March 15, 2024 Author: Lonely I Walk Alone
Upon hearing the old man's words, Lin Ji did not rush to inquire, but instead smiled and looked at Guo Yi beside him.
"Old Guo, did you hear what this old man said?"
"Don't make fun of me, just ask the question quickly." Guo Yi was speechless.
Lin Ji nodded, looked at the old man, and asked, "What is the origin of this River God you mentioned?"
The old man cautiously raised his head, glanced at Lin Ji, then quickly lowered his head, somewhat restrained, and said, "In response to the master, this humble one is from Lianghe County. Due to disturbances in Lianghe County, I fled to Qingyang County."
"I asked you about the River God." Lin Ji impatiently interrupted.
"Yes, yes, I'll tell you." The old man nodded quickly. "Lianghe County is named after the nearby Liang River. The River God arrived last year. I remember that at that time, the situation in Lianghe County was similar to the current situation in Qingyang County. There was continuous heavy rain for half a month, and the flood was about to submerge the county town. Even officials from Liang City came."
"Get to the point!" Lin Ji was quite impatient with the old man.
"Just before the flood arrived, words appeared on the walls of the county yamen, claiming to be the River God of Lianghe, saying that an unmarried maiden had to be offered as a sacrifice to stop the rain."
"And then?" Lin Ji inquired, "Didn't your county's demon hunters take action? Did they really sacrifice a maiden to that nonsense River God?"
"The head of the county said that the River God was powerful and they couldn't deal with it. Since a human life could stop the flood, there was no need for drastic measures." The old man said.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ji and Guo Yi exchanged a glance, each seeing the disbelief in the other's eyes.
"Even if such matters cannot be resolved, reporting them will naturally lead to someone coming to resolve them. Your county's demon hunters are really..." Lin Ji pondered for a while, but in the end, he just sighed lightly without saying anything more.
Demon hunters from various places have to report to the capital every three years, fearing such incidents of making a mountain out of a molehill and being negligent in their duties.
But even so, similar incidents continue to occur repeatedly.
"Alright, get up. Lianghe is far from Qingyang County, the flood won't reach here."
Lin Ji waved his hand to dismiss the old man, feeling a bit tired as he yawned.
"I'll go rest for a bit, I woke up too early in the morning, feeling a bit tired. You guys continue."
With that, Lin Ji got up and prepared to return to his room.
But at that moment, Zhong Xiaoyan suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
"What should we do about the River God? You're a demon hunter, give an explanation."
Zhong Xiaoyan said indignantly, "Are we just going to ignore it? What if this rain is really caused by a monster?"
"If it is, then it is." Lin Ji shrugged, "We are dozens of miles away from Lianghe, and the river embankment was only built two years ago. Even if it rains for a whole month, the flood won't reach us."
Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiaoyan's face turned red with anger, full of resentment towards Lin Ji.
"How can you be like this? Even if the flood doesn't rise, what about the crops planted by the common people? Clearly, there are monsters causing trouble, with your attitude, how are you any different from the demon hunters in Lianghe County? Do you have to wait until the flood is imminent before you go find an innocent maiden to throw into the river to appease the disaster?"
"We'll talk about it later." Lin Ji had no intention of arguing with the righteous and angry Zhong Xiaoyan, and after saying that, he walked back to his room.
If demon hunters were to act on every rumor of monsters, they would be busy all year round.
Not to mention, on Qinghua Mountain outside Qingyang County, there are countless monsters.
Qinghua Mountain may not be farther than Lianghe, does Lin Ji have to go to the mountain to exterminate all the monsters?
In the courtyard.
Zhong Xiaoyan crossed her arms, unable to speak for a while, looking sulky.
"Xiaoyan, you don't need to worry about this matter." Guo Yi, seeing the new colleague seemingly upset, persuaded, "If the monsters in Lianghe are really powerful, there is no need to make a big fuss. This unnecessary action only shows that the monsters are just bluffing. Therefore, it's understandable that Master Lin is not concerned."
"How can it be just a bluff?" Zhong Xiaoyan was not convinced. "Since he doesn't care about this matter, I will take care of it!"
"Miss." Ling'er on the side was quite helpless, not knowing how to persuade her.
"Ling'er, let's go, let's go back!" Zhong Xiaoyan got up and walked out with Ling'er, apologizing repeatedly to everyone.
Seeing this, Guo Yi felt somewhat helpless, looking at Lu Cong, but Lu Cong was completely indifferent, as Lin Ji's top follower, naturally he followed Lin Ji's lead.
"Husband, about that girl..." Mrs. Guo wanted to say something.
Guo Yi shook his head, "Forget about it, let's go back."
In the evening.
Lin Ji was awakened by Song Er's knocking on the door.
Yawning deeply, still feeling a bit sleepy, he slowly opened the courtyard door.
"What's the matter?"
"Boss, you should go to the yamen quickly."
Song Er's face looked a bit grim as he said, "The matter of the River God that the old man mentioned seems to be true!"
Lin Ji suddenly became alert, furrowing his brows slightly, not bothering to change his clothes, and quickly followed Song Er out of the door.
"What's going on?"
"The inscription of the River God appeared on the gate of our yamen, just like what the old man said!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Ji knew that he probably wouldn't get any answers from Song Er, so he quickened his pace.
Soon, the two arrived at the Qingyang County yamen.
By this time, quite a few people had gathered outside the yamen after hearing about the incident, coming to see the commotion.
After dispersing these idle onlookers who had nothing better to do, Lin Ji then arrived at the gate of the yamen.
Guo Yi was already there, carefully examining the inscriptions on the gate.
"Three maidens thrown into the Liang River, exchange for favorable weather in Qingyang County."
The inscriptions on the gate were bright red, with a hint of a bloody smell emanating from them.
Lin Ji looked at Guo Yi, "What do you make of this?"
"It's bloodstains, I don't know how they appeared."
Lin Ji then grabbed a pale-faced yamen runner nearby.
"When did these inscriptions appear?"
"I don't know, I've been standing at the gate the whole time!"
The yamen runner was so frightened that his voice trembled, saying, "It was just a moment, and these words appeared."
Upon hearing this explanation, Lin Ji was also a bit puzzled.
Releasing the yamen runner, Lin Ji approached the gate, carefully examining the large characters on it.
At that moment, Lu Cong also arrived upon hearing the news.
Not knowing what had happened, he just wrinkled his nose upon arrival.
"Who used chicken blood to write on the gate? Isn't this a waste?" Lu Cong casually remarked.
"Chicken blood?" Lin Ji turned back.
"Yes, I had chicken blood vermicelli soup this morning, I can't be wrong about this taste!"
Lu Cong chuckled, "Boss, you know me, besides having strong arms, my nose is quite sensitive."