Chapter 17: Song Family Village Captures a Ghost, Jiang Dashi or Jiang Ziya

  The night sky was clear, the stars twinkling brightly. A faint purple light slowly descended, only to be replaced by a sudden burst of green light that rose up and took its place, shining even more brightly.

  A crisp "ding" sound, three copper coins fell to the ground, rolling for a long time, but hesitated to fall down, finally standing upright on the table without distinction between front and back.

  An old man swung his long sleeve and gathered the three copper coins in his hand. His originally tightly furrowed eyebrows now knotted into a "川" shape, and after a long while, he slowly spoke: "The prince made you the Marquis of Xiping?"

  "This... In this battle of Beihai, although I was not the main contributor to the victory, I also did my best and exhausted all my efforts. I suppose it is because of the Emperor..." Before Ji Fa could finish speaking, he saw the old man's face becoming increasingly unsightly, his heart tightened, and he dared not continue speaking.

  "What else does the prince have to say?" The old man took a sip of clear tea, playing with the cup in his hand, and involuntarily took a deep breath between his nostrils. "This tea is fragrant and elegant, it can be known that it was given by whom."

  Ji Fa heard the man's question and hastily replied: "This tea... seems to be a gift from someone in Mo Yang City, but as for who it is, I don't know."

  "Oh? Then there's no need to pursue it further." The old man raised an eyebrow, pointing to the sky and said, "In three months, suddenly the stars will lose their luster, the sky will be chaotic, I suppose there will be changes in the world. I observe that after three years, it will be the auspicious time for ascending to Marquis, if you have great ambitions, you can wait until then."

  The princess listened to what the old man said, nodded in agreement, thanked him for his kindness and slowly retreated. After three rounds, after three rounds, the yellow flower dish had gone cold!

  "Marquis Pingxi... Marquis Pingxi! Haha... This is quite interesting..."

  If it weren't for Li Jing's wife, Yin Shi, urgently looking for Nezha, Zhang Emperor Xin would have almost forgotten about the time. After a day of getting along, both of them felt as if they had met too late and had a deep affection for each other.

  But all these efforts were no match for the single call from his mother to return home for dinner. Emperor Zhang tried repeatedly to persuade him, but Lady Yin was afraid that Nezha would cause trouble and refused to stay, dragging the little guy away...

  See off Nezha, Zhang Di Xin did not return to the Shouwang Palace, but secretly went to a deserted place, opened the brocade bag, and took out a deep blue flag.

  On the flag, lines of silver are like stars in the sky, connecting to form a piece, like the Milky Way, and also like a great river. The texture is like something alive, held in one's hand, it seems to be slowly flowing. Looking closely, but again it is difficult to distinguish.

  Holding that flag, Zhang Emperor Xin felt as if he was in the midst of a vast ocean, one moment vast and quiet, the next surging with waves, one moment peaceful and auspicious, the next turbulent and chaotic. There were thousands of feelings, but they couldn't be described one by one.

  What a great thing! Zhang Emperor Xin grasped this flag, although he didn't know what it was, his heart was greatly delighted. Borrowing this flag, it really wasn't an ordinary object.

  In the early days of the North Sea War, Zhang Emperor Xinsin destroyed Feng Chou and borrowed the beast-controlling flag in his hand. It turned into a brilliant light and fell directly into his hands.

  Heavenly treasure, Emperor Zhang's gift, how could he not accept it? Although the treasure was seen falling into the hands of the Crown Prince, it would be unbecoming to ask for it back. As a minister who had committed a crime against his lord, it would be even more unseemly to demand its return. Moreover, as a cultivator, having one's treasured object seized and being outdone in skill, how could he possibly have the nerve to ask for it back?

  Since you don't want it, I won't give it to you. Even if you wanted it, I might not give it to you anyway. Zhang Di Xin had already thought out his words and wasn't willing to return the flag. The meat that's in our mouths, Your Highness the Crown Prince, will absolutely not be given away!

  After watching for a long time, Zhang Emperor Xin couldn't help but frown, although he knew that the flag was a treasure, he didn't understand how to use it, which was really a headache.

  Even if Huo Po is inferior, it's still a divine soldier. This flag is only the size of one palm, can't take it out to smash people?

  Just thinking about it, Zhang Di Xin couldn't help but shake his head, and in his heart, he couldn't help but resent the unbridled Daoist who came. You've come all this way, why didn't you leave behind some cultivation methods or something? It's harmed me to the point where I'm not even clear about my current level of cultivation, let alone know what my actual strength is.

  Just then, a gust of wind blew by, and it was a team of people, hastily approaching. The person walking in front had an anxious expression, and while walking, he urged: "Master, hurry up! Master, hurry up!"

  The man in the back wore a Taoist robe with eight trigrams, holding a duster in his hand, sitting upright on horseback, with a slightly red face, as if he had just drunk wine. His cheekbones were prominent, and under his nose was a black mole with a long hair growing out of it, which was trembling along with the man: "Don't worry, where I'm going, how can there be no ghosts or monsters?"

  "Yes... yes, the master is right!" The servant heard the Taoist's words and hastily echoed in agreement, but his footsteps didn't slow down by a single bit, instead causing everyone to quicken their pace.

  Taoist? Ghosts and monsters? Is this person also a master? If it's really a master, I might be able to learn something. Zhang Emperor hastily put away the flag and walked along the road: "Hey, little brother, why are you in such a hurry?"

  The man leading the way glanced at Zhang Dexin and saw that he was dressed in an extraordinary manner, seemingly a young master of a wealthy family. Although his heart was urgent, he couldn't be too abrupt, so he could only patiently answer.

  Zhang Di Xin only then knew that this was the south of Mo Yi City, self-proclaimed master of Song Family Village in the southern suburbs, a subordinate of Song Yiren. In recent days, Master Song built a new house, but for some reason, he had to rebuild it seven or eight times, each time the beam caught fire for no reason.

  Song Yi was shocked in his heart, and immediately sent someone to check. A group of good hands were blown out by the five-color wind. Coincidentally, a Taoist priest passed by at this time, saying that there was a ghost haunting. That night, he set up an altar to perform rituals, but unexpectedly, after one night, the house was burned down, and the Taoist priest also disappeared without knowing where he went.

  Thus and so, Song Yiren invited several people, but not only did he not see any effect, the masters he invited were also getting more and more disreputable, until today, it's already the ninth one.

  Song Yi Ren! Zhang Di Xin heard the name and felt a sense of familiarity, his mind racing to recall that this person was actually the elder brother of Jiang Ziya in "The Legend of Deification", who was extremely righteous and had provided countless help to Jiang Ziya.

  That little demon is probably one of the five road gods in Song Yiren's garden, this useless thing has no magical powers and can only be captured by Jiang Ziya to do hard labor repairing the old altar.

  "Is this monk surnamed Jiang?" Zhang Di Xin looked at the man on horseback and asked.

  That Daoist, upon hearing the word "Ginger", suddenly became delighted, let out a hearty laugh, and pointed at Zhang Daoling saying: "You're quite perceptive, follow me and you won't regret it, you'll gain benefits!"

  What! Is this really Jiang Ziya?! Zhang Emperor Xian was shocked in his heart. According to legend, when Jiang Ziya came out of the mountain, he was already over 60 years old. Although he wasn't a great master, he had an air of immortality and the demeanor of a transcendent being. But today, how could he look like this?!

  Was it the later Zhou Shi who beautified Jiang Ziya? This... this appearance is also... too vulgar, right? Thinking of these things, Zhang Emperor Xin's mind involuntarily replayed the scene of Jiang Ziya being enshrined as a god on Mount Tai, and he couldn't help but shudder at the thought. The scene was too beautiful, it was simply unimaginable!

  "Let's go, let's go! Hurry up, the master is still waiting!" The servant urged in front, Zhang Disheng was curious in his heart, closely following behind the team, and they rushed to Songjiazhuang.

  "Master Jiang! Ah, Master Jiang! You've finally arrived!" A group of people had just arrived at the Song residence when an elderly man in his sixties, carrying a tray, hastily came over to greet them.

  That man took one look at the silver, and his face suddenly burst into a smile like a chrysanthemum, even the hairs on his mole trembling with excitement. He grasped the old man's hand: "Song Master is too polite, Song Master is too polite!"

  "Master Jiang, please come in quickly!" The old man was naturally Song Yiren. He handed over the silver and pulled the Taoist priest towards the mansion, "Master Jiang, I know the journey is long, so I've specially prepared wine and food. Please don't refuse!"

  "Haha... that ghost, but a mere earthly dog, what's the point of mentioning it!?" The Taoist priest smiled and stood upright in front of Song Yiren, "Master Song, don't worry, once I've had my fill of food and drink, I'll definitely bring peace back to the Song Manor."

  Song Yiren thought that this Taoist priest must have some ability, and he did not doubt it in his heart. He hastily agreed with him, and ordered the servants to lead the way in front, and they all walked towards the government office.

  Seeing Jiang Ziya like this, Zhang Emperor Xin couldn't help but shake his head. This was clearly a foodie and a good-for-nothing, where was the slightest intention of pointing at the rivers and mountains?!

  A Taoist priest walked to the backyard and saw several unfinished houses among the flowers. He looked carefully and said, "Indeed, this place has good Feng Shui. Building a house here will bring thirty-six jade belts and one gold belt, as many as the number of sesame seeds in a sheng!"

  Is this guy really Jiang Ziya?! Zhang Di Xin was shocked upon hearing the man recite lines from the original text, this...this Jiang Ziya...is too unexpected...

  "Master is indeed brilliant!" Song Yiren had asked someone to observe the feng shui earlier, and hearing that it was not bad, he added another layer of trust in Master Jiang. He respectfully bowed and said, "This demon is quite formidable, please trouble Master to take care of it."

  Master Jiang smiled and said it was a small matter, but he didn't stop his footsteps and went straight to the main hall. Song Yiren had already prepared all the dishes, and Jiang Ziya naturally enjoyed them greatly.

  It's simply unimaginable... Zhang Emperor Xin never expected that the real Jiang Ziya would be like this. If it were in a later era, describing Jiang Ziya in such a way would probably make people think he was crazy. But in reality, a living and breathing Jiang Taigong had appeared right before his eyes...

  After having enough wine and food, it was already late in the day. In the garden, the altar had been prepared early. Master Jiang, with a full belly, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, picked up the peach wood sword, muttered something to himself, pointed at the burning candle, and suddenly a sheet of flames rose up!

  Where the flame fell, a wisp of black smoke rose, and Master Jiang's hand swiftly inserted into the furnace, a puff of smoke rose, falling into the blood bowl. A yellow banner flew up, and the wooden sword was on its way, deeply drawing and outlining, in an instant, a talisman flew out!

  Song Yiren had never seen this scene before, and thought that Master Jiang was formidable. He thought to himself that he had come to the right person, and his heart suddenly filled with joy. He secretly thought that this time he had invited the right person, and the silver coins he had scattered around would not be wasted...

  This... Zhang Di Xin watched Jiang Da Shi perform the ritual, but his brow furrowed tighter and tighter. This was a sacrificial altar ritual, so why did it feel like some sort of charlatanry from later generations? And those movements, seemed like... seemed like the Northeast's Ga Da jumping deity dance?!