The things in this world are truly laughable.
"Killed by a sword?" Xu Yi looked at the woodcutter curiously.
The woodcutter nodded: "Yes, that family's surname is Li. They said their youngest son found a sword in the wild. The sword was gleaming silver and very beautiful. Just like you, little sister, the youngest son hugged the sword every day and loved it so much that he even talked to it. Later, sure enough, trouble came. He got tainted by something dirty, tsk tsk... Later, the whole family died."
"The whole family is dead?" Xu Yi asked again, "Could you tell me more about it, brother?"
Wu Zi sighed, picked up a piece of food for Xu Yi, and gestured for Xu Yi to eat while listening.
"Hmm," the woodcutter nodded, "Isn't it because the youngest son of the Li family talks to the sword every day? It attracted some evil spirits that attached themselves to the sword and started talking. Everyone heard it. My wife knows about this too, right?" He then looked at the woodcutter's wife.
The woodcutter woman glared at her husband and comforted Xu Yi, "Actually, it wasn't really the sword that caused it. Everyone heard the sword talking, and they figured it might be something evil, so the Li family had their youngest son throw it away. But the head of the Li family still felt uneasy, and that very night he insisted on moving to town. He got into a carriage and left. Everyone advised them that the road was difficult to travel in the dark, but they wouldn't listen. As a result, that very night, the whole family, including the carriage, overturned off a cliff. Everyone died; not a single person survived."
“Then how can it not be considered that the sword killed them?” The woodcutter disagreed: “If it weren’t for that sword, would they have been rushing to town in the middle of the night? If they hadn’t been traveling in the middle of the night, how could they have died? In the end, it was the sword that killed them.” Then he looked at Xu Yi and earnestly advised her: “So, little sister, you should be more careful… A sword is always a murder weapon.”
Xu Yi gripped the sword tightly in her hand and murmured, "So they're dead, that's why they didn't come looking for you..."
Seeing that Xu Yi wouldn't listen to advice and was about to say a few more words, Wu Zi quickly chimed in, "Ah, what a pity. If they had listened to some advice and left the next day, none of this would have happened."
The woodcutter chimed in, "That's right! If we had walked slowly the next day when it was light, this wouldn't have happened."
"Mmm," Wu Zi nodded, took a sip of chicken soup, and changed the subject, "Sister-in-law, this chicken soup is really delicious!"
"Right?" The woodcutter smiled. "Brother, if you like it, drink more. There's still plenty left in the pot, enough for you!"
The meal was finished in Xu Yi's silence...
That night, Xu Yi couldn't sleep. She was sitting by the window wiping her little spirit sword with a soft cloth dampened with fine oil when she heard the sound of a woodcutter couple arguing next door.
The woodcutter said, "What's wrong with you while you're eating? Why are you embarrassing your man in public?"
The woodcutter seemed puzzled, her tone somewhat doubtful: "What are you talking about? What face do you mean?"
"Regarding that sword incident, wasn't it that sword that killed the Li family? I'm trying to advise you, sister, what's wrong with you? Why are you talking back and embarrassing me?"
"What face? I was just stating the facts. The Li family member fell off the cliff because he insisted on traveling in the middle of the night. What does it have to do with the sword? The sword was thrown away during the day."
"Is it a matter of throwing it away or not?" The woodcutter raised his voice. "If they hadn't found that talking demonic sword, none of this would have happened. They were killed by the sword!"
"Alright, alright," the woodcutter woman relented, "Fine, if you say it was the sword that killed him, then it was the sword that killed him, okay?"
"What do you mean, 'it was killed by the sword right then and there'? That was exactly what happened..."
...
Xu Yi's hands didn't stop wiping the sword; listening to the two arguing, only boundless sorrow welled up in her heart...
That was clearly a rare and precious spiritual sword, yet it was discarded as a demonic sword… The Li family, with their mortal eyes, were not only unable to recognize its true value, but they also panicked to the point of causing the deaths of their entire family… And the spiritual sword… foolishly waited for so long at the stream… the spiritual sword that ultimately exhausted its spiritual power to save tens of thousands of lives… even in death, it was nothing more than a pretext for others' disputes…
"The things of this world... are truly laughable..."
Xu Yi was smiling, but her heart was filled with sorrow... She laughed until tears streamed down her face. Wu Zi patted Xu Yi's head, offering silent comfort...
They sat there until dawn...
The next day, they bid farewell to the woodcutter's family early in the morning, and set off again with the steamed buns that the woodcutter's wife had kindly steamed.
Seeing that Xu Yi was in a bad mood, Wu Zi simply took a detour to Quhua Town in the south to take Xu Yi away to cheer her up.
"Quhua Town is next to a big river. The weather is cool and not hot, and it's like spring all year round... There are delicious foods on both sides of the river, and you can also row boats on the river... You can also release lanterns during festivals..." Wu Zi described the fun places in Quhua Town to Xu Yi as they walked. They arrived in just a few days.
Quhua Town is indeed nice. As soon as you enter the town, a refreshing breeze blows, carrying a bit of moisture, which is both invigorating and not cold. Xu Yi took a few deep breaths of cool air, feeling the pent-up anger in her heart dissipate a bit, and couldn't help but smile at Wu Zi: "Thank you, Wu Zi, for taking me here to relax."
"Hey, it's good that you're smiling..." Wu Zi breathed a sigh of relief: "There are so many unpleasant things in this world. We should learn to forget them once we've seen them. Come on, I'll take you to eat something delicious." After saying that, he pulled Xu Yi to the riverbank to eat some snacks.
As they walked and ate, they unknowingly arrived at the dock. The dock was crowded with people on both sides, but the road in the middle was empty. Everyone was looking at the straight road they had come from, as if some important ceremonial procession would pass by. Wu Zi and Xu Yi exchanged a glance and decided to wait and see what was going on.
After waiting for about 15 minutes, we finally saw a group of people carrying a bridge in the distance. Because the bridge had no sides or roof, we could clearly see two children, a boy and a girl, about four or five years old, on the bridge. They were dressed in very bright colors, like dolls from a New Year's painting.
When the people around saw Xianqiao coming, they all knelt down to welcome him, chanting in unison, "May the river god bless us with favorable weather and abundant harvests."
Seeing this, Wu Zi probably understood what was going on, so he pulled Xu Yi to a less conspicuous spot at the back and gestured for Xu Yi not to make a fuss.
They watched as Xianqiao was carried over in front of them. People followed Xianqiao's footsteps and together carried the two babies to the front of the dock. Wu Zi also pulled Xu Yi over. After walking for a while, they saw a wizard dressed in witch's clothes standing at the front of the dock.
In front of the shaman was an altar with three sacrificial animals and a wooden plaque inscribed with the name of the river god.
When the shaman saw the bridge, he knelt down before the altar and shouted towards the river, "All the people of Quhua Town, please let the River God appear!" Everyone knelt down at that moment and shouted in unison, "Please let the River God appear!"
Everyone bowed their heads and knelt down. The dock was full of all sorts of people, all shouting in unison. Even Princess Xu Yi had never enjoyed such treatment.
Xu Yi was shocked to see the villagers all over the ground. As far as she knew, only when the emperor personally went on a tour would there be such a spectacular scene.
As she was inwardly sighing, she smelled a foul, fishy odor. This smell... Xu Yi looked at Wu Zi and silently mouthed, "It's a demon."
Wu Zi nodded, and they all looked at the suddenly surging river...
The water began to splash against the riverbank and dock in increasingly larger waves. After a few moments, a huge spray of water shot up from the middle of the river, reaching straight into the air. Then, a demon with a human body and a dragon's head, wearing a golden brocade robe, emerged from the spray. He was shrouded in thick black demonic mist, and even to a mortal, he could not discern a trace of divine appearance...
Xu Yi couldn't hold back and shouted loudly to the crowd, "He's a demon! He's a demon! Look! He's covered in black mist! How could he be the river god?"
Xu Yi's voice was loud enough for everyone kneeling to hear, but no one looked up. Only the shaman at the front stood up and scolded Xu Yi: "Where did this witch come from? How dare she slander the River God? The River God has protected our Quhua Town for many years, ensuring good weather and abundant harvests. How could he be a demon? Even if he really is a demon, he is still our great benefactor."
"A great benefactor?" Xu Yi's raised tone revealed utter sarcasm: "If he were a great benefactor, why would he ask you for children to eat?"
“Nonsense,” the wizard shouted at Xu Yi, “These children are all cultivating with the river god, and they can continue to protect us in the future.”
"Oh? In all these years, have any children returned after cultivating?" Xu Yi was furious. "You're lying! These children were clearly eaten by him. Otherwise, why would he be surrounded by such dark and malevolent energy?"
At this moment, a villager stood up and shouted at Xu Yi, "Where did you come from, you witch? Don't disturb our river god worship! Get out!"
One person stood up, and the other villagers followed suit, shouting at Xu Yi and Wu Zi, "Yes, get out!"
"Get out! Get out!" Everyone rushed towards Xu Yi and Wu Zi, their eyes blazing with fury as they pointed at them. They closed in, surrounding Xu Yi and Wu Zi in a small circle. Someone suddenly shoved Xu Yi, nearly knocking him over. Wu Zi quickly grabbed him and yelled, "Back off!"
Wu Zi's roar, imbued with the internal force of a cultivator, forced the surrounding crowd back several steps. Everyone stared at Wu Zi in disbelief. At this moment, Wu Zi spoke: "I am Wu Zi of the Imperial Observatory. Since we say he is a demon, there is no way we are wrong. But if you are willing to make this deal of eating people in exchange for good weather, my Imperial Observatory will not interfere; however, from now on, my Imperial Observatory will no longer intervene in any issues concerning this demon in this town. Have you thought this through?"
When the Imperial Observatory was mentioned, everyone fell silent; when it was said that they could leave it alone, many people's eyes lit up; but when they heard Wu Zi say that the Imperial Observatory would no longer interfere with the demon's problems, some people's eyes showed a hint of panic... Then came silence, a long silence... Seeing that things were not going well, the demon on the other side flipped over and jumped back into the river, disappearing without a trace.
A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar stepped out from the crowd. He bowed to Wu Zi and said, "I am Qu Yi, the magistrate of Quhua Town. I greet you, esteemed Wu Zi. May I have the honor of seeing your Imperial Observatory badge?"
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