There is a god in the sky

Chapter 351 Palace Change 4

After leaving the Marquis's residence, Shen Lan went straight to Yongshou Street.

Dawn is approaching, but there's no sunshine today; it's probably going to be a rainy day.

Yongshou Street was quiet; all the shops were still closed.

Shen Lan found the coffin shop and pounded on the door.

After a long while, someone inside finally responded, "Who is it? So early in the morning, has someone in your family died?"

A piece of the door panel was removed, revealing a head—it was the same guy Shen Lan had met before.

He asked groggily, "Young lady? Are you here to buy a coffin?"

"No, I'm looking for..." Shen Lan suddenly remembered that Shen Zhiyuan used a certain name outside.

“I’m looking for the master who wears a mask on his face. I came here to see him last time.”

"You mean Master Shen? He left a few days ago and isn't working here anymore."

"What? He's gone? Do you know where he went?"

"I don't know, but he's single, so he must have found another place to make a living. You can ask around, young lady. Master Shen is very skilled and he wears a mask, so he should be easy to find."

"Thank you." Shen Lan was a little disappointed. In the vast sea of ​​people, she had no idea where Shen Zhiyuan would go.

Seeing that the shopkeeper was about to close the shop, Shen Lan hurriedly asked, "I saw a group of people staying at the shop earlier, are they still there? There was a boy named Xiao Huzi."

"They were the shopkeeper's relatives, and they left after two days."

"Is your manager surnamed Wu?"

"Yes, young lady, do you know our shopkeeper?"

Shen Lan shook her head. Although she didn't know him, she had overheard him that day and assumed that this Manager Wu was also from Li Ge.

It seems the only way to find out where they are is to ask Li Ge.

Shen Lan walked out of Yongshou Street and, on a whim, decided to go and take a look at the house near the City God Temple.

The day before yesterday, Liu Engui was hidden there, and there was no time to clean up the mess.

As I walked along Yongshou Street, it grew brighter and brighter, and the vendors on the street gradually came out.

Shen Lan's stomach started growling.

She bought a meat pie and started eating it, but couldn't taste anything. Walking in the vast sea of ​​people, she felt like a grain of sand being pushed forward by the waves.

The City God Temple had been sealed off long ago, but Shen Lan noticed that the seal on the gate seemed to have been tampered with.

She walked to the wall next to her and climbed over it.

My original intention was simply to offer incense to the City God, hoping that he would pass on a message to the King of Hell, so that Miao Niang could be reincarnated into a good life.

But as soon as I entered the courtyard, I realized something was wrong.

There was a slight breathing sound.

"Who's in there?"

She assumed they were beggars or refugees secretly living in the temple and spoke up first.

There was no response from inside, but footsteps could be heard, and then a few strands of hair appeared on the main hall door.

"Get out of here, or don't blame us for being impolite!" shouted the people in the temple.

The voice sounded familiar.

Shen Lan strode forward and knocked on the door. "Excuse me, I need to offer incense. I'll leave after I'm done."

"You didn't know the City God Temple was shut down, did you?"

"So what? The temple may be sealed off, but the City God is still here."

"With no one to offer sacrifices, the City God must have been angered and left. If you have something to ask for, you should go to a temple to pray to the Bodhisattva."

Shen Lan continued knocking on the door, threatening, "Stop talking nonsense and open the door now, or I will report you to the authorities."

Upon hearing this, the person inside became anxious. First, a wooden stick was thrust out of the window, and then someone opened the door and slashed at Shen Lan with a knife.

Shen Lan dodged to the side, kicked his wrist, turned around, grabbed his arm and twisted it backward forcefully.

"It hurts..."

"Little Tiger, with so many of you, why did you send out a kid like you to fight?"

"Miss Shen?"

Please forgive Xiaohuzi for not recognizing her; Shen Lan's voice was clearly different from hers just now.

A group of people walked out of the room with a clatter. Some of them were familiar to Shen Lan, while others were not. But judging from their clothes and appearance, they were clearly all people from the martial arts world.

Shen Zhiyuan, dressed in white, stood at the back of the crowd. He only stepped out when he saw that it was Shen Lan.

"How did you find this place?"

"luck."

Shen Lan walked into the main hall and immediately saw the coffin placed in the corner.

She even recognized that the coffin was the one Shen Zhiyuan had carved last time.

"It's too hot to leave it like this."

Shen Zhiyuan hummed in agreement. "Someone has already gone to find ice."

Shen Lan pushed open the coffin lid and saw that Lin Miaoniang's body had been changed into a bright red wedding dress.

According to folk beliefs, the fact that the deceased was dressed in wedding attire signifies that the woman's death was not natural and that something bad was about to happen.

This is obviously nonsense, but a normal person wouldn't wear wedding clothes as funeral clothes.

Just as she was about to ask, she heard Shen Zhiyuan say, "I want the City God to be my witness so that I can marry Miao Niang here."

Shen Lan looked at him in shock, "Are you serious?"

"Yes, our marriage was arranged when we were young. It was a marriage ordained by our parents and a matchmaker. We were meant to get married."

"But time has passed, and you've been separated for many years. He hasn't even asked her what she thinks. What if she doesn't want to?"

Shen Zhiyuan smiled gently and reached out to straighten the jade pendant in front of Lin Miaoniang.

He said softly, "She'll agree, I know."

"Lan'er, you are my only family left in this world. Would you be willing to watch over my marriage with Miao Niang in place of my parents?"

Shen Lan's nose felt sore.

She thought, if her uncle and aunt were still alive, they would definitely want to see them get married.

But now, they are separated by death. What good would it do to get married and have a wedding ceremony?

"Cousin, are you really determined to do this?"

"Yes, I've thought it through. I want to take her back and bury her in the Shen family's cemetery, with my name on the tombstone, to accompany her and so that she's no longer alone."

"it is good."

Shen Lan went out and bought some candles and red lanterns for the wedding.

Weddings and funerals do occur in folk customs, but they are usually only done by families who sell their daughters for personal gain.

The City God Temple has been deserted for some time and looks somewhat dilapidated, but it's quite clean after some tidying up.

Shen Lan directed Xiao Huzi and the others to work. Some wiped the statues of gods, some set up the offering table, and the experienced ones gave Shen Zhiyuan a temporary training on wedding etiquette.

Although it wasn't a joyous occasion, everyone sincerely congratulated Shen Zhiyuan.

This is probably what it means to be a person of the martial arts world—unrestrained and free from many formalities.

It took everyone half a day to set up the venue, and the City God didn't seem as fierce as usual.

Shen Lan redrew Lin Miaoniang's makeup to make her complexion look more normal.

Little Tiger stood beside her at some point and exclaimed, "Sister Shen's hands are so skillful! Sister-in-law looks like she's asleep."

Shen Zhiyuan carried her out.

He changed into a red outfit and wore a half-mask, which didn't make him look bad.

"The time has come; the newlyweds may begin their wedding ceremony."

Pedestrians outside the City God Temple stopped in their tracks, puzzled. "Why are there voices coming from inside?"

"What's so strange about that? What dilapidated temple doesn't have beggars?"

"Wasn't it sealed off by the government?"

"It was only because the government sealed it off that it became a free place for those vagrants and beggars to live. Otherwise, do you think they could have entered the City God Temple?"

"That's true. I wonder when the lockdown will be lifted. I haven't even offered incense to the City God this month."

"I've moved to Yunxiao Temple nearby now, where the incense of the Three Pure Ones is very strong."

The pedestrians were not curious about the sound coming from inside.

Separated by a door and a wall, it felt like two different worlds.