47: Chapter 47 Inviting the God Qin Linggong

Zhou Hu reached out, pointed in the direction of the East China Sea, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"We dragged an old boat from the shipyard back then, patched a few holes, and set sail."

"After heading out to sea, we did catch some fish, but we also encountered a monster—the Cone Snail that came ashore and entered the village last time."

When Zhou Hu brought up the Cone Snail, there was still lingering fear in his tone.

"A whole net full of Cone Snails, with tentacles like sickles and pitch-white eyeballs, poured out from the fishing net onto the deck. We all thought we were dead for sure."

"Then, a fishing boat from Qin Family Village passed by. The small divine statue enshrined on Qin Family Village's fishing boat lit up, and a golden light swept across, slicing all those Cone Snail Demons in half."

The villagers of Zhou Family Village all quieted down, listening to Zhou Hu's words as if they were experiencing it firsthand.

Especially the villagers of Zhou Family Village who had previously witnessed the scene of the golden light slaying demons in Zhou Family Village could imagine the picture even more vividly.

Zhou Hu turned his head, looked at the old man who had refused to invite the deity, and said.

"You say we've enshrined the deity for so many years, how can we change it just like that?"

"Then I must ask, all these years, whenever Zhou Family Village suffered a disaster, has the deity in this temple ever manifested its divinity even once?"

Stared at by Zhou Hu, the old man couldn't say a word.

"Qin Family Village has Lord Qinling; boats can go out to sea, fish can fill the cabin, children can eat their fill and grow taller, and the elderly don't have to go hungry."

"Because Lord Qinling can protect the boats heading out to sea!"

Zhou Hu swept his gaze across the faces of the villagers of Zhou Family Village.

"Now, you tell me, should we invite the deity Lord Qinling or not?"

"We should!"

The first one to shout out was a crew member who had previously taken a gamble and gone out to sea with Zhou Hu.

He would never forget that streak of golden light when he was despairing and awaiting death on the deck.

"We should invite him! We should invite him!"

The rest of the crew members who had gone to sea with Zhou Hu also began to shout along.

"Of course we should invite him! What else is there to say?"

A young man shouted.

That day in Zhou Family Village, when the villagers were surrounded by the Cone Snail Demon, it was that golden light that slew the demon.

Without Lord Qinling manifesting his divinity, Zhou Family Village as it is now would have long ceased to exist.

"We should invite him. Once we invite Lord Qinling, our children can grow up in peace."

Several women standing at the back also nodded, holding young children in their arms.

If believing in Lord Qinling could allow their children to grow into adults, they would be Lord Qinling's most devout believers.

The villagers nearby also nodded and loudly said that they should invite him.

The voices grew more numerous and denser.

The old man stood among the crowd of villagers, listening to those voices all saying "We should invite him".

He recalled that what Zhou Hu said was not wrong; if it weren't for the bowl of fish soup Zhou Hu brought him, he might not even be able to stand here right now.

The catch was protected by Lord Qinling.

His life was also saved by Lord Qinling.

The old man raised his head, opened his mouth, his voice hoarse.

"We should invite him."

The voice wasn't loud, but Zhou Hu heard it.

He turned his head, looked at the old man standing among the villagers, moved the corners of his mouth, but didn't speak.

"We should invite him!" "We should invite him!" "We should invite him!"

The voices converged into one, echoing across the open space in front of the temple, startling the roosting birds in the distant trees.

Zhou Ping stood on the steps, looking at those villagers shouting "We should invite him".

He waited until the voices gradually subsided before speaking.

"Since everyone agrees, the deity enshrined by our Zhou Family Village will prepare to be changed to Lord Qinling."

A low cheer erupted among the villagers; some were already wiping away tears, while others tightly gripped the hands of those beside them.

They had suffered too much hardship in this world and longed so much to live in peace.

Zhou Ping looked at the faces of those villagers, his heart feeling both sour and full.

"However, according to the Great Qian laws, changing the deity enshrined in the village is not something we can decide on our own. We must report it to the county yamen, and only after the county yamen approves can we officially invite the deity."

Changing the subject, he talked about the matter of inviting the deity.

According to the Great Qian laws, what deity a village enshrines was up to the county yamen to decide, otherwise it would be an illicit sacrifice.

"That's only right."

Zhou Hu patted Zhou Ping's shoulder and said.

"The rules that should be followed must be followed, so we don't give people any reason to find fault."

The villagers nearby nodded one after another.

"Right, we can't let people say we privately set up an illicit sacrifice."

Zhou Ping nodded, his voice steadying a bit more.

"Therefore, I plan to go to the county yamen in the next few days to report this matter. Once the official government approves, I will formally go to Qin Family Village to invite the deity."

He paused and glanced at the temple gate behind him.

"At that time, let's properly renovate this temple, giving Lord Qinling a bright and spacious place to stay, and also giving everyone a safe place to burn incense."

"Good!"

Zhou Hu responded, his voice loud and clear.

"Brother Ping, when you go to the county yamen, I'll go with you!"

Those crew members who had gone to sea with Zhou Hu also wanted to go, chiming in all at once.

"I'll go too!"

"I'll go too!"

"We can't let the village chief go alone."

Zhou Ping raised his hand and pressed down on those voices.

"We don't need that many people. Zhou Hu and I will go. It's not good if too many people go."

He swept his gaze across the faces of those crew members.

"You guys stay home and tidy up the temple—repair what needs repairing, sweep what needs sweeping. When we return, we'll go to Qin Family Village to invite the deity."

"Alright!"

A crew member with a scar on his face patted his chest.

"Leave the temple's affairs to us! We guarantee to clean it up neat and tidy!"

The others also nodded along; some said they wanted to fix the temple roof, some said they wanted to re-plaster the walls, and others said they wanted to chop down a tree to make a new offering table.

Talking all at once, the voices grew louder and livelier.

No one could see that atop the courtyard wall, a figure stood quietly.

The sea breeze brushed past his side, unable to stir his robes.

It was precisely Qin Ling's split spirit standing here.

He had taken in everything that had just happened.

The irrepressible cheers when Zhou Ping announced the change of deity.

Those faces that suddenly grew tense when mentioning going to report to the county yamen.

And finally, the sound of discussion when all the villagers gathered together to discuss how to tidy up the temple and how to build the offering table.

His gaze swept across the crowd and finally landed on Zhou Hu.

He remembered this face.

That day on the East China Sea, just after seeing Little Li Dragon and preparing to return, he had fortuitously encountered the fishing boat from Zhou Family Village.

He had casually dealt with the Cone Snail Demon on Zhou Family Village's fishing boat, and he also remembered that Zhou Hu was on the deck at that time.

Unexpectedly, in the matter of Zhou Family Village inviting the deity, this Zhou Hu had played no small part.

Qin Ling withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly.

No matter what, the matter of Zhou Family Village inviting the deity could now be considered on the right track.

It wouldn't be long before they came to Qin Family Village to invite the deity.

After all, since his cultivation realm couldn't be elevated for now, it made him very interested in expanding his governed territory.

The next instant, the figure of Qin Ling's split spirit vanished from the courtyard wall.

Meanwhile, the villagers of Zhou Family Village in front of the temple were still heatedly discussing the matter of inviting the deity.

They knew that next, if village chief Zhou Ping's trip to the county yamen went smoothly...

The deity enshrined by Zhou Family Village would be Lord Qinling!