Chapter 31: The Anger of Mountain God (1/2)
Translator: Flying Lines
Edited by Lord Immortal
The heavy rain was creepy, and the villagers had been brooding over it for days. Plus, the mudslides had cut off their only path to outside, so they were even more panicked.
Someone said that the mountain temple had also collapsed. Early in the morning, a youngster climbed the mountain to check on things.
And what he said was that the temple crumbled. After a careful examination, it was discovered to be hit by thunder, beyond their expectations.
When Aunt Cui heard of it, she suggested, “Why don’t you ask the sorceress to come and investigate? She doesn’t go out these days.”
The sorceress she talked about was an old woman in the village, who seemed to be able to talk to ghosts and gods. If someone had some happy events or funeral arrangements, he would ask her for help to choose an appropriate day.
If someone missed his relative who had died and wanted to say something to him or her, he would also ask the sorceress for help.
However, no one knew what her name was, so they just called her sorceress.
It was natural that they were frightened by the collapse of the temple because they all had local superstitions. When Aunt Cui mentioned the sorceress, they went to invite her as soon as possible.
The sorceress trudged over with the help of some people. She was dressed exaggeratedly, with crutches in her hand. She paced calmly even though she stepped into the water on the way, causing a splash.
The sorceress was old, with her eyelids drooping. She looked around with half-opened eyes and said, “The Mountain God is angry.”
Suddenly, she outstretched her hands, threw her umbrella, and prayed loudly, “Don’t cry, God, for we are all your subjects. We worship you devoutly, and we shall sacrifice to the mountain to pray for a sunny day. We shall also reshape the golden body of the Mountain God and rebuild the holy temple”.
She appeared so reverent that a person eventually believed it. Though he naturally had some doubts, so he murmured, “What? Is there really a God?” Though his voice was low, the sorceress pointed him out accurately and rebuked, “Don’t spout nonsense! The Mountain God has been protecting us for a long time. How can you doubt His existence!?”
Aunt Cui immediately stepped forward to rectify the situation, “Never mind him. The child spoke thoughtlessly. Nonetheless, can you please ask the Mountain God why is he shedding his tears?”
“Well, wait a minute. Only appropriate magic arts should be used to talk to God,” the sorceress said as she slowly put her palms together, drooping her eyelids.
She just stood and chanted some words at the beginning, but soon, she began to wander around while dancing and talking about things no one could fathom.
A moment later, the sorceress stopped with a gloomy face, shook her head, and sighed. Then she looked up in a direction and bowed her head.
Seeing her actions, Aunt Cui became anxious. She carefully turned her head to Zhao Long, who was standing not far away from her. He winked and gently nodded
Aunt Cui turned relaxed at his acknowledgment. Though her house was burnt, she still had her authority. Feeling perturbed while standing in front of the sorceress, she wondered how to open her mouth.
For a while, others also looked at the sorceress agitatedly. Aunt Cui said, “If you have something to say, then give utterance to your thoughts. Otherwise, we’ll all feel uncomfortable.”
The sorceress sighed and said, “I’ll just come to the point then; I know the reason why the Mountain God is sad, but Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, so there was an opportunity given to us.”
Aunt Cui asked again, “What’s going on?”
She raised her hand and looked serious, “Don’t ask me. For now, please go to my house and pick up the cages first. Then from the hut next to it, bring the objects here. Each of you takes one of them and then place them in the cages. Finally, walk to the big pagoda tree and pray together. Maybe, things will become better.”