pertwk Chapter 28 Using Filthy Blood as a Catalyst: The King's Temple Uses the Earth God's Blessi
Chapter 28 Using Filthy Blood as a Catalyst: The King's Temple Uses the Earth God's Blessi
Night, like a greedy beast, swallowed Shanghe Village whole, leaving only a few scattered lights flickering in the thick darkness.
The land temple at the east end of the village is built in a wild bamboo forest.
Large chunks of plaster have peeled off the temple walls, revealing the uneven adobe bricks underneath. Weeds sprout from the cracks, making a soft, whispering rustling sound in the night wind.
The roof tiles were broken and incomplete, and in some places, the night sky could be seen. The entire temple exuded a musty smell, a mixture of incense ash, dust, and moldy wood.
Inside the temple.
The only light source was a ceramic oil lamp on the altar.
The flames were only the size of soybeans, and instead of dispelling the darkness, they made the temple appear even more mysterious and eerie.
The light and shadow stretched and distorted on the wall, as if countless silent ghosts were lurking there.
The central statue of the Earth God had long since lost its colorful paint, revealing the gray-black clay beneath. Its face was blurred into a mass, its features indistinguishable, except for its slightly protruding eye sockets, which, under the light, seemed to be coldly gazing down.
The temple keeper, Wang Laoshuan, sat on a worn-out, tattered prayer mat in the shadows to the right of the statue.
He was thin and bony, and the old Taoist robe he wore was faded and patched, hanging empty like a skeleton.
The daytime excitement and ruthlessness faded from his gaunt face, leaving behind a deeper anxiety, humiliation, and a desperate madness driven to the edge of a precipice.
Wang Laoshuan unconsciously twirled the corner of his Taoist robe, his fingertips icy cold.
During the day, he traversed half the village, spreading the terrifying story of the blood sacrifice like seeds, enjoying the thrill that swept through his heart as the ignorant men and women turned pale with fright and their eyes filled with bewilderment.
But now, in the dead of night, vanity has vanished, leaving only the cold reality:
Liu Laosi's wife is indeed getting better, and there are some scattered doubts in the village. Most importantly, in Lü Liang's triangular eyes, besides exploitation, there is clearly dissatisfaction with his own incompetence and fear of the power of the dragon god.
"This can't go on!"
A hoarse, phlegmy sound came from Wang Laoshuan's throat, like a broken bellows being pulled. A mixture of jealousy, fear, and years of suppressed resentment grew wildly in his heart and lungs like a poisonous vine.
"This dilapidated temple, this clay statue, has been around for decades. The incense offerings are dwindling, and we're almost at the point where we can't even afford lamp oil. That wild god from Shixi Village has only been around for a few days, yet he's already summoning wind and rain, performing miracles to exorcise evil, and even bringing the dying back to life. If this continues, who will still come to worship this local earth god? Who will still recognize me as the temple keeper?"
Wang Laoshuan stared intently at the few pitiful offerings and the almost burnt-out incense sticks on the altar, his gaze gradually becoming obsessive and fierce.
"Something has to be done! Something must be done! We have to let that wild god know that Shanghe Village is not a place where it can run rampant!"
We need to show Lü Liang and those peasants that I, Wang Laoshuan, am not someone to be trifled with!
With trembling hands, Wang Laoshuan pulled two items from the inner pocket close to his body.
It was a small figure roughly made of withered yellow thatch, with its joints haphazardly bound together with thin hemp rope, and a small piece of dirty gray cloth pasted to the chest of the straw figure.
This was secretly torn down from Liu Laosi's fence during the day when no one was looking. It is said that it was tainted by Zhou Hui's bad luck and thus indirectly tainted by the aura of the dragon god's intervention.
The other was a chipped, rough earthenware bowl with a thick, dark red to almost black liquid at the bottom, emitting a strong, pungent, fishy stench.
This is real black dog blood, mixed with a little bit of filth he scraped from the edge of the latrine.
This is the most powerful and yin-based evil thing, capable of breaking through the defilement of magic.
Old Wang carefully placed the straw figure on the cold floor tiles in front of him, roughly facing the direction of Shixi Village. Then, he picked up the bowl of filthy blood, a crazed light flashing in his turbid old eyes.
Wang Laoshuan knelt down in front of the local earth god statue with a thud, not to pray for protection, but like a gambler with no other options, ready to bet all his chips.
"Lord Earth God! Please open your eyes!"
"That demonic dragon of Shixi Village is going too far! It steals our offerings, disturbs our peace, and now it's even trying to extend its claws into the village!"
"Your disciple is incompetent. I have served you for decades, yet I have never received any divine assistance."
"Today we have no choice but to take this risky step, using your venerable temple as a quiet place to perform the exorcism! We hope you will not blame us!"
Wang Laoshuan's voice was dry and hoarse, tinged with a sob, yet also revealing a fierce edge, making it even more...
Wang Laoshuan took a deep breath, his face contorted with wrinkles, and began to chant in a strange, high-pitched tone the broken incantation he had heard from some long-dead old witch.
"Heavenly spirits! Earthly spirits!"
"The wandering spirits of the past obeyed the command, using foul blood as a guide and resentful grass as a weapon, and nailed that demonic dragon form to death from afar."
"Defile its golden statue, scatter its incense offerings, and teach it the spirit of the Earth God!"
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"
The incantation was absurd and unsystematic, but in the quiet, dilapidated temple, combined with Wang Laoshuan's distorted face and crazed eyes, it created a chilling and eerie atmosphere.
Wang Laoshuan chanted faster and faster, spittle flying from the corners of his chapped mouth, his withered body trembling violently with his tone, as if some power was truly being drawn through his clumsy ritual.
When Wang Laoshuan read the most urgent part, his eyes flashed with a fierce light. He picked up the bowl of filthy blood with both hands and, with all his strength, splashed it fiercely at the straw figure facing Shixi Village on the ground!
"Go!"
Wang Laoshuan suddenly shouted.
Dark red, foul-smelling liquid spilled out, most of it soaking the scarecrow, turning it into a filthy mess, while the remainder splashed onto the surrounding floor tiles, leaving shocking stains.
Immediately afterwards, in his other hand, a thick, long iron needle, covered in rust and seemingly salvaged from some discarded farm tool, gleamed ominously with a dark red light under the dim oil lamp. He raised it high, aimed it at the straw man's indistinct heart, and plunged it in with all his might!
"Crucify you! Crucify you, you wild god!"
Wang Laoshuan mustered all his strength and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Buzz!"
Just as the tip of the iron needle touched the filthy straw man, a deep, muffled sound, seemingly resounding directly into the depths of the soul, came without warning!
It wasn't thunder, nor was it an earthquake; it was more like a colossal creature slumbering deep within the earth's veins, being gently pricked with a needle, emitting a muffled groan of displeasure and boundless majesty!
The entire earth god temple visibly sank slightly and trembled!
On the offering table, the tiny flame of the oil lamp seemed to be squeezed by an invisible hand, suddenly shrinking downwards and almost going out, plunging the temple into almost absolute darkness!
The next second, the flames shot up high again, dancing wildly, casting a chaotic dance of light and shadow that stretched the statue, the wall, and Wang Laoshuan's distorted shadow into a scene of demonic chaos!