The craftsmen returned that afternoon.
There was unmistakable respect in their eyes.
Someone even asked for the name of the deity enshrined in the Earth God Shrine, and whether the deity could receive Incense offerings for the time being.
The Old Shopkeeper was the first to ask Xu Feng whether he had offered Incense and installed a Divine Tablet yet.
Ultimately, a Temple Priest's power depended on the god he worshipped. With a true deity, even a humble shrine could feel sacred through its god's virtue.
A shrine spirit, by contrast, might have limited connections, even if its shrine stood amid a bustling crowd.
Xu Feng had not intended to spread the shrine's reputation so widely just yet.
But if people would not go to the mountain, the mountain had come to them. After what had happened, this place would be regarded as sacred whether it was or not. It had stood out.
The Old Shopkeeper cupped his hands and stopped before Xu Feng, then sent someone to check whether anything had changed at the worksite.
Standing beside him, Xu Feng said, "He can receive Incense offerings. He is the Longflow River God. You may call him River God."
He did not give the god's name.
But that was enough.
Often, the secret names of gods enshrined in temples were known only to those versed in such matters.
Xu Feng knew the Longflow River God's origins, but he had no need to tell everyone. At the mention of Longflow, the Old Shopkeeper understood. "The Longflow River God?"
"You know of Longflow?" Xu Feng asked.
"I do, I do!" the Old Shopkeeper said.
"I once made a folding screen for a wealthy family in the county. The Longflow River was depicted on it."
A god of the Longflow River? No wonder!