Chapter 112: The Lowest of the Low Fortune 2

"We're at the foot of the mountain; they intend to head up tomorrow morning." "Send someone down to pass the message or lead the way, tell them to come tonight! Tell them we've caught thousands of pounds of fish in County Magistrate Lake tonight, and we're hosting a full-fish banquet; invite them to come quickly and have a taste," Lu Yao laughed. "These grandsons can only eat coarse grains at the foot of the mountain; won't they be drooling like crazy when they hear this?"

In fact, these people had fled in defeat to this place from Woling Pass, and along the way, they hadn't dared to loot freely for fear of attracting local attention and triggering a cross-prefecture pursuit.

Therefore, everyone's food had never been particularly good, and coupled with low morale, everyone was dejected.

"Speak loudly when you pass the message, and make sure as many people as possible hear it. That way, once the men under Wu and Pei start clamoring, they won't be able to head up the mountain late even if they want to."

The "righteous army" had suffered an unprecedented, crushing defeat, and the commander's prestige had plummeted to rock bottom. This situation was one of a weak leader and strong soldiers, with lax military discipline and the top unable to control the bottom. If the soldiers were unhappy or felt treated unfairly, and suspected that their leader was no longer capable, mutiny was easy.

At such times, generals had to consider the needs and feelings of their subordinates, otherwise, everyone would go their separate ways, and if all the men ran off, the worst-case scenario would be regicide and usurpation.

The confidant agreed and was just about to carry it out when Lu Yao suddenly added: "Do not mention the government troops are on the mountain, remember, remember!"

In these extraordinary times, the defeated army had psychological trauma regarding government troops. If they knew government troops had appeared here, the two men, Wu and Pei, might not head up the mountain at all.

￥￥￥￥￥

There were too many people in the room, so He Lingchuan came out to get some air and, incidentally, to scout the nearby terrain again so he could have a clear idea of things.

Tonight was not peaceful; this village was very likely the next battlefield.

The previous clamor had returned to silence, and County Magistrate Village was immersed in the evening breeze; if not for the patrolling guards coming and going, no one would have guessed that a major event was about to occur in this small mountain village.

He walked past the Water Spirit Shrine; the best building in the entire village was inconspicuous in the heavy night. The shrine was not large, but it was built squarely with all four corners aligned, and the location was good, backing onto the mountain and facing the water, looking out over the vast lake.

Then, he heard a "clatter," as if something had been knocked over, shattered on the ground, and rolled twice.

He Lingchuan stopped and asked, "Who's there?"

The Water Spirit Shrine was deathly quiet, with only the main gate standing wide open like a gaping mouth.

Could there be fierce bandits hiding inside?

He Lingchuan looked left and right, asked a patrolling guard for a torch, and walked in with his hand on his sword hilt.

What was there to fear? The Water Spirit Shrine was in the east of the village, and this was now the territory of the government troops.

The shrine was not small; there was a worship hall in the front, a meeting area in the back, and the low rooms on the left and right were the living quarters for the shrine keeper and places to store items.

Previously, the bandits had hidden weapons under the shrine niche, but after drawing a clear line with the government troops, they had taken them all back.

He Lingchuan walked around the shrine holding the torch; there was no one, not even any other living creature.

The ground was covered in footprints, which must have been left by the bandits earlier.

Then, he saw a bamboo slip container lying on the ground in front of the niche, with the slips inside scattered everywhere.

The sound he had heard earlier must have been this thing falling to the ground; perhaps some cat had done it?

He Lingchuan remembered what Zhu Xiuer had said: the slips at the Water Spirit Shrine used to be very accurate. Because so many people came to ask, the Water Spirit became annoyed and forbade people from asking about their fortunes anymore.

He subconsciously wanted to pick up the container, but halfway through bending down, he suddenly felt something was wrong:

What am I doing?

The Water Spirit is gone, so why bother picking it up? Besides, even when the old turtle was alive, it didn't give out divinations anymore.

Just as He Lingchuan was about to straighten up, he suddenly saw a slip stuck in the carved gap of the offering table, right under his eyes, pointed directly at his nose.

It was almost pointing at his face.

This slip was blood-red, and even in the poor light, it was hard for him not to notice it.

He pulled the slip out casually and discovered that it wasn't stained with blood, but was painted red all over.

Looking at the small characters on it, He Lingchuan cursed under his breath about his bad luck.

At the very top of the slip were two characters: "Lowest of the Low."

Then he saw a verse below it: The dove occupies the magpie's nest, making wedding clothes for someone else.

When He Lingchuan saw this line clearly, his hand even trembled.

Never mind the second part, but the four characters "the dove occupies the magpie's nest" struck like a thunderbolt, piercing deep into the bottom of his heart.

He was a soul that originally belonged to another world, yet he had occupied the body of "He Lingchuan"—was that not the dove occupying the magpie's nest?

He Lingchuan looked up at the shrine niche; was the Water Spirit really dead? It didn't seem so.

Or was it just a coincidence that this slip fell out? Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind him, and He Yue's voice came: "Brother, what are you doing?"

He Lingchuan turned his head and saw Lady Ying, He Yue, and Zhu Xiuer walking over, with Mao Tao following behind.

"Why did you all come out?"

"The captives you caught are currently being interrogated in the back kitchen; I couldn't stand it." Lady Ying looked at the container on the ground. "Are you drawing a fortune?"

"This container was sealed long ago." Zhu Xiuer also saw the slip in He Lingchuan's hand and couldn't help but be startled. "How could the Young Master get this 'Lowest of the Low' slip!"

The 'Lowest of the Low' slip at the County Magistrate Village Water Spirit Shrine was blood-red; she could recognize it at a glance.

"'Lowest of the Low'?" Lady Ying and He Yue were both startled, and Lady Ying grabbed the slip; He Lingchuan didn't even react in time.

"What does this mean?"

Lady Ying couldn't understand it.

He Yue leaned over to read it, pondered for a long time, and also shook his head.

Mao Tao picked up the slips from the ground and put them back in the container, and He Lingchuan reached out to him: "Give it to me."

Zhu Xiuer immediately said: "Young Master, the Water Spirit has passed away; the divination is no longer accurate."

He knew that, but he still wanted to try one more time. He Lingchuan held the container, muttered something, and then shook it hard several times.

Clatter, a slip flew out.

Before it even hit the ground, everyone saw its color—

It was blood-red.

He Yue snatched it up first and read it aloud by the light of the torch:

"The body is like a cage; this hatred will not vanish until death!"

Another 'Lowest of the Low' slip!

Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and He Lingchuan's expression was ugly. Was one of these cursed things not enough?

What did "the body is like a cage" mean? Zhu Xiuer watched from the side, feeling even more that this slip truly matched her current situation, but why had the Young Master He drawn it? A person like him, who was so free and unrestrained, throwing his weight around, what did he have to do with a "cage"? Not to mention the hatred that would only vanish at death.

"I've never heard of anyone being this unlucky." Mao Tao couldn't help but say, "Young Master, is there something wrong with this container?"

He Lingchuan clenched his fists; the local Water Spirit had met with misfortune itself, so could asking for a divination still be useful? Was someone secretly messing with him? He Yue snatched the container: "Let me try."

Lady Ying was afraid and pressed down on her precious son's arm: "Don't! This thing is extremely evil."

"The way of divination is inherently mysterious," He Yue laughed. "Mother, don't worry, my luck has always been good." After saying that, he shook it a few times.

A slip fell to the ground; it was a plain bamboo slip.

He Lingchuan picked it up and looked: a "Medium-High" slip.

"Hey, yours isn't bad."

(End of chapter)