Praying for Divine Protection

"Yes!"

Xu Feng answered at once, his eyes lighting up.

He wished he could finish stitching the corpse right now, then quit the game.

He had asked the game again earlier. It showed that once he learned [Safe Save], he could save and quit at a save point.

He did not want to stay here one second longer!

Seeing his apprentice so "eager," his master misunderstood. He thought Xu Feng could hardly wait to become a corpse stitcher.

So he tried to temper his apprentice's eagerness. "I know you're anxious, but don't rush.

"Whether you can become a corpse stitcher depends on how you perform tonight.

"Do well, and you'll remain my apprentice and inherit my craft.

"Do poorly, and our bond as master and apprentice ends here. You can go find your own way! Corpse stitching may not be a good trade, but for rootless, drifting folk like us, it's still a way to put food on the table!

"If you can't hold the bowl steady, you mustn't force yourself to carry it."

With that, he told Xu Feng to sleep beside the fire, then went out to do who knew what!

Xu Feng leaned against a pillar to rest. Ordinarily, after everything that had happened today, he would never have been able to sleep.

But he had to sleep, because he knew perfectly well that he could not fall short tonight, no matter what!

He did not know what failure would bring.

This time, he had to succeed. Failure was not an option!

The unknown was the most frightening thing of all.

As for his master's assessment, Xu Feng asked the game and learned that [Disappointing] was the second-lowest rating. Disappointing though it was, it still counted as success.

The lowest rating was [Failure].

In theory, as long as he did not stitch the corpse's head onto its arm tonight, he would succeed.

After working to steady his breathing, Xu Feng leaned back against the pillar and really did drift off.

He had no idea how long he slept. In a haze, he heard someone knocking at the door.

His tall, thin master went out. A little while later, someone shook him.

Xu Feng's eyes flew open, and he saw his master standing before him.

"You're awake? Then wash your face. It's time to start stitching corpses."

Xu Feng got up groggily. One splash of water on his face, and he was wide awake.

He would be lying if he said he was not nervous, or that his heart was not racing. But nervous or not, the work could not wait.

He stepped out of the side room and found his master waiting by the door.

When he saw Xu Feng, his master said, "Come on. First we'll offer the Land God a stick of incense, then burn paper for the wandering souls in all four directions. Remember every single thing I do today.

"In our trade, we eat the dead man's rice, so don't complain about all the rules.

"The rules of a trade dealing with the dead don't protect the dead. They protect us, the living. Understand?"

"I understand, Master!"

His tall, thin master lit every lantern in the courtyard, then said, "What comes next isn't something I'll teach you only once, or something you'll see only once.

"But you must pay attention every time. You can remember it ten thousand times, but forget it just once, and everything is over. Understand?"

Xu Feng stiffened. "I understand."

This time, his master gave no answer. Xu Feng's assurance did not move him.

After all, a man had two lips, and words could shift between them.

Besides, even if they did everything perfectly, a corpse stitcher whose life was not tough enough would die when his time came.

Sometimes, when people in their trade provoked the wrong thing, death itself became a vain hope.

So an apprentice chosen to close the door on the master's line had to be capable of closing it.

With the gates shut, unwelcome guests could not enter.

But there was no need to tell his apprentice any of that.

He turned to Xu Feng. "Come. The first step in stitching a corpse is to ask a god for protection. If you're stitching in a village shrine, you ask the Land God here to protect you. It's the same anywhere else. You must always be polite.

"Only when the deity agrees can you begin stitching. Understand?"

"I understand."

He had Xu Feng follow him to the shrine's main hall. For the first time, Xu Feng saw his master lift the curtain over its doors.

By the light of the lanterns outside, Xu Feng saw an offering table behind the curtain.

On the table stood a shrine.

Inside sat a kindly little old man, covered in layer upon layer of embroidered cloth!

It had to be the county's Land God.

Before the shrine stood a bronze incense burner and two unlit candles.

The two of them knelt outside the main hall's threshold. His master offered incense to the Land God's shrine, but instead of placing it in the bronze burner, he stuck it into a crack between the bricks just inside the threshold!

His master lit the incense and called out, "My lord, please partake of this incense!"

"My lord, please partake of this incense!"

At that moment, Xu Feng was nothing but an emotionless parrot! He did not understand why they were doing any of it, but he obeyed without question, copying his master move for move.

Almost exactly.

After that one line, they both watched the incense.

Xu Feng did not know what they were watching for, but he watched honestly and intently, without a stray thought.

As he watched, understanding still eluded him, but ink-stroked text descended from above once more.

[Luoyin County, Ninth-Rank Land God]

After the blue smoke rose, it visibly drifted toward the Land God. Then Xu Feng saw that the Land God was actually "smoking"!

At the sight, his master knocked his forehead against the ground three times, each blow ringing out.

Xu Feng followed suit.

[Offering accepted.]

After three kowtows, Xu Feng raised his head. His master placed the wine, pig's head, and three small bowls of food he had prepared before the Land God's shrine.

Then he took a pair of chopsticks and hovered them over each dish as though serving the god.

He also poured out wine in tribute to the god,

and Xu Feng followed his master's example. Once again, [Offering accepted.]

His master stood, took out a yellow prayer sheet covered in writing, lit it, and dropped it on the ground.

In a voice that rose and fell like a chant, he intoned, "The ten directions stretch vast; the Earth Mother is merciful.

"Zhao Er of Luoyin County and Zhao San of Luoyin County beg the use of this sacred ground as a ritual site for one day—"

As his master chanted, Xu Feng pricked up his ears and watched his fingers. His master clearly used hand signs as he recited.

At first, his fingers formed a "sword sign." Later, one hand took a shape that looked like a lotus, or perhaps a "begging bowl."

Across the whole invocation, he changed hand signs four times.

And each change corresponded to a different request!

As for the words, whether they were prayers or incantations, Xu Feng could make out most of them.

First came praise, then an explanation, then the request, and finally another passage of praise.

When his master finished, Xu Feng expected another kowtow. Instead, to his surprise, his master merely bowed with clasped hands, and that was the end of it!

A wind blew from nowhere and swept the paper ash off the ground, who knew where.

Then Xu Feng saw: [You have received the protection of the Land God of Luoyin County]

[Protection of the Land God of Luoyin County]

[Positive effect]

[The Land God of Luoyin County has granted your request. For four double-hours, the scent of his incense offerings will linger on you.]

[Incense scent of the Land God of Luoyin County: Proof of identity. No sinister or inauspicious entity equal to or weaker than the Land God of Luoyin County will affect you.]

His master glanced around, then said, "Good. The Land God has agreed to help us."

With that, he opened the main gate, brought out a large brazier, and began burning paper. "That's the first step done. The second is more of a formality."

He led Xu Feng around the outside of the shrine, burning four piles of paper at its four corners. When he drew circles with wine, he deliberately left a gap in each one.

Then they returned.

They headed for the west room, where the corpses lay!