Chapter 129 - 127: Punishment and Protection

Chapter 129: Chapter 127: Punishment and Protection

Because evildoers would be punished for worshipping, Lin Xian Village had far fewer people today than usual.

Also, with the new reservation system in place, Lin Xian Village could no longer allow an unlimited number of people in each day.

However, people from the surrounding villages could enter Lin Xian Village anytime they wished—a little perk Lin Feng had arranged for his local folks.

At that moment, outside the Land God Temple, four siblings arrived at the entrance with their mother.

They had been arguing loudly the whole way, attracting the attention of many tourists and villagers who had come to worship.

"Isn’t that He Daniu’s family from Shanwan Village? They’re always fighting about who should take care of their mother. Looks like they’ve finally found a solution."

The onlookers, who had been cluelessly watching the drama, perked up when they heard this, eager for details.

"Sir, could you tell us what’s going on?"

"What’s going on? It’s simple. Everyone in that family accuses the others of not supporting their elderly mother, of not being filial.

It’s the kind of thing outsiders can’t judge. I never thought they’d come to the Earth God to settle it."

The villagers and tourists who now understood the situation grew interested. They wanted to see if the Earth God could really help judge the matter.

"Big Brother, didn’t you say you were the most filial? Come on, let’s kneel before the Earth God today and have him judge which one of us is unfilial."

The eldest brother said, "How can the Earth God judge whether someone is filial or not?"

"Why couldn’t he? As long as you haven’t done anything else with a guilty conscience and you’ve been filial to Mother, the Earth God won’t punish you."

"Big Sister, don’t bother talking to him. Let’s go worship first and see if the Earth God punishes *us* for being unfilial!"

The youngest sister glared at her eldest brother, then pulled her older sister toward the temple, leaving the two brothers outside in an awkward position.

Seeing this, the surrounding tourists began to discuss it among themselves.

"The two daughters always come to see their mother during holidays. Two years ago, because the fighting got so bad, they even brought their mother hundreds of miles away to take care of her.

Those two brothers wouldn’t even visit when their mother was hospitalized. You can tell at a glance they aren’t filial."

"Yeah, I heard they even got into a physical fight over taking care of their mom."

The tourists hoped the two men would go in soon. They wanted to see if the Land God Temple could really pass judgment on such matters.

The younger brother glanced at his older brother, then turned and walked into the Land God Temple.

Although he had argued with his brother about their mother’s care, he knew that when it came to looking after her, he had never mistreated her.

"Alright, now it’s just the older brother left. I wonder if he dares to go in?"

"I doubt it. His eyes are shifty. You can tell something’s wrong just by looking at him."

The eldest brother thought to himself, ’It’s not like anything will definitely happen just because I go in and worship.’ He also turned and walked into the temple.

Inside the Land God Temple, the various Daoists had already been briefed on the situation and were watching the family with curiosity.

Even the tourists in line didn’t mind them cutting in. The drama was more important than worship.

The two sisters smelled the strange fragrance and looked at the Earth God statue in amazement. They bowed piously before walking out.

After the younger brother went inside, he saw his sisters walking out. He greeted them and then began to worship.

In truth, he knew he’d be fine the moment he stepped inside, because he could smell the fragrance.

The situation here had been explained clearly online: as long as you smelled the fragrance upon entering, you would be fine.

If you didn’t smell the fragrance and worshipped anyway, you’d be in for some bad luck afterward.

After he finished worshipping and came out, he walked over to his sisters.

"You guys smelled the fragrance, right? They say online that people who don’t smell it will have bad luck after worshipping."

"We did. Now we just have to see about Big Brother. I was watching, and he didn’t seem to react at all when he walked in."

The three of them understood instantly. The strange fragrance was so magical that anyone who smelled it would have a change in expression.

Since their eldest brother had no reaction when he went in, the outcome was already clear.

The eldest brother soon walked out, saying smugly, "See? I’m fine too. How dare you still say I’m unfilial!"

"Big Brother, are you sure you’re fine?"

"What could happen to me? I’m perfectly fine."

"OW! A damn hornet just stung me!"

The surrounding tourists watched this miraculous scene unfold, thinking about the online speculation regarding the retribution here.

"Looks like this guy really does have some minor moral issues. Nothing too serious, though, or the retribution wouldn’t have been so immediate."

"Yeah, I heard the serious cases involve broken arms and legs. The lighter ones are just recurring nightmares. Getting injured on the spot like this is the easiest punishment."

This had already happened a few times today. Some stubborn people simply refused to admit they had received retribution.

Admitting it would mean admitting a moral failing, so of course, they didn’t want to.

However, a new hot topic appeared online today: some tourists who had come to worship speculated that they might have received the Earth God’s protection.

For example, a young man on an electric scooter was about to cross an intersection when a car happened to block his path, saving him from being hit by a falling tree branch.

Another person’s home was being burgled, but a neighbor happened to come home at just the right moment, saw it, and called the police.

If such incidents were rare, people wouldn’t pay them much mind. But when many similar things happened, people started to take notice.

Some people were saved from minor accidents, others from major ones. The one thing they had in common was that they had all worshipped the Earth God.

After this information appeared online, some people who were on the fence about worshipping the Earth God decided to scramble for a reservation spot to go and worship.

Of course, they also wanted to visit the magical Lin Xian Village while they were at it. A blessed place like this might bring some unexpected rewards.

Lin Feng, at that moment, was dealing with an unexpected encounter of his own. An old monk and a young monk had appeared before him, offering to fund the construction of a temple.

"Amitabha, Donor Lin," the old monk said. "This place of yours is quite mysterious. If you build a temple and enshrine my Buddha, the Buddha will protect you."

"I’m not sick or in trouble, and my life is happy. Why do I need the Buddha’s protection?

Don’t use that spiel on me. I don’t need to build any temple here."

"Donor Lin, do you have some misunderstanding of my Buddha? My Buddha is compassionate and encourages people to do good. As long as Donor Lin plants a good seed, you will surely reap a good fruit.

As long as Donor Lin agrees, we will cover all the costs. We will also give Donor Lin a share of all future earnings."

Lin Feng smiled and said, "Master, in this society, as long as you’re not breaking the law, there’s no shame in wanting to make money. Just don’t beat around the bush with other things.

However, I already have enough money-making projects here. I don’t need a temple. You should go ask somewhere else, Master."

The old monk stood up abruptly and said, "It seems Donor Lin has some misunderstanding about us. I believe it won’t be long before we meet again."

Watching the two leave, Lin Feng poured himself a cup of tea and began to sip it slowly.

Just then, Feng Ziling ran over. "Boss Lin, my master said those Daoists want to meet with you."

"What did they tell your master? What’s their purpose for being here?"

"They just wanted to come and confirm if the Earth God was truly showing its power. Now that they’ve confirmed it, they want to meet you."

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "Then bring them over."

He hadn’t been friendly to the monks, and he wasn’t particularly respectful toward these Daoists either.

The main reason was that with all the magical things happening in Lin Xian Village, even Daoist Qi hadn’t discovered anything. This suggested that Daoists were just ordinary people.

They had just studied more Daoist School classics, which had changed their perspective on life.

’If a Daoist came to me now and explained the principle behind the Land God Temple, I would treat him as an honored guest,’ Lin Feng thought. ’But for now, it seems the Daoists aren’t capable of that either.’

When the group of Daoists arrived, some of them were stunned the moment they saw Lin Feng.

One of the old Daoists exclaimed, "Natural Daoist Skill! How is that possible?"