The maidservant Hua Ping shot her master a glance.
"Master wants logic? If someone praised you for being as handsome as a jade tree and a dashing young master, would master agree to it?"
"This…"
Hu Ren imagined it, and a layer of goosebumps rose all over his fleshy body.
"Go, go, go! Learn from Yu He. You have no sense. Rub my shoulders, knead my bones."
Hua Ping pouted. "This is difficult for me. Rubbing shoulders is easy, but kneading bones is hard."
Hu Ren laughed heartily, not getting angry.
"One of the young brothers I met today is quite unusual."
Gě Yì turned his head, surprised. "Oh, you noticed too?"
"Too? Which one are you referring to?"
"Haha, naturally, it's Brother Li."
Hu Ren nodded. "As expected, you noticed too. Some of the ingredients and cooking methods Brother Li mentioned, I haven't even tried them. If I open a restaurant in Shimo County in the future, it will surely become famous."
"…"
Gě Yì simply stopped talking, thinking that Hu Ren did not practice any perception-based cultivation techniques, so how could he possibly detect the faint Black Jackal aura lingering on Brother Li?
As the horse carriage caught up to the country road, Hu Ren put away his joking demeanor and discussed with Gě Yì, "Our business in Chìsōng Town is done. Let's return to Shimo County tomorrow."
"Good. The Black Jackal is dead. We just need to bring back its brain to report. Demonic Beast brain... these three hundred taels were well spent."
"I heard Captain Zhao threw a tantrum at the county office yesterday, even taking off his shoes. Someone from the county office came to inquire, asking what to do about Cui Yuan?"
Gě Yì sat up straight, frowned, and pondered for a moment. "Captain Zhao is blaming Captain Cui for not reporting it in time, but taking off his shoes? Isn't that a bit too much?"
"Although Captain Cui was greedy for money and didn't report it in time, and was also negligent in his actions, he personally captured the Black Jackal. His merits outweigh his demerits. A reprimand should suffice, and the county office can handle it as they see fit."
...
After seeing off Gě Yì and Hu Ren, Zhāng Bǎohé scratched his head and wracked his brain over the riddle, unable to solve it. He then asked Zhōu Píng, "What does this mean? Could it be a place?"
Zhōu Píng was also confused and shook his head, saying he didn't know.
"Brother Ge's riddle must refer to his home. Blue bricks and red tiles, with a building and a young lady, asking us to find him in Shimo County."
Liú Jiǎ asserted. "I didn't expect Brother Ge to bring up his beautiful wife before leaving. Is he mocking us for not being married yet?"
"Not at all, not at all."
Lǐ Yōuhǔ watched the horse carriage drive away until it was out of sight before retracting his gaze.The riddle Brother Ge posed, the answer is actually the character 'turtle/pimp' (turtle/pimp)."
"Turtle/Pimp?"
Zhāng Bǎohé and the other two were stunned. Liú Jiǎ's expression changed instantly.
"Could it be…"
Lǐ Yōuhǔ's heart skipped a beat. Seeing Liú Jiǎ's expression, he must know something.Could this character 'turtle' hide a secret?
"Could it be what?Zhou Ping was curious and asked Liú Jiǎ what 'turtle' meant.
"I never expected it, I never expected it!"
Liú Jiǎ sighed in admiration. "So Brother Ge and Brother Hu are involved in this line of work. No wonder they have beautiful women accompanying them and can recite poetry and songs at will. The two of them are actually pimps!"
"Ah?!"
Zhōu Píng couldn't help but exclaim. He never expected Brother Ge, with such elegant demeanor, to be engaged in such a lowly profession?
"How could that be... Judging by Brother Ge's bearing, he doesn't seem as sordid as described in books."
Liú Jiǎ asked strangely, "Have you ever seen a pimp? What do the books say?"
"This…"
Zhōu Píng had no money to visit brothels, so he had never seen what a pimp looked like.
"The books say that pimps serve in places of ill repute. They are likely hunchbacked, stooped, and sordid."
Zhāng Bǎohé looked compassionate and consoled Zhōu Píng. "When we have a chance, I'll take you to Nightingale Street in Shimo County to see. Don't believe what the books say."
"According to that logic, aren't courtesans also frequenting places of ill repute? Why do scholars and gentlemen flock to them?"
Zhōu Píng was stunned. The faith built on the books of sages cracked a little more.
Liú Jiǎ clapped his hands and praised. "Wonderful, wonderful! It was not a wasted trip today. I have made friends with two brothers, and I'll have acquaintances when I go to Nightingale Street in the future."
Seeing Liú Jiǎ and Zhāng Bǎohé exchanging glances, Zhōu Píng looked dazed, while only Lǐ Yōuhǔ pondered with his head down.
When they were on the mountaintop, the other three hadn't noticed, but Lǐ Yōuhǔ, with his extraordinary senses, found that although Gě and Hu looked ordinary, when he got close, he could faintly hear their hearts beating powerfully. Their exposed skin was also firm, clearly not ordinary people, and they should be accomplished martial artists.
'How could people like them be pimps?'
...
A few days after returning to the village from the mountain, Lǐ Yōuhǔ heard from the villagers that the Huang family, who were taken away by the Chìsōng Town constabulary some time ago, had ultimately not escaped their fate.
The entire family was charged by the constabulary with colluding with bandits, plotting rebellion, and disturbing the peace of the countryside. They were beheaded in prison.
Only a five-year-old boy, due to his young age, was brought back to the village by Sòng Sān.
Captain Cui Liuli of the Chìsōng Town constabulary took five heads to Shimo County and reported that the Chìsōng Town constabulary had ambushed the Erlang Stockade bandits, killing five on the spot and injuring over ten bandits.
The County Lieutenant was overjoyed and repeatedly praised the Chìsōng Town constabulary for their meritorious service in suppressing bandits, stating that various rewards were unnecessary.
Sòng Sān also received twenty taels of silver as a reward for his meritorious report.
As for bringing the Huang family boy back to the village, it was not out of Sòng Sān's conscience, wanting to leave the last descendant of the Huang family alive.
It was because the River God festival was approaching, and the boy could be offered to the River God, saving one spot.
Speaking of the tradition of worshipping wild gods in various parts of the Lan Kingdom, it had been passed down for thousands of years.
Legend had it that in the deep mountains and great rivers, there had been Demonic Beasts and spirit creatures that had gained enlightenment since ancient times.
These spirit creatures occupied caves in the mountains and riverbeds, possessing the power to summon clouds and rain, and swallow clouds and mist.
In ancient times, spirit creatures from the mountains and rivers often descended to the land, destroying villages and preying on villagers, once forcing the common people to dare not approach the mountains and rivers.
Later, it was rumored that celestial beings intervened and suppressed a group of spirit creatures, and the situation improved.
Large-scale slaughter of the human race became less frequent, but small-scale consumption of people still occurred.
Later, when the human race developed cultivation methods, the rampaging spirit creatures were gradually eliminated by the human race.
The remaining spirit creatures were more or less restrained, and they avoided doing obvious things like eating people.
Some spirit creatures also shifted from actively consuming people to enjoying sacrifices. As long as the nearby villagers periodically offered sacrifices, they would receive the spirit creatures' care and protection.
The Ya River runs through several prefectures of the Great Lan Kingdom, spanning a thousand li north and south, with a width of several kilometers. It contains many Demonic Beasts and spirit creatures.
In the waters around Hékǒu Village, there is such a habitat for Demonic Beasts. These Demonic Beasts have enjoyed the offerings and sacrifices of the riverside villagers for hundreds of years.
New batches of Demonic Beasts in the water have replaced old ones, and the villagers, not knowing what else to call them, gradually referred to them as the River God.
Every year, Hékǒu Village and several villages downstream must offer a pair of male and female children to the River God.
In return, the River God blesses the surrounding areas with favorable weather and restrains fierce beasts in the water from approaching the banks.
In reality, the Demonic Beasts near the shore are not particularly powerful. They lack the ability to control rain and seasons, but they do have some influence over the aquatic creatures in the river.
It is rumored that there are few large fish attacks on the fishing teams within thirty meters of the shore as a result of the River God's protection, leaving a space for the riverside residents to operate.
Therefore, the fishing team led by Sòng Sān is the most concerned about the sacrifices in Hékǒu Village.
If they can obtain the River God's blessings, there will be less risk when fishing in the river.
Upon returning to the village, Sòng Sān asked the village elders to arrange and organize the sacrifices, preparing to offer this year's tribute to the River God.
However, a male child had been secured, but a female child was still missing. Sòng Sān invited several village elders to his home to gather and discuss which family's daughter in the village would be chosen this year.