Above the Great Dao

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On the first day of each month, Grandfather and grandson always made a trip.

The villages all had their monthly pilgrimages on the first day, and in addition to worshiping Dry Mother, it was also a lively marketplace where one could buy all kinds of goods.

Chen Shi sat on the wooden cart, continuing to cultivate the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique, starlight scattered and fell, merging into his body.

Grandfather assessed him before saying, "You can consume more medicine now."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shi almost choked and hurriedly discarded his distracting thoughts to focus on cultivating.

It was strange that after eating the "meals" Grandfather prepared, he felt his progress in cultivating the Three Light Righteous Qi Technique strangely quickened, his body grew increasingly robust, and his limbs were filled with strength!

"Even without consuming spiritual meat or such, I could enter the True King's Tomb again, covering that much distance!" he secretly thought.

However, that still wasn't enough.

His goal was to obtain the complete Three Light Righteous Qi Technique!

After traveling for more than ten miles, they arrived at Shanyang Village next door.

The village was built around an ancient tower, thirteen stories high, seven to eight zhang tall, its bricks and stones weathered and ancient, etched with patterns of an unknown era.

Chen Shi looked up at the second floor of the ancient tower where a monk with clear brows and handsome features sat, accepting incense offerings while slowly turning his head to watch their wooden cart pass by the tower.

This small monk was the Dry Mother of Shanyang Village.

Dry Mothers weren't necessarily trees, any being with extraordinary powers could accept the people's worship and protect a region, becoming revered as Dry Mother.

The real Dry Mother of Shanyang Village was actually that ancient tower, while the small monk was just the manifestation of the extraordinary power formed by the villagers' offerings.

"This monk isn't a good person," Chen Shi thought to himself.

The first time he came here, he carelessly entered the tower and was nearly devoured by the small monk as a ritual sacrifice.

He still remembered how the monk turned from kind and benevolent to a ferocious giant Buddha in an instant, which made him shudder to this day.

The wooden cart stopped, and Chen Shi got off to help Grandfather set up their stall, displaying various talismans.

The grandfather and grandson mainly lived by selling talismans, ranging from the Thousand-Mile Communication Talisman for contacting distant relatives, to the Peach Talisman for warding off evil spirits, to the Armored Horse Talisman for easy travel, the Water Control Talisman for boating, and the Rain Master Talisman for praying for rain.

Those able to draw talismans needed to reach the Divine Embryo stage and have Divine Power, but such individuals were often Scholars, holding official positions in the cities, who would come out to sell talismans?

"Old Chen, out selling talismans again?" someone recognized the pair and called out.

"Mhm."

"How come I heard you died? They say in your village that you sleep in your own coffin at night!"

"Nonsense, don't spout nonsense."

Grandfather chatted with the familiar customers sporadically, and their talisman business did well; soon, the pair sold quite a few talismans.

At that moment, two young girls playfully walked by, both dressed in their finest clothes that they normally wouldn't wear, yet showing off their chopstick-thin, fair white legs and arms, their faces lightly touched with makeup, radiant in the sunlight.

"Two Peach Talismans." One of the girls, the bolder one, handed over two broken pieces of silver, giggling.

Her palm brushed Chen Shi's, soft and slick, which caused the young man's heart to flutter.

Chen Shi hastily handed over the Peach Talismans. The two girls laughed and walked away, and the bolder one looked back at Chen Shi twice, smiling each time.

Chen Shi's heart pounded wildly, and he clutched one of the Peach Talismans, silently slipping it into his sleeve.

"Hand it over," Grandfather said without even lifting his head.

"Hand over what?" Chen Shi feigned ignorance.

"The Peach Talisman."

Chen Shi mumbled in annoyance, reluctantly pulling out the Peach Talisman, and protested, "Grandfather, I'm not little anymore, I can use a Peach Talisman!"

Grandfather shook his head, "You're still young, I've seen you when you take your medicinal baths, you need to grow for two more years."

Chen Shi's face turned red.

"Besides, you're still sick," Grandfather added.

Chen Shi obediently went to cultivate the Three Light Righteous Qi, striving to recover from his illness soon, but he had one more question, "Grandfather, what exactly is my illness?"

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Grandfather didn't answer.

By noon, the pair had sold all their talismans, packed up their stall, and were riding out of Shanyang Village on a wooden cart.

The wooden cart rode smoothly, and Chen Shi casually ate some dry food on the cart, while Grandfather didn't eat anything. Instead, he lit a few sticks of incense and held them in his hand, inhaling the scent.

Upon seeing this, Chen Shi fell silent for a long time before saying, "Grandfather, will you become the village nanny after you die? That way, I could see you every day."

Grandfather was silent for a moment, perhaps a bit melancholic, and shook his head, "No. After I die, I will probably be pulled away by the power of the underworld, falling into the netherworld."

Another silence ensued.

"Grandfather, can you not die?" Chen Shi looked down at the road ahead, which was gradually blurring, "I don't want Grandfather to die."

After a long while, Grandfather reached out his rough hand and touched his head.

"Silly child, who can escape death?" Grandfather said with a smile.

For the first time in these past ten days, Chen Shi felt the warmth of a family elder.

The wooden cart rumbled forward, passing by a giant tree standing tall. Unfortunately, it was a dead tree, with branches like the sharp claws of a monster, piercing the sky.

Around the giant tree, there were about a hundred or so houses, also arranged in a circle, but this village was no longer inhabited.

The village nanny of this village was dead.

On the day the giant tree died, the village lost its protection and was invaded by foreign evil, resulting in the death of many people.

As the wooden cart passed by, Chen Shi saw figures moving in the village, about a hundred or so. They wore smiles, dressed in their finest clothes, and the children played and frolicked.

They too were celebrating the mid-month festival.

However, they had been dead for a long time.

"Why hasn't the power of the netherworld pulled them into the underworld?" Chen Shi wondered.

Grandfather could not answer.

The wooden cart arrived at the next village called Fangdian Village. The Yudai River made a noose-like bend here, and Fangdian Village was built upon the riverbend, surrounded by lush grass and chirping orioles, quite picturesque.

The village nanny of Fangdian Village was an ancient tree, probably an elm, with an exceptionally thick trunk, also tied with many red ribbons and wish plaques. Chen Shi looked up at the tree and did not see a tree spirit born of exceptional power, which surprised him.

Upon reaching the base of the tree, he found a small temple with curling incense smoke at its shrine. A girl about his age sat there in a pink dress and long twin ponytails, eating offerings while checking the villagers' prayers and wishes.

"So she's here," Chen Shi thought to himself.

As soon as Grandfather and grandson had set up their talisman stall, a clamour arose, and the previously bustling market suddenly lost many people.

Women quickly grabbed their children and hurried home, while men hastily picked up handy tools, like axes and kitchen knives, and strapped them to their waists. Those who had been eating ran off in an instant, leaving only the shopkeepers near tears.

"The Six Gates have arrived!" someone shouted.

The so-called Six Gates referred to the government office. The main gate of a county office generally had six door panels, thus those who worked there were jokingly called the Six Gates.

Chen Shi craned his neck to look and saw a group of several dozen government officials coming in a procession, smashing and overturning stalls along the way and destroying shops.

"The laws of Great Ming decree, for those who default on taxes, one hundred lashes! All of you are subjects of Great Ming, don't make it hard for us who serve!"

The leading government official looked around, flipped open an account book, and shouted loudly, "Liu Zexi, Liu Zexi! You've paid your land tax, but what about your household and merchant taxes? Come out!"

A man from Fangdian Village boldly said, "Officer, Liu Zexi is dead."

The government official head sat down on a stool with an air of authority, surprised, "Dead? When did he die?"

"The last time the officer came to collect taxes, he didn't get any, and the next day he was dead."

The man said cautiously, "Hung on the village nanny's tree, by the time he was found, he was already stiff."

The government official head hummed, his gaze sharp as lightning, looking towards the ancient tree in the center of Fangdian Village, and sneered, "You're saying he offered himself as a sacrificial gift to your village nanny? Liu Zexi, you offered yourself, making a wish to your village nanny, so... what exactly did you wish for?"

————My dear readers, may you have a peaceful Dragon Boat Festival～

Thank you to Venerable Duan for the silver patronage, thank you to the big boss for your generosity! Thanks also go out to Alliance Hierarch Piaoyao Colonel, Yu_Du_Chen, Shen_Chao_Qinger, Shen_Chao_Junxun for their Alliance Hierarch patronage. And after supporting the new book, boss Xueliu kindly provided an Alliance Hierarch for 'Cliff's Edge'. If two updates a day for the new book aren't enough, then I must recommend 'Cliff's Edge' now!

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