Chapter 319: Chapter 224: Antong County
Antong County is located upstream of the Wujiang River, and when the large ship arrived, it was already early the next morning.
The White Lotus Sect members lowered the gangplank, and Qin Yuesheng strode down. He came here to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a team from the Qixingjian, not expecting to encounter the White Lotus Sect looking for the Great Buddha Cave along the way.
Seeing this group of people dressed in white arriving, the residents of Antong County couldn’t help their curiosity, and heads poked out from the doors and windows of their homes, observing them.
"Go about your own business, don’t follow me, and be back on the ship before noon. Whoever dares to delay, I’ll take his head," Qin Yuesheng said.
"Yes!" The crowd quickly dispersed on the spot, and soon the street was left with Qin Yuesheng alone.
After walking a few dozen zhang, he saw a pawnshop and decided to stride inside.
"What are you here to pawn?" A young man behind the counter asked.
Qin Yuesheng observed his appearance; the young man looked sickly, his face frighteningly pale, with dark, bruised-looking circles around his eyes, as if he’d been beaten.
"I’m looking for some information."
"This is a pawnshop, where would we get information from."
Qin Yuesheng produced a Silver Yuanbao and slammed it onto the counter, immediately sinking it into the surface and leaving a dent.
"I’m not asking for confidential information. Recently, did a group of outsiders visit your town?"
The young man, seeing the Silver Yuanbao and Qin Yuesheng’s assertiveness, immediately became more cooperative and said quickly, "Sir, there have been outsiders passing through Antong County, but I can’t say for sure who you’re referring to."
Qin Yuesheng thought that last time Zuo Zonghao’s group came from Chang’an to Cyan Yang City, they all wore official uniforms; the team from Qixingjian sent to investigate Antong County shouldn’t be an exception.
Qin Yuesheng said, "They were a group of officials from outside, all wearing official uniforms."
"Oh, now that you mention it, I do recall a group of officials visiting our town not long ago," the young man nodded somewhat dully.
"Do you know where they went afterwards?" Qin Yuesheng asked.
"I’m not too sure. I only know that one of the officials came to question me, asking if anyone in our county had encountered water ghosts. It seemed like they were going to investigate."
This was indeed a breakthrough piece of news for Qin Yuesheng.
"Who are these people? Tell me. On second thought, better write it down."
At Qin Yuesheng’s request, the young man reluctantly brought paper and pen and wrote down the information he knew.
When he finished writing, the paper was filled with dense writing: the Zhang family, the Li family, the Wang family, and so on.
"Do water ghosts frequently appear here?"
"It’s hard to say; for some reason, those things often crawl out of the Wujiang River at night. At night, every household has to keep their doors and windows tightly closed, otherwise, if those things get in, the whole family’s lives are at risk."
Seeing that the young man didn’t even dare to mention the term "water ghost," choosing instead to refer to them as "those things," Qin Yuesheng didn’t press further and left the pawnshop with the piece of paper.
Antong County was indeed peculiar; everyone he saw on the street either carried an umbrella or wore a bamboo hat, their faces dull and lifeless.
Qin Yuesheng couldn’t help but feel concerned about the situation with the water ghosts here. What kind of terrifying water ghosts could frighten the entire county’s populace into such a state?
At the center of the town was a plaza paved entirely with stone bricks, with a thick tree standing proudly in the middle. Its dense branches and leaves grew unusually luxuriant, resembling a canopy.
A few children with sky-high braids were crouching under the tree playing with fighting crickets. Qin Yuesheng, pondering his unfamiliarity with Antong County, realized that even with the paper in hand, he could not precisely locate the families listed.
Thus, Qin Yuesheng walked towards the tree, intending to ask a child to guide him around.
"Bite it, bite it."
Two crickets faced off in a bamboo bowl, occasionally leaping out to collide violently, their fight was intense.
When Qin Yuesheng approached, a child finally looked up, his eyes filled with confusion as he gazed at Qin Yuesheng.
"Kid, interested in earning some money?" Qin Yuesheng pulled out a Silver Yuanbao: "With this money, wouldn’t fighting dogs or chickens be more fun?"
"Fighting dogs?"
"Fighting chickens?"
Having never heard of such games, the children immediately showed great interest, all stood up and asked, "What is fighting dogs and fighting chickens?"
Qin Yuesheng said, "Each of you raises a dog and a chicken, and when they grow up, you make them fight just like crickets, but it will be even more intense."
The children nodded enthusiastically: "Great, great! I want to earn money and play fighting dogs and chickens."
Qin Yuesheng handed him the Silver Yuanbao: "I just arrived in Antong County and I’m not familiar with the area. Take me to these places, and this money is yours."
Saying this, Qin Yuesheng mentioned the names of the households noted on the paper.
"Aunt Wang’s house, I know it, I’ll take you."
"I know Grandpa Li and Widow Zhao’s houses, also Granny Zhang and Uncle Zheng’s."
"I know..."
"I know..."
Seeing these children eagerly offering their help, Qin Yuesheng patted one of them on the head and said, "Don’t rush, we’ll go one by one, let’s start with the first family, okay?"
When Qin Yuesheng withdrew his hand, he noticed several strands of hair inexplicably caught between his fingers, puzzled: "Are children starting to lose hair so early nowadays? I didn’t even use much force."
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