Chapter 340: Praying to the Dao Xuan Deity for Rain
Chapter 340: Praying to the Dao Xuan Deity for Rain
Just as Ground Rabbit and Zheng Gouzi were escorting grain into Heyang County at the same time…
Ma Tianzheng put on a clean Taoist robe, strapped a gleaming green peak sword on his back, and stood in the middle of Yang Village.
To the west of Yang Village, rolling hills stretched all the way to Zhengjia Village in Chengcheng County, while to the east, it was all flat.
A rare large stretch of mountain flatland, suitable for farming, was the main grain-producing area of the whole Heyang County.
However, after four years of drought, this plain was now…
County Magistrate Feng Jun, accompanied by county clerk and principal, stood beside Ma Tianzheng, introducing to him: “The most important grain-producing land in our Heyang County is this mountain flatland right before our eyes. It extends from Heyang County Town in the south to Xiniuzhuang in the north, west to Yang Village, east to Mengzhuang Fortress Village, roughly over thirty li north-south, fifteen li east-west… As long as this flat area gets rain, all the common people of Heyang County can fill their stomachs.”
While he was saying this, Li Daoxuan was also calculating.
After his scenic box underwent an “expansion,” it could now see a range of 1000 by 600 meters. To cover the entire core grain-producing land of Heyang County with rain, it seemed it would need at least thirty attempts.
It was a bit troublesome!
But it could save the lives of tens of thousands of common people, so the trouble was worth it.
When the box was expanded, he had already anticipated today’s development, so he had long prepared more medical nebulizers. This time, he directly brought out four.
He installed a blue dragon head on the first one, a red dragon head on the second, a yellow dragon head on the third, and a green dragon head on the ninth…
When Ma Tianzheng saw a low cloud floating overhead, he knew the Deity was watching. He felt extremely steady in his heart, not panicking at all. In the past, when he wasn’t sure if deities existed, he could swindle people—needless to say now, since it was confirmed that deities did exist.
He flicked the whisk in his hand, looked up, closed his eyes, and adopted an appearance like “sensing something.” After a good while, he lowered his head, opened his eyes, and said leisurely: “This poor Taoist has just sensed the spiritual energy of this place. I feel it’s full of sacred spirits and outstanding people, an excellent location. Moreover, with the great traitor gone, the world is clear and bright. Now is the perfect time to pray for rain.”
None of the officials believed a word, but their subordinates, yamen runners, and the common people watching the excitement heard Ma Tianzheng’s words and rejoiced: “Really?”
Ma Tianzheng: “Really! What benefit would this poor Taoist have in deceiving you?”
He pretended to make finger calculations: “Previously, it must have been an evildoer like Fan Shanyue in Heyang County, who provoked the anger of heaven and people. Since ‘heaven was angry’, of course, it wouldn’t rain. Now that Fan Shanyue has died, there are no more evildoers stirring mischief here. I will set up an altar and perform rites, informing the Deity that the evil spirits have been expelled here. Then the Deity will invite the Dragon King to send down rain.”
The officials still didn’t believe a word, but those below expressed great joy again: “Then, please, Reverend Taoist, quickly set up the altar and perform the rites.”
Feng Jun, watching the common people being completely deceived, thought: This Taoist might not be able to summon rain, but he’s quite good at calming these people down. With these words spoken, who would dare to imitate Fan Shanyue and rebel in the future? Hehe! Not bad, not bad! Inviting this Taoist was the right move.
Ma Tianzheng selected the village’s drying ground for grains. In the middle, he set up a table, opened a bag he carried with him, took out a small statue about a few tens of centimeters tall, and placed it on the center of the table.
That statue was Li Daoxuan’s statue, of course, unchanged in being 32% more handsome and 3200% more majestic than he himself.
When that statue was placed, the onlooking common people were confused: “Who is this?”
“Not the Supreme Lao Jun or the Primordial Deity.”
“And not the Compassionate Traveling Real Person!”
“Never seen such a deity before.”
Ma Tianzheng shouted loudly: “Duō! This is the Dao Xuan Deity! You lot don’t recognize a true deity, there’s no need to be rude.”
The crowd, shouted at like that, dared not discuss anymore. They thought: The reverend Taoist says this is the Dao Xuan Deity; we definitely don’t know as many deities as he does, so we’ll just listen obediently.
Ma Tianzheng placed the statue carefully, bowed respectfully a few times. People arranged by Feng Jun immediately brought up the offerings. In these great disaster years, finding decent offerings wasn’t easy; it was still thanks to Zhang Yuanwai from Xia Village who provided a big rooster.
Zhang Yuanwai was the militia instructor of Xia Village; he now squeezed into the crowd, watching coldly. He also didn’t quite believe the Taoist could pray for rain, but his principle was: “One may not believe in deities, but one must not disrespect them.”
Anyway, he didn’t believe what divine beings said, but he could still give offerings; a chicken wasn’t beyond him.
Right under the public eye, Ma Tianzheng took out yellow talisman paper, drew on it, and in an instant, drew a talisman that neither the onlookers recognized, nor Ma Tianzheng himself, nor even the Dao Xuan Deity…
Using the tip of his sword to pick it up, he burned it.
The talisman paper burned away instantly with a “boom,” so fast that it startled everyone.
Li Daoxuan could see at once that he had coated the talisman paper with special chemicals so it could burn so fast. But the common people didn’t know that, and immediately someone shouted: “Good!”
“The Reverend Taoist has divine powers.”
Ma Tianzheng began to dance with the sword; a three-chi green peak sword was wielded like a flower. Muttering incantations, he suddenly lunged with the sword, piercing another talisman paper. Loudly, he said: “In this talisman is the sin of Fan Shanyue.”
He took out a gourd, took a sip of “wine,” and sprayed it at the talisman.
Suddenly, a “small red figure” appeared on the talisman paper.
The onlooking common people were astonished: “Ai yo! Really, there’s a small red figure on the paper!”
“Is that Fan Shanyue’s ghost?”
“He was captured in the talisman.”
Ma Tianzheng swung his sword and cut; the talisman was split in half, and the small red figure on it was also split in half.
The crowd shouted loudly: “Well done!”
“Chopped the ghost of Fan Shanyue!”
“Make this scoundrel never be reborn for all eternity!”
“Hey, brother, rebirth sounds like a Buddhist thing; this one is a Taoist.”
“Fool, Taoism also has the ‘Rebirth Mantra’; it can also grant rebirth.”
After cutting “Fan Shanyue’s ghost,” Ma Tianzheng looked up and recited a prayer loudly at the sky. The prayer was long and tedious; everyone listened for a long time before understanding its meaning: roughly, “I, the poor Taoist, killed the scoundrel Fan Shanyue; there are no more bad persons in Heyang County, everyone left is good citizens. Please, Dao Xuan Deity, bestow heavenly gifts to protect these good citizens.”
Ma Tianzheng knelt down with a thump, holding a stick of incense in both hands, pressed his forehead to the ground: “I beg the Dao Xuan Deity to grant rain.”