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Chapter 581: The Weight of Official Province
Chapter 581: The Weight of Official Province
With a single utterance of the Divine Severance Inquiry, the entire assembly was stirred, and Hu Ma waved his wide sleeves. The nine copper rings on the Pacifying Malevolent Spirits Golden Mace in front of him moved in unison, their clanging reverberating across the land.
In the midst of the military formation, Hu Ma had borrowed a sacred altar that rose with the Golden Mace, but now, as the Mace left the ground, he put it away. At that very moment, countless altars set up by Ghost Walkers across Mingzhou simultaneously extinguished their candles, and all the Ghost Walkers understood what had happened. They hastily straightened their clothes, stood up from the altars, and bowed in the direction of Mingzhou City.
The extinguishing of the candles on the altars signified that the ritual had come to a halt, temporarily relieving the Pacifying Evil Office of its heavy burden.
However, due to the numerous altars, as the concentrated magical power dispersed, it spread out into the surrounding forests and mountains.
One, two, countless streams of magical power unfurled, causing a gust of Yin wind to sweep across Mingzhou, startling the forests and villages. Even the wind blew beyond the borders of Mingzhou, leaving many who had been eagerly listening in with unsettled hearts and countless others crying out for their grandparents in panic, running around in confusion.
The news of Hu Ma's actions in Mingzhou was destined to spread far and wide, but it was difficult to predict the magnitude of the commotion it would cause.
"Ka-la..."
Unlike the ordinary people's doubts and speculations, the most significant reaction came from various places across the realm, where several doors, which had remained closed for years, suddenly opened as the fierce wind blew through.
Inside these doors, some were burning incense, some were calculating fortunes, and some were playing with crickets, all sighing softly: "After so many years of being closed, I thought they'd never open again."
"But who could have imagined that the moment they opened, such a commotion would ensue? Was it overconfidence or fear that prompted such a grand display to bolster their courage?"
"..."
As these doors opened, there was also a family whose door was already half-open, and a person inside, drawing paper figures, frowned: "Why are we attracting so much karma just by entering?"
"Such a huge matter, if it falls into the hands of the Li Family of Impermanence, won't it make things difficult for us?"
"..."
"Close the door and refuse visitors!"
"..."
He seemed to be struggling internally, and just as other families were opening their doors, he closed his own.
"Could that Golden Mace truly possess such power?"
On the outskirts of Official Province, there was an accountant dressed as a fortune-teller, holding a small flag with a fortune-telling symbol and sporting a goatee. He was leading a young shaman girl adorned with silver accessories and a captivating beauty, though her brows still carried a hint of frailty. She tilted her head, gazing at the torrential downpour in Official Province, and muttered to herself in confusion.
Official Province had been suffering from a drought and plague for several years, but now, thunder rumbled in the sky, and a heavy rain began to fall without warning, continuing for three days.
The accountant's expression was grave, and after biting his lip, he led the shaman girl into the pouring rain. He gathered some wooden sticks and dry firewood and set up a small tent in the rain. Using two evenly sized stones, he built a small incense table and placed his Grandmaster's spirit tablet on it. He then bowed reverently to the spirit tablet, deeply and sincerely.
"Teacher, why did you bring me to Official Province?" the shaman girl asked, her expression bewildered. "Where is my brother? I haven't seen him, and where is the manager who saved my life? Is he here?"
"Don't worry, you'll meet them soon," the old accountant replied, sighing. "Since I've taken you as my disciple, I must first broaden your horizons before introducing you to them. Hand me the shovel."
The obedient shaman girl passed him a shovel, and the old accountant began to dig beneath the tent, working diligently. He first removed the wet mud, then dug deeper, reaching two to three feet before finally unearthing a handful of dry soil. He carefully placed the soil in a broken bowl, then took out a scale and meticulously weighed it.
After confirming the reading on the scale, his wrinkled face tightened, and his gaze seemed to lose focus for a moment. After a long while, he took a deep breath:
"It's back..."
"It's actually been knocked back by that Golden Mace..."
"..."
The shaman girl had seen grains and meat being weighed but had never witnessed soil being weighed. She blinked curiously, watching from the side.
However, the old accountant dared not relax. He carefully wrapped the soil in oil paper and then bowed before the spirit tablet of his grandmaster.
After performing the grand gesture of respect, he held three bronze coins in his hand and spoke softly: "Grandmaster, Master, please give your disciple a definitive answer. Was all this already within your calculations?"
He asked the question three times, then tossed the coins onto the ground and stared at them with widened eyes, only to find himself in a daze.
The shaman girl cautiously asked, "Teacher, what is this?"
The old accountant, with a stern expression, explained, "The most fundamental skill of our sect is to consult our grandmaster about matters. It is said that he knows everything in heaven and earth and can answer any question."
"The bronze coins are tossed three times to observe the divination symbol. The symbol can be Yin, Yang, or a combination of both, indicating whether the grandmaster is nodding or shaking his head."
"..."
The shaman girl asked, "Then why do you look so pale? What does this divination symbol mean?"
The old accountant suppressed his anger and said, "This symbol means he doesn't want to talk..."
"?"
The shaman girl was also a bit confused, sensing the old accountant's extremely foul mood, and dared not disturb him further.
But the old accountant was not content. After pondering for a while, he whispered, "The Pacifying Malevolent Spirits Manor has opened its doors. The world is about to change, and our lineage should also choose a side, right?"
As he spoke, he threw the coins three more times, his heart filled with apprehension. He stretched his neck and looked at the ground, and his face changed again as his chest rose and fell rapidly.
The shaman girl cautiously asked, "Teacher, what is our Grandmaster saying this time?"
The old accountant replied, "He still doesn't want to talk..."
Suddenly, the shaman girl didn't know what to say, she just blinked, and her heart began to doubt the abilities of this teacher.
It seemed that their abilities were not as useful as the powerful insects the shamans raised for their curses...
"Why is it so difficult to be your disciple? At a time like this, can't you just give me a straight answer?"
Before she could finish, the old accountant became agitated, pointing at the spirit tablet and cursing. He even glanced at the muddy ground outside, as if he wanted to throw it out, but ultimately, he didn't dare.
The shaman girl couldn't bear to watch anymore and said softly, "Teacher, just a few days ago, you accepted me as your disciple, didn't you say that the most important thing in our sect is to respect the teacher and honor the way, and to be filial?"
"But he has to be worthy of this respect!"
The old accountant was already angry, and now he couldn't hold it in anymore. He huffed and puffed, growing more and more dissatisfied, "Some deceive the gods, and some cheat the ghosts."
"It's only you who is being deceived by your disciples..."
"Back then, I, your teacher, was like the other senior brothers, traveling the world and observing the dragon aura. I did so because I saw that the land of Mingzhou was more fertile than other places, and I thought there might be something unusual here. So, I settled down in the Scarlet Lantern Society, intending to observe the situation here. If there was no movement, I would stay for a few years and then leave. But if there was movement, and it was significant, I would quietly depart."
"..."
The shaman girl blinked, "And what was the result?"
"The result was that the movement was too big, and it suddenly shattered the heavens. I couldn't even leave..."
The old accountant almost burst into tears, "I knew the Pacifying Malevolent Spirits Manor had abilities and was tasked with managing these spirits and ghosts, but who knew they were so capable?"
"With just one golden cudgel, they broke the mountains and destroyed the temple. Even the Governor God, who had received incense offerings for centuries and was blessed by the Meng family ancestor, disappeared just like that!"
"Even the land of Official Province was taken back. How can the Meng family tolerate you like this? This is bullying!"
"..."
As he spoke, the anger on his face gradually turned into fear. His heart was in turmoil, and he said, "No, no, this matter is too big..."
"Even the imperial edict couldn't suppress the Pacifying Malevolent Spirits Manor. Who would believe this if it got out?"
"Such a huge matter, if you told me that our Grandmaster wasn't involved back then, I wouldn't believe it even if you killed me. But the key is that he didn't give any hints beforehand..."
"What's even more baffling is, what is he after?"
"Look at the state of the Hu family now, they're all alone. Even if you take over the Pacifying Malevolent Spirits Manor and prove the old saying about ghost walkers being the nemesis of spirit communicators, what good will it do? The Meng family has been planning for twenty years more than you. They've issued countless Incense Fire Orders, collected numerous altars and gods, and there are already many governor gods who have paid respects to the emperor and pledged allegiance to the Meng family."
"Even if you, a member of the Hu family, borrow the name of the Pacifying Malevolent Spirits Manor to establish rules, accept grievances, and behead people, what's the point?"
"Do you really think you can win over the hearts of all the spirits and mystic beings in the world and have them join you in fighting the Meng family?"
"You've miscalculated..."
"You can shout your slogans as loudly as you want, but if there are only empty promises and no benefits, and instead, you demand strict adherence to rules, not many people will be willing to follow you..."
"Do you really think everyone in the world is a saint?"
"..."
Hearing him speak so much, the shaman girl was a bit overwhelmed. She timidly asked, "Then... what should we do now?"
"Should we go find my brother, or... or go to Mingzhou to find the manager?"
"..."
"We're not going anywhere!"
Hearing this, the old accountant made up his mind, "That manager, what good can he bring? And your brother, he's not an easy person either..."
"Let's follow my plan and avoid disaster. We won't return to the Bloodstone Mine, let's wander the world instead..."
"..."
As he spoke, he was about to pick up the spirit tablet and head east, but as soon as he took a step, a muffled thunderclap suddenly sounded above his head, causing his body to stiffen.
Trembling, he looked up at the sky, on the verge of tears, "I knew this was a huge pit, but I had no choice but to jump in?"
"Do you really want to harm your own disciples?"
(End of Chapter)
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