Chapter Thirty: God is ourselves

  Chapter Thirty: God is ourselves

  Wang Changhu and several others saw this scene, very curious, several people stood up and walked to the table where the reward poster was placed, took a look, no mistake, this is indeed the reward poster they issued. Wang Changhu picked up the reward poster and looked at it for a few eyes, saying: "What's so special about this?"

  One of the guests said: "Look at that place... address."

  Wang Changhu took a look and saw that it was written: "No. ××, ×× Street, ×× Alley, Small West Gate"

  Wang Changhu nodded and said, "Not bad, it's quite scary." After finishing speaking, he handed the reward scroll to Hu Jingzhong and Xu Yingfa. The two of them took a look, expressionless, and put the reward scroll back on the table. The three people returned to their seats and sat down.

  At this time, the narrator walked over with a wine cup and looked at Wang Changhu, saying: "I see that the three of you have extraordinary identities. I don't know what your surnames are?" After finishing speaking, he put down the wine cup on the table and bowed to the three people as a greeting.

  Wang Changhu nodded and returned the courtesy, saying: "My surname is Wang, these two are my brothers, this older one's surname is Hu; the younger one's surname is Xu. May I ask what your honorable surname is?"

  The narrator replied: "My surname is Chang, and friends in the jianghu call me Chang San. Brother Wang calls me Chang San too. May I ask if I can share a drink with all of you brothers?"

  Wang Changhu smiled and said: "Welcome, welcome; Waiter, bring two signature dishes and a set of bowls and chopsticks; Brother Chang, please sit down."

  Another customer at a nearby table spoke up, "Chang San, you haven't finished speaking yet, why did you run off? Are you going to continue or not?"

  Chang San took over a cup of good wine from Wang Changhu and drank it in one gulp, wiping his lips and said: "Everyone, what's the hurry?"

  Chang San's expression turned serious as he swept his gaze over everyone and said, "Does anyone recognize the prostitute who was paraded through the streets yesterday?"

  Everyone shook their heads and said: "Don't know."

  Chang San asked again: "Have you guys seen these prostitutes before?"

  Everyone shook their heads again.

  Chang San continued: "From yesterday to today, who among you has seen those prostitutes again, even if it's just one of them?"

  Everyone shook their heads. Chang San's expression turned serious and he said: "That's right, because those prostitutes didn't exist at all!"

  A person at the next table was startled by this remark, and his wine glass fell to the ground with a "crash", shattering into pieces. The room fell silent at that moment, where silence spoke louder than words.

  Apart from Wang Changhu and the three others, there were several bold ones who shouted: "Chang San, don't buy it, can you say something quickly?"

  Chang San took a sip of wine, cleared his throat and said: "Yesterday, when I received the invitation from Bao Bin, I was overjoyed. Everyone knows that I have a habit of acting on impulse, so at that moment, I wanted to go to Huan Le Men to have some fun. But when I looked at the address on the invitation, my heart sank; I started scolding in my heart: What kind of fun is this? The owner of Huan Le Men is actually sending me to my death!

  I bought some liquor and braised dishes on a whim and went home to drink alone; everyone knows I have a cat, which is quite gentle in nature.

  Normally it doesn't get angry with me, but last night my cat changed and became fierce and violent, even biting people. I saw how fierce it was, so I thought of patting it to calm it down, but as soon as I touched it, its mouth "swished" at me; everyone look, come and take a look! As he said that, he held out his hand.

  Everyone take a look: Chang San's palm indeed has bite marks, now there is no blood left, but the wound looks quite frightening.

  Chang San continued: "I was so anxious at the time, I picked up a rolling pin and chased after it. It darted out of the door crack, and I couldn't help but chase after it. As I chased, I ended up chasing all the way to this street."

  "Guess what I saw?" Chang San said.

  Everyone shook their heads.

  Chang San mysteriously said: "I saw a fairy." He nodded confidently after finishing speaking.

  The others looked at each other and asked half-believingly: "Which immortal did you see?"

  Chang San threw a peanut into his mouth, chewed it for a few times, looked around and whispered: "Not one person, but two."

  The others looked at each other in surprise and burst out laughing; they said: "Zhang San, you're not just saying that to swindle us out of wine, are you?"

  Chang Sanpao said with a stern expression: "You still don't believe me? Just wait till I finish telling you, and then you won't be able to help but believe! Hmph!"

  Chang San said, as if recalling: "Last night I stood at this street corner and took a look, it scared me to death. I saw countless rats coming out of the ground, running desperately towards the Garrison Command; then dogs, followed by cats. At that time, I saw many people starting to run towards the Garrison Command, and I also followed them. Finally, there were too many animals, and they couldn't get down, so I climbed up a big tree at the entrance of the Garrison Command. The people who ran with me were all Japanese plainclothes police, and as soon as I sat on the tree, they formed a human wall at the entrance of the Garrison Command."

  "Hey! Isn't it strange? These little animals didn't bite them at all, they just bypassed them and specifically bit the Japanese soldiers wearing yellow uniforms. The plainclothes who arrived later were of great help to the Japanese soldiers, gradually the small animals couldn't hold on anymore, but fearlessly and desperately charged forward; about half an hour passed, suddenly, a brick flew out from the outer wall of the constabulary and went straight to the enemy's machine gun position."

  Chang San suddenly stopped and said: "Do you know who used a brick in Investiture of the Gods?"

  Everyone was stunned, and after a moment of thought, they replied hastily: "I know, I think it's Mu Zha."

  Another one chimed in: "I know, it seems like Jin Zhan."

  ……

  Chang San waved his hand and said: "Then you know how the gods in Fengshen Yanyi were killed by golden bricks?"

  Everyone shook their heads.

  Chang Sande smiled and said: "I knew you didn't know, let me tell you, the gods were suffocated to death by the smell of stinky feet."

  Wang Changhu was drinking a cup of wine, and when he heard this, "Pfft" a mouthful of wine sprayed onto Chang San's face. In the time it took for Chang San to be stunned, Wang Changhu stood up, pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to Chang San saying: "What a strange thing to hear! Sorry about that, Brother Chang San."

  Chang San wiped his face and continued: "You may not believe what I'm saying, but this brick is really stinky. The smell can drift against the wind for ten miles; you guys take a sniff now, doesn't it still have a strong smell of stinky feet?"

  Everyone took a deep sniff, and at that moment two drunkards vomited all over the floor.

  Chang San rubbed his nose and said, "You've tasted the power, right? At that time, I tore off two small pieces of my clothes, dipped them in saliva, and stuffed them into my nostrils. I managed to escape; those soldiers in the machine gun nests were unlucky, they were dazed by the smoke in just a few seconds. It was only over after ten or more seconds, when the Japanese soldiers fighting with the mouse at the door all fainted...

  Chang San paused again and said: "Do you know who the Sky Barking Dog is?"

  Everyone exclaimed in unison: "Erlang Shen!"

  Chang San nodded in satisfaction and said, "Yesterday, just yesterday, the fierce dog led his nine subordinates and a large group of livestock to rush over. As soon as they joined the battle, the Japanese soldiers were no match for them. A few who didn't believe it ran towards the machine gun, but before they could fire a few shots, the muzzle started shaking violently. This violent shaking was nothing to worry about, and in an instant, more than 20 plainclothes were knocked down, and the lock on the gate was also shot off. As soon as the gate opened, the fierce dog led his subordinates to charge in, biting anyone they saw, tearing flesh from their bodies! After the tearing, the Japanese soldiers rolled around on the ground in pain, it was a miserable sight!"

  At this time, Chang San took a sip of wine and ate a mouthful of food; someone asked: "Chang San, what's the Japanese devils' gunfire?"

  Chang San glanced at him without saying a word. The person sitting at the same table said, "Dumb, being fooled by God's brick! Isn't that Brother Chang San?"

  Chang San nodded in satisfaction and continued: If you had seen it yesterday, you wouldn't have believed it! At the most intense moment of the struggle at the gate, the animals went crazy and pushed the Japanese soldiers inside. Later, a group of soldiers rushed out from the backyard, saw that the soldiers in the front yard were surrounded, and wanted to help. However, the soldiers in the front yard were covered with small animals, holding weapons in one hand and pulling down the animals with the other; but many animals bit on and wouldn't let go. With a strong pull, the animals came down, and so did the flesh. Many Japanese soldiers rolled around in pain, and with a kick from the big beasts, they went to see King Yama. I saw a sergeant who grabbed onto a donkey's tail and wouldn't let go; the donkey kicked its legs, and the sergeant flew out of the wall and died. See? That patch of blood on the ground in front is where the Japanese soldiers were killed.

  Chang San took a sip of wine and commented: "To say, the fierce dog is still more powerful; it and those nine hands came back and forth, the devils were injured under their mouths countless times. Later, I don't know what happened, some devils and they bit each other, isn't that ridiculous! Even if the Japanese have good teeth, they can't bite over the fierce dog!"

  Wang Changhu and Hu Jingzhong exchanged a glance, clinked their cups together, and downed their drinks.

  Chang San continued, "Later on, the devils in the backyard all ran to the front yard, and they were all holding bayonets, military swords, and daggers; they hacked and stabbed, and many lives were lost. But just at that moment, a large number of birds flew down from the sky: there were eagles, sparrows, parrots, owls, and many bats. These birds started pecking at the Japanese people's eyes and scratching their crotches. Actually, I didn't understand it at first either - why these birds and animals would come and attack the devils like that. Later on, when I took a closer look, I realized that the devils' pockets had been cursed with some kind of spell, and all these animals were biting that spot together. With so many animals attacking, the devils' crotches suffered greatly."

  Wang Changhu raised his cup and asked with interest: "What happened next?"

  Chang San said: "Later, the little Japanese devils set up machine guns at each window of the building and started sweeping down. No matter whether it was a person or an animal, they were killed in batches, how tragic!"

  Chang San's eyes flashed with a hint of hatred as he said, "The two legs of the fierce dog were broken, and his subordinates surrounded him, wailing; at this time, the fierce dog suddenly let out a loud bark towards the police station building. The devils inside heard the barking and suddenly became chaotic; I saw from the tree that many devils with bayonets stared with bloodshot eyes at their fellow devils and stabbed them to death - what chaos! Many devils ran out of the building, only to be swallowed up by the animals. Later, Japanese reinforcements arrived, but because of the stench at the entrance, they didn't dare enter. After more than an hour, a group of Japanese devils called chemical defense troops entered and finally picked up that brick. Unfortunately, it was too late, and everyone was dead!"

  Chang San suddenly picked up the wine bottle and took two big gulps, already showing signs of intoxication. Before he knew it, tears began to flow down his face. He grabbed the wine bottle and stumbled out of the tavern, drinking as he walked. After finishing the wine, he shouted: "Dead! General Guo is dead; the mad dog is dead, I'm dead too... everyone's dead..."

  At this time, the boss of the wine shop came over and said: "Sorry, this bottle of wine is on the house, sir. Give me some face and don't bother Mr. Chang about it?"

  Wang Changhu's heart skipped a beat as he asked, "Who is this Zhang San?"

  The boss looked around and said, "This Chang San was a big shot back then! He was the deputy intelligence officer of Guo Songling. After Guo Songling's betrayal failed, his command center was disbanded, and this Chang San drifted here, getting drunk every day; however, this kid is very well-informed, I suspect that Guo Songling's intelligence network is still in his hands."

  Wang Changhu was taken aback and asked: "How did you know?"

  The boss smiled and said: "Everyone in this village knows about it, they just don't say it. Do you think it's a coincidence that he climbed the big tree last night?"

  Wang Changhu handed a big ocean to the boss and said: "Thank you, boss. I'll come visit again another day."

  The boss took a look at the big ocean and said, "Alright, consider this extra as your next drink."

  Several people came out of the tavern and walked towards the car. Xu Ying asked, "Boss, you said there really are gods?"

  Wang Changhu's face turned serious as he listened, and he said: "How can there be none? The gods are ourselves..."

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