Ascension Day

But the deification of gods in towns was different from that in the countryside. Divine Spirits in towns were all part of the Yin Court’s official ranks and required its enfeoffment. During the era of Emperor Taizhao, the Great Sage and Filial Emperor, there was also enfeoffment by the Emperor himself, a very solemn and dignified affair.

Xu Ying had never seen this kind of deification before and couldn’t help but be curious.

The crowd thronged around the float, arriving at a temple in town. The place was already a sea of people, impossible to squeeze through. Xu Ying stopped outside the temple to watch, and saw a continuous stream of offerings and sacrifices being brought inside. Many strong men lifted down a Divine Statue and moved it onto a Shen Kan within the temple.

Amidst the curling incense smoke, a short Earth God emerged from the ground. With a SWISH, he unfurled a green scroll, and swaying his head back and forth, he recited, "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Yin Court proclaims: The Yin Spirit of Huangtianpu Town, Huang Sanduo, was charitable and benevolent in life, accumulating vast good karma and performing virtuous deeds. His virtue moved heaven and earth, and his righteousness made even Ghost Gods weep. Today, the Lingling City God, Xue Ling Mansion, acting on this edict, hereby enfeoffs Huang Sanduo as the god of Huangtianpu, to enjoy the Incense and Candlelight of the Mortal World and receive a hundred blessings upon his passing! So it is decreed—"

The stocky Earth God abruptly snapped the green scroll shut and shrieked in a high-pitched voice, "Let the rites and music begin—! Dragon God, summon the clouds! Rain Master, make it rain! Present Landlord Huang’s spirit tablet!"

The words had barely left his mouth when drums and music erupted, the horns and suonas blaring even louder!

The sky suddenly filled with dark clouds. Xu Ying looked up and saw, amidst the clouds and mist, a colossal creature soaring through the air, resembling the Divine Dragons carved on the temple pillars.

Suddenly, rain began to fall. A Divine Spirit was faintly visible standing atop the clouds, controlling the downpour. ’That must be the Rain Master the Earth God spoke of.’

The Rain Master and the Dragon God were both Officials of the Yin Court. Their presence at the deification in Huangtianpu Town was merely a formality. Once the spirit tablet of Landlord Huang Sanduo was presented, the rain stopped, the clouds dispersed, and both the Rain Master and the Dragon God vanished.

Inside the temple, the grand deification ceremony continued.

Xu Ying asked someone in the crowd, "This Landlord Huang, was he a man of great virtue? To be deified as the town’s Divine Spirit immediately after death is quite an honor. He must have done many good deeds in his life, right?"

The onlookers sneered. One of them, right in front of Xu Ying, hawked and spat a thick glob of phlegm on the ground, then ground it in with his foot.

Xu Ying was completely baffled. He tried to ask for more details, but the residents of Huangtianpu Town were scared into silence, not daring to speak a word.

Just then, an elderly voice chuckled. "There’s something you don’t know, young man. This Landlord Huang Sanduo is a renowned philanthropist in our Lingling County. They call him ’Three Plenties’—plenty of farmland, plenty of treasure, and plenty of beautiful concubines. This ’great philanthropist’ did no shortage of good deeds in his life. He showed great piety to the City God, stuffing the City God Temple with money every festival. And for the townspeople, his ’good deeds’ were truly countless. Our great philanthropist opened brothels so the local girls would have a place to earn a living. He consolidated all the land, forcing the townsfolk to sell their fields and work for him, all so he could pay their wages and keep them fed."

As soon as he said this, the surrounding crowd instantly scattered, keeping a wide berth from the two of them as if they were poison.

Xu Ying looked over. The speaker was an old man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard, dressed in robes of dark purple silk. His hands were clasped behind his back, and the beard on his chin was tied with a small black cord, giving him a vigorous and sharp appearance.

"If Landlord Huang was so wicked, why can he still be deified?" Xu Ying asked, unable to understand.

The sharp-looking old man said with a grin, "He bribed the City God. The City God, Xue Ling Mansion, used his money to grease all the palms in the Yin Court and buy him a divine post for his afterlife. A piece of cake, wasn’t it?"

Xu Ying exclaimed in disbelief, "The Yin Court is that corrupt?"

The sharp-looking old man laughed. "If the Yin Court weren’t corrupt, how could the common folk be so oppressed? They suffered his abuse while they were alive, and now they have to suffer his abuse after they’re dead."

At these words, the surrounding crowd became utterly terrified and retreated even further, putting more distance between themselves and Xu Ying and the old man.

Just then, a resonant voice rang out, sneering, "Landlord Huang bribed the City God, that’s true enough. But is the Government any better? Don’t tell me the Government didn’t get its share of Landlord Huang’s generosity?"

Xu Ying turned toward the voice and saw the crowd parting as a giant, twice the height of an ordinary man, strode toward them. The giant wore black gilt boots with a heaven-devouring Qilin motif, a great red robe embroidered with Dragon Pythons, and a black-and-red official’s hat. His face was lean but hale, and with his great sleeves billowing, he had an extraordinary presence!

Wherever the Divine Spirit passed, the crowd parted automatically, as if pushed aside by a pair of great, invisible hands.

Xu Ying’s heart leaped into his throat. ’Oh no,’ he thought. ’It’s the City God’s Divine Statue!’

The giant was none other than the Lord City God of Lingling, Xue Ling Mansion. He had held the post of City God for five hundred years, enjoying offerings of Incense and Candlelight since the era of Emperor Zhide Da Sheng Ming Xiao!

City God Xue Ling Mansion strode right up to Xu Ying and the sharp-looking old man and sneered, "In his lifetime, Landlord Huang stuffed plenty of silver into the Government’s coffers. When he forced decent women into prostitution and the girls in his brothels hanged themselves in despair, the Government took his silver and pronounced him innocent. When he seized land, using force to buy and sell, and the commoners were driven to throw themselves into wells and rivers, it was the Government that cleaned up his messes. If you officials can do such things, why can’t my Yin Court?"

’This old man is an official?’

Xu Ying was deeply shaken. He hastily took a step back, putting more distance between himself and the sharp-looking old man. ’Is the City God talking about him? Who is he? A moment ago he seemed so righteous, like a good man, but he’s just in cahoots with the City God! Neither of them is any good!’

The sharp-looking old man burst out laughing, completely unafraid of City God Xue Ling Mansion. With his hands clasped behind his back, he said nonchalantly, "The City God is right. I certainly accepted my share of the money and Treasures Landlord Huang offered. A man must enjoy life to the fullest while he can. If our superiors are dirty, how can we officials at the bottom possibly stay clean?"

City God Xue Ling Mansion was surprised by his admission and chuckled. "I thought you mortals would be shameless enough to deny everything. I never expected you, Master Zhou Yihang, to actually admit it. You officials truly have no sense of shame. Your skins are even thicker than I imagined."

The sharp-looking old man, Zhou Yihang, was completely unfazed by the taunt. He laughed and said, "My son is the County Magistrate of Lingling City. Why wouldn’t I dare admit to what he’s done? Can the Emperor control my Zhou Family? Or can the Yin Court control my Zhou Family?"

Xu Ying retreated another step. ’This old man is County Magistrate Zhou Yang’s father!’ he thought. ’I’m screwed...’

He could handle ordinary Nuo Masters like Ding Quan and Wei Chu, but he was no match for a Nuo Master from the Zhou Family. And this was Zhou Yihang, father of County Magistrate Zhou Yang—his power was surely unfathomable!

City God Xue Ling Mansion’s expression changed the moment Zhou Yihang mentioned the Zhou Family. With Imperial Authority on the decline, the Zhou Family was indeed a behemoth beyond the Emperor’s reach!

"The fugitive Xu Ying beat Landlord Jiang to death, a violation of the law. I am taking him into custody," Zhou Yihang said with a confident smile.

A sudden weight pressed down on Xu Ying. He felt his limbs tightly bound by an invisible force, rendering him immobile. He had been locked in place by the old man Zhou Yihang’s aura!

Under the pressure of his aura, Xu Ying felt his Qi Blood stagnate, making it impossible to circulate. Breaking free from the lock was out of the question!

City God Xue Ling Mansion roared with laughter, his voice like a clap of thunder. "Imperial Authority has fallen by the wayside, Noble Families play their games of power, and feudal lords divide the land," he boomed. "But the divine authority of my Yin Court has not! In the Mortal World, the Zhou Family acts with impunity, with an arrogance bordering on tyranny. But before the Yin Court, even the ancestor of your Zhou Family would have to show some deference! Xu Ying has violated the Celestial Rules. He must be brought to the Yin Court for trial!"

Xu Ying’s body sank heavily again as another, extremely powerful aura locked onto him. It was the aura of City God Xue Ling Mansion!

Xue Ling Mansion and Zhou Yihang. One was a City God, deified for five hundred years; the other, an unfathomably powerful Nuo Master of the Zhou Family. Either one of them was far more powerful than Xu Ying!

A mere wisp of their aura was enough to bind Xu Ying completely, leaving him unable to move a muscle!

"A couple of old fools. Not all that powerful, but certainly arrogant," the mysterious voice suddenly spoke in Xu Ying’s mind.

Xu Ying was both shocked and overjoyed. "Senior," he said hurriedly, "can you take out these two old fools for me?"

"I can’t!"

Da Zhong refused him flatly. "I’m seriously injured and can barely protect myself. I can’t handle them."

Of course, City God Xue Ling Mansion and Zhou Yihang couldn’t hear Da Zhong, but they did hear the words "two old fools" slip from Xu Ying’s lips. They both whipped their heads around at once, their fierce gazes landing on him.

Xu Ying let out a muffled grunt. He blinked innocently and whispered, "My lords, the old fools I mentioned... I wasn’t talking about you..."