Chapter 225: Chapter 193: Ghost God’s Relic

Upon hearing Hua Qianmian’s words, Sang Que’s brow twitched, “You haven’t even reached Ghost Level, and you dare to think about becoming a Ghost God?”

Hua Qianmian chuckled, “I call this planning ahead. You must know that to become a Ghost God, fear from the living isn’t enough; one also needs the incense offerings from the people. It’s better to prepare early than to do nothing.”

Sang Que couldn’t help but nod, looking at the book on the table without a cover, “So is this the secret to becoming a Ghost God?”

“Release your Evil Mist, I’m afraid someone might eavesdrop,” Hua Qianmian was very cautious, but also very trusting of Sang Que.

Sang Que complied, letting the Evil Mist fill the entire house, and the surroundings immediately became silent and peaceful.

Only then did Hua Qianmian speak, “What’s in here is something I learned by accident and recorded myself. You, in the Evil Suppression Bureau, most of the incense gathered from solving supernatural cases is absorbed by the incense burners. In the short term, it’s beneficial to you, but over time, you’ll be tied down by the Bureau, and it’ll not end well for you.”

“I have the magic technique for creating a Divine Statue here. You can secretly make one for yourself and someday give it to those willing to worship you. Let me tell you, you can’t just casually make a Divine Statue. It has to have your personal traits, a title, and also undergo the process of ’Desecration,’ imbuing it with some power. Once you have the initial statue, any others made afterward will establish a connection with it.”

“This way, you can hear the prayers and worship of believers and respond through the statue. Just like me, there are quite a few believers of the Thousand-faced God in the city. As long as I’m within Wangshan City, I can hear their prayers through visualization. When I ascend to Ghost Level, this range will increase.”

’Desecration’ is something that exists in modern times too, as Sang Que had learned from her mother.

Desecration is a vital ritual in Buddhism and Taoism when creating Divine Statues. It involves backing the statues with symbolic innards and divine consciousness, endowing them with vitality.

This process not only grants the statues a solemn appearance but also imparts them with paranormal abilities and divine power to protect living beings.

If a statue isn’t desecrated, it’s easily possessed by Evil Spirits and Evil Ghosts, who would use its shell to wreak havoc on humanity.

In the Southern Ocean incident, the woman there held the Golden Child, which was the original Divine Statue in Huaxia, while the other believers had replicas connected to the original. So when the original was shattered, all other replicas broke as well.

If the knowledge from the Deceit Dynasty originated from modern times, then it’s not surprising that such rituals exist in the Deceit Dynasty.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you to the Evil Suppression Bureau for this forbidden matter?” Sang Que retorted.

Hua Qianmian nonchalantly said, “I’ve been doing this for a long time. As long as I’m genuinely serving the people, the Bureau can’t stop me. I actually think more Ghost Gods are needed in this world for the people to truly benefit. Worship one god today, not working? Switch tomorrow. Whoever works, gets worshiped. So, don’t you think the Ghost Gods will be better to the people for their incense?”

Sang Que was convinced again because in modern times, with so many Huaxia Ghost Gods, it’s truly like a competitive employment process. When someone mentions a deity in folk culture, the first thought is whether they’re effective or not.

If they’re effective, they get worshipped; if not, they’re discarded.

Especially with Taoists; in times of trouble, the Daoists always ask Ghost Gods for help and only provide verbal support from behind. They call upon the most powerful Ghost Gods and ignore the weaker ones.

However…

“If there are too many Ghost Gods, I’m afraid there won’t be enough incense to go around,” Sang Que said, which was probably one of the reasons why the Deceit Dynasty strictly controlled the number of deities.

On this point, Hua Qianmian didn’t deny it, “I don’t care. Since I’m a Yin Walker, I’ll become big and strong before I die. If luck is on my side, maybe one day I’ll surpass the Yin Walking General and become a new Ghost God. Anyway, I’ve given you the method for making Divine Statues, so use it if you like.”

“But let me tell you, making the statue is easy; you could even mold a lump of clay. The challenge is in obtaining the items for Desecration. If you can obtain relics from a previous Ghost God, that’s ideal. If not, try to find something that was once worshipped as a ghost by the people.”

“What counts as a relic?” Sang Que felt a stir in her heart, suddenly thinking of that Mountain Ghost Token.

Hua Qianmian gravely stated, “Items used in the initial Desecration of a deity’s original statue.”

Sang Que nodded in understanding. The Mountain Ghost Token was something she found in the Witch Temple beneath the Divine Statue, in Black Mountain Village’s hidden realm, and was likely a relic of the Witch Lady.

So, was this a sign to restore the Witch Temple, using this Ghost God relic to reconstruct a Divine Statue?

However, Sang Que sensed a hint of conspiracy—not that the Witch Lady was conspiratorial, but the whole situation felt odd.

Using relics from a previous deity to create a new one, wouldn’t this ultimately be making a wedding dress for the previous deity?

In the Deceit Dynasty, a malevolent spirit is already considered an indestructible existence unless dismembered and demoted. At the Ghost God Level, could they achieve true immortality, merely entering slumber when incense offerings are cut?

Just like the Witch Lady, who had lost most of her incense, but while at Fish Woman Village, she still manifested. She hadn’t completely disappeared, and signs of awakening were already there.

Sang Que took the book, “Thank you, then; I wish us a successful collaboration. While I’m away on assignment, I’ll arrange for someone else to contact you…”

After arranging the follow-up with Hua Qianmian, Hua Qianmian left first.

When Kou Yushan brought Xia Chan back, a cart arrived outside to load the boxes of gold. Sang Que scrutinized the young man for a while, suspecting he was Hua Qianmian.

After moving the boxes, the young man quipped at Sang Que, “I have a wife at home; no matter how good-looking you are, I won’t waver!”

Sang Que was speechless, seventy percent sure this was Hua Qianmian.

After packing the items needed for the journey, Sang Que and Xia Chan were busy all day. After Kou Yushan went off duty in the afternoon, Sang Que found him to transfer all the items hidden in her yard for sale into cash over to Kou Yushan’s home for him to take over dealings with Hua Qianmian later on.

Although Kou Yushan didn’t remember things related to Sang Que, he had been secretly worshiping the Witch Lady and remained a faithful devotee of hers, fully trusting Sang Que.

In the evening, the three of them sat together for dinner. Sang Que pondered carefully about what needed Kou Yushan’s assistance in her two-month absence besides the deal with Hua Qianmian.

“Uncle Yushan, I estimate that Liu Tianyou will arrive in Wangshan City within these days. When he does, I’ll trouble you to receive him. If he has nowhere to stay, let him stay in my courtyard.”

Kou Yushan took a big bite of his steamed bun and added some food for Xia Chan with his chopsticks, “Sure, I’ll arrange everything. Him arriving in Wangshan City is also good; he can catch the exams at the start of next year.”

“And another thing, Uncle Yushan, you’ve met Granny Zhuang. She’s sixty-four this year, living alone on Cui Liu Lane. With the weather getting colder, she has no one to look after her, no neighbors either. Although the Evil Suppression Bureau has someone checking on her, she’s a bit stubborn and has severe nervous exhaustion… particularly afraid of noise and doesn’t like people around her.”

“If she has any troubles or needs help, assist if you can. If it’s too troublesome, find Wei Ziyan from the Bureau; she’s from the Merit Office like Granny Zhuang. It’s getting colder, and older people always have a tough time during winter. I heard she has a son living elsewhere, don’t know what he’s doing, hasn’t been back for years. People say he might have passed away, poor woman.”

These were all things Wei Ziyan had told Sang Que. If Granny Zhuang’s son were alive, he’d be about Kou Yushan’s age by now.

Xia Chan nodded while chewing some greens, “Granny’s nice, may she live to a hundred.”

Meow~

Old folks, children, and cats always seem to have a way to connect, and even though Granny Zhuang and Xia Chan haven’t met many times, they both very much enjoyed each other’s company.

Kou Yushan nodded solemnly, “Alright, I’ll check on her everyday after work. It’s not like I’m very busy these days. I can at least chop some wood and fetch some water for her.”

After arranging everything, Sang Que coaxed Xia Chan to sleep early, then stayed up reading Hua Qianmian’s book under the lamp.

She didn’t have any aversion to the Witch Lady, but she pondered how many people like Kou Yushan still worship her in secret. If she were to recreate the statue of the Witch Lady, could she hear the worship and prayers of these followers, manifesting under her name or even directly contacting the members of the Nine Songs?

At that time, perhaps the Nine Songs and those who once feared the Witch Lady would be greatly surprised.

Sang Que figured it wasn’t the best time yet; her strength was too little. If someone followed the trail back to her, she’d be in trouble. She wasn’t ready to contact the Nine Songs either, fearing the elders might see her as too weak a successor, uncertain whether they’d support her or replace her.

Even a storyteller was terrifying enough.

It’d be better to wait until she ascended to Ghost Level before attempting this, and trying to reach out to the Nine Songs.

Closing the book, Sang Que blew out the candle and went to sleep.

Tomorrow, departure!

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