Chapter 2640: Temple Festival Opera (Part 2)

The Tea-picking Opera on stage was just reaching its climax. The Clown Role Duke (Gong Ye) circled the Flower Role (Hua Dan) with exaggerated Dwarf Steps, then grabbed a long bench and crawled across the entire stage in comic pursuit. The surrounding villagers roared with laughter. The Flower Role playing Third Lady was even more captivating—her posture graceful, her eyes shimmering with autumn waves, her singing voice crystalline and pure. The silk handkerchief in her hand fluttered up and down like a flower butterfly dancing across the stage. Whenever she opened her mouth to sing, the villagers shouted "Good!" without pause. Those with spare copper in their pockets tossed coins onto the stage, and each time the coins clattered to the ground, the Flower Role cast a coquettish glance in that direction, her expression perfectly flirtatious, drawing even more enthusiastic cheers.

Golden Pig knew this piece—Third Lady Teasing the Duke—which told the story of a romantic and pretty widow named Third Lady teasing a lecherous Duke. The performance had only just begun, so the singing remained relatively proper, merely playfully coquettish. But once the second watch arrived and night deepened, the obscene lyrics and erotic tunes would emerge. If enough copper coins piled up on stage, the performers would offer more than just coy glances—far bolder "performances" were possible. Sometimes mid-show the Dan Role would be replaced by someone else. Nobody needed to ask where she had gone. These were all matters the village farmers loved to see and hear.

This was why, after the first watch, women and children gradually drifted home. Families with strict discipline also called their unmarried youths back, lest they watch until their "spirits wandered from their residences."

Golden Pig paid no attention to the coquettish display. His only concern was finding his family in the crowd. Li Family Enclosure housed the Li Surname Ancestral Hall serving several nearby villages, and its annual Temple Festival Opera was always the grandest. It attracted villagers from all around who arrived early, the old supported by the young, eager to watch. By now, the area beneath the stage was packed three layers deep, inside and out. Even the nearby trees and the earthen walls of the enclosure buildings were crowded with people. He worried that in such a crush, his old mother or his wife might come to harm.

He squeezed this way and that through the crowd. Within moments his head was drenched in sweat, yet after a full circuit he found no trace of them. Had they already gone home? While he hesitated, he suddenly heard Lian Niang calling his name. Following her voice, he spotted his wife and mother at the outer edge of the crowd, almost at the platform foundation of the Earth Grain Temple. Lian Niang waved her handkerchief repeatedly while shouting his name.

Golden Pig had just squeezed his way to Lian Niang and his mother's side when someone in the crowd suddenly cried out: "Aiya! Fairy Huang shows her divine power!"

The crowd looked up toward where the person pointed, gazing into the night sky. There was that bright star, emitting threads of red light. Studying it more carefully now, they could make out a hazy human figure—a full three or four zhang tall—holding a lantern. What they had taken for starlight was actually the candle flame within that lantern. The figure held the lantern aloft, riding on clouds and mist, floating and swaying through the air. In the dim light, the lantern seemed to glow red. If this wasn't Fairy Huang, who else could it be?

Fairy Huang was said to answer every plea. Her great name had long spread throughout the four li and eight townships. Immediately, people dropped to their knees on the threshing ground. When some began kowtowing, others followed suit, bowing and chanting together: "Fairy Huang shows divine power! Fairy Huang shows divine power!" Even the Opera Troupe stopped performing. The peddlers ceased hawking their wares. One by one, everyone knelt and bowed.

Golden Pig felt someone tugging at his hem. Looking down, he saw Lian Niang with one hand supporting his old mother as she knelt, and the other hand gripping his clothes. Golden Pig had no choice but to kneel as well. While bowing, he stole glances at Fairy Huang hovering in the sky.

The fairy rode upon a cloud, gazing down at the kneeling villagers from above. She did not speak or deliver any teaching. After some time, another point of fire suddenly ignited inside the lantern. In moments it stretched into a line of flame that shot directly toward the ground. This sudden change sent a ripple of alarm through the kneeling crowd below. Someone cried out in wonder: "Samadhi True Fire! Samadhi True Fire!" The crowd buzzed with excitement: "It really is Samadhi True Fire. Fairy Huang's divine power is formidable!"

They watched as the line of fire descended toward a small hill just outside the village. Moments later, flames rose from that spot. The crowd scrambled to their feet and surged toward the firelight. When they arrived, they discovered the source: a nameless small temple that had long fallen into disrepair. Those who reached it first had already extinguished the blaze. They had acted just in time—only some curtains and window lattices had burned. Inside, the offering table and incense altar had been knocked over.

Someone ignored the lingering heat and rummaged through the temple's interior, searching for something. Soon he emerged holding an object wrapped in a scrap of cloth, its surface blackened by smoke and clearly marked by fire. "Everyone come look!" he shouted. "What is this?" He wiped the object with the cloth, and the crowd finally saw it clearly: a Cast Iron Pagoda forged from pig iron, about one chi tall. The man turned it over and over in his hands, examining it from every angle. Suddenly he exclaimed: "There are words on it! There are words!" Hearing that the Iron Pagoda bore an inscription, the crowd pressed forward with even greater curiosity.

Ma Jin, Second Senior Apprentice of the Eight Immortals Society who had been helping fight the fire nearby, appeared to be literate. He took the Iron Pagoda and examined it by torchlight, then read aloud: "Li Guangyuan, Li Guangyuan, the Jade Emperor sends you to guard the four directions. He bestows upon you this Treasure Pagoda as your token and appoints you Pagoda-Bearing Li Heavenly King. Whoever disobeys your words—whether you wish to kill or chop—shall receive their due."

Discussions broke out among the crowd:

"Master Li must have earned this by leading everyone to raise the altar in the village to catch the Kun Demon. The Jade Emperor saw his courage and rewarded him with this appointment."

"Since the Jade Emperor has issued a Decree, this matter is certain to succeed. And Uncle Li has been appointed a god—the 'Pagoda-Bearing Li Heavenly King' himself!"

"If that's truly the case, then as long as we serve Master faithfully, we're sure to receive good rewards."

"This Iron Pagoda is a treasure the Jade Emperor bestowed upon the Patriarch. Let's deliver it to him at once!"

The crowd nodded in agreement and clustered around Ma Jin as he held the Iron Pagoda. They returned to the front of Li Guangyuan's manor courtyard, where Ma Jin raised the pagoda high above his head and knelt at the gate. "Li Heavenly King! Li Heavenly King!" he called out. "The Jade Emperor has sent you the Demon Suppressing Pagoda! Li Heavenly King, come out and accept this Treasure Pagoda!"

The crowd knelt behind him and echoed loudly: "Li Heavenly King, accept the Treasure Pagoda!"

Golden Pig knelt among them. His mind was muddy as a nightmare, shocked senseless by these divine miracles. Involuntarily, he found himself shouting along with everyone: "Li Heavenly King, accept the Treasure Pagoda!"

Before long, Li Heavenly King—Li Guangyuan—emerged, surrounded by a group of attendants. His face still showed traces of bewilderment. A few days earlier, when Fairy Huang had read his face, she told him there were hints of Immortal Qi (Xian Qi) between his brows. All he needed was the right opportunity to Obtain the Dao. She had shared numerous stories of the Eight Immortals with him and explained that such opportunities were most Wonderful and Unspeakable. As long as he did good deeds and acted in ways the gods approved, the opportunity would surely arrive. He never expected it to come so quickly. Looking out at the villagers kneeling before him, he suddenly felt the Heaven's Mandate was upon him. Strength surged through his entire body, more than he could possibly use. It was as though he had returned to the days of his youth at the Weak Crown of twenty, when he had first come to the Li Surname Patriarch's estate and imagined himself commanding the world.

Li Guangyuan accepted the Iron Pagoda from Ma Jin and held it high before his chest. In that instant, the Temple Festival Opera of Li Family Enclosure reached its highest climax—right there at the main gate of the Li Residence.

News of what happened at Li Family Enclosure spread rapidly through the nearby villages and markets. Word even reached the County City. Stirred up by charlatans scattered throughout the region, villagers swarmed to Li Family Enclosure to "Worship the God."

The small temple where the Iron Pagoda had been "discovered" was now repaired and gleaming like new. Li Guangyuan enshrined the Iron Pagoda inside. With agitators working in the shadows everywhere, the daily stream of pilgrims offering incense was beyond counting. The ash in the incense burners accumulated faster than it could be cleaned. Day after day, incense smoke spiraled upward—the scene was tremendously lively. As for the Merit Box, it was stuffed full daily with offerings of money and goods. Grain, pastries, flowers, fruits, cloth, and silk piled high along both sides of the temple's covered corridor.

The Li Family also erected a cool shed beneath the trees beside the small temple, built an earthen stove, and provided meals and "Divine Medicine" to the worshippers. For a time, news that Li Guangyuan was an "Immortal" descended to the mortal world spread like wildfire. The clamor raised dust everywhere.

Now, with rain threatening, Lian Niang picked through vegetable leaves while stealing glances at her husband building a new shed alongside the other Corpsmen. More and more pilgrims were arriving—the original shed was no longer sufficient, so they were constructing another.

Her husband had joined the Eight Immortals Society and no longer needed to travel far for work. He only had to drill for half a day, and doing miscellaneous work earned him a regular allowance. Any additional tasks brought extra rewards. This was far easier than working himself half to death doing day labor at Xiaoyao Market.

Golden Pig's becoming a Corpsman had benefited Lian Niang as well. With so many pilgrims arriving, the steward had assigned her to help in the temple kitchen. Though she received no wages, she ate for free. At the end of each evening, after cleaning up, she could take home leftover rice and dishes—enough to cover her mother-in-law's meals too. Each month, they saved a substantial sum on food expenses. She calculated secretly in her heart that within a few months, she could set aside real savings.

Since coming to work at the stove, even Fairy Huang had become more cordial toward her. The fairy no longer charged her for continuing to cultivate magic—another Yuan saved! These days, Lian Niang's heart brimmed with quiet happiness. This was the best life she had known since marrying Golden Pig. Her only prayer now was that Fairy Huang would remain in Li Family Enclosure forever, and that the Patriarch's family would continue leading the Eight Immortals Society—how wonderful that would be! But her husband was too stubborn. Lian Niang had urged him several times to visit Fairy Huang and pay his respects, to beg for a protective talisman. After all, his daily work involved knives and spears. Having one of Fairy Huang's talismans would give her peace of mind. Yet whenever she brought it up, he only grunted "Heng" or "Ha" in vague agreement, then promptly forgot. If she pressed him further, he just glared at her with a dark face, trying to frighten her into silence. She had no idea what Fairy Huang had ever done to offend him.

Lian Niang told herself that once she conceived, this inexplicable rift between her husband and Fairy Huang would surely resolve itself. After all, he would have to visit Fairy Huang then to offer proper thanks. She had already drunk the talisman water and faithfully practiced the cultivation method Fairy Huang had taught her, never daring to slack off. Yet her belly showed no improvement. She had once secretly asked other women in the village who were cultivating magic to conceive, and they all advised her not to be anxious: sincerity of heart summons the spirit. When the time was right, the opportunity would come.

(End of Chapter)