"One, two, three, pull! One, three, two..."
The hemp rope looped over the beam and stretched taut. Straw sandals scraped against brick and stone, leaving white streaks.
Brawny laborers wrapped the ropes around their forearms and heaved with all their might, hauling the stone statue upright onto the high platform.
Thud!
The statue settled into place, shrouded in incense smoke.
Gray-white incense ash fell. The burner shattered into three pieces, while wood chips drifted down from the beams in a soft rustle.
The officiant stretched his neck, his Adam's apple bobbing, murky sweat clinging to his oily skin.
"First bow, to Xingyi Marquis, who moved mountains and suppressed rivers..."
"Second bow..."
Where no one noticed, waterlight stirred. Clad in Vortex Divine Armor, Liang Qu concealed himself in a corner of the temple. The lingering scent of paint on the beams filled his nostrils as he witnessed the people of Pingtan Township offering incense and worshipping...
Liang Qu had three temples.
The first had been built when Bloodstone County became Fragrant Township County. After the White Ape slew the Snake Demon, the county's wealthy households had funded the Water God Temple and invited the White Ape into it. Its construction had been grand and imposing.
The second had been built after he quelled floods and bandits in Xihe Prefecture, rode the Azure Dragon, summoned clouds and rain, and shattered a mountain with one arrow. The Dragon Rider Temple had been funded by mountain hunters. It was small and remote, though it did have a female temple keeper whom he had once saved.
The third was the Xingyi Marquis Temple now being built in Pingtan County, after he moved mountains to create dikes. The Pingtan County Magistrate had gathered funds from wealthy merchants. It was not as prosperous or bustling as Bloodstone