Chapter 232 What’s the harm if you don’t bow to me?
As the morning light breaks, the road is bright, with a few wisps of light blue still hanging in the sky. The ancient country road is already a bustling scene.
Teams of wealthy gentry, dressed in fine clothes and riding BMWs and carved carriages, marched towards the mountains in a mighty procession, with happy looks on their faces, to the sound of drums and music and the melodious sound of flutes and pipes.
On both sides of the road, villagers who had heard the news had already gathered. Some were standing or sitting, talking about the incident, their eyes full of envy and pride.
"Mr. Qian has really made great progress!"
"Yeah, who would have thought! He was such a coward when he was alive, but became a god after he died? Oh, I really envy him!"
"That's right! Who would have thought that this blockhead would have such a day."
"That's great. We are from the countryside. When you go to heaven, won't you take good care of us?"
"Yes yes yes!"
As the villagers were talking, the music in the procession became louder and louder, with high-pitched suonas and deafening gongs and drums, as if even the air was filled with an atmosphere of joy and glory.
The children were extremely excited, chasing and playing in the crowd, with bursts of laughter coming from time to time.
Amid the onlookers, the congratulatory team entered the village with music and stopped in front of a dilapidated thatched cottage.
At this time, more than a dozen people had already gathered in front of the hut.
The person surrounded by the crowd was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties. He had a dark complexion, prominent joints, and wore a baggy robe. He did not look like his own, but more like he was rented.
Accompanied by the patriarch, his old face turned red, his expression was uneasy, and he didn't know where to put his hands.
The leading country gentlemen had already dismounted, holding congratulatory couplets and presenting them quickly.
"Congratulations to Mr. Qian for achieving enlightenment today, completing his mission, and becoming a deity in the Ninth Heaven!"
"Joy and rejoice together!"
The middle-aged man responded to the joyful words in a dull voice, he was so excited that he didn't know what to say.
When the country gentlemen who came to congratulate saw this, they were not angry but happy instead. Such a country bumpkin was more worthy of applause!
Thinking of this, I couldn't help feeling envious and jealous.
The scene of the gentry and wealthy families celebrating together was something that would only happen when someone passed the imperial examination in previous years.
However, how could such an unknown village give birth to stars that descended to the earth?
So this never happened.
The reason they came here to celebrate is that a judge from heaven had emerged from this unknown village.
This is a deity appointed personally by Gu Zhenzai, the Lord of the Internet. The deity is selected from the people of the paradise of heaven based on their character and experience during their lifetime.
Anyone who serves as a judge will act on behalf of the Allah, guard the kingdom of heaven, and judge the deceased.
Anyone who committed heinous crimes during his lifetime would be exiled to a prison star if the crime was serious, or be forced to work to atone for his sins if the crime was minor.
It can be said that the authority of this deity is completely similar to that of the City God of Taoism and the Judge of Buddhism!
For a time, countless people were jealous.
However, the selection of judges is completely controlled by Gu Zhenzai and no one can interfere. It seems that all everyone can do is to please the surviving relatives of these people.
This is the scene before our eyes.
After the group of people gave their gifts, they still felt regretful and said one after another: "Mr. Qian, we have admired Mr. Qian for a long time. Can you allow us to burn incense and pay homage to him, as a way to comfort our admiration?"
Mr. Qian was in such a good mood, how could he refuse?
They invited everyone into the house and burned incense to worship.
The gentry were overjoyed to see this. What did they want from coming here with gifts? Wasn't it just to ask for favors?
They took out their best offerings, the most expensive incense, and even specially commissioned sacrificial texts from talented people. The scene was truly lively!
After Mr. Qian offered incense, unexpectedly, the rising smoke of incense rose up without wind, and when it fell to the ground it turned into an old man in an official robe.
"father!"
"Qian, Mr. Qian?"
Yes, this old man in official robe is none other than Mr. Qian, whom everyone envies.
When everyone saw it, they were all shocked.
"Mr. Qian has appeared!"
"Isn't it said that the people of the paradise cannot show up in the world of the living?"
"Oh my god, it's really Qian Gong!"
Everyone was amazed, and their hearts were filled with shock.
Since the emergence of the paradise of heaven, we have only seen people who have died and been reborn in heaven, but we have never seen anyone from heaven come down to the mortal world.
Seeing it now for the first time, how can I not be shocked?
"Dad, why...why are you here?" Mr. Qian asked everyone's question while stammering.
"If I don't come again, are you going to turn my father's house into a temple?" Mr. Qian asked back. His voice was not loud, but it was like thunder, shocking people in their hearts.
"Not much, Dad. We just admire you, so... that's why we want to burn some incense for you."
Mr. Qian quickly explained, and his words also attracted the agreement of everyone. "Yes, yes!"
"I am Shi Jinhui from Hongchun County. I have long heard of Mr. Qian's great name, and I have come to pay a special visit to you today!"
A local gentry reacted and quickly announced his name, leading a group of people to follow suit.
After a while, the noise gradually died down.
"Hahaha……"
Seeing this, Mr. Qian laughed out loud: "In my early years, the two words most often used by people in my hometown to describe me were pedantic and stubborn. Do you know what they are?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at each other in shock.
Mr. Qian said, "I already know your intentions. I am a judge appointed by the True Lord. I have no interest in the incense of the world. You don't need to set up a temple and burn incense for me. Even if you do, I won't receive it. Why bother doing this useless work?"
"I want you all to know that the Kingdom of Heaven values fairness the most. All merits and demerits will be assessed during one's lifetime. Instead of visiting an unfilial son like me, you should do more good deeds and accumulate more merits! If you ascend to Heaven one day, you may be appointed an official based on your merits and benefit the people."
"Qian has nothing to give you, so I'll just give you a word: if you have evil intentions, burning incense will do you no good; if you are upright, it doesn't matter if you don't bow to me."
As Mr. Qian spoke, his figure turned into incense and dissipated.
The wealthy gentry in the scene looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to do!
However, the small village was thrown into indescribable excitement because of the manifestation of Lord Qian.
The cheers spread throughout the village and even reached the ears of a pair of Taoist priests along with the spring breeze.
This is a middle-aged Taoist priest, dressed in black clothes, standing on the hillside, overlooking the joyous village below, with a complex look in his eyes and sighing:
"What a saying, 'It doesn't matter if you don't bow to me'. I didn't expect that there are such open-minded people among mortals!"
The Taoist boy standing beside him said:
"He doesn't need incense to say these words naturally."
"Yes, and it is precisely because he does not need incense that he can truly enforce the law impartially."
"This place is far away from the hustle and bustle, and it is a place where the wind and energy gather. It is not surprising that one or two outstanding people are born here. Besides, our Xuanmen is not bad either. Aren't there many people who are selfless and dedicated to the public?"
The Taoist priest in black nodded, but he was smiling bitterly in his heart.
Does Xuanmen really sacrifice self for the public?
Maybe there is!
At least the people he met all had some selfish motives hidden in their hearts.
A small stick of incense has distorted the minds of countless practitioners!
Nowadays, are there not enough of us who are violating the immortal rules and creating applications on the Internet?
After all, the world is bustling with people seeking profit, and the world is bustling with people seeking profit.
"Master, should we take action?"
"Take action? What?"
"This group of people disobeyed the immortal rules and should be severely punished."
"It's easy to impose heavy penalties, but what happens after the penalties are imposed?"
"The barbarians are beasts, they fear power but not virtue! Only severe punishment can teach them to respect the immortal rules."
"Ridiculous! Before the Paradise of Heaven was established, this method might have worked, but now... this move will only cut off the incense of the Immortal Court and force the people to turn to the Internet."
"Then...what should we do?"
The Taoist in black clothes said nothing.
Because he didn't know what to do. In his opinion, the so-called immortal rules were already dead in name only.
that's the truth.
At the same time, countless heavenly judges appeared in various places.
This is not Gu Yunli's order.
It was simply that Gu Yunli opened up a permission to all judges.
That is, one can use the incense of the Internet to gather the body of incense, show up as a saint, or persuade people to be good, or assist in the trial.
Of course, this is just a nominal reason.
Essentially, this is an experiment.
"It is indeed feasible to deploy incense bodies on a large scale! However, if this is done, the consumption of incense will reach an incredible level."
In the secret realm of time and space, Gu Yunli felt the judges who appeared and silently analyzed the data behind them.
"However, there is no need to worry about this. The cost of incense can be shared among the players. If you want to revive, you can exchange it with points. This way, the cost is shared and the risk-taking behavior of players can be restrained to a certain extent."
“It’s time to fulfill Ksitigarbha’s promise.”
Gu Yunli took a deep breath and closed his eyes silently.
(End of this chapter)