After the cannon fodder father and daughter married into the family, the whole family regretted it

At daybreak, the sound of drums, "Boom! Boom! Boom!", came from afar, carrying a mysterious rhythm and melody.

Strong men wearing animal skin skirts and black and white masks led the way, holding torches in their hands, seeming to cut through the darkness.

Further back, there were four men in black robes with long sleeves, also wearing masks and with colorful feathers on their heads. They were carrying a sedan chair.

Standing on the sedan chair was a child of seven or eight years old. The child's face was painted with various colors. He looked solemn and said nothing.

"It's the divine servant and the divine child."

Someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Under Anmei's protection, Fang Nanzhi squeezed to the front and watched with great interest.

The god servants are people chosen locally to serve the mountain god. They usually burn incense, worship and clean the temple.

The prodigy boy is a mountain god boy who can speak on his behalf and give some instructions.

The selection of divine servants and child prodigies is done every four years. Local people believe that one term of service to the mountain god is sufficient. If they serve for too long, they may lose their spirituality and fail to serve the mountain god properly.

Behind the sedan chair were a dozen or so divine servants in black robes, all with their muscular upper bodies exposed, pulling a huge cart together.

The car body is eight meters wide and six meters long, painted white. In the middle of the car stands a three-meter-high statue with one leg, the heel facing forward, the toes behind the back, the body of a monkey, the buttocks are colorful, and the face of a human with a blue nose.

"Is this the mountain god?" Anmei couldn't help but exclaim.

It looks too... weird.

Fang Nanzhi had already recognized it. It was a mandrill, also called a ye bird in some places. It was first recorded in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas".

Some people think it is a ghost in the mountains that eats people, but others regard it as a mountain god.

Every place has its own customs, so it's hard for her to comment.

However, Fang Nanzhi found Puliu Town very interesting. There were also famous Taoist temples and Buddhist temples near her home, and people from all over the country also worshipped there, but never on such a large scale.

The imperial court also had regulations regarding the people's beliefs.

Apart from a few recognized Buddhist and Taoist temples, anyone who advocates or believes in other "unorthodox" and "evil" ways will be punished with confiscation of property at the very least and exile at the worst.

"Agu! Agu! Agu!"

A dozen or so gray-haired old men followed the statue, dancing to the beat of drums.

Their faces were full of worship and solemnity.

"Agu! Agu! Agu!" The people around became excited and shouted.

Fang Nanzhi didn't understand what was going on, so she pulled the person next to her and said, "Sister, what do you mean by shouting this?"

"Little girl, are you from out of town? This is to welcome the gods!"

After saying that, the woman continued to raise her hands and shout.

The mountain god paraded along the way, and Fang Nanzhi followed in the crowd. Sometimes the gods' servants would stop, and the child prodigy would hold a bowl of water in his hand, dip his chopsticks in the water, and sprinkle it around.

All the people who were around and who could get water shouted for joy.

They believe that this is a blessing from the mountain god, and those who are lucky enough to receive it will be the blessed people of this year.

A drop of water splashed on the back of Fang Nanzhi's hand. She smelled it and found it was just normal water with nothing added, so she ignored it.

The mountain god parade will circle the main road of the town and finally be taken to the mountain god temple outside the town.

That is the real place of worship.

Fang Nanzhi saw the boy prodigy holding up a stick of incense as tall as him, lighting it and inserting it.

After bowing three times sincerely, the boy prodigy took out a broken bowl with irregular jade pieces in it, which he would place on the altar for worship for a while.

The boy prodigy would temporarily leave at this time to bathe, burn incense, and change his clothes.

The wealthy families who came to Puliu Town to worship the mountain god finally had the opportunity to come forward and burn incense and pray one by one.

But time is limited, and when the prodigy comes back, this place will be cleared.

Those who are lucky enough to burn incense have happy expressions on their faces, thinking that by offering incense to the mountain god, they can have a peaceful and stable year.

The pilgrims who did not burn incense did not dare to express any dissatisfaction, but they felt regretful that they had arrived too late.

The boy prodigy changed into a black and white outfit.

His face was washed clean of dirt, looking white and tender, with a red dot on his forehead, and his eyes seemed to be able to see through everything.

No one dared to speak carelessly.

According to the local people, after the boy prodigy takes a bath, changes clothes and comes to worship, he will have the ability to act on behalf of the gods.

This means that the mountain god will possess you for a short period of time, and you must be respectful at this time.

After the boy prodigy offered incense again, he sat cross-legged on the ground.

He picked up the jade piece in one hand and held the broken bowl in the other.

He was muttering the sacrificial words.

"It's an auspicious day, may the mountain god have mercy on me!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The drumbeats became more intense, as if urging them on, or welcoming them.

The boy prodigy moved suddenly, throwing the jade piece high into the air. The broken bowl was placed sideways on the ground, spinning non-stop.

Finally, the jade piece fell down and the bowl stopped.

The boy prodigy finally opened his eyes, looked around, and said, "Nan!"

"Yes!"

The gods responded in unison.

The child prodigy was invited away just like that.

Fang Nanzhi scratched her head. She realized that this was probably a form of divination.

But she didn't understand the specific principle.

She wanted to ask the people who came to watch the fun, but they glared at her.

"That is God's will. Only a child prodigy can understand it. How can mortals like us comprehend it?"

Fang Nanzhi was speechless and could only leave temporarily.

She was already starving, so she and Anmei found a stall to eat.

Everyone around was talking about the mountain god, saying that it was the mountain god's will that the mountain opening should start from the south this year.

Tomorrow, the nobles and hunters in the town will go hunting together on Wushan Mountain in the south.

Anmei was afraid that the young lady would join in the fun. Not only were there wolves and poisonous snakes on the mountain, but there were also many people and eyes, which could easily lead to danger.

"Miss, why don't we continue our journey this afternoon?"

Fang Nanzhi shook his head: "I want to stay here for a few days."

An Meixin asked: "Miss, do you want to go hunting?"

Fang Nanzhi pouted: "No, I don't know how to shoot arrows, so it would be useless if I went."

When I went hunting with Shi Junyan, it was all thanks to the latter's control.

What's the point of watching others hunting?

Anmei breathed a sigh of relief.

After eating and drinking, Fang Nanzhi strolled to the pharmacy. There was only one pharmacy in Puliu Town, called Liangyaotang.

There was only one doctor in the clinic, his surname was Chen.

After reading the letter from the manager of Jishidiang, Doctor Chen became a little more enthusiastic towards Fang Nanzhi.

The shadow of a person, the name of a tree, as a colleague, of course he had heard of Jishidiang.

But I didn't expect that Jishidiang had a female doctor. Judging from the meaning of the letter, they wanted to let the young doctor hone his skills and become a traveling doctor.

Doctor Chen was quite surprised. Was this how a large pharmacy trained its apprentices? He was teaching his son and only took him with him to see patients, as he was worried about him going out alone.

Fang Nanzhi meant that she wanted to exchange medical skills with Dr. Chen.

Doctor Chen called his son Chen Dalang and asked the two to discuss the prescription at first. After a few rounds, his son could not keep up.

Doctor Chen came up alone, and the two began to talk about treating external injuries. The more they talked, the more frightened Doctor Chen became.

Since they met by chance, Dr. Chen would not tell anyone his family prescription. The two sides just mentioned it briefly, but it was enough to surprise Dr. Chen.