River God Legend

The chill came quickly and vanished just as fast.

If Yu Hang had not truly felt it and shivered, he would have thought it was merely an illusion.

The other constables had felt it too, but none of them took it seriously. Only Yu Hang kept it in mind.

He had experienced it before!

Especially after watching his former teacher turn into a gray rat beast with his own eyes, he would never forget that feeling for the rest of his life.

When the chill struck, Yu Hang deliberately stayed alert, tightening his grip on his saber hilt.

Village Chief Wang continued leading them inward, introducing the village's situation as he walked.

Yu Hang got the general picture.

Though Clear Stream Village looked small, it was not poor at all.

On the contrary, whether it was harvests or anything else, this village fared better than the surrounding ones.

The land here was fertile, producing basket after basket of grain.

With good mountains and good water, even the livestock raised here were exceptionally large.

Just looking at the houses the villagers had built for themselves, one could spot something unusual.

This place was prosperous.

Yu Hang felt that if he picked someone at random from here, they would probably earn more than his monthly salary.

"Spread out. Investigate each household carefully."

After hearing this, Sun BuTou began following the usual procedure.

Questioning people was the most basic and most important step.

When constables arrived somewhere to handle a case, the first thing they had to do was understand the situation.

They could not simply trust one side's account.

They had to gather the information themselves.

There was nothing wrong with that step.

The group spread out, each person finding several villagers to speak with.

After separating from the others, Yu Hang approached a house alone.

Faint sobbing came from inside.

Yu Hang could see that the front door was open. No lamp was lit within, leaving the interior somewhat dark.

Fortunately, it was not nighttime, so he could still see clearly.

Two people were wiping away tears.

One was a short, burly middle-aged man, while the other was a slightly plump middle-aged woman.

There was no need to guess that they were husband and wife. They had lost their child, which was why they were so grief-stricken.

When the villagers inside heard Yu Hang's footsteps, they immediately stopped crying and wiped their tears away.

The middle-aged woman in particular hurried out at once.

Before Yu Hang could speak, the woman dropped to her knees before him with a slap.

Yu Hang had investigated quite a few cases, but this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. He reached out in a fluster, intending to help her up.

But before he could do so, the woman banged her head on the ground three times in rapid succession, her cries shaking the air.

"My lord, you've finally come! Please, save my son!"

"My husband and I were so old before we finally had this child. Now he's gone missing. If we can't find him, how are the two of us supposed to go on living?"

Hearing the woman's wailing, Yu Hang sighed. He could only help her up, consoling her as he entered the house.

Compared to the woman, the middle-aged man was much calmer.

The man hurriedly scolded her a few times before saying through choked sobs, "My lord, have you found anything?"

To lose a child in middle age—

And to lose a child they had only gained in middle age—the pain was naturally unbearable.

Though they did not know whether the child was still alive, even if he was, a child of that age would surely be suffering terribly.

Yu Hang said, "We only just arrived. First, let us ask about the situation. Rest assured, we will do everything we can to solve this case."

That was all Yu Hang could do—offer reassurance.

Doing their utmost to solve the case was the greatest comfort they could give these people.

The middle-aged man nodded and quickly recounted what had happened.

His account was no different from Village Chief Wang's.

Only a few details differed, and none of them mattered.

In general, everyone had already gone to sleep that night.

One villager got up to use the latrine and discovered that his child was gone, immediately crying out in alarm.

The cries roused the entire village. Then, every villager with children discovered that all of their children had vanished.

They searched all night and found nothing, so they reported it to the authorities.

"I see."

Yu Hang had a rough understanding now. He planned to visit the next household and continue asking questions.

The middle-aged woman beside him stopped crying and suddenly said, "It's all because you people delayed this year's worship of the River God. Lord River God must have been angered, so he took boys and girls as sacrifices."

The middle-aged man immediately glared at her. "What nonsense are you talking about? The River God has always protected Clear Stream Village and kept our crops abundant. How can you blame this on that?"

The River God?

Yu Hang paused slightly, then understood.

Great Chu had only been founded ten years ago. The nation before it had been utterly fragmented.

After Great Chu was established, it had developed rapidly in just ten years, but many shortcomings remained.

For instance, the customs and culture of different regions.

Every place had different customs and culture, with no unified standard.

As for unifying such things, the time was not right yet.

"What is this River God?" Yu Hang stopped and asked.

The middle-aged man knew his wife had spoken carelessly, so he could only explain.

"My lord, this has always been a custom of Clear Stream Village. Because the village is close to the Clear Stream River, it got its name. Every year, we worship the River God."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man gave him a general explanation.

Yu Hang roughly understood, but he did not question him further about it. With matters on his mind, he left the house and headed to another.

The village was not large, but questioning each household still took quite some time.

About half an hour later, the constables gathered in the open space at the center of the village and reported everything they had learned.

There was not much to report, but their accounts were all consistent and matched what Village Chief Wang had said.

Sun BuTou was stumped after hearing this.

Ever since taking this post, he had felt unbelievably unlucky.

He had only wanted to earn a little more money, yet within days, not only had he been beaten with a board, but he had also ended up with this mess.

If he reported this situation back, the County Magistrate would surely fly into a rage.

"I sent you to investigate, so what kind of garbage did you come back with?" Sun BuTou was growing angry. "If any of you have an idea, speak up now. I'll report your merits afterward, and won't you get a reward?"

None of the constables wanted to speak. Every one of them lowered their heads.

If they said the right thing, they might naturally make a fortune. If they said the wrong thing, they would be punished.

Yu Hang looked left and right, then raised his right hand. "I do!"

He felt that if this continued, they would make no progress at all.

But he already had an idea.

Sun BuTou's eyes lit up.

This Yu Hang was a scholar, surely more capable than rough men like them.

"Speak!"

"This matter should be connected to the River God." Yu Hang explained what he had learned about the River God, then added, "We should go take a look at the Clear Stream River."