Linjiang Commandery, Shuiyun Township.
Those who lived by the mountains ate from the mountains; those who lived by the water ate from the water. The fish market along the river was quite bustling.
The carriage slowly came to a stop. Li Xiao'er got down to lead the horses toward the local yamen.
Shen Yi stood between two rows of fish baskets, breathing in the damp, fishy stench. Around him were fishermen with their trouser legs rolled up, chatting and laughing as usual, their eyes showing no awareness whatsoever of the several Demon Suppression Division Lieutenants.
Liu Xiujie smiled. "Places like this are always like this. At least it saves us the trouble of disguising ourselves. When people elsewhere encounter demons, their first reaction is to go to the yamen. But the people here would absolutely go worship the River God."
"Worship a god?" Shen Yi inexplicably thought of the battered, incomplete idol in Liuli Temple Village.
Li Mujin yawned and teased, "Demons that don't want to end up on the Demon Wanted List, yet aren't willing to hide deep in the mountains, naturally need to give themselves some kind of title."
"Four hundred years ago, when Shuiyun Township was still a fishing village, the people already made their living off the River God."
Liu Xiujie sounded somewhat helpless. "There is a small sacrifice every June and a Grand Sacrifice every three years. It has long become custom. For the small sacrifice, they offer livestock, fish, and grain. For the Grand Sacrifice, they offer virgin boys and girls. It has never stopped."
Hearing this, Shen Yi lightly clenched his hand. "No one does anything about it?"
Though his expression remained calm, a trace of discomfort rose instinctively within him.
"How could anyone deal with it? If you dared speak disrespectfully, these