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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 134 Guardian Spirit
Just now, it was a close call; I almost lost my life. Fortunately, this weasel saved us. I rushed to express my gratitude to him, who was standing at the door: "Disciple Pan Shenbao thanks the Great Master for saving my life!"
The Great Master did not speak but walked directly in front of me and extended his hand, revealing a dark pill in his palm.
I understood his intention; he was giving me a remedy. At that moment, Cao Qilong took the pill with both hands and urged me to take it. As soon as the pill entered my mouth, I felt a cool sensation, and the pain in my body lessened significantly. After swallowing the pill, the pain was reduced by more than half, and the area on my chest that had been struck by a stone felt much clearer; it was as if the medicine had worked wonders!
It is said that Earth Immortals are adept at using miraculous elixirs, and it seems this is indeed true. The Earth Immortal is an animal residing in the mountains, and their knowledge of herbs and their effects is something humans cannot match. Therefore, the herbs they seek are certainly extraordinary and can be considered miraculous medicines.
Once my breathing became smooth, I hurriedly cupped my fists in gratitude for his life-saving grace and then asked, "May I ask for your name, Great Master? In the future, I will surely repay today's kindness."
"This immortal acted out of gratitude for several generations of the Liu Family," said the Great Master. "So there is no need for repayment."
Upon hearing this, I immediately understood. No wonder an immortal suddenly came to our aid; this Earth Immortal must be the Guardian Spirit of the Liu Family! So I asked in surprise, "May I ask if you are the Guardian Spirit of the Liu Family?"
The Great Master nodded and replied, "I am indeed the Guardian Spirit worshipped by the Liu Family for several generations. Out of old feelings and seeing how pitiable the Liu Family is, I chose to intervene."
I felt that this Great Master was quite remarkable; he could overlook A-Lang's disrespect and still come to help at such a critical moment. He truly deserved to be called magnanimous.
It seems that he appeared because Aunt Liu had been pleading with that copper coin earlier, which must have summoned him.
At this moment, I recalled Aunt Liu telling me stories about Guardian Spirits before. When the Great Master left, he left three strings of copper coins on the offering table, telling the Liu Family that they could take the first two strings but should not touch the third string. Clearly, this copper coin was left by the Guardian Spirit for the Liu Family to use in times of disaster.
At this time, Aunt Liu and A-Lang both knelt down upon hearing what the Great Master said, repeatedly bowing their heads in gratitude for his life-saving grace while also expressing their humility for their previous disrespect.
To be honest, when Aunt Liu was pleading with the Guardian Spirit to appear and save us earlier, I had no hope at all. Earth Immortals are often narrow-minded; even if you merely offend them slightly, they can make your family restless. Moreover, A-Lang had thrown his spirit tablet outside our door—an act of great disrespect—which is why I previously suspected that it might be the Guardian Spirit causing trouble for the Liu Family.
Speaking of how narrow-minded Guardian Spirits can be reminds me of a story. There was a family that worshipped a Guardian Spirit and would offer large fish and meat at their offering table during festivals to let the immortal enjoy them; they were very attentive in their offerings. The Guardian Spirit treated them well in return, warding off disasters big and small so that they lived peacefully.
However, one festival occasioned trouble when they killed a chicken. At that time, there was a five or six-year-old boy in their family who insisted on eating chicken as soon as it was cooked. The mother served him a bowl of chicken meat and later brought a large bowl of chicken to place on the Guardian Spirit's offering table once all dishes were ready.
But little did they know that this would bring misfortune. That night, their child fell ill with a high fever that wouldn't subside despite calling for a physician. The child cried and made a fuss all night long while speaking incoherently. This drove the family to despair as they feared they had attracted some malevolent force.
Two days later, they invited a shaman to ask for divination. After the shaman finished, she said, "Is there a Guardian Spirit in your home?" The Host quickly nodded, and then the shaman said, "This is caused by your Guardian Spirit's mischief."
The Host was very surprised, never expecting that the Guardian Spirit not only did not protect them but also wanted to harm them. He asked the shaman why their Guardian Spirit would torment them and if they had done something wrong. The shaman told him that the Guardian Spirit said they had fed it leftover chicken, so it wanted to teach them a lesson. Then, the shaman instructed them to go home, burn some yellow paper and incense, and sincerely apologize, assuring them that everything would be fine.
Upon returning home, the Host followed the shaman's instructions, burning incense and paper, and after making their apologies, their son indeed began to improve almost immediately.
At this point, the Host understood that it was because they had let their son eat chicken that day, which made the spirit think they were offering leftovers to it, causing it to become angry. From then on, they dared not show any disrespect towards the spirit.
Although the spirit in this story was overly narrow-minded, it reflected the nature of Earth Immortals: they repay kindness and seek retribution for grievances without allowing any disrespect. Unlike Liu Family's Guardian Spirit, which did not take offense after being disrespected but instead came to rescue them, such behavior is truly rare.
Returning to the main point, Liu Family knelt on the ground in gratitude and realization. Huang Great Master felt some anger after hearing this. He said, "I have been exceedingly benevolent towards your Liu Family. Not only have I protected you for generations, but especially in your generation, I helped you obtain the Wenqu fortune, allowing your family to produce a college student. Soon after, I also sought official fortune for you; within a few years, you could rise in rank and enjoy a prosperous career with children and grandchildren living safely. Yet you Liu Family repay kindness with enmity and drive me out; this is truly infuriating."
At this point, Huang Great Master continued: "I originally intended to take away Liu Family's official star fortune. However, considering your family's generations of devotion to me, I did not hold your disrespect against you and allowed you to enjoy that official fortune. Who knew that your Liu Family lacked such virtue? This disaster is truly your retribution!"
Hearing what Huang Great Master said made me sigh deeply. The virtue accumulated by Liu Family ancestors was all repaid to this generation's A-Lang. Yet A-Lang ended up offending Huang Great Master; perhaps this was indeed destined—Liu Family's blessings were too thin to bear such fortune.
Disrespecting deities led Huang Great Master to consider Liu Family's ancestral ties and not take away A-Lang's official fortune. However, A-Lang offended another Earth Immortal and killed his entire family. If A-Lang had shown even a little compassion, these calamities would not have occurred; he could have enjoyed a prosperous career with peace at home. This truly reflects the saying that good and evil are rewarded accordingly. Although weasels are animals, they are still life; A-Lang's murderous intent was too heavy, thus he received such evil retribution—he deserved it.
At this moment, A-Lang was kneeling on the ground in regret; however, it was too late for regret now. For more than a year he had been tormented by that Earth Immortal until he went mad; he could no longer return to his former self.
Aunt Liu pleaded: "Great Master, we truly made a grave mistake this time. Please do not hold past grievances against us and continue to bless my Liu Family with peace! We will certainly be grateful and treat you well from now on; we will never dare to show even a hint of disrespect again."
Huang Great Master waved his hand and said: "There is no need for further pleas; perhaps my connection with your Liu Family has come to an end. My saving you today is merely out of consideration for our past relationship. I have repaid the favor of borrowing from you back then; from now on there will be no further ties between me and Liu Family!"
Aunt Liu immediately prostrated herself in prayer, begging Huang Great Master not to leave Liu Family just like that. In her view, when there was a Guardian Spirit before, the family lived in peace; ever since losing Great Master, their home had ceased to be a home—her daughter-in-law died, two grandsons fell seriously ill while her son went mad. Thus at this moment Aunt Liu naturally regarded Great Master as a lifeline—the hope for Liu Family's rebirth.
Huang Great Master remained expressionless and pointed outside saying: "Do not worry; I have already punished my disciple who sought revenge against Liu Family. He will no longer seek vengeance upon you. As long as your Liu Family remains kind-hearted, you can still maintain peace without me."
Upon hearing this, I hurriedly looked towards the door and indeed saw a weasel hanging from a beam outside with a grass rope. The weasel was covered in blood and struggling continuously with fear in its eyes.
Seeing this eased my mind; now this weasel was merely waiting for slaughter—it posed no threat anymore. However, I also understood that it would be impossible for Liu Family to expect Huang Great Master’s protection again.
At this moment, Huang Great Master thought for a moment and suddenly continued: "My disciple has been blinded by hatred and took revenge by killing people without my permission; I have already taught him a lesson. Whether he lives or dies is up to you to decide. If your Liu Family wishes to invite a Guardian Spirit again, you may consider inviting him to protect your family."
Hearing him say this, I naturally understood the implication behind his words; he was suggesting that the Liu family reconcile with the weasel. After all, the weasel hanging at the door was also a relative of Great Master Huang, and he certainly wouldn't want to truly see the Liu family harmed for his sake.
Thinking about how the Liu family had killed the entire weasel family, although the weasel acted against the natural order by seeking revenge, he was indeed the most pitiable one in this situation. If the Liu family could worship him from now on, it wouldn't be considered a bad compensation. Moreover, Great Master Huang's words clearly indicated that if they spared the weasel this time, he would not seek revenge again.
So, I turned to Aunt Liu and her son and said, "If that Great Master is willing to forgive your family's grudge for killing his son, would you be willing to serve him as your Guardian Spirit for generations to come?"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu and her son were startled. After glancing at the weasel hanging at the door, a hint of compassion flashed in Aunt Liu's eyes. She then nodded and said, "This was originally my son's fault. As long as he does not seek revenge on our Liu family again, we are naturally willing to serve him for generations and hope that one day we can turn hostility into harmony."
A-Lang also nodded vigorously: "Today I realized how grave my sin is; this is all retribution I deserve. In a moment of thoughtlessness, I caused so many innocent lives to perish. I feel very guilty now, and if there is an opportunity for me to express my remorse, that would be best."
Seeing that the Liu family was willing to spare the weasel's life, I then addressed the weasel: "The Liu family made a mistake first by harming your wife and children, while you also caused harm to his wife and tortured his son to the brink of death. Now your life is in our hands; the Liu family regrets their past mistakes and is willing to spare your life and serve you for generations. Are you willing to reconcile with them and ensure peace for the Liu family?"
As I posed this question, the weasel fixed its gaze on Aunt Liu and A-Lang. At that moment, Great Master Huang blew a breath towards the weasel, causing the ropes binding it to snap. The weasel then transformed back into human form and nodded, saying, "Enough; perhaps this is fate ordained by heaven. As long as the Liu family sincerely repents, I will not repay kindness with enmity!"
After saying this, he vanished in a flash, leaving behind a small jade stone on the ground.
Seeing this small jade stone, I hurriedly asked A-Lang to place it on the offering table and set up a tablet for worship. This jade stone was akin to the string of copper coins left by Great Master Huang before.
At this moment, Great Master Huang chuckled with satisfaction at this outcome and said, "The troubles of the Liu family have been resolved; it is time for me to leave." After saying this, he prepared to depart.
I couldn't let him leave just like that; it was rare to encounter such a kind-hearted immortal. So I quickly called out, "Great Master, please wait! I have something to ask!"
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