touchnovel Chapter 85 Everyone Offers Incense
Chapter 85 Everyone Offers Incense
A strange world, Changxi Village.
Today is the day to collect lamp oil at Qingshan Temple.
Zhao Zhu got up early to prepare the things needed for the ceremony.
Although Chen Cheng... no, he's now the temple keeper of Qingshan Temple.
Although the temple keeper had conveyed this to him, the mysterious abbot of Qingshan Temple did not seem to intend to act like the previous temple keeper.
A ceremony is held before the lamp oil is distributed.
The abbot only set a time for collecting lamp oil; otherwise, he didn't mention the ceremony at all.
But Zhao Zhu felt...
It's normal that the abbot, being a celestial being, wouldn't care about such trivial matters.
As someone who receives the blessings of Qingshan Temple, I do not hold any ceremony to show reverence for the temple master or gratitude for the lamp oil.
That doesn't make sense.
"Is everything prepared?"
Uncle Zhao stood behind Zhao Zhu, looked at the neatly stacked objects on the ground, and asked.
"Everything is ready."
"Dried fruit, incense, chrysanthemums and orchids, lamps, clean water..."
Zhao Zhu pointed to each item with his finger, reciting them as if they were his own treasures.
Seeing this, Uncle Zhao nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
The villagers always say that Zhao Zhu and Zhao Lin don't look alike.
One's temperament is as steady as an official's, calm and composed, neither hasty nor slow.
One of them is always incredibly impatient, as if he can't sit still for even a moment.
But looking at it now, doesn't it resemble me a bit back then?
"You brat, once you've got everything ready, head up the mountain. This year you're going alone, I'm not going; my legs aren't up to par anymore."
"Keep an eye on the offerings along the way, lest they be destroyed."
"Uncle Zhao, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you should have stayed on the mountain last time. You just had to show off!"
Zhao Zhu recounted the items without turning his head.
"..."
"Ouch, Uncle Zhao, why did you hit me?"
Zhao Zhu bent over, covered his head with his hands, and looked at Zhao Lin with eyes full of doubt.
"I'm your father! Forget about Uncle Zhao, I'm going up the mountain this time too!"
"Also, have you finished counting everything? Is there really so little stuff? It's taken you forever to count?"
"Hurry up, the mountain road is difficult to walk on. Let's finish counting as soon as possible and get to Qingshan Temple sooner."
Zhao Zhu covered his head, still puzzled.
"oh."
……
Even earlier, in Cuishui Village.
At the entrance of the village, there was a large, dark crowd of people standing there.
The first ten or so people in this group each carried a bamboo carrying pole on their shoulders.
They carried the already packed items on both ends.
These are the men who are about to depart for Qingshan Temple and will be responsible for carrying the ceremonial offerings.
Following behind these dozen or so people was a group of nearly a hundred people, who were under the command of the village chief and several senior members.
Their main responsibility was to retrieve the lamp oil, and they also participated in the ceremonies organized by Changxi Village.
Roughly speaking, there are about a hundred people.
It can be said that most of the people in Cuishui Village were in the team.
"Village chief, is it really necessary for so many of us to go to Qingshan Temple?"
The man glanced at the sea of heads behind him and asked.
The village chief of Cuishui Village glanced at the man.
He was a lazy bum who idled away his time in the village.
You don't need to go.
The village chief of Cuishui Village was too lazy to answer his question.
He was immediately kicked out of the group heading to Qingshan Temple.
"No, village chief, I'm just curious. I've never been to Qingshan Temple before. Take me with you, I promise I won't say anything out of line."
The man who solemnly swore an oath did not receive the approval of the village chief of Cuishui Village.
Instead, the village chief ignored him and looked at the group.
After selecting a few people who were usually outspoken, had a good relationship with the man from earlier, and often loitered around the village doing nothing productive, they left the group.
The village chief of Cuishui Village then gave up.
The man was somewhat dissatisfied.
"Village chief, don't try to punish everyone involved! I'll take responsibility for my own actions. What's the point of dragging my relatives and friends into this?"
The village chief remained silent and walked straight past him.
The man saw that the village chief was completely ignoring him.
He then led the few lazy men who had been kicked out of the village chief's group to several respected elders in the village, and began to recount the village chief's actions.
Several senior officials glanced at the village chief a few times, and after guessing what was going on, none of them said a word.
Seeing this, the group still wanted to blend back into the group.
But several tall men scolded him, picked him up, and threw him aside.
Seeing that the village chief was indeed determined not to let them go along.
The group then left dejectedly.
A man who couldn't understand the village chief's actions came up to him and asked.
"Village chief, is it necessary to treat them like this?"
"Take them with you to Qingshan Temple; there will be more people there, and it would be good to have them there too."
The village chief glanced at the man, and his expression softened somewhat.
"This is my first time visiting Qingshan Temple. It concerns the lamp oil we'll rely on for a living in the future, so I should be careful."
"Besides, if these people go there, they will offend the eyes of the abbot of Qingshan Temple, which is not a good thing for our Cuishui Village."
The man nodded, realizing how much the village chief and several elders valued this trip to Qingshan Temple.
He had been able to see some of it before.
I heard it from my father at home.
"The one on the left of the temple keeper at Qingshan Temple is the deity that our Cuishui Village used to worship!"
"The abbot of Qingshan Temple is a true immortal, able to summon the gods and spirits within the temple!"
He did not recognize the deity that Cuishui Village used to worship.
Before the village temple collapsed, the statue's features were already difficult to discern.
He didn't quite understand what this meant either.
But he knew that ever since then, people from the village had been going to Qingshan Temple to offer incense.
The village chief and several old men had a fierce argument one night.
Finally, he followed the village chief to deliver items to Qingshan Temple.
He noticed that the village chief had a familiar-looking box in his hand.
The box had been in the temple for many years.
The village chief of Cuishui Village came to the front of the group.
He looked at the strong man carrying a shoulder pole and asked Old Man Tian beside him.
"Mr. Tian, is everything prepared?"
Old Man Tian checked the number of people and answered.
"Everything is ready. We have prepared everything on the note from Changxi Village, and even some extra."
"That's good. It's your first time visiting Qingshan Temple, so don't make a fool of yourself."
After speaking, the village chief of Cuishui Village took two steps forward and came to the front of the group.
"Perfect timing, let's go!"
……
Qingshan Temple.
Chi Le had just returned to the main hall when she heard the noise coming from outside.
Ding-ding... Dong, ding-ding... Dong.
A serene and solemn melody echoed.
There was also a long, solemn chanting during the event.
"...Silently lighting incense, I await your arrival with reverence..."
"...Thank you for your boundless kindness, may you be blessed with immeasurable happiness..."
Chi Le was somewhat puzzled.
The main hall's thick wooden doors slowly opened.
What first caught Chi Le's eye was a circle of flags fluttering in the wind, planted in the open space of the Taoist temple.
The flags are divided into two colors, black and yellow, and are decorated with auspicious clouds and mythical beasts.
At this moment, the mountain wind is strong, and dozens of flags are fluttering in the wind.
The flags fluttered in the wind like countless colorful wings dancing wildly, creating a magnificent sight.
Then he saw several long incense tables that had been temporarily set up in front of the incense burner.
A brand-new dark red tablecloth was laid on the table, with golden cloud patterns embroidered along the edges.
The various tributes were piled up like mountains, far exceeding the few items Zhao Zhu had initially counted.
Finally, Chi Le's gaze fell upon the crowd.
The crowd was densely packed, if not for the fact that everyone was holding three burning incense sticks in their hands.
They're probably already stuck together like this.
Shortly after Chi Le stepped out of the door, the long, solemn chanting reached a climax.
"...Thank you for your boundless kindness, may you be blessed with immeasurable happiness..."
Immediately afterwards, Zhao Zhu, who was in the head seat, turned around.
Facing the pool, he used all his strength to let out a loud and penetrating sound.
"Offer incense!"
The crowd bowed deeply in unison, raising the lit incense sticks high above their heads with both hands.
Hundreds of incense sticks were raised at the same time, their burning tips shimmering with red light.
Above the red light, wisps of fragrant mist rose.
It rose up like a tangible cloud, and spread rapidly under the influence of the mountain wind.
The entire open space in front of the Taoist temple was shrouded in a misty haze.
Everyone bowed their heads and held up the incense sticks in their hands with the utmost reverence.
The crowd bowed their heads, and a hundred people offered incense in unison!