I changed the world.

Page 352

"Oops!" Only then did An Huiling realize that she hadn't controlled the strength in her hand, and accidentally...

She hurriedly put the book away, then, after a moment's thought, called her maid in.

"Young Miss..." Mei'er entered the study, about to ask what the young lady wanted to see her about, when she suddenly noticed her mistress's face and asked with some concern, "Young Miss, why is your face so red? Did you overdo it with your exercise just now? Is there anything wrong?"

"Ah..." Upon hearing this, An Huiling subconsciously reached out and gently touched her face, which was warm to the touch... She must have been too excited just now, as her blush had not yet faded.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind the History Books: Chapter 704 The Earth God Temple Needs Expansion

She coughed lightly to cover it up, saying, "It might be a bit stuffy, Mei'er, why don't you open the window for a while?"

Mei'er blinked and glanced at the thermostat that was turned on beside her; the room temperature was currently maintained at 18 degrees Celsius...

Is it hot and stuffy? She subconsciously glanced again at the young lady, who was wearing a rather thin dress. Could it be... that the young lady was doing something strange?

She decided not to investigate further and went to open the window.

"Oh, and this book isn't very good quality, why don't you go buy another one..." An Huiling casually showed the book in her hand, then placed the damaged book on the table beside her.

Mei'er then came over, took the book, and prepared to throw it away. She respectfully asked An Huiling, and after confirming that there was nothing else, she left the study.

After leaving the study, Mei'er casually flipped through the damaged book, and a question arose in her mind: the tear that ran almost the entire length of the book... She tugged at the thick pages; they didn't seem to be caused by any "quality" issue...

So, what exactly did the young lady do with this book?

* * *

承和三十七年 西历2016年4月3日15:53 中州阳谷市召阳镇地公观

As the rumors of the local earth god's miraculous appearance spread, pilgrims from the surrounding area came to offer incense. Zhaoyang Town is a medium-sized town, and many people in the town have lived there for generations and are mostly related by blood or marriage, so the news spread very quickly.

In the past, the temple of the Earth God was not particularly popular on non-festival days. After all, with the development of the times, the incense offerings of temples and shrines in various places have been declining, especially for deities like the Earth God who are not mainstream believers.

Such a grand occasion is rare, having occurred only once every few years. The Taoist priests in the local temple were overjoyed.

“Master, I went to check, and there aren’t many incense sticks left in the storeroom.” Abbot Wang Peiyuan stood in front of the main hall of the temple, looking at the pilgrims coming and going with a delighted expression. At this moment, his second disciple, Li Dinggui, walked to his side and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Tell Mr. Zhang from town to pack up a batch of incense sticks and send them over. Buy more this time, because it looks like we'll be short of incense for the next few days," Wang Peiyuan hurriedly instructed. Mr. Zhang, whom he mentioned, was a familiar incense and candle supplier in town.

"Yes, Master, I'll go fight right away."

"Dingfu, look, if there were more days like this, how wonderful that would be." After his second disciple left, Wang Peiyuan smiled and said to his eldest disciple Qi Dingfu, who was standing beside him.

Taoist priests like Wang Peiyuan, though called Taoist priests, were actually just a minor local sect within the Xuanmen (Taoist) sect. They made their living by managing the Digong Temple for generations. The temple had five officially registered Taoist priests, while the rest were temple workers without ordination certificates. Fortunately, the Digong Temple always had a steady stream of worshippers, so their lives weren't difficult. However, since the Earth God was a deity with a very strong local character, even at its peak, the temple never managed to expand its influence beyond its local area.

"Master, it would be even better if the Earth God manifested his power a few more times..." Qi Dingfu said with a smile, his face showing little respect. In his view, the earthquake just now was mostly a coincidence, and it was fortunate that his temple had a solid foundation when it was built, which was why there were no problems. As for the yellow clouds and such, they were probably just some strange celestial phenomenon. In this world, there are no gods...

Although he was a Taoist priest, for Qi Dingfu, managing temples and monasteries was just a business. Earning more money from incense offerings was more important than anything else.

"Watch your words," Wang Peiyuan whispered, though his tone didn't show much anger.

Knowing that his master wasn't really angry, but just worried that if he raised his voice, the surrounding worshippers would hear, Qi Dingfu didn't mind. He simply lowered his voice and continued, "Master, if you ask me, after this storm passes, the temple can expand its scale. I had the blueprints made last time. Let's build three more main halls, taller and bigger than these old halls. That would be truly impressive! Then we can enshrine some statues of the Heavenly Venerables and Buddhas. I think the incense offerings will definitely rise to a new level."

When Qi Dingfu voiced his idea, Wang Peiyuan wasn't particularly surprised, as his eldest disciple had already mentioned it to him countless times. In fact, from an objective religious perspective, the idea wasn't bad. The worship of local gods was too regional, unlike the widespread worship of deities in religions like Buddhism and Taoism.

In particular, with the development of technology, the distance between regions is constantly shrinking, and local believers are not limited to the Digong Temple. They can drive or take public transportation to temples further away to offer incense, which has actually impacted the incense offerings of the Digong Temple.

In Qi Dingfu's view, it doesn't matter what you worship, it's all business anyway. The key is to worship whichever is popular, and the money from incense offerings is the most important thing.

“This…” Wang Peiyuan frowned. In his heart, he still felt that this was not following the rules. Although the Earth God Temple was a temple for descendants, and how it was done was up to the master and his disciples, it had been passed down from generation to generation. Although it was a small sect, they had worshipped the Earth God for generations and had never lacked food and clothing.

“Master…look at that Dinghai Temple built in the city by those southerners. Its incense offerings are getting more and more popular every year. If we don’t change things, its popularity will be overshadowed…” The Dinghai Temple Qi Dingfu was referring to was a newly built Buddhist temple. Those in the know understood that the temple had no real heritage and was purely a money-making scheme. However, its location was excellent, situated on the outskirts of Yanggu City, which led many city pilgrims to go there to offer incense. For many Chinese people, offering incense anywhere is the same, and worshipping a Buddhist temple seems more prestigious than worshipping the local earth god.

Wang Peiyuan frowned and pursed his lips. At this moment, he was indeed somewhat tempted. After all, it wasn't that he would stop worshipping the Earth God. It was just that he could add a few more halls and worship more gods. It seemed that... there wouldn't be any problem, right?

If incense offerings could continue like today... no... it doesn't need to be like this every day, but even if there's just one day a week like today... that would be an extraordinary thing.

“Master… if you agree, I’ll start making arrangements first thing tomorrow morning…” Qi Dingfu was also good at reading people’s expressions. Seeing that his master seemed interested, he quickly encouraged him.

Wang Peiyuan remained silent for a long time, then coughed lightly: "You should calculate how much it will cost from beginning to end, so we can have a general idea. Make a list, and then we, master and disciple, can discuss it further..."

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 705 - A Ghost Knocking on the Door of the Palace/Temple at Night

Knowing that his master had said so, Qi Dingfu was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Alright, I'll go ask someone about the price later."

..................................................................

On this day, the Digong Temple was bustling with worshippers, and the crowds only began to thin out as night fell. Even so, the master and his disciples, along with the temple workers, were busy until after 8 p.m. before taking turns to eat.

After hastily eating a bowl of noodles, Qi Dingfu turned back to the main gate and looked around. By this time, the worshippers inside the temple had gradually left, and a temple worker was closing the gate. Empty bottles, wrappers, and other trash were scattered throughout the temple, requiring some cleaning. At the same time, the large incense burner outside the main hall, filled with sticks of incense, also needed to be emptied after it burned out.

In addition, the money in the donation box needs to be withdrawn, and today's income needs to be calculated. Also, the remaining incense and candles should be inventoried. Judging from today's situation, tomorrow will likely be another busy day for worshippers, so these accounts need to be thoroughly checked.

Fortunately, these tasks were all things that the master and his disciples were good at, after all, this was the daily routine of running a temple. After finishing all this, Qi Dingfu received some very exciting news from his master: the temple's income for the day, including the incense money and donations, exceeded 100,000 yuan. Although this figure was still not impressive compared to those famous temples and monasteries, it was a rare high income for the Digong Temple. In the past, such a flow of visitors only occurred during the few days of the New Year.

Judging solely from the incense revenue, Digong Temple truly lives up to its title of "the number one land temple in the world".

However, this wasn't enough. Given the reputation of the Earth God Temple, if it weren't dedicated to the Earth God, the incense offerings would certainly be much more than this; doubling them would be easy. Qi Dingfu hoped that once the temple expansion was complete, the Earth God Temple's income would reach another level. After all, the Earth God Temple was a temple for descendants; after his master passed away, the temple property would be inherited by him, the eldest disciple.

Humming a currently popular song, Qi Dingfu returned to his room. Behind the Digong Temple, there was a special guesthouse where the master and his disciples, along with the temple workers, usually lived. In addition, it was also rented out to pilgrims from other places for lodging. Of course, this was the original plan when the guesthouse was built. In reality, very few pilgrims from other places came to stay. Generally speaking, most people from other places who came to visit Digong Temple were just visiting relatives and friends in the area and treated it as a tourist attraction.

Night had fallen, and a thin mist had settled around them. The calls of owls could be heard in the distance. Qi Dingfu entered his room wearily, took off his Taoist robe, rubbed his aching shoulders, and sat heavily on a round-backed chair. He checked the time, sighed, and dragged his tired body to wash up.

The living habits in the temple are to go to bed early and get up early. Tomorrow morning, they will have to open the door early to welcome pilgrims, so they must rest early tonight. After washing up, Qi Dingfu poured a basin of hot water to soak his feet, then tidied up his bedding, turned off the light, and went to bed.

"Bang bang bang!!! Bang bang bang!!!"

Qi Dingfu didn't know how long he had slept when he was suddenly awakened by a heavy banging on the door. The Digong Temple was a traditional wooden structure with mortise and tenon joints, and the house where Qi Dingfu lived was also a traditional wooden structure. At this moment, the double wooden door of the room was being banged on violently, obviously someone outside was banging on the door with extremely rough movements.

Half-asleep, Qi Dingfu was woken up by someone knocking on the door. Still a bit grumpy from being woken up, he was immediately annoyed. He yawned, not wanting to leave his warm bed, and sat up on the bed with a frown, shouting irritably, "Who is it?!"

However, the knocking on the door continued mechanically: "Bang bang bang!!! Bang bang bang!!!"

However, this gave Qi Dingfu a strange feeling. You see, he was living in the Digong Temple at this time. This was not an ordinary apartment, and there were no inexplicable visitors such as deliverymen, takeout vendors, or even water meter readers. Because at this time, the gates of the Digong Temple had long been closed, and they could not enter even if they wanted to.

At this time, the only people who could disturb him are his master, his junior brother, and the temple workers. But it's unlikely that anyone here would be so impolite as to knock on his door.

"Who is it?? Who's knocking on the door so late?!" he thought to himself as he shouted again at the top of his lungs.

However, the knocking on the door continued unabated, without any response. The rhythmic knocking sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet night: "Bang bang bang!!! Bang bang bang!!! Bang bang bang..."

Cursing inwardly, Qi Dingfu said impatiently, "Coming! Coming! Trying to call back your soul?! It's so late, aren't you afraid of breaking the door?!"

As he spoke, he lifted the covers, turned on the bedside lamp, looked around for a moment, and then, still muttering to himself, walked towards the door, pulling on his two slippers.

As he reached the door, before he could even open it, a chilling aura suddenly swept over him, instantly dispelling any lingering drowsiness.

"Bang bang bang!!! Bang bang bang!!!" At this moment, the door was still shaking rhythmically, and the knocking from outside did not stop.

The chilling aura seemed to penetrate the door panel and emanate from behind it...

Qi Dingfu stood in front of the door, stopping his hand that was reaching towards the door. He subconsciously glanced at the window beside him. Outside the window, the moonlight was dim, and the fog was thick, making it difficult to see clearly.

An inexplicable and unpleasant thought welled up in my mind...

But he quickly suppressed this thought. What was he thinking...? He snorted and reached out to unlock the door and open it.

"Stop knocking! It's so late, stop knocking..."

When he saw the scene outside the door, the words he was about to say caught in his throat. Qi Dingfu's face turned pale instantly, he took two steps back, and then sat down on the ground with a thud. He pointed outside, his teeth chattering, and he couldn't utter a single word...

"You...you...you...are..."

But what stood outside the door was clearly not human!

It was a monster over two meters tall, with bulging muscles all over its body, but its face was bluish-black and its eyes were like copper bells. Its upper body was naked, with only a cloud-shaped shoulder cape wrapped around its shoulders, and its lower body was wearing a battle skirt with armor plates, but it was barefoot. A single sword was at its waist, and a dark chain was in its hand. It was standing at the door, looking down at Qi Dingfu who opened the door.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History: Chapter 706 No matter how much you guard against it, it's hard to guard against a traitor within your own family!

"Qi Dingfu, come with me..." Seeing Qi Dingfu open the door, the ghost outside didn't say much, but spoke in a muffled voice.

Qi Dingfu felt the chilling aura emanating from the ghost before him and immediately understood where the cold air he had felt through the door had come from. Terrified, he recalled scenes from myths and legends, and his stammering stopped abruptly. Tears streamed down his face as he cried, "Sir, have you mistaken me for someone else? I am only thirty-five years old, and my lifespan has not yet ended..."

Upon hearing this, the ghost remained expressionless and said nothing more. With a clang, the chain in its hand jingled, and Qi Dingfu felt a sudden weight on his body as he was bound by the chain, unable to move an inch. Then, he was involuntarily pulled by the ghost towards the door...

"The local earth god has summoned me; please come with me..."

Qi Dingfu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that it was the local earth god who had summoned him, at least it wasn't the underworld. Of course, no matter what, he couldn't break free at this moment. Once he was bound by the chains, he couldn't muster any strength and could only obediently follow behind the ghost.

He secretly scratched his fingernail, feeling a sharp pain, but the situation remained unchanged. He then realized this was no dream, and his anxiety increased.

A thick fog enveloped the area outside. The ghost led him toward the main hall of the Earth God Temple. Qi Dingfu followed behind, his mind racing with questions. He was still unsure whether the "Earth God" the ghost mentioned was the Earth God of Zhaoyang Town whom his temple served.

I've always thought that ghost stories were just rumors, and that the statues enshrined in temples were just clay figurines. How... how could they actually come true?!

He now understood that being locked up instead of being invited away was certainly not a good thing. He just wondered what he, as a Taoist priest serving the local earth god, had done to offend the earth god.

In the thick fog, everything around him was eerily quiet, without even the sound of insects or birds. Qi Dingfu hoped that he would encounter other people in the temple on the way so that he could call for help. However, he did not encounter a single person from beginning to end, and even gave him the illusion that he was the only person in the entire temple.

The ghost led him to a large hall and they went up the steps. Qi Dingfu immediately recognized it as the main hall in the temple where the local earth god was enshrined.

At this time, the main hall doors were tightly closed, and it was impossible to see what was inside from the outside.

When they arrived at the gate, the ghost pushed it open, tugged at the chain, and Qi Dingfu instinctively stumbled a few steps and followed it inside.

Upon entering the hall, they discovered that everything inside was different from what they had seen during the day. In the center of the hall, there was no longer a clay statue of the Earth God, but an ancient-style armchair. Sitting on the armchair was an old man with white hair and a long beard, wearing a yellow robe with wide sleeves. The robe was embroidered with cranes and the character "寿" (longevity). The old man leaned on a wooden cane with a coiled dragon head. On either side of the seat stood a tall ghost soldier, both of whom looked about eight-tenths similar to the one who had brought Qi Dingfu over.

Upon seeing the old man's appearance, Qi Dingfu immediately realized that this must be the local earth god enshrined in his temple. However, during the day, the earth god statue always had a kind and benevolent smile, but now, sitting upright in the chair, he had an indifferent expression, neither sad nor happy.

Qi Dingfu also saw that right in front of the local earth god, there was a person kneeling on the ground, none other than his own master...

Seeing this, Qi Dingfu wasn't stupid; he immediately realized that things were definitely getting serious...