Chapter 102 - 101: Joining the Cult
Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Joining the Cult
When Wang Shiming appeared, Shu Qi waved him over. "I have a question for you..."
Wang Shiming hurried forward, bowing even lower. "Upper God, is there something you need?"
Shu Qi narrowed his beady eyes, sizing up Wang Shiming. "Let me ask you something. If I kidnapped your wife and told you to commit suicide, and if you refused, I would kill her... would you do it?"
"Really?"
Wang Shiming’s eyes lit up. Thinking of his shrewish and jealous wife at home, he was overcome with joy. "Did that foolish woman offend you, Upper God? If you dislike her, please, go right ahead. You don’t need my opinion."
Shu Qi turned to Ya Jiu. "See? I told you your idea was even lousier. The three great joys for a middle-aged man are getting promoted, getting rich, and having his wife die. If we actually did it, he might pretend to be sad, but deep down, he’d be ecstatic."
Ya Jiu pouted and said nothing more.
Shu Qi sighed. "Haa... I shouldn’t have listened to He Liu in the first place. But now this dirty job has to be done!"
He sighed again, hopped down from the feeding trough, and walked over to the water buffalo.
He carefully examined the buffalo’s belly, his fingers tracing over the rough hide as he searched for a suitable spot. In the end, he settled on a more wrinkled area.
He took a small, palm-sized packet from within his robes. It was wrapped tightly in thick, oiled paper, its edges sealed shut with wax.
Using a small knife, he gently made an inch-long incision at the chosen spot. His technique was precise and practiced, drawing only a few beads of blood.
The buffalo flinched in pain and began to struggle, but Shu Qi’s other hand quickly pressed down on its belly. A surge of Inner Strength flowed into the beast, instantly calming it.
He carefully inserted the oiled-paper packet into the incision, using his fingers to push it deep beneath the skin.
Next, he took a needle and thread from his robes. His fingers flew as he stitched the wound closed.
Finally, he produced a small vial of white powder and gently sprinkled it over the stitches.
The moment the powder touched the wound, it formed a thin film, staunching the flow of blood.
The once-agitated water buffalo was now perfectly still, as if nothing had happened at all.
Once this was done, Shu Qi and Ya Jiu disgustedly brushed the straw and dust from their clothes and walked out of the cattle pen.
Wang Shiming immediately scurried after them like a subservient servant.
The dining table was laden with a sumptuous spread of dishes. In the center, a large bowl of stewed meat gave off a rich, greasy aroma.
Wang Shiming eagerly served the two men rice and choice morsels of food, yet barely ate anything himself. His face was a mask of irrepressible excitement and a desire to please.
After a few moments of eating, Wang Shiming suddenly lowered his voice and spoke to Shu Qi, his tone that of someone reporting a great success. "T-Two... Upper Gods... what you... what you instructed me to do last time... I did it."
Shu Qi, who was gnawing on a bone, froze. He didn’t understand. "Did it? Did what?"
Ya Jiu also looked over, confused.
Wang Shiming’s voice dropped even lower, becoming almost a mumble. "It’s... didn’t you Upper Gods say that to receive a god’s blessing, one must... have relations with a god’s descendant? So, I... just as you said, I found a pig... and... mounted it."
"PFFT—"
Ya Jiu nearly sprayed a mouthful of soup.
The motion of Shu Qi gnawing on his bone froze instantly. His beady eyes went wide as saucers. He and Ya Jiu locked eyes, each seeing the same look of utter, disbelieving shock on the other’s face.
’This old bastard... You’re a real piece of work!’
As it turned out, after Shu Qi and Ya Jiu had settled in, Shu Qi had performed a little trick to ensure Wang Shiming’s obedient cooperation: he had made every single rat in the house scurry out into the courtyard.
This little display, for the unsophisticated and superstitious Wang Shiming—who was already a paranoid wreck because of Chen Li—was enough to make him view Shu Qi as a divine being. He immediately bought into the absurd tale that Shu Qi was the Mouse God.
Seeing their vast Divine Abilities, he got it in his head to have his son learn to cultivate Divine Abilities from them.
But how could Shu Qi and Ya Jiu possibly agree to that?
So they spun him a tale, telling him that to cultivate Divine Abilities, one must first be initiated into their Sect and receive a god’s blessing.
Wang Shiming pressed them on how to join the Sect.
Shu Qi and Ya Jiu told him there were two ways. The first was to make an offering of silver: initiation required a tribute of ten thousand taels of silver.
Wang Shiming’s family had saved up enough over the years that they could, in fact, produce that amount of silver.
But he was unwilling to do so. After all, coming up with that sum would cripple his family’s finances.
Besides, the gift required to learn Martial Arts at the county dojo was only fifty taels.
Ten thousand taels of silver was simply too much; it far exceeded his expectations.
The second method was to worship a god.
Only the truly devout could be initiated into the Sect.
And how did one prove their devotion? By forming a relationship with a god’s descendants.
The Sect had numerous gods of all kinds.
The Pig God, Cow God, Snake God, Horse God, Elephant God, and so on.
For example, Shu Qi worshipped the Mouse God, and Ya Jiu worshipped the Duck God.
As for how exactly one formed a relationship with a god’s descendants, that was a secret of their Cultivation. How could they possibly tell Wang Shiming?
So they had simply fudged their way through the explanation with vague, evasive words.
Who would have thought that Wang Shiming would misunderstand completely? He assumed it involved *that* kind of activity, and they were simply too embarrassed to say it outright.
He immediately told his son. Upon hearing the suggestion, the son flew into a rage. He couldn’t believe his father would ask him to do something so disgusting, and their relationship ruptured on the spot.
Wang Shiming spent a long time sighing in despair.
He was filled with regret, deep and bitter.
He regretted not spending that little bit of silver back then to send his son to a dojo to learn Martial Arts.
Now, he could only watch helplessly as Chen Li’s two sons became accomplished in Martial Arts and bullied his family with impunity.
After two nights of tossing and turning, he gritted his teeth, squeezed his eyes shut, and decided to do it himself.
Shu Qi glanced at Wang Shiming. Seeing the complex mix of excitement, embarrassment, and anticipation on the man’s face, his heart skipped a beat.
’What in the world is going on in this old bastard’s head? He can’t possibly think I rode a rat, can he?’
’Holy shit!’
’Am I that kind of person?’
’Besides, a rat is tiny. Could it even handle it?’
In fact, Wang Shiming had completely misunderstood the two of them.
Before joining the Sect, Shu Qi had another nickname: Master Shu.
He’d gotten it because he grew up in the company of rats, knew their habits, and had even raised an unusually intelligent one.
By a stroke of luck, he joined the Sect. When it came time to choose a god to worship, he chose the Mouse God. After that, his affinity with rats grew even stronger.
In that one instant, Shu Qi and Ya Jiu came to a silent agreement.
’This old bastard has to go!’
’And we can’t let him join the Sect, no matter what!’
’If he gets in and starts spreading this story around, our reputations will be ruined!’
But for now, they had to keep the man placated.
Shu Qi forced a bizarrely appreciative expression onto his gaunt face and nodded repeatedly. "Good! Good! Excellent! I didn’t realize you were so dedicated! A sincere heart moves the gods. The Pig God will surely sense your piety."
Ya Jiu also snapped to his senses. Suppressing his revulsion, he picked up the cue and added in his hoarse voice, "That’s right! Don’t you worry! Once we get rid of Chen Li, we’ll take you back with us and help you complete the initiation ceremony. Then, divine grace will surely be bestowed upon you!"
Hearing this, Wang Shiming began to tremble with excitement, as if he could already see himself receiving divine grace. He said repeatedly, "Thank you, Upper Gods! Thank you! I will do my absolute best! I swear it!"