Chapter 336: Da Fu Seeks Food

The fact that Lord Xu came to buy insects was not taken seriously by anyone in the Canal Office.

They had indeed been shamed by Xu Yuan before.

Later, they played the fool and spent a huge sum to buy the evidence item from Xu Yuan's hand.

But whether it was the River Warden or the River Patrol Envoy, they still considered Xu Yuan to be merely an Inspector.

The officials of the Imperial Ming were accustomed to judging importance by rank.

Because Xu Yuan's rank was low, they viewed Xu Yuan with a sense of superiority.

After the Clerk sent Xu Yuan away, he went to report to the River Patrol Envoy: "My lord, that boy has left; he didn't pay."

The River Patrol Envoy didn't care, waved his hand, and said, "Understood."

Not having scammed that fellow didn't matter either.

But in the future, he absolutely must not dream of being able to take advantage of our Canal Office.

Xu Yuan had Lang Xiao Ba return Zhu Zhanlei to Huicheng, while he himself went to Yu Well Village.

He handed a folded note to the Dragon, who said, "I will depart for Guanghuo Street tonight."

Xu Yuan would have to delay until tomorrow.

"I will go back first to investigate the situation; if there is news, I will tell you immediately."

"Good."

Xu Yuan returned to the Nancheng Patrol Post in the mid-afternoon—Da Fu was lying at the main gate.

He had put on a show of being weak and on the verge of death.

Old Qin stood on the left side of the gate, while Da Fu occupied the right side.

Old Qin was at a loss between laughter and tears.

Everyone in the office knew Da Fu was not to be trifled with; for instance, when they first met Da Fu, several Captains joked that the goose was so fat it should be stewed and eaten.

Da Fu had been terrified and fled in a panic at that time.

But in the following days, those few people were all ambushed and attacked by Da Fu.

Sometimes Da Fu hid around a corner; as a Captain walked by completely unguarded, Da Fu would suddenly leap out and let out a loud "Quack!"

The Captain's soul would be scared out of his body—it was truly a soul leaving the body; Da Fu simply had that ability.

Then Da Fu would take the opportunity to peck him fiercely.

So for the entire day, Da Fu lay at the gate, and even Old Qin dared not chase him away.

Finally, when Fan Zhezi returned, Da Fu put on an expression of "If you don't come back, I will starve to death," lifted his head weakly, then let it droop again, and called out feebly: "Quack..."

Xu Yuan picked him up and hurried to the backyard.

Don't make a fool of yourself at the gate!

Da Fu looked longingly at Fan Zhezi; Xu Yuan sighed deeply and said, "Alas, it is all my fault as your master; I have no ability..."

"Those people in the Canal Office deliberately made things difficult for me!"

"For your sake, I begged bitterly, but they simply refused to sell them to me."

"I even offered eighteen hundred taels for one, yet they still would not agree."

"My child, you have been wronged..."

Da Fu stared suspiciously at Fan Zhezi; Xu Yuan pointed at Lang Xiao Ba: "He can testify for me."

Lang Xiao Ba thought for a moment; the lord wasn't exactly lying.

That Clerk had stubbornly demanded two thousand taels; if the lord truly offered eighteen hundred taels, he certainly would not have sold it anyway.

Lang Xiao Ba nodded vigorously to testify for the lord.

Da Fu immediately became angry.

A dog does not despise a poor home; I, the great goose Da Fu, am certainly superior to a dog!

So Da Fu's anger was directed at the Canal Office.

Xu Yuan put Da Fu down with a face full of grief and sorrow and left, casting a glance at Lang Xiao Ba before departing.

Lang Xiao Ba said in indignant rage: "If the master is insulted, the servant must die! The Canal Office has insulted my lord; I will risk my life to avenge this insult for the lord!"

Upon hearing this, Da Fu immediately shrank his neck: I cannot bear to lose my life.

Seeing this, Lang Xiao Ba realized the medicine was a bit too strong.

So he added, "Wrongs have a head and debts have an owner; it is all the fault of the Canal Office."

Da Fu nodded in deep agreement.

"The Canal Office is rich but lacks benevolence."

"A great hero should descend from the heavens to rob the rich and help the poor!"

Da Fu nodded again.

Then he wobbled back to his nest and began to think: Our family is very poor.

After all, Fan Zhezi could not afford insects costing two thousand each, which proves his poverty.

Robbing the Canal Office means they should provide relief to us.

If they provide relief to us, Fan Zhezi will have money to buy insects.

Buying insects means feeding them to me—I might as well go directly into the Canal Office to eat the insects, skipping the intermediate step; would that not be wonderful?

Da Fu thought more and more that this made sense.

So he wobbled out of his nest and slipped out secretly along the wall.

Lang Xiao Ba, who had been secretly watching him, quietly went to report to the lord: "Da Fu has slipped out."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly.

It was nearly dark, and Da Fu was roaming freely within the city.

Those restless little evil spirits, upon seeing it, quickly hid themselves.

The guards at Nancheng's southern gate watched the time and closed the city gates.

Suddenly, one of them asked his companion in confusion: "Did my eyes deceive me? How did I see a huge white goose fly over the city wall?"

"Stop talking nonsense! Have you ever seen a goose that could fly so high and so far?" his companion hurriedly said, "It might be some evil spirit from within the city! We saw nothing at all."

"Yes, yes, yes, we saw nothing, absolutely nothing."

Once Dafu left the city, he moved just as in Ghost Wushan, running a few steps then flapping his wings to fly a short distance, his speed even faster than a fine horse carrying a calligraphy scroll.

Before long, he arrived at the canal and swam across it himself.

Just as he neared the opposite bank, he suddenly plunged headfirst into the water like a cormorant.

After quite some time, he finally emerged from the river water to take a breath.

Then he dived down once more.

He repeated this seven or eight times.

Dafu's neck, from top to bottom, was bulging, several times thicker than its normal state.

Then Dafu climbed onto the shore—failing several times.

Dafu's body appeared exceptionally heavy, his webbed feet slipping immediately upon touching the riverbank.

Only after exerting great effort did he finally manage to climb up.

Dafu kept his beak tightly shut, daring not to breathe.

It was as if he feared that opening his mouth would let something leak out.

He wobbled along, moving slowly.

With great difficulty, he reached the front of the Canal Administration Office, tilted his head to look, avoided the main gate, circled around the courtyard for most of a lap, and finally discovered a hole in the wall.

Dafu finally opened his beak: Splash, splash, splash...

Little evil spirits were spat out one by one.

He had caught these evil spirits in the river, swallowed them into his belly, until he truly could swallow no more, his entire neck packed tight.

These evil spirits included strange fish that had grown two legs, loaches covered in blood patterns, leeches that had sprouted tentacles, drowned water ghosts, and half-eaten corpses consumed by water monsters, among others.

Once all the evil spirits were spat out, they scattered in terror.

Then, forced by Dafu, they all crawled through that hole in the wall.

Not long after, the entire Canal Administration Office descended into chaos.

Only then did Dafu, unhurried and leisurely, crawl through the hole in the wall as well.

Then he followed the scent and moved forward.

Along the way, officials and soldiers within the Canal Administration Office shouted and screamed, chasing after those evil spirits.

The little evil spirits might not possess great power, but their skill at hiding was considerable.

From time to time, they startled the womenfolk, triggering another round of shrieks, causing the entire office to boil into a pot of chaos.

Dafu walked unsteadily, as if possessing foreknowledge, each time managing to precisely avoid the crowds chasing the evil spirits.

Then he stood before a large building.

Dafu did not know that this was the treasury of the Canal Administration Office.

It was of the same nature as the treasury of the Purification Bureau's City Office.

A thick scent of insects wafted out from inside.

Dafu's eyes gleamed; like a lecher seeing a beauty, he let out a "Ga!" and pounced forward.

(End of this chapter)