met free Chapter 88 When you're traveling, you have to give yourself your own identity.
Chapter 88 When you're traveling, you have to give yourself your own identity.
Before everyone's eyes, a dozen locusts spontaneously combusted in mid-air without fire, and the entire place fell into complete silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, except for the crackling sound of the burning.
With a series of thuds, locusts fell from the sky, turning into charred, smoking corpses a few moments later. The aroma filling the air made the villagers, who rarely ate meat, swallow hard.
The young Taoist was also captivated by Shen Qing's little fire magic trick. He shrank behind Zhang Tianshi and whispered, "Master, he seems to be real!"
"Bullshit!" Zhang Tianshi cursed in a low voice, "They're just some江湖客 (jianghu ke, martial arts practitioners) with some tricks up their sleeves. I've seen a few similar illusions myself."
Besides, what kind of master likes to put on airs like that? Zhang Tianshi sensed the aura of a fellow fraudster in Shen Qing.
In a sense, he wasn't wrong.
Zhang Tianshi pointed at Shen Qing and angrily rebuked him: "You disrespect the gods, and this place will soon be punished by heaven!"
"That's right, it's one thing for you to act recklessly, but what have the common people done to deserve being implicated by you!" The young Taoist also joined in the bluffing, raising a large flag, trying to use people's fear of the unknown and the selfishness of human nature to make Shen Qing incur the wrath of the masses.
The accomplices immediately waved their arms and began to denounce Shen Qing, but there were still very few people who echoed them. The onlookers looked at the dozen or so fragrant locusts and were no longer afraid, but they were not yet ready to respond to Shen Qing.
Shen Qing looked around at the people below the altar and, knowing that they still had reservations, swore an oath to the heavens.
"I, Du Wei, Du Shaoyu, a descendant of the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, hereby swear an oath to Heaven: if I falsely convey divine pronouncements, all the blame shall fall upon me, and shall have nothing to do with anyone else!"
These words resonated deeply. Although the onlookers did not know where Longhu Mountain was or had never heard of Du Shaoyu, they were inexplicably moved by the phrase "the oath of Heaven" even though it was the first time they had heard it.
If Shen Qing knew what they thought, she would say, "That's called class."
"Young Celestial Master, you are truly righteous!"
A middle-aged scholar stood out from the crowd as people left the station, surrounded by his attendants.
"I am Yuan Cong, the magistrate of Long County, and I am willing to lend a helping hand to the young celestial master."
Shen Qing narrowed his eyes. This fellow had been observing from the crowd in disguise for a long time before finally stepping out to raise his voice at the crucial moment. He was quite the shrewd one.
Seeing that even the county magistrate was on that kid's side, Zhang Tianshi knew that the situation was hopeless, and quietly retreated while the onlookers were whispering among themselves.
Everyone's attention was focused on Shen Qing and Magistrate Yuan, and no one seemed to be paying attention to him. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was about to make a quick getaway when suddenly someone grabbed his shoulder.
"Where is Zhang Tianshi going?" Master Wang said with a gloomy face. If he still didn't understand that he was a fat sheep being slaughtered, he wouldn't be able to protect his huge family business.
"This humble Taoist priest...this humble Taoist priest..." Zhang Tianshi's mind raced as he tried to come up with an explanation.
"Guards! Strip this charlatan naked and hang him up in the tree at the edge of the village!"
Zhang Tianshi instantly became Zhang the Charlatan, and the Wang family servants swarmed forward to capture him.
"Hey, hey, hey~ Let go of this humble monk!"
"What kind of behavior is this!"
"You will be punished by God!"
No matter how much the charlatan Zhang resisted, cursed, and threatened him, he was stripped down to nothing but a rag and hung from a big tree at the village entrance. The young Taoist boy also "got off" and was hung up as well.
This farce has come to an end. On the other hand, Yuan Cong also invited Shen Qinghe to the ancestral hall at the village entrance and to discuss specific locust control measures with the leaders of the surrounding villages.
On the way to the ancestral hall, the clerk leaned close to Yuan Cong and whispered, "Sir, do you really believe in this mysterious Taoist master? What if he's just an even more cunning charlatan?"
"Whether he is a Celestial Master or not is not important; what is important is that his advocacy for locust eradication is consistent with that of the deity."
The advisor immediately understood that Yuan Cong had long had the idea of controlling the locust plague, but no one had set a precedent before. Forcibly issuing orders might not work with the people, and if it failed, it might become an outlet for their resentment.
If we don't address the problem, we'll only face a complete crop failure, and the government granaries won't be able to provide relief. This could ultimately lead to a popular uprising. We're truly caught in a dilemma. Now that we have a scapegoat, we can go ahead and do our thing.
Thinking of this, the advisor looked at Shen Qing in front of him with pity. Did this person really not know the consequences?
Does Shen Qing not realize that he's just a scapegoat? He's already prepared to run away if things go wrong. If there's a problem, go find Du Wei. What does it have to do with Shen Qing?
When you're out in the world, you give yourself your own identity.
Before long, the group arrived at the ancestral hall, closed the door, and discussed specific measures to eradicate locusts.
"Master Du's Taoist magic is profound. I wonder if he can burn all the locusts to death like he did just now?"
"You really dare to think that way," Shen Qing twitched her lips, feeling as if she had shot herself in the foot.
"Ahem~" Shen Qingqing coughed twice, feigning weakness, and quoted the charlatan Zhang's words, "I just used magic and damaged my vital energy. I'm afraid it will take ten days to half a month to recover..."
Yuan Cong, who never expected him to have any supernatural powers, immediately chimed in, "Time waits for no one. Does the Little Celestial Master have any other plans?"
Shen Qing already had a plan in mind: "I am not very talented, but I will start by giving my opinion and everyone can give me some feedback."
"You're too kind, Little Celestial Master," the crowd responded.
There are no chemical agents available these days, so we can only use manual methods for prevention and control. Shen Qing recalled the cases he had seen in his previous life and picked out a few that were feasible under the current conditions.
The first, and oldest, method involves using the locusts' laser-like properties to attract them with fire. A fire is set up at night, and a pit is dug next to the fire, where the locusts are burned and buried simultaneously.
Secondly, based on the evolutionary process of locusts, prevention and control should be carried out in stages. For example, digging ditches to kill locust larvae can be used. These insects cannot fly because they have not yet emerged from their molts. They can be driven into ditches and buried with soil.
The third method involves making specialized tools for beating the pests. This method is simple but labor-intensive and requires official organization.
The fourth method involves digging up locust eggs. In the fields, look for small holes resembling honeycomb and dig them up with a shovel to check for locust eggs. If any are found, burn them with a large fire.
Article 5: Drive away locusts based on their preference for bright colors and strong sound waves.
……
One person's plan is short-sighted, but two people's plans are long-sighted. With Shen Qing taking the lead, everyone also expressed their opinions and offered suggestions.
Many of those present were experienced farmers. Once they overcame their psychological barriers and treated the locusts as ordinary pests, one idea after another came to mind.
For example, using smoke, sprinkling wood ash at the base of crops, or spraying a mixture of oil and water on the leaves...
The wisdom of the working people is indeed boundless. After an hour of adding and supplementing, the clerk wrote and drew, and the comprehensive plan to eradicate locusts was finally freshly produced.
Just as Shen Qing was about to leave once again, concealing his merits and fame, Yuan Cong stopped him, saying with emotion.
"We still need the young celestial master to take charge of things here!"
"..."