Chapter 375: The Three-Year Term Has Expired

Feng Jun was startled when he saw the golden statue in the distance: Had he made a mistake? He had been to Chengcheng County before, but there had never been such a large statue. Was this just built?He quickly stopped a pedestrian: “When did such a statue appear in your Chengcheng County?”

At that time, he wasn’t wearing his official garments;he was dressed plainly like a merchant. The pedestrian, upon hearing this, rolled his eyes and scrutinized him like a country bumpkin: “That’s the Dao Xuan Deity Statue, funded by all the wealthy people in our county. It was just completed a couple of days ago.”

Feng Jun felt a slight stir inwardly. He had heard the name Dao Xuan Deity before. When Daoist Ma, Ma Tianyuan, prayed for rain, hadn’t he claimed to seek it from this Deity? He also said the Four Sea Dragon Kings were caught by the neck by the Deity.

The pedestrian spoke with a hint of pride: “Isn’t this Deity statue amazing? People from all walks of life here mobilized over a thousand workers and took nearly two years to finish it.”

Feng Jun uttered an “Eh?”—over a thousand people working for nearly two years? Was this absurd? This was a year of great disaster;how could they engage in such activities? Weren’t they afraid of starving? No, hold on! The Chengcheng County he passed through on his journey seemed unscathed by disaster.

He asked in a low voice: “Did Dao Xuan Deity bring rain to Chengcheng County? So that’s why you built this statue?”

The pedestrian laughed: “Not just rain. The Deity personally intervened to help us defeat the rebel band in Guyuan.”

“”Personally intervened?'” Feng Jun was startled again: “How did he do that?”

The pedestrian rolled up his sleeves, mimed a palm strike descending from the sky, and added a sound effect: “Traitors, won’t you die?”

“Look, just like this: he slapped down from the clouds;the Deity’s hand was tens of meters wide, booming like earth and mountains shaking. The Guyuan rebels were so scared they wet their pants, hahaha.”

After hearing this, Feng Jun silently labeled the pedestrian as “crazy” in his mind, clasped his fists, and said: “Thank you for your guidance, brother.”

After saying that, he quickly made himself scarce.

A servant approached and whispered: “Master, could what that man said be true?”

Feng Jun replied: “That man is mad. Let’s just go ask Liang Shixian directly.”

With the huge golden statue serving as their guide, they didn’t need to ask for directions. Walking briskly toward it, they soon reached the City God Temple.

At the temple entrance, a plaque still hung reading “City God Temple”;it hadn’t been changed to “Dao Xuan Deity Cave.” This was due to Li Daoxuan’s decree forbidding his followers to alter it. In his eyes, the City God Temple was a landmark-level building in Chengcheng County, a historical relic, and in the future, it would even be a tourist spot. Changing its name for a joke would mar its beauty.

The layout inside the City God hall remained unchanged;the main hall still enshrined the City God. Li Daoxuan’s massive golden statue stood in a newly opened area behind the temple.

Feng Jun walked for a long while before reaching the foot of the statue.

He immediately spotted Liang Shixian standing there, holding an incense stick with both hands and respectfully offering it to the Dao Xuan Deity statue.

Feng Jun was startled inwardly: Is Magistrate Liang involved in this too?

He saw Liang Shixian finish the incense offering, then personally pick up a drumstick and strike a large bell nearby. With a loud “gong,” the sound resonated melodiously, soaring into the sky.

At that moment, Li Daoxuan was eating Chunhua Hele. Just minutes earlier, the Hele from Chunhua he bought on an online shopping site had arrived, so he quickly prepared a bowl. Holding it, he ate while sighing a little regretfully that it wasn’t the Fresh Water Hele from Heyang County.

Seeing “Chengcheng County” flashing on the box, he casually pressed a button and jumped over. He saw Liang Shixian just having finished offering incense, whispering something toward his own huge golden statue.

Liang Shixian’s voice was soft, but with the “Attention” function turned on, Li Daoxuan heard every word clearly.

“I report to the Deity. Your humble official has completed three years as magistrate of Chengcheng County and must return to the capital to report on duty before being transferred elsewhere.”

Liang Shixian’s tone was desolate: “Your humble official received much care from the Deity during these three years in Chengcheng County: grain and money to aid the people. Now I must leave. The world is vast, and I don’t know where I’ll go. Without the Deity’s help, I don’t know if I can remain a good official, sigh…”

Upon hearing this, Li Daoxuan suddenly realized.

Liang Shixian had come to Chengcheng County as magistrate at the end of Year Seven of Tianqi, bringing news of Emperor Tianqi’s death with his appointment. In the blink of an eye, three years had flown by. Ming Dynasty local officials served three-year terms;his term had ended, so he had to return to the capital to report and be transferred.

For Chengcheng County, this was a major upheaval. No wonder he risked “disturbing the Deity’s tranquility” to ring the bell.

Liang Shixian murmured: “After your humble official is transferred, I don’t know if the successor will be upright or corrupt. If upright, it would be best. But if a corrupt official comes, I can only beg the Deity, Elder, to use divine powers to punish the corrupt official and protect the common people.”

His tone, like a posthumous request, was pitiful.

Li Daoxuan frowned as he listened, also pondering: Overall, Liang Shixian was good. If replaced by a corrupt official, I would have to kill him. But the death of a magistrate would alarm the court, leading to chaos and trouble.

Just then, Feng Jun approached. Standing behind Liang Shixian, he greeted with a grin: “Brother Liang, what are you muttering at the statue?”

Liang Shixian’s whispers were so soft that only he and Li Daoxuan could hear them;he didn’t intend to share them. Thus, Feng Jun heard nothing and assumed Liang was making a wish to the deity statue.

The greeting started Liang Shixian slightly. Turning, he recognized his junior, Feng Jun.

Feng Jun was several years younger than Liang Shixian and considered Liang’s junior at Donglin Academy.

Both had been students at Donglin Academy, making them classmates. In the Ming Dynasty bureaucracy, such bonds were strong, as factions often formed around teacher-disciple or classmate ties.

Liang Shixian was surprised: “Eh? Brother Feng, what brings you here?”

Feng Jun said: “There are some urgent matters I need to discuss with Brother Liang.”

Seeing Feng Jun in plain clothes with a serious look, Liang knew it was important and whispered: “Brother Feng, come with me. Let’s find a quiet spot.”

Now, Li Daoxuan also saw Feng Jun and thought secretly: The magistrate of Heyang County, in plain clothes, came to Chengcheng County. Interesting! You could almost be charged with dereliction of duty.

It seemed he really had something important to exaggerate about.