101: Chapter 101 Inviting the Gods to the Twin Villages

Qin Mo stood on the other side supporting Village Chief Qin Zongliang, yawned, and said to Village Chief Wang Deshun and Village Chief Sun Mancang.

"Lord Qinling pulled the village chief into a dream, perhaps Lord Qinling has an oracle to give the village chief."

He said it casually, as if he were talking about how the weather was nice today.

Qin Yin stood aside, nodded, and added.

"Lord Qinling has this divine ability to pull people into dreams. We have all seen Lord Qinling in dreams before, it is fine."

Village Chief Wang Deshun's throat moved, and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Pulling people into dreams?

Passing messages through dreams?

He had only heard of these things when listening to the elders tell stories as a child.

It was said that a long time ago, when immortals were still around, they would entrust dreams to mortals.

He thought those were just stories, thought they were meant to trick children.

But now he saw it with his own eyes!

Village Chief Sun Mancang looked at Village Chief Qin Zongliang's serene sleeping face, and at Qin Yin and Qin Mo's accustomed expressions.

The expression on his face became even more pious.

This deity named Lord Qinling was truly unfathomable!

Next, the four of them stopped talking and simply waited quietly for Village Chief Qin Zongliang to wake up.

The temple quieted down, with only Village Chief Qin Zongliang's slight snoring accompanied by the faint crackling sound of incense burning in the censer.

The mist in the dream was grayish, and Village Chief Qin Zongliang stood amidst it with no one in sight before him.

He did not panic, clearly knowing that he had previously been inside the Temple of Lord Qinling.

No evil spirits could harm him.

Village Chief Qin Zongliang raised his head and saw a beam of light deep within the mist, a gentle and reassuring light.

That light was the only guidance, so he lifted his foot and walked over.

The light grew closer, the mist grew thinner, and he saw that golden figure.

That face could not be seen clearly, but those eyes were bright, calm, and as deep as the sea.

With just one glance, Village Chief Qin Zongliang knew who the other party was.

His legs went soft, and he knelt down.

"Lord Qinling, believer Qin Zongliang kowtows to you."

"I already know about the matters of Wangjia Village and Sun Family Village."

Qin Ling in the dream went straight to the point and said.

Village Chief Qin Zongliang knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head, and only heard that voice continue.

"The roots and stems of that Evil Tree have already entrenched themselves in the two villages, plunging the living into misery, and I cannot bear to watch it."

"As long as the two villages move the divine statue for inviting deities to the side of the villages, I will naturally act at that time to banish the roots and stems of the Evil Tree."

Qin Ling's voice was cold and grand.

Village Chief Qin Zongliang's tears suddenly welled up.

He knelt there, his shoulders trembling, and it took a long time before he suppressed his excitement and said,

"Lord Qinling is merciful. This old man thanks Lord Qinling for his great kindness on behalf of the common people of Wangjia Village and Sun Family Village."

He heavily kowtowed, his forehead touching the mist.

The mist churned around him, and that figure gradually faded away in the mist.

The next moment, Village Chief Qin Zongliang abruptly opened his eyes.

He found himself leaning against the leg of the offering table, his back against the table, his head tilted to one side, and his neck very sore.

But at this moment, he couldn't care less about whether it was sore or not; he propped himself up to stand, his legs still weak, and steadied himself by holding onto the offering table.

Qin Yin and Qin Mo hurriedly supported Village Chief Qin Zongliang.

Village Chief Wang Deshun and Village Chief Sun Mancang eagerly watched this village chief of Qin Family Village who had awakened from the dream.

Village Chief Qin Zongliang took a deep breath and exhaled it.

"Lord Qinling said in the dream just now that as long as you move the divine statue for inviting deities to the side of the village, Lord Qinling will act to help you banish those roots and stems."

"At that time, you will be able to return to the village to get food, and you will be able to live on in your own village again."

Hearing this, Village Chief Wang Deshun and Village Chief Sun Mancang bowed towards the statue of Lord Qinling almost simultaneously, expressing their gratitude for Lord Qinling's mercy one after another.

Village Chief Wang Deshun and Village Chief Sun Mancang returned from the temple, walked back to the courtyard where they were accommodated, and called all the refugees to gather around.

Village Chief Wang Deshun stood there, looking at the refugees who had escaped from Wangjia Village and Sun Family Village, looking at the fear and anticipation in their eyes.

He took a deep breath and recounted Village Chief Qin Zongliang's words without missing a single word.

"Lord Qinling has an oracle: as long as we move the divine statue for inviting deities to the side of the village, Lord Qinling will act."

"To help us banish those roots and stems, take back our village, and retrieve our food."

The crowd fell silent for a split second, and then erupted into an uproar.

Some cried, some laughed, and some chanted the name of Lord Qinling.

A refugee hugged his child into his arms, muttering "Thank you Lord Qinling, thank you Lord Qinling".

Another refugee shouted.

"If Lord Qinling can really drive away the roots and stems of the Evil Tree and let us return to our homeland,"

"Our Wangjia Village will worship Lord Qinling for generations to come. As for whatever original deities there were, get out of here!"

The people nearby nodded one after another, echoing in a hubbub of voices.

"Right! What original deities, they are completely useless! We are not close at all, are we!"

"From now on, we will only worship Lord Qinling!"

"We will worship him for generation after generation!"

Village Chief Wang Deshun waited for them to quiet down and spoke again.

"We have to carve the divine statue ourselves. Among us people, is there anyone who knows carpentry?"

Several carpenters stood out.

An old man surnamed Wang, with gray hair and calluses on his hands as thick as copper coins, had done carpentry work in Wangjia Village his whole life.

There were also two young lads from Sun Family Village who had studied under the old village carpenter for three years; their craftsmanship wasn't refined, but they could do the work.

They gathered together to discuss what kind of wood to use, how tall to carve it, and what posture to use.

The wood was found with the help of the people of Qin Family Village. On the mountain behind the village stood an old elm tree that had grown for I don't know how many years; its trunk was straight, and its wood grain was fine and dense.

Old Man Wang took the two lads up the mountain, cut down the tree, carried it back, set up a workbench in the courtyard in front of the temple, and began to carve.

Old Man Wang wielded the main knife. He carved very slowly, and every stroke was very light.

His eyes were fixed on the wood, and the carving knife in his hand wandered through the wood shavings, carving out the eyebrows, the corners of the mouth, and the jawline stroke by stroke.

The two lads assisted him by planing and polishing, gradually smoothing away the marks left by the carving knife bit by bit.

Carving by day and carving by night.

Old Man Wang lit an oil lamp, sat before the workbench, and carved stroke by stroke.

He was old, and his eyes were not working well. After carving for a while, he had to stop, rub his eyes, look closely, and then continue.

Someone advised him to rest, but he only shook his head and continued carving.

Not long after, the divine statue was carved.

There was no paint, no gold tracing—just a clean piece of elm wood, carved into the appearance of lowering the brows and dropping the eyes.

The eyebrows and eyes were almost identical to the one in the Temple of Lord Qinling.

After the two divine statues were carved, the day for officially inviting the deities arrived.

Before dawn on that day, the refugees got up.

Although they didn't have extra clothes, they all deliberately washed their garments.

They wrapped the divine statues in red cloth, which the people of Qin Family Village had pooled together.

Village Chief Wang Deshun held the first divine statue with both hands and walked at the very front, while Village Chief Sun Mancang behind him held the second divine statue.

Further behind were the refugees, densely packed and queuing up neatly as they walked towards that temple.

The morning light leaked through the gaps of the curtain, dim and orange-red, falling upon them.

But at this moment, their faces no longer held despair, but carried hope.