Luo Bin felt a little offended. He was just wondering how to respond when a girl with a very different air from Chen Manqing's came running out.
If Chen Manqing was the dignified, cool type, then the girl before him was the playful, adorable type...
She was sixteen, dressed in a bright yellow jacket over a white lace blouse. Her chestnut curls were tied into two buns, and her features were sweet and lively.
She was none other than the youngest young lady of the Chen Family, Chen Mansheng.
"River God Festival?" Luo Bin and Chen Jing asked at the same time, both puzzled.
When Chen Mansheng spotted Chen Jing, she noticed the handsome, valiant young man standing beside him... and immediately guessed who he was.
Last night, the meeting between her father, Chen Tianren, Luo Wendi, and Elder Jiang had taken place in the main hall of the Chen Residence. Aunt Ji Xuan had been serving tea to the three men, and though she was some distance away, not a word of their conversation had escaped her ears.
She and Aunt Ji were close, so she'd learned about it ahead of time.
Although she'd never met this "martial prodigy" named Luo Bin, she still had to observe the proper etiquette. After all, judging by what her father had said, there was a good chance they intended to marry her eldest sister, Chen Manqing, to him...
She didn't think there was anything wrong with that, and it didn't bother her.
Sometimes she jokingly called herself the Chen Family's political-marriage pawn, but she knew her own worth... If her eldest sister married him, it would better preserve the strong bond between him and the Chen Family.
Chen Mansheng put on a saccharine smile. "You must be Brother Luo, right? Dad thinks very highly of you. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Chen Mansheng."
Luo Bin smiled back. "Second Miss."
Chen Manqing seemed to have been exhausted by the move to the estate last night. Even with the sun already sinking in the west, she was still asleep in her room. The group chatted as they made their way to the living room.
Aunt Ji hadn't gotten an answer to her earlier question, but she wasn't in a hurry. Just then, she was busy cutting fruit and fetching snacks for Luo Bin and the others.
"Second Sister, is the 'River God Festival' you mentioned at Yingshui Ferry?" Chen Jing popped a cherry into his mouth and asked indistinctly.
"Yeah. Want to go together? Elder Jiang's at the estate too, so there's no harm in staying here another night..."
Chen Jing perked up. "That'd be great! I haven't been out of the city to have fun in ages. When Big Brother gets back, I'm making him take me to Jinmen. What's the point of cooping myself up in a little place like Ping City every day?"
Luo Bin joined in at an opportune moment. "What's the eldest young master doing in Jinmen? Handling business?"
Chen Jing and Chen Mansheng exchanged a glance. The former began, "Well..."
"If it's inconvenient to say, don't worry. I was out of line asking."
"Oh, Brother Luo, what are you talking about? Aren't we family? It's not that we can't talk about Big Brother's business. Just don't tell anyone once you know."
Chen Jing's little face turned solemn, and his voice rang out with conviction.
Luo Bin's heart tightened. He answered seriously, "Don't worry. I'll keep it under wraps."
"Big Brother joined an organization in Jinmen called the Gushang Peace-Waves Society. Doesn't the name sound a little cryptic?
"Gushang is another name for Jinmen, and waves are water. To calm the waves is to suppress the water... After what happened at Moon Mantle, you should understand why.
"The scourge of demons in Great Xin is worse than it's ever been."
Chen Mansheng spat out the cherry pit and cut in. "You came from humble beginnings, so you don't know much about the former Great Li dynasty. Demons and monsters have existed since ancient times, but when Great Li was founded three hundred years ago, the Green Satchel Warlocks of the Imperial Observatory severed the feng shui dragon veins.
"And Great Li's founding emperor issued the 'Zi-Wu Edict,' decreeing that 'creatures of the old era may not become spirits.' Together with the Jiashen Void, those events marked the beginning and end of Great Li's three-hundred-year dynasty..."
Luo Bin's previous self had never had access to secrets like these. Though she'd called him "lowborn," it was the truth, and he didn't take it as an insult. He voiced the question on his mind.
"Does all this have something to do with the demon scourge?"
Chen Mansheng dropped her usual flippant air. Seeing that someone was actually willing to listen to her explanation, she felt a swell of accomplishment and grew animated.
"The severed dragon veins release something called Turbid Qi, while intact dragon veins give off Clear Qi. The former nourishes demons and monsters, while people gather and cultivate with the latter...
"The Zi-Wu Edict was an 'heavenly law' that bore down on countless spirits and monsters. They were suppressed for three hundred years. When Great Li collapsed, those spirits and monsters went mad, frantically seizing the 'Qi' of the world...
"Then there was the war between the warlords in every direction, with starving corpses strewn across the land... All of that brought about the situation we have today."
After explaining, Chen Mansheng added, "So there are things in the water too, and they're even harder to deal with than the ones on land. The Gushang Peace-Waves Society is an organization that handles these so-called 'water calamities'..."
Luo Bin pondered, gradually piecing together how the world worked. These demons weren't formed by some "unknowable existence," nor were they anything like "rules-based ghost stories."
That was a relief. At least they had a traceable origin...
Nothing like the Five Turbidities and evil age, with fierce ghosts descending upon the mortal world, that Yang Jian had faced in some work from his previous life.
Otherwise, it wasn't at all certain that a little Crimson Martial Arts Modifier would be enough to handle it.
I still need to get stronger. Looking at it this way, the world outside is still damn dangerous...
Luo Bin suddenly thought of something and looked at Chen Mansheng. "Second Miss, will anything dangerous happen at the 'River God Festival'?"
Chen Mansheng swept a delicate hand through the air, speaking with swagger. "Of course!
"But Yingshui Ferry isn't far from Long Wind Pier, and steamships and merchant vessels travel back and forth. It's not as frightening as you imagine...
"If you go somewhere knowing there's no danger at all, wouldn't that be boring?"
Chen Jing hurriedly clapped a hand over the mouth of his sister, who was a year older than him. If Aunt Ji heard that and went home to tell their father, they might never be allowed out again.
Luo Bin: "..."
By evening, Luo Bin had enjoyed a fine meal with the Chen Family. At Aunt Ji's pointed look, he went to knock on Chen Manqing's door. She was still asleep.
Knock, knock! Knock, knock!
No response.
Luo Bin's back began to sweat. He gave up; he knew Madam Ji was trying to play matchmaker, but this was far too abrupt.
Aunt Ji, exasperated, pushed the door open herself. Chen Manqing was still sleeping soundly, so she quietly backed out.
"Ah Bin, you still need to toughen up. A man won't get himself a wife if he's too shy. You and Ah Jing and Mansheng are going to see the 'River God Festival,' right?
"It's gotten so late...
"But with you along, I'll feel much better. There'll be a troupe putting on a show too, funded by a few of the nearby villages. It'll be liveliest at night..."
Aunt Ji's words left Luo Bin utterly embarrassed. In both his past and present lives, he'd carried the title of "Xiao Chunan," yet he was still too green when it came to this sort of thing. To ease the awkwardness, he asked:
"Aunt Ji, aren't you coming?"
"You young people go have fun. What business does a faded old woman like me have tagging along..."
...The three young people packed some fruit and snacks. Accompanied by Hu Junzhi and Zhang Huai, they drove a jeep toward Yingshui Ferry.
Jiang Ling, resting with his eyes closed on a couch at the estate, glanced in their direction and shook his head with a smile. "Young people are always so bold..."
About fifteen minutes later, Luo Bin was eating when a pleased smile suddenly appeared on his face.
[Spirit Charm +1]
What a reassuring notification.
The jeep rumbled over the gravel road at the ferry and stopped beside the Ying River. As soon as they opened the doors, the blaring gongs and drums came rushing toward them on the river breeze.
At the center of the riverbank stood a five-foot-high altar. The offering table was laden with the three sacrificial animals and the five grains. Thick incense sticks, each as wide as an arm, stood in the burner, smoke curling around them.
Several Duan Gong in Taoist robes held Peach Wood Swords and circled the offering table, stepping through ritual patterns as they chanted the Water Suppressing Incantation. This was the invocation portion of the local River God Festival.
Chen Jing suddenly cried out, "Look! What's that on the offering table?"
Chen Mansheng replied impatiently, "What else would be on an offering table? The three sacrificial animals and the five grains, obviously..."
Having broken through the Golden Skin Pass, Luo Bin had keen eyesight. He glanced over, and his heart abruptly lurched several times. Then he looked at Zhang Huai and Hu Junzhi, who were Martial Masters like him.
In one another's eyes, all three saw the same emotion—horror!
Before you continue