618: Chapter 637: Three Sacrifices and Four Fruits 618: Chapter 637: Three Sacrifices and Four Fruits “Ye Xuan doesn’t want any, so you have it,” Ye Xuan said slowly, shaking his head as he returned the candy back into the little girl’s hands.
Ye Xuan knew that, although the candy seed simple, for a little girl who had rarely tasted snacks, it was not so easily considered a re delicacy.
The young and the old pushed the candy back and forth, making the onlookers laugh heartily, and Zhang Qinghe even pulled out another piece of candy to put in the little girl’s hand.
“Alright, I know you keep everything good for your Brother Ye,” said Zhang Qinghe as he handed her another piece.
“Here’s one more from Uncle Qinghe.”
“Thank you, Uncle Qinghe.” The little girl quickly expressed her gratitude and then, holding Ye Xuan’s big hand, she shook it excitedly, “Look, Brother Ye, Zhuo Ma now has two pieces of candy.
We can share them when we get ho.”
Her innocence and simplicity fully captured the essence of the little girl, prompting Ye Xuan to nod slightly.
His heart, cold as ancient ice, felt a hint of warmth.
“Qinghe, what is going on with these three sacrifices and four fruits?”
Suddenly, Uncle Zhuo frowned.
When he saw the offerings on the altar, he seed to have noticed sothing amiss and turned to ask Zhang Qinghe.
“Ah?”
Hearing Uncle Zhuo’s words, Zhang Qinghe was montarily startled, then a bitter smile appeared on his face.
“Uncle Zhuo, don’t you already know the situation in our Little Stone Village?”
“The locust plague the year before last, the severe drought last year, and only this year has it gotten a bit better.
Those large animals are treasures.
If we really slaughtered them, the days in our Little Stone Village would beco even harder,” Zhang Qinghe explained with frustration.
“This…?”
Uncle Zhuo’s face paled.
He understood Zhang Qinghe’s frustration all too well, but if the Buddhist Envoy was not satisfied, Little Stone Village would surely suffer punishnt.
As their conversation reached Ye Xuan’s ears, he looked towards the altar and indeed saw that the offerings were the smaller animals and so ordinary fruits.
What are three sacrifices and four fruits?
Three sacrifices and four fruits are items used for worship, necessary at every major festival, but they also have different levels.
There are distinctions in the three sacrifices: large includes a sheep’s head, a pig’s head, and a cow’s head; small includes a chicken’s head, a duck’s head, and a rabbit’s head.
Currently, the altar displayed the small sacrifices, which were the lowest grade of offering.
The four fruits are less particular; common Mortal World fruits like apples and peaches can be used, and if one could use fruits containing Spiritual Energy, that would be even better.
However, the offerings from Little Stone Village not only included the most common of fruits, but the three sacrifices were also the heads of a chicken, a duck, and a rabbit, making it seem quite ager.
But as Zhang Qinghe said, with the village suffering disasters for two consecutive years and crops failing entirely, cows were needed for plowing, sheep for milking, and pigs could produce piglets—slaughtering them would only add to Little Stone Village’s woes.
“Uncle Zhuo, you need not worry; the Buddhist Sect is compassionate and kind.
Even though our offerings are just the small sacrifices, the Buddhist Envoy will surely understand the difficulties our Little Stone Village faces,” Zhang Qinghe said, trying to sound hopeful.
“Let’s hope so!” Uncle Zhuo frowned tightly, his words tinged with reluctance and his eyes showing a trace of worry.
“Om Mani Pad Hum!”
Suddenly, a chant echoed from outside Little Stone Village and a group of about ten monks slowly entered, with a leader in his thirties, hands pressed together and softly chanting.
“The Envoy is here, the Buddhist Envoy is here.”
As the monks entered Little Stone Village, excitent bubbled among the villagers, who knelt to worship them.
“Om Mani Pad Hum.”
Ku Hui chanted softly, “Where is the head of Little Stone Village?”
“Peasant Zhang Qinghe, currently the chief of Xiaoshi Village, has seen the Envoy.” Zhang Qinghe dared not delay and quickly ran towards Ku Hui, then knelt and kowtowed at his feet.
Upon seeing Zhang Qinghe’s respectful attitude, Ku Hui placed his hands together and chanted Buddha’s na softly, his eyes showing a trace of satisfaction.
Although he was a Buddhist Envoy, he quite enjoyed the feeling of being worshipped by mortals.
At this mont!
Ye Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, silently observing the so-called Buddhist Envoy, a hint of indifference quietly crossing his eyes, and then he no longer paid attention to him.
Golden Core Stage!
This so-called Buddhist Envoy was rely at the Golden Core Stage, not even qualified to carry Ye Xuan’s shoes, naturally, this did not arouse Ye Xuan’s slightest interest.
“Have the three offerings and four fruits been prepared?” Ku Hui seed to be smiling kindly, yet he asked Zhang Qinghe in a condescending manner.
“They are… prepared.”
Zhang Qinghe knelt on the ground, forcing a smile on his face, which made Ku Hui nod and gaze towards the sacrificial altar.
Suddenly!
When Ku Hui saw the three offerings and four fruits on the altar, the smile on his face gradually disappeared, turning slightly pale as his hands folded in prayer slowly lowered, his eyes darkening as he looked at Zhang Qinghe.
“Are these the three offerings and four fruits your Xiaoshi Village uses to worship my Buddha?”
Ku Hui spoke almost word for word, the aura of the Golden Core Stage bursting forth at that mont, silencing the previously noisy Xiaoshi Village instantly.
Uncle Zhuo’s worst fear had happened; using such cheap offerings to worship Buddha directly led the Buddhist Envoy to question them aloud, causing Zhang Qinghe’s forehead to be covered in cold sweat as he continuously kowtowed towards Ku Hui.
“Envoy, hear out, our Xiaoshi Village has suffered from natural disasters year after year, those cattle and sheep…”
“How dare you!”
Before Zhang Qinghe could finish, Ku Hui glared furiously, his voice thundering, “My Buddha is rciful, benefitting all living beings, and yet you show no gratitude, instead using such lowly offerings to worship my Buddha, this is simply an insult to our Buddhist line.”
“Amitabha!”
As Ku Hui scolded, the dozen monks behind him chanted Buddha’s na loudly; the deafening sound resonated throughout Xiaoshi Village, striking fear into the hearts of the villagers, who knelt on the ground begging the Buddhist Envoy for forgiveness.
“Envoy, have rcy, we villagers have always been devoted to Buddha.
It’s just that our village is too poor.
By the next grand worship day, our village will certainly make up for today’s faults.
We hope the Envoy is rciful and spares us your thunderous wrath.” Zhang Qinghe continued to kowtow, his forehead bruised and bleeding slightly, his voice breaking with sobs.
At this mont!
Ku Hui’s face was somber, his aura icy, yet facing these ignorant mortals, he could not truly punish them.
Would he kill the entire village just because of poor offerings?
If he were to do so, it would damage the reputation of his Buddhist Sect, and his role as a Buddhist Envoy would be over, which was not the outco he desired.
In fact, the so-called three offerings and four fruits were rely for formality’s sake.
Ku Hui wasn’t particularly concerned about them.
However, in the Western Continent, envoys like him abounded, their achievents asured by the incense money each village contributed.
The more incense money collected, the more advanced cultivation techniques and resources the Buddhist Sect granted them, directly proportional to the incense money the envoys brought in.
Now, with Xiaoshi Village using inferior offerings, it was apparent they could not offer much incense money, which made Ku Hui feel like his trip was in vain, hence his anger.
Although Ku Hui was seething with anger, he had no way to force these humble mortals to produce incense money and could only quickly conclude today’s ritual and head to the next village.
“The ritual begins.”
Ku Hui’s expression darkened; he couldn’t even bother to chant Buddha’s na anymore and strode directly towards the altar, a wooden fish suddenly appearing in his hand.
He rapidly struck it while the dozen monks behind him began chanting the Diamond Sutra, announcing that the ritual officially started.
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