Chapter 006: The Poisonous Plan Seeks Collection and Recommendation

  The scholar said: "Head of the household, I think this matter still needs caution, we'd better..."

  Before the scholar could finish speaking, a loud shout was heard from outside the courtyard, "Head of the household, head of the household, something terrible has happened."

  The crowd followed the sound and saw a rustic-looking man running over. Everyone recognized him, knowing he was a long-term worker from the Li family, good with his hands at farming, and this person had a particular characteristic - being honest, never telling lies.

  "What's all the commotion about? Can't you see I'm in a meeting here?" The director's face sank, and he rebuked.

  His face was pale and terrified, and he didn't even hear the steward's scolding. He pointed behind him, "Steward, there's a monster! There's a monster!!"

  Everyone was shocked and stood up in surprise. The astute man reacted first, hastily saying: "Don't be anxious, speak slowly, what's going on?"

  The long worker still muttered and shouted: "There is a monster! There is a monster!"

  The boss got angry and took a few steps forward, slapping the long worker in the face.

  Chang Gong's face hurt, and he finally got rid of his panic and came to. He covered his cheeks and told the whole story.

  The Li family raised a flock of sheep, previously someone had to go out every day to graze them, but after some people escaped to here and stole several sheep, the Li family no longer allowed grazing, instead they made people cut grass outside every day and bring it back to feed the sheep.

  He was in charge of this matter, and today he drove to the riverbank as usual to cut grass. When he arrived at the riverbank, he found something unusual. In the cornfield by the river, many seedlings were flattened, looking like they had been crushed by something passing through the field.

  At first, Zhang Gong didn't pay attention and continued to cut grass by the river.

  When he walked to a grass nest that was half a man deep, he suddenly saw a large snake inside the grass nest, as thick as a water bucket, two or three zhang long, coiled into a ball, like a small hill.

  The long worker was so frightened that his soul flew away and he turned around and ran back.

  Li Chang and the others were all shocked after hearing this. Their ancestors had lived by the Qu River, but they had never heard of such a large snake in the Qu River before. Could this be what Lao Dao called the river monster?

  He fell into the chair, his face pale. He had gathered so many people together, and in the depths of his heart, he still had some doubts about Lao Dao. But now, with his own long worker personally confirming that there was indeed a giant snake in the river, how could he not be afraid?

  He is the village head, responsible for protecting the villagers of this village. Even if he doesn't consider his own duties, his family has lived here for generations, with a wife and children at home. If someone were to be swallowed by a snake while walking along the riverbank, who would he reason with?

  Even if we take a step back, the snake demon doesn't eat people. According to Lao Dao's words, after staying in the river for a long time, the drought that has been spreading across several states will spread here too. At that time, they will have to abandon their homes and flee.

  "Everyone, I think we shouldn't discuss this anymore. Let's just hurry up and prepare the boys and girls." said an elderly villager.

  The scholar said: "I think we should verify what the laborer said is true or false. Village head, I beg you to bring people to personally inspect by the river."

  A clever man spat and said: "Xiucai, don't you know there's a river monster by the river? Let Li Zhang go? What are you doing yourself?"

  Li Chang swallowed hard and said, "We're in big trouble now, let's not argue. Let's follow the village elder's advice and quickly discuss how to prepare the boys and girls to get rid of that river monster."

  The crowd fell silent again, as for the so-called array to exorcise evil spirits, they didn't understand it, but the ritual of sacrificing to the river god, they had heard of it, and some had even experienced it. No matter what the process was, there was only one outcome: the child chosen as a sacrifice would ultimately have no way out but death.

  If the old way just wanted one or two boys and girls, Junbao Town could still grit its teeth and come up with them. But as soon as the old way opened its mouth, it was 7963 boys and girls, and Junbao Town had only over 1,500 people in total, which is equivalent to sweeping away all the boys and girls in the town, wanting to cut off the descendants of the whole village. Even if he were the head of the village, he wouldn't dare go against the whole town.

  Li Chang saw that everyone was reluctant to speak up, so he said: "I know you all have concerns, but for the sake of our Military Fort Town's future, there are some things we must do. The immortal only gave us three days' time; after three days, if we can't find him, he will leave, and by then, we won't even know where to look for him."

  Besides, things may not be as serious as we think. Xian Chang has promised that after he finishes his spell, he will choose the best among the 63 boys and girls to become his apprentice. Being able to become an immortal is a rare opportunity that comes once in a thousand years."

  The scholar's eyes rolled around and he said, "Director Li, everyone, I actually have an idea. Our Military Fort Town has already been surrounded by refugees, some of whom are carrying children. Why don't we gather these children together and see if we can make up the sixty-three boys and girls?

  Li Chang was shocked and said: "Is this okay?"

  The scholar hummed and said: "These refugees gathered around our town, wanting to receive our protection, they always have to make some contributions."

  The town chief hesitated, not immediately agreeing with the suggestion of the bookworm. "Everyone, the refugees gathering around our town are getting more and more numerous. If we're not careful, they'll turn into a mob. With just over 1,500 people in our town, including men, women, old and young, we can't possibly suppress them all. We must be cautious!"

  A clever man said, "The village head's concerns are not unreasonable. However, the method of the scholar can still be implemented. We can buy their children from these refugees under the guise of purchasing slaves and then present them to the immortal elder for him to use in his formation."

  Li nodded slightly, "This is a way to go about it. However, the silver coins for purchasing these boys and girls..."

  "What's with the silver coins? Just buy a young boy and girl, give their relatives half a bag of bran, and that's it." The cunning man sneered.

  Junbao Town has a population of just over a thousand, not a big town, but sparrow is small, five organs are complete, inns, wine shops, tea houses are all available. However, this is after all a small place, there is no special leather goods store, and there is no one who specializes in collecting leather goods.

  Li Wenjun first went to the pawnshop and took a look. The other party offered a very low price, so Li Wenjun rolled up the wolf skin. The triangular-eyed shop assistant at the pawnshop grabbed the wolf skin and was about to threaten Li Wenjun with a few words, trying to get him to sell the wolf skin at a low price.

  Li Wenjun took advantage of the situation to pull out the hatchet from his waist, revealing a fierce glint in his eyes as he stared at the official, "This wolf was killed by me. If I can kill wolves, I can also kill people."

  At the thought of it, he felt a shiver in his heart. Although he wanted to take advantage of this wolf skin, he valued his own life more. He had a family and a business, with a comfortable life, there was no need to offend Li Wenjun to death for a piece of wolf skin.

  Chaofeng's face was gloomy and he let go of his hand.

  Although Chao Feng did not know Li Wenjun, he could tell that Li Wenjun was likely one of the thousands of refugees gathered outside Junzhen Town, a powder keg waiting for a spark to ignite a riot among the displaced people. At that time, it would be uncertain whether his comfortable life could continue, and even whether he and his family could keep their lives safe.

  Chao Feng did not want to lose everything he had, so he naturally did not want to be the one to start a fight. As a result, he also gave up on the idea of settling scores with Li Wenjun after the matter was over.

  Of course, those who can work as a pawnshop assistant are definitely not good at heart. If they have the opportunity to frame Li Wenjun and won't implicate themselves, the assistant will certainly not let go of the chance.

  Li Wenjun took the opportunity to roll up the wolf skin and leave the pawnshop. He inquired with people that, apart from the pawnshop, there was a grocery store at the end of the street in Junzhen Town that could also buy wolf skins. He carried the wolf skin and walked towards the grocery store.

  Before he reached the end of the street, Li Wenjun heard a clanging sound and walked a few more steps forward. He saw an ironwork shop built with branches and thatch on the side of the road, very simple, with a hoe hanging at the door as a sign.

  Li Wenjun's heart moved, he thought of the experience of killing wolves again. If there was a handy weapon, perhaps he wouldn't have won so hard and so risky. Now, at this time, everywhere were refugees, the situation was chaotic, which made it even more necessary for him to have self-defense means.

  Thinking of this, Li Wenjun walked into the blacksmith's shop.

  The blacksmith was a robust man in his forties, with his upper body exposed. At this moment, he was repairing a hoe for someone. He raised his head and looked at Li Wenjun coldly, saying: "I don't accept apprentices here."

  Li Wenjun smiled and said, "I'm here to buy something."

  The blacksmith's face lit up with joy upon hearing the words. His business had been slow, and it was only the villagers who came to him to repair their hoes and plows, barely enough to make a living. It was rare for him to get a real customer coming to his door.

  "Buying something? Welcome, welcome. What can I get for you, young man?" The customer came in and the blacksmith not only put on a smile but also changed his greeting.

  Li Wenjun said: "Do you have any defensive knives or guns here?"

  The blacksmith was taken aback and did not immediately answer Li Wenjun's question.

  "No? Then forget it." Li Wenjun furrowed his brow and said, as he was about to turn around and leave the blacksmith's shop.

  The blacksmith hastily stopped Li Wenjun and said: "Young man, don't go yet. I have swords and guns here, but I don't know if they meet your requirements."

  As he spoke, the blacksmith rummaged through a wooden chest beside him, first pulling out two axes, a vegetable knife, and then continuing to dig until everything in the chest was pulled out before finally producing a pu dao.

  This pu dao is about three feet long, with rust spots all over. The workmanship is also poor, and the knife face can be seen with obvious hammer marks, the knife back is not straight, and the thickness is uneven.

  New book uploaded, collected and recommended, cavalry is in urgent need, thank you everyone.

  Thanks for the reward from One Angry Sword for Freedom.