Chapter 109: Southern Ravine Village
On this day, around dusk, Chu Qiguang had just finished checking on the progress of the twelve workers. The project they were working on was of utmost importance, so Chu Qiguang made sure to visit them once every few days, both to apply pressure and offer encouragement, as well as to exchange ideas.
After touching base with the workers, he left the county town and set off for Red Rock Town with Qiao Zhi.
The rugged path ahead was bathed in the yellowish-orange glow of dusk, and as they trekked onward, Qiao Zhi was giving him an introduction to Red Rock Town.
"There's a Southern Ravine Village in Red Rock Town that used to brew wine, but it slowly fell into poverty after a massive fire. Most of the young people have already fled the village, leaving behind only the elderly and the sick. These people are the true bottom feeders of society. Even if they're extorted for all they're worth, they still won't be able to cough up much tax money, so the local authorities simply ignore them and pretend they don't exist."
There were some extremely poor villages in Azure Sun County that owed taxes to the imperial court year after year. Once every few years, the imperial court would grant these villages a tax pardon. These villages were truly too poor to pay their taxes anyway, and by granting them a pardon, those in power could pose as compassionate leaders who cared for the people.
Chu Qiguang was currently on his way to Red Rock Town to subdue some fiends. After becoming the leader of the largest band of fiends in Azure Sun County, Chu Qiguang had instructed his fiendish subordinates not to cause trouble, so as to avoid drawing attention from the Heavenly Master Religion and the Demon Vanquishing Department.
However, now that he was gathering all the fiends across the entire county, there was no guarantee that every one of them would listen to him. Hence, he had no choice but to personally subdue some troublemakers and set an example.
"Over the past few months, a certain fiend has frequently come to wreak havoc in Southern Ravine Village," Qiao Zhi continued. "The villagers are sick and tired of the constant harassment, but they don't dare to call upon the Daoist temple for fear of being exploited by the Daoist priests. The fiend wasn't killing anyone anyway, so they've just been treating it as a nuisance.
"Yesterday, when White Rice went to Southern Ravine Village, he tried to convince the fiend to come to the Wang Clan Village, but they got into an argument, and the fiend sneak attacked him. Before White Rice left, he also heard someone had recently died in the village, and the fiend may have been responsible. It already knows that we're gathering fiends, so the concern now is that it might get captured and interrogated by the Daoist priests."
"In that case, we'll just have to sort it out before the Daoist priests come here," Chu Qiguang said.
Trailing along behind Chu Qiguang and Qiao Zhi were Chen Gang, White Rice, and Big Head.
Upon arriving outside Southern Ravine Village, Chu Qiguang discovered that the plots of farmland were very well-organized, and there was even a trench dug around them. The village certainly wasn't looking as poor and destitute as Qiao Zhi had described.
Chu Qiguang entered the village with Chen Gang, while Qiao Zhi, White Rice, and Big Head began searching the area outside the village for the fiend.
Upon entering the village, Chu Qiguang was greeted by a rather bleak sight. All the houses in the village were rundown and in disrepair, and farming tools were casually strewn around most of the courtyards. The wooden handles of those tools had already begun to rot, and it seemed that no one in the village had done any farming for a very long time.
In the distance up ahead was an area that had been razed to the ground and scorched black, serving as a poignant reminder of the fire that had once ravaged the village.
Amid the destitute houses, several elderly individuals were squatting by the side of the street. They were all emaciated, little more than skin and bones, and they collectively turned to Chu Qiguang and Chen Gang with curious expressions.
Chu Qiguang sent Chen Gang out to gather information, while he struck up a conversation with an old man at the side of the road. The old man was eager to share what he knew, especially after Chu Qiguang gave him ten copper coins.
He told Chu Qiguang that the village had been suffering from persistent droughts over the past couple of years, resulting in severe food shortages, and people starved to death every year. Ever since a fiend began stealing food from the village, life had become even more difficult, and survival had turned into a real struggle.
Shortly afterward, Chen Gang returned and reported, "I just spoke to the village warden. He told me that there's a fiend that's been frequently coming to Southern Ravine Village at night to steal food."
After receiving this tip, Chu Qiguang went with Chen Gang to visit the warden. Unlike all of the other elderly villagers, the warden was a middle-aged man, but he was just as emaciated as everyone else. Chu Qiguang noticed that he seemed to be living alone, and there were no signs in his home that any relatives lived with him.
The warden's name was Zheng Sanshui, and he didn't look relieved or elated at all when he heard Chu Qiguang had come to deal with the village's fiend problem.
Instead, a wary look appeared on his face, and he asked, "Are you two from the Daoist temple?"
"Don't be afraid, Warden Zheng," Chen Gang reassured him. "We are not from the Daoist temple, and we're not going to ask you for money. We're here solely to subdue the fiend that's been harassing the villagers."
Zheng Sanshui appeared quite relieved to hear that Chu Qiguang and Chen Gang weren't from the Daoist temple, but he was still rather skeptical as he asked, "You say you can subdue the fiend?"
"Our young master here is a very accomplished martial artist, and he'll definitely be able to subdue that fiend with ease," Chen Gang declared proudly.
In response to Chu Qiguang's questions, Zheng Sanshui provided some details about the fiend, but none of them were very useful. Essentially, he was just repeating the same pieces of information over and over again, saying something about a black shadow darting back and forth, digging holes, and stealing food.
"I heard that the fiend killed someone recently. Is that right? May I see the body?" Chu Qiguang asked.
Zheng Sanshui's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he replied with a grim look in his eyes, "I'd advise against that. You'll have nightmares if you see the body."
"I'll be fine," Chu Qiguang reassured with a smile. "I'm already used to it."
At Chu Qiguang's insistence, Zheng Sanshui led the two of them to the village's ancestral shrine. As he followed behind Zheng Sanshui, Chu Qiguang noticed that the man walked with a limp; there seemed to be something wrong with his right leg.
Along the way, Chu Qiguang casually asked Zheng Sanshui some questions about Southern Ravine Village. Sure enough, only the elderly remained in the village, and Zheng Sanshui was already the youngest person there.
If there are no young people in the village, then who's managing all of the farmland outside? There's even a trench dug around it. Surely those malnourished old people wouldn't be capable of that...
Upon entering the ancestral shrine, Chu Qiguang was met by the unpleasant stench of rot and decay. He glanced at the nearby altar and saw that the statue of the Profound Origin Dao Lord was covered in dust. It seemed that no one had worshiped it for a very long time.
