I am a fairy

Chapter 153: Ghost Festival

Outside the gate of the Peony Garden.

Ma Fu was very determined this time because the matter was of great importance and he really hoped that the witch could tell him something.

However, the witch did not bring the news he wanted.

Ma Fu was very anxious: "What did the witch say?"

The witch just looked at him for a long time before replying.

"The witch has nothing to say to you, please go back!"

The wizard's indifferent tone was conveyed by the sorcerer, but the toughness behind the tone directly shattered Ma Fu's determination and made Ma Fu feel as if he was facing the emperor.

Ma Fu immediately revealed his servant side. He dared not say anything more and just bowed and nodded repeatedly.

Not daring to stay any longer, he turned around and left.

But after he left and got on the carriage, several other monks came back and surrounded the carriage.

One of the temple servants who was trying to gather information told Ma Fu some news he had just learned.

The eunuch said cautiously, "I just heard a piece of news from a farmer near the Peony Garden, but I don't know whether it is true or not."

Although Ma Fu was in a mess, she did not vent her anger on others: "Speak, I won't blame you if I'm wrong."

Temple attendant: "The farmer said that a carriage stopped in front of the peony garden yesterday, and then two people got out and entered the garden."

"Normally, many people come to the Peony Garden to pay homage to the witch, but not many can actually see her, so the farmers took a few extra glances."

“Although I only saw their backs, those two people should be the Prince of Lucheng and his eldest son, Wen Shenyou.”

In front, the mythical beast Ba Xia appeared on the river carrying a huge bronze tripod on its back, and then the Prince of Lucheng and his son came to pay homage to the shaman. Although there was not necessarily a connection and it could not be considered a coincidence, Ma Fu immediately became interested.

People like him are best at thinking too much, but they will never speak out these thoughts.

"It is normal for the father and son of the Prince of Lucheng to come to see the witch."

"The divine witch Yu Junwang and Sima Wen are also familiar with each other. Even this peony garden was given to the divine witch by the Junwang. It is not surprising that he can enter the garden to pay homage to the divine witch."

The eunuch continued, "But the farmer said that the two men who looked like the father and son of the Prince of Lucheng came here in a mysterious manner yesterday."

"Even the carriage they were riding in didn't have the flag of the Prince's Mansion, and the servants were all dressed like ordinary servants, as if they were afraid that people would know their identities."

"Therefore, although the farmer recognized the two, he did not dare to confirm that they were the Lucheng County Prince and his son."

Ma Fu's eyes suddenly lit up, as if a hawk in the sky had suddenly discovered a cunning rabbit in the bushes.

It was normal for Wen Ji to come to pay homage to the shaman, and it was not surprising that he was able to enter and meet the shaman.

But why be so furtive and secretive?

Is there something shameful going on?

If the eunuch's words before only made Ma Fu suspicious, then at this moment, Ma Fu suddenly felt that the Prince of Lucheng must be related to that incident.

Ma Fu immediately said, "Let's go to the Prince's Mansion."

The carriage headed straight into the city, passed through Luyang County, and headed directly to the Prince's Mansion.
-
In a luxurious and magnificent mansion.

Pavilions and towers are stacked one after another, and even the servants are dressed in silk clothes and wear gold and silver accessories.

The servants and maids in the mansion were busy as hell. There were many carriages and horses parked in front of the palace gate, and people carrying loads were constantly transporting things into the mansion. A manager was shouting loudly.

"Pay attention to the threshold and keep your eyes on it."

"Be careful, don't bump it, this is for ancestor worship, if it's damaged, the prince will be angry."

"These animals are for offering sacrifices to the gods. You have to be vegetarian for the next two days. You can't eat meat. Don't get them mixed up. And the rice you offer has to be this year's."

"What did the Taoist priests from Yunzhen Dao and the monks from Tianlong Temple say? Have they been invited? Why haven't they arrived yet?"

As soon as Ma Fu arrived at the gate of the palace, he saw this scene.

The entire palace was preparing for the Ghost Festival to worship their ancestors. As soon as Ma Fu came down, the steward saw him and recognized him, and immediately came forward.

"Why is the horse supervisor here? I will go in and report to the prince immediately."

"Good work."

At this time, another person ran over and said to the manager.

The visitor said: "The prince said that we should not make a big fuss this time. We can just invite our family members. We won't hold a ceremony, and we don't need to invite Taoist priests and monks."

Manager: "Ah, why don't you do it?"

But then he said, “Oh, I see.”

Ma Fu, who was standing nearby, heard this and started to have some thoughts in his mind.

"Zhongyuan ancestor worship was originally a grand event, but now it's being kept simple?"

"What happened?"

"Just our own family members?"

"Or is there something that cannot be seen by outsiders?"

He was already looking at the Prince of Lucheng with a scrutinizing eye. Everything he did seemed to contain some deep meaning to Ma Fu.

The Prince of Lucheng was much easier to see than the witch, so Ma Fu went in without waiting at all. On the way, he met Wen Ji who was halfway there to greet him.

Although Ma Fu was a eunuch, he was sent by the emperor after all.

In the courtyard hall where guests are welcomed.

The two men sat at the top, surrounded by servants.

After drinking several bowls of tea, Ma Fu finally asked about the tripod.

"Have you heard, Prince, that a miraculous thing happened in the river the night before yesterday, and someone saw the divine beast Baxia carrying a tripod?"

Wen Ji was drinking tea and looked up: "Is this true?"

Ma Fu looked straight at Wen Ji's face and asked, "The prince doesn't know?"

Wen Ji's original expression was just as if he had just heard a story, but when he heard Ma Fu's question, he showed a look of surprise.

He seemed to have just tasted something: "What the horse supervisor said seems to have a hidden meaning?"

Ma Fu no longer tried to hide his true intentions, and his true intentions were finally revealed.

After all, the matter was of great importance, and Ma Fu was indeed a little anxious, and wanted to know what was going on with the tripod.

"Yesterday, someone saw the prince go to pay homage to the witch."

There was no change on Wen Ji's face. He was eager to drink the tea he had just missed, and at the same time he waved to the servant beside him to add more tea.

Ma Fu continued, "I also went to the Peony Garden today and asked the witch."

Although Wen Ji's heart was filled with turbulent waves, there was no change on his face, and there was not a ripple in his eyes.

Ma Fu finally added: "The witch also sent someone to reply to me."

Ma Fu's words have several meanings.

In the first sentence, he did go to the Peony Garden, but when he went there he had no idea that Wen Ji had also been there. However, he spoke as if he had known about it for a long time, and he went there specifically to ask about this matter.

He did go to ask the wizard a specific question, but he only asked about the incident of Baxia carrying the tripod across the river, but he made it sound as if he was asking about more things.

The last sentence is the most crucial. The wizard replied, but Wen Ji could not be sure whether Ma Fu had received some definite information from the wizard about whether he had been to the Peony Garden.

Even about that giant bronze tripod.

After all, the wizard did reply, but Wen Ji didn't know that the wizard's reply was just one sentence.

"No comment!"

The trick is to take advantage of the information gap. The game is to make Wen Ji make mistakes when speaking, or to make excuses in a panic. As soon as he makes an excuse, the flaws will naturally be revealed.

Wen Ji finally replied and put down the tea bowl.

"I didn't expect that the horse supervisor knew it so clearly."

"It's not that I'm hiding it from Ma Jian. The disaster in Jinzhou has changed a bit. It happened suddenly, so the witch asked my father and I to go together. They told me about things related to disaster relief."

"The shaman likes quietness and doesn't like to be disturbed, so naturally he won't make a big fuss when he goes there, and he will travel light and with a small group."

"That was what happened yesterday. If the horse supervisor doesn't believe it, you can go ask the witch."

"Although I don't know where the horse supervisor heard the rumor about Baxia carrying a tripod, but as for the miraculous things that happened on the river, I have been busy with other things today and I really didn't know about it."

"Does the horse supervisor know something? Can you tell me?"

Wen Ji performed very well. Ma Fu used the witch doctor to suppress him, but he fought back with the witch doctor.

In response to Ma Fu's questioning, he asked back, and it seemed that he really knew nothing about what happened on the river.

Ma Fu: "I see. Ma Fu also heard about this matter and came to tell Prince Yu, but I don't know much."

Wen Ji: "Thank you, Ma Jian."

But at this time, Ma Fu asked a crucial question.

"The Ghost Festival is coming up soon. I see everyone in the palace is preparing for it."

"But why is Sima Wen nowhere to be seen?"

Ma Fu's question was like a sudden surprise.

The Prince of Lucheng, Wen Ji, seemed to have thought of this question a long time ago and spoke directly.

"Ma Jian, didn't I just say that?"

"The disaster situation in Jinzhou is changing rapidly, so the witch asked my father and I to go and discuss it. It is inconvenient for me to leave, so I can only send Dalang to Jinzhou."

"But Dalang did a good job in Jinzhou a few days ago. I feel very relieved to send him to Jinzhou."

"Although the Zhongyuan Festival ancestor worship is very important, the people of Jinzhou who were affected by the disaster are even more important. If we can save more people and accumulate some merits, our ancestors will not blame us."

Ma Fu immediately said: "The prince is kind and generous, and so is Sima Wen. It is really a blessing for the people of Yin and Jin states."

"During the Zhongyuan Festival, I wonder if Ma Fu can come as well?"

Wen Ji: "This is probably not very convenient!"

Ma Fu said: "I am just a servant beside your majesty. The Prince of Lucheng is a member of the royal family and a nobleman."

"I am no different from the other servants in this mansion. The prince does not need to care..."

Wen Ji: "This..."

Finally, Ma Fu claimed that he was just a slave, but he insisted on coming to watch Wen Ji's family worship their ancestors during the Ghost Festival as an envoy of the emperor.

Wen Ji could have refused firmly, but for some reason, he finally agreed. After Ma Fu left.

Wen Ji's expression changed then. He sat in the hall, constantly thinking about the conversation he had just had with Ma Fu.

Trying to figure out if he had said something wrong or revealed any flaws.

"This eunuch must have heard the rumor from the riverside, so he knew about the Baxia carrying the tripod. But why did he suddenly come to me, and how did he know that I went to the Peony Garden to meet the witch?"

"From his appearance, he has not obtained any information from the witch, and he just came here to trick me."

"But it seems that this eunuch will not give up and will continue to investigate the matter. He also seems to be convinced that I have something to do with the incident of the Baxia carrying the tripod, so he must come to watch the Zhongyuan Festival ancestor worship ceremony."

"We must keep this person stable before the Ghost Festival."

Wen Ji was not afraid that Ma Fu would come to watch the Ghost Festival ceremony, but he was afraid that he would do something secretly.

Although the brief confrontation ended quickly.

But both the eunuch Ma Fu from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prince of Lucheng Wen Ji knew that things were far from over.

Afterwards, Wen Ji immediately called people over.

"Send someone to see him immediately."

"Yes!"

As soon as Ma Fu went out, he immediately sent someone secretly.

"Immediately send a trustworthy and capable person to Jinzhou to find the whereabouts of Wen Shenyou."

"Go now, without delay."

Temple attendant: "What about us? Should we do something?"

Ma Fu: "Wen Ji will definitely keep an eye on us next time, so we just need to keep him under control."
-
Before we knew it, the Ghost Festival was here.

Before daybreak, candles were lit throughout the mansion.

Servants and maids kept passing through the small doors in the alley. Some even tripped over the threshold and fell to the ground because of jogging, and were scolded in a low voice. The whole mansion was filled with a solemn and dignified atmosphere.

As the morning light broke, we saw the team leaving the mansion and heading out of the city.

When the sun was high, everyone gathered in front of the ancestral temple.

The Prince of Lucheng was dressed in solemn plain clothes, walking slowly forward with a sandalwood incense burner in his hand. He lit incense in front of each ancestor's tablet and bowed three times respectfully, praying that the ancestors would examine their words and deeds for the past year and bless the family with good health.

Then, they kowtowed and prayed in order.

When the sacrifice reached its climax, Dalang Wen Shenyou was supposed to read the sacrificial text, but Wen Shenyou was not there at the moment, so Wen Ji still did it.

"Ancestors and descendants are here..."

After reading the sacrificial text, paper money is then lit.

The envelopes are written with the names of ancestors, the date of birth, and the names of their descendants, and are thrown into the fire basin one by one.

In the ancestral temple, under the ancestral tablets.

The firelight illuminated the pious faces of Wen Ji and his family, and smoke rose up, as if the ancestors were accepting the money and gifts.

A large group of people followed behind, including Ma Fu, who was dressed in cloth and looked like a servant in the prince's mansion.

But at this moment, no matter Ma Fu who was standing absent-mindedly among the crowd.

Even the protagonist, Lucheng Prince Wen Ji, had his mind flying far away.

"How's Dalang doing?"

"I wonder what's going on in Jinzhou?"

Jinzhou.

Near the levee, in the Huajiang Dragon King Temple in Yangcheng.

"Ancestors and descendants are here..."

At this moment, what Wen Shenyou did was exactly the same as what he did in Lucheng. He knelt on the ground with incense in his hands, and paper money was burning in the brazier in front of him.

but.

What was in front of Wen Shenyou was not an ancestral tablet, but a huge bronze tripod.

As Wen Shenyou shouted and kowtowed, the giant tripod seemed to sense something and emitted a buzzing vibration.

"Squeak squeak!"

"Sizzsssssssssss..."

Wen Shenyou, lying on the ground, felt the tremors under his knees.

"what happened?"

"There's something in the tripod. Something has escaped?"

Looking up, he looked at the tripod in front of him somewhat at a loss.

Then three tall incense sticks as white as jade rose from the bronze tripod, and a huge shadow slowly rose up, looming over Wen Shenyou.

It also made Wen Shenyou's head raised higher and higher, and his expression became more and more exaggerated.

after all.

The huge bronze tripod was already terrifying enough, and with the incense added it was seven meters tall.

But Wen Shenyou didn't know that this was just the beginning.

"Om~"

The loud buzzing sound caused Wen Shenyou's eardrums to be strongly stimulated. Before Wen Shenyou could cover his ears, he saw a scene that he would never forget.

The overwhelming ancient culture rushed upward from the cauldron like a torrent, and the colorful light of the text spread along the walls and the ground.

Looking closely, Wen Shenyou felt as if the words on the tripod had come alive.

The dragon on the tripod seemed to come alive, and Wen Shenyou even felt that the dragon was looking at him.

The shadows of the mountains and rivers under the tripod grew larger and larger, as if merging with the earth beneath its feet.

And as the gaze is too deep.

Wen Shenyou's eyes and body seemed to be swept into the torrent all of a sudden. He felt the dazzling light and the wriggling words all around him.

At this time, the buzzing sound came one after another, accompanied by the tune of drums beating on the earth.

“Buzz…buzz…buzz…buzz…buzz…”

“Boom…boom…boom…boom…”

Wen Shenyou felt that his face and pupils were covered by light and words. He couldn't tell which way was which. At this moment, he could only kneel on the ground and look up.

The ceremony proceeded further.

The high incense was ignited by the shock wave-like aperture and spread upwards, and layers of incense filled the air.

"What is this?"

Smoke filled the air overhead, condensing into clouds.

But this time there was no colorful smoke and incense that appeared when "Yun Zhongjun" opened it before, and it turned into a canopy-like shape.

It was just white smoke at first, then turned into red, the red continued to deepen, and finally evolved into a light purple.

But at this point, I stopped.

But even so.

The impact on Wen Shenyou was great enough. He raised his neck as if he wanted to break it, and stared at the purple clouds above his head.

Then, a vortex opened up in the purple clouds.

The vortex spanned the two worlds of Yin and Yang, and led directly to another world, finally revealing a land of the underworld where palaces and buildings overlapped to the end.

"Artemisia."

"Incense Spirit Realm."

Wen Shenyou vaguely saw countless ghosts and gods raising their heads and looking towards the human world.

I don't know what he was looking at. Was he looking at who was performing the sacrifice, or who became the owner of this huge bronze tripod?
For some reason he felt extremely terrified, and he stepped back and ran around in fear, as if he was afraid that the horrible ghost would see him.

But this retreat.

Then I saw the clouds and smoke in the sky retreating back.

The spiritual realm disappeared, the clouds and smoke rolled back, and the white jade incense was recovered into the giant bronze tripod.

When Wen Shenyou came to his senses, the huge bronze tripod in front of him had returned to its original appearance.

Wen Shenyou then stood up and walked around the tripod again and again, as if he was sleepwalking.

Finally, he returned to the tripod and looked at it stupidly.

It was as if he was having a conversation with the tripod.

"A huge tripod, a huge tripod!"

"What the hell are you?"

"Where did it come from, and who made it?"

"Is it just a tool to connect the incense and the wormwood?"

Wen Shenyou looked at the huge bronze tripod. If he had thought before that the tripod was really just a burning object, he would not believe it now even if he was beaten to death.

At this moment, he remembered what his grandfather said.

"This is destiny."

He stood under the tripod and seemed to feel what Wen Ji had felt before.

The nine provinces and vast areas, mountains and rivers are at your feet.

The sun, moon and stars shine above our heads.

The heaven and earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars are all watching me.

"No, it's more than that."

In the underworld, there are also thousands of ghosts and gods staring at the person who dominates this tripod.

(End of this chapter)