I changed the world.

Page 353

A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. Qi Dingfu was dragged to the main hall by the ghost soldier, and without waiting for anyone to say anything, he obediently knelt down with a thud.

But the wooden doors of the main hall, which had just been opened, slammed shut with a bang. At the same time, an aged voice rang out: "Wang Peiyuan, look, is this your good disciple...?"

At this moment, Wang Peiyuan, who had been kneeling in the main hall, turned his head. His pale face startled Qi Dingfu. Upon seeing his eldest disciple, Wang Peiyuan stammered, "Reporting...reporting to the Earth God, this...this is indeed my unworthy disciple..."

As he spoke, he muttered to himself, as if trying to defend himself: "Grandfather Earth God... we... we... we really didn't mean that..."

The local earth god was Jiang Qing, the earth god of Zhaoyang Town whom Zhang Jing had promoted. However, at this moment, there was no trace of the humility he had shown when facing Zhang Jing during the day. Looking at the two kneeling below, he said indifferently, "Wang Peiyuan, I still remember when you lost both your parents and begged in front of the temple. The former abbot took pity on your youth and took you as his disciple, passing on his mantle to you... Has our Earth God Temple ever treated you unfairly in the slightest?"

“Grandpa Earth, what are you saying… My master treated me like his own son, and his kindness was like that of my parents. The Earth God provided us with food and clothing, all thanks to the protection of the Grandpa Earth. Otherwise, we would not have a place to stand… Peiyuan would never dare to forget this in the slightest!” Abbot Wang Peiyuan knelt on the ground and wept.

"How dare you forget your skills?" The local official paused heavily (his hand gripping his cane), then coldly snorted, "What did your master tell you before he left?"

"This..." Upon hearing this, Wang Peiyuan lowered his head even further. He couldn't help but recall that day twenty years ago, when his master lay on the bed, and he held the old man's hand with tears streaming down his face. At that time, the old man's face was ashen, yet he still had a kind smile on his face: "Foolish child... Life and death are predestined, why are you crying..."

"After your master passes away, you must serve the Earth God well... Our lineage has served this Earth God Temple for over four hundred years, and you are the thirteenth generation. Our food and clothing all depend on the Earth God... Your master doesn't have any special abilities, but over the decades, he has been diligent and conscientious, and there hasn't been a single day when the Earth God's incense offerings have ceased... Remember, serve him well... serve him well..."

Thinking of his master's voice and smile, his words still ringing in his ears, Wang Peiyuan couldn't help but prostrate himself on the ground and weep: "This disciple is truly... truly... ashamed of the entrustment Master made to him back then..."

Seeing Wang Peiyuan's appearance, the Earth God's expression softened slightly. He then looked at Qi Dingfu, who was kneeling on the other side with an equally unpleasant expression: "Qi Dingfu... you were born into a peasant family. Your parents sent you to the temple to support your elder brother's education. Over the years, has the temple ever wronged you in the slightest?"

“Reporting to the Earth God…the temple has never treated me poorly in any way…Master has treated me like a son or nephew…” Qi Dingfu said, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Upon hearing this, the Earth God nodded and slowly said, "No matter how much you guard against it, it's hard to guard against a traitor within your own family... I never imagined that such a traitor would emerge from this Earth God Temple..."

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 707, Earth God, Spare Me!!!

Qi Dingfu was filled with remorse. Now he understood why he had done all this!

It was mostly because of his proposal to expand the temples and monasteries. There was nothing wrong with expanding the temples and monasteries, but he shouldn't have said anything about worshipping some kind of pagoda... Heavenly Venerable...

As the saying goes, "Man fights for a breath, and gods fight for a stick of incense." If there were no ghosts or gods in this world, then my actions would be nothing.

But now, this matter of ghosts and gods actually exists! This means we've offended the local earth god to the core!

If you were living in a different house, and suddenly the housekeeper brought in someone else to take over, you wouldn't be happy either...

Qi Dingfu could understand this logic perfectly well. Not only did he understand it, but Wang Peiyuan beside him also understood it. However, what Qi Dingfu felt most bitter at this moment was, "If you, the Earth God, are really so efficacious, why didn't you summon us earlier? Even if you sent me a dream, I would never dare to do such a thing!"

Lying prostrate on the ground, Qi Dingfu begged for mercy, "Disciple knows his crime, disciple truly knows his crime... Disciple dares not do it again, disciple truly dares not do it again..."

At this moment, Wang Peiyuan also knelt on the ground and kowtowed, admitting his guilt.

Seeing Qi Dingfu's pleading appearance, the local earth god simply said, "Since you know your crime, then accept the punishment..." As he spoke, he slammed his cane down and said, "Hang up this Qi Dingfu and give him a hundred lashes as a warning to others!"

Then he turned to Wang Peiyuan and said, "Besides, your disciple's mistake is also your fault. The teacher's laxity is due to his lack of discipline. As the abbot, you have failed to properly discipline him and cannot go unpunished! Hang him up and give him forty lashes!"

As soon as the words were spoken, two clear sounds of chains were heard. One after the other, the two people were hung up by the ghost soldiers with their hands bound by chains, suspended above the main hall.

Then, their clothes were torn off, and two ghost soldiers each had a long whip made of black energy in their hands. Then, with a snap, they lashed the two men one after the other!

The moment the whip struck his body, Qi Dingfu felt something different. It wasn't just physical pain, but a kind of agony that felt deep within his body, touching his very soul...

He couldn't help but let out a wail:

"what!!!!!"

"what!!!!!"

"Grandpa Earth God, please spare me!!!"

"Ah!!! This disciple will never dare to do it again!!!"

Then, a series of desperate screams rang out...

Meanwhile, his master was also screaming in agony. The screams and pleas of the master and disciple echoed through the hall. If anyone had heard these sounds, they would surely have had nightmares...

..............................

"Huff!!!" Qi Dingfu's face was pale, and he sat up in bed in a panic, panting heavily.

It took him a while to calm down. He looked around and saw that the sky outside was already turning light, with sunlight streaming into the room through the windowpane. He quickly checked himself and saw that he was still wearing his pajamas. He breathed a sigh of relief; it was just a dream…

However, the scenes in his dream were so vivid, as if he had experienced them firsthand, that he couldn't tell whether it was a dream or reality...

Could it be that what you think about during the day manifests in your dreams at night? After all, how could such a bizarre event possibly be true...?

As Qi Dingfu pondered this, he reached up to wipe the sweat from his forehead...

Then, a sharp pain came from behind...

"Hiss..." He gasped.

An unbelievable thought surged into Qi Dingfu's mind, and he hurriedly took off his pajamas. The act of taking off his clothes aggravated some muscles, causing a sharp pain throughout his back and even his buttocks...

Carefully getting out of bed, trying not to aggravate the stinging area on his back, Qi Dingfu limped awkwardly to the dressing mirror. Turning to the side, he looked at his back and, with the help of the mirror, suddenly noticed that his back and buttocks were covered with conspicuous red marks, like freshly healed wounds from being whipped...

At this moment, the excruciating pain and lacerations he had experienced in the previous "dream" immediately surfaced in his mind, causing him to shudder involuntarily. He was now acutely aware of one fact: last night was definitely not a dream!

Absolutely not! It's not a dream!

The Earth God!!! He really did appear!!!

Thinking of this, an immense fear suddenly overwhelmed Qi Dingfu. What should he do?!

By the way, last night, I think I was whipped a hundred times. By the end, even my screams were hoarse, and I just wanted to die. But even so, I couldn't faint and endured all one hundred lashes.

What did the Earth God say at the end? I was already confused at the time and didn't hear clearly... It seemed to be a warning to myself not to do it again?

Just kidding! I wouldn't dare do it again!!!

Thinking of the scene from last night, Qi Dingfu felt a burning pain all over his body again. He shuddered, but ignoring the pain, he hurriedly started to put on his clothes.

After putting on a Taoist robe, he didn't even bother to wash up. He hastily grabbed a net and limped out the door, heading straight for the main hall where the statue of the Earth God was enshrined.

"Good morning, Master Qi!" A temple worker holding a large broom, who was sweeping, greeted Qi Dingfu with a smile as he approached. Qi Dingfu forced a smile in return.

"Ouch! What happened?!"

"I had a nightmare last night, and I accidentally fell off the bed..."

"That looks like a pretty hard fall. I have some medicinal wine over there, would you like me to get some to apply?"

"No need, no need... thank you..." Qi Dingfu chuckled and continued walking forward with a limp.

When they finally arrived at the main hall, Qi Dingfu was covered in a cold sweat. Although the wound on his back looked like it had healed and only left a trace, it was still extremely painful to the touch.

At this moment, Qi Dingfu had no time to worry about anything else. As he entered the main hall, he immediately discovered that he was not the first to arrive. There was already someone kneeling in front of the statue of the Earth God.

The person kneeling with his knees together, hands in a V-shape forward and touching the ground, leaning forward, raising his upper body until his forehead touches the ground, who else could it be but his own master, Wang Peiyuan!

Qi Dingfu immediately stepped forward a few paces and knelt down on the ground slightly behind his master, without using a prayer mat, mimicking his master's posture with a standard earth kneeling position...

About fifteen minutes later... Upon entering the main hall, Li Dinggui, the second disciple, who was preparing to replace the incense in the incense burner before the Earth God, witnessed a scene that surprised him—his master and senior brother, one in front of the other, were kneeling upright before the Earth God statue early in the morning, in the standard earth-seat posture, and he didn't know how long they had been kneeling...

As expected of Master and Senior Brother!

How devout!

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

P.S.: Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival in advance! May you all be reunited with your families! Also, Black Moon is going out to celebrate the festival tomorrow, so I'd like to ask for leave from everyone!

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History: Chapter 708 The Man Sitting on the Throne

In the deep, dark space, all around was a chaotic void, like the deep sea...

Below lies a bottomless abyss, surrounded by swirling tides that surge with unknown forces...

Zhang Jing awoke from his daze and found himself back on the floating island he had visited before. In his memory, the last time he came here, this floating island was like an iceberg in the sea after the temperature rose, constantly peeling away and falling downwards.

But what appeared before him at this moment was not like last time. The floating island seemed to have stabilized, with no more fragments falling away and no longer falling. Instead, it floated in the silent void, with countless threads extending around it. At a glance, there were no fewer than tens of thousands of these threads, some bright and some dark, all leading to some unknown depth in the void. Like steel cables, they held the floating island in place, preventing it from falling.

There are so many threads? Zhang Jing remembered that in his last memory, the threads around this floating island were almost completely snapped...

He pondered for a moment, then looked at the floating island again. The land, which had previously been dark red and filled with the smell of rust and blood, and even had cracks and exposed lava flowing, was now lush and green. Upon closer inspection, he saw that some tender green plant shoots had indeed sprouted from the land. He didn't know what kind of plants they were, but it looked like a field that had been ravaged by wildfire and was just beginning to recover.

It transformed into land covered with large slabs of blue-green tiles. These tiles, adorned with cloud patterns characteristic of the East, resembled jade. A faint cloud of mist lingered on the tiles, giving the area a somewhat celestial, blessed feel.

The surrounding area was still filled with ruins, but the apocalyptic feeling was gone. The high platform in the distance was still there, but the building that stood on it was no longer the one resembling the Parthenon in ancient Greece from his previous life. In his memory, that building seemed to have collapsed when he last came here. But now, he could clearly see that where the temple had once stood, a round, oriental palace with carved beams and painted rafters now stood.

With a thought, Zhang Jing arrived in front of the palace. From a close distance, the palace was extremely magnificent, somewhat similar to the Temple of Heaven's Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in his previous life. It was a three-tiered, round hall with a gilded roof, blue tiles, red pillars, and a magnificent appearance. Below the palace was a nine-tiered circular platform surrounded by white stone railings. The entire building looked spectacular.

After observing the main hall for a while, Zhang Jing arrived at the gate, which opened automatically as if someone had been waiting for him there.

Standing at the entrance, Zhang Jing clearly sensed that there was something extremely important to him inside the hall.

Since his last visit to this place, he had had many vague guesses about it, and now these guesses were even more certain. Without lingering, Zhang Jing stepped into the main hall.

From the outside, the main hall appears to be a three-story structure, but the interior is a continuous whole. Looking up, you can see the coffered ceiling at the top. The hall's area is estimated to be nearly a thousand square meters. The interior structure has no large beams or long purlins; the eaves are supported by pillars and beams.

There are 28 large pillars of unknown material, arranged in a circular pattern. The four core pillars with coiled dragons are over 4 meters high and support the upper eaves. The 12 central golden pillars support the second eaves, and the 12 outer eaves pillars support the third eaves.

Zhang Jing noticed a huge mural painted on one side of the main hall. This mural was a huge vertical painting that occupied the entire wall from the ground to the first eaves, and was estimated to be nearly ten meters high, which was quite spectacular.

The mural depicts layers upon layers of clouds, and at the very top of the clouds are three figures who are noticeably larger than the others. Below them are countless people in flowing robes, their garments billowing in the wind. It's impossible to tell how many people are depicted!

Including the three figures at the very top, each of these people has a halo behind their head, a typical way of depicting deities in traditional paintings. Clearly, those depicted in this mural are not mortals! They are deities!

However, when Zhang Jing looked at them, all the gods were blurry and their faces were unclear. Upon closer inspection, their existence seemed to be in a state of uncertainty.

Zhang Jing looked down from the top and down until he finally saw two clearly defined old men at the bottom. These two old men were dressed in earth-yellow longevity robes, with smiles on their faces and dragon-headed canes in their hands. However, they were both located at the bottom edge of the painting. Around each of them were many similarly dressed deities, whose faces were blurred.

The moment Zhang Jing saw the two clearly defined deities, he recognized them. They were clearly the land deities of Zhaoyang Town and Huangjia Village whom he had just appointed!