Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Unexpectedly, this trip not only brought him to see Ancestor Sa, but also Ancestor Ling!
And while others might not know, Xie Lingya, a member of Baoyang Temple, certainly did. The reason Ancestor Ling followed Ancestor Sa was because he had committed a sin in the mortal realm, becoming an evil god, and was subsequently punished by Ancestor Sa.
Xie Lingya never imagined he would transmigrate to this point in time; this was definitely his ancestor’s dark history!
While Xie Lingya was still bewildered, Sa Shoujian shouted, “What an evil god! He is truly unworthy of such a place!”
He then took out several talismans and cast a spell: “Five Thunders Descend!”
Several bolts of lightning struck accurately around the courtyard, igniting the grass. Suddenly, a flame shot up, blocking the path at the entrance, but it didn’t spread outwards and didn’t ignite the thatched hut.
Seeing that Sa Shoujian had summoned lightning and fire, the villagers were terrified and prostrated themselves, begging for mercy and shouting, “Gods!”
Da Bao and Xiao Bao were awakened by the sound, and mumbled sleepily, “Godfather, is it thundering?”
Sometimes when they were with their godfather, he would thunder, and the dragon would even bring rain.
No, it wasn’t their godfather, it was Grandpa Sa! Xie Lingya pressed their heads down, “Close your eyes. Even if you can’t sleep, don’t talk.”
Sa Shoujian was furious with the evil god and the foolish people. He tied up all the villagers, saying he would report them to the authorities at dawn and let them deal with their act of murdering living people as sacrifices.
“Fellow Daoist, I still need to meet that evil god. Will you stay here or come with me?” Sa Shoujian asked.
Xie Lingya: “…”
He hesitated for a long time before finally saying firmly, “I’ll go with you!”
The ending was already predetermined. Although he felt embarrassed, Xie Lingya still wanted to see what the first time would be like for Sa Zu and Ling Zu, and how badly Ling Zu would be beaten…
Sa Shoujian used a smokescreen in the courtyard to prevent these people from being discovered by other villagers, and then released them. Only then did he lead Xie Lingya to the City God Temple under the cover of night.
Xie Lingya was carrying two children on his back, but thinking about what they were going to do, he felt full of strength and no longer as weak as he had been during the day.
….
Xie Lingya saw that the farmers’ houses were very simple, but the Fuliang City God Temple had red walls and green tiles, and its carved bronze doors were tall and conspicuous. It looked very magnificent, which made him want to sigh even more. Even though he was a Taoist, he couldn’t stand this upside-down behavior of worshipping gods.
Sa Shoujian glanced at them coldly and said, “There are probably still temple keepers in charge of the incense offerings. Hold the children and don’t show yourself. I’ll go and drag them out.”
“Okay, okay.” Xie Lingya decisively found a place to squat down.
Sa Shoujian walked to the front of the temple and knocked twice. After a long while, someone came to answer the door, but he threw them out. After interrogating them for a few minutes, he drove everyone living in the temple out, including a boy and a girl, who were probably also waiting to be sacrificed.
Although Sa Shoujian wasn’t strong, he was very agile. The temple keepers tried to resist, but he easily subdued them with one hand.
Sa Shoujian gestured to Xie Lingya, who immediately went over and brought the boy and girl over.
The two children were pale and thin, and had been woken up from their sleep. When they saw Xie Lingya and Da Bao and Xiao Bao, they thought they had already been sacrificed. When they were next to the gods, they held back their tears and dared not speak.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao had never seen anyone their age treated so tragically in modern times. They were so thin they looked like sticks, seeing this they were both stunned, staring at each other speechlessly.
“Hold hands, don’t let go,” Xie Lingya told them, making sure they held hands tightly and stood beside him, not running away.
Then, Sa Shoujian unleashed a lightning talisman. Given his temper, the towering City God Temple was struck by lightning several times, collapsing into ashes in an instant! Flames still flickered on the wooden beams; it seemed that not even a trace of its structure would remain.
The people inside the temple were both shocked and frightened, kneeling on the ground chanting the City God’s name. Not knowing who Sa Shoujian was, they dared not stop him or try to put out the fire.
“From this day forward, no living sacrifices are allowed in Fuliang, or all will end up like this temple!” Sa Shoujian snorted coldly and strode away.
“Wait for me!” Xie Lingya, leading the four children, chased after him, almost failing to catch up.
“…” Sa Shoujian paused. “Sorry, it’s a habit.”
Sa Shoujian found an inn in the county town to stay in and bought some hot soup noodles, which they shared.
Sa Shoujian slurped down a bowl himself, then wiped his mouth and saw Xie Lingya not in a hurry to eat, but slowly feeding the four children. The soup noodles were too hot, and the two children who had been locked in the temple hadn’t eaten in a long time. At first, they wanted to swallow the noodles whole, but Xie Lingya stopped them, placing the bowl in front of him and feeding them spoonful by spoonful.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao didn’t need any worry and ate slowly on their own.
The two children couldn’t use their hands, so they stretched their necks, chewing the noodles noisily, their eyes still fixed on the bowl.
“What are your names? Are you locals?” Xie Lingya asked as he fed them.
They mumbled a few words, which Xie Lingya couldn’t understand.
“The children probably only speak the local dialect. When I report to the authorities later, I’ll send them there too,” Sa Shoujian said.
These children, whether kidnapped or forcibly taken, Xie Lingya said “Oh,” patted their bellies, and put down the spoons. “They can’t eat anymore.”
“Ah, ah—” The two understood Xie Lingya’s actions and panicked, their mouths agape. They had been hungry for a long time and didn’t know when to stop, only thinking about stuffing everything they could eat into their mouths.
Xie Lingya felt a pang of sadness; this was nothing like Da Bao, who could be a picky eater. But he firmly refused to feed them any more.
The boy and girl, having nothing to eat, stared at Da Bao and Xiao Bao.
The two brothers, who had been eating slowly, now felt uneasy and quickly finished eating.
Xie Lingya ate a little something, then heard Sa Shoujian say it was almost time for the yamen to open, and he had to take some men to report to the authorities. He told Xie Lingya to stay there, but then he remembered something. Why did he seem to be making decisions for him so readily? He shook his head and said, “You don’t have anything else to do, do you?”
“No, no, I’ll wait here for you to come back. There’s something I need to tell you.” Xie Lingya was determined to tell Sa Shoujian, hoping he could help him.
Sa Shoujian nodded, picked up the boy and girl in each arm, and went to find the authorities.
….
Xie Lingya, Da Bao and Xiao Bao stayed in the room. After a while, they both complained of needing to use the toilet.
“They’re already pooping right after eating? Are their intestines straight?” Xie Lingya muttered. At this time, inn rooms didn’t have toilets. He noticed that some of the more particular guests brought their own chamber pots. He had no choice but to take them out to find a toilet.
When they returned from using the toilet, Xie Lingya saw a person in a Taoist robe sitting in the room with their back to the door, and two children beside them. At first glance, he thought it was Sazu returning, but upon closer inspection, he realized the body shape was off.
This man’s shoulders were broader than Sa Zu’s, making his Taoist robe look tight, and the muscles bulging under the sleeves were clearly visible. The two children standing beside him were also different from the previous pair; their hair was neatly combed, tied in buns with red ribbons, and they were dressed cleanly.
Xie Lingya, confirming he hadn’t entered the wrong room, took two steps to the side and saw the man’s face. He looked to be in his thirties, with bright, handsome eyes. A boy and a girl stood obediently beside him, seemingly his Taoist apprentices.
“…Fellow Daoist, how did you get in? Are you Sa…Quan Yangzi’s friend?” Xie Lingya, seeing his Taoist robe, subconsciously associated him with Sa Shoujian.
The man put one foot on a stool, and the little boy beside him immediately began to massage his leg obediently. He glanced at Xie Lingya and snorted, “I’m just a homeless, pitiful person!”
Xie Lingya felt uneasy. He couldn’t see anything unusual about the Taoist, but upon closer observation of the boy and girl, he realized something was amiss. Their skin was snow-white, their cheeks flushed, but their brows held a deathly aura, making them look unlike the living.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao seemed to sense something was wrong, clinging tightly to his arms, “Godfather, I’m scared…”
Xie Lingya, holding the children, tried to turn back, but the door slammed shut.
The Taoist knocked on the table, and the boy and girl rushed over.
Unfortunately, Xie Lingya wasn’t one to be easily bullied. He turned around and made a Spirit Official incantation, “Go!”
The boy and girl immediately tumbled backward, crawling a few steps on the ground, then hugged the Taoist’s legs and whimpered, “Master, it hurts so much!”
The Taoist was startled, looking at Xie Lingya’s hand: “What kind of incantation is this, so effective!”
At this moment, the door was kicked open by Sa Shoujian, who said sternly: “Are you Wang E? You actually dare to come here!”
Xie Lingya: “………………”
He suddenly felt that his hand, which was making the Spirit Official incantation, was about to cramp.
Upon seeing the main figure appear, Wang E shifted his attention and laughed angrily, “You Taoist priest, you destroyed my temple and still dare to shout! Today, I’ll teach you what you can and cannot mess with!”
An ordinary city god or local deity might not even dare to fight a Celestial Master of Sa Shoujian’s caliber. However, Xie Lingya knew that their ancestor had been an official in Heaven before being sent down to be a city god— a city god with a powerful background.
Wang E spun around, his Taoist robe tearing open to reveal golden armor beneath, a golden whip in his hand, which he raised imposingly, glaring angrily.
Da Bao and Xiao Bao stared blankly at Wang E, their mouths agape. “He…he seems…seems…” then they trailed off, unsure.
Sa Shoujian calmly drew a thunder talisman, tossed it, and the talisman shot out, striking Wang E’s forehead and transforming into crackling, exploding flames.
“Ah!” Wang E clutched his face, his hair ablaze, screaming in pain. The boy and girl quickly grabbed bottles and sprinkled willow branch water on the temple god’s face and head, extinguishing the lightning fire.
Wang E released his grip, revealing his face again, his hair now a golden-red from the lightning fire, his eyes bloodshot. He gripped his golden whip and roared furiously.
Xie Lingya nearly spat out his drink. He had always thought the Spirit Ancestor’s red eyes and hair were natural, or that he had acquired them after cultivating lightning and fire techniques and becoming a spirit official in the Jade Pivot Fire Palace. How could they be because he had been struck by lightning?
Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s eyes lit up, shouting, “Grandpa Ancestor!”
—This appearance was nothing like the statues they had seen in the temple!
Wang E was furious. “Go away! Am I one of those who claim to be grandpas in the street? I don’t have any grandsons like you!”
“Master, Master, your hair…” the boy said weakly, grabbing Wang E’s hand.
Wang E brushed his hair aside, then looked at it closely and saw that the color had changed. He was furious. “You little Taoist priest!”
Although Sa Shoujian was over fifty years old, compared to Wang E, he really was a young Taoist priest.
But cultivation was never about age; otherwise, the turtle spirit would be the most powerful. Sa Shoujian held a few more lightning talismans in his hand and threw them out.
“Boom—”
One bolt of lightning after another struck Wang E’s feet. If he hadn’t dodged quickly, he would have been hit. Wang E screamed and fled with the boy and girl in his arms.
Xie Lingya: “…”
Poor thing, even the patriarch had to be chased…
Of course, this person was Sa Shoujian, so it wasn’t surprising.
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