I am a fairy

Chapter 161 Wushan Goddess
Looking at the towering urn-shaped warehouse city at the riverside port.

Further away, there is a castle built like a fortress.

The immortal with the appearance of a god immediately saw a huge flag emerging in the city.

The illusory banners fluttered in the wind, and there was a simulated rustling sound.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

There were two big words written on the flag, hanging in the sky.

"Fuxian."

Jiang Chao: "You put special effects everywhere. With the mask on, sometimes I really can't tell whether I'm in reality or in the virtual world."

Wangshu: "What's the difference? For you, this is reality, and the world I live in is virtual because you live here."

"For me, the virtual world is reality, and you here are illusions to me."

“The so-called virtual and reality are nothing more than choosing different places to live and exist.”

Jiang Chao: "Is it the philosopher Wangshu who logged into his account today?"

Wangshu: “I have always been well versed in philosophy.”

Although the community temple and the enshrinement of the local god have been established here for some time, at the same time as in Yangcheng, Jiang Chao has been to Yangcheng, but this is his first time here.

Fu County in Yunyang County of Jinzhou is an important place connecting Bashu and is also the western gateway to Chu.

However, the land of Bashu had already been occupied by the King of Ba, who had ruled it for nearly a hundred years, and had frequent wars with the Southern Dynasty in recent years.

Either the Southern Dynasty attacked or Bashu fought back. During this period, the Southern Dynasty had several changes of rulers.

Moreover, there are many tribes in the mountains of this place, accounting for eight or nine tenths of the local population. Witchcraft is prevalent among them, and the people are tough and fearless of death in battle, which is completely different from the customs in other places.

Jiang Chao: "Are there mountain people here too?"

Wangshu: "Mountain people refer to the natives who live in the mountains. It's a term used by the Han people. The mountain people here are not from the same tribe as the mountain people in Yunbi Mountain. And even among the mountain people in Yunbi Mountain, there are big differences among the same tribes."

"Some believe in Yunzhongjun, and some believe in Donghuang Taiyi."

Jiang Chao: "I know what gods the mountain people here believe in."

Wangshu: "Most of the mountain folks near Yunyang County believe in the Goddess of Wushan."

The red dragon passed through Fu County without stopping and continued upstream.

When crossing the river, one could see trackers on the distant shore, staring in amazement at the dragon shining red in the sun, and making a lot of noise.

Yun Zhongjun rode on his dragon and headed towards Wushan.

The river is normal.

But beneath the surface of the river, there are some things that ordinary people cannot see.

Some strange "big fish" travel underwater, flexibly drilling into every corner, exploring unknown areas that humans cannot dive into.

Jiang Chao parked the Danlong in a natural harbor surrounded by mountains and sent out the Huangquan Boat to survey the hydrological conditions underwater.

In addition, drones were sent out to patrol the surrounding areas.

If the Danlong is the army and the main general going out to war.

Then this Yellow Springs Boat and the drone are like sentinels.

It can be seen that the hydrological data of the water veins are continuously transmitted back and converge into Wangshu's three-layer map of heaven, human world and underworld, filling the blank areas in the human world.

However, when these Yellow Springs boats return, they sometimes bring back some things from the bottom of the water.

In the cabin hall of the Danlong.

Ghost No. 1 and Ghost No. 2 stood in front of the gate, like two door gods.

Jiang Chao looked at the things placed on the red cloth on the ground, bent down and looked closely. Among them he could see a bird-shaped wine jar, a rusty copper seal, a blackened silver pot and other things.

There are a wide variety of jade artifacts, including jade jue, jade huang, jade bi, jade cong, jade yue, and jade figures, as well as some large and small porcelains, weapons, pottery, stone tools, etc.

Looking around, they are densely packed together.

Jiang Chao: "What is this?"

Wangshu: "Some things found under the Yangtze River!"

Jiang Chao: "How come you suddenly picked up so many things?"

Wangshu: "Didn't you say there were no decorations in the cabin? It would be nice if we could decorate it with something. There are antiques everywhere under the water. I just picked up some for you."

The Danlong had just been launched not long ago, and the furnishings inside were hastily decorated. Then after Jiang Chao entered, he moved some things in and made some additions.

Normally, it looks empty.

However, Jiang Chao just said this casually, but he didn't expect Wangshu to write it down so seriously and fulfill it for him immediately.

The Hard-mouthed Immortal was happy in his heart, but he said so.

"Hearing you put it that way, antiques are just like junk."

"Besides, this isn't a cruise ship. If you put some fragile things here, they might get damaged accidentally."

“It’s better to put it somewhere else.”

Although he said that, Jiang Chao looked at those old things, touched them left and right, and still liked them very much.

Although we don’t know where these things came from, we can imagine that there must be a story behind each one.

Jiang Chao: "It wasn't dug out from a tomb, was it?"

Wangshu: "A great god like Yunzhongjun, are you afraid of ghosts?"

Jiang Chao: "Because of you, I don't even recognize the word ghost anymore."

Wangshu: "Don't worry, they were all picked up from some underwater ruins, some were found in shipwrecks, and some were washed down from upstream. I don't know where they came from."

"But not from the grave."

"But I don't know whether anyone dug them out of the tomb and threw them into the Yangtze River before."

After saying that, Wangshu also played some underwater footage for Jiang Chao.

Jiang Chao took a look and found that the world in the water was indeed very strange, giving him an indescribable feeling.

When he looked at the scene, it was as if he had turned into an underwater creature, looking at it from the perspective of a fish.

This place seems like another world, as if there is an unknown middle ground between the real world and the virtual world.

Visible but intangible, between illusion and reality.

He also saw some city ruins submerged in water and some underwater villages, which were quietly forgotten and disappeared under the water, with only fish in the rivers swimming between them.

Suddenly, a boat from the underworld seemed to have discovered something again.

"Drip drip."

"Large underwater relic discovered."

Wangshu adjusted the picture and Jiang Chao looked over immediately.

Under the water, the Yellow Springs Boat turned on its lights, illuminating an object standing on the sand in the water.

The thing was in human form, not small in size, and had the outline of a stone statue as tall as a person.

Jiang Chao: "Hey, what is this?"

Wangshu: "It seems to be a big one."

Jiang Chao: "Portrait?"

Wangshu: "It looks quite old."

Jiang Chao: "I don't know whose image it is, maybe there is a story behind it."

As the Yellow Springs Boat came closer, the outline of the figure became more distinct.

This is a jade statue, which should be a sculpture of a woman. Even if it is a stone sculpture, one can tell from the intricate patterns that she is dressed in gorgeous clothes and her identity must be extraordinary.

As he looked at it, Jiang Chao suddenly thought of what Wangshu had told him not long ago, that most people here believed in the Goddess of Wushan.

Jiang Chao: "Could this be the Goddess of Wushan?"

Wangshu: "It seems to be somewhat similar to the image of the Wushan Goddess I collected."

Jiang Chao: "Why is the statue in the river?"

Wangshu: "Once we fish it out, it will be ours. We will put it in the hall as a decoration."

Jiang Chao: "Using the Wushan Goddess as a decoration?"

Wangshu: "Isn't the Moon God Wangshu's real body working for you?"

Jiang Chao: "Let's pull it back first. We're not sure it's the Wushan Goddess statue. It might be some other ancient figure. But it should be an antique."

Several Yellow Springs boats gathered together, tied ropes to the jade statue from under the water, and easily lifted it out of the sand with the help of the water's buoyancy.

Then it dragged along the bottom of the water towards the direction of the Danlong.

This place is not far from Fu County. There is a port nearby and many boatmen live along the coast.

At this moment.

On the shore, two people wearing black Taoist robes walked over from the village of Xianhu. Although they were Taoist robes, the patterns on them carried some eerie and ghostly aura.

The two stood on the shore and looked down into the water.

But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't see clearly what was happening underwater, and one of them couldn't help but ask.

"Is this the place?"

"Yes, that's it. I arranged it myself. There is absolutely no mistake."

"Don't make a mistake. Have you delayed something important?" "Nothing will be delayed. I will do the job. Don't worry."

"It was you who messed up in Yinzhou last time, causing the two of us to take on this tough job again. If we can't do it well this time, we might even lose our lives."

"Hey, why do you make it sound like I messed up all by myself? Don't you have a part to play as well?"

The two stopped arguing and continued looking under the water.

"Look, there seems to be something moving under the water."

"Really, what is that?"

“It should be fish, right?”

"What a big fish."

“It’s no surprise that there are some big fish in the Yangtze River.”

"The water should recede in a few days."

"It's time for us to get moving."
-
In Jiang Chao, the hydrological conditions of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Wujiang River and its various tributaries are described.

They were preparing to send out a large number of dragons and drones to search for the hiding places of the various tribes of mandrills, in preparation for their subsequent advance into Bashu and Wushan, where they would use electric batons and ghosts to capture the black-haired mandrills.

not far away.

In Fu County, Yunyang Commandery, a group of people from Bashu were also gathering, preparing to launch a conspiracy against Chu.

Or rather, this is not the first time.

In a temple.

There is a statue of a goddess enshrined on the altar. From a distance, it looks somewhat similar to the one that was just fished out of the water, except that one is made of clay and the other is carved from jade.

Apart from that, the details are quite different. One can tell at a glance that they were made by a master, but the clay sculpture on the stage looks a bit sloppy.

And outside the temple.

Several witches and shamans, dressed in animal skins and wearing bronze masks, were waving all kinds of magical instruments, and were shaking so hard that it looked like they were about to have a concussion.

While shaking, he was still reciting the sacrificial words.

"Sacrifice to heaven for purity, and sacrifice to earth for peace."

"We are offering sacrifices now, may the goddess of Wushan listen."

"..."

The sound shook along with the body, and it not only sounded vague, but also had a tremolo effect.

In the outer layer, there are densely packed men with naked upper bodies or wearing sleeveless linen clothes with their heads wrapped. They all have dark skin, calluses on their shoulders and backs, and they kneel on the ground barefoot.

These are the boatmen pulling the boats on both sides of the river. Every day they drag the boats through dangerous rapids and walk on the cliffs of the river gorge with blood and sweat.

Naturally, people have great faith in this goddess who controls this section of the river and the dangerous mountains and ridges on both sides of the river.

However, into this solemn scene, two Taoist priests in black robes came to watch the fun.

The two men, one with a copper bell hanging around his waist and the other with a ghost whistle around his neck, stood behind and commented on the scene and whispered to each other.

It was clearly the copper bell ghost and the whistle ghost that appeared in Jingu County in the past.

"What is this dance?"

"As for witches, they are all like this."

"It would be better to find some dancers from the brothel. Who would watch these old ladies?"

"Just, boring."

"Where did this Wushan Goddess pick up these old things? Don't you think they are ugly?"

"If the Goddess of Wushan could choose, would she choose them?"

After the two of them finished talking, the "old guys" turned around.

The two men immediately stopped their vicious words and looked at the statue of the Wushan Goddess in the temple with admiration.

At the end of the sacrifice, several elderly witches stopped.

With a wave of his hand, he saw several strong men being tied up and carried up, and then in front of the temple, a bone knife was stabbed into the neck one by one.

Blood gushed out and was poured into a clay jar.

The sacrifice was catching blood and gasping for air. The scene was bloody and horrifying.

After the sacrifice, several old witches entered the temple and let the second Taoist priest in.

As soon as I entered, I heard several old witches talking.

"The witches of Yunbi Mountain in Yinzhou came with great force. The witches, heavenly craftsmen and temple priests under their command first forced the witch of the Yangtze River God to death, demolished the temple of the Yangtze River God, and even chopped off the heads of the witches of the Yangtze River God, and then banished their souls to the hell below the Nine Netherworlds."

"This sorcerer has great powers. I looked at the dragons alone and there must be dozens of them. It's really scary."

"What's the point of being afraid? The temple priest of that local shrine is almost bullying us and even forbids us to offer sacrifices. We have been offering sacrifices like this for hundreds and thousands of years. Can he just stop us with one word?"

"I heard that the temple keeper and his men are now instigating the county magistrate and the sheriff to capture us and send us to their underworld!"

Thinking of this scene, several old witches and shamans couldn't help but shudder again, but the more they shuddered, the more they hated and loathed the new temple keeper.

"If we don't find a solution, the Yangtze River God will teach us a lesson. We can't just sit there and wait for death."

"That's right, it's time to let them know who is in charge of this place. It's not up to them to decide."

"Kick them out."

"We have always had the final say here. When is it time for outsiders to make irresponsible remarks?"

After the old witch finished speaking, two Taoists also walked in and immediately spoke.

"That's right. This mountain has been the mountain of the Wushan Goddess since ancient times. The Wushan Goddess is also worshipped on both sides of the river."

"Even if Yun Zhongjun is a god, he can't be so overbearing. It's not their turn to intervene in our affairs."

"As long as a few of you give the order, thousands of boatmen and tens of thousands of mountain people on both sides of the river will immediately obey your orders, which is enough to accomplish great things."

"If you can change the world, not only here, but also the entire Yunyang County will have the final say in the future."

The witches and shamans of the Wushan Goddess looked at the two Taoists and immediately asked bluntly.

"Don't brag. We are not so easy to deceive. Where is the Jade Girl Statue that you promised us? Why haven't you seen it yet?"

The so-called Jade Maiden Statue is actually a Jade Maiden statue of the Goddess of Wushan. It is said that the King of Chu once visited Wushan and worshipped the goddess, so he chiseled jade from the East Mountain and summoned skilled craftsmen to carve it.

When the statue was completed, it immediately turned into a living person, and the goddess came to the world to meet the king.

The tribes and mountain people here firmly believe in this legend.

It can be said that this jade girl statue can be called a divine object in the local area.

However, it was lost hundreds of years ago and has never been found since then. However, this has made the legend even more popular.

The whistle ghost: "If I say the Jade Girl Statue will be born, then it will definitely be born. How could I lie to you?"

The Bronze Bell Ghost Messenger said: "But these divine objects are not like ordinary objects. They need the right time, right place and right people to appear in the world."

The whistle ghost: "That's right, how could such a divine object be so easily revealed to the world? This is the result of my Five Ghosts' divination, which allowed me to find the whereabouts of the Jade Lady Statue. If it weren't for us, you would have to wait for hundreds of years to find the Jade Lady Statue in vain."

The witches and shamans looked at each other, and then stared at the two Taoists who were talking and singing here.

"When is the so-called heavenly time?"

The Tongling Ghost Messenger pretended to be mysterious and said, "I observed the sky last night and estimated that it should be these few days."

"You all should be prepared. When the time comes, gather everyone together to pay homage to the goddess who has descended to the world."

"When the time comes, I will use the mighty spirit of the Wushan Goddess to show myself, seize the opportunity to start an uprising, and raise my arms to call for action."

"Of course, everyone will follow suit, and we will seize Yunyang County, and even the entire Jinzhou."

"And drive out the witch from Yunbi Mountain, the temple priest, and the monk who came to our place to chant sutras."

"Without them, the Cloud Divine Wizard won't be able to do anything to us."

Then, we can continue to play music and dance.

The human sacrifices continued as usual, as did the life and death of the boatmen and miners. Everything remained the same.

Several witches and shamans nodded. It seemed that this matter had been discussed long ago.

Considering the extent to which the mountain tribes on both sides of the strait, as well as the boatmen, miners and many Han people, believe in the Wushan Goddess, if the Jade Girl Statue were to be unveiled it would certainly cause a huge sensation.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to launch a rebellion at that time would certainly be twice as effective with half the effort, and it would not be difficult to easily capture several nearby counties or even the entire Yunyang County.

Of course, this is not enough.

This kind of rebellion, no matter how big a commotion it may cause for a while, is after all just a group of rabble who are fighting against the whole world with a small corner of their territory.

When the Prince of Lucheng County reacted, he immediately suppressed the rebellion and no major chaos occurred.

Therefore, external forces must also cooperate.

The witches whispered for a while, and then asked the two ghost messengers from the Five Ghosts.

"Those in the west and the north, please respond."

The ghost was calm and composed, as if he had made arrangements in advance.

"Don't worry, as soon as you make a move, there will be a response."

Several shamans of the Wushan Goddess nodded and said affirmatively.

"Then I'll wait for a few people and wait for the right time."

(End of this chapter)