Things were starting to become clear.But there were still unresolved issues.Where were the people from the Yellow Character Battalion? and where was that so-called Dragon King Lord now?
These were their main concerns.
"Damn it, I should have asked that little girl more questions earlier!"Tiger Zhao looked regretful. Slaying Demons was important, of course but investigating the whereabouts of the Yellow Character Battalion was also one of their objectives for this trip.In the corner, Old Wang, who hadn't said much, glanced at him and retorted, "Ask? How would you ask? Put a knife to her neck and ask? If you weren't so impatient, would she have run off?"
"You..." Tiger Zhao growled.
"Enough," Liu Chen said in a low voice, stopping their argument. He rubbed his throbbing temples.
"Children's words can't be taken seriously. We can only believe half of what she said. Since this matter concerns a village, let's go to a village and see."
"There are many villages around here. If we search them one by one, when will we ever find it?" Liu Chen shook his head. "It's not hard to inquire about a village where such a scandalous event occurred—a woman getting pregnant with a Demon fetus and being drowned."
Everyone nodded at his words. Such an event in the countryside would be enough to be a topic of conversation for ten or eight years. As long as the girl wasn't lying, a little inquiry would reveal which village it was.
"Everyone, clean up. Let's go." Liu Chen waved his hand and was the first to walk out of the temple gate.
The others followed suit without further words... Black Water Village.
The village was small, with dozens of households, mud-brick walls, and thatched roofs, like patches of festering sores clinging to the yellow earth.The old scholar tree at the village entrance had long since died, its bare branches pointing to the sky, as if silently cursing something.
At the Village Head's home.The house was a bit larger than others, and the walls were more neatly built, but it still exuded an air of poverty.
A young man, dressed in coarse cloth work clothes, ran in from outside in a panic, his face full of terror."Father!"
The old man, who was weaving straw ropes in the room, looked up impatiently. "What are you panicking about?"
"They... they're here again!"
"Who?"
"The Official Sirs from the Demon Suppression Division! Still in those black leather robes, coming into the village!"
The old man's movements paused, then he continued weaving."If they're here, they're here. What are you afraid of?"
"Father!" The young man stamped his foot anxiously. "How can I not be afraid? What if... what if they're like the people last time, wandering around and finding some clues...?"
~Snap.~
The old man threw the straw rope to the ground.He suddenly stood up, staring intently at his son."Find what? Our Black Water Village acts upright and sits correctly, what bird are we afraid of? Before, when that beast demanded virgin boys and girls as sacrifices every year, where were the people from the Demon Suppression Division?"
"When the Black River ran dry, the fields cracked, and we knelt on the ground gnawing on tree bark, where were the people from the Demon Suppression Division then? Since they didn't care, what's wrong with us finding our own way to survive?!"
The young man was speechless at these words.That's easy to say... but that was the Demon Suppression Division.How could the Demon Suppression Division listen to such talk?
If they were discovered to be colluding with Demons... the consequence would be a capital crime, punishable by extermination of the nine generations!
After a long while.The old man slumped back down dejectedly."It's just... it's just hard on your sister..Who would have thought that Demon... would have such evil methods..."The young man's body trembled, not daring to reply.He walked to the door and, through the crack, cautiously peered outside.
On the official road, eight majestic black horses were slowly approaching the village entrance.The riders, each with a horizontal saber at their waist, had stern expressions.
"Father... they... they've entered the village."...After a brief inquiry, the group found Black Water Village.
The party rode in on horseback.The dirt roads in the village were bumpy, and the houses on both sides were dilapidated, with cracks all over their mud-brick walls.Occasionally, a few villagers would see them, but only stared blankly for a moment before lowering their heads and continuing with their tasks.
Tiger Zhao reined in his horse and couldn't help but curse under his breath."Damn it, are everyone in this village blind?"The Demon Suppression Division's reputation among the common people wasn't exactly good, but it certainly wasn't to the point of being ignored like this.Old Wang, riding beside him, just shook his head at the remark.
Just then.From a mud house deeper in the village, which looked a bit larger than the others, several people emerged.Leading them was an old man with white hair and a face full of furrowed wrinkles, but his eyes were remarkably sharp.
Behind him followed four or five strong young men, all carrying farm tools like hoes and pitchforks.The old man walked to the front of the group, stopped, and his cloudy gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Liu Chen, who was at the head.
"Official Sirs, you've come a long way. I presume you're here for the matter of the Black River?"
"Who are you?"
"Replying to Official Sir, this old man is the Village Head of Black Water Village, surnamed Zhang."
"Oh... We are here by order to investigate the anomaly of the Black River."Liu Chen got straight to the point. "And to find a few people."
"Official Sirs, you must be tired. Please... please come in and sit."
Liu Chen didn't move, just looked at him. "No need, we just have a few questions."
The old man didn't insist, merely sighed. "Official Sir, ask whatever you wish. We common folk will tell you everything we know."
Such a cooperative attitude actually made Liu Chen's prepared speech get stuck in his throat.
He paused before asking, "Half a month ago, did a group of people dressed similarly to us come by?"
"Yes, yes."The old man nodded repeatedly. "They also came for the Black River matter, asked a few questions in the village, and then... said they were going to find the mischievous Demon, and were never seen again."
At these words, the expressions of the men behind Liu Chen all changed."Did they say where they were going to capture the Demon?"
"They did."The old man nodded. "The Official Sirs said that the Demon was in this Black River."...At this, everyone was stunned.This Black River stretched for hundreds of miles from east to west.
If the Demon was in the river, how could they find it?
Just then, Jiang Yuechu suddenly spoke. "When we arrived, we saw a girl named Water at the Dragon King Temple upstream."Her voice was cold, and her gaze calmly fell on the old man's face.
"She said there was a girl in the village named Xing'er who became pregnant with a Demon fetus and was drowned by the villagers. Is this true?" As her words fell.The old man's body stiffened abruptly.
The young men behind him, carrying farm tools, changed color even more, their hands gripping the hoes tightening unconsciously.
After a long while.The old man finally let out a long sigh. "A family misfortune...""To be honest with you Official Sirs, that Xing'er... is my unfortunate daughter... her mind was bewitched by a Demon, and she shamelessly... became pregnant with a Demon fetus. My Zhang family is considered a respectable household in Black Water Village. With such a thing happening, where can I, this old man, put my face? The villagers pointed at my back and cursed, saying I raised a shameless, dirty thing!"
"I was angry! I was hateful! I locked her in the woodshed, denying her food for three days and three nights, wanting her to abort that evil spawn, but she... she would rather starve to death than protect that Prodigy! Later... later, the village elders made the decision, saying that such an evil girl could not be kept, as she would bring disaster upon the village."
"I... I personally... personally put her in a pig cage and drowned her in this Black River..."