Chapter 44: Ferryman Yama

End of the Xu hour.

Jinxia Tower, Room Number One of the Heavenly Stem.

The scholars and others had all put on what they considered their most valuable clothes, after all, they had heard of the great name of Jinxia Tower when they were in Yun County, and those who entered and exited there were either rich or noble.

The scholar straightened his chest in his white long robe, exhaled a few long breaths to make himself look more relaxed.

Turning his head, he saw the dazed Old Li, and the scholar patted his shoulder.

"Old Li, what are you spacing out for? We need to keep our composure, we can't let people look down on us."

Old Li hehehe laughed: "Nothing~"

Lin Zikai was also sitting ramrod straight, obviously a bit nervous, with a little sweat still on his forehead.

He chuckled: "This room is really quite hot, open a window for some air."

As soon as the window was opened, along with the deep autumn wind came the noisy sounds from the street.

Lin Zikai gave an embarrassed laugh.

"The soundproofing of this window is really not bad."

Just about to close the window.

"Leave it open, it's got a bit of lively atmosphere."

Shen Qing stopped Lin Zikai, he still quite liked this feeling.

In his previous life, Shen Qing liked to wander around the snack street downstairs after work.

Amidst the noisy crowd, Shen Qing and the others devoured the steamed glutinous rice duck, clear-steamed eight-treasure pork, sugared lotus seed rice, fresh shrimp balls, hibiscus vegetable, and so on, leaving nothing behind.

Everyone was full, sitting in their chairs drinking tea and listening to the storytelling downstairs to digest.

The storyteller had just finished a story and was about to clear the table.

The surrounding listeners shouted: "Not enough, tell another, tell another."

The storyteller hesitated for a moment, then sat down: "I actually have a new story, do you want to hear it?"

Someone immediately threw a few copper coins: "Go on, tell it."

The storyteller put away the copper coins, gave a mysterious smile: "Have you ever heard of the name Shen Qing, the Ferryman Yama?"

"Oh! Isn't that the newly appointed Magistrate Shen of the West City Hundred Households Office?"

Shen Qing also raised his eyebrows, how come he's hearing about his own affairs?

Lin Zikai immediately turned his gaze toward the scholar, the Black Dog and others also looked toward the scholar, and Shen Qing also shifted his gaze.

The scholar explained: "Boss, actually this name had already spread in Luoshui City when you first captured the Cloud-Grasping Hand Sun Yun, and storytellers were busy making up stories."

"But every storyteller's made-up name is different, I went around and found the most famous ones are three: one is Ferryman Yama, one is called Green Yaksha, and another is called Blood-Handed Man-Slayer."

"I feel the other two names sound not so great, in the entire Great Martial World, those called Yaksha number not less than eight hundred even if not a thousand."

"Blood-Handed Man-Slayer is fewer, but it's also a cheap and common name."

"I just gave the storytellers some silver, got them to unify their wording, and all say Ferryman Yama."

That storyteller slapped the waking wood: "Excellent! Exactly the Hundred Households Magistrate Shen Qing."

"Speaking of which, this Ferryman Yama is truly legendary, undercover for two years to root out the rebel chief commander, captured the White Dragon Sect's wicked disciples, slew the three bandits of the Xu family, exterminated the man-eating Zhang family, captured the river bandit Cloud-Grasping Hand Sun Yun! That's called mighty and awe-inspiring!"

Someone in the crowd asked: "Then why is he called Yama?"

"Good question, legend says Shen Qing wears a silver flying fish robe, holds the Qinghe Blade, wherever he passes are broken limbs and severed arms, fully displaying Yama's methods, that's called mighty and awe-inspiring, a peerless gentleman of the world."

"I've heard this saying, but the original isn't like that, 'Jade-like person on the road, peerless gentleman of the world'?"

A voice rang out: "Isn't that jade thing fragile? Magistrate Shen Qing is actually very hard!"

"Oh? You tried it?"

Laughter immediately spread through the crowd.

The storyteller again slapped the waking wood: "Finished talking about Yama, do you want to know where these two words 'Ferryman' come from?"

Looking at the surrounding people with a mysterious smile, he stopped talking, just pushed the small bamboo tray for collecting money forward.

The surrounding people immediately let out a chorus of boos, but still threw in several copper coins.

The storyteller hehehe laughed, continued: "There are two explanations, one is that this Yama kills only evil people and ferries them to the underworld, the second is that this Shen Qing is originally an immortal god from heaven, merely passing through this world, ferrying one lifetime."

Everyone nodded in unison, showing expressions of sudden realization.

"Next, I'll tell you how this Ferryman Yama went undercover for two years, slew the rebel chief, captured the White Dragon Sect followers, that Shen Qing, upon arriving at the chief commander's office in Yun County, discovered something off about Chief Commander Sun Rock, ah, thus devised a plan, step by step luring that Sun Rock into the trap..."

Shen Qing sitting upstairs couldn't help but laugh, he didn't say it, Shen Qing didn't know he was this awesome.

At the moment the storyteller was getting excited, a sound of flapping wings approached, a white dove flew in through the window, landing in the scholar's hand.

This white dove had a thin red silk thread tied around its neck, it's a dove of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, this kind of dove is generally used for urgent messages, this kind of dove is more accurate than ordinary doves, can precisely locate the target by scent.

And this corresponding scent is produced by a special sachet, each Hundred Households Office is equipped with this special sachet, generally speaking they are hung on the Hundred Households' person, but Shen Qing found it troublesome so he hung it on the scholar.

The scholar took down the secret letter, looked at it.

"Boss, in recent days several people have gone missing near Li Family Slope to the north, the magistrate's office investigated and guessed it was done by a group of ferocious beasts, strength not low, one person did escape with his life, was washed downstream by the river, he said it was a pack of wild wolves, he also said a five-meter-long carp saved him, the Embroidered Uniform Guard wants us to go there."

Lin Zikai asked: "North? That's not our territory either, how did this task fall on our heads? Won't there be fraud?"

The scholar looked at the secret letter: "This also states the reason, because Boss handed in that diary, the Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately dispatched people to capture the Wokou, result people just left, the magistrate's office's plea for help came."

"Boss, what about us?"

Shen Qing listened to the storyteller downstairs constantly exaggerating the story, also felt a bit embarrassed, but the name Ferryman Yama is not bad. Shen Qing flicked his finger, flicked out one or two taels of silver precisely landing in the storyteller's small bamboo tray downstairs.

"Let's go, to Li Family Slope."

The storyteller downstairs looking at the silver was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stood up, gave a rather jianghu-style clasped-fist salute toward upstairs.

"Golden signboard, silver ingot, not as good as the blessings of that gentleman upstairs! I here wish you blessings as vast as the Eastern Sea, a soaring career for ten thousand miles."

The storyteller fell silent for a moment, then immediately continued speaking.

"However, we also need to say this first, your one or two taels of silver."

"I'll at most just talk for one night's stay."

North of Luoshui City, Li Family Slope.

In the night, flames still flickered continuously, a young constable waving a torch nonstop, urging everyone on.

"Hurry up, that pack of wolves might be coming again."

An old farmer in hemp clothes trembled as he asked: "Sir, are there really wolves?"

The constable didn't even turn his head, kept glancing toward the darkness at the other end of the village: "Old man, just sit quietly on the donkey cart, don't cause trouble."

"The body of Li Er from the village entrance has been brought back, chewed beyond recognition."

"Just a few wolves came the past few nights, tonight there might be more."

The old farmer stopped speaking, a child's tender voice came from behind him.

"Grandpa... hold..."

The old farmer turned his head to see the well-behaved girl sitting on the box, her clothes clean and neat, her face round.

This is the old farmer's granddaughter who just turned three.

The old farmer's muddy eyes welled with affection as he reached out and lifted the little girl.

"Little Sprout, be good."

"Grandpa will take you to town to eat candied haws, okay?"

The little girl's clear eyes flashed with light: "Okay, Grandpa will eat too."

Suddenly, a red firework exploded in the night sky behind them.

The constable's face changed drastically, he immediately shouted: "Everyone on the cart! Leave the luggage! Hurry!"

Immediately after, several wolf howls rang out, seeming to come from the other end of the village.

Suddenly, a rocket arced across the night sky, the far end of the village lit up with a line of fire — a makeshift fire wall built of wood and rice stalks, likely ineffective but able to buy a little time.

Suddenly, the old farmer saw in the darkness a timid child peeking out — the child of Li Er, snatched by wild wolves at the village entrance the day before.

"A bunch of careless fools."

The old man cursed softly, then climbed down from the cart, a crowd only thinking of moving their belongings, actually forgetting a child.

But the old man's legs were inconvenient; just as he lifted the child, the constable roared: "Depart immediately!"

All constables immediately shoved a black pill into the donkeys' mouths pulling the cart; within a few breaths, the donkeys' eyes filled with scarlet, their slow pace suddenly surging.

This is the Beast Blood-Rage Pill developed by Zhenyao Pavilion; ordinary livestock that eat it will burn their lives, bursting with speed and endurance beyond the norm, but will die within an hour.

Little Sprout murmured: "Grandpa..."

The old woman at the front of the donkey cart turned her head: "Little Sprout, be good, wait for Grandpa..."

But behind the donkey cart, only Little Sprout was wedged between several boxes — no sign of the old farmer.

"Little Sprout, where's Grandpa?"

Little Sprout stretched out her finger; following her fingertip, the old woman saw the old farmer standing at the village entrance.

"Old man!"

The old woman screamed, about to jump down from the cart, but was firmly held back by a constable beside her.

"Too late!"

Not long after, the wolves' sounds grew closer; they had already circled around from both sides of the fire wall.

The old farmer's face changed, he cursed angrily.

"Damned beasts."

Then his eyes darted madly, he noticed a water vat nearby, quickly shoved the child inside, but finding a hiding place for himself was already too late.

Listening to the ever-closer wolf howls, even seeing pairs of deep green pupils in the darkness, a flicker of hatred crossed his eyes.

The old farmer picked up a fallen bamboo pole from the ground, trembling as he walked toward those green eyes.

"Damned beasts..."

After the wolf pack paused briefly, they also realized the old farmer before them had no strength to resist.

A wild wolf let out a howl and lunged at the old farmer.

But soon, the old farmer threw the bamboo pole aside and closed his eyes.

Is my life left only a few breaths? If so, why waste it fighting wolves?

Better to think of something else.

The crops in the field, this year grew exceptionally well, but I won't get to harvest them.

My son wrote saying he received a gift from a great figure in Luoshui City, and will soon return to rebuild the house — I haven't even lived in it yet.

My wife of sixty years never got to enjoy a single good day.

Gradually, a bloody smell assaulted his face; the wolves had opened their bloody maws and reached him.

At the last moment of his life, he thought of Little Sprout — he hadn't even seen his adorable granddaughter grow up and marry.

The old farmer lifted his head, exposing his neck, awaiting death quietly, only hoping to die swiftly — but the imagined pain never came.

The old farmer slowly opened his eyes; Shen Qing in splendid robes stood before him, one hand pinching the wolf's jaws shut.

"Old man, where do you wish to go?"

"If it's the underworld, you may need to change your plans."

"The road to the underworld is full."

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