Chapter Text
The countryside road stretched out, winding through the fields of golden rice paddies swaying gently in the gentle breeze. The sun hung high in the cloudless sky. A few feather-like clouds could only be seen on the distant horizon.
It was mid-summer in July. Some of the rice fields had been harvested, leaving only the golden stems cut neatly at the bottom, while others were currently being harvested. The peasants were seen either taking a break at the small huts spread around the rice fields or walking across the paddy embankment.
At this time, their attention was diverted to a singular point on the main road. Under the blinding light of a summer afternoon, a group of people wearing similarly blinding white robes was seen walking from the other end of the village. What was even more eye-catching was that the groups of gentlemen all had a similarly dazzling appearance.
These peasants rarely ever visited a big city. Some of them had never even seen a typical noble young master in the mortal world, much less seen the Young Masters from Cultivation Clans. Their eyes couldn't help but stare at this group unabashedly, looking with both admiration and wonder.
After the group passed by their corner, a farmer suddenly spoke up, "That...those people, are they Immortal Cultivators?"
Another farmer whose field was near his responded, "They should be."
Another one suddenly said, "But, I have seen ones walking in the City, they don't look this...this amazing?"
The peasants lacked vocabulary; they could only describe the breathtaking sight as "amazing".
"Are they from what you call Major Sect or something, maybe?"
"Oh, it is possible. Then, they're here today..." The first farmer had his words dragged out in the end.
His other companion had a knowing look similar to his. "It must be to take care of 'that thing'..."
They sighed and later murmured, as if in prayer, "I hope those Immortals can really kill that 'Demon'!"
The farmers soon went back to their previous activities, either having their lunch or fanning themselves.
One of them, however, walked out from the paddy fields instead, back to the direction of the Village.
"Esteemed Cultivators, Sir, I can never thank you enough that GusuLan is willing to send help to our poor Village!" A middle-aged man bowed deeply and greeted the group of GusuLan disciples before him.
The leader of the group, a young man in his early twenties with a romantic smile, helped him up and replied, "No need, let's first explain the case carefully one more time before thanking us."
The Village Head nodded seriously and invited the group of Cultivators inside his abode.
"The case in our Village is like this," He started.
Their Village was a coastal village. There was a big river on the side, and when you walked a dozen miles ahead, you would be greeted with the boundless sea. The peasants in this era had faith in various Gods and worshipped various Deities. In this Village's case, they also had one Deity they had been worshipping for years, the River God.
Their worship had begun hundreds of years ago. The first Generation of the Village Head was walking on the riverbank, and it was said that he saw the appearance of a Fish leaping through the Dragon Gate and turning into a Dragon. From then on, to commemorate the birth of a Dragon, the Village Head advocated to the other villagers to worship the River God.
For hundreds of years, their Village had been worshipping the River God for a good harvest and prosperity. Their village had also been peaceful for so long. It was not until around half a century ago, however. The River God they had been worshipping began to reveal its true face. The offerings began to shift toward human offerings. Since then, every year, the village has been sacrificing a virgin maiden at the River God festival.
At this point, one of the disciples interjected, "Wait a minute, if the sacrifice had been done every year, for half a century, didn't that mean 50 young maidens had been sacrificed?"
The Village Head admitted, "Indeed, there were 51 young maidens sacrificed to the voracious River God already."
Wei Wuxian raised his brows. "51 maidens?"
"Before the start of the sacrificial offering, the River God had given an example by taking a young maiden by itself. Therefore, that first year of its sudden change of temperament, 2 maidens were being sacrificed," the Village Head explained.
Wei Wuxian hummed in response. He then raised another question, "It's been 50 years already, but why did you only call for help from the Cultivation Sect this year?"
Before the Village Head replied, someone suddenly came to interrupt him, "Why, isn't that because this year the candidate for sacrificial maiden is from the Xiao Family! Of course, anyone can be sacrificed, but not from the Xiao Family, Hahahahahahah!"
The person coming inside was a man in his early thirties with a disheveled appearance and bloodshot eyes. He looked at the GusuLan disciples inside and rushed toward them, grabbing one of the young teenagers tightly on the sleeve and demanding in a mad-like state, "Immortal! You are all Immortal, right? You must be very strong! You can kill that Demon! I know! When you kill that Demon, then you can take my DaYa back to me, right?!"
The disciple being grabbed was startled, and the Village Head immediately called out, "Someone! Someone come here quickly! Who let this lunatic come inside? Drag him out now!"
While shouting out to call the servants, the Village Head was also trying to drag the man by himself. But the man was unexpectedly strong, and his grip on the disciple's robes was surprisingly powerful. No matter how he was pulled away, he didn't budge.
The young disciple who was grabbed was at a loss. His other companions were also similarly bewildered.
Unexpectedly, someone suddenly crouched down at the same level as the manic man. His eyes glinted with interest, and he looked at the man directly, "Brother, who is DaYa? Why don't you tell us? If we know nothing about DaYa, how are we supposed to bring her back?"
The manic man didn't expect someone to suddenly approach him this close. He looked at the other man, and his grip on the young disciple loosened slightly. He was in a daze for a moment before replying, "DaYa is...my DaYa...my beautiful DaYa..."
The man, Wei Wuxian, was about to ask some more, but at this time, the servants had already come and dragged the lunatic outside.
There was a slight disturbance, and the Village Head apologized profusely.
Wei Wuxian asked him, "Who is that man? Who are the Xiao Family he mentioned?"
The Village Head answered, "That man is a widower from our village. As for the Xiao Family, it is also from our village." The expression on the Village Head's face was noticeably prouder when admitting the Xiao Family was from their village. "The family is a branch of the Noble Xiao Family in the city. The third son of their family even became a Jinshi a few years ago. Today, he has become a Scholar at Hanlin Academy in the royal capital."
Wei Wuxian nodded. He asked again, "Oh, then who is DaYa?"
While he already had a conjecture in his heart, he still wanted to hear what the Village Head would give as the answer.
"DaYa was...the previous maiden being sacrificed. She was that lunatic's daughter, and his only family after his wife died in childbirth." The Village Head sighed, with some guilt creeping on his expression.
He continued, "When she was sacrificed, she was only 12 years old..."
"12 years old!" The disciples gasped in shock and looked at each other in astonishment.
While they knew that women were considered maidens and ready to get married at the age of 14, but 12 years old was just... it wasn't supposed to be called a young maiden. She could only be called a "little lady".
The Village Head finally said, "Replying to what the esteemed Cultivator asked earlier, why have we only called for help this year? It is because our Village is small. There aren't many populations here. In the early years, there were no problems with the sacrifice, but over the past decade, it has become even more difficult. Every year, a virgin maiden must be prepared...however, the existence of daughters in the families couldn't keep up with the demand. Several years ago, we tried to buy a daughter from a nearby village for the sacrifice, but as a result, there was a flood afterward, the River God became angry and refused the sacrifice."
The disciples were rather horrified hearing the Village Head talk about buying a daughter. They secretly took a look at Wei Wuxian, but the senior didn't seem surprised at all. He just glanced at them and raised his brows.
These young masters perhaps didn't know. Many families sold their daughters for only several taels of silver. The money would then be used to help their son get married.
It had been a common occurrence. This was an era where women were treated more cheaply than the cattle that helped them plow their fields. This was why most disciples didn't bat their eyes when Wen Chao asked the servant girl MianMian to be bled back then.
In the end, the disciples could only murmur, "You know this will be a problem; why didn't you think to find help long ago?"
The Village Head was embarrassed. He said, "Isn't this because asking for help from Cultivators is not cheap? Our Sect is far from any Cultivation Sect, but it can be said to still be under the scope. So, rogue Cultivators never come to this side. In the past decade, the climate has been up and down, after the flood I told you about before, the River God started to exact punishment on us by giving us years of drought. Our life is already in a pinch; we really can't spare any more offering to pay Cultivators to take care of our problem. But we can no longer go like this, so we have to grit our teeth and finally ask for help this year."
Wei Wuxian curled his lip.
Aside from the fact that the River God's punishment had become even more severe, the biggest reason should be the "Xiao Family" mentioned. As the Village Head said, daughters in the family were becoming scarcer. Last year, even a 12-year-old child was sacrificed as a result. And this year, it inevitably became the daughter of the Xiao Family.
The Xiao Daughter should be a proper maiden and suitable for the sacrifice, even from last year. But who made her come from the respectable Xiao Family? So the 12-year-old DaYa could only be sacrificed. But this year, they could no longer shirk away and finally decided to call for Cultivators. In conclusion, if the Xiao Family had had a daughter decades ago, then they would have called for Cultivators long ago.
Women were indeed oppressed. But there was also another law of nature: those with higher status oppress the lower ones. So women who were born noble couldn't be oppressed by these lowly peasants.
The disciples didn't understand this truth and believed the Village Head's claim that they were being pressured by the situation.
They asked, half inquiring and half grumbling, "You said you are afraid of inviting Cultivators for the high payments, but now you are inviting us from GusuLan. Aren't you afraid you can't afford the payment?"
The Village Head replied as if it were a matter of fact, "Isn't that because when I went to the city, I tried to ask people here and there, and they told me that GusuLan has recently held a wedding. There were some small families invited. I heard they said the newly married spouse is shockingly good-looking. Some of their wives even said that when their men got back home, they couldn't sleep for several nights, thinking about the Beauty. They said that the Madam is so powerful that it is unknown if he is a man or a woman. The Madam is said to need Yin Qi from evil creatures to stay as a woman. So I think, GusuLan may be...may be interested in this Evil River God without too high a payment, for their Madam..."
The disciples whipped their heads to look at a certain young man, peeking at him, as if asking, 'Wei-Gongzi, why haven't I heard that you can become a woman? Is that why our Zewu-Jun married you?'
Wei Wuxian, "..."
Just what kind of rumors had been spread about him outside?
He thought the ones Jiang Cheng told were already outrageous, but it turned out there were even more ridiculous ones.
After listening to the case explanation from the Village Head, the group of GusuLan disciples finally excused themselves and started to arrange their nighthunt.
Wei Wuxian walked leisurely, his hand was throwing a boiled peanut he had just peeled into his mouth. There was another handful of peanuts left in his palm, taken from the Village Head's home. The peanut seemed to have been boiled with salt last night and had cooled by now.
The cold water with salty nuts was indeed the perfect snack for peasants in the summer. Wei Wuxian couldn't stop munching on the peanuts. Even the Village Head had his jaw dropped when he saw the handsome and bright Immortal in white actually grab a few handfuls of the boiled peanuts and put them into his obviously high-quality silk sleeve unceremoniously.
"What do you think?" He suddenly asked, after swallowing the last bit of peanuts in his hand.
The disciples were walking around him, their minds were full of thought. Upon hearing Wei Wuxian's question, they finally started talking,
"I think this River God actually is an evil entity from the start. It was probably hibernating before, hence the peaceful era, but it woke up and finally started to crave blood."
Another disciple said, "That makes sense. A lot of Gods and Deities worshipped by these people are usually just Yao or Demon."
"Or perhaps it is a wild God? They started to become Evil after granting the Villagers' wishes?"
They eventually turned to Wei Wuxian, "Wei-Gongzi, what do you think?"
"Hmm?" Wei Wuxian replied offhandedly. He was in the middle of taking out another handful of peanuts from his sleeve, cracked the skin directly with his teeth, and ate the nuts inside. Another second later, however, he immediately spat them out onto the side of the road. "Bahh! Bahh! I got the rotten ones!"
The GusuLan disciples, "..."
What should we do...this Senior doesn't seem too reliable?
Wei Wuxian noticed their gaze, and he grinned instead.
"What are you looking at me for? Hm? Why? Are you regretting going to nighthunt with me? Do you want to go with your Hanguang-Jun instead? Hahaha! Too bad, your Hanguang-Jun has gone to nighthunt himself. You can only make do with me now."
He laughed heartily and continued to stroll at leisure.
These days, after the marriage, Wei Wuxian went back to help arrange the Library Pavilion and restore the damaged book. However, Lan Wangji had gone nighthunting for weeks, and there was still no sight of him in the Sect. It was so boring that Wei Wuxian stopped working in the Library and did it in the Hanshi instead.
Yesterday, Lan Xichen told him that he would go to Qinghe today. Jin Guangyao had invited him and Nie Mingjue to meet up and asked for help for the upcoming large-scale hunt in Baifeng Mountain. Lianfang-Zun was indeed tactful; knowing that Lan Xichen wouldn't come to Jinlintai for at least a while, he used the excuse to visit Qinghe instead.
The 3 Sworn Brothers didn't break their relationship in public. They still maintained cordiality in private as well. However, right now, instead of the sibling relationship Lan Xichen had originally intended to form earlier, it had become a true, politic-like alliance. The bond between them was no longer camaraderie but simply the Sect's interest.
"Wei-Gongzi, do you want to come with me? I remember that you and Huaisang seemed to be quite close during your studies here." Lan Xichen had asked him last night.
Wei Wuxian thought he was so bored without Lan Wangji accompanying him in the Library, and now Lan Xichen was about to go on a trip, so he might as well follow him. Besides, he rarely came to Qinghe. It could be considered a vacation.
However, on second thought, Lan Xichen went there to discuss the upcoming hunts with the other 2 representatives of the Major Sects. Even if he tagged along, Lan Xichen would still be too busy to be bothered. Besides, these past months, Lan Xichen had only been lingering with him in the sect. Unlike Lan Wangji, who could be satisfied with reading a book and meditating in his Jingshi, Lan Xichen was obviously more social. He would need to interact with his circle of friends.
Therefore, Wei Wuxian wisely refused.
He asked instead, "Is there any nighthunting case that hasn't been taken care of in the sect? Let me bring a few disciples to go."
Lan Xichen thought for a while, checking the reports from GusuLan cultivators, and finally said, "There is a case that has just arrived. About a River God causing chaos among the village folks. It is not that far from Gusu." He glanced at Wei Wuxian. "Do you want to go?"
Wei Wuxian agreed. "That's it. I'll go and take a few disciples with me tomorrow morning, then."
Lan Xichen seemed to hesitate for a while, but in the end, he simply acquiesced. "Then I will tell them to get prepared. The location is in the northern part of Gusu, it is in the same direction as Qinghe. Tomorrow we can go together at the same time."
In this case, this morning, Lan Xichen took Wei Wuxian and the disciples to the village where the nighthunt would take place. After dropping Wei Wuxian off there, he proceeded to Qinghe. Leaving the disciples to be supervised by Wei Wuxian.
Some of these disciples had met Wei Wuxian when they were assigned to arrange the library, while others had only met him face-to-face for the first time. However, even the disciples who had met him still weren't familiar with Wei Wuxian. It's natural for them to feel worried.
Wei Wuxian peeled off another peanut and said, "Let's walk around the village some more."
Wherever they walked, their group would receive curious, awed stares from the rural residents. After walking for a while, they thought they were just running around to tire themselves out. Just as they were about to ask Wei Wuxian a question, a man who looked to be in his 30s and was dressed in better clothing than the other villagers approached them.
"Esteemed Cultivators. Let me introduce myself, my name is Xiao Ming. I am the eldest son of the Xiao Family from this village. May I invite esteemed Cultivators to our humble family's house?" the man invited them politely.
Wei Wuxian smiled, about to rub his hands habitually on his robe, but paused. He took out a neat handkerchief from his chest instead and wiped his hand from the peanut juices. He replied to the man, "Of course, we will be glad to visit the Xiao Family house."
The man smiled in response and ushered them.
The courtyard owned by the Xiao Family was indeed very much eye-catching. Compared to the simple housing of other villagers, it was completely different in both size and appearance. Some courtyard in the small city wasn't even this good.
As they walked through the front gate, they saw an old lady basking in the sun in the side garden, being waited on by several maids.
Xiao Ming stopped and greeted her, "Grandmother. The sun is too hot at midday. Why don't you come inside first?"
The old lady turned her head. She smiled warmly. "It is A-Ming. Don't worry, it is alright, I am under the tree now, it is cool here."
When she noticed the group of GusuLan Cultivators following her grandson, she greeted them kindly, "Did you bring a guest? It is hot today, Grandma has prepared some Sour Plum Soup, let the maids bring them outside for you to chill from the heat."
Her voice was very soft and nice. The smiling lines at the corners of her eyes told them that Grandma must have been a very kind lady. Even Wei Wuxian couldn't help but take a second look at her before smiling back in the direction of the old lady.
He walked to the front, following Xiao Ming, and asked: "Is that your Grandma?"
Xiao Ming nodded. "Yes. She is my direct Grandma. My Father and his other siblings were born to her. My Grandfather has only married her as his wife." He smiled softly at the end.
"Ohhh..." The disciples were rather amazed to hear this.
While monogamy was more common within the Cultivation Clans, but in mortal worlds, it was more common for a man to marry 1 wife and 3 concubines. Especially for people of higher status, like the Xiao Family. The Grandfather must have been a very affectionate person to marry only one wife.
Wei Wuxian also smiled. He glanced back at the old lady and said, "She does look like a lovely lady even at her age. Your Grandpa must have treated her very well."
Xiao Ming laughed. "That is right. Grandma is already 65 years old this year. But she is still as healthy as ever. Some of our relatives even secretly joked that she is like a Queen Dowager who may live healthily until a hundred years old."
One of the disciples thought out loud, "65 years old? Then, she is from the generation when the River God started to become Evil."
"Indeed, she is." Xiao Ming sighed. "Actually, the first maiden who was taken as a warning by the River God back then was my Grandma's boudoir friend. They grew up together almost like close sisters. That day when she was taken by the River God, Grandma cried so hard and fell sick afterward. It was only a couple of years later that she gradually got better, and she could finally smile again after she married my Grandpa."
Hearing the love story of the Xiao predecessor, Wei Wuxian was still smiling and responded, "That maiden should be a very pretty lady herself."
Xiao Ming, "Indeed. She was known as twin flowers with my Grandma back then. Here, we have arrived inside. Please do have a seat, esteemed Cultivators. I will come and call my father."
They were invited inside, and soon some maids came out of the residence, bringing another refreshment with more exquisite confectionery.
Looking at Wei Wuxian, who once again had no scruples to devour the refreshment, the disciples thought Wei Wuxian should have brought them here on purpose to eat more snacks.
The reason the Xiao Family invited the GusuLan disciples to their courtyard was obvious: they hoped the Cultivators would really help them resolve the River God. Some cultivators would sometimes just leave the case aside when they couldn't take care of it. The Xiao Family feared that if these Cultivators couldn't defeat the River God, they would also leave without notice. Then, wouldn't that mean their precious daughter would be sacrificed in this case?
By inviting these Cultivators, they hoped to give a good impression. So that, at least, when they couldn't solve it themselves, they would pass the case to other Cultivators who might be capable. They even brought their daughter to come out to express their sincere hope for help.
Looking at the beautiful young lady whose cheeks were as tender as a peach, as if they could release water when squeezed, Wei Wuxian smiled brightly at her.
"Young lady, do not need to worry. You look so lovely and must have been genuinely kind to your peers. The young lady has a lot of blessings." He said with a reassuring smile.
The Xiao Young Lady blushed madly and had to run back inside the courtyard while covering her face.
The disciples, "..."
They automatically gave Wei Wuxian a side-eye.
It was just a few hours since your husband left you, and you've already started to flirt outside.
Even a resentful couple would at least take several years for an infidelity to happen. How many weeks have you been married to our Zewu-Jun?!
Wei Wuxian ignored them and continued to focus on the other Xiao Family members.
The head of the Xiao Family, Xiao Junqi, also shared another piece of information.
"Lan-Gongzi, in my opinion, that River God is not what it said in the legend at all." He said.
Wei Wuxian didn't correct him when he was referred to as Lan-Gongzi.
He was intrigued and continued to ask, "Oh? How do you say so? The Village Head told us the River God should be a Koi that leaped through the Dragon Gate and successfully transformed into a Dragon."
Xiao Junqi, "That is what is being told to us. However, Gongzi, you must have also heard that our Village had a flood disaster several years ago due to the River God's punishment, right?"
Wei Wuxian nodded. "Yes, and what of it?"
"I saw it." Xiao Junqi said with a grievous tone, "Back then, when the flood happened, I happened to see the clouds above the river, and I saw it."
The other disciples were tense. "What did you see?"
"It was a snake." Xiao Junqi gritted his teeth with hatred. "That River God is no Dragon at all! It is a snake demon all along! We've been deceived into worshiping a bloodthirsty demon for hundreds of years and even sacrificed 51 maidens for such a demon using the identity of a River God!"
"Snake demon?!" The disciples exclaimed in shock.
They looked at each other and suddenly understood. No wonder, it's no wonder that it could cause a flood to the Village. For many years, there were many flood disasters attributed to snake demons. Take, for example, the legendary white snake demon who flooded a temple to take her husband.
In this way, aside from being entertained, they gained new information during their visit to the Xiao Family.
When they finally visited the problematic river, it was dusk already.
The disciples all had solemn expressions.
They took out the newly distributed Evil Compass Wei Wuxian had made and began to find the Snake Demon's direction.
However, they looked at the compass in puzzlement. "How is this possible?"
One disciple frowned. "There isn't any sign of demonic entities nearby."
They had tried to use this Compass before and knew it indeed worked as it was intended. So they had no choice but to look at Wei Wuxian for help. "Wei-Gongzi? Does this Compass only work for Evil entities, but not work with Beasts such as Snake Demons?"
Wei Wuxian shook his head. "It doesn't detect the type of entities. What it detects is resentful energy from the entities themselves."
The disciples thought that, in that case, a Demonic Beast should have resentful energy in its body. Then, it should be detected by the Compass. But how did they find no trace at all?
They tried to track along the river line, back and forth, even trying the different sides of the embankment, but still gained no result.
They looked at Wei Wuxian once again and asked, "Can this compass be obstructed by a barrier? For example, the Snake Demon should have been hiding below the river, so there is a water barrier between us."
Wei Wuxian was not angry by their doubts about his Compass and thought their idea was actually quite useful. "Water or earth shouldn't obstruct resentful energy from being detected. Though speaking about obstruction, now I have an idea to improve this Compass, in case some other barrier made by formation hinders its detection."
The disciples wondered, "Then, could this Snake Demon hide below under some kind of formation?"
"I don't know." Wei Wuxian smiled.
The disciples directed their gaze back at him. This senior of theirs still didn't look the least bit serious. He crossed his hand on his chest and walked leisurely, following the disciples who ran around.
They finally couldn't bear it and asked, "Wei-Gongzi, you don't look worried at all. Do you already know something? On how to resolve the River God?"
"Hmmm?" Wei Wuxian replied, still offhandedly. He looked up to the already darkened sky. "Oh. It's evening already."
He suddenly turned his head to look in the direction of the village. His eyes glinted in anticipation. He shushed the other disciples, "Hussh, quiet down, you all. A lady is coming."
The disciples, "..."
You dare to have a rendezvous with a young lady in the dark of night!!
Zewu-Jun!!! Come back already!! Your newly married husband is going to elope with a rich lady!!