Transmigration

The first day of the third month, Year Nine of Yong'an. Great Qian Empire, Anchang County, Qingxi Township, Qingyu Village.

It was not yet light. The world lay shrouded in a gray haze. At the edge of Qingyu Village, a half-transparent "figure" was forming hand seals and performing a ritual. A closer look revealed a handsome young man with delicate features. But his feet hovered a full inch above the ground, and a layer of mist enveloped his entire body. The sight was downright terrifying.

The youth finished forming hand seals and cried, "Haste!" A speck of white light immediately drifted from his hand and flew toward Qingyu Village.

Fang Ming looked at his body, now even more transparent after performing the ritual, and gave a bitter smile. He murmured, "That cost me a wisp of Divine Power. I can only remain in this world for five more days. I can only hope this works!"

The white light flew into the bedroom of an ordinary farmhouse. A husband and wife lay asleep in each other's arms, wrapped in a straw mat. It was early spring, and the weather was cold; they could only sleep by huddling together for warmth.

The woman looked to be in her thirties, with gray already showing at her temples. The white light circled her once, flashed faintly, then sank into the space between her brows.

The woman immediately began to dream. She found herself in a barren wasteland, anxiously surveying her surroundings. Suddenly, golden light blazed, and a golden-armored god flew before her. His face looked vaguely like Fang Ming's. "Are you the devout believer, Madam Qi Qin?" he asked. As the golden light shimmered, the surroundings changed in an instant. Flowers bloomed everywhere, and a strange fragrance filled the air. Madam Qi Qin started in surprise and said, "This humble woman is indeed Madam Qi Qin. May I ask who you are, sir?"

"I am the Land God of Qingyu Village."

"Greetings, sir!" Madam Qi Qin knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Rise. I oversee the peace of the homes in this village, the birth of children, the prosperity of livestock, and other such matters. I also see that justice is done for the people. You have always treated others kindly, and your heart is pure. I came especially to tell you that the hairpin you lost is beneath a brown stone beside the great willow tree, half a li east of the village. Have you remembered?"

At the mention of the hairpin, Madam Qi Qin started and hurriedly asked, "Is my hairpin really there?"

The golden-armored god gave a cold snort. "The gods do not jest!"

The authority that slipped from his words chilled Madam Qi Qin to the bone. She dared not ask again and only kowtowed. "Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."

The golden-armored god continued, "Whether it is true or not, you will know tomorrow. Once you find the hairpin, burn incense beneath the tree and pray silently for a while. If your heart is sincere, I will continue to bless you in the future. Go back."

As soon as he finished speaking, Madam Qi Qin felt herself falling. She cried out, and woke with a start. The sky was already growing light; it had all been a dream. She quickly shook her husband, Qi Da, awake. The moment he opened his eyes, he grumbled, "You woman, have you no sense? You lost a hairpin worth thirty copper coins just yesterday, and now you're waking me up again."

"I'm not waking you for nothing. I had a dream."

"What's there to say about a dream? I've got plenty to do today, and we still have to make offerings to our ancestors this morning. Let me sleep a little longer."

"But I dreamed of a Land God. He told me my hairpin was beneath the great willow tree half a li east of the village!" the woman said.

"What? What Land God? What's that supposed to be? Ever since you lost your hairpin, you've been fretting and going out to look for it in the middle of the night. Aren't you afraid a ghost will eat you? You haven't been possessed, have you? You'd better pray sincerely at the ancestral rites today. That can drive evil away." With that, Qi Da lay back down.

Madam Qi Qin looked at her husband, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

Day broke.

At the threshing ground in Qingyu Village, all fifty-seven households and three hundred and twelve villagers had gathered without a single person missing, from infants held in their parents' arms to old folk leaning on canes. They stood in lines by age and birth order, every face solemn. Even when a child cried, the parents quickly hushed them.

The village head wore a blue robe and stood tall and healthy at the front of the lines. Before him stood a small earthen altar in the very center of the grounds, its base covered in the marks of old fires. The village head solemnly called out, "Present the offerings!"

Two young men hurried to lay out the offerings one by one. The village head called again, "First, we offer to Green Mountain!" Green Mountain was the range surrounding Qingyu Village.

The entire village bowed reverently. After three bows, the village head's strong voice rang out again. "Second, we offer to Changyuan River!" The Changyuan River flowed through Qingyu Village and irrigated the fields of two villages. Once more, they bowed three times.

"Third, we offer to our ancestors!" Everyone bowed again.

Then a written prayer was brought out:

Between heaven and earth, across the eight directions and ten thousand li, with hearts sincere, we common folk offer our prayers. We make offerings through the ages, and honor them for generations to come;

First, to Green Mountain, for favorable weather and peace, for phoenixes to dance and dragons to soar. Second, to Changyuan River, may its waters flow from distant sources, nourishing the four corners of the land;

Third, to our ancestors, may fortune and blessings walk together, and our village flourish and grow strong. We come in reverence, we gather in gratitude. May you deign to accept our offerings.

"That's it." Watching from the village entrance, Fang Ming clearly saw white light rising from the altar and radiating in all directions. It seemed to resonate with the surrounding Green Mountain range and the waters of Changyuan River, pinning Fang Ming firmly outside the village.

At that moment, a sudden surge rippled through Fang Ming's sea of consciousness, and a line of runes appeared. The runes consisted of only a few characters, yet they shimmered faintly with light, revealing their extraordinary nature. A feeling of urgent need clearly emanated from them, leaving Fang Ming with no choice but to smile bitterly.

Black smoke drifted out from around the village, and the screams that reached him now and then made Fang Ming break into a cold sweat. He was especially shaken when he saw Old Master Wu, who had taught him so much the day before, disappear into thin air.

"So I really am dead. I've become a ghost—a ghost from another world, at that." Fang Ming was beginning to understand.

He had been a student in Huaxia. While visiting a Land God Temple, he had been struck on the forehead by a Land God statue that suddenly toppled over. When he woke, he was here. The only thing accompanying him was the rune in his mind, which now seemed to be the symbol of the Land God's divine office.

Old Master Wu had told him that everyone who died in this world became a ghost, and that without some great stroke of fortune, a ghost would vanish after seven days. Living ghosts could not approach people, much less enter a village. To do so would bring disaster.

Old Master Wu was fifty-three years old and had long since made peace with death. But he could not let go of his young daughter at home. Today, he had gone against his own advice, hoping to catch a glimpse of her from afar. He had never expected to vanish just like that.

Fang Ming watched as a flash of white light melted Old Master Wu's ghost away. His body trembled uncontrollably.

As white light surged toward him, Fang Ming began to struggle. Since ancient times, death had been the hardest thing to face. Though he had already died once, he did not want his soul and body to be obliterated a second time.

Suddenly, the Land God talisman in his mind blazed with light and shielded Fang Ming completely, allowing him to escape disaster.

He could move again. He turned and ran for his life.

He had no idea how many li he ran, but at last the crushing pressure disappeared. He let out a long breath.

He took a quick look at himself, then smiled bitterly again.

There was another wisp of Divine Power missing from his body.

When he woke two days ago, he had found seven wisps of white energy inside him. Yesterday, only six remained. Judging from what Old Master Wu had said, one wisp of Divine Power could sustain him for a day. The ritual at dawn had cost him one wisp, and escaping with his life had cost him another. He had only four days left.

Still, if yesterday's plan worked, he would gain something today.

Fang Ming focused his mind on his sea of consciousness. The Land God talisman sat in the center, its light flickering now and then, revealing its supernatural nature. One of its symbols suddenly began to shine white. It was the dream-sending method he had used yesterday. Through the talisman's connection, he sensed that Madam Qi Qin had reached the great willow tree.

Madam Qi Qin struggled to move a brown stone. She felt beneath it and found the hairpin. She was overjoyed.

The hairpin was crudely made and showed a little verdigris, but even this one had cost thirty copper coins. It had been part of the betrothal gifts at her wedding.

In this world, one copper coin could buy a coarse-grain bun. It was rough, but filling enough to feed an ordinary farmer for a day. With thirty coins, plus some wild greens, a family of three could get by for a month.

It was easy to imagine how Madam Qi Qin had felt when she lost the hairpin.

Now that she had found it again, Madam Qi Qin was delighted. But she also remembered the Land God's words from the night before: "Whether it is true or not, you will know tomorrow. Once you find the hairpin, burn incense beneath the tree and pray silently for a while. If your heart is sincere, I will continue to bless you in the future."...

In this world, people made offerings on the first and fifteenth of each month, and everyone burned incense, so every household kept incense sticks on hand. Madam Qi Qin touched the hairpin in her arms and did not hesitate. She lit three sticks of incense, planted them in the soil before the willow tree, and closed her eyes to pray silently.

In the unseen world, a white thread above her head passed through the void and connected to the Land God talisman inside Fang Ming. As the incense smoke spread, Fang Ming was suddenly overcome by a strange sensation.

When Fang Ming came back to himself, he examined his body and found that he had gained a wisp of Divine Power. Another white thread had appeared on the talisman, through which he could faintly see Madam Qi Qin going about her day. He knew he had gained his first believer.

The fifth day of the third month.

Spring had arrived, and the willow tree had begun to show a hint of green. A little incense ash had gathered on the ground beneath it. Fang Ming sat cross-legged, his body gradually growing more solid. Qi Da and his wife knelt nearby to make offerings, along with several other farm women burning incense. They acted as if they could not see Fang Ming at all. Now and then, he caught snippets of their conversation:

"I heard there's a Land God here who gives people money. Just look at Qi Da's family. They're eating white-flour steamed buns now!"

"What's a Land God supposed to do? Couldn't it just be the willow tree turning into a spirit?"

"Don't talk nonsense! You'll offend the Land God. We've all heard of vengeful ghosts eating people, but who's heard of one handing out money? If it gave me ten taels of silver, I'd worship a ghost!"

"Ten taels? I'd take even one..."

Ever since Fang Ming had guided Madam Qi Qin to her hairpin four days ago, she had gained a great deal of faith in him and become a believer. Qi Da still had his doubts, but at least he had stopped accusing her of being possessed.

With his divine office as the Land God, Fang Ming could work miracles, and he knew buried objects as well as the palm of his hand. For now, however, his power only worked within sight. So he used the dream-sending method again, drawing Qi Da and his wife into a dream together.

Since Madam Qi Qin was already a believer, this time it only cost him one wisp of Divine Power. In the dream, he pointed out several places, and the two of them found nearly a hundred copper coins. They began coming to make offerings regularly, bringing him some incense. Fang Ming, however, had kept one thing to himself and had not told them where the silver was buried.

Fang Ming discovered that as more and more people made offerings, the ashen grayness on his body had gradually turned white, and his Divine Power had built up to twenty-seven strands. It turned out Qi Da had a loose tongue and let the news slip. The farm women wanted good fortune, so they offered more and more incense. Fang Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

I'm no God of Wealth, and there are hardly any buried copper coins left. I can't exactly give them silver. Besides, no matter how much money they find, one day they'll dig it all up. Then what? Just then, an idea struck him.

"Make way, make way! Let me have a look."

A burly man with his upper body bare shoved through the crowd. "Qi Da, I hear you've struck it rich lately. Why haven't you come to pay your respects to your big brother?"

Qi Da jumped. The man was Wang Er, a notorious village wastrel who specialized in stealing chickens and dogs and doing all sorts of low-down things. Qi Da groaned inwardly but said, "What riches? The Land God pointed it out to me. You've got some nerve, talking like that. You'll offend the Land God, and then you'll see!"

Wang Er burst out laughing. "What Land God? I'm not afraid of him. You've got until the day after tomorrow to give me fifty copper coins. Otherwise, don't blame your brother for being merciless!"

With that, Wang Er shoved Qi Da aside, stamped out the incense, and strode off while the crowd stared at one another in confusion.