Chapter 492
The early summer sun wasn't yet scorching. Magistrate Master Ma of Shuyan County was reclining in his chair, basking in the sun, when suddenly he heard a series of urgent shouts—
"Master, Master!"
"What's wrong? Has Madam given birth?" Hearing that familiar voice, Master Ma immediately jumped up, his face tense as he asked. After all, nothing major had happened in Shuyan County for years, so for his steward to be so anxious to "call back the soul" could only be...
"No, no, it's a temple! The temple outside the city!"
"Temple?" Master Ma thought for a long time before realizing what he meant, and frowned.
"That thing that's been abandoned outside the city for who knows how many years?"
"Yes, it's that temple! It suddenly appeared!" The butler waved his arms exaggeratedly, looking utterly shocked. Master Ma, upon hearing this, kicked him before saying:
"That temple has been abandoned for so many years, and nobody even knows who it's dedicated to. How could it suddenly appear to be efficacious? Is it just some reckless beggar trying to scare people again?"
Master Ma's question wasn't wrong. After all, while temples weren't everywhere in this era, they weren't nonexistent either. However, apart from the Dragon King Temple, most were Living Shrine or shrines for ancestors. For example, if someone suddenly became wealthy, they would return to their hometown and build an Ancestral Hall for their ancestors, or if they received a favor from someone, they would build a temporary palace or sculpt a statue for them (Nezha initially had to receive incense offerings for three years).
However, while such temples are easy to build, they can also easily fall into disrepair. For example, they might be moved to other places for development, and the person who built the temple might come back to visit every year. But once that person dies, will his sons and grandsons return? Or, to put it even more tragically, if the family falls into decline, will he still have the spare money to repair the Ancestral Hall?
However, you can't just demolish this kind of temple casually, because nobody knows if the family is still alive. If you demolish it and they come back to find it gone, given the speed of information dissemination on the internet these days, you'll be trending on social media in no time. Then, whatever compensation they demand, you'll have to accept it, right?
These are actually not too bad. The most troublesome ones are those left over from the previous dynasty. Although it is the previous dynasty and hundreds of years have passed, what is the previous dynasty? It is the Immortal Dynasty! So many people cultivated immortality. If that temple has some connection with some immortal, then that would truly be a death sentence!
Therefore, both the government and ordinary people adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards these abandoned temples and shrines, simply waiting for them to collapse on their own due to years of disrepair. Before that, they were mostly just places for beggars to take shelter.
The reason why Master Ma remembered this temple was because a developer wanted to buy the land, but the deal fell through because of the temple.
Now that he's heard that this dilapidated temple has miraculously appeared, County Magistrate Ma is extremely uncomfortable!
However, the steward clearly did not understand his master's thoughts and decisively rejected Magistrate Ma's conjecture:
"No, sir, it really is a miracle! It's Old Man Tang!"
"Steward Tang, wasn't Steward Tang buried two days ago?" County Magistrate Ma was even more displeased. If it were someone from hundreds or even decades ago, he might believe it to some extent. But for someone who had only been dead for a few days to appear in a dilapidated temple that had existed for who knows how many years, were they trying to fool ghosts?
"Yes, it's Steward Tang. He said he was a philanthropist in his lifetime and was granted the title of a celestial official. Our entire County Town is under his jurisdiction!"
The steward described what he had seen and heard with exaggerated gestures, and County Magistrate Ma immediately jumped up in anger, slamming his hand on the armrest and saying:
"It's under his jurisdiction? What am I, the county magistrate, supposed to do then? Get some men and come with me to take a look!"
County Magistrate Ma and his entourage arrived outside the city in a grand procession, only to find a group of civilians gathered together taking photos and checking in. County Magistrate Ma was immediately displeased upon seeing this, and his subordinates immediately stepped forward to separate the crowd.
Then he saw that the once dilapidated temple was now completely transformed. No, that's not quite the right word. Looking at the green bricks and tiles, the vermilion gates and purple halls, one could immediately feel the beauty of time's vicissitudes. When County Magistrate Ma saw it, his eyes turned red.
The reason is simple--
The materials used in this temple are better than those used in his house!
However, seeing this scene, he gradually calmed down. Although he was still annoyed with the "celestial official," he understood that anyone who could renovate a temple to this extent in a place where people frequently passed by and without being noticed must have divine intervention or wealth that could move mountains. He could not afford to offend such a person.
Taking a deep breath, County Magistrate Ma, protected by his guards, slowly approached. Upon arriving at the temple, he saw that the plaque, which had previously been stripped of all writing, now bore three large, gold-lacquered characters—
"City God Temple."
"City God? What's that?" The steward immediately replied as soon as Magistrate Ma spoke.
"Master, I heard from that Steward Tang that the City God is a celestial official in charge of a city, mainly in charge of all matters in the underworld."
"The underworld? It doesn't concern itself with the Living World?" Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Ma immediately straightened up. The steward thought for a moment, then said uncertainly:
"Shouldn't we... just ignore it?"
"Of course! I told you so!" Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Ma kicked the steward again, then walked towards the temple gate. He then saw that the temple didn't seem to be a place for praying to the gods, but rather a place for visiting relatives!
"Young Steward Tang? This is..." County Magistrate Ma recognized the person and immediately moved closer. Then he saw a figure in front of him, solid yet with a hint of translucency upon closer inspection. Who else could it be but Steward Tang?
"County Magistrate Ma, my father has come back to life!" Upon Young Steward Tang rubbed his reddened eyes and exclaimed excitedly:
"My father said that everyone in our family has accumulated good deeds, and as long as we continue to do so, we will be wealthy and noble throughout our lives. After death, we can even serve as Immortal Clerk under him. If we can accumulate more merit, we might even become the City God like him in the future!"
"Are you sure this is your father? And not some Demons and Monsters in disguise?" County Magistrate Ma was still a little skeptical. After all, while it wasn't entirely unheard of for the dead to come back to life, it was almost always related to immortals. Either an immortal gave him elixirs, or an immortal left behind a magical Magic Treasure, or at the very least, he was a descendant of an immortal. This old man from the Tang family was just a slightly wealthy, idle minor official who, at most, liked to play the good guy. How could he possibly be resurrected?
If good people can be brought back to life, why should it be his turn? Does this mean that no good person has emerged in Shuyan County for decades?
"County Magistrate Ma, what are you saying? Do you think I would admit my father's mistake?" Although he had suspected it earlier, Young Steward Tang was still somewhat annoyed by County Magistrate Ma's questioning. Seeing this, Steward Tang chuckled and stepped forward, pulling out a small booklet under County Magistrate Ma's wary gaze, and said:
"Although I am the City God, it is a celestial official position, but it is a ghostly one. I only govern the underworld and not the mortal realm. At most, I can only persuade people to do good. Magistrate Ma, you don't need to worry about me competing with you for power."
Having his thoughts exposed by Steward Tang, County Magistrate Ma's face flushed slightly, but he still said:
"Words are meaningless; what evidence do you have to prove you are a celestial official?"
Upon Steward Tang immediately became serious, shaking the book in his hand as he said:
"We have Copy of the Book of Life and Death as proof. Everyone registered in Shuyan County is on the list, and their good and bad deeds can be verified, including the fact that your wife isn't carrying your son!"
"What?!!!!!!!"
My head hurts, only one chapter today.
P. S.: Some people think the "one day in heaven is one year on earth" function is stupid. Actually, I thought it was stupid when I was a kid too. If a monster spends seven days in heaven, it will have to cultivate for seven more years on earth. It sounds like the Heavenly Court doesn't benefit at all. At most, it will be added to the settings later, such as the fact that although the flow of time is different, the growth of living things is the same. For example, the peaches of immortality take nine thousand years to grow on earth, but they can be eaten in heaven in just over twenty years.
However, if you consider the supernatural Weird Tale of this book, then the flow of time in the Heavenly Court becomes quite interesting. After Weird Tale. Take Lu Shuren (isn't he also known as Zhou Xun? Just kidding). If he hadn't spent so many years in textbooks, although he would still be famous within the industry, his popularity among the general public would definitely not be this high.
If it's the kind of wild, unchecked growth that doesn't need constant monitoring, that's fine. But if it's the kind that you have to keep an eye on every now and then, that's pure torture. (Those who study mechanical engineering, agriculture and forestry, and biology should understand this.)
But if there were such a heavenly court, where you could go up and sleep, and wake up to see the results, and if any problems arose that you had to solve yourself, there would be AI reminders, this would obviously be very necessary for immortal beings (especially for those who have few worries).