The Plot

Yonghe Year 9, eighth month, second day. Anchang County, Welcome Guest House.

The owner of the Welcome Guest House was a shrewd man. The house had kept most of the same layout as when Su Xia had performed there, and now he had invited a popular troupe of dancers to put on a show.

With the fame Su Xia had brought them, and the fact that their chefs and songstresses truly had some skill,

business at the Welcome Guest House had become much brisker than before. The place was practically packed every day, and anyone who wanted to host a banquet there sometimes had to book several days in advance.

Of course, no matter how much demand there was, some people still considered it beneath them.

The Four Great Families of Anchang were among them.

At that moment, the heads of all four families were gathered in the Welcome Guest House's most luxurious private room, hosting an honored guest.

The music of strings and pipes, along with the songstresses' lilting, gentle singing, filled the room with all manner of languorous sounds. They seemed to wrap the air in a tipsy haze, making one's body go limp before one even realized it, as if the music could lure anyone into a drunken trance.

Outside the room, the manager was so busy he was nearly tearing his hair out.

His normally warm, amiable face was slick with sweat. Every so often, he barked orders:

"Where's the drunken fish? Tell Old Wang to get a move on. That's our signature dish!"

"Er Lengzi, are you an idiot?! I don't care which table downstairs ordered this dish first. Bring it here! Do you know who's inside? The heads of the Four Great Families and Magistrate Wei! If you offend them, you can forget about making a living in Anchang!" Fortunately, the manager had a knack for running things. Though a little flustered, he still kept everything in the private room running smoothly and didn't neglect the honored guests.

Inside the private room.

The heads of the Four Great Families and Magistrate Wei Zhun were all born into prominent families. They weren't about to be dazzled by a display like this; they merely felt the establishment had put some thought into its hospitality.

After three rounds of wine and five courses, Zhou Biqing gave a signal. The songstresses in the private room bowed and withdrew respectfully. It was time to discuss business.

Wei Zhun had served as an official for many years and had long since learned to keep his composure. He sipped his wine without changing expression, though a hint of amusement glimmered in his eyes.

The heads of the four families exchanged glances. Zhou Biqing rose first, toasted Wei Zhun, and said, "Since Magistrate Wei became the parent official of our county, you have opened up fertile fields, reclaimed wasteland, cared for orphans and the elderly, cracked down on bandits, built bridges and roads, and judged cases with fairness and severity. In less than three years, you have brought us peace and order: doors can be left unlocked at night, and nothing is taken from the roadside. This is all thanks to your efforts. We are deeply honored, and we raise another cup to you!"

Wei Zhun drained his cup and replied with a smile, "Not at all. I owe it to all of you for your cooperation. I have merely served the imperial court faithfully and fulfilled my duties!" He spoke the truth. Without the Four Great Families of Anchang, Wei Zhun's authority would barely have extended beyond the county seat. How many magistrates throughout history had fallen to the local power brokers?

The head of the Wu Family, Wu Zhirong, was a middle-aged, portly man. At those words, his ruddy, shiny face creased with an even broader smile. "Magistrate Wei's achievements are beyond question. Surely you'll receive an excellent evaluation this year, and then you'll be promoted and sent straight to the prefectural government. With your talent, it won't be long before you're running an entire prefecture. Then you'll bring blessings to hundreds of thousands of people and build up great fortune!"

Those flattering words had hit Wei Zhun right where it tickled. He repeatedly insisted he was unworthy and tried to hide his pleasure, but the faint smile on his face did not escape the notice of the four heads, veterans of many rises and falls in fortune.

Wu Zhirong gave a look, and Zhou Biqing understood. At last, they got to the point.

"We invited you to dinner today because we have a favor to ask."

"What is it? If it's within my power, I'll gladly do all I can!" His meaning was clear: if it proved beyond his power, he could wash his hands of the matter entirely.

Old fox! Zhou Biqing cursed inwardly, his smile growing even wider. "It's only a small matter. We bought a plot of land north of the city and wish to build a temple..."

"You... are you making a fool of me?" Wei Zhun's expression instantly chilled. "Or do you think you're on a par with an Aristocratic Clan of commandery standing?"...

This world had no gods. Within a county seat, there were generally three kinds of temples that could receive incense and offerings.

The first was the imperial ancestral temple, established by government regulation and considered the most orthodox.

The second was a Daoist temple, which fell under the authority of the Daoist Sect. If anyone wished to build a new temple in Wu Prefecture, they needed the endorsement of White Cloud Temple. Otherwise, it would be deemed an illicit cult and heretical sacrifice, punishable under the law.

The third belonged to prominent clans and aristocratic lineages, which could allow outsiders to worship their ancestors and gather the fortune of incense, thereby strengthening their own foundations. This meant impoverishing the imperial court to enrich themselves, so it had naturally aroused suspicion. The great families had joined forces and struggled against one another for a long time before winning this privilege.

When Wei Zhun heard that the Four Great Families wanted to build a temple, he assumed they intended to let outsiders offer incense to their ancestors. The four families were powerful, but even together they could not claim the standing of an Aristocratic Clan. For them to do something like this would be to cut themselves off from the rest of the world. Wei Zhun felt a flicker of scorn, along with some confusion. The heads of the four families shouldn't have been so foolish.

Zhou Biqing said with a wry smile, "Magistrate, you've misunderstood. We aren't so foolish as to compare ourselves to an Aristocratic Clan. The temple we're building isn't for our own ancestors. We only want to enshrine a Sacrificial Spirit from the countryside."

"This spirit is exceptionally efficacious and can protect an entire area. People in the county seat believe in it too. We merely have a little reputation, so we were asked to step forward and handle the matter," the head of the Wang Family added.

"A countryside Sacrificial Spirit?" Wei Zhun was startled, then at a loss for words.

The countryside was a complicated place. In this world, villages were plagued by Ferocious Ghosts, and news traveled poorly.

Countryside Sacrificial Spirits came in many forms, and many had unknown origins. Some had arisen from ancestors on their own; others had been attracted by refugees fleeing disaster. Some were even Vengeful Ghosts disguised as Sacrificial Spirits, waiting for a chance to harm people. The good and the bad were all mixed together, making them very hard to distinguish.

Besides, how could a countryside Sacrificial Spirit be more efficacious than the ancestors wealthy county families had worshipped for hundreds of years? Wei Zhun suspected the heads of the Four Great Families were joking with him.

As far as Wei Zhun was concerned, if a countryside Sacrificial Spirit could keep the area safe and wasn't harming people or demanding blood sacrifices, he could simply let it take its own course.

But setting up a temple to worship one in the city?

That was unheard of. Sacrificial Spirits couldn't be moved, after all. How had anything like this ever happened before?

Under the law, the county magistrate was a "lord over a hundred li." Though the Ghost-Banishing Office held a special position, it still fell under the government's jurisdiction. Wei Zhun could indeed decide this matter, but it would mean skating along the edge of the law. It might be nothing under ordinary circumstances, but if the timing was bad and someone filed a formal complaint, it could become a huge headache.

It all depended on what the heads of the Four Great Families were prepared to offer in exchange for Wei Zhun taking the risk.

After some thought, he asked, "What is this spirit called?"

"This spirit is called the Land God," Zhou Biqing replied.

"The Land God..." Wei Zhun rolled the name around in his mind, then felt a little relieved. There was no specific person's name. Even if it was the ancestor of a prominent family, the family couldn't gather fortune to enrich itself through the name alone. That eliminated a great deal of trouble and suspicion.

Wu Zhirong fanned the flames. "If you can help bring this about, we'll be most grateful. We can guarantee that this year's taxes will be paid in full and on time. We can also contribute three thousand taels of silver to help you repair the roads!"

Wei Zhun was taken aback. Those were exceedingly generous terms.

Collecting taxes was a major problem for the Great Qian Empire every year, especially when landlords secretly resisted paying. Once tax season arrived, the cases of evasion, bribery, joining the official ranks, and selling land grew hopelessly tangled. It was a complete mess, made worse by clerks taking the opportunity to skim off the top. If seven or eight tenths of the taxes came in each year, it was a blessing from Heaven.

Now the Four Great Families of Anchang were promising to pay on time. They were the biggest landowners in the area; with the most stubborn resisters out of the way, tax collection this year would surely go smoothly. The prefectural government would naturally give him an "excellent" evaluation, which would greatly benefit his future career.

As for repairing the roads, that had long been a thorn in Wei Zhun's side. The heads of the families had praised him for building bridges and roads, and that was true—but he had only done so within the county seat, benefiting its residents to some small degree.

Anchang County was remote, and its only major route to the outside world was a mountain road that had fallen into disrepair. Travel was terribly inconvenient. Wei Zhun had wanted to repair the road properly.

But even after emptying the county treasury and squeezing some funds out of the prefectural government, he was still short by two thousand taels of silver. Whenever he asked the wealthy households in the county to contribute, each one turned into an iron rooster, unwilling to part with a single feather. Now they were offering three thousand taels of silver in one go. That was a serious sacrifice. One thousand taels would remain after the road repairs, and there was no need to spell out where it would go.

Still, to take what you wanted, you first had to give. The Four Great Families' offer was so generous that Wei Zhun couldn't help feeling suspicious.

He said, "This is a serious matter. I'll need a few days to think it over carefully."

The heads of the four families exchanged glances. As long as he hadn't rejected them outright, there was hope, so they said nothing more.

After that, they chatted about poetry and the moonlight, and the guests and host parted on good terms.

After the banquet.

Wei Zhun returned to the county office. A maid brought him a hangover remedy, and after a few mouthfuls, he cleared his head and said, "Go invite Clerk Zhao."

The maid acknowledged the order and withdrew. Before long, Clerk Zhao came in, saluted, and said, "My lord!"

The clerk's name was Zhao Kongming. As clerk, he oversaw the paperwork of the six departments, coordinated officials above and below, and managed both the yin and yang affairs. He was practically a chancellor, so the position could only be entrusted to a trusted confidant. Zhao Kongming had been an old retainer of Wei Zhun's family. Wei Zhun had pulled many strings to bring him here as an aide, making him all the more dependable.

Wei Zhun rubbed his brow and said, "The Four Great Families invited me to a banquet today and raised an issue that has left me uncertain. He told Zhao Kongming what had happened, then asked, 'What do you think?'"

Zhao Kongming was around thirty and carried himself with a scholarly air. Now, though, his brow furrowed as he thought. "The name Land God sounds vaguely familiar. I believe it appeared in an earlier report, which Clerk He sent to the Ghost-Banishing Office for filing."

Wei Zhun frowned and said, "Bring He Song here!"

As soon as He Song entered, he sensed that something was wrong. He knelt and saluted. "Greetings, my lord!"

Normally, Wei Zhun would have told He Song to rise immediately. This time, however, all he heard was a cold voice from above. "He Song, do you know about the Land God?" He Song felt as if he'd fallen into an ice cellar.

Even so, he composed himself and said, "A report came in not long ago, but Daoist Lingzhu wasn't here, so I filed it for now."

"Damn it! Go fetch it at once!" He Song practically rolled out of the room. Wei Zhun usually admired He Song's abilities, but when it came to official business, he did things by the book. Sentiment had no place in it.

Before long, the report was brought in. Wei Zhun read it carefully, his expression growing darker by the moment.

"Heh... They've got some nerve. The word had already been spreading for months. What a fine Four Great Families! What a fine Land God!"

Even Zhao Kongming was beginning to break out in a cold sweat.

He Song steeled himself, knelt, and knocked his head hard against the floor. Tears streaming down his face, he wept, "My lord gave me this position. How could I dare hide anything from you? The matter fell under the Ghost-Banishing Office's jurisdiction, and I was afraid of getting involved. My mind must have been clouded by lard for a moment. I beg you to forgive me..." He knocked his head against the floor again and again until red marks appeared. Inwardly, he was still relieved he'd kept a copy on file first. Otherwise, there would have been no way to defend himself.

"Hmph!" Wei Zhun gave a cold laugh. His anger eased somewhat. After all, fearing ghosts was only human nature.

"But there's been more news these past few days, and it's made me tremble with fear. Even if you hadn't summoned me, my lord, I would have come to report it!" He Song continued.

"The Land God's worship has spread throughout the villages. Even in the county seat, more than half the people—five or six thousand of them—believe in it. This has greatly alarmed this subordinate..." He Song told them everything. He wanted to demonstrate his loyalty, but he also meant to advertise the Land God's influence. He was a slippery sort, managing to offend neither side.

"What..." Wei Zhun was so shocked that he sprang to his feet, knocking the documents, brushes, and inkstone from the table onto the floor.

Now that the belief had spread throughout the county, if Wei Zhun branded the Land God an illicit cult and ordered its shrine destroyed, the slightest misstep could spark a popular uprising. With the Four Great Families secretly backing it, the matter could grow into a disaster. He could still ask the prefectural government for help and suppress the unrest, but his career as county magistrate would be over—and he might even be punished. His face turned ashen.

Fang Ming had also underestimated the Land God's influence. This was a true god, whose divine powers were closely tied to ordinary people's lives. As long as they worshipped sincerely, their prayers would be answered, with no discrimination between young and old. With the Four Great Families fanning the flames, belief had swept through the county in just a few months. More than half the people in the county seat believed in the Land God too. That was why Fang Ming had felt confident enough to hint that the Four Great Families should seek permission for the Land God to be worshipped in the county seat.

Thanks to the readers who tipped and recommended the story and added it to their collections! The author bows in gratitude!