NOVEL NEXT Chapter 64: Arrival at the County Town
Chapter 64: Arrival at the County Town
Xu Lian laid a few clothes on the moldy bed and lay down flat, but he couldn’t fall asleep.
It would be strange if he could sleep after encountering a ghost…
He wasn’t a person with a big heart; caution was his life’s motto.
“Once I arrive in Pingyang County, how will I get the spirit stones used by cultivators?”
Since he couldn’t sleep, he began to ponder, planning to refine his strategy for making money.
Using his white cat avatar and leveraging the identity of the Pingyang County inspector, he could get the people of Pingyang County to offer some “tributes”. This was a plan that he had already decided on.
Previously, he didn’t know much about Pingyang County, so he couldn’t make the plan more specific. However, from what Lin Chengyu had told him, he now had a rough idea of the situation in Pingyang County and could further refine his plan.
The most important cultivation resource in Pingyang County was spirit trees. His plan to make money would definitely revolve around these spirit trees.
For example, the guards who watched over the spirit trees-were they secretly taking bark or leaves?
The houses and land around the spirit trees-were the spirit stones from the sale of these properties fully accounted for?
The county magistrate and other officials – did they properly govern the county and maintain order?
With his white cat avatar wearing the badge of an inspector, it shouldn’t be difficult to stand there, pressure them appropriately, and get some tribute.
Just as he was thinking about these things, he suddenly heard the creaking sound of a door opening, which made his hair stand on end. He climbed up cautiously, gripping his dagger, and stared at the cabin door.
Through the gap at the bottom of the door he saw a pair of pale, pale feet walking past, trailing long, wet hair behind them.
“Is she getting off the boat?”
Xu Lian glanced out the window and noticed that the sky was already tinged with the first light of dawn, almost dawn.
He remembered what Lin Chengyu had said – the Yi Sect allowed ghosts and demons to travel on the boat at night, but only at night to avoid being seen and accused of colluding with them.
“What does she look like?”
Xu Lian curiously looked out of the window.
He saw a figure dressed in red jump into the river with a splash and swim towards the shore.
Silently, she reached the shore, stepping on the sandy riverbank with her bare feet and walked into the dark forest.
Xu Lian could only see her back, unable to see her face, which made him feel a bit disappointed.
Just as he was about to look away, the figure in red seemed to sense that she was being watched, paused, and suddenly turned her head to look directly at the window of Xu Lian’s cabin.
Xu Lian’s mind went blank for a moment. He finally saw her face… Xiya!
Impossible!
Absolutely impossible!
Thinking that his eyes were playing tricks on him, he rubbed his eyes and looked again… it was Chan’er.
In the blink of an eye, it seemed like it was Chuntao.
Damn it… what was going on?
The figure in red did not linger and left for the forest.
“Did I just get teased by a ghost?”
Xu Lian finally came to his senses.
He was deeply confused. Why could this ghost transform into the appearance of the women in his family?
Could it be that the ghost had read his memories and obtained this information? If so, that would be terrifying, but it seemed unlikely.
Or could it be that the ghost used some kind of trick, making people see someone they knew when they looked at it? That seemed more plausible.
“Ghostly and sinister… I should avoid meeting ghosts in the future.”
Xu Lian took a deep breath of cold air.
When the sky was fully bright, he opened the door of the cabin and went out.
He also happened to see Lin Chengyu coming out of his cabin.
The two of them went to the deck and found a wooden bucket tied with a rope, which they assumed was left by previous passengers. They had noticed it when they had boarded the boat.
Pulling the rope, they lowered the bucket into the river to fetch water for washing.
After washing up, Xu Lian brought the dried meat and wine from the cabin to the deck and invited Lin Chengyu to join him for breakfast.
While eating, Xu Lian asked, “How much longer until we reach Pingyang County?”
“We’re almost there, we’ll definitely arrive before lunch.”
Lin Chengyu replied. Then he couldn’t help but ask with a smile, “Did you go to the wrong cabin last night?”
Clearly, he had heard the commotion… Xu Lian calmly replied, “Fortunately, it wasn’t a fierce ghost. It was a close call.”
Lin Chengyu didn’t continue teasing him; it was evident that this young master of the Lin family in the county had good manners.
As the two of them quietly munched on the dried meat, they saw a cave in the river up ahead.
“There’s a part of an underground river up ahead. Hold on tight.”
Lin Chengyu reached out to grab the mast, having experienced this on his way to Green Bamboo Town and knowing the situation of the waterway.
Xu Lian quickly grabbed the mast as well.
The boat plunged into the cave, and the view immediately darkened.
The boat was on a downward slope and was gaining speed.
It kept going down, and they didn’t know how deep underground they were going.
Xu Lian saw stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and between them, he could vaguely see several coffins painted in a dark red color, which made his pupils constrict. “What are they?”
“Unknown.”
Lin Chengyu shook his head. “When I arrived here, I was also surprised. These coffins are almost fused with the stalactites, suggesting that they are very ancient relics.”
Xu Lian said, “Strange. The Yi Sect is most familiar with this waterway. They must have inspected these coffins, but didn’t destroy or open them?”
Lin Chengyu replied, “I read in an ancient book that Green Bamboo Town was controlled by a sect skilled in corpse manipulation a long time ago. For some unknown reason, this sect has disappeared.”
Xu Lian said, “You mean these coffins could be relics left behind by that sect?”
Lin Chengyu nodded. “That’s a possibility.”
Xu Lian pondered. If these coffins were indeed left by a sect skilled in corpse manipulation, it was intriguing.
After inspecting these coffins, the Yi Sect might have found the contents too dangerous to handle and decided to leave them undisturbed.
Or the Yi Sect might have found the contents to be of no value and not a threat to them, so they didn’t bother to touch them.
Splash!…
The double-masted boat emerged from the underground river, and the view suddenly opened up.
Xu Lian saw a vast plain stretching out in front of him, with countless men bent over working in the fields. There were also overseers patrolling the field ridges.
Upon seeing the double-masted boat and the cargo boats pulling stones, everyone glanced at them briefly and quickly looked down, not daring to look any longer.
Xu Lian remembered a question. “We should be approaching Pingyang County soon. Does Pingyang County also have a taboo against women going out during the day?”
“Of course.”
Lin Chengyu said, “Not only in Pingyang County, I’ve heard that the whole of Taisu Prefecture, the Yin Dynasty, and even other dynasties have a taboo against women going out during the day, except for those with strong constitutions.”
Xu Lian said, “Don’t you find that strange?”
Lin Chengyu said, “Isn’t it because people say that yin energy is stronger during the day, making it easier to attract evil spirits?”
Xu Lian said, “I never believed that. It’s a ridiculous idea. There is sunlight during the day, so the yin energy should be stronger at night. How can it be stronger during the day? It doesn’t make sense.”
Lin Chengyu thought for a moment and then shook his head. “This is a widespread taboo that affects all ordinary women. It’s not something we can fully understand.”
Xu Lian had only been in this world of strange phenomena for a short two months, so he was still curious about everything. Perhaps, over time, he would get used to it.
Living in ignorance can also be a form of happiness, because sometimes the truth is too cruel.
Just like the people of Rice Flower City, who eagerly lined up every day to draw lots, hoping to be chosen as the “lucky one” to go to the Kingdom of Heaven. At least they were happy before they died.
If the people of Rice Flower Town knew the truth beforehand, they would live in constant fear every day, unable to experience happiness.
“We’re here.”
Even without Lin Chengyu saying it, Xu Lian knew that they had arrived. He saw a magnificent city wall stretching across the land, seemingly endless, making it hard to imagine that this was just a county town. He wondered what a prefectural city or even the capital would look like.
The double-masted boat slowly docked at the wharf, and the cargo boats pulling the stones also arrived in an orderly fashion. Xu Lian couldn’t help but look into the water again, but he still couldn’t see the hardworking water spirits and ghosts.
The stone loaders and transporters began their work.
“Manager Xu, it was a pleasure traveling with you. Feel free to visit my home when you have time.”
Lin Chengyu got off the boat, casually took out a silver ingot, bought a horse, and was about to leave after saying this to Xu Lian.
Not even an address, no sincerity at all… Xu Lian said, “Actually, I have time now. Do you mind if I go with you?”
Lin Chengyu, who was about to ride away, was taken aback. He had just been being polite… but he didn’t expect Xu Lian to be so straightforward.
Lin Chengyu took out another silver ingot and threw it to the horse trader. “Manager Xu, it would be an honor to have you visit my humble abode.”
“Thank you.”
Xu Lian chose a black horse, known for its endurance, from the horse trader.
Although he had learned some information about Pingyang County from Lin Chengyu, his initial plan to “make money” was still preliminary. He needed to observe the county for a few days to determine where to start.
Staying alone at an inn and interacting with people of low social status would make it difficult to gather information. Staying with a family like the Lin family would allow him to move in higher circles, making it easier to quickly understand Pingyang County.