Chapter 598: Mortals and the City God Temple

The City God Temple of Yundu was shrouded in curling smoke.

By the time Song You arrived, night had already fallen. There was only the faintest bit of light left between heaven and earth, with the last of the evening glow painting the background and making the outlines of the buildings stand out just enough to discern that this was a newly constructed temple.

Someone had clearly come to offer incense earlier in the evening; the sticks had not yet burned out, and their crimson tips were still glowing in the darkness. Whether they had come to pray for peace and blessings or to seek protection from evil spirits and monsters, it was unknown.

At this hour, there wasn’t a single soul on the mountain. Only the Daoist, the little girl, and a single guide made their way up the stone steps.

The Daoist paused at the entrance. As usual, he lifted his head and carefully examined the temple plaque in the dim light.

Inscribed above were three words, “

City God Temple.

”

On either side, there were couplets.

The couplet on the right read, “Come in and feel your heart, why not repent and mend your ways?”

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Meanwhile, the couplet on the left read, “Go out and do good deeds, what need is there to light candles and burn incense?”

“...” The Daoist smiled faintly and stepped through the temple gate.

Though it was a City God Temple, it was late at night, and the young man named Wang Xiaoman had no desire to wait outside alone. So he followed closely behind the Daoist and the little girl into the temple.

“

Whew

...”

At first glance, the temple interior had seemed dim, lit only by a single ever-burning lamp. Its was flame no larger than a bean, barely illuminating a corner of the altar. But the moment they stepped inside, it felt as though divine light suddenly flared forth from within, like that little flame had exploded into a burst of fire that didn’t burn, yet dazzled the eyes. The smoke swirled gently through the light, causing a dizzying shimmer in front of the eyes.

When his vision cleared again, the guide realized that the place he stood in no longer resembled the City God Temple he remembered.

The newly built City God Temple of Yundu wasn’t small. It enshrined one City God and two martial guardians and felt quite spacious inside. Outside, there was even a small shrine dedicated to the local land deity. But no matter how grand the temple, it consisted of only a single main hall; at most, it was just a large room. Once the altar, divine statues, and various temple furnishings were accounted for, there wasn’t much space left.

But the scene before him now was unmistakably that of an official’s main hall, furnished only with desks and chairs meant for reviewing documents and case files. The altar and divine statues had all vanished without a trace. It looked more like Yundu City's City God office.

Moreover, the once-dim interior had been lit with bright lamps. Yet those lights seemed too bright, so bright they made the eyes ache. They also didn’t seem like ordinary lamps, as though the light itself was blurry. No matter how hard he tried to see clearly, the guide couldn’t make out their shape.

And because the lights were unclear, everything illuminated by them became blurry too. It was as though he were looking at people through rippling water. The shapes shimmered and wavered, making his head spin.

Only the sounds around him still carried clearly, though with a faint echo, which was barely loud enough for him to make out the words.

In front of him stood a wavering gray-white silhouette, beside which was a shorter figure. They were likely the two people he had brought here. But ahead of them were two more figures, one in front and one behind, who walked quickly toward them before slightly bowing in greeting.

“I am Qiu Zhengzhen, City God of Yundu. I did not know of your arrival, and failed to greet you from afar.”

“I’m Gu Siyan. Greetings, honored sir.”

Upon hearing this, the guide was startled. “Qiu Zhengzhen...”

This was the first time he had ever heard the name of the City God himself.

A being like the City God not only presided over the ghosts, spirits, and underworld matters of Yundu, but was also a revered deity. How could someone like him, a mere commoner, ever be privy to such a name?

The other figure seemed to be one of the temple’s divine officials. Yet at this moment, both deities were speaking with the utmost respect.

Then, from up ahead, the voice of the Daoist rang out, “Song You, at your service.”

“We’ve long heard of your great merits, sir.”

“There’s no need for such courtesy, City God. I only just arrived in Yundu today. I happened to come across a demon and captured it. Considering it hadn’t taken a life yet and how difficult cultivation is, I didn’t want to handle it on my own, so I brought it here for you to judge according to the law, Lord Qiu.”

The smaller figure beside him stirred, seemingly pulling something out of the cloth pouch.

And then the guide heard the rat’s voice again.

“

Squeak, squeak

... Have mercy! Spare me!”

“May I ask, sir, was this the rat demon that appeared in Jiya Lane a few days ago?”

“The exact one.”

“General Gu had only just finished his duties and recovered from his injuries. I was just about to send him to Jiya Lane to apprehend the creature. I didn’t expect to trouble you to act personally, how deeply ashamed I am.”

“It was just a trivial matter. If you had caught it first, we wouldn’t have had this little encounter of fate.”

“This was due to my own incompetence...”

“You only recently took up this post, so the incense offerings haven’t yet nourished you, and you haven’t established your foothold yet. Even so, you’ve already managed to reduce the demonic disturbances in Yundu by more than half, and that alone is an impressive accomplishment.”

Their conversation continued up ahead.

The City God of Yundu clearly had some knowledge of this rat demon already. After listening to Song You recount its misdeeds, he ordered the divine official to take it into custody. He remarked that this rat had only managed to become a demon by sheer luck; it overheard some talk of gods and immortals from within walls and rafters, taking it at face value despite not truly understanding cultivation.

Because gaining sentience was no small feat, he planned to try guiding it toward the right path, allowing it to redeem itself through good conduct. If that failed, it would be suppressed beneath the City God Temple.

During their discussion, they even brought up the guide himself. Even a mighty deity like the City God of Yundu was politely asking that Daoist who he was.

The Daoist simply replied that he was just a mortal guide. Yet throughout this exchange, their attitudes were entirely different from what the guide had expected.

But then again, he’d never imagined he’d actually witness the City God in person.

In the past, he had seen Daoists, folk priests, shamans, or spirit mediums invoking the gods. During such rituals, the gods would either descend into the medium's body or speak through wooden effigies, straw dolls, paper figures, or even ashes or coins. At most, the gods would offer cryptic signs. But never had he seen a god literally appear before his eyes.

Even when the Daoist earlier mentioned he would deliver the rat demon to the City God for judgment, he had thought it just meant taking it to the temple, perhaps offering some incense at most. Never had he expected to step right into the City God’s official office.

And because of this, a mere mortal like him had benefitted, and he was able to hear a Daoist and a deity conversing with one another.

Only, their figures remained blurry and flickering, indistinct to his eyes.

The guide, well-informed and immersed in the everyday gossip of Yundu’s streets, had often heard tales like this. He guessed that this must be what people meant when they said someone’s “bazi” weren’t strong enough, meaning their fate or spiritual constitution was too weak to behold a god. So even though he’d lucked into following a powerful man into the fabled office of the City God, he still couldn’t see the deity’s true form.

He just didn’t know whether this encounter would bring him good fortune, or whether it might cost him a few years of life and blessings in exchange.

“Are there still many demons and malevolent spirits in Yundu these days?”

“Thanks to General Gu and General Fang, most of the chaos-causing demons within the city have already been purged. The rest have been driven out beyond the city limits. But outside the city... it’s vast, and there are far more demons and evil beings than I had anticipated. Quite a few of them have some measure of cultivation. The two generals have not yet absorbed enough incense offerings to be at full strength, and their divine power weakens once they leave the city’s bounds. Even working together, it’s difficult for them to eliminate such threats.”

“There’s no need to blame yourself, City God, that’s only natural,” the Daoist said with a smile. “My two young companions, Lady Calico and the descendant of the Swallow Immortal, both possess skills in demon subjugation. We were just about to head out beyond the city to deal with them. I ask that you compile a list of the most malicious monsters outside the city with the locations and names included. Starting tomorrow, we’ll have Mr. Wang here to guide us there, and we’ll take them out one by one. The credit for these deeds will all be recorded under the City God Temple’s name. That way, you can gather more incense offerings, steady your footing, and bring blessings to the people.”

“Many thanks, sir...”

Only then did the guide realize that this actually had something to do with him. He felt, faintly, that someone’s gaze had turned toward him. Then he heard the City God of Yundu commenting on his fortunate destiny. The two conversed a little more, then bowed to each other, seemingly bidding farewell.

The guide still couldn’t see anything clearly. In fact, he was starting to feel dizzy, and the whole thing felt like a dream.

He could only make out the vague silhouette of the City God still standing there. The Daoist, however, had already turned around. His features were still blurred, and the guide understood vaguely that it was time for him to leave. So he too turned around, intending to follow the Daoist out of the office. He thought he might feel something, or perhaps the Daoist would reach out a hand to guide him, but nothing of the sort happened. He hadn’t even stepped out the door when suddenly, the light behind him went out.

Everything around him went dark, as if someone had blown out the lamps in the room. The entire space dimmed.

But with the darkness came clarity. Once his eyes had adjusted to the faint light, he saw that he was now standing inside the City God Temple, with the threshold before him, the altar and statue behind him, and the ever-burning lamp faintly illuminating the corner of the altar.

The statue of the City God sat solemnly in the center, flanked by the statues of two military officers. In the flickering lamplight, their forms were half-revealed, half-obscured, like deities peering down from the night sky upon the mortal realm.

“Let’s go...” The Daoist's voice came from beside him. And now, the Daoist’s face had become clear.

“Sir...”

“You are a mortal, without cultivation or spiritual attainments. Normally, one such as you cannot freely enter the office of the City God. Once inside, it is only natural that you could not see clearly.”

“Ah...” The guide didn’t know what to say.

He simply stepped forward, following the Daoist as they left the temple. A cool night breeze blew past, making him shiver and come to his senses. The faint smell of incense lingered in the air, yet he wasn’t sure whether it came from before or behind. Everything around him was dim, yet clearly defined, and in comparison, that brightly lit yet blurry office from earlier felt even more like a dream. It was as if he had just awakened from a midnight dream.

The Daoist, leaning on his bamboo staff, had already descended the hill. The young girl beside him turned back to glance at the guide.

The guide dared not linger, and quickly caught up.

“Are you afraid?”

“Afraid? Of the City God? The City God is a great and benevolent spirit, and he only became a City God after death to protect us mortals. Why would someone like me fear him?”

“I mean, afraid of returning home alone.”

“Alone...”

The guide turned his head, glancing left and right.

The city had fallen completely into darkness. Under the faint light, every alley and lane was visible, yet not really visible. They couldn’t see their ends. Unlike during the day, they now resembled bottomless black holes.

“I’ll just run home quickly!”

“You’re not pretending to be brave, are you?”

“I wouldn’t dare...”

The guide swallowed hard and continued following the Daoist.

He couldn’t help but glance back once more at the dark City God Temple, and a strange feeling welled up in his chest. Years from now, when he told his children or someone else’s young ones about what had happened tonight, he would describe it all vividly and truthfully. And those little ones, listening, would surely find it all wondrous and unbelievable.

As for the Daoist walking before him now, he must truly be an immortal.