Chapter 389: Chapter 225: Master Fan’s Daughter, Blood-Stained Burning Incense_1
[You quietly approach a few young ladies, spotting the drabness of their complexion and the raggedness of their clothes. Even though they seem to have made some considerable efforts with their appearance, they’re undeniably pretty compared to ordinary women; a quick glance is enough to tell you about the poverty they live in.]
[Whispers of a secretive conversation begin to reach your ears...]
[The women are discussing the conditions listed on the recruitment poster; the two most basic requirements, as you already know, are membership of the noble class and continuing maidenhood.]
[Other additional criteria include being good looking and having literacy skills.]
[Clearly, the women engaged in discussion here don’t qualify by these two requirements. However, their conversation suggests there could still be some room for maneuver ...]
[The incense at the ’Shishan Society’ is weak, and previous recruitment conditions were rather harsh. They’ve had a long dry spell without any suitable priestess.]
[This time, they may soften the criteria for recruiting a shrine maiden. After all, ’Fugang Castle’ is a remote place where the traditional customs of the ’Night Sleepover’ are prevalent among the backward people, and many of the common women can’t meet the two conditions.]
[The women’s conversation gradually veers off-topic, relating something like ’an unknown Yin Yang Master claimed that he could restore the virginity of potential shrine maidens. The women believed him, but ended up being cheated out of their money and virtue’...]
[After spending quite a while eavesdropping, without coming across any useful information, you pass through the Torii and continue up the mountain trail...]
[As soon as you cross the Torii, you feel an immense force sweep over your Shell.]
[A chill runs down your spine as you realize this is the sign of stepping into the ’Divine Domain.’]
[The Divine Domain’s power has various uses such as defense, surveillance, exposing the hidden, etc., to prevent evil spirits or petty thieves from trespassing. If you were possessing the Shell of the ’Primordial Hermit’ right now, most likely, you would be identified as an anomaly.]
Lin Xun furrowed his brows.
These remote shrines have such methods; the power of the new gods they belong to shouldn’t be underestimated.
"Let’s see how deep the water is in this shrine."
[You rush briskly, quickly reaching the top of the hill along the stone steps.]
[The power of the Divine Domain still swirls around you for a long time, not allowing you to let your guard down.]
[’Shishan Society’ is a remote small shrine, unqualified to enshrine the idol of the ’Ancient Heavenly Warden’. The idol set up in the shrine belongs to a lesser new god named ’Tiansui Blooming Rice,’ a spirit in charge of bountiful harvest.]
[At the entrance of the ’Shishan Society’ stand two of the lowest-ranking religious officials who handle the transportation.]
[You’ve spotted a ’Fire Worshiping Shishan Society attendant’!]
[As soon as the attendant sees you, he knows you’re no ordinary person. He saunters up to you and respectfully asks if you have come to worship by burning incense.]
[You grip the sword at your waist, stand up straight like a spear, and slowly nod.]
[The attendant signals for you to wait just a moment and then runs hurriedly into the shrine...]
[In a short while, a man dresed in lavish vestments comes striding over. Seeing you, he immediately breaks into a respectfully deferential smile.]
[He introduces himself as the shrine’s ’Authority Representative’ in charge of routine shrine affairs and is delighted to have the honor of showing the way for ’Master Fan of the Heartless Swordsmanship School’.]
[There is an obscure wave of Divine Power emanating from the ’Fire Worshiping Shishan Society Authority Representative’, far less than the overwhelming force you felt when stepping on to the ’Torii’, but still not to be underestimated.]
[As a Master Fan, you’re experienced and knowledgeable, aware that these religious officials in the shrine can use the Divine Domain’s power to bless themselves, becoming incredibly strong.]
[Outside the shrine Torii, you are confident that you could kill the man before you with a single stroke of your sword. But inside the shrine, the battle’s outcome is an uncertainty.]
[Keep in mind that the ’Authority Representative’ isn’t the highest-ranking person in the shrine.]
[You follow the ’Authority Representative’ into the shrine...]
[The ’Worship Hall’ inside the shrine doesn’t have as many as those in the large shrines. The remote small shrine in front of you only has three ’Worship Halls’ paying homage to the gods.]
[The first two Worship Halls have overlapped eaves and high pickets. Even though they’re not large in scale, they still give a solemn and awe-inspiring impression.]
[The third Worship Hall, located deep inside the shrine, in comparison to the previous two, seems somewhat shabby. Not only is it a size smaller in construction, it also appears plain and simple, suggesting that their incense business is in decline...]
[As introduced by the ’Authority Representative’, the first two Worship Halls respectively house the deities of harvest God ’Tiansui Blooming Rice’ personified in two forms in the world.]
[You follow Authority Representative and step into the first Worship Hall...]
[Upon entering the Worship Hall, the Divine Domain’s power that had been lingering on you for so long suddenly disappears, giving you a sense of comfort.]
[In the Worship Hall, there are only a handful of pilgrims who have come to pay their respects, and one attendant providing incense.]
[On the shrine podium, there is an idol of a young girl. The young girl’s face is vague, she wears a straw hat, holds a hoe, and poses as if she is farming.]
[The Authority Representative explains to you that this is one of the incarnations of ’Tiansui Blooming Rice’. The image of the young goddess signifies the return of spring and the growth of all things; people often come here to worship during spring ploughing.]
[You see several believers take out their spirit money, carefully put it into the ’offertory box’ on the side, and then receive the incense from the attendant to worship the idol, offering their power through the burning incense.]
[Knowing your extraordinary status, the Authority Representative thinks it’d be beneath you to worship the idol with ordinary believers. Hence, he takes you to tour the next ’Worship Hall’ first.]
[As with the previous one, once you step into the hall, the Divine Domain surrounding your body also disappears.]
[There are a few more believers in this hall, and the idol on the shrine podium is different, too.]
[It’s the figure of a plump, graceful, mature woman. A sweat scarf wraps her shiny hair while she bends over, waving a small sickle, imitating a harvesting gesture.]
[The image of the mature goddess symbolizes an abundant harvest and prosperity. People often come to worship the idol during the autumn harvest, hoping for a bountiful yield.]
