Chapter 066: The Reinforcements Sent by the Monkey King

  Three people entered the village and stopped about 100 meters away from the altar, it's not very polite to suddenly go disturb a family's sacrificial ritual.

  At the top of the White Stone Pagoda, there is a very large piece of milky white jade, which Wang Dachuan said was a symbol of their gods in the mortal world. Nowadays, except for the fire god represented by "pot stone", the rest of the Qiang people generally use white stone as a symbol. The gods they believe in include heavenly gods, fire gods, snake gods, valley gods, and so on.

  The villagers kneeling on the ground were silent, and in front of them was a dwarf about 1.5 meters tall, wearing a monkey hat, beating a sheepskin drum, jumping up and down like a madman, muttering to himself nonstop. The hat was bigger than his head, and he looked a bit comical with his swaying movements. It seemed they were performing the final ritual of killing the sacrifice, but the details are not worth describing one by one.

  As far as Liu Yi could see and hear, he had already guessed that this little dwarf like Wu Dalang was praying for heavenly protection to avoid disaster.

  Wang Daquan said on the side, "This little guy should be Shi Bi Shi from this village. Judging by his age, he shouldn't be big, just over thirty years old. He doesn't go out to see the prosperity of the world and instead stays here to learn their ancestral craftsmanship. It's quite rare?"

  Zhou Bingbing's face was indifferent: "Look at him, that little guy with a triangular face, just like the snake spirit in the cartoon 'Calabaza', he'll definitely not be able to find a job when he goes out!"

  Wang Dahe shook his head: "This kind of thinking is unacceptable..."

  Liu Yi saw the two of them just about to start fighting again, and hastily interrupted them, saying: "They're done, let's go!" As soon as he finished speaking, the little dwarf shouted loudly: "Seize these three sneaky guys!" As soon as the little dwarf finished speaking, several strong men rushed out from among the villagers and quickly surrounded the three of them.

  Liu Yi said: "We are good people, we have come with a request!"

  That little runt ran over, looking at Zhou Bingbing with a burst of anger: "I see you, this big girl, look better than Pan Jinlian, how come your words are so hurtful? How do you know I won't find a job when I go out?"

  Liu Yi was suddenly startled, they spoke in a very low voice, this guy could hear their conversation while singing and doing the ritual at the same time, not only were his ears sensitive, but he could also multitask.

  Zhou Bingbing heard the dwarf say this and suddenly became furious: "You are Pan Jinlian, your whole family is Pan Jinlian!"

  No wonder she was angry, this old Pan had a bad reputation in history, saying that someone looked like Pan Jinlian was like scolding her as a fallen woman who engaged in indecent profession.

  Liu Yi thought to himself, this is someone else's territory, and yet his senior sister is still so arrogant. If things continue like this, they'll end up fighting. He wasn't afraid of a fight, what he was afraid of was ruining the important matter that brought him here this time.

  He took a step forward and bowed his fist at the dwarf: "Warrior, dare I ask your surname and given name?"

  Maybe this little runt is naturally unfavorable to tall people because of his short stature. He didn't even lift his head and shouted loudly: "Stop trying to get close to me!"

  Liu Yi helplessly shrugged his shoulders and asked again: "May I ask how to get to the Tian Gong of Jiuding Mountain?"

  Upon hearing this, the little dwarf, with his head slightly lowered - saying "slightly" is not quite accurate, it's actually more like he's looking down at an angle, but compared to Liu Yi, it's almost the same as lowering his head.

  The little dwarf's head suddenly lifted, and after seeing Liu Yi, he was shocked, stretched out a finger, pointing at him and shouting in a sharp voice: "Are you the reinforcements sent by the Monkey King?"

  As soon as this was said, it was extremely ridiculous. Liu Yi suddenly couldn't help but laugh and cry - you say that this little dwarf is not the Red Boy, what kind of cuteness are you selling! His other two companions were also speechless. But this wasn't what surprised them the most, after the little dwarf shouted "Reinforcements!", the villagers behind him all knelt down one by one, and even the big man who was ready to capture the three of them also knelt down.

  "Gentlemen, please get up quickly, we can't bear it!" Wang Daquan said, with one hand holding the teapot and the other about to go forward to help the big man who was kneeling on the ground, but was pushed away by the little dwarf: "You get out of here, no need for you to kneel!"

  Wang Dahe waved his hand and stood aside, seemingly unaffected by the dwarf's impoliteness.

  The little dwarf stared at Liu Yi with an astonished gaze: "It's true, no mistake, it's you, General Black Dragon!"

  As soon as he spoke, the kneeling common people all shouted loudly: "General Heilong, save us!"

  Liu Yi was taken aback, and the little dwarf said to him, "My name is Long Haiming, you can call me Daliang Shibi or Long Dafashi - do you know? Yesterday, Monkey Head Ancestor entrusted a dream to me, saying that in the next few days, General Heilong will come to lift the disaster that Heilongzhai is about to suffer. You've really arrived! This is great, come with me quickly!"

  Long Dafashi did not kneel down to Liu Yi like the villagers, in the eyes of ordinary Qiang people, Shibishi was a spokesperson for communicating with the gods, even if you were a god from heaven, it was customary to be neither humble nor arrogant.

  Liu Yi and the other two were surrounded by the crowd in a daze, and they walked towards a nearby temple not far away.

  Long the Great Master was in front, with the villagers' worshipful eyes on him, he walked with his head held high and his chest out, looking very proud. It seemed that this guy had calculated that "Black Dragon General" would come to this place, so the villagers were so reverent towards him. Of course, the villagers also looked at Liu Yi's eyes with the same color, and they also praised his two companions, saying that the man was as handsome as Pan An and the woman was as beautiful as Chang'e. Zhou Bingbing was as usual cold and beautiful, while Wang Dakuan stroked his beard, shook his head, and repeatedly said "I don't dare" and "it's too much praise".

  Five minutes later, everyone arrived at the gate of the ancestral hall.

  Long the Great Master turned around, waved his hand, and all the villagers stopped. It seems that this guy still has a lot of prestige among the villagers. He then called out: "Please invite General Black Dragon to enter the temple to enjoy the wine and water that have been prepared..."

  Liu Yi was pushed into the ancestral hall by several villagers in a daze, and when he stepped into the hall, he was suddenly stunned. The Dragon Great Master seemed to have calculated their arrival, as a sumptuous feast had already been prepared under the table, with steam still rising from it. Although this had a somewhat contrived meaning, the portrait on the table couldn't help but shock him.

  The person in the painting held a black short sword, wore armor and sat on a war horse, looking into the distance. It was none other than Liu Yi's ancient attire. The key point was that the black sword in his hand was exactly the same as the black obsidian sword given to Liu Yi by Xuan Yun Dao Zhang.

  "This, this...... who is this?" Liu Yi was shocked and stuttered when speaking.

  Anyone who sees their own portrait being worshipped by others will be shocked. Without great achievements, how can one bear the sacrifices of others? This is a way to shorten one's life! Wang Daquan and Zhou Bingbing stood aside, also stunned, looking at the portrait and then at Liu Yi, who looked like he couldn't believe his own eyes.

  Long Dafashi stared at Liu Yi strangely: "And who else? It's you, old man! You won't even recognize yourself?"

  "What about me?" Liu Yi was suddenly speechless!

  Long the Great said, after finishing his sentence, began to disperse the surrounding villagers. He looked up and said with a pleased expression: "I'm going to discuss with General Black Dragon about subduing the evil spirits, you all go home and take care of your children!", upon hearing this, the crowd's faces lit up with joy, they laughed and left, soon dispersing completely.

  After the villagers dispersed, Dragon Great Master closed the dark and gloomy gate of the ancestral hall, then said to Liu Wei: "Please take a seat!"

  Liu Yi pushed back and said: "I don't understand the rules here, please instruct me more, you take the upper seat!"

  "I don't dare to accept your instruction, being able to see the true appearance of General Heilong in this life is a blessing for three lifetimes, so it's naturally you who takes the upper seat!" Dragon Great Master said, pushing Liu Yi to the seat under the hanging portrait.

  After everyone sat down, Liu Yi turned his head to take another look at the portrait and thought: "Hmm, it's not me, at least ten years older than me! Could it be my ancestor Liu Heng? It looks very similar to me, but it's more than just similar - it's exactly the same. Although there is a phenomenon of intergenerational inheritance, it's really strange that this happened after thousands of years."

  He turned his head and asked Long Daxian: "What does the 'reinforcement sent by the monkey' you mentioned mean?"

  Long the Great Master, with a sly smile said: "Our Qiang tribe's Shibei Masters worship an ancestor called Hou Tou Zu Shi (Monkey Head Ancestor). Legend has it that when our Shibei Masters went to a mysterious place to retrieve scriptures and returned, due to improper sealing, they got wet. The person then placed the scriptures aside to dry, but unexpectedly, a sheep ate them. That person cried out loud, which startled our ancestor to descend from heaven, transforming into a golden silk monkey that pointed at the person and said: 'You only need to kill the sheep that ate the scriptures, make a drum with its skin, and beat it once to obtain one sentence of scripture.' Therefore, our Shibei Masters were grateful for the golden silk monkey's guidance and began worshiping Hou Tou Zu Shi. Moreover, although the sheep ate the scriptures, later when beating the sheepskin drum to obtain the scriptures, they unexpectedly gained an additional volume of the 'Xià Tán Jīng' (Descending Platform Scripture) about transcending souls. They believed that the 'divine sheep' was sent to enlighten our ancestors, so in later generations, Shibei Masters were forbidden from killing sheep and instead worshipped the Sheep God!"

  He shook his head again and said, "What a pity that our village's 'Xià Tán Jīng' has also been lost. If I can learn this 'Xià Tán Jīng' in this life, it would be worth dying!"

  Liu Yi thought: "Where did they get this scripture from? And it's even been submerged in water? This scripture should be one of the parts of the Erma Shibei Scripture, right?"

  He didn't have time to think much, and Long Dafashi continued, "Last night, I dreamed that the Monkey Head Ancestor said that the torrential rain and mudslide were a sign that the Black Dragon's spirit was about to awaken. The Black Dragon General will come to subdue the demons and evil spirits. And now, you've arrived."

  Zhou Bingbing curiously asked Long Dafashi: "Who is General Heilong?"

  "Isn't it him?" Long Dafashi pointed at Liu Wei and said.

  Zhou Bingbing shook her head helplessly and asked again: "I'm asking about the legendary Black Dragon General here."

  Long the Great obviously had a bit of disdain for her head-shaking, so he snorted and called out sharply: "I won't tell you, I'll only tell them!" He said as he pointed at Liu Yi and then again at Wang Daquan, before continuing on his own: "As for General Black Dragon, that's a long story..."

  Zhou Bingbing thought this guy would not tell her and would drive her away, but unexpectedly he continued to talk, couldn't help but feel amused, had a good impression of this guy, felt that this guy was quite funny and quite genuine.

  Everyone saw that the great monk Long was about to give a long speech, and they were also hungry along the way, so they didn't hesitate to pour themselves a drink and start drinking the fine wine while listening to Great Monk Long tell ancient stories. The atmosphere was quite harmonious.

  Note: The three scriptures currently circulating among the Qiang people are "Shangtan Jing", "Zhongtan Jing" and "Xiatan Jing". Among them, Shangtan Jing is a classic about divine affairs, with oral traditions such as the creation of heaven and earth, and the great war of the Qiang gods. Zhongtan Jing is about human affairs, used for weddings and funerals. Xiatan Jing is a classic about ghostly affairs, used by Qiang shamans to drive out ghosts, send off ghosts, ward off evil spirits, and summon souls, and is also the most mysterious scripture. Due to the lack of written records passed down among the Qiang people, these scriptures are generally transmitted orally.