vstars Chapter 468: Incense, Temple, Beggars' Sect Hidden Line
Chapter 468: Incense, Temple, Beggars' Sect Hidden Line
The Dayu Kingdom had a complete system of incense and deity worship, which had been passed down from generation to generation. Various temples could be seen everywhere, from big cities to villages, all of which had temples dedicated to them.
Where there are a lot of people and a lot of talented people, there are big temples, such as the Mother River and the Four Gods. Where there are few people, there are small temples, such as the land god, the small mountain god, and the small gods appointed by various places.
Besides, all the mountains and rivers have something to rely on, and none of them are empty.
As we were heading east, we saw the most Dongshenjun Temples along the way. In comparison, the number of Hemu Temples was less than half of that. This was understandable. After all, Hemu Temples were not local gods, and the number of incense offerings was limited. Gods were like vicious tigers, hungry and indiscriminate. How could they be willing to give too much of the "meat" in their mouths to Hemu?
However, large cities with developed commerce such as Qingrao City and Hongfang City rely on the River Mother because of their frequent trade and convenient water transportation. Therefore, offerings are made frequently, and there are more River Mother Temples than other places.
After all, the meaning of the River Mother is "bringing wealth", "praying for children" and "ensuring safety". Merchants who go out burn incense to pray for wealth and safety, and women at home pray for children.
Many people envy and hate the meaning of He Mu, but they have no choice because he started early. Before the great reform, when most monks stayed indoors, hiding in the mountains and rivers, watching the changes in the world, he had already traveled around with his disciples, looking for the way to reform and study this way of incense.
Those temples have long been like anchors, scattered all over Lingtianzhou, and have long been extended outside the continent. For those who come here later, all kinds of gods burst out at the same time, strange and bizarre, and it is difficult to shake their status.
Let's get back to the topic. The Dongshenjun Temple is mainly decorated in red and green, with blue and purple as auxiliary colors. It stands among the mountains and forests and is very conspicuous.
Li Changxiao entered the temple and looked up at the statue, which was made of jade, with a magic whip in the left hand and a sword in the right hand, riding a two-headed tiger under his crotch, and a purple gold crown on his head.
The incense sticks weave into clouds, and the eyes are bright and majestic.
"Lord Dong..." Li Changxiao rubbed his chin.
In the incense system of Dayu Kingdom, the God of the East controls the East, and East means wealth, so it also symbolizes wealth. The magic whip in his left hand can whip ghosts and gods, and the sword in his right hand can cut off bad luck.
As for the two-headed tiger under his crotch and the purple gold crown on his head, it was related to the legend of Lord Dongshen.
It is said that the two-headed tiger was a ferocious beast in the forest. Dong Shenjun was a famous hunter. When he heard that there was a vicious tiger eating people, Dong Shenjun went up the mountain with a sword to hunt.
He fought with the evil tiger for three days and three nights, and finally pierced the heart of the two-headed tiger with his sword, successfully killing the evil tiger, but he also died. Later, people went up the mountain to look for him and saw the body of the East God.
This matter was widely circulated and later learned by the emperor of Dayu Kingdom, who ordered that he be named a god. The purple gold crown came from this, and the two-headed tiger under his crotch represented his achievements.
If a monk wants to enjoy the incense, he can't just make a statue, build a temple and put it there.
Don't forget that the essence of incense is "people's will". The power composed of long-lived immortals will be exhausted in an instant, while the imperial dynasty where immortals and mortals are mixed can exist for a long time. It is for this reason that Mu Qin was able to gain spiritual enlightenment, study incense, and understand the will of the people.
Therefore, for the gods of incense and worship, reputation is very important, and the degree of popularity is very important. If you look closely, it is not difficult to find that the stories of most gods are not complicated, and there are not too many twists and turns.
This is for the purpose of passing on the story. Even a child can tell it aloud and know the story by heart.
Li Changxiao heard most of the things about the God of the East from Hongfang City. "Bring wealth", "beat bad luck" and "cut off bad fortune" are the meanings of the God of the East.
It would be normal for this temple to be located anywhere, but it is extremely abnormal that it is worshipped by a group of beggars.
Beggar, beggar, who is not a person who is plagued by bad luck and suffers financial loss? It is good enough that you don't hate Dong Shenjun, but you are actively offering sacrifices?
Moreover, this temple is filled with the smell of incense, with people burning incense and paying homage from time to time. There are also fresh fruits placed in front of the jade statue.
It is not difficult to guess that Lord Dongshen and the Beggars' Sect may have some intricate relationship.
But if you ask, what kind of connection could there be between the high and mighty Lord Dongshen and the lowly Beggars' Gang, Li Changxiao couldn't guess.
Li Changxiao's mind flashed with thoughts. Although he thought a lot, he actually only stayed in the temple for a moment. He turned and left, continuing to walk towards the top of the mountain.
After he left the Temple of the Eastern God, a sharp light flashed in the eyes of the jade statue.
……
mountain top.
The drizzle in the sky had stopped, and the fragrance of grass, trees and soil filled the nose. On the top of the mountain, there was a temple. It was built of wood, the whole thing was pitch black, and there was a faint stench.
Li Changxiao entered the hall and scanned it with his spiritual sense. He had a clear idea of the general structure. There was a room on the left side where more than a dozen people were imprisoned.
Deep in the hall, there is a secret passage with traces of people passing through. Perhaps the leader of the Beggars' Gang heard the news and quickly escaped.
Li Changxiao blew a breath of wind towards the secret passage, which was a life-taking wind.
Then he turned around to rescue the hostages and pushed open the door, and heard terrified whimpers from both men and women.
They were tied up tightly, lying on the ground, their clothes were stripped off by someone, and their hair was disheveled.
The wooden basin on the ground was filled with rotten food. Just looking at it made me want to vomit, but this was their daily meal.
Such a desolate situation was truly pitiful. Li Changxiao cut the ropes with his sword and blew a breath of wind to send them all down the mountain.
The gentle breeze blew away my face, blowing away the haze and the memories along with it.
Li Changxiao had done his utmost by doing this. However, this scene really shocked Liu Qier. He had seen many killings and was somewhat numb to it. It was just a sword, but the skill of blowing a breath to carry the person down the mountain was much more mysterious than killing with a sword.
……
Li Changxiao entered the secret passage and found the body of the beggar leader in a corner. Next to him was another person, who looked middle-aged and was wearing official uniform.
The pupils of both of them were dilated, and there were no scars on their bodies. They were both dead. Their souls were blown away by Li Changxiao's killing wind, and they died completely.
It turned out that the distinguished guest received by the Beggars' Gang today was the official from Qingrao City. Li Changxiao, who was used to seeing collusion between officials and bandits, was not surprised. Instead, it was the official's corpse on the ground and the booklet tightly clenched in his hands that caught his attention.
He opened the booklet, which contained names of people, mostly recording who sold what land, how much silver they sold it for, etc.
In the booklet, human lives were clearly marked with prices, like goods, with the most expensive being more than ten taels and the cheapest being dozens of copper coins, so cheap that it was chilling. Li Changxiao also noticed that this booklet contained a lot of information, and if he looked deeper, it was not just a transaction between mortals.
It also involves many people who want to prolong their lives, and even monks. For example, a large family in Northwest City buys 32 boys and 33 girls every year.
This is obviously related to longevity.
There are many cases like this. Li Changxiao frowned. The country of Dayu is peaceful and prosperous, but the dark forces are so rampant. Who is the leader?