Chapter 8 Propagation

  April 20th, it rained.

  Linjiang Prefecture Urgent Report: Within the borders, there is an evil spirit wreaking havoc. Not only has it gathered malevolent spirits, but also recruited mountain bandits. Both humans and ghosts are present, with strict discipline. They have converged in the mountains, set up a stronghold, and launched attacks. They once breached the county city, with the ghosts taking the citizens and the bandits taking their wealth. The county city was completely destroyed, and the county magistrate and all officials were killed in action. At that time, the people were greatly shocked, and the prefecture was in an uproar.

  The demon can evolve into a fierce ghost, with the power of yin, it can appear at night, but only half transparent and unable to move any objects in the world. During the day, it can only be seen as black gas. One level higher, it can advance to an evil spirit, able to appear during the day, interfering with the world, its ferocity unmatched.

  The evil spirit has a divine consciousness and can communicate with humans, even recruiting them as subordinates. The evil spirit was originally the leader of the mountain bandits before its death, having great prestige, and this time it became an evil spirit, able to subdue the entire stronghold.

  The leader was quite good at fighting, first showing weakness to the enemy, luring the county soldiers out of the county's defenses and then ambushing them, killing the county commander and annihilating the county troops. Having broken the military spirit within the county, he then contacted the bandits within the borders, together besieging the city, with both men and ghosts rising up, attacking for three days, breaking into the county city, slaughtering the city, absorbing all the people's spirit in the city, his ferocious prestige shook the heavens, if not restrained, he would soon become the King of Ghosts.

  The prefecture was shocked and sent General Wu Qi to lead the troops to garrison in Linjiang Prefecture, presiding over the siege. Wu Qi saw that the ghostly situation was severe, reported back to the prefecture, and mobilized the Ghost-Quelling Cao's Office from various prefectures for support. He also asked for reinforcements from the Xiangdao Gate. The evil spirit also knew it was in trouble, so it gathered the scattered bandits, collected the fierce ghosts, retreated into the deep mountains, built a large stronghold, and prepared to defend itself with the mountain as its back. A great battle thus unfolded.

  Linjiang Prefecture is adjacent to Wen Chang Prefecture. This time, it just so happens that the Anchang County Ghostly Cao Si has been drawn in. The Lingzhu Dao people have already rushed to Linjiang Prefecture to provide support. Fang Ming was overjoyed, this being a heaven-sent opportunity.

  At this time, He Dong was saying in the main room:

  "I report to Your Excellency that I have completed the compilation of the household register for Qingyu Village, and recorded it in a book according to your instructions, noting the ancestral offerings."

  Fang Ming picked up the name list, checked it one by one, and nodded. He didn't want to write down the matter of divine power directly, not only was it too **naked**, but also easy for others to get the bottom line, so he changed its name to incense fire.

  He Dong was indeed a talented person, with clear accounts and familiar with all the county's affairs. He would be of great use in spreading incense in the future. "You should be familiar with the situation in Anchang County," he said. "Just give me a general idea, especially about the sacrifices in Qingxi Township!"

  "Your Honor, Anchang County has about 2,000 households and approximately 10,000 people. Under it are three townships: Qingxi Township, Anmin Township, and Changyuan Township. Among them, Qingxi Township has about 200 households and nearly 1,000 people, with four villages below it: Qingyu Village, Dachang Village, Qingshan Village, and Yuanhe Village. Generally, a village has around 50-60 households and about 300 people. These are the registered ones; there are also many large households that hide their household registrations and conceal their population, including many servants who cannot be counted."

  According to Cao Ziling, the spirit medium of Zhongjian County, these four villages are all small altars without ancestral spirits guarding them. The altar in Qingxi Township has an ancestral spirit presiding over it, which is the ancestor of the Zhang family, a large household in Qingxi Township, named Zhang Qingyun, who served as the county's Gongcao, and the sacrifices in the village have never been interrupted.

  Fang Ming nodded, and in the golden seal on his forehead, half of the white energy had already been used up. He knew that this was the limit for a village, and his divine power was no exception. To upgrade, he could only expand his followers, but unfortunately, he had been cautious about the reaction from the county before and didn't dare to go too far.

  Now that the attention of the entire prefecture is focused on Linjiang Prefecture, and with the Ghostly Cao Si being withdrawn, it's truly a great opportunity. Knowing that heaven does not grant gifts, but rather brings blame, I have made up my mind to launch an attack immediately.

  That night, the villagers dreamed.

  Fang Ming wore official attire, with a majestic demeanor, saying: "I am the deity, and I will bestow blessings upon all living things. You may take the image of this deity back home to worship, but it is not necessary to burn incense or offer sacrifices until the grand festival. Simply offer sincere silent prayers for a moment each day, and nearby villagers can also worship. This deity will surely provide protection!"

  In the following days, incense offerings increased daily.

  Sun Xing is a villager of Qing Shan Village, who has always been on good terms with Wang Er. Recently, he caught a yellow dog and was overjoyed. He stewed it carefully and also brewed some wine. He thought to himself: "It's been days since I last saw Wang Er, I heard that his village recently had a ritual to appease the spirits, which was very successful. Even hunters dare to venture into the deep mountains to hunt, and the rich are overflowing with wealth. It would be great to go find him to drink and have fun, and also pay respects to the altar, which would bring me some blessings."

  He cut off a dog's leg and came to Wang Er's house.

  Wang Er was overjoyed when he saw the dog meat, knowing it was delicious. He went to find some garlic and mashed it into a paste to dip the meat in. The two of them drank wine and ate meat, having a great time.

  Sun Xing raised his cup in a toast to Wang Er and said: "Wang Ge, I heard that your village has a ritual for summoning spirits, and it's really effective. Tell me about it."

  Wang Er's face turned bright red from drinking, and upon hearing this, he smiled complacently and said: "Well, I'll tell you about it. The deity our village worships is called the Land God. It was me who built the temple for it back then, and it has been protecting us very well, with great power too. Whenever the chickens and ducks in the village fall ill, going to pray to it can cure them. And the crops in the fields have also been growing very well. Moreover, there's another good thing - do you know about Li Daizhuang from the east end of the village?"

  "I know."

  "That wife of his, she's been married for five or six years now, and still no signs of pregnancy. The old Li family is getting anxious, if they weren't really short on money, they would have taken in a concubine already. But since they worshiped the land god, you won't believe what happened, just two days ago she got pregnant! Old Li was overjoyed and immediately offered a big sacrifice to the land god, he even knocked his head against the ground until it bled!"

  Sun Xing's eyes lit up when he heard this. For traditional villagers, passing down the family lineage is a big deal, and Sun couldn't help but feel envious, saying: "If only I could also make a bow, that would be great!"

  Wang Er smiled mysteriously and said, "If you really want to learn, there's a way."

  Sun Xing's heart tightened, and he asked, "What method?"

  "Come with me." He took Sun Xing to one side, and saw a small altar, on which was placed a mud figurine, about the size of a palm, in the shape of an official, looking very majestic. Wang Er straightened his clothes, made three bows, and silently recited: "I beg the land god for protection!"

  Sun Xing couldn't help but say: "Is this the land? Then I'll also bid farewell." He immediately knelt down and paid his respects.

  Wang Er said with a smile, "This was told to me by the Land God in a dream two days ago. He said that I can invite him back home for worship, whether it's a clay sculpture, a wooden carving, or just a painting. As long as I bring it to the front of the Land Temple and offer sacrifices for a while, I can take it back home and worship it, and it will be effective."

  Sun Xing's eyes lit up as he listened, and he bowed to Wang Er, asking: "Wang Ge, do you think it would be okay if I also invite the Land God back home for worship?"

  Wang Er laughed, "If it were someone else, I wouldn't bother with him, but since you're my brother, I'll go talk to them. Back when I carried the divine temple into the village, I gained some prestige in the village, so if I vouch for you, it's definitely going to work!"

  Sun Xing was overjoyed and said: "I will never forget brother's great kindness!"

  A similar scene often occurs in Qingyu Village.

  On the same day, Sun Xing invited the land god image back to Qing Shan Village for worship, and it was indeed effective. The villagers of Qing Shan Village also learned about the news and tried every means to invite the god image back for worship.

  Fang Ming has the position of land god, with various divine powers attached, more competitive than ancestral spirits. What's more, these villages don't even have ancestral spirits, so incense and candles are offered daily, and believers increase in number. The name of Qingyu Village's land god is thoroughly renowned throughout Qingxi Township.

  This also made Fang Ming's income increase day by day, and his pure daily income had already reached fifty strands of divine power. Looking at the aura on his head again, the small golden seal was already full of white energy, and there were still threads of white energy surging in from around it, which couldn't be contained and was about to dissipate. He couldn't help but smile wryly, never thinking that his aura had also reached the point where his luck exceeded his fate. This ninth-grade vessel could no longer hold his aura. However, he already had a plan in mind, so for now, he didn't bother with it.

  During this time, Fang Ming was busy spreading his faith and didn't let his subordinates idle around. He had Wang Liu Lang expand the scope of his patrol and collect yin soldiers to make up a team of ten people, making him the fire captain. The number of followers doubled and they also needed to create a register, so He Dong gradually became overwhelmed with work. Therefore, he ordered He Dong to find a ghost named Zheng Kuan, who was one of his old subordinates, and appointed him as a role model to help him with tasks.

  April 30th, at night.

  Muramasa of Akakawa Village

  At this time, the lights were turned on in the house, and a group of people sat in a circle, discussing something with loud voices.

  Murata coughed once, suppressing the sound, and seeing everyone looking at him, he said: "Now in the village, there's a commotion about building a land temple, setting up an altar for worship. What do you think?"

  An old man with a sturdy build stood up and said, "Alright, anyway our ancestral altar doesn't have any evil spirits that would harm our ancestors. The land god is quite effective in protecting us, so we can go into the mountains to hunt and have some meat to eat. Recently, the young men in the village all look much better."

  In this world, the deep mountains and old forests are full of evil spirits. Ordinary hunters only dare to hunt around the foot of the mountain, and they have to hide back in the village when night falls, so their harvest is small, which makes meat expensive.

  In the countryside, there is ancestral spirit protection, a bit stronger, can enter the mountain, but also dare not stay overnight.

  Fang Ming did things, old and young were not deceived. The longer the sacrificial ceremony lasted, the more protection it provided. Last time in Qingyu Village, a hunter chased after his prey and got lost on the way. Everyone thought he was done for, but unexpectedly, he came back alive the next day, causing a sensation. Of course, this also had to do with his good luck, not running into evil spirits.

  Another old man in grey stood up: "This is not right, since the land god can be invited to stay at home and receive shelter, there's no need for this extra effort, it can also leave a way out for my village."

  At this time, an old man with a tumor on his head stood up and said: "The land has a spirit, your two-faced and three-bladed approach will surely offend the land god, which is very inappropriate."

  The village elder stared blankly at the roof, saying: "I'm useless, I've added to the village's troubles. In the past, we'd watch our village with bated breath, and as soon as night fell, we'd hide in our homes, not daring to go out. And yet, ghosts would still come to attack us, every month there'd be a funeral in some family or other. I'm worried sick day and night, but what can I do? It's really unbearable!" Tears streamed down his face, tracing the lines of age.

  Everyone was silent, and indeed they were before.

  "Now we have a shelter in our village, people's minds are at ease, and there is some festive atmosphere in the village, which makes me feel extremely delighted."

  "This is brought by the land god, we can't forget our roots. I've decided to build a temple for the land god on the altar, these offerings and sacrifices are all village affairs, I'm the village head, I have the right, this matter is settled, if anything happens in the future, I'll take responsibility!" The village head's words were firm and resounding.

  Fang Ming was just beside him, originally wanting to show his spiritual power and facilitate the matter. Seeing this, he also knew it wasn't necessary, and the feelings in his heart were hard to express.

  The matter of Qing Shan Village worshiping the land god has been decided thus.