23: Chapter 23 The Merciful God

Qin Family Village's crude dock.

A fishing boat steadily docked at the pier, its hull gently colliding with the stone wall and making a dull sound.

As the boat approached, villagers on the shore had already spread the news to the entire village.

Therefore, at this moment, the dock was already packed with villagers who had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing that the crew members on the fishing boat all looked tired, but were standing safe and sound on the deck, the villagers cheered one after another.

"Head of the house!"

"You're back! You're all back!"

"Dad!"

The joy of family reunions diluted the worries of going out to sea.

Even some women leaned on their husbands' shoulders and wiped away tears.

Then, as the crew members began to move the catch from the hold ashore, even more enthusiastic cheers rang out.

Seeing the catch being carried out, the villagers couldn't help but say,

"Good heavens! So many fish!"

"Lord Qinling above, this mackerel is so fat!"

"How many years has it been since we've seen so many mackerels!"

The sound of swallowing saliva kept ringing out in the crowd.

Basket after basket of fresh fish, still jumping and struggling, were carried off the boat, their silver scales flashing with a heart-captivating luster.

Such a catch was already a harvest far exceeding expectations in today's world.

As for the half-a-person-long large silver-scaled fish that Qin Yin deliberately left for last and carefully carried down together with Qin Mo, it attracted everyone's attention and exclamations.

Even Qin Ling's split soul couldn't help but look at this big fish.

Before becoming a deity, he was also an angler in his previous world.

"It's a giant grouper! Such a huge giant grouper! How many years has it been since we've seen one!"

An old fisherman recognized it, his beard trembling with excitement.

This big giant grouper was caught on the way back.

On the way back, Qin Yin saw that Lord Qinling's statue was no longer glowing, so she cast a few nets along the way and was lucky enough to catch this big giant grouper.

The casually cast nets also filled the fishing boat's fish hold, giving this trip out to sea a bumper harvest.

The abundance of the catch instantly dispelled the Qin Family Village villagers' worries about food in the days ahead.

The children ran and jumped excitedly around the fish baskets.

The women gathered together to discuss how to pickle and dry these fish.

The crew members puffed out their chests and talked about how much effort they put into catching that big giant grouper.

The times were dangerous, but at this moment, the villagers of Qin Family Village were happy.

After getting off the boat, Qin Yin said loudly to all the villagers,

"Fellow villagers! Being able to return safely and fully loaded today is entirely thanks to Lord Qinling's protection. If not for Lord Qinling's warning, this trip to sea would not have been so smooth."

"Therefore, this largest catch should naturally be offered before the statue of Lord Qinling to thank Lord Qinling for his protection!"

Qin Yin reached out and pointed at the big giant grouper.

Her voice instantly overpowered the noise of the dock.

The villagers quieted down, listening to Qin Yin's words, their faces showing expressions of deep agreement and gratitude.

"Right, Qin Yin is right!"

"We really need to thank Lord Qinling for his protection!"

"This big giant grouper should be offered to Lord Qinling!"

The villagers echoed in agreement.

Seeing this, Qin Yin personally took the lead, carrying the big giant grouper together with Qin Mo toward the temple in the center of the village.

Except for the villagers processing the catch, the rest of the villagers also followed the two siblings to the temple.

After entering the temple, Qin Yin respectfully placed the big giant grouper in front of the statue, then took the joss sticks and offered incense.

Qin Ling did not receive the incense points from Qin Yin's offering of incense at this moment.

Because today on the boat, Qin Yin had already offered incense to the small statue at the entrance of the fish hold.

Obviously, even if it is not the same statue, each believer's incense points cannot be collected repeatedly.

Qin Ling felt it was a pity.

Qin Yin took the lead in bowing deeply, her forehead touching the ground.

Behind her, the rest of the villagers knelt down in unison.

There were still villagers who hadn't offered incense today, so Qin Ling still harvested quite a few incense points.

[Collective gratitude and aspiration are strong, offering rare sacrifice giant grouper, extra incense points +30.]

Qin Ling blinked upon seeing the system message.

He didn't expect that special sacrifices could actually give extra incense points.

Although it wasn't much, mosquitoes are meat no matter how small.

The worship lasted for about a quarter of an hour.

The villagers bowed to the statue again before slowly exiting the temple.

The villagers who left the temple walked back toward the dock; the catch that had just come ashore still needed to be processed.

The temple returned to silence, with only the big giant grouper in front of the statue flashing with silver radiance under the dim light.

Qin Ling stared at this big giant grouper and rubbed his chin.

The amount of meat on this big giant grouper was not small; as a wild deity, he only needed to accept offerings and wouldn't actually eat meat.

Now that the worship was over, leaving this big giant grouper here all the time would be a considerable waste, especially for the villagers of Qin Family Village.

Thinking of this, Qin Ling had an idea.

...

Early the next morning, the village was livelier than usual.

Not because of going out to sea, but because of the Old Locust Tree at the entrance of the village.

The first to discover it was the early-rising Village Chief Qin Zongliang.

As soon as he walked under the tree and looked up, he shouted directly,

"What is going on—!"

This shout startled half the village.

Villagers swarmed from all directions, gathering under the Old Locust Tree, craning their necks, and letting out a unison intake of breath.

Hanging on the Old Locust Tree was a big giant grouper.

The villagers were not unfamiliar with this big giant grouper; it was precisely the one they offered to Lord Qinling yesterday.

Old Helmsman squeezed to the front, rubbed his eyes, and said,

"Isn't that the fish offered to Lord Qinling yesterday?"

The color of the scales, the shape of the patterns, and the small scar beside the gills were seen by everyone.

"Right, right, right, that's the one!"

"How did it get up the tree?"

The watching villagers exploded into discussion.

"Is someone playing tricks?"

"How can anyone play tricks? Such a huge giant grouper, who could get it up onto the Old Locust Tree?"

"Then what is the reason?"

Qin Yin pushed through the crowd and walked over.

She looked up at the fish on the tree, and then looked at the temple not far away.

As the person in the village who dealt with Lord Qinling the most, she felt she could roughly guess Lord Qinling's intention.

"Lord Qinling has already accepted the offering."

Village Chief Qin Zongliang turned to look at her and said,

"Accepted? Then how come this fish—"

"What was accepted is the sentiment."

Qin Yin waved her hand and said,

"This fish, Lord Qinling returned it."

Village Chief Qin Zongliang opened his mouth, his tone full of confusion.

"Returned? What does this mean?"

Qin Yin withdrew her gaze and let it fall on the fish on the tree.

"It means that Lord Qinling knows the food in the village is very precious, and he is unwilling to let this big giant grouper rot away in the temple like this."

"So Lord Qinling threw the big giant grouper here so that we can eat it ourselves."

Village Chief Qin Zongliang was stunned.

He stood under the tree, looking up at the fish, and suddenly laughed.

Their Qin Family Village had had a really tough time over the years.

But now, they seemed to have truly encountered a merciful deity.

Beside them, a villager knelt down first.

One, two, ten.

Soon, a large area knelt down densely.

Village Chief Qin Zongliang also knelt down, his forehead touching the ground, his gray hair stained with soil.

"Lord Qinling is merciful."

The rest of the villagers followed suit and said,

"Lord Qinling is merciful."