In the blink of an eye, the blossoms had fallen, leaving spring's flowers desolate. The sparse green foliage had grown dense, and high summer had arrived.
The villagers of Min Di had all heard that since the Sea Lord Temple had been built, there had been no more disasters at sea. The ocean had grown calm again, no longer resembling a monster ready to devour someone at any moment.
They had also learned from the county magistrate's commendation of the seven righteous ones' enormous contributions to the Sea Lord Temple. Naturally, it could not state outright that they had been sacrificed as human foundation stakes. The common people were ignorant; if they learned that this method worked, they might imitate it in secret, and it would be bad if lives were lost.
On the day the Sea Lord Temple was completed, the county magistrate posted a notice encouraging all the villagers nearby to sail out and pay their respects to the seven righteous ones.
That day, the sky was clear for miles, and sea and sky shared a single hue. Hundreds upon hundreds of fishing boats, large and small, sailed toward the little floating island together, a magnificent, sweeping sight.
At that time, inside the Sea Lord Temple, incense smoke curled before the offerings of three sacrificial animals, and candles blazed brightly. At the front of the hall stood gilded statues of the seven righteous ones, one large and six small. The figure at their head wore an indigo Daoist robe, with three young children on either side, all dressed in mourning clothes, their expressions resolute.
As for the Sea Lord's statue, it was merely a clay figure over a wooden frame, left unceremoniously in the rear hall and bound in chains. Worshipping it was forbidden.
And back then, the