PCJ – Chapter 318 Divine Possession (Shenda)

“Jiaohua, do you think my parents will beat me again when I go home this time?” Zhang Yuanbao was worried about this issue.

“They probably won’t,” Zhang Jiaohua said with a slight smirk.

“That’s good. At least today’s suffering wasn’t for nothing,” Zhang Yuanbao sighed in relief, loosening his grip on Zhang Jiaohua’s clothes.

Suddenly, Zhang Jiaohua sped up, causing Zhang Yuanbao to lurch backward and fall heavily onto the snow.

“Jiaohua, what are you doing?” Zhang Yuanbao asked, clearly displeased.

“You’ll have to walk the rest of the way yourself. Take some time to think. Do you know how many people were worried because you ran off impulsively? The whole village was out looking for you, and yet you still have the nerve to ask if you’ll get beaten?” Zhang Jiaohua continued forward on his skis without looking back. The Meizi’ao Elementary School was close by, so Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t worried about anything happening to Zhang Yuanbao.

Zhang Yuanbao got up from the snow, scratching his head. “What the heck is going on?”

Whoosh!

A snowball whizzed through the air and hit Zhang Yuanbao on the head.

“Who, who’s throwing snowballs at me?” Zhang Yuanbao angrily looked around.

A monkey suddenly appeared from the tree branches and hurled another snowball at him.

“So it’s just a monkey!” Zhang Yuanbao said happily, not caring that another snowball hit him squarely on the forehead.

“Ouch!” Zhang Yuanbao yelped in pain.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jiaohua quickly found Zhang Youlian. “Uncle, I’ve found him. He’s fine. He’s on his way here, so don’t worry.”

“Where? Where is he?” Zhang Youlian asked excitedly.

Zhang Qigao shouted joyfully, “We found him! Yuanbao has been found!”

The news spread quickly, and soon everyone searching in the mountains heard the update.

Zhang Manyin was so overwhelmed that tears streamed down his face. “Thank goodness! We finally found him. I can finally relax.”

Ma Donghua grinned from ear to ear, “I told you Yuanbao would be fine. This is great, this is great!”

Zhang Shunlin had been extremely worried earlier, wondering what he would do if something bad had happened to Zhang Yuanbao. Zhang Dechun had also been scolding Zhang Shunlin.

“He’s a grown man now, but he’s still so unreliable. Why didn’t you just let him stay in the classroom on such a cold day? Even if he stood there the whole time, none of this would’ve happened.”

When they heard the boy was found, Zhang Shunlin finally breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank heavens.”

“Well, this is finally over, but you need to use your brain more in the future when handling things,” Zhang Dechun added. He had been worried that Zhang Yuanbao’s hard-earned spot in the public school would be lost, but it was also out of genuine concern for the boy. After all, they were all part of the same community, and no one wanted to see tragedy strike any family.

Zhang Youping and Hu Xiaoqing couldn’t wait for Zhang Yuanbao to return by himself, so they ran off quickly in his direction.

Zhang Yuanbao pouted, still anxious that his parents might give him a beating as soon as they saw him. But he didn’t dare turn back and run into the mountains again.

“Son!” Zhang Youlian sprinted through the snow and grabbed Zhang Yuanbao tightly in his arms.

Hu Xiaoqing rushed forward as well, and the three of them embraced each other tightly. Zhang Yuanbao, overcome with emotion, burst into tears. “Dad, Mom, I thought I’d never see you again.”

Hearing this, Hu Xiaoqing also began to cry loudly.

Although Zhang Yuanbao managed to avoid a beating on the first day back, a few days later, Zhang Youlian and Hu Xiaoqing took turns giving him a thorough scolding.

“Jiaohua, I’ve made up my mind. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to train in the art of Shenda (Divine Possession). I’ve realized that if I don’t master it, I’m going to get beaten to death by those two. Why is it that other families favor boys over girls, but mine seems to do the opposite? My sister has never been beaten. She always gets the best food first. Look, my butt’s covered in welts! My dad was somewhat better, just hitting me a few times with a stick over my clothes. But my mom… she stripped me and beat me with a thorny twig, leaving my behind covered in bumps. Are these really my biological parents? I’m starting to think I must be adopted, and my sister’s the real child.”

Zhang Jiaohua, showing no sympathy, replied, “Serves you right. Did you forget your sister never caused any trouble?”

Strangely enough, from the next day on, Zhang Yuanbao really did wake up early every morning to train in Shenda.

Mastering Shenda wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight. Early in the morning, at sunrise, one had to stand facing the sun while holding a “divine icon”—a piece of paper with a god’s image drawn on it. When invoking divine power during Shenda, this icon represented the god you were calling upon. One had to be sincere, mentally focused, and visualize the divine image.

Zhang Jiaohua gave a profound instruction: “You must be willing to endure hardship, and keep the divine thought in your heart; with the true power of Meishan’s Shenda, the Eight Marshals will reveal their divine abilities. Even a drunken Jiuhou master can discern the winds from the north, south, east, and west.”

In his heart, Zhang Yuanbao had to silently recite an incantation:
Disciple gazes at the blue sky, with all masters at my side. The eighteen Arhats and twenty-four heavenly beings support the disciple; the ruler turns into a feather, and the iron blade turns into a lamp wick. A stone rolls into a bubble, my body transforms into bronze skin and iron bones, becoming Mount Tai. A helmet of twelve layers of iron upon my head, and twelve layers of armor upon my body, wrapped in copper and iron. Masters and generals, assist this disciple in completing Shenda.

Afterward, he would burn the divine icon as a token of gratitude to the divine beings, marking the end of his training for the morning.

In the evening, at sunset, he would perform a similar practice, standing toward the setting sun.

Once Shenda was mastered, the practitioner would continue training on the 1st and 15th of every month. Though Shenda seemed like a skill for enduring beatings, it was more akin to a spiritual practice, with no end to its mastery.

“Jiaohua, how long do you think it’ll take me to master this? Will I be able to do it before the end-of-term report card comes out?” Zhang Yuanbao asked.

“I don’t know. It depends on your aptitude. If you have good aptitude, you’ll learn quickly; if not, it’ll take longer. So, there’s no exact timeframe. Just behave yourself for now, and maybe you’ll avoid getting beaten,” Zhang Jiaohua shook his head.

Zhang Yuanbao frowned. “That won’t work! My mom said she’d beat me to death if I fail my exams. I think I’m done for this time.”

The twelfth month of the lunar calendar was approaching, and the Chinese New Year wasn’t far off. Zhang Jiaohua was counting the days until his parents returned. They had gone to Guangdong, promising to come back during the twelfth month. So, Zhang Jiaohua eagerly anticipated their return.

“It won’t be that soon. They won’t be back until the 20th or so, after the factory closes for the holiday. Then your parents will come home,” Zhang Youlian said with a smile, patting Zhang Jiaohua on the head.

“The 20th? That’s still more than 20 days away,” Zhang Jiaohua calculated on his fingers, although it didn’t really need calculating.

Zhang Yuanbao seemed to have good aptitude. After about ten days of practice, his Shenda skills had indeed improved, and his body had also become stronger. Even without invoking Shenda, his ability to withstand beatings had noticeably increased.

“Jiaohua, tomorrow Zhang Jingbing’s family is putting up a new roof beam for their house. Shall we go and collect some treats?” Zhang Yuanbao always had the latest information.

The beam-raising ceremony was one of the most important rituals in Meizi’ao. For the local villagers, having a sturdy home was essential for a happy life. The phrase “settling down” implied not only having a roof over one’s head but also having a secure and good home. As such, the beam-raising ceremony was highly significant.

For the kids, however, nothing about the ceremony mattered except for the treats candy, rice cakes, meat, and seeds, thrown by the homeowners during the event. The snacks were symbolic, but to the children, they were of utmost importance.

The ceremony at Zhang Jingbing’s house was scheduled for 7:08 in the morning, which was perfect since it wouldn’t interfere with the kids’ school time.

After finishing his Shenda training, Zhang Yuanbao and Zhang Jiaohua hopped on their bikes and headed to Zhang Jingbing’s new house.

“Just as we expected, we arrived just in time to collect some goodies,” Zhang Yuanbao said happily.

A bunch of kids had already gathered, waiting for the ceremony to begin. Even after all the food was thrown, Zhang Yuanbao wasn’t satisfied. He lingered until the ceremony ended, hoping for some extra candy.