Guardian Deity

Zhang Yan burped from the wine and stood up. As he walked toward the door, he said, "Sect Leader Senior Brother has already sent people to arrange everything you mentioned."

He paused slightly at the doorway, then looked back at Wei Yang and said solemnly, "Although Sect Leader Senior Brother and I suspect the other party may have already infiltrated Great River City, that's only a guess. They might really be hiding somewhere outside the city. So be careful when you go out there."

Wei Yang could hear the concern and care in Zhang Yan's words. Smiling, he cupped his hands toward Zhang Yan's retreating figure and said, "Don't worry, Senior Brother. Your junior brother will be careful."

Night fell. In the Du Family Eatery by the roadside, the owner, Du Wu, had been busy for most of the day. As he tidied the tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks in preparation for closing, he endured his wife's nagging.

"Honestly, what were you thinking? When you were praying for blessings during the day, you somehow got it into your head to give that man such a precious stick of incense. You know one stick costs a tael of silver. The two of us would have to work ourselves to the bone for three days just to earn that much."

Seeing that her husband had his head down, tidying up and paying no attention to her, Madam Du grew anxious. "I'm telling you, you have to change this habit of yours—you can't bear to see other people suffer, and you're always giving money away and handing things out. If you do it again, I won't let you off..."

Hearing his wife's nagging, Du Wu couldn't help grinning. He hummed his agreement twice, counting that as a response. He'd heard this same lecture countless times already. His wife might seem utterly unrelenting now, but whenever he actually gave something away, she never once voiced a word of objection in front of other people.

"Boss!"

The couple were about to close the shop's shutters when a figure suddenly appeared in the doorway. By the lamplight, Du Wu and his wife recognized the visitor at once.

"Oh, it's you, young brother. What brings you here at this hour? Is something the matter?"

The person standing at the doorway was none other than Huang Huai, who had somehow found his way back here again.

It was already close to dusk. Thinking of everything that had happened that day, Huang Huai still couldn't help feeling stirred.

He had come to find Du Wu to repay him for the incense he had given him that morning. Over the past several hours, Huang Huai had also heard plenty of what the common folk were saying.

Only after hearing their conversations had Huang Huai finally put his worries to rest. The High God's blessing had been a tradition in this world for thousands upon thousands of years, and it even touched upon the foundations of the High Gods' cultivation system. The common folk and the High Gods each got what they needed from it; there was no trickery involved. For ordinary people, it brought nothing but benefits.

Now that he was reassured, Huang Huai felt deeply grateful to the eatery's owner.

If Du Wu hadn't given him that clearly exceptional stick of incense, Huang Huai would probably have been like some of the unprepared people, receiving only a meager share of the blessing. He certainly wouldn't have gained as much as he had.

Huang Huai had even learned that a stick of incense like that was worth at least one tael of silver. In Great River City, a tael was enough to cover the ordinary expenses of a family of four for ten days or half a month.

He had accepted Du Wu's kindness for nothing, and had even gotten a free meal out of him. How could he face himself if he didn't repay him somehow?

Looking at Du Wu and his wife, Huang Huai immediately took a silver ingot about the size of a walnut from his robes and offered it to Du Wu. "I'm grateful to you for giving me that stick of incense this morning. Thanks to it, I didn't miss my chance to receive the High God's blessing. This is a small token of my gratitude. Please accept it."

Du Wu stared at the silver ingot Huang Huai had offered, momentarily stunned. Then he shook his head. "It was only one stick of incense. It wasn't worth much. You're traveling alone, young brother, and you need silver on hand. I absolutely can't accept this."

Madam Du, who had been nagging Du Wu just moments ago, also waved her hands. "They say you should travel poor at home and rich on the road. It's not easy being away from home, young brother. Put your silver away."

The couple had clearly noticed the bundle on Huang Huai's back and seen that he had no companions, so they assumed he was traveling alone.

Seeing that they were determined not to accept the silver, Huang Huai kept pressing it on them. Their back-and-forth even drew the attention of passersby. At that, Du Wu and his wife ushered Huang Huai inside and made it clear that they wouldn't accept the ingot he was offering.

Huang Huai paused to think, then put the silver away. He took a palm-sized mirror from his bundle and handed it to Madam Du. "Since neither of you will accept the silver, please, at least take this."

Huang Huai had prepared quite thoroughly before coming to this world: an ingot of silver, a gold bracelet, a small glass mirror, a bag of salt wrapped in yellow paper that he had taken from the kitchen at Xunzhen Temple, a handful of rock sugar—about a few dozen pieces—and a string of excellent cultured pearls. There wasn't much, but in ninety-nine out of a hundred ancient worlds, these would all have been valuable items, enough to handle most situations.

"Oh, this is a glass mirror sold at the Great River Sect's Wanbao Tower, isn't it? A piece this size costs several taels of silver!"

The couple had clearly seen glass mirrors before, so they weren't especially surprised when Huang Huai took one out.

At that, Huang Huai's heart stirred. So glass already existed in this world, and was even available for sale. Though it wasn't worth the dozens or even hundreds of taels he had expected, it still had some value. If he was planning to make money from the price difference between the two worlds, the glass mirror alone would be enough to make him a fortune.

Du Wu shot a glance at Madam Du, who was gazing at the mirror with eager anticipation, then turned to Huang Huai. "Young brother..."

But this time Huang Huai didn't wait for Du Wu to finish. He simply set down the glass mirror, turned, and walked out of the shop. "It's only a glass mirror. Compared to the blessing from the High God that I received thanks to your kindness, what does it amount to? If you don't accept it, how could I put my mind at ease?"

By the time Du Wu and his wife came to their senses, Huang Huai had already walked off quickly and vanished into the night.

The couple exchanged a glance. Madam Du lovingly stroked the glass mirror and said to Du Wu, "That young brother really knows how to repay kindness. Dear, this mirror..."

Du Wu looked at the street, where the number of passersby was dwindling, and a hint of worry crossed his face. "Since the young brother insisted on leaving it, then keep it, dear."

Only then did Madam Du notice that something was wrong with Du Wu's expression. She followed his gaze toward the street and asked, "Dear, what's the matter...?"

Du Wu looked away, closed the shop door, then lowered his voice and said to Madam Du, "Didn't you hear what people were saying today? More than a hundred people in Niujia Village were wiped out overnight. They say it was the work of a High God who had fallen into demonic madness. If that thing has entered the city..."

Madam Du's face changed drastically. She nearly dropped the mirror in fright, her eyes filled with panic. "Dear, don't scare me. If... if it's true, who knows how many people will die! That young brother just now..."

Du Wu looked chagrined. "That young brother looked like an outsider. He left in such a hurry that I forgot to warn him. Now I can only hope he'll stay alert and find somewhere safe to settle down."

Holding the glass mirror, Madam Du comforted him. "Don't worry, dear. That young brother has luck on his side. He'll be fine."

As though she'd suddenly thought of something, Madam Du grabbed Du Wu. "Come on, let's go offer incense and pray to the Guardian Deity we invited into our home. We'll ask him to protect our household and keep God, Demon, and Malevolent Spirit from disturbing us."

Du Wu followed Madam Du toward the back courtyard. Seeing the unease in her eyes, he tried to calm her. "Don't worry. High Gods who've fallen into demonic madness have killed people in the city before, but the victims were almost always homeless drifters who stayed out all night, or people whose homes had no statues of Guardian Deities or Guardian Spirits to protect them."

As they spoke, they entered the back courtyard and soon reached a room that had been specially set aside. When they opened the door, the faint scent of incense drifted out.