They're not stupid…
Now that the demon corpse has been subdued in this town, and so many commoners have arrived, the Yiqian Church is willing to bring out its reserves to make this lantern festival lively and beautiful.
This has filled the ordinary church members and the commoners who came to the festival with confidence, and they no longer take the officials outside seriously.
But those who have entered the sect and gained abilities are not so easily fooled.
However, these capable people also have many thoughts in their hearts. Because they considered this and that, they were not in a hurry to say or do anything, which made the surface look peaceful.
Hu Ma took a low breath, looked at Old Master Sun's anxious face, and knew that he had a desperate idea at this moment. He didn't know how to comfort him for a while, so he just said, "Don't rush to say these things, let's take another look, maybe there will be a turning point."
"Wasn't that demon corpse so powerful before? Hasn't it been taken down now?"
"…"
"What are you waiting for?"
Old Master Sun glanced outside. Behind the window paper, there were heads illuminated by the fire, but he didn't feel lively, just disturbed and confused, and the worry on his face became heavier.
He sighed softly and said, "I know about the demon corpse, many people say that there is a hidden master in this Shima Town. The Immortal Maiden hasn't been honest with us these past few days, she just keeps telling us to rest assured, but who can really rest assured?"
"The more lively this festival is, the more uneasy I feel!"
"I don't know what the Immortal Maiden is thinking, she doesn't mention the outside affairs at all, she just wants to hold this festival, but she doesn't think about it. Your guardian deities on the altar are already dead, what are you going to use to bless the people later?"
"People, it's better to be low-key. Think about your Red Lantern Mother Society. The Red Lantern Mother has such high mana, and she honestly stays in Mingzhou to collect blood food…"
"…"
After saying a lot, he seemed to feel that he shouldn't say that about the Yiqian Church, so he shook his head and just said, "...Alas, it's better to let Lao Qi join the Red Lantern Mother Society."
As he was talking, he suddenly heard a burst of gongs and drums outside the street, and the crowd on the street shouted and became extremely excited.
Even Sun Laoqi, who was guarding the door outside, hurriedly knocked on the door and said, "Dad, Uncle Hu, come and see, the altar is here…"
"There's nothing on the altar, and you still want to set up an altar?"
Old Master Sun was also stunned for a moment, got up and opened the window, and looked outside. He saw that the crowd had separated to both sides from afar, and countless commoners were shouting loudly and kneeling on the side of the road.
At the other end of the street in Shima Town, there was a huge object slowly approaching. From afar, it could be seen that it was a huge wooden sedan chair decorated with red flowers, surrounded by countless believers. In front of it were the Dharma King's disciples and grandchildren, dressed as little ghosts leading the way, jumping and skipping.
On both sides were musicians wearing paper clothes, holding suonas and敲着铜锣, starting the ceremonial guard.
On the altar, the four Dharma Kings of the Yiqian Church stood on each corner, all naked from the waist up, smeared their faces, and held a bowl of clear water in their hands, constantly dipping the water and sprinkling it on the church members on both sides of the road, as well as the commoners kneeling on both sides, seeking blessings.
The huge altar was carried on the shoulders of strong Yiqian Church warriors. Every three steps, they would stop and the four Dharma Kings would sprinkle nectar to give blessings.
This street, which ran through the entire Shima Town, was only three or four li long, but now it was full of commoners, with expectant faces, waiting for the blessings from the gods on the altar.
This momentum was even more majestic and grand than when the Yiqian Church set up an altar before and invited the four guardian deities. Most importantly, the existence enshrined in the middle of the altar made Old Master Sun's eyes straight…
…Red Lantern!
There was no Nine Heavens Lotus Holy Mother, nor Great Virtue Fortune Protector God, or any other fancy honorable names and statues, only a bewitching red lantern.
Faintly swaying, it was supported in the middle by the four Dharma Kings and countless believers, emitting a mysterious and strange red light, slowly drifting from the other side of the street.
It attracted the attention of countless commoners in this town, and also led countless people to kowtow to it.
This was also the difference between the Yiqian Church and other gangs. The Red Lantern Mother Society worshiped the Red Lantern Mother, and the Qingyi Gang worshiped the Qingyi Evil Ghost, but the Yiqian Church worshiped whatever was enshrined on the altar in the church.
The believers didn't even know who they were worshiping.
Of course, for Old Master Sun, this was completely different. When he saw the red lantern, he was stunned.
He looked at the red lantern high above the altar, gently swaying in the night breeze. He thought he was mistaken and rubbed his eyes hard before turning his head and staring blankly at Hu Ma, saying, "Hu… Brother Hu, your Red Lantern Mother…"
'The Yiqian Church has no guardian deities, so they had to borrow our Red Lantern Mother for a while…'
Hu Ma didn't intend to discuss this issue with others, but it happened to come up, and he was a little embarrassed, and said, "No, this has nothing to do with our Red Lantern Mother…"
"There are many people in the know who use red lanterns as magic tools and substitutes. The one enshrined by the Yiqian Church may just be a coincidence?"
"…"
"…"
Old Master Sun didn't know whether to believe it or not. Anyway, this matter had nothing to do with him. If Brother Erguotou wanted to find someone, he wouldn't be able to find him…
…Besides, what could he do if he found him?
He was a loyal Red Lantern Mother Society little manager, but the Yiqian Church felt that he was pleasing to the eye and wanted to invite him to be the head of the family. Could he betray the Red Lantern Society for the sake of the Yiqian Church?
That didn't make sense.
Therefore, wasn't it a great achievement for him to fight the world for the Red Lantern Mother and collect more incense?
Leaving aside the thoughts in his heart for the time being, Hu Ma also stared intently as the altar came over. He was also very interested in this lantern festival. He saw the altar coming from the other end of the town, moving very slowly, as if to allow all the commoners to receive the nectar blessings.
The so-called nectar was naturally the clear water in the hands of the four Dharma Kings standing on the four corners of the altar. Every three steps the altar stopped, they would constantly dip the clear water and sprinkle it in all directions. This was the so-called blessing.
But the most important thing was that the commoners around him were drenched on the head by this "nectar", and they were all instantly refreshed, as if they felt the arrival of something. The expressions on their faces became more and more devout and excited.
"Is this thing good fortune?"
Hu Ma had already learned about the details of the Yiqian Church. In addition, he had cultivated a Dharma body, and his divine soul was sensitive, and his eyesight was greatly improved. He keenly noticed this key point.
Some were real, some were fake.
What Hu Ma could see now was that the so-called good fortune was actually nourishing the divine soul. Every drop that fell stirred the souls of the commoners.
The souls were closely related to life and foundation. Even if they were only stained with a trace of mana and slightly nourished, it would make people feel refreshed and naturally produce a different feeling from usual.
But on a deeper level, some kind of essence of the Yiqian Church was blessing the commoners. These commoners had low destinies and thin blessings. By receiving the blessing of the Yiqian Church, they could obtain good fortune and live better lives in the future.
It was just that the Yiqian Church was just a makeshift team, so how could it have such great ability to bless the commoners?
His mind flashed through the ten large vats.
They were called Town Evil Vats, but they could suppress evil because there was good fortune in the vats.
However, destiny, good fortune, and luck are all virtual numbers. It sounds ethereal and difficult for ordinary people to understand. Studying them in detail can be harmful.
Ordinary people know these names, but cannot specifically understand or clarify what these words specifically represent and point to.
Only when they reach a certain height can they perceive their existence. Hu Ma now, in fact, has also benefited from the Yiqian Church, and has slightly glimpsed these things, which can be regarded as gaining knowledge.
What is good fortune?
The ten large vats actually contained corpses. According to the records, they were raised with Tai Sui flesh and blood, bones, some demons who had attained Taoism, and some corpses that died under specific conditions and were rotten but not decayed, forming a strange existence called "Fortunate Corpse" (Fushi).
In terms of it, this was an extremely evil thing like the Yin General.
But it seems that in folk legends, there are indeed many sayings about accumulating good fortune for oneself by raising this kind of evil thing.
In the ten large vats of the Yiqian Church, I don't know how much family wealth and prayers the believers have invested, and it has already accumulated a thick good fortune. This is also the reason why the Yiqian Church can still hold a lantern festival even after the guardian deities of the altar are dead.
To put it bluntly, those guardian deities were actually people who were registered in the Yiqian Church and worked for them, while the ten large vats were the foundation that the Yiqian Church had accumulated over the years.
……
……
"Hoo, a makeshift team is doing big things…"
Hu Ma understood all this and couldn't help but take a light breath: "The Yiqian Church leader is muddle-headed, and the helpers around him are not considered masters, but the most fundamental means of the church were guided by a master, using the most evil means to do the most serious things."
"They use years of accumulation to create the foundation for holding this lantern festival, and then use the mouths of the commoners to promote the reputation of the Yiqian Church and earn more incense."
"More incense means the will of the people, and it is luck…"
"…"
Obviously, Hu Ma was not the only one who thought of this. After seeing the altar appear, Old Master Sun had already narrowed his eyes and sighed heavily. Someone had already brought his rune armor and weapons over.
And at the banquet behind him, the old master of the Great Good Treasure, the shopkeeper of the Wanma Gang, and the son-in-law of Granny Wu and other masters in the know, faced with a table full of wine and dishes, but they were no longer interested. After looking at each other, they only nodded to each other.
The entire Shima Town had become沸腾 with the appearance of the altar, and the momentum of the entire lantern festival began to rise continuously. Hu Ma stood in the crowd, squinting his eyes slightly.
The people outside probably won't allow the Yiqian Church to hold such a large-scale lantern festival. The impact is too great.
I didn't plan to care about these things in the first place, but since I'm here, then…
ps Thank you [Zhuo Yao], [Chief Genius Ge Gewu], [Kev Daoren], [An Xiaoguozi], [Bingxue Xiaoxueer], [BgC], [Yi | Lurenjia | Yi] for becoming new alliance masters. I kowtow to the big guys.