Luo Bin quickly judged that the child had fainted. Anger flared in his heart. "Those beasts! What kind of damn River God Festival is this? They might as well tie up those Duan Gong and offer them as sacrifices!"
In Ping City's Huaian Province, Duan Gong were called upon to ward off evil, pray for blessings, and avert disasters—in other words, they were male shamans.
But these men were wearing Daoist robes. They were practically defiling the dignity of Daoism.
The offerings nearby included a whole pig's head wrapped in red silk around its ears, with a pig's tail clenched in its mouth; large white steamed buns; and six live carp with golden scales and red tails in a bamboo basket...
Luo Bin glanced around at the atmosphere. Stalls had been set up along the riverbank, lanterns hung overhead, food vendors hawked their wares, dough figurine makers worked their craft, and the stallholders' cries rose and fell in a steady din... Even the clapper opera on the stage in the distant clearing still rang out in clear, lilting tones.
Chen Mansheng had grown up in luxury, but she had heard some horrifying folk prophecies.
"Do these people even know what they're doing?" Chen Mansheng whispered, her voice thick with tears.
The scene shook Chen Jing as well. Zhang Huai and Hu Junzhi, on the other hand, had spent years living by the sword and had nerves of steel.
Chen Jing felt the silver revolver in his pocket and swore. "Zhang Huai, get that child down!"
"Yes, Second Young Master."
Zhang Huai rubbed his hands together, eager to act, but Luo Bin stopped him. The others immediately turned their attention to them.
Zhang Huai looked puzzled. "Brother Luo, what is it...?"
Luo Bin surveyed their surroundings. Almost nobody was paying attention to the River God's ritual. The villagers were each busy with their own affairs, as if they were used to seeing it.
Something was wrong...
"Let's not rush. There's still some time before the Duan Gong finish their ritual. The child isn't in danger yet. We'll wait and see." Luo Bin held back the fury rising in his chest, reminding himself that this was the Great Xin Republic in the Demon Martial Chaos Era.
Not the world he had known in his previous life, one civilized by education.
Human sacrifice and parents eating their own children weren't just rumors here. Such tragedies were unfolding everywhere, all the time.
After reaching the Golden Skin Pass, Luo Bin's senses had sharpened. The boost to his physical abilities from advancing in the White Ape Through-Arm Fist had made his hearing keener still.
"Waaah... waaah..."
A faint sobbing reached Luo Bin's ears.
He turned and saw a crowd of villagers gathered in one spot, talking over one another. Most were middle-aged or elderly; there was hardly a young person in sight.
Luo Bin beckoned to Chen Mansheng and the others, then headed toward the crowd.
He collided with a gaunt man. A tremendous force surged into the man, jolting a retch from him before he let out a strange cry.
The villagers standing in a circle all turned to glare at Luo Bin. But when they saw Chen Mansheng and the others dressed in fine, elegant clothes, they backed away fearfully.
They had arrived in two jeeps. One carried the young people, while the other carried the bodyguards Ji Xuan had insisted on arranging. The guards had already been keeping watch from a distance.
When they noticed the strange scene and the villagers' hostile looks, they hurried over to protect their young masters and miss.
"Go back where you came from! Don't block our young masters' and miss's way."
Some of the villagers dispersed, revealing through the gap a woman with tear-swollen cheeks.
Chen Jing, puzzled, stepped forward. "Auntie, are you in some kind of trouble?"
The woman looked about forty or fifty. She wiped away her tears and tried to compose herself. "It's nothing. I'm just resting here for a bit..."
Chen Mansheng looked at Chen Jing, then at Luo Bin, unsure what to say. She cursed herself for being so bad with words.
Luo Bin suddenly walked a few steps forward, crouched in front of the woman, and asked softly:
"Is the child on that altar your son?"
The woman could no longer contain her grief. Tears welled up again, and she clutched Luo Bin's arm, sobbing. "Kind sir, that's my child! My child! Can you save him?
"Please, save him! My whole family will work like oxen and horses for you. I can cook and wash clothes. I'll sweep floors and haul manure, too!"
As soon as she had spoken, Luo Bin saw several stallholders approaching with dark expressions. One young vendor sneered:
"If you ask these fine folks to take your child away, what happens when the River God gets angry?
"It's not as if there's never been a precedent in Dagang Village!
"The Li Family at the east end of the village had a daughter who ran off to Ping City on the day of the sacrifice and vanished without a trace. That very night, an innocent family in the village was slaughtered, and the Fu River flooded into the village, drowning several households..."
Someone nearby chimed in. "Exactly! The River God Festival comes once a year. The children chosen for it have to be under five. How can you let your family's troubles cost so many people their lives?"
Then the young vendor who had spoken first said, "Honored guests, this is a private matter for the villages around Yingshui Ferry. You're from the city. You don't understand what we'll have to endure if you take that child away..."
Luo Bin stood up and smiled without saying another word. He left with Chen Jing and Chen Mansheng, wandering around to watch some of the performances.
"Junzhi, go keep an eye on that child. If anything happens, come get us immediately."
After instructing Hu Junzhi, Luo Bin spent about an hour with the siblings before quietly returning to the same spot. The woman was still slumped on the ground.
Chen Mansheng went over and pressed some food into the woman's hands, all of it freshly bought and still hot.
As the night wore on, the opera troupe and vendors near the ferry began to pack up and leave. The Duan Gong were tired from performing their ritual, too. They now squatted beside the altar, holding bowls and wolfing down their meal.
Luo Bin looked up and spotted a Spirit Shrine more than a person's height beside several trees behind the altar. Inside it sat a dark, indistinct object. A rotting wooden plaque stood beside the shrine, bearing three large characters: "Fu River God."
The first thought that came to Luo Bin's mind was:
"An illicit shrine with wild offerings!"
It really was some absurd Demon Ghost, a "miscellaneous god" causing trouble. Luo Bin ransacked his predecessor's memories and drew on what he knew from his previous life, but he had never seen such a sinister Spirit Shrine...
A proper, upright deity's statue wouldn't make people uneasy, even if they came across it in the wilderness. Take the True Lord Erlang of Guankou, worshipped in the mountains and forests of his previous life: his presence was tranquil and majestic.
But one glance at this Spirit Shrine made Luo Bin feel as if thorns were pricking his back. His scalp prickled...
Luo Bin signaled Zhang Huai and Hu Junzhi to summon their men and protect the siblings. Then he circulated the Primordial Stance, driving his qi and blood into motion. His waist coiled and unleashed its force, and he flashed to the Spirit Shrine and kicked it with a bang!
Rumble—
The gloomy Spirit Shrine toppled in an instant, and the "statue" inside shattered.
The Duan Gong eating nearby slammed down their bowls, rolled up their sleeves, and cursed, "What the hell are you doing?!"
Before you continue