The layout of Ku Shui Town during the day is no different from other towns.

Lu Ban, wearing a windbreaker that didn't fit in with the surroundings, came to the first floor of the inn and laid out the coins in his hand.

"Boss, heat up two ounces of wine and a bowl of fennel beans."

He said casually.

The boss who was indifferent last night actually had a smile on his face and answered Lu Ban.

"There are no beans, only wine and some dried fish to go with it. Is that ok?"

"OK."

Lu Ban handed the coin in his hand to the boss. This was the local currency, which he brought back when he went to the town to get breakfast and inquire about news in the morning.

No one was harmed during the entire process.

There was a pot of wine and a pile of dried fish on the table. Lu Ban saw that the store owner's cat was rubbing against his trouser leg. He picked up a dried fish, put it in front of the cat and let it sniff it. The cat was very excited and made a howling sound.

Then it watched Lu Ban take the dried fish back and eat it in one bite.

The cat was stunned for a moment, tears seemed to well up in its eyes, and it cried out loudly.

"Are you a devil?"

Drizzt threw a small dried fish in front of the cat, watched it eat it happily, and complained.

"Boss, do you know anything about the Hai family? I heard they can help fishermen get a good harvest?"

Lu Ban asked while eating dried fish.

There was no one else in the store, it was very quiet, and there were few passers-by in the town. Men usually went out to sea to fish early, while women, the elderly and children were all at home. This was a typical situation in agricultural villages and towns.

"The Hai family? The Hai family is the benefactor of Kushui Town."

The shop owner's eyes lit up.

"Ku Shui Town was initially plagued by floods. The tides of the sea often rushed into the village and destroyed the fields. Later, a wizard from the Gray Tower passed by and suppressed the monsters in the sea. Only then did the situation finally calm down a bit."

"But later, probably because the seal was loosened, the monster in the sea escaped again. In order to avenge the people in the town, it controlled the sea. Since then, there has been no more tides here, and no schools of fish. The people here can only go to deep oceans to fish, and accidents often happen."

"People at that time tried to offer sacrifices to the sea, from livestock to living people. Sometimes the sea was calm, and sometimes it was completely useless. Kushui Town was originally very large, but because of this, it gradually declined and became the current name."

"But later, the Hai family came here. They attracted the tide and brought fish. When the fish were at their peak, you could just go to the beach and pick up fish. Hey, that was the best time."

"Do you know that the Hai family has mastered a special dance called the Praying Wave Dance, which is used to pray for the tides and guide the fish? Every year during the fish tide season, they hold a ceremony, and it is very lively at that time."

"But twenty years ago, the Hai family didn't hold the ceremony on time for some unknown reason. Everyone was panicked at the time and surrounded the Hai family's mansion, but they only heard strange noises coming from the mansion and no one responded."

"Seven days later, the people of the Hai family came out and re-performed the ceremony, and everything returned to normal."

The shop owner had nothing to hide and talked incessantly, as if this piece of history was known to everyone and everyone was familiar with it.

"Are there any strange noises in the Hai family?"

Drizzt picked up his pipe and lit the tobacco.

"I don't know about that. I just heard it from others at that time."

The shop owner smiled as he wiped the table.

"Why was the ceremony interrupted at that time? Was there anything unusual happening in your town afterwards?"

Drizzt asked again.

"Not sure, nothing unusual."

The shop owner didn't seem to want to talk specifically about what happened twenty years ago.

"Do you know the Black Queen Mother?"

Lu Ban suddenly spoke, causing Trist to break out in a cold sweat.

The shop owner's expression became strange, and he stared at Lu Ban. That look reminded Trist of the numb villagers in the village last night, and the strange humanoid monster standing behind the stone statue.

In just a few words, the cheerful atmosphere in the store disappeared.

The shop owner was silent for a moment, and then made an incomprehensible sound in a low, strange, inhuman tone.

"Gah..."

The sound was like bubbles bursting in the water, with a certain turbid texture.

Trist felt his scalp tingling. The shop owner who had just been introducing the situation in Kushui Town to him suddenly became like some kind of monster, and was so close to him.

He pulled out his revolver, aimed it at the store owner, and was ready to pull the trigger at any moment.

"etc."

Lu Ban stopped Trist, whose eyes were already bloodshot, and stood between the two of them.

"You know the Black Queen Mother, she's some kind of common belief in this area, right?"

"Don't mention this name."

The shop owner squeezed out a few difficult words from the depths of his throat, as if someone was strangling him.

Trist noticed that the shop owner's eyes were wide open, and his eyeballs popped out like fish. On his neck and wrists, blue blood vessels expanded and spread under the skin. His whole body was in an extremely tense state.

"I understand. Let's continue talking about the Hai family."

Lu Ban raised his hand and made a gesture to try to comfort the other person.

The shop owner still maintained his tense look, but the fear in his eyes had subsided a lot. After a few minutes, he completely turned into the original man, just looking very tired. He sat back behind the counter with his head hung. No matter how Lu Ban and Trist shouted, he no longer paid attention to them.

"The Black Queen Mother seems to be a taboo word for the people living here, but this also proves that the belief in the Black Queen Mother does exist in this area, and even ordinary people know about it."

Lu Ban thought in reverse and came to a conclusion.

"The relationship between the Hai family and the Black Queen Mother does not seem to be simple, because if the Black Queen Mother and the Hai family are related, the boss would not have said these things about the Hai family so easily."

"...Indeed, if the Hai family wanted to conceal the incident deliberately, they should be able to make people in the town stop talking about the incident twenty years ago."

Trist was still in shock. He glanced at his boss who was curled up in the corner, then looked at Lu Ban.

At this time, Lu Ban bent down, snatched the food from the cat's mouth that was chewing on the dried fish, and blew at the cat.

"Cats can't eat foods that contain salt. Their kidneys can't break down salt."

He put the dried fish into his mouth.

“…”

For a moment, Trist didn't know whether the shop owner who suddenly changed his expression was more terrifying, or the companion who was snatching the dried fish from the cat was more worthy of attention.

"Why don't we go ask that person."

Lu Ban carefully put the remaining dried fish into his pocket, then pointed behind Trist.

There stood a man in short clothes, with dark skin and a strong build. He looked like a fisherman who often went out to sea to fish.

"He has been standing there since just now."

Drizzt looked at the man in confusion.

The man then spoke in the local dialect, which was a little difficult to understand even with the translation of Silent Land.

"You are guests of the Hai family, right? I have something to discuss with you."

"My sister is the bride of the Hai family."