Song Hao laughed out loud. “Duh! The reason he’s not effective is because people tried him a long time ago, found out he didn’t work, and so nobody tries anymore. Don’t you even understand that?”
“Yeah,” the other worshippers chimed in agreement.
Song Hao then added with a sneer, “You don’t really think you’re the only smart person in the whole world and everyone else is an idiot, do you?”
This time, Li Ruoyi actually agreed with Song Hao’s point. “Lu Chen, the deities with abundant incense offerings have been verified by countless people over countless ages. That’s why their incense offerings are so strong. On the other hand, the kind of deity you want to worship—and I hate to put it bluntly—are the ones that have been filtered out. You… should understand what I mean, right?”
Lu Chen couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. “Never mind, I’ve already requested the incense. I’ll just finish the worship and we’ll talk after.”
“Still going through with the worship? This deity can barely help himself, and you want to get some benefit out of him? Lu Chen, oh Lu Chen, your masterstroke today has truly left me speechless! Hahaha!”
Song Hao was laughing so hard he could barely stand up straight. The way he looked at Lu Chen was no different from looking at an idiot.
Seeing how utterly unrestrained this guy was, Lu Chen also found it amusing. He pointed up at the sky. “Song Hao, you dare to blaspheme a deity right inside the temple? You’ve got some serious guts. Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment?”
“Rumble!”
A sudden, low clap of thunder sounded from the sky.
It almost seemed to echo Lu Chen’s words.
Song Hao’s smile instantly froze on his face.
The surrounding worshippers also quickly wiped the smiles off their faces, their expressions turning solemn.
They had obviously realized that their own behavior just now was indeed inappropriate.
Regardless, the other party was, after all, a deity.
No matter how weak their incense offerings were, crushing us mortals would be like crushing ants for them.
Lu Chen gave Song Hao a provocative nod. “Go on, keep talking. Why did you stop? Scared?”
Song Hao’s face turned all kinds of colors, finally settling on a sneer. “You don’t really think that with just this pathetic stick of incense, this Lord God of Wealth is going to grant you a blessing, do you?”
Lu Chen pursed his lips. “Hard to say.”
Song Hao said, “Then let’s make a bet. Do you dare?”
“A bet?”
Song Hao: “If you actually manage to get a blessing from this God of Wealth, I’ll pay you a thousand. But if you can’t, then you kneel down and kowtow to me a few times to admit you’re wrong. Do you dare?”
Li Ruoyi’s expression turned cold. “Song Hao, what are you saying?!”
Lu Chen was genuinely amused by this idiot Song Hao. “How about this, Song Hao? You go right now and offer ten sticks of incense to God of Wealth Zhao. If you get blessed, I’ll be your slave for the next month. But if you can’t, then all your family’s property belongs to me. Want to bet?”
Song Hao was taken aback. “Are you sick?”
Lu Chen’s face darkened. “Oh, so you know you’re sick? A piece of trash like you, with that brain capacity of yours, you want to chase after Li Ruoyi? Honestly, even if you don’t find it disgusting, I do.”
For the last part, Lu Chen shook his head at Li Ruoyi.
Li Ruoyi’s face showed embarrassment, and she angrily shot a glare at Song Hao.
The people around couldn’t listen anymore either.
“Kid, that bet you just proposed wasn’t fair at all. Who makes a bet like that?”
“Exactly. He just said ‘hard to say,’ not that it was certain. As long as you worship, there’s always a theoretical chance.”
“Right. You want someone to kowtow for just a thousand bucks? You’re quite the businessman.”
Listening to the sarcastic remarks around him,
Song Hao was furious, but he didn’t dare to incur public wrath. He could only say with a grim face, “Fine, then I’ll wait right here. I want to see if you can actually do it or not.”
Just then, the ticket checker started urging them, “Alright, the next group can go in now. Hurry it up.”
Lu Chen stopped paying attention to Song Hao and walked straight towards the inner courtyard.
Song Hao folded his arms. “Ruoyi, you’re not in a hurry, are you? If not, let’s wait for him for a bit. I’m curious to see how he’s going to succeed.”
Li Ruoyi gave Song Hao a speechless look, but after thinking it over, she didn’t refuse. So the two of them waited by the exit.
On the other side,
Lu Chen followed the signs and made his way to the back courtyard.
The other worshippers who had entered with him had already headed off to their respective temple halls. He was the only one walking on this desolate, overgrown path.
“Just because you all can’t do it doesn’t mean this Taoist priest can’t!”
But as soon as he stepped into the back courtyard, Lu Chen was dumbfounded.
Because compared to the ornate pavilions and dignified, majestic halls in the front courtyard,
the back courtyard could only be described as dilapidated and shabby.
Weeds were growing everywhere, and even the buildings were in disrepair.
“Geez, the Zhao family is really something else. They’re all deities, after all. You’d think they’d do some repairs on the back courtyard. Just because they can’t sell incense offerings here, they treat them so differently?”
As an old saying goes, fine feathers make fine birds, and fine gold makes fine gods.
With the back courtyard in such a state of ruin, it would be a miracle if any worshippers were willing to come here.
If worshippers aren’t willing to come, then these deities become even less effective, and the temple halls become even more run-down, eventually forming a vicious cycle.
Lu Chen shook his head.
He couldn’t help but gain a further understanding of the harsh reality of the temple.
He bent down and searched for quite a while before finally finding Chai Rong’s deity position in front of a dilapidated shrine.
He saw that the tiles on the shrine were already broken.
The painted clay statue of Chai Rong had also lost its paint.
The entire deity position looked utterly decayed.
Lu Chen couldn’t bear to see it this way. Instead of rushing to worship, he first picked up a few intact tiles from the ground nearby and replaced the broken ones on the shrine. He also cleared away the surrounding weeds.
After tidying things up, he finally lit the three sticks of incense in his hand.
Using the orthodox Taoist ritual for holding incense, he raised them in front of himself.
He chanted the Taoist incantation for reciting scriptures and inviting deities—the [Incantation of the Blessed Incense].
—”The Tao is learned through the heart; the heart is conveyed by the incense. The incense burns in the jade furnace, the heart remains before the Emperor. The true spirits look down with favor, the immortal attendants approach the pavilion. Now I, your servant, make my report, reaching the Ninth Heaven from afar. Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance with the decree!”
After chanting the incantation, Lu Chen waited piously for a response.
Time passed minute by minute, but the statue showed no reaction at all.
“Maybe once isn’t enough?”
Lu Chen chanted the incantation again.
He waited for a long time, but still saw no reaction.
Now, Lu Chen started to feel a bit nervous.
“Although no deity ever manifested in my past life either, this Incantation of the Blessed Incense is a Taoist incantation for inviting deities that has been passed down for a thousand years. How could it not work? Could it be that the Taoist incantations from the previous dynasty can’t invite the deities of the current one?”
Lu Chen tried hard to keep himself calm.
“Don’t panic. Sincerity is what matters. Wait a little longer!”
Lu Chen simply knelt down directly in front of the statue, holding the incense with both hands.
Little did he know, as the smoke swirled, a strand of spiritual energy rose from the incense, drifting up faintly, and had already traveled through the nine heavens to a hall radiating brilliant golden light!
In the Celestial Court, the Hall of the Lord God of Wealth.
The Lord God of Wealth, Chai Rong, who was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, suddenly opened his eyes and said in surprise, “Oh? There’s actually a mortal worshipping this lord?”
Just then, the hall door was suddenly pushed open.
A temple attendant rushed in hurriedly, saying joyfully, “My lord, a strand of incense offering has flown into our Hall of the God of Wealth!”
The Lord God of Wealth nodded. “This lord has already received it. I didn’t expect that after all this time, there would still be someone in the mortal world who remembers this lord. And this person even knows mystical communication techniques. It seems his background is not simple!”
Chai Rong nodded. “Let this lord descend to the mortal world and have a look!”
……
At the same time, in the back courtyard of the temple.
Lu Chen had been kneeling on the ground for a long time. It wasn’t until his fingers felt a burning heat that he suddenly looked up.
He saw that the incense was almost completely burned down.
“It looks like one try isn’t enough. I’ll need at least a few more attempts before I can make a clearer judgment.”
Lu Chen wasn’t discouraged.
After all, succeeding on the first try was just his wishful thinking.
Not succeeding would also be reasonable and within expectations.
“Never mind, I’ll come back next time.”
He inserted the incense into the censer, stood up, and made a bow. “Lord God of Wealth, this humble one will come to bother you again next time.”
With that, he turned to leave.
“Stop right there!”
But just then, a voice, ethereal and holy, sounded from behind him.
Lu Chen’s feet immediately froze to the ground. His pupils contracted sharply, and he spun his head around.
He saw that inside the shrine, the painted clay statue was faintly shimmering with golden light.
Lu Chen asked tentatively, “Lord God of Wealth? Is, is that you?”
The Lord God of Wealth: “If not this lord, then who else?”
Holy cow, it actually worked!!
Lu Chen’s mind was churning like a stormy sea. He immediately made a bow and said, “Welcome, Lord God of Wealth. This humble one is Lu Chen. I respectfully greet you!”
The Lord God of Wealth: “Never mind, you may dispense with the formalities. This lord has not partaken of mortal incense offerings for many years. I didn’t expect that today there would still be a mortal who remembers me. Young man, you have worshipped this lord today. Are you seeking wealth?”
Lu Chen nodded frankly. “Yes!”
The Lord God of Wealth’s tone became a little playful. “Since you seek wealth, why did you not worship that God of Wealth Zhao, but instead came to worship me? Do you mortals not all say that God of Wealth Zhao is far superior to this lord?”
