SCT-Novel #282 - Evil beast! Seeking death!
#282 - Evil beast! Seeking death!
Two wandering gods.
Still two Night Parade Gods.
It truly is a case of 'intend to grow flowers, but they don't bloom; unintentionally plant willows, and they flourish'!
Therefore, Xu Chengxian prepared to continue planting flowers.
First, he called Lao Zhang over to quickly sculpt a statue of the Great Sage riding a horse, receiving orders in the wind, and place it in the White Maiden Temple.
He had made an appearance when the giant toad was killed, so he should be able to get some incense offerings.
And also Grandpa Turtle.
He had a flash of inspiration and thought of having Lao Zhang sculpt a large turtle.
After it was sculpted, he would place the White Maiden's statue on the turtle's back.
Then, he would sculpt a Little Sage holding a plate with peaches on it, offering fruit to the Maiden.
This would also highlight the White Maiden's status.
"Don't worry about what ninth-rank righteous god is, the common people don't know about these things."
She has a mount (Grandpa Turtle), a jade maiden (Xu Xiaobai), a horse-riding monkey lieutenant guarding her, and a clever monkey (Little Sage) delivering fruit.
She even has a black goat as a mount for the jade maiden who accompanies her!
Even if their physical bodies are destroyed, they can come back as gods.
Xu Chengxian was already thinking about arranging a dragon girl identity for Xu Xiaobai.
This definitely wouldn't be considered a fabrication.
After all, his daughter is a genuine dragon!
However, there was one thing he didn't quite understand.
The cat became a Night Parade God.
That's fine, it catches mice.
"But the rat also became a Night Parade God?"
What's it going to do?
Accompany the cat for endurance runs?
What were these believers thinking?
The wandering god's spiritual form could condense, thanks to the believers' offerings these days.
The White Maiden Temple only accepts incense offerings and doesn't collect tributes, so those common people, after finishing their work, would take a stroll around if they lived nearby.
Because they came often, Cat Shijiu, who was held in the statue's arms, Black Goat, who stood beside the statue, Xu Xiaobai, who rode on Black Goat's back, and Rat Laibao, who was held in Xu Xiaobai's arms, all received varying degrees of attention.
Among them, there were the most questions about Cat Shijiu.
Especially recently, when repairing the granaries, the cats that caught mice and protected the grain were mentioned when offering incense.
It actually managed to get some incense offerings and condensed a 'contract'.
But Rat Laibao's position as a wandering god was incomprehensible.
"There's nothing to understand," Da Hei said. "Where there's a cat, there's a rat; where there's a rat, there's a cat. It's the same principle as repairing the granaries and building roads."
Which is to say, there's no principle at all.
All twisted logic!
These words were a bit sour.
Because when Lao Zhang sculpted the statues, there was Xu Xiaobai and it.
Xu Xiaobai had a human form, while it, the cat, and the rat were all animals in appearance. Why the differential treatment?
Why!
Why doesn't it have a true form!
"There definitely won't be you. If you were enshrined, how would everyone eat mutton in the future?" Xu Chengxian said with a smile.
He probably figured out the reason.
People enshrine Rat Laibao in the hope that it will reduce the number of rats disturbing people.
This is the same reason why people enshrine plague gods and other fierce gods.
Some gods are enshrined for doing good.
Some beings rely on ferocity and evil.
Compared to praying to the former, there is more fear of the latter.
It's very sad and helpless.
Because human power has its limits, and when something is impossible, one can only pray.
"But some things insist on taking advantage of this point to do evil," Xu Chengxian said with a smile.
He didn't like it very much.
Perhaps because he was an ordinary mortal in his previous life.
He was particularly empathetic.
Just imagine taking on the role of an innocent commoner suffering from disaster and about to starve to death…
"Damn!"
No need to imagine it, he was already getting angry.
"Where are Cat Shijiu and Rat Laibao?" Xu Chengxian asked. "Why haven't they returned yet?"
He couldn't wait to drink chicken soup!
… …
"Kill the pheasant demon!"
"Kill it and cook chicken soup for the King! To nourish his body!"
Rat Laibao was very excited.
It had never taken action before.
This time, in order for it and Brother Shijiu to receive more incense offerings, King Xu said that it and Brother Shijiu would kill the pheasant demon together.
They had just returned from investigating Jiangjia Village.
That pheasant's cultivation was also at the eighth rank.
Brother Shijiu could defeat it alone.
It only needed to play a supporting role by farting to add wind.
Hehe!
Rubbing its paws, feeling wonderful~
"If you don't know how to flatter, then don't," Xu Chengxian huffed. "Am I, the King, very weak? I'm very strong, no need to nourish!"
If he really became weak, what use would a pheasant demon be?
"Shijiu, when they lure the pheasant demon out, you go first," he turned to Cat Shijiu and said. "Fight beautifully."
Those two wandering god positions were both summoned by Bai Xiaocui from the statues.
When Cat Shijiu and Rat Laibao came, she had them condense a wisp of divine thought, inject it into the statues, and put them back.
They could now mobilize the divine power within them.
It was just that the power was still very weak and not very useful.
"King, how should I fight beautifully?" Cat Shijiu asked.
"You must fight bravely," Xu Chengxian said meaningfully. "You must be brave and not afraid to sacrifice! For the sake of the people, disregard life and death!"
"… … I understand, King!"
At the same time.
Zhang Wan and Song Fangwu outside had already gathered the able-bodied men from Songjia Village and several other villages.
Then, led by the people who came to Jiangjia Village to seek help, they set off first.
They were going to rescue Jiangjia Village.
They were also trying to force out the evil demon.
Jiangjia Village was the most severely affected.
They were not suffering from floods, droughts, or poison.
But from a real demon.
Jiangjia Village was next to Fushui Town, and a river ran through the town.
The water flow was not rapid, and boats could travel on it.
The terrain was also flat, and the surrounding area was not only fertile land and smooth roads, but also far away from the mountains, with no wild animals disturbing it.
It was on the edge of Songjia Village and other places not disturbed by the Great Zhou's corvée, and although it was not too far or too close to Wudong County, no one came to collect taxes, so it had long become a grass market.
The grass market slowly became a town.
The reason why it was called Jiangjia Village was because of this.
Usually, life was fairly prosperous.
But after the monster appeared, it changed.
The monster ate everything that could be eaten, such as grain, vegetables, grass leaves, and livestock.
It was almost eating people.
"But even if it doesn't eat people, without anything to eat, we will starve to death!" The person who came to the White Maiden Temple to cry and beg said, bursting into tears again.
It's not that they didn't want to run.
It's not that they didn't want to escape.
But where could they run to?
People are cheap away from their homeland, but if there is even a sliver of a way to survive, who would want to flee?
When fleeing, if a family goes, it would be good if one person could survive.
There was no way to seek help.
The county government ignored Wudong County, where it collected taxes, and turned a deaf ear.
There was even less to say about their town.
If they hadn't been forced to the point of no return, they wouldn't have come to the White Maiden Temple, treating a dead horse as a living one.
"If we can't get help this time, we can only flee."
If they left, they could only go to Lingzhou.
"I heard that disasters are happening everywhere, and many people have fled to Lingzhou. Grain prices in the city have soared, and they are about to starve to death. But, but the government has never released grain!" The person said, closing his eyes in despair.
No matter how he thought about it, there was no way to survive.
Walking out of Lingzhou with an empty stomach?
It would also be dying of hunger on the roadside!
In despair, after hearing that there was salvation, the people of Jiangjia Village's joy was overflowing.
Although most didn't dare to believe it and hid at home without coming out, and some had already fled, there were still hundreds of people who came out to meet them regardless.
Xu Chengxian and the others followed in secret, and heard someone worrying that the monster would see them and cause trouble.
Then they heard his companion shouting: "Even if it angers the monster, let it eat me!"
This shout stirred up a thousand waves.
Suddenly, many people followed suit and shouted.
Anyway, they were going to die.
Starving to death, being eaten by a monster, there was no difference.
Moreover, wasn't there someone coming to save them?
The people of Jiangjia Village are not cowards!
"Hmph! Impudent!"
"Do you think I don't dare to eat people?"
A voice like thunder came from mid-air, followed by the sound of wings flapping.
A chicken three or four zhang tall flew towards the crowd.
The common people were startled.
Just as they were about to panic, they heard a cat's meow.
"Meow!"
"Monster! You're courting death!"