Chapter Twenty-Three: The Arrival of the Village Deity

Yet today, at a single word from Wang Zhenling, so many shamans had all hurried to the village pavilion to pay their respects. For a moment, the entire banquet fell into an awkward silence.

It was clear that the steward, though still forcing a smile, was greatly strained, as if the expression were merely pasted onto his face. Even the village elder’s gaze had grown exceedingly strange. As the one responsible for rituals and education, he ought to be the one most familiar with these shamans. He knew well that they were not so easily summoned. At the very least, if he issued a command for them to come and pay respects, it was likely none would heed him—unless he pleaded with them.

Who exactly was this Wang Zhenling?

At first, Zhu He had wanted to watch Wang Zhenling make a fool of himself, thinking not a single shaman would appear. Even Wang Hu looked anxious; if not a single shaman came that night, the story would spread as a joke, greatly undermining Wang Zhenling’s authority. And for an official, the loss of authority spelled utter ruin.

With Wang Zhenling’s order, and the deliberate spreading of the news, all the clerks and soldiers at the village pavilion soon knew what had happened, and all kinds of rumors began to circulate. Yet who could have guessed that those shamans would, without waiting for the next day, all come to pay their respects, offering their greetings with utmost reverence.

“Could it be that the Wang clan is helping this new patrol magistrate? Yes, it must be; the Wang clan must have stepped in, persuading the shamans to put on a show… Hmph, I wonder how much favor the Wang clan will owe for this!”

Thus Zhu He comforted himself. Wang Zhenling was an unknown upstart; how could he command such respect? The real reason must surely be as he imagined!

But as Zhu He pondered this, he suddenly heard the shamans all together call out in loud voices, “We have come first, but soon the gods of every shrine in Guangyang will come in person to pay respects to Magistrate Wang and the assembled officials!”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s countenance changed.

It was true that in this world, the government presided over the spirits and deities. Yet within that system, the status of the spirits was above that of officials of equal rank, sometimes even surpassing those two or three levels higher.

A steward or patrol magistrate might serve for a handful of years before being transferred, promoted, retiring due to illness, or dying. But the gods of the shrines could remain in office for decades, even centuries. Under such circumstances, ordinary officials were dwarfed before these spirits!

To the spirits, these officials were but passing travelers. Not to mention the patrol magistrate—even the steward or the county magistrate would rarely, if ever, be honored by a personal visit from a shrine god to offer congratulations upon their appointment.

So what did Wang Zhenling possess, that he could draw all the spirits of Guangyang to come in person to offer their felicitations?

Everyone was fully aware that, though the shamans claimed to be paying respects to Magistrate Wang and the officials of the pavilion, no one was foolish enough to miss the point—the so-called “assembled officials” were merely included as an afterthought.

At this moment, the steward could no longer force a smile; even the hand he raised to disguise himself with a toast was trembling. The village elder, meanwhile, had knelt upright, his expression growing ever more solemn.

It was becoming clear that this newcomer to the village pavilion was no reckless youth, but a tiger among men!

Before the second watch, a cold wind began to howl, trees shook in the night, and countless shadowy figures gathered—the spirits from all eight directions coming together.

“They’re really here, they’re really here!” the clerks gasped. None had expected that every god of Guangyang would truly arrive, and the entire place was in an uproar.

Though the shamans had earlier declared that the gods of all the local shrines would come, and everyone knew a shaman spoke for their deity and would not make such boasts lightly, still, there remained an air of disbelief, a sense that it could not truly be so.

But now, as one carriage after another appeared from the darkness, surrounded by followers and guards, that sense of unreality was shattered and replaced by awe.

Feelings of respect and fear for Wang Zhenling filled their hearts. No one looked at him as a subject of ridicule any longer.

“Look—that’s Lord Hu’s carriage from Guangyang Shrine!”

“Lord Xu of Jinli Shrine is here too… Does the Wang clan really command such influence? It shouldn’t be possible!”

“Impossible—are even the gods of private shrines attending?”

The clerks were already stunned to see so many shrine gods arrive, but to see even the gods of unrecognized private shrines appear left them speechless with amazement.

The so-called public shrines were those recognized by the authorities. According to the court’s regulations, each ward had its own public shrine, with a resident deity who protected the region. The government itself would perform sacrifices during festivals, and thus had some degree of oversight over these shrines.

As for the private shrines, these were not recognized by the state; they belonged to the realm of illicit worship and, by law, were to be eradicated by the authorities.

Yet that was a matter for a bygone age, centuries past. Now, with the authority of the court in steep decline, private shrines flourished everywhere, in some places even surpassing the public ones.

The government had no power over the gods of these private shrines, and they certainly would not deign to pay respects to a mere patrol magistrate.

Yet here they all were. It was enough to leave everyone dumbstruck—did the Wang clan of Danling truly wield such influence? But that could not be; the Wang clan was but one among several great families. If they held such power, so would the others. The previous patrol magistrate was from the Lu family—what came of that?

So why did the new magistrate command such respect?

Little did they know that Wang Zhenling was well acquainted with Lord Hu of the Great Locust Shrine. Even before taking office, he had made a special visit to pay his respects to Lord Hu again. Guangyang Shrine was the largest and chief shrine in Guangyang, just as the village pavilion presided over all the wards. The guardian deity of the village shrine, then, was the overseer of all the ward shrines.

Moreover, Lord Hu had served as a shrine god for decades, with great prestige and an extensive web of connections. His standing was high not only among the public shrine deities, but also among those of the private shrines, with whom he maintained excellent relations.

With Lord Hu’s support, Wang Zhenling had no fear that the other deities would refuse to show face.

Thus, the reason so many shrine gods had come tonight was simply because Lord Hu had come to lend Wang Zhenling his support.

In truth, Wang Zhenling himself was astonished that Lord Hu’s influence was so vast. He had thought that Lord Hu’s presence, and perhaps another two or three shrine gods, would be enough to awe the entire village pavilion. Never had he imagined that Lord Hu would prove so formidable, able to summon every one of the twenty or thirty public and private shrine gods of Guangyang.

Even Wang Zhenling had not foreseen this; how could anyone else have? Zhu He’s face turned as pale as paper.