Chapter 589: River God of Liang Shui River

"Kumu Daozhang, the Imperial Attendant you mentioned left the world decades ago; for reasons unknown, rumors say his great limit was imminent and he couldn't overcome it, so he had already passed away!"

Gu Liangong explained, "The current Imperial Attendant of the Zhu Clan is a later arrival!"

"Impossible!"

Xuanqing Daozhang opened his mouth to retort, "Given the Zhu Clan's resources, they could not recruit a Golden Core realm practitioner to serve as their family's Imperial Attendant!"

"Kumu Daozhang, you are correct; ordinarily, the Zhu Clan lacks the means to attract a Golden Core realm cultivator!"

Gu Liangong nodded, his expression complicated, as if recalling something, and sighed:

"But they have a fine young lady in the family; the current Zhu Clan's eldest son has a good aunt, so the Zhu Clan could recruit a Golden Core realm cultivator!"

He is an ordinary person, not a cultivator, but being older he has seen many storms and heard much gossip; the Zhu Clan's affairs are like a leaky window, spreading across the county now and then. Not only him—most people, if they bother to inquire, would learn the Zhu Clan's situation.

"The Zhu Clan produced a fine young lady?"

Xuanqing Daozhang thought for a moment, myriad thoughts surfacing in his mind, and said pensively:

"You mean the Zhu Clan has a woman who displays extraordinary cultivation talent, noticed by a transcendent master and taken as a disciple, or perhaps favored by a sect, and through her the Zhu Clan can attract a Golden Core realm cultivator?"

"You could say that, or you could say not!"

Gu Liangong's expression turned odd.

"What on earth is going on…"

Before Xuanqing Daozhang could finish, Le Zhuang could no longer hold back and explained, "Uncle, you don't know—Zhu Xing has an aunt who is as beautiful as a flower; when she was in her teens or twenties, she was taken by a monster…"

"Xiao Zhuang, don't speak recklessly; that wasn't a monster!"

Gu Liangong's face changed dramatically, and he hurriedly said, "She… is a deity, the River God of Liang Shui River!"

Liangshui Town sits beside this Liang Shui River; the river is vast, linking all the county's towns, so Liangshui Town enjoys a uniquely advantageous location.

The town has a River God temple; in recent years the weather hasn't been perfectly smooth, after all this River God of Liang Shui River has an unusually huge appetite.

Even if Liangshui Town were extremely prosperous, it would be hard to satisfy the River God of Liang Shui River, yet because of this river the town has survived many natural and human disasters.

"Gu Liangong, you mean the Zhu Clan married their young lady to the River God of Liang Shui River, and by leveraging the god's favor they could attract a Golden Core realm practitioner as Imperial Attendant?"

Xuanqing Daozhang's face grew grim, his tone unfriendly.

He grew up in Liangshui Town, so he could not be unfamiliar with the river beside it; the river traverses a vast area and is rich in resources, including many treasures coveted by cultivators. It is said the River God of Liang Shui River is clever, having built an underwater market beneath the river to trade with cultivators from all directions!

However, the River God of Liang Shui River itself is a fully cultivated great serpent of unknown origin that seized the river, later usurped the former River God, refined the River God Command, and became today's River God of Liang Shui River. He is indeed clever, but has many flaws, one of which is lechery.

When he still lived in Liangshui Town, he often heard that some people married their daughters to the River God of Liang Shui River as concubines.

That matter.

He once asked his master why he didn't intervene. His master explained in detail that it wasn't that he chose not to, but that he couldn't; first, his abilities were inferior to the River God of Liang Shui River, and second, the River God's taking of concubines was neither bribery nor coercion.

Some people are unfit to be parents; as long as they can make money, whether selling a daughter or even their own daughter‑in‑law, it's no problem.

"Exactly!"

Gu Liangong nodded; he knew the current specifics of the Zhu Clan's Imperial Attendant, and the information was all spread by the Zhu Clan themselves, not to intimidate surrounding people who bear grudges against them, fearing they might act improperly, but deliberately circulated to threaten them. He sighed lightly and said:

"It is said that the Zhu Clan's Imperial Attendant agreed to serve because, through the Zhu Clan's connections, he could obtain valuable items from the River God of Liang Shui River, so he was willing to become their Imperial Attendant!"

Xuanqing Daozhang mused, "It seems that the Zhu Clan's young lady is not merely ordinarily beautiful!"

Gu Liangong gave Xuanqing Daozhang a strange look; he hadn't expected Xuanqing Daozhang to utter such an unrelated remark, and given Xuanqing Daozhang's advanced age, why the beauty of the Zhu Clan's young lady mattered to him, he couldn't help but ask:

"Kumu Daozhang, you are right—the Zhu Clan's young lady is very beautiful, but is there any problem here?"

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"When I lived in Liangshui Town, my master also mentioned that our River God of Liang Shui River is known to be lecherous yet also ruthless; a human girl married to him would only captivate him for ten days to half a month at most…"

Xuanqing Daozhang snorted, his face full of unmistakable murderous intent; the rest he did not utter, but the meaning was clear—any sane person could infer what happens when a monster tires of playing with someone.

"If the Zhu Clan's young lady weren't beautiful, her fate would be no different from other human women; yet she managed to link the Zhu Clan with the River God of Liang Shui River and attract a Golden Core realm cultivator as Imperial Attendant, indicating that she is not only beautiful but also greatly fascinates our River God of Liang Shui River!"

"That is…"

Gu Liangong instinctively began to speak, wanting to recount to Xuanqing Daozhang the River God of Liang Shui River's romantic exploits with the Zhu Clan's young lady, but the words halted at his throat; realizing his advanced age, he thought that mentioning such gossip before Xuanqing Daozhang would easily earn him the label 'disrespectful elder', so he hurriedly changed the subject, saying:

"Kumu Daozhang, I've said all that needs saying; I advise you to wait until Le Wenmao's funeral is handled, and promptly take Xiao Zhuang and leave Liangshui Town!"

"I understand!"

Xuanqing Daozhang nodded.

'No way, my master wouldn't really plan to take my junior disciple away from Liangshui Town, would he? Then we'd have just run here to hide from disaster…'

Wang Ping'an watched Gu Liangong leave with Zhuo Tie, his gaze instinctively shifting back to Xuanqing Daozhang; before he could finish speaking, he immediately noticed the unmistakable murderous intent on Xuanqing Daozhang's face and said:

'No, my master isn't planning to take my newly accepted junior disciple away; he's just bluffing the old man. The question is, whose murderous intent this is—directed at my junior disciple's avenging of his parents' murder, or at the River God of Liang Shui River we just learned about?'

(End of Chapter)