"I wonder if the City God of Qingshan County can take that thing away!"
"Hehe, you don't know this, do you? Our City God of Qingshan County is indeed powerful, but the gods on earth can't control things in the water. This thing needs to be taken away by the River God!"
"But we haven't heard of any river god around here!"
"Then there's nothing we can do about it."
"We can ask a master to perform a ritual to subdue it!"
"You're paying to hire him?"
"..."
A moment of silence fell over the city gate. Those who went into the water before dawn were naturally poor people who had little savings and no money to hire Taoist priests or monks to perform rituals.
Feng Bingwen listened to the commotion at the city gate, and frowned as he watched the oxcart that had been allowed to enter the city.
He had just clearly seen that on the ankles of the drowned body, there were two dark blue handprints, tinged with purple, which sent chills down his spine.
But perhaps because of his special eyes, he saw a handprint that no one else around him could see; it seemed that only he had seen it.
"Um?"
As Feng Bingwen walked, having already followed the flow of people into the city, his eyes widened. Beside the oxcart that was almost out of his sight, two tall but indistinct figures suddenly appeared.
Feng Bingwen couldn't see their figures clearly, only the hazy gray mist, but their nearly ten-foot height stood out like cranes among chickens.
"This is... a ghost messenger?"
Feng Bingwen was somewhat uncertain. Although he had seen the City God that day, when the City God appeared before him, he was no different from an ordinary person, without any evil aura. He was magnificent and imposing, and seemed more like a living person than a living person.
The two creatures he saw at that moment, not to mention their imposing size, and the impenetrable mist surrounding them, all indicated how formidable they were.
However, although these two hazy figures looked tall and fierce, pedestrians passing beneath them could easily pass through their bodies without any negative impact, as if their existence was merely an illusion.
Whoosh~
The sound of chains sliding could be heard. Feng Bingwen could no longer see the oxcart, but his gaze was still following it because the two figures that seemed to be ghost messengers were too large.
Suddenly, one of the hazy beings following the oxcart turned its head and looked straight at Feng Bingwen, who was staring at them. Its scarlet eyes shone brightly in the daylight when the sun had already risen.
Whew~
A gust of cold wind swept over them, and the pedestrians standing next to Feng Bingwen shivered involuntarily. They looked around, tightened their clothes, quickened their pace, and unconsciously moved away from Feng Bingwen.
Feng Bingwen bowed slightly, a little embarrassed, and then smiled at the ferocious figure. He felt no fear whatsoever; he was simply too confident.
"..."
Ignoring Feng Bingwen's friendliness, the massive figure slowly turned its head and continued to follow the oxcart.
But for some reason, Feng Bingwen suddenly sensed that the anger emanating from these two beings who had manifested in broad daylight was not directed at him, but at the oxcart they were escorting, or rather, the culprit that caused the death of the person lying on the oxcart.
Could those two big guys have overheard the indiscreet gossip at the city gate? To be honest, if they were in his shoes, they would be furious if they heard such things.
After the brief incident that morning, Feng Bingwen entered the school somewhat absentmindedly to begin his day of learning. Since it was only introductory education, there was little pressure for him, and even distractions were not a major problem.
"Underwater!"
Feng Bingwen pondered the incident that had occurred that morning.
The Great Gan is now in a golden age, with its national strength growing rapidly and its people living in peace and prosperity. Demons and monsters are all hiding in the mountains and fields, not daring to show their faces, or at least not daring to cause too much trouble.
But just because those demons and monsters are hiding doesn't mean they'll behave. They're just waiting for the right opportunity, and they won't be polite to any mortals who accidentally wander into their territory.
Longchuan Prefecture, known as the Prefecture of a Thousand Lakes, is densely populated with numerous lakes and marshes. There are countless strange and unusual stories related to water, and at least half of them are related to water ghosts.
Take Wolong Lake, which is located near Qingshan County, as an example. Ever since Feng Bingwen first heard about this great lake, he has heard news of people drowning in it every year, sometimes one or two, sometimes three or five, without interruption.
The village elders once said that there were always unclean things in the lake, and they had repeatedly warned their children not to approach the lake without supervision, and even more so not to swim in it on their own.
Despite repeated orders from the government and officials, people still drown every year—children playing in the water, or fishermen and lotus pickers trying to make a living.
In the past, Feng Bingwen would avoid large lakes for this very reason: the water was unclean and contained harmful creatures—that was an undeniable fact, and he didn't want to risk going in.
However, what Feng Bingwen is thinking about now is...
"I wonder how much merit I'll accumulate by saving one person?"
It's very pragmatic, but Feng Bingwen, who has prayed three times and received positive feedback each time, can hardly help but think in this direction.
Besides, doesn't doing good deeds with a purpose count as doing good deeds? Since ancient times, we have always judged people by their actions, not their intentions.
"Perhaps, squatting by the river to save people is a stable source of good deeds?"
"However, if I killed that water ghost, wouldn't it be more direct? The reward for good deeds should be more, right?"
Considering the frequency with which people drown in Wolong Lake every year, Feng Bingwen felt that it was too foolish to spend every day staking out the lake. He decided to just address the root of the problem directly.
"Worth a try!"
Feng Bingwen affirmed his idea. The convenience of making wishes through good deeds goes without saying. If he had enough good deeds, he wouldn't have to worry about the two old people's elixirs.
"However, if eliminating water ghosts brings good karma, then I'll have a goal to strive for in the future..."
Such mobile criminal gangs as the "Ren Ya Zi" are extremely rare in this peaceful and prosperous era. Gangs like the one in Qijiagang are probably one in a million, and you're unlikely to encounter another like them.
However, water ghosts are different. Wherever there are people and water, these evil creatures will inevitably breed. Let's not talk about other places, just take Longchuan Prefecture as an example.
The city of a thousand lakes—a thousand lakes is just a figure of speech. In reality, there are countless lakes and rivers of all sizes, plus ponds everywhere. Tsk, the number of these water ghosts is probably at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand.
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