Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 33: Ancestral Worship and Prayers, Ancestors Deifying the People
Chen Jin suddenly awoke to find the east already white, and it was dawn.

Reflecting on last night's dream, I seemed lost in thought.

Since gaining enlightenment and opening up the world of the divine soul, my understanding and perception of dreams have entered another level.

The saying goes, "What you think about during the day, you dream about at night," but this doesn't really apply to him anymore.

Dreams are more often caused by external factors; in a sense, they are "uninvited."

There are good and bad ways to categorize "uninvited guests." Some are "visits," while others are malicious and are "intrusions."

The white-bearded old man from last night was clearly a "visiter." He seemed to have some reverence for Chen Jin, lingering on the side and bowing respectfully to him from a distance, as if to express his gratitude.

It was probably out of gratitude for Chen Jin's intervention in eliminating that mountain demon.

If this scoundrel is not eliminated, he will inevitably steal all the incense offerings from the temple in the long run.

In the ensuing scramble, the spiritual essence and divinity that the local earth god had painstakingly nurtured were all taken away by the other party.

When that time comes, they will revert to their original form, becoming clay or wooden sculptures, and then it will be a tragedy.

Such folk gods, though called "gods," have shallow roots and can't really do anything.

In other words, villagers would come to the gods to pray and make wishes on a daily basis; some wanted to get rich, others wanted children...

Ultimately, all we can say is "good luck to everyone."

Chen Jin didn't care about those things. He got up, washed up, and prepared to have breakfast.

Today is the 15th of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Festival.

In folk legends, the gates of the underworld are wide open during the Ghost Festival, and there are many taboos associated with it, such as avoiding going out at night, avoiding ponds and rivers, avoiding entering forests, and even avoiding looking in a mirror.

The gates of hell open, and ancestors return home, hence the need for ancestor worship.

As for the time for ancestor worship, it varies from family to family and is not uniform. Some families wait until just after midnight, then place iron buckets and earthenware pots at their doorsteps, burn paper money and ingots, and let the rising smoke guide the ancestors.

Elegant households would even have someone stand at the doorway, holding incense sticks and chanting, "O soul, come back!"
As a small, unassuming family, the Chen family did not follow those strict rules and rituals. They mainly prepared sacrificial offerings, paper money, incense, and candles, and went to the hall to worship and pray before the three ancestral tablets.

This year has been unlucky, so the offerings are much more abundant than in previous years.

Despite his injuries, Chen Yuan insisted on playing and performed a kneeling ceremony to pray for the blessings of his ancestors.

My first blessing is that Chen Jin will pass the imperial examination next spring and become a scholar.
The second blessing is for Chen Tan to serve in the army and return safely;

Finally, they pray for the safety and well-being of the household, free from disasters and calamities...

While kowtowing, Chen Jinlai observed the three ancestral tablets placed on the altar, but found no spiritual energy or divinity, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The family's financial foundation is really too weak.

As for the social status of the three generations of ancestors, the great-grandfather was a member of a collateral branch who had fallen on hard times, the grandfather failed to study, and the father finally passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, but unfortunately died young.

All these factors combined mean that none of the conditions for deification are met.

In fact, there is another way for our ancestors to be deified: the imperial court can posthumously confer titles upon them.

However, such posthumous honors require the descendants to achieve outstanding success and make significant contributions before the relevant procedures can be initiated.

Otherwise, there's no point in discussing it.

Chen Jin suddenly had a thought: if he achieved a certain level of cultivation and mastered the orthodox Taoist methods, he should also be able to be granted a divine position.

But this path is clearly more difficult than receiving a posthumous title from the imperial court.

After the sacrificial ceremony and lunch, he said he wanted to return to the city.

"So urgent?"

Chen Yuan frowned: "Young man, today is the Ghost Festival, it's not a good day to travel far." Chen Jin was preoccupied with another important matter that couldn't be delayed, so he said: "Uncle, I made an appointment with someone, I can't break my promise."

"You've arranged to practice martial arts?"

Chen Yuan seized the opportunity to ask the question that had been on his mind.

The day before yesterday, Chen Zhi bumped into Chen Jin at the Qingshan Martial Arts School, who was doing something undressed and looked haggard.

Although he recovered quickly after returning home and resting, he was able to regain his spirits.

However, Chen Yuan was quite worried, feeling that Chen Jin's behavior had become increasingly unpredictable and erratic lately.

Stay in a wild temple when you go up the mountain, stay in a martial arts school when you go into the city...

They act on a whim.

It's not fair to say he's unreliable; after all, Chen Jin has never made a mistake in his actions so far, and has instead demonstrated considerable responsibility.

However, as an elder, Chen Yuan felt it was his responsibility to ask questions in detail.

Chen Jin had already come up with an excuse: "It's not to practice martial arts, it's to read books. Wang Fu has a complete set of 'Annotations on the Four Classics,' which has thirty-eight volumes and is very detailed. I need to hurry into the city to start reading it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan immediately perked up and hurriedly asked, "Did Young Master Wang agree to lend it to you? Would he allow you to copy it by hand?"

During the Qianlong era, studying for the imperial examinations was no easy feat, primarily due to the rarity and preciousness of relevant books.

Many good books are monopolized and rarely seen on the market. Even those that do circulate are often incomplete and riddled with errors. Reading such books without proofreading and correction will lead to mistakes in exams, making it impossible to pass.
As for wealthy and scholarly families, they naturally had their own rules and regulations, and rarely lent out their books. It was difficult for them to even come in to read, let alone copy them by hand.

That's why Chen Yuan asked this question.

If Chen Jin could copy down the complete "Complete Collection of Annotations on the Four Classics" and bring it home, it would be like having a treasured book to guard the house and be passed down through generations, making it extremely valuable.

Chen Jin nodded and said, "It's okay to copy, that's why we have to hurry."

He was not lying; Wang Fu did indeed have this book in his study, which he had acquired at a high price.

Besides that one thing, Chen Jin also wanted to borrow this book to prepare for the provincial examination next spring.

"Okay, that's great."

Chen Yuan immediately stopped trying to dissuade him; this was a serious matter, a very important one.

As for the taboos of the Ghost Festival, they are just for show. What could possibly happen if you walk into the city on the main road in broad daylight?

He immediately said, "I'll have Ah Zhi rent a mule cart to take you there."

Chen Jin is perfectly acceptable.

Before long, the mule cart was ready, loaded with plenty of food and other necessities, all prepared for him by Chen Yangshi and Su Su after much effort.

The mule cart set off, exited the village, and turned onto the main road.

Chen Jin didn't stay in the back, but sat on the carriage shaft: "Zhi-ge'er, I think the family needs a carriage. With a carriage, it will be much more convenient whether it's for people to come and go or for transporting goods, so we don't have to keep renting carriages."

Chen Zhi's eyes lit up at first, but quickly dimmed again: "Buying a car isn't cheap, and raising livestock is even more expensive. Given the current situation at home, let's wait and see."

Which man doesn't love cars?
In the countryside, owning a vehicle was a symbol of status. Among them, oxcarts were considered entry-level, mule carts were even better, and as for horse-drawn carriages... well, that's a different story; even the Zhou family couldn't bear to use one.

The two chatted idly all the way into the city and were escorted directly to the gate of the Qingshan Martial Arts School.

Chen Zhi already knew that Chen Jin was able to live here without paying rent through Wang Fu's introduction, which he felt was quite good.

If they continued to live in the Wang family's house, they would feel like they were living under someone else's roof, which wouldn't be pleasant.

The two parted ways; one went to a martial arts school, and the other returned to his hometown.

(End of this chapter)