerer's son ignored him, stared at the tiger, and threatened Xu Qi'an and others: "Give me the money quickly."

The pilgrims on the side quickly persuaded:

"Outsiders, quickly admit your mistake to the temple god."

"Why court death?"

"Yes, hurry up and offer the money, don't drag Mr. Zhang with you."

The middle-aged man opened his mouth, as if he wanted to persuade him too, but resentment flashed in his eyes, and he silently clenched his fists.

"Silver? It's your uncle's. You should go to King Yan."

Miao Youfang cursed, took two quick steps, clenched his fist, and threw his right arm back.

boom!

Before everyone could react, he punched the witch's son in the head.

The head exploded like a watermelon, blood and bones splashed all over the ground, the wall, and the statue of the temple god behind it.

The temple was silent for a few seconds, then the screams suddenly exploded, and the pilgrims fled out in panic.

The three guards of the Chenghuang Temple fled to the courtyard with the pilgrims.

"Son!"

The sorceress screamed terribly, threw herself down in front of the headless corpse, and wept bitterly.

Miao Youfang took out a long knife from the magic weapon that Xu Qi'an gave him, smashed it randomly, kicked over the incense table, kicked it to the incense burner, and chopped the statue of the temple god in half with the last knife.

"you."

The sorceress glared at the four of them resentfully, and said sharply: "The temple god will not let you go, everyone will die."

"killed!"

Xu Qi'an said lightly.

He still has doubts and incomprehensions about this temple god, but it doesn't matter, he will ask Li Lingsu to summon the spirit later, and he will personally interrogate the soul of the sorceress.

Miao Youfang immediately chopped off the witch's head with a knife, and then kicked her head off.

It's different to have a younger brother. I don't need to do it myself. Xu Qi'an nodded in satisfaction, and the Zhang family couple and the middle-aged man who were staring blankly at the same place sighed inwardly.

God, the sorceress is dead. The young couple was dumbfounded, their hearts trembling violently, and they couldn't tell whether they were feeling happy or afraid at this moment.

The middle-aged man is also stupid.

Also dumbfounded were the pilgrims in the yard.

Xu Qi'an knew that these people needed to be appeased, he stepped out of the temple, looked at the pilgrims looking around in the yard, and said:

"I'm a headhunter from the capital, and these are my colleagues.

"Someone went to Beijing to file a complaint, saying that there were people in Shengyi County who committed adultery at temples and sacrifices, causing harm to the people.

"I have secretly investigated for a few days, and I have found out the truth. The sorceress learned some sorcery, secretly harmed people, and pretended to be a temple god to intimidate the people.

"Now that he has been executed, you don't need to come here to make offerings."

When they heard that this young man was from the government, the pilgrims felt much more at ease.

The sky is big and the earth is big, and the imperial court is the largest. Because of this, the presence of the imperial court makes them feel more secure.

"But, the temple god is indeed effective." A pilgrim said.

If it is just intimidation, they will not be able to make them willingly burn incense and make offerings.

"The owner of the rouge shop in Guanghua Street was killed by a sorceress. This matter has already been investigated by me," Xu Qi'an said.

The pilgrims were relieved.

Xu Qi'an turned around and entered the temple, took out an ingot of official silver from his arms, handed it to the middle-aged man, and said:

"If you are sick, you have to see a doctor."

After asking the address of the middle-aged man, he turned to Li Lingsu and said, "You can go there later to see the situation."

He is worried about the middle-aged man's mother-in-law who is dying, and ordinary doctors are unable to recover.

Li Lingsu nodded.

The middle-aged man knelt tremblingly: "Thank you, my lord, thank you, my lord."

At this time, Miao Youfang picked up the money pouch next to the sorceress's son, threw it to Zhang Xianggong, and said:

"Forget about what happened here, don't underestimate your daughter-in-law because of it."

The young man surnamed Zhang glanced at the corpses of his mother-in-law and son, and spat hard. He gave the three of them a silent nod, hugged his wife and left.

Miao Youfang turned his head and spat at the corpse, as if he was used to it:

"My uncle has been in the rivers and lakes for many years, and the number of such villains killed cannot be counted."

"This is not a good thing!" Xu Qi'an said.

This shows that the imperial court's jurisdiction and rule over various places are already very weak. When the order is gradually shaken, chaos will occur frequently.

Someone will stand up to establish a new order. At that time, the dynasty will either change, or the dynasty will experience huge trauma and survive.

Xu Qi'an glanced outside, confirmed that all the pilgrims had been driven out, immediately closed the temple door, and ordered:

"Li Lingsu, summon a spirit!"

As soon as the words were finished, Miao Youfang suddenly clutched his chest, his face was ashen, and slowly shrank to the ground.

His face was as suffocated as a pig liver, his eyes turned white, and the breath of life passed away quickly.

A martial artist at the pinnacle of refining the gods is on the verge of death for no reason?

PS: Recommend this book: "The Book of the Old Days", author Xiong Langgou.