The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 312 - 201: When Hu Guang is well-cultivated, the whole country is sufficient

Chapter 312: Chapter 201: When Hu Guang is well-cultivated, the whole country is sufficient

Li Yan naturally came to inquire about this matter.

This item was a Chu Witch Order, and based on what Yan Jiuling had said and the history once mentioned by the cryer at night, Li Yan had figured out some context.

In Ancient Zhou, rituals and music had deteriorated, and the customs of worship varied from place to place.

The inheritance of witchcraft from the south to the north had gathered together twice.

First, when the Qin Emperor unified the world, he gathered exorcists from all directions in Xianyang, called it the Qin Palace Secret Blessing, which was later disbanded after burning the Confucian books.

The inheritance of the night crier was the Qin Palace Secret Blessing, but it only constituted a small part, and these people’s whereabouts were secretive, unknown where they were hiding.

Another part had evolved into the Shang Mountain Magic Sect.

The second occurrence was during the Han Dynasty, when the ancestors gathered the exorcists in Chang’an, each establishing their own shrines to worship the divine spirits from all directions, which amounted to a kind of grand unification.

However, later, with the rise of the Confucian and the Mystical Sect, witchcraft gradually declined, some of it flowing into the folk, with some even disappearing completely.

Of course, Li Yan was only somewhat interested in the history of these Magic Veins.

What really made him curious was why the Chu Witch Token possessed the Divine Evil Energy only found in the Yin Bureau?

Perhaps, he could find some clues from the folk Magic Veins.

Old Liu took over the Phoenix Gold Ornament, looked at it carefully for a while, and seemed to think of something, nodding his head, "Speaking of which, I have indeed seen something similar."

Li Yan’s eyes lit up immediately, "Please enlighten me, senior."

"I dare not."

Old Liu handed the Phoenix Gold Ornament to Li Yan, invited the two to sit down, poured some tea, and then slowly began to explain.

"This item, my master had occasionally mentioned, despite the Taixuan Orthodox Sect being the orthodox of the Divine State nowadays, the local Magic Veins had not ceased, and the folk customs are also somewhat connected to Ancient Chu."

"For example, in this area, we worship the phoenix and honor the chicken, believing that chickens can separate Yin and Yang because the ancestry of the Chu people used the phoenix as a totem, identifying the phoenix as the embodiment of the ancestor Zhurong, a lot of Magic Veins, even when I examine corpses for Evil Exorcism, need to use chicken blood..."

"Also, the value of fire and red, also related to the fire god Zhurong, during the end of the first month, people would hold a fire in their homes to drive away evil spirits. On New Year’s Eve, they would hang charcoal at the door, bounded with red paper, called ’General Charcoal’..."

"They also observe sacred reed and the edict that no village is complete without maple, all because the Classic of Mountains and Seas mentioned that the maple tree was the shackle discarded by Chi You, and planting maple trees at the mouth of the village could have the protection of the war god Chi You..."

"Many folk inheritances show its traces, but the real inheritor of Ancient Chu witchcraft is only one Magic Vein; they once resided in Jun Mountain, worshipping the Divine Spirits of Ancient Chu and named ’Life Fate Association’."

"But long ago, this Magic Vein had already vanished, my master had similarly seen from a pamphlet, told it to me as a story, and at that time, even drew an emblem for the spell, looking like this..."

"Jun Mountain?"

Li Yan’s eyes brightened, thoughtful.

Jun Mountain, located in Dongting, was one of the blessed lands of the Mystical Sect, also called Xiang Mountain, originating from Xiang Jun, and is also one of the Ten Gods of Chu Territory.

According to Yuan Ba’s statement, this item was found in the mountains near Dongting, most likely related to the mysterious "Life Fate Association!"

It seemed that he must take a trip to Jun Mountain when he had time.

He might find some clues.

Thinking this, Li Yan quickly stood up, bowed and smiled, "Elder’s knowledge is admirable, thank you very much."

"Not at all."

Old Liu was a bit flustered, quickly standing up, "I just heard it in passing, these little stories aren’t necessarily true."

Seeing Li Yan and his companion were about to take their leave, he looked around and urgently said, "You two helped me avert disaster, but I have nothing valuable, and my pockets are tight, I can’t repay you. There’s a banquet later, I’ll invite you folks to join, how about as a farewell banquet?"

Seeing the expectation in the other’s eyes, Wang Daoxuan did not refuse, smiling, "Old sir, what kind of banquet is it?"

Old Liu replied, "It’s a family of major householders in the city, their only grandson wants to acknowledge me as a father."

Seeing the surprise on the faces of Li Yan and his companion, Old Liu shook his head with a wry smile, "Don’t laugh at me, although I’ve lived a life of hardship, this son, if not ten, then I have seven or eight."

"In our local custom, it’s good to keep children humble for easier upbringing. Especially those who are the only child in their later years or passed down through several generations, afraid that the child might die young, they all give him a ’humbling haircut.’"

"This ’humbling haircut,’ leave a patch on the top called broken tile, and a small braid at the back of the head called a dog’s tail, meaning lowliness makes for easier survival. Not only that, usually, they also want to acknowledge someone from a humble profession as their father."

"My profession, I don’t have gold, nor silver, just have so many children, usually they don’t come to my door, but during New Year, they always send some food..."

"Oh, I see."

Wang Daoxuan smiled, "This custom is similar throughout different regions; in the North, they worship big trees and stones as godparents."

He looked at Li Yan and smiled, "Brother Yan, I’m a bit greedy for a good meal, let’s eat at the banquet before leaving, there are plenty of delicacies in Ezhou."

"That sounds very good."

Li Yan smiled and nodded in agreement.

He knew that Wang Daoxuan was not really greedy, but was simply looking after the last bit of Old Liu’s dignity.

...

Old Liu was right, the family recognizing him as a father was indeed one of the major households in the city, dealing in grain transportation and running a grain shop.

The family, who had gotten a son in their later years, cherished him a lot, they even prepared a grand feast for the godfather ceremony, inviting neighbors to join.

This feast was called a "large encirclement feast," with every eight dishes making a round, divided into eight rounds in total, all very meticulously prepared.

For example, the first round was the Eight Fresh Fruits, which were seasonal fresh fruits, the second round was eight types of pastries.

The third round was eight types of sweets, including lotus seed soup, glutinous rice dumplings, sweet rice wine, sugar heart eggs, and the fourth round was eight types of cold dishes, braised pig’s ears, braised pig’s tongue, braised duck breast, mixed cold platters.

After that, they began serving rice wine, a local specialty.

The fifth round then began with major dishes: Nostalgic meatcakes, crystal meatballs, Buddha’s hand salmon, oil-braised whole chicken, sauce meat pieces...

The sixth round was mountain treasures and sea flavors, the seventh round was four rice dishes and four vegetarian dishes, and the eighth round was four types of tea snacks.

People from Ezhou were hospitable, valuing that ’a visitor is a guest,’ even within the pugilistic world, it was customary not to fight a visitor at one’s door.

Once the identities of the guests were known, there was a continual stream of people coming to offer toasts.

Li Yan and his companions had eaten their fill of rice and wine.

Sha Lifei was an outgoing man, amicable with everyone, from the landlords and gentlefolk to the petty vendors and foot soldiers, calling everyone brother and drinking until his face turned red and he stumbled as he walked.

As Li Yan and his group were getting ready to leave, Sha Lifei, arm in arm with a broad-shouldered man, came staggering over.

"Brother... Brother Yan."

Sha Lifei spoke with a slurred speech, patting the man beside him and introducing him, "This... this is also a brother from the Mystical Sect, very courteous, and he insisted on escorting us to Yunyang Prefecture."

The man, also with a thick tongue, said, "Right... right, all under heaven are brothers. If guests come from other provinces, we can’t have them looked down upon."

Li Yan frowned, "This brother, is he from the Mystical Sect?"

The man in front of him wore coarse cloth clothes, was tall and burly, had a weathered face, and carried no hint of Evil Qi—how could he belong to the Mystical Sect?

Especially in his drunken state, taking them to Yunyang Prefecture seemed like a joke, didn’t it?

"What... what? You look down on people!"

Upon hearing this, the man got upset, raised his neck and shouted, "Come on, come with me to the riverbank. My boat’s right there, let me show you some spells!"

Sha Lifei also egged him on, "Good, let’s see the brother’s skills! Brother Yan, don’t underestimate my brother; he’s a descendant of the ancient Huanlong Family!"

"Oh?"

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan exchanged looks, their expressions solemn.

With the conversation having reached this point, they couldn’t very well refuse, so they bid farewell to old man Liu and their host, packed their luggage, and arrived at the riverbank.

The man had indeed not lied; although he was staggering drunk, he handled the boat steadily.

His was just an ordinary flat-bottomed boat, moving quickly with a push from the bamboo pole, and soon the Shangjin Ferry was behind them, disappearing from view.

Li Yan couldn’t help but chuckle, "Brother, weren’t you going to perform some spells?"

Soon, he regretted saying that.

"Watch... watch this!"

Energized by the comment, the man, upon reaching the shallower waters, vigorously stomped the boat, swinging it side to side, creating loud noises.

"What are you doing?"

Sha Lifei panicked, "You aren’t trying to rob and murder us, are you?"

The man ignored him, pinching a spell, and loudly chanted, "Ankle, ankle, dull, catch a big fish weighing eighteen pounds..."

Before he finished speaking, a school of fish gathered around, splashing violently on the water’s surface. The man scooped several large fish into the boat with a net, proudly saying, "How’s that? My spell isn’t bad, right?"

"I don’t have to worry about food with this spell."

Li Yan: "..."

"You still don’t believe?"

Seeing his expression, the man got anxious, "Watch me summon a dragon!"

With that, he leaned over the side of the boat, swinging a large fish back and forth in the water while continuously muttering.

Soon enough, a "dragon" head surfaced on the river.

But it was just a lugworm dragon.

It looked silly, biting the fish in the man’s hand and even allowing itself to be patted on the head before it wobbled back into the water.

Li Yan: "..."

"How about that?" The man asked, looking quite pleased.

Li Yan, resigned, said respectfully, "Daoist is proficient in spells; I am inferior!"

Contented with this response, the man finally quieted down.

Wang Daoxuan, seeing this, stroked his beard and laughed, "With Hu Guang ripe, the whole world is sufficient," not deceived at all, "What a land of outstanding individuals and magical spirits..."

As they spoke, the boat entered a wider expanse of water.

The scene unfolded with clear skies blending into the water, rolling green hills lining the shores, shimmering waves, all creating a beautiful landscape.

In the distance, on a hillside by the riverbank with terraced water fields, locals were busy in the fields. At the forefront was a Yin Yang master, burning incense and paper, surrounded by the sounds of music and drumming, attracting crowds of onlookers.

Sha Lifei curiously asked, "Are they performing a ritual over there?"

"That... that’s called ’opening the rice door.’"

The man replied, "At the start of spring, every household conducts it with renowned masters. Come, let’s take a look."

With that, he pushed the bamboo pole, speeding up the boat.

Nearby on the shore, people were also "opening the rice door."

The group saw music and drumming while the Yin Yang master held incense, intonating, "As spring arrives, all herbs grow, we pray to the great Heavenly Lord~ Rice God, come~ come early, don’t wait~ till deep in the midnight hour..."

"It’s a sacrifice to the Millet God!"

Wang Daoxuan’s expression immediately turned solemn.

Although the words "social" and "millet" often go together, the Social God and the Millet God are different; the Millet God blesses the crops with a bountiful harvest.

The man grew even prouder, "How about that? Our local masters are skilled, aren’t they?"

Li Yan’s face showed no longer mockery, earnestly saying:

"Profound, indeed I am inferior..."

He knew, these were the true roots of the Mystical Sect’s spells.

Protecting the creatures, ensuring harmonious winds and rain, a bountiful harvest of grains...

As the sun set into the dusky evening, finally, a large city slowly appeared in the distance...