"Europe? Where is that?"
Black Mist did not understand the modern term for foreign countries. With eyes focused, he showed a look of confusion.
Ms. Miao Gu smiled and immediately took out her phone, opening the map.
Very soon, along with learning about the world map, she found out where Europe is.
"So it used to be Great Qin and Persia?"
Black Mist suddenly understood and its furrowed brows slightly relaxed. Compared to the Heavenly Court, going to Europe was naturally much safer.
"Yes, but what you call Great Qin is now called Ancient Rome, and both it and Persia have perished, replaced by current European countries." Ms. Miao Gu explained.
To receive Black Mist, she had crammed knowledge about Northern Song culture and history, to better communicate with him.
"This time, I plan to go to the Vatican."
"Vatican? I haven't heard of that, but you mentioned participating in the investigation of the fall of the Heavenly Court. Why is that something you need to go abroad for?"
Black Mist hadn't forgotten what Ms. Miao Gu said earlier.
"Is the Vatican related to the fall of the Heavenly Court?"
When he heard from Ms. Miao Gu about the matter of Heaven's Gate, Black Mist's gaze flickered.
Ms. Miao Gu spoke in a deep tone. "The current situation of the Heavenly Court, how much has fallen is not specifically known. But based on news from the Vatican, Heaven has almost completely fallen, and even the highest-ranking god, God, is highly likely already infected."
She said this while looking at Black Mist, then added lightly, "The God of Heaven, in terms of rank, would be on the level of the Jade Emperor in the Heavenly Court."
Even though Black Mist didn't understand the mythology of Heaven, he could understand the seriousness of Heaven's fall.
At the same time, Black Mist also spoke in a heavy tone, "Not just the Heavenly Court, even gods from outside have been infected?"
Black Mist's brows, which had just relaxed a little, frowned once again, and he spoke without hesitation, "So you want to investigate these things, right?"
"Yes."
When Ms. Miao Gu replied, Black Mist immediately followed up, "I'll go with you."
He made the decision without hesitation. He had already learned of the danger of the black liquid through its connection with Qin Ye.
At the same time, hearing Black Mist's sudden words, Ms. Miao Gu was stunned. But before she could ask why, Black Mist spoke again, "The black liquid is something even the master finds troublesome. If the news in Europe is really as you say, with that level of danger, even you can't guarantee your safety."
Black Mist sized up Ms. Miao Gu.
"Your strength is indeed powerful in this era, but it's still a bit lacking. If infected by the black liquid, your chance of survival is too low."
He stood up. Without giving Ms. Miao Gu the chance to speak, afraid she might refuse, he acted first and informed later, "I'll go with you. The master asked me to come to Bureau 749 to gather information about the fall of the Heavenly Court anyway. Since there's a lead in Europe, I naturally have to go too."
———
[In Daxia, Fujian, on a certain street]
"Little green-haired turtle, I'm leaving. If you can hear me, show up immediately." Qin Ye once again called out to the turtle statue.
Seeing no reaction, Qin Ye casually lifted the thousand-jin-heavy turtle statue and placed a paper with a phone number under its foot.
"This is my phone number. If you're still alive, you can call me."
After that, Qin Ye turned and walked down the mountain.
Since he couldn't contact the little green-haired turtle, he felt there was no need to stay here and planned to stroll around elsewhere, perhaps he might find a way to treat Old Master Hu San.
Soon, Qin Ye descended the mountain and arrived in the town below.
"Huh, it's lively."
It was an old street. Shops on both sides were selling goods. Some vendors were selling vegetables. People came and went, many holding multiple shopping bags, clearly having bought a lot, very bustling.
"Is there a festival or something?" Qin Ye noticed that many passersby had bought fireworks and candles.
Just as he was filled with curiosity, "Hm? Xiao Hei already sent a message? Done meeting Xiaogu so soon? …Turns out they're on a date already, and even going to Europe for the date…"
Qin Ye sensed something and took out his jade pendant. With a thought, he received the message from Black Mist.
But the next moment, after receiving the follow-up message, Qin Ye's smile froze.
"Even Heaven has fallen?"
After a moment of surprise, Qin Ye mostly felt delight.
"…An infected priest. Finally got a lab rat."
He immediately rubbed the jade pendant and, with a thought, sent a message to Black Mist.
[Ensure your own safety. Try to bring back the infected priest. If you can't, contact me.]
After sending the message, Qin Ye put away the jade pendant, not planning to continue the conversation, wanting to give Black Mist and Ms. Miao Gu more time alone.
Next, he raised his hand and looked at a bracelet on his wrist.
The bracelet was made of string, hanging a small square piece. On close look, he resembled a delicate little cage. If viewed through a magnifying glass, one could even see that inside the tiny cage was a "little person."
"Brother Hu San, I've got a lab rat to experiment on. Happy or not?" Qin Ye grinned widely.
While talking, he looked around at the bustling crowd. His happy mood grew even more cheerful.
Now that he had a lab rat, Qin Ye didn't need to stroll around anymore.
Aside from preparing for the experiment, he just needed to wait for Black Mist to bring back the lab rat.
So immediately, Qin Ye thought of something and acted on it.
"Old bro, where's the paper effigy shop around here?" As a passerby walked by, Qin Ye stopped him and asked.
The passerby was stunned, sizing up Qin Ye. Then, besides pointing him in the right direction, he also said, "Bro, from your accent, you don't sound local. Why're you looking for a paper effigy shop? Oh?! You're not here to watch the deity parade, are you?"
"Yeah, here to see the deity parade. Recently, he's been popping up a lot on Douyin, so I came to check he out. Now that I'm here, I thought I'd follow local customs, go to the paper effigy shop, buy some joss paper, and pay respects at the temple when the time comes, and watch the deity parade." Qin Ye replied with a smile, and in his heart, he suddenly understood.
No wonder the place was so festive, and so many people were buying candles and fireworks. Turns out he had run into a traditional southern custom in places like Fujian and Guangdong, the deity parade.
In southern Daxia, places like Hainan, Fujian, Guangdong, these areas still preserve strong folk customs and deeply revere and worship deities.
Every time there's a god's birthday or sacred day, people would hold worship ceremonies. Every household sets off fireworks, prays to Buddha, and hosts banquets.
Among them, the deity parade is the most full of folk flavor.
In Southern Fujian, whenever a festival comes, events like the Mazu deity parade, Southern Fujian Six Village parade, Fuzhou Pagoda Parade, etc., are held. At these times, people will carry the deity statue out from the temple in a palanquin and parade he through the streets, receiving incense offerings and prayers from the public.
Besides this, in some places, people also invite deities to possess spirit mediums or wear the sacred pagoda bones of gods, allowing the deities to receive incense and worship.
At this time, the passerby heard Qin Ye's words and laughed heartily. "I thought so. One look and I knew you were here for the deity parade. Recently there's been a lot of parades on Douyin, and he's made our Southern Fujian deity parades famous. So many people have come all this way just to see."
The passerby said this with pride in his local culture.
"This time, lots of tourists like you came. You don't know, but after you tourists arrived, the temple discussed with the village committee and decided to hold a grander parade. They're planning to choose more spirit mediums, and even preparing to—"
Before he could finish, Qin Ye suddenly interrupted:
"Bro, the spirit mediums you're talking about, I know. That's when you invite a deity to possess them, right?"
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