nownovels Chapter 160 Those six, I'll take care of them.
Chapter 160 Those six, I'll take care of them.
Chapter 160 I'll take care of those six (5200)
The candlelight flickered.
The seven figures trembled simultaneously.
It's not fear.
She was asked about her most painful spot.
The hunched figure of the Sleeping Ox Stone Lord floated forward half a foot, its pale green eyes staring at the ground as if looking at an invisible field.
After a long while, it finally spoke.
"I—was originally a stone at the foot of Mount Taiyin."
"It looks like a reclining old ox, an old ox plowing the field."
"I don't know which year it was, but the villagers started offering incense to me."
"They said, beg me to save the crops."
"It's dry, please make it rain."
"It's flooded, please let the sun shine."
"The bugs are coming, please ask me to drive them away."
"I really will protect them."
It paused.
"For the first hundred years, there were only about twenty households in the village. Every year at harvest time, they would set out a bowl of new rice for me at the edge of the field."
"Poppy hot."
"Two hundred years ago, the village had more than sixty households."
"They built me a small temple, a mud-brick one, which didn't block the wind, but I could hear the sound of them kowtowing."
"Three hundred years from now —"
Its voice suddenly lowered.
Three hundred years ago, a group of people came to the village.
1
"Not bandits, but—officials."
"They said a railway was going to be built on this land."
"The entire field ridge has been leveled."
"My rock was blown apart."
The pale green light flickered violently.
"The stone is broken, but I am still here."
"I think as long as the villagers are still here, I will still be here."
"But they all moved to a new village thirty miles away."
"No one sets out that bowl of rice anymore."
The living room fell silent for a moment.
Lu Yuan did not respond.
He simply nodded slightly.
These are deities whose worship has ceased due to the development of the times.
This shows that the Sleeping Ox Stone Lord is not the kind of deity who doesn't care about anything and only knows how to cheat and shirk responsibility.
Of course, in reality, the vast majority of gods would not deliberately cheat or deceive their followers.
After all, only by helping their followers can they receive more offerings.
Who would turn down their own family's incense offerings?
It was Quanmu's turn.
Its two dark yellow spots swayed gently in the mist, remaining silent for a long time.
"I----"
"My spring has dried up."
Lu Yuan was taken aback.
"Done?"
"Um."
Every word that Quanmu uttered carried a dry, astringent quality.
Five years ago, mining began on the northern slope of Taiyin Mountain.
"The miners needed to drain the water, so they dug a ditch and diverted the water from my spring."
"At first it was just a little less, but then it became less and less."
"The last drop of water was gone in the spring of the year before last."
"I have guarded it for 377 years."
"Watch it dry little by little."
"There's nothing we can do."
Its two dark yellow spots suddenly dimmed a little.
"If the spring dries up, I'll have no roots."
"These past few years I've been wandering around, searching for water, for incense offerings, for a place where I can survive."
"I can't find it."
"Without the spring, I would not be the Mother Spring."
It lowered its head.
"What am I?"
This question wasn't directed at Lu Yuan.
It's asking itself.
"I have no idea."
Next was the Flower Goddess.
Tiger Rabbit has already mentioned its situation before.
Lady Flower repeated the story herself, exactly as Tiger Rabbit had said.
They were also building a road, and all the flowerbeds were cut down.
Fortunately, wildflowers are still blooming on the hillside.
The roots weren't completely severed.
The next one to speak was a dusty, gray shadow.
It barely took the shape of an old man, his back hunched, as if he had been pressed down by something his whole life and had never straightened up.
"I am the old willow tree by the river."
"Guarding a ferry crossing, for 150 years."
Those crossing the river, those waiting for a boat, and those selling tea all rested under my feet.
"I provided them with shade and shelter from the rain, and watched them come and go."
"A bridge was built upstream twenty years ago."
"The ferry crossing is abandoned."
"No one comes anymore."
It paused here.
"I'm still standing there."
"I figured at least someone passing by would see me."
Five years ago, a few timber buyers came.
"They said my tree is big enough to fetch a good price."
"They sawed me for two days."
"It was just sawed down."
Its voice became extremely soft.
"I'm completely in the dark right now."
"Not even a single tree is left."
A fainter shadow beside them spoke up before anyone could say anything.
It was barely discernible as the outline of a woman, but the face was so blurry that the features were indistinguishable.
"I am a clay sculpture in the mountain god's temple."
"They've been guarding that mountain path for two hundred years."
"People who come into the mountains to chop firewood, gather herbs, or visit relatives all stop by to pay their respects."
"The road was changed later, so we don't take that route anymore."
"The temple collapsed, and no one is repairing it."
"I stayed in the ruins."
It stopped there.
Lu Yuan waited for a while.
"And then?"
The shadow remained silent for a long time.
"No one has come here."
"The heavy rain two years ago washed away the last half of my mud body."
It looked down at its own wisp of mist, as if trying to recognize a version of itself that no longer existed.
"I don't even have mud left now."
The next opening was made by a grayish-brown shadow.
It tries to coalesce, but its shape is always scattered and cannot be gathered together.
"I am the stone mill at the entrance of the village."
"Grinding grains and making flour, they've been doing this for over a hundred years."
It didn't go into the details of the past like the previous ones.
He only said one sentence.
"Later, machine mills came along."
"Later, the village built roads."
"They said I was in the way."
"They've been removed to cover the roadbed."
The grayish-brown specks of light were so dark they were almost invisible.
"I don't even know who I am anymore."
"A millstone?"
"Stone?"
"Roadbed?"
It did not speak again.
The last shadow was a wisp of dark green mist.
The light spot is the faintest.
It was so faint, it seemed like it might dissipate at any moment.
"I am the moss by the ancient well."
"They've been protecting that well for over a hundred years."
"The well water is sweet; people come from dozens of miles around to fetch it."
Its gray-green spots of light flickered on and off.
Thirty years ago, a woman threw herself into a well.
"By the time they pulled them out of the water, the person was already gone."
"The villagers say this well is unlucky, that it's associated with human deaths, and that it can no longer be used."
"Bring stones and fill the well."
"The well platform was dismantled, the wellhead was sealed, and soil was covered and compacted on top."
"I desperately climbed up the well wall, until I reached the last crevice."
"It's just a narrow slit, about the thickness of a thumb."
"I was inside for thirty years."
"That patch of moss has long since dried up."
After it finished speaking, it said nothing more.
They didn't say anything like "it won't last long."
But everyone could tell.
It won't last much longer.
The living room was deathly silent.
The candlelight illuminated the seven swaying shadows.
Seven paths.
Each one is lighter than the last.
Each one paler than the last.
Lu Yuan remained silent for a long time.
He picked up his teacup and took a sip.
The tea has gone completely cold.
He put down his cup and looked at them.
"So you've come to find the goddess of beauty."
"You think she has descendants and want to follow her to get a share."
Woniu Shijun nodded.
"Yes."
"We—we really have no other choice."
Lu Yuan glanced at it.
"But she has no descendants."
"You saw it too."
The seven figures dimmed simultaneously for a moment.
The pale green light spots on the reclining ox stone trembled slightly.
"I saw it."
"But we still want to thank you."
It suddenly bent down and bowed deeply to Lu Yuan.
His hunched figure was bent like an old bow about to break.
"Thank you for setting up this shrine for us."
"At least----"
"We have a home now."
Quan's mother also bent down.
Lady Flower also bent down.
Old willow tree, clay sculptures of the mountain god temple, stone mill, moss.
One by one.
The seven swaying figures bowed deeply to Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan did not dodge.
He sat there, quietly watching them.
Looked for a long time.
Nobody knows what he's thinking.
No one knows how long he thought about it.
When he came to his senses, his gaze fell on Lady Hua.
"Tiger Rabbit will take care of your matter."
"I'll relight the lamp for you tonight."
The blurry figure of the Flower Lady, a young girl, suddenly trembled.
The two grayish-white spots of light suddenly lit up.
"Continue...continue the lamp?"
She seemed not to understand.
It was as if they couldn't believe it.
Tiger Rabbit jumped off the stool and walked up to her.
The little girl looked up at the cloud of mist, her two little tufts of hair bobbing up and down.
"Yes, continue the lamp."
"You still have roots; you can continue."
"Let me turn the light up a bit more for you."
The Flower Goddess's light spots flickered wildly.
One light, one shadow; one light, one shadow.
I don't know if she's crying or laughing.
The Sleeping Ox Stone and the Spring Mother watched this scene quietly.
No one speaks.
Those pale green, dark yellow, and grayish-white specks of light all became exceptionally quiet.
They have no openings.
But Lu Yuan could see it.
They are envious.
The living room remained quiet for a long time.
Then, the Flower Lady's voice rang out softly.
"thank you."
"Thank you both."
Lu Yuan waved his hand.
Don't thank me too soon.
"Let's talk about it after we finish continuing."
He stood up and walked outside.
He walked to the door, then suddenly stopped and looked back.
The seven figures were still floating in the center of the guest hall.
Pale green, dark yellow, grayish white, grayish brown, and dark green specks of light swayed gently in the darkness.
Like seven lamps about to go out.
One lamp is about to be relit.
What about the remaining six lamps?
Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze.
He didn't speak.
Push open the door and step into the night.
Behind them, Tiger Rabbit's crisp voice rang out.
"Lady Flower, stand still!"
"I'm starting now!"
Lu Yuan hadn't gone far.
He took it with him as he left and leaned it against the old locust tree outside the living room.
The door to the living room wasn't thick, and the sounds of Tiger and Rabbit could be faintly heard from inside, such as "Stand still" and "Don't move," but they weren't clearly audible.
Zhou Shouzhou stood at the bottom of the steps by the door, not coming closer, but just waiting with his hands at his sides.
A night breeze swept across Qixia Mountain, rustling the locust tree leaves.
-
Zhou Shouzhou tilted his head slightly, his ear facing the door, listening intently.
Lu Yuan saw it, leaned against the tree trunk, and grinned.
"Master Zhou is very interested?"
Zhou Shouzhou was taken aback, then turned around and smiled as well.
"Just out of curiosity."
He paused for a moment, as if considering his words.
"Why would the legendary Ten Families of the Northeast, including the Xu Denghu family, do such a thing?"
Lu Yuan blinked.
"Such a thing?"
Zhou Shouzhou nodded seriously.
"What do you think they're after?"
"If someone saves a life, at least they'll have to say 'thank you for saving my life.'"
"To prolong the lives of the gods? After that, they just stay by the mountain path, and it's considered good if they can burn three or four sticks of incense throughout the year."
"How can we ever repay this kindness?"
"We can't expect those gods who are about to disappear to suddenly appear and help them out, can we?"
1
Lu Yuan did not answer immediately.
He held the cup of tea, which had long since gone cold, and slowly rubbed his thumb along the rim of the cup twice.
He had actually been thinking about this for a whole day.
From the moment Tiger Rabbit started telling him about the Flower Goddess this morning, until he heard about the origins of the seven deities in the guest hall just now.
I've been thinking about it.
After a long pause, he spoke.
Perhaps it's because—
'
"They should have been wiped out, but wiping them out would have benefited no one."
Zhou Shouzhou was stunned.
Should it have been destroyed?
Destroying it would benefit no one.
He went through the sentence in his mind, but couldn't quite understand it.
The images of the seven gods resurfaced—each one fainter and lighter than the last, like seven lamps about to go out.
What good is it for them to live?
Maybe not.
If they die, who will suffer the consequences?
It seems not.
Zhou Shouzhou frowned and shook his head.
Lu Yuan glanced at him and suddenly asked an unrelated question.
"Master Zhou, do you know why ordinary people dare not enter those wild mountains where no one is in charge?"
Zhou Shouzhou was taken aback.
Lu Yuan didn't wait for his answer.
"Because I'm afraid there might be something dirty inside."
"Some of those things are mountain spirits, some are wild ghosts, and some are—"
He paused for a moment.
"Yes, it is the 'emptiness' left behind by the scattered gods."
Zhou Shouzhou raised his head, his face full of confusion.
What is "emptiness"?
Lu Yuan shrugged slightly and said casually, "It's just that where there used to be something, it suddenly disappeared."
"It's like a house. People used to live there, but when they left, the house became empty."
"Who will live in an empty house?"
Lu Yuan didn't continue.
Zhou Shouzhou, however, understood.
Who will live in an empty house?
Anyone who wants to stay can come and stay.
The "empty" space left behind by those scattered gods will be filled by something else.
If good things don't come, bad things will.
If the Sleeping Ox Stone were to disintegrate, would evil spirits be drawn to the "emptiness" on the ridge of the field where it lies?
If the mother spring disperses, will something dirty grow in the "empty" space beside its dried-up springhead?
If the moss were to dissipate, the "emptiness" at the bottom of that well, sealed for thirty years, would be revealed.
Zhou Shouzhou didn't think any further.
He suddenly understood what Xu Denghu's family was doing.
It's not about saving lives.
It is mending the sky.
The gods of this world are like a net spread across the heavens and the earth.
Each deity occupies a knot.
If the knot breaks, another hole will appear in the network.
When there are fewer holes, the net can still hold up.
Too many holes, and the net will fall apart.
The internet is broken; anything can leak in.
Xu Denghu's family didn't just rescue everyone they saw.
They would see knots that were about to break, and if they could be repaired, they would insert a needle.
Zhou Shouzhou remained silent for a long time.
So long that the night wind blew several locust tree leaves off and landed on his shoulder, but he didn't move.
Then he looked up at Lu Yuan.
His eyes looked completely different from before.
"Senior brother."
His voice was a little hoarse.
"How did you know all this?"
Lu Yuan leaned against the tree trunk, a carefree smile on his face, and said, "Just a guess!"
Zhou Shouzhou stared at him for several breaths.
Then, the usually composed old Taoist priest suddenly took a step back.
She straightened up properly and bowed deeply to Lu Yuan, her waist bent very low.
"Thank you for your guidance, senior brother!"
He straightened up and couldn't help but add another sentence.
"Senior Brother's comprehension is so high that Shouzhuo can never match him."
Lu Yuan felt a little uncomfortable from his bow and was about to wave his hand and say something when the door to the guest room suddenly opened from the inside.
Tiger Rabbit jumped out.
The two little pigtails bounced back and forth, their faces beaming with pride.
"It's finished!"
Lu Yuan glanced behind her.
Inside the reception hall, the mist belonging to the Flower Goddess was much brighter than before.
It no longer looks like it might fall apart at any moment.
The girlish figure hovered in place, head down, looking at her hands.
Then she raised her head, bowed deeply to the tiger and rabbit statues at the door.
Tiger and Rabbit waved their hands, acting like little adults.
"Alright, alright, no need to thank me."
"I will visit that hillside where you are every spring from now on."
"As long as the flowers are there, your roots are there."
"If there aren't enough flowers, you'll have to figure it out yourself."
The light from the Flower Goddess flickered gently.
It looked like he was nodding.
It also sounds like she's crying.
Lu Yuan stood outside the door, watching this scene without saying a word.
Their extinction would benefit no one.
It's not just bad for "people".
It's not good for this land, its mountains and rivers!
The lamp that Xu Denghu continued was not a lamp.
What continues is the righteous path of heaven and earth!
To be honest, Lu Yuan didn't have much affection for these ten families outside the pass before.
Perhaps it's because of the Taoist saying, "The Tao protects all living beings."
Lu Yuan felt that those who cultivate the Tao should do something for the common people within their power.
Of course, Lu Yuan has always done this.
And these are the ten families outside the pass.
Based on what I've encountered so far.
The Wang family that severs fate, the Liu family that controls ghosts, the Tan family that punishes the spirits —
Not counting Xu Denghu's family, whom I just met, let's just talk about the first three—
Apart from the Xingyou Tan family, where is there anyone who looks human?!
Even the only family among them that could be considered somewhat human, the Xingyou Tan family, did not do anything for the people outside the Great Wall.
It was not because of the internal affairs of those ten families.
In particular, even though the Ghost-Controlling Liu family had already done such a thing, Tan Jiji still refused to say more.
This could definitely be considered covering up!
It can be said that before meeting the Xudeng family, the three people Lu Yuan encountered had nothing to do with the Daoist concept of "protecting all living beings".
There's a saying...
Different road non-phase plan.
For this reason, even though Lu Yuan knew that not all of the ten families outside the pass were like the Wang family of Duanming or the Liu family of Yugui, he was still able to get away with it.
But I really didn't have any good thoughts about these ten families outside the pass.
now----
However, I did see the words "fellow travelers" at Xu Deng's house.
Of course, after more than a year of traveling all over the country, going deep into the city and countryside, and doing countless jobs.
He has seen too many people and things that appear glamorous on the surface but are rotten inside.
I've only known Tiger Rabbit from Xu Denghu's family for less than a day.
There are still many things that Lu Yuan doesn't know.
But at least for now, Lu Yuan has a really good feeling about the Xu Denghu family.
"Is everything done?"
Lu Yuan looked at Hu Tutu and asked curiously.
Tiger Rabbit nodded, her porcelain doll-like face beaming with pride, and said, "Of course!"
"With the Xu family involved, there's no chance of failure!"
Looking at the adorable tiger and rabbit, Lu Yuan couldn't help but grin and say, "Then—"
—
He suddenly paused.
His gaze passed over Tiger and Rabbit and landed on the six still-floating shadows in the guest room.
Pale green, dark yellow, grayish, grayish-white, grayish-brown, dark green.
It swayed gently in the darkness.
Like six lamps left unattended.
Tiger Rabbit followed his gaze, and the smugness on her little face slowly disappeared.
She turned her head and looked up at Lu Yuan.
"The six of them—"
She didn't continue.
Lu Yuan stretched and then walked into the house: "I'll take care of those six."