Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 6 Damaging the Golden Body
Li Wushou sniffed.
The air was filled with the strong scent of incense, and there wasn't a strange smell at all, so where did the foul odor come from?
But Chen Gou'er's nose was always very sensitive, so Li Wushou could only confirm it in a low voice.

"You're not mistaken? What kind of stench is that?"

Chen Gou'er, inside the belly, pinched his nose, looking utterly disgusted.

"When has Dog Master ever smelled the wrong thing? Just like Zhang the Butcher's wife, she smelled the same when she was pulled out of the well."

Li Wushou's expression hardened. Zhang the butcher's wife had accidentally fallen into a dry well and died. Several days had passed before she was discovered.

The corpse was uncovered, and the soul had nowhere to go; not only was the corpse rotten, but the soul had also decayed.

Li Wushou was the one who moved the body; the smell was incredibly strong in the middle of summer!
When I got home, the smell of rotting flesh and blood hadn't dissipated, and Chen Gou'er complained about it for days.

But why does this City God Temple smell of rotting flesh and blood?
Moreover, I can't smell what kind of rotting flesh and blood, but Chen Gou'er can.

Upon realizing this, Li Wushou and Chen Gou'er were both startled, and then shouted in unison.

"The golden statue of the City God!"

Li Wushou was lost in thought when he suddenly shouted, startling the others who were queuing to enter the hall.

An old man patted Li Wushou on the shoulder and said with a hint of smugness:

"Young man, you don't live in the main city, do you? Is this your first time seeing the City God's golden statue? Isn't it dazzling?"

Li Wushou nodded, his face solemn.
The old man patted Li Wushou on the shoulder again and praised him:

"Yes, yes, yes! That's how you should show respect to the City God. Young man, where do you live? You have a bright future ahead of you!"

"South City!"

"Hi~!"

The old man reacted as if he had struck a steel needle, leaping away like a monkey and disappearing from Li Wushou's side.

Li Wushou was stunned. This old man actually knew martial arts?

Then the surrounding lines emptied out a bit, and the people from the other four cities of Wufang City now feared the people of the South City like the plague.

I'm always afraid that while I'm talking to someone in the south, they'll suddenly bite me in the face.

Li Wushou, unfazed, led Chen Gou'er into the main hall.

The main hall is extremely spacious, with a golden statue of the City God, several meters tall and covered in gold paint, located in the center of the hall.

Two small, half-sized golden statues stand on the left and right sides respectively.

The one on the right is the God of War, his golden body standing on various horrifying and malevolent limbs sculpted from mud.

The one on the left is the civil official, with his brows and eyes opening and closing, his face solemn, holding a long sword, surveying all directions.

Li Wushou focused intently, gazing at the City God, who was clad in a green robe and wearing a pair of upward-pointing wings, with the entire hall spread out before him.

The grand hall before them rippled with countless wrinkles, and the once bright and dazzling hall instantly became eerie and sinister.

The war priest had a blue face and fangs. The evil limbs at his feet struggled incessantly, and countless tentacles grew from his back, reaching into the void. One dead soul after another was brought here from time to time!
They stuffed it into their mouths and chewed it with a crunching sound.

"Ah sneeze~"

Hearing a heavy snort, Li Wushou felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly relaxed, lowered his head, and joined the line of people kneeling in worship.

The main hall returned to normal, but the feeling of a gentle breeze brushing against the membrane followed immediately.

Li Wushou remained calm and composed, showing no emotion whatsoever.

It took a long time for that feeling of being scanned to slowly dissipate, and then it was finally Li Wushou's turn.

Li Wushou imitated the actions of the people in front of him, kneeling on the prayer mat with a devout expression as he gazed at the golden statue of the City God.

"Click~"

Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out in the spacious hall, like the sound of bamboo and wood collapsing.

The worshippers looked around in astonishment, while the junior priests in yellow robes serving the city god on either side also became somewhat suspicious and joined the crowd in looking around.

Li Wushou was still in shock from almost being discovered, and adhering to the principle of making the performance complete.

His expression was unusually devout, and he seemed oblivious to his surroundings.

He bowed deeply to the City God!
"Crack!" Another crisp sound came from the main hall. This time, even Li Wushou came back to his senses and looked around.

"quiet!"

The junior priest had a solemn expression and seemed somewhat displeased with the boisterous worshippers.

The low-frequency chatter finally stopped, and the junior priest was about to give a speech when the worshippers, who had just quieted down, started making noise again, even louder than before.

“Wow!”

Just as the junior priest was about to reprimand them, he saw the worshippers in front of him looking in terror toward the center of the main hall.

A bad feeling suddenly arose, and the little priest turned around to look, then was filled with fear!

The Golden Statue of the City God

Li Wushou was also somewhat dumbfounded. He quickly stood up from the prayer mat and retreated into the crowd.

"The City God's golden statue has actually been opened up with a huge gash!"

Li Wushou dared not concentrate on watching, yet he felt a sense of absurdity.

Is the City God trying to scam me?

It must have been broken from the start, otherwise it wouldn't have attracted people to create a golden statue of it!

Don't blame me.

Chen Gou'er, pinching his nose, had just sensed Li Wushou's nervousness and dared not speak.

At this moment, the boy could no longer hold back and began to chuckle softly.

"Haha, Li Wushou, you're finished! You've damaged the City God's statue!"

Li Wushou gave his stomach a friendly thump twice.

The junior priest in the main hall was instantly flustered and hurriedly ran towards the inner hall, eager to report the matter.

However, before he could rush into the inner hall, an old man in a green robe with a heavy aura of yin walked out.

The moment they stepped out, the hall fell silent, and the panicked crowd involuntarily shivered.

"High Priest, something terrible has happened, City God!"

"Why are you panicking?"

The old man in the green robe glared at the junior priest, then stood beneath the golden statue of the City God in the center of the main hall.

He spoke slowly to the crowd, offering words of comfort.

"Don't panic. A few days ago, the City God sent a civil official to exorcise evil spirits. Now that the evil spirits have been eliminated, the weeds outside the city are grateful for the City God's kindness and offer sacrifices to him every day. Now that the City God's power has increased, this golden statue needs to be rebuilt."

Although the voice was soft, it easily suppressed the uproar among the crowd.

"So there's no need to panic. The City God Temple has been recruiting craftsmen to sculpt the golden statue for the past few days, but they haven't found enough people yet, which has delayed the project. Now that the City God can't wait any longer, I've decided to add 10 taels of silver, increasing the amount from the original 20 taels to 30 taels."

The pilgrims finally understood what the high priest meant.

I have indeed heard these past few days that the City God Temple is recruiting craftsmen to sculpt golden statues, but it seems that quite a few people have already died.

The crowd dared not speak out, intimidated by the High Priest's imposing presence.

However, no one responded to the High Priest's offer of higher pay to recruit more staff.

The high priest was somewhat helpless at this sight, as the people of the four cities had probably already heard the news.

With the old sparrow in the city stirring things up, it will probably be even harder to recruit workers after today!

"This is outrageous! How dare you do this!"

The high priest was furious, and his face turned ashen!

Just as they were about to disperse the worshippers, they suddenly heard a young man's voice from inside the main hall.

"High Priest, I want to register!"

(End of this chapter)