Above the Great Dao
Chapter 271 - 142: Evil Spirit Foster Mother

Chapter 271: Chapter 142: Evil Spirit Foster Mother

Admiral Academy was located to the west of Gongzhou City, and from a distance, incense smoke curled up into the air. Next to the academy stood the Temple of Confucius, dedicated to the Master himself.

Chen Shi and Hu Feifei arrived outside Admiral Academy, only to see many Scholars from the counties of Gongzhou and Xinxiang already queueing up to register and wait for their arrangements.

The two of them joined the queue, leaving their dog and cart outside.

Hu Feifei was very excited, looking around for a good-looking scholar, and whispered, "The scholars here are not the brats from Xinxiang County. Surely, I can find a perfect husband!"

Chen Shi said, "Your choice now is pointless. Not until the results of the autumn imperial examinations are released will you know who the Scholars are."

Hu Feifei appeared somewhat worried and said, "If us girls from the Fox Clan can’t choose our preferred husbands before the results are announced, we’ll be laughed at by our sisters. They’ll say we have no taste, no ability, and we picked what’s left from their choices. To choose, we must do it before the exam results, only then can we be seen as having good taste."

Chen Shi didn’t know the Fox Clan had such customs.

"If you could marry a Scholar who places second overall, his vision would be considered unique. If he tops the examination, you would stand out among your Fox Clan sisters."

Hu Feifei shared with him the strange rules of the Fox Clan, adding, "If he sweeps all three top places in the examinations, that would be like the ancestor’s grave sending up plumes of blue smoke—all the sisters would die of envy, and you could be called ’Granny’ within the clan."

Chen Shi asked, "What if your chosen ideal husband fails to become a Scholar?"

Hu Feifei, somewhat nervous, shook her head, "He must pass! I’m sure my judgment isn’t bad! Even if he doesn’t pass this time, there’s always the next one!"

"What if he still doesn’t become a Scholar in the next exam?" Chen Shi pressed further.

Hu Feifei looked anxious, her eyes showing her worry, "Then there’ll be another chance after that!"

Chen Shi, aiming for payback after being mocked by her, pushed on relentlessly, "What if he never becomes a Scholar? What if he goes his whole life without passing?"

Hu Feifei went pale, her soul seemingly adrift, as she murmured, "Indeed, if he can never pass, if he remains just a Scholar his whole life, then how could I face my sisters, raise my head as a fox, and have to call them ’Granny’..."

Finally, it was their turn, but the official handling registrations wasn’t the Academic Officer, but an Academic Consultant.

Two white-haired Academic Consultants inquired about their names, checked their documentation, and verified their places of origin and educational background before stamping their papers, saying, "From now on, you will reside in the hostel on the east side of the city, men and women separately, and you must provide your own food."

Chen Shi and Hu Feifei thanked them and headed towards the eastern part of the city, hearing many Scholars along the way complain about the absurd arrangement of the Admiral Academy in the west and the hostel in the east—a clear hassle for everyone.

Hu Feifei was cheerful by nature. Laughing and teasing Chen Shi along the way, she joked about being sold, while Chen Shi teased her about her future husband potentially failing to become a Scholar. Both of them accurately hit where it hurt, mutually causing each other harm along the way.

Suddenly, people with red cloth wrapped around their heads, beating drums and gongs, came down the street, shouting as they approached, "Red Mountain Hall, Red Mountain Hall! A single stick of incense for Red Mountain Lady ensures no disasters!"

"Clang—clang!"

"Red Mountain Hall, Red Mountain Hall! Three sticks of incense for Red Mountain Lady and you won’t have to pay tribute grain!"

"Clang—clang!"

"Red Mountain Hall, Red Mountain Hall! Worship Red Mountain Lady in the temple, her beauty and name spread far and wide!"

Chen Shi and Hu Feifei stood on the side of the road, seeing the residents along the street open their doors one after another, lighting incense, and placing it in the censers held by the leaders of the group.

"It seems like proselytizing," Hu Feifei looked around and commented.

A scholar in his twenties nearby chuckled and said, "This is Red Mountain Hall calling for incense offerings. They are a Talisman Master Association in Gongzhou, consisting of talisman masters who worship Red Mountain Lady. They don’t proselytize; they just seek incense offerings. Red Mountain Lady is indeed efficacious—prepare the offerings properly, and requests for children, blessings, or wealth are often granted."

Upon hearing it was a Talisman Master Association, Chen Shi promptly asked, "How do talisman masters of Red Mountain Hall make a living?"

The scholar explained, "They go to various counties to exorcise evil spirits. Red Mountain Hall has informants everywhere; wherever there’s an evil spirit, they’re the first to know. Then, they send talisman masters to exorcise it. After the exorcism, they can claim rewards from the government offices. It is said that when they exorcise, Red Mountain Lady also lends a hand."

Chen Shi’s interest was piqued.

The money he had was enough to last until the autumn imperial examinations, after which he would have nothing left. Earning money by selling talismans couldn’t bring in much, hardly enough for his daily medicinal expenses.

Moreover, in a provincial capital like Gongzhou, with talisman masters as numerous as ants, talismans didn’t fetch much, and competition was fierce.

Joining Red Mountain Hall to exorcize evil spirits for money seemed like a viable path.

"Besides Red Mountain Hall, are there any other similar organizations in Gongzhou?" Hu Feifei inquired.

"That scholar answered, "There are also the Cao Elder Association and the Salt Elder Association. They are quite large; one controls the grain transport, managing the river transport and boating on the Min River, and the other oversees salt mining. Both have government backing. Some say the Salt Elder Association is supported by the Salt Transporting Commissioner, but whether that’s true or not is uncertain."

Chen Shi thanked him for the information and asked, "How may I address my learned brother?"

"That scholar replied, "I dare not. I am Zhao Kaiyun."

Hearing the surname Zhao, Chen Shi felt a bit uneasy and promptly pulled Hu Feifei away from him.

Zhao Kaiyun was confused by their sudden departure.

The two continued their joking and laughter as they walked on. Suddenly, Chen Shi stopped and peered into a large mansion.

Hu Feifei stopped as well, following his gaze, and asked curiously, "Brother Chen, what are you looking at?"

Chen Shi gestured toward the mansion and said, "Use the Heavenly Eye Talisman to have a look."

Hu Feifei hurriedly rummaged through her belongings for the Heavenly Eye Talisman, while Chen Shi, with his naked eyes, clearly saw the interior of the mansion filled with thriving incense, the fragrance gathering into clouds that hovered above the mansion. Underneath these clouds of incense was a layer of dense demon qi, heavy and pervasive.

Next to the mansion was the Min River (real-world parallel: Delaware River), connected by a waterway that was about six or seven zhang wide.

At that moment, dozens of people, each having slapped on a Yellow Turban Warrior Talisman, were about a zhang tall with immense strength. They were working together, shouting cadences, and laboriously pulling the watergate up to slowly raise the heavy iron gate.

Looking out at the Min River, Chen Shi noticed the surface suddenly bulging as though some behemoth beneath was swimming beneath, moving with remarkable speed!

"Hoo—"

The river rose seven or eight feet, surging into the waterway and through the gate into the mansion.

Underneath the fragrant clouds of the grand estate, two blood lanterns lit up, fluttering in the air, inhaling clouds and exhaling mist.

Hu Feifei took out the Heavenly Eye Talisman and activated it, also witnessing this scene, her heart utterly alarmed as she whispered softly, "Evil Spirit?"

Chen Shi lowered his voice and said, "It should be. Strange, isn’t there a Ten Thousand Soul Banner in the city? How could there be an evil spirit entering the city?"

Zhao Kaiyun came over with a smile and said, "The one in the river just now was the Granny of the Min River from the Cao Elder Association, who was originally an evil spirit in the Min River. Later, she received incense worship from many people and, over time, she surprisingly developed sentience, capable of protecting the locality. Thus, the river folk of Gongzhou started worshiping the Granny of the Min River as their godmother, founding the Cao Elder Association with her protection."

Chen Shi, astoundingly surprised, sought to understand, "An evil spirit can turn into a godmother?"

Zhao Kaiyun explained, "When an evil spirit receives enough incense worship, it suppresses its malevolent nature. Without its malevolence and protecting those who offer incense, it naturally becomes a godmother."

Chen Shi’s impression of him couldn’t help but improve a bit.

Zhao Kaiyun continued, "The boatmen of the Cao Elder Association travel the Min River, leaving the protection of Gongzhou City, and outside it’s all evil spirits. Without the protection of Granny of the Min River, I fear the boatmen of the Cao Elder Association would have long been dead. With Granny of the Min River, the people of the association are able to survive."

Chen Shi said, "I see."

At that moment, a painted boat floated past on the river. Chen Shi looked and saw a father and daughter on the painted boat who were the pair from Xinxiang County.

"What are you doing here?" Chen Shi was astonished beyond measure.

The boat girl said with a smile, "Recently, a lot of Scholars are heading to Gongzhou for the examinations. So we’ve been ferrying on the Min River, going upstream to come here to make a hard-earned penny. Scholar, I wish you success in your exams!"

Chen Shi smiled and said, "I’m grateful for your kind words. There’s the Cao Elder Association in Gongzhou controlling the transport, be careful they don’t cause trouble for you."

The boat girl replied, "We’ve taken care of it; there won’t be any trouble."

The father and daughter rowed the boat away into the distance.

In the main hall of the Cao Elder Association, the hall master Cao Yunshen watched the Granny of the Min River, who was ingesting the Incense Fire Qi. Suddenly, he could not help but cough violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his complexion somewhat pale.

The divine likeness of the Granny of the Min River appeared, an old crone with a wrapped head, leaning on a wooden cane that was two or three times her height, also coughing up blood continuously.

"What background does the other party have? Their strength is so terrifying?"

The hall master Cao Yunshen, with a look of fear on his face, whispered, "Granny and I joined forces, yet we couldn’t even scratch the father and daughter, and instead, they inflicted serious injuries on us! When did such experts arrive in Gongzhou City?"

The Cao Elder Association controlled the transport, and this father-daughter duo was ferrying on the Min River, competing with the business of the association, causing dissatisfaction among the members. Thus, some people, with many boats, blockaded the two, intending to teach them a lesson.

Unexpectedly, they were beaten soundly.

The Incense Master of the Cao Elder Association took a stand and also got beaten back.

The hall master Cao Yunshen knew that the newcomers were no ordinary people, but the association’s face could not be lost, so he invited Granny of the Min River to personally contend against them, not expecting to still be beaten by the two!

He couldn’t even discern the real strength of the other party!

Chen Shi had met the boat girl and her father twice before and quite favored the boat girl’s feistiness.

It was indeed a pleasure to encounter them here, and Chen Shi was very happy.

At this time, he uttered a light "hmm", spotting another grand estate where the blood Qi was overwhelming, a bloody red expanse, with a mountain of flesh crawling there, the blood color emanating from within the mountain.

However, this scene was invisible to ordinary eyes.

"This grand estate belongs to the Red Mountain Hall."

Zhao Kaiyun said, "Red Mountain Hall worships the Red Mountain Lady. The mountain of flesh you saw is indeed the Red Mountain Lady!"

Chen Shi, filled with apprehension, said, "What exactly is the Red Mountain Lady?"

Zhao Kaiyun, without using a Heavenly Eye Talisman, of mortal sight, could not see the Red Mountain Lady, and said, "I am too stingy to buy a Heavenly Eye Talisman, so I can’t see the Red Mountain Lady, but I’ve heard that the Red Mountain Lady is a Blood Taisui, supposedly unearthed from the mountain. When she was dug out, within ten miles, men and animals all perished completely."

Chen Shi exclaimed in shock, "The talisman masters of the Red Mountain Hall worship such evil spirits?"

Zhao Kaiyun replied, "Once the Red Mountain Lady received incense worship, she’s no longer considered an evil spirit."

Upon reaching the east side of the city, along the way, Chen Shi actually saw four or five places of thriving incense worship, deeply imbued with Demon Qi!

These places are often the powers of Gongzhou.

"So many people in Gongzhou worship evil spirits, and they have already formed a climate, each no less than Granny Black Mountain, and in fact, even stronger!"

He was secretly alarmed, "Doesn’t Gongzhou fear that when the moon rises, the evil spirits will transform?"

The strength of Granny Black Mountain was extremely formidable, and this evil spirit was slain by Chen Shi using a crossbeam from the Mountain Lord Temple after its divine likeness had been shattered, and at that time, Granny Black Mountain’s power was diminished to one tenth.

Yet in Gongzhou City, there were six entities that were not weaker than Granny Black Mountain!

"In the past, incense could be used to suppress the malevolence, but now with the moon present even during the day, more incense is needed, I’m afraid these evil spirit godmothers will sooner or later stir up big trouble!" Chen Shi said in a low voice.

Zhao Kaiyun laughed and said, "With the government present, what trouble could possibly arise? Within Gongzhou City, there are the governor, the Governor, the garrison commander, the Imperial Censor, the Three Departments, the garrison eunuch, the Salt Transporting Commissioner, the Salt Bureau, the Tea and Horse Department—how many high officials? These high officials come from powerful families, highly capable, how could there be trouble?"

Chen Shi shook his head and said, "Allowing evil spirits to enter the city is by no means a good thing. Even if Gongzhou City has so many powerful figures to maintain order, I fear there will be a day of negligence."

They arrived at the post station, where Chen Shi and Hu Feifei parted ways, only to find the place already overcrowded, with four or five scholars crammed into a single room.

Chen Shi and Zhao Kaiyun were led by the post station guard to a room for four.

Having put away his belongings and tidied up, Chen Shi prepared a medicinal decoction for dinner. By nighttime, there were still scholars studying by lamp light.

Chen Shi went to sleep, and in the middle of the night, he was suddenly awakened by a cold wind. Opening his eyes and using the lamp’s light, he vaguely saw a pitch-black shadow in the room, consuming the foot of a scholar who shared the room with him, having gnawed the scholar’s right foot down to white bone.

The scholar was still deep in sleep, oblivious to anything, as snores sounded from his mouth.

—The second Chapter has arrived, sorry for being a bit late.

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