He ladled a gourdful of clean water from the vat, gulped down a large mouthful, then handed it to a bald man beside him.
The bald man had a frightening scar across his head. He was Uncle Hu's trusted subordinate, someone who dared to fight and kill. Everyone in the camp was terrified of him.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Little Bug had returned. The older child shut the door and licked the biscuit crumbs from the corners of his mouth.
"How did it go?"
Uncle Hu turned and looked at the child.
He had sent Little Bug to find out about Li Su's situation.
Little Bug squatted down and said, "He gave us some food, and he told us stories about Empress Hong Shang."
Uncle Hu froze for a moment. "What kind of spell has gotten into this Mister Li? Is he seriously going on about this empress or whatever? What stories did he tell?"
Little Bug glanced at the gourd dipper in the bald man's hand.
Uncle Hu gave the bald man a look, and the latter handed over the dipper, which still held a little clean water.
The older child downed the water in a few gulps, wiped his mouth, and said with a grin, "He said Empress Hong Shang is a great savior who can drive away giant beasts."
"Yi Town and several nearby camps are all under her protection. The people there can walk around outside the camp whenever they want without being afraid."
"Bullshit."
"Something meant to trick children!" Uncle Hu blurted out without even thinking.
The men in the room nodded one after another.
The bald man asked in a low voice, "Little Bug, what else did he say?"
Little Bug beamed. "He said that as long as we became believers of Empress