36: Chapter 36 How wonderful it would be to have divine protection.

The golden shadow in the sky above Zhou Family Village was naturally Qin Ling's avatar.

While patrolling the periphery of Qin Family Village, his avatar had happened to drop by Zhou Family Village on the way.

He already knew about Zhou Ping's return to the village. Upon learning that breaking through to the Incense Realm required a larger territory under his jurisdiction, he paid even more attention to Zhou Family Village.

Sure enough, when his avatar arrived, he saw Cone Snails coming to harass the village and casually slew them.

Qin Ling's avatar hovered in midair, observing the population of Zhou Family Village.

Now, Zhou Family Village had dozens of people. Although far fewer than before fleeing the famine, it was still much more than when Zhou Ping first returned.

Ever since returning to the village, Zhou Ping had joined forces with Zhou Hu, putting a lot of effort into calling back the villagers who had fled.

Seeing that there were no more Cone Snails near Zhou Family Village, Qin Ling's avatar departed.

At present, Zhou Family Village was not yet under his jurisdiction, and after all, it could not compare to Qin Family Village.

Without a divine statue, his avatar naturally would not stay here for long.

The golden shadow completely dissipated into the horizon.

The sky returned to a clear azure, and the sunlight remained dazzling.

To the villagers of Zhou Family Village present, the golden light that had just pierced the sky felt like a dream.

But the corpses of the Cone Snails lying on the ground were no dream; their scythe-like tentacles hung limply.

The villagers of Zhou Family Village were still kneeling.

They remained kneeling like that for quite a while before anyone began to move.

Zhou Hu was the first to move. Still kneeling on the ground, he kowtowed three more times before slowly straightening his back.

He stood up and turned to look at the villagers who were still kneeling behind him.

"Everyone, get up."

One after another, the villagers of Zhou Family Village stood up.

The elderly supported their waists, the women held their children, and the men stuck their fish spears into the ground.

A villager spoke up to ask.

"Brother Hu, you said that golden shadow was a deity? Are there really deities in this world?"

The speaker was a young man in his early twenties.

His face was still stained with mud, but his eyes were bright.

"That's right. That golden shadow was Lord Qinling, the deity of Qin Family Village."

Zhou Hu took a deep breath and continued.

"Do you remember the fish we've been eating these past few days?"

Of course the villagers remembered.

That catch was the first full meal they had eaten since returning.

When they were fleeing the famine, none of them had eaten better food than that.

"Those fish were caught when we went out to sea in the East Sea."

Zhou Hu said.

"The reason the few of us managed to come back alive is also thanks to Lord Qinling."

The crew members beside him nodded repeatedly.

"Right! That night at sea, we ran into these Cone Snail Demons and almost died at their hands."

"It just so happened that a fishing boat from Qin Family Village passed by, and the divine statue of Lord Qinling on their boat manifested its power to save us."

"I was on the boat back then! That light was exactly the same as just now!"

"With a flash of golden light, those monsters were killed!"

"If not for Lord Qinling, we would have died in the sea long ago!"

The crew members all chimed in at once, growing more excited as they spoke.

The villagers listened in stunned silence.

"Then the fish we ate were also because of Lord Qinling?"

"Yes."

Zhou Hu nodded.

"Without Lord Qinling, it would have been impossible for us to bring that catch back to the village."

The villagers fell silent.

So every bite of food they had eaten over the past few days was connected to that unfamiliar deity.

At this moment, Zhou Ping, the chief of Zhou Family Village who was standing nearby, spoke up as well.

"When I fled the famine, the place I went to was Qin Family Village. At the time, we thought Qin Family Village wouldn't have any food either, but..."

Speaking to this point, Zhou Ping paused, an absurd scene floating into his mind once again.

"In the end, we saw a giant grouper as fat as a pig hanging from the large locust tree."

Hearing this, the villagers of Zhou Family Village automatically pictured the scene in their minds, and some even swallowed their saliva as they thought about it.

Zhou Ping continued talking, sharing the deeds of Lord Qinling's divine manifestations that the villagers of Qin Family Village had told him.

He told them how boats setting out to sea from Qin Family Village received Lord Qinling's protection.

He told them about the children who were rescued, and about the golden light on that rainy night.

He told them how the villagers of Qin Family Village lived and worked in peace every day, without fear or dread.

The villagers of Zhou Family Village listened spellbound.

Some listened with eyes full of envy.

Some listened until their eyes turned red.

In these difficult times, who wouldn't want a deity's protection so they wouldn't have to live in fear?

The villagers of Zhou Family Village raised their heads and looked toward the direction where the golden light had disappeared in the sky, something glimmering in their eyes.

A young man suddenly spoke up.

"How wonderful it would be if we had such a deity as well."

No one replied, but everyone knew what he was thinking.

When that golden light was still there, they knelt on the ground with only one thought in their minds.

That was, they were finally saved.

But now that the golden light had vanished, they immediately began to worry about their own safety once more.

Zhou Ping observed the expressions of the Zhou Family Village villagers.

Then he exchanged a look with Zhou Hu.

Currently, neither he nor Zhou Hu had informed the villagers about changing the deity they worshipped.

After all, most of Zhou Family Village's inhabitants were still fleeing the famine, not to mention that stating directly that they wanted to switch worshipped deities would be too abrupt.

However, after Lord Qinling's divine manifestation just now, both Zhou Ping and Zhou Hu felt that switching to worship Lord Qinling in the future would not be a difficult matter.

"Lord Qinling is a benevolent deity. Since he manifested his power just now to slay the Cone Snail Demons, he clearly knew we were living in peril and came specifically to help us."

Zhou Ping continued to praise Lord Qinling.

"I really didn't expect Lord Qinling to be so benevolent."

"Yeah, we didn't offer any incense to Lord Qinling, yet this benevolent deity still helped us."

"It really leaves me feeling uneasy. In time, I definitely must go to Qin Family Village to offer a stick of incense to Lord Qinling."

"Actually, I feel there's a better way..."

The villagers of Zhou Family Village babbled on, discussing Lord Qinling, their words full of praise for him.

...

Late at night one day later.

The moonlight was veiled by a thin layer of clouds, leaving only a hazy, greyish white.

The sea breeze was stronger than usual, blowing the broken tiles on the temple eaves to sway gently, making faint creaking sounds.

In the shrine of Qin Family Village, incense smoke curled upward.

The divine statue with lowered eyes stood quietly inside the alcove behind the altar table.

Then, Lord Qinling, residing inside the alcove, opened his eyes.

He sensed that aura.

There was absolutely no mistaking it; that aura was too unique.

A powerful demonic qi mingled with dense evil qi.

It was that Little Li Dragon corrupted by evil qi.

This dragon, on the verge of madness and nearly out of control,

had now approached the coastline.

Finally...

has it come after all?

Qin Ling stepped out of the alcove, stood up, and took a step out of the temple doors.

He could not let this Little Li Dragon get any closer.

Otherwise, once battle broke out, it would be a devastating blow to the dozen or so villages along the coast.

He had to stop it right there!