Linjiang County, Shu Yun Township.

  Rely on the mountain to eat from the mountain, rely on water to eat from the water. Along the river, the fish market is quite lively.

  The horse carriage came to a gentle stop, and Li Xiaoer got off, leading the horse towards the local government office.

  Shen Yi stood between the two rows of fish baskets, breathing in the salty and humid smell. Next to him were fishermen with rolled up pants legs, chatting and laughing as usual, without any sign of acknowledging the presence of a few Town Demon-Slaying Department officers.

  It may be an illusion, but sometimes someone glances over casually, with a hint of hostility in their eyes.

  "This kind of place is like this, and it also saves the effort of dressing up." Liu Xiu Jie smiled and said: "In other places, when encountering demons and monsters, the first reaction is to find the government office, but the people here will definitely go to worship the river god."

  "Pray to a god?" Shen Yi inexplicably thought of the dilapidated and incomplete statue in Liuli Temple Village.

  Li Muzhen yawned and joked, "Those demons who dont want to be on the imperial courts wanted list for evil spirits, but also dont want to hide in the deep mountains, naturally have to give themselves a name."

  "Four hundred years ago, when Shuiyun Township was still a fishing village, it relied on the river god for food."

  Liu Xiujie felt a sense of helplessness: "The minor sacrifice on June 1st and the major sacrifice every three years have become customs. For the minor sacrifice, livestock, fish, and rice are offered; for the major sacrifice, boys and girls are offered, and this has never been interrupted."

  At this, Shen Yi slightly clenched her fist and said softly: "No one is in charge?"

  Although calm in demeanor, yet subconsciously a thread of discomfort surged from within.

  "How dare you speak out of turn? This group of commoners will dare to launch a night raid on Qingzhou City with their fish forks tomorrow, can you kill them all?"

  Liu Xiu-jie shrugged: "It can only be during their Grand Festival, send a few school lieutenants to help keep an eye on it, count as intimidating the river god, let it know that the Town Demon Division is still watching it, dont be too arrogant."

  "Its like this, and yet theyre still guarding against me as if Im a thief."

  Under Li Xinhans leadership, the group left Fish Market and soon arrived at a riverside village.

  This remote place is even more lively than the city just now, expensive silk fabrics are cut into sections and hung on poles, bamboo-made river god statues hang from every households eaves, occasionally you can still hear firecrackers, as if it were New Year.

  A few people just walked up.

  An old man wearing a white robe stood at the village entrance, leaning on his cane and looking at them with a fake smile: "Are you gentlemen here to observe the sacrifice?"

  "The village chief in charge of the Grand Festival, when he speaks, even the Water Cloud County government has to be cautious." Ma Tao introduced in a low voice.

  Li Xinghan slowly scanned the village and then withdrew his gaze: "The few people from the Demon Suppression Department earlier, where are they now?"

  Upon hearing this, the village chief turned around in surprise: "This years observers arent you few, I was wondering why it took so long to arrive."

  Seeing his reaction, Li Mus eyes flashed with a cold intent.

  She took a step forward and smiled: "Let me remind you, you can worship whatever you want, but if you dare to lay hands on the Town Demon Officer, you should know what the consequences will be."

  "Youre kidding."

  The village chief lowered his head and leaned on his cane, smiling and saying: "We dont have the guts to do that, let alone relying on a few broken fish spears."

  Li Muzhen did not respond and quietly walked into the village.

  On both sides, young men grasping fish forks stared at her plump body, their expressions cold and detached, licking their lips.

  “……”

  Shen Yi calmly took in the scene before her eyes.

  Its really hard to equate this group of people with those villagers in the suburbs of Baiyun County who have numb expressions on their faces.

  At that time in Liulimiao Village, those people were hopeless and huddled together, shivering with fear, without even the thought of escaping.

  And yet, in this place, these ordinary people can openly show greedy eyes to the yamen runners of the Town Demon Division.

  Such absurd contrast, is actually from the "god" given them the confidence.

  Shen Yis heart was shaken for a moment.

  Isnt it that for the common people, demons are more powerful than the Demon Vanquishing Department?

  ……

  He Sheng Temple is located in the middle of the village.

  Inside the spacious house, a gilded statue stands in the middle, resembling a woman of about thirty or forty years old, with a kind face, wearing a long dress with wave-like folds, and holding her palms together at her mouth.

  On either side are boys and girls with sheep horn braids, one carrying a fish basket and the other holding a flower basket, smiling and looking silly.

  "This carving is wrong."

  Ma Tao shook his head and under the gaze of others, he stretched out his hand with a cold smile: "Three years to send one pair, four hundred years, how could there be only two children? The line should have extended all the way outside the village."

  Li Xinhans gaze returned: "You think those people outside are fools, really believing that theyre sending their children to the river god as child brides? They understand more than you do in their hearts, its just a matter of profit."

  Li Muzhen sat cross-legged and closed his eyes as if he were asleep.

  Soon, Xiao Er returned from the government office with a gloomy face: "Theres no news, they all said they hadnt seen him before, and the token wasnt sent to Linjiang Prefecture by them. Could it be that those few captains were really intercepted by demons halfway?"

  "The people of Linjiang County said that as soon as it got light, the token was placed at the gate of the government office. Its not like some evil spirit or demon would deliberately send it over." Li Xinhans furrowed his brow.

  Li Muzhen opened his eyes, looked at Shen Yi standing silently in front of the statue, and said softly: "The Yangchun River is too turbulent. If you can gather the fish together below, throwing down the fishing net will be a full harvest. They will also worship you as a god."

  "Some things are better left unattended."

  She keenly captured the faint dissatisfaction under the young mans seemingly indifferent appearance.

  Im just curious, wasnt he raised in a poor and humble environment? He should be used to it by now, so why would he feel uncomfortable about this kind of thing.

  Time flies quickly.

  Its already dusk.

  Everyone fell silent, and as was customary, the Town Demon Officer came to pay respects, and the River God would appear to meet them.

  Until now, the other party has been nowhere to be found.

  "It wont be killed by other demons." Li Xinhans raised his eyes.

  Generally speaking, each demon has a strong sense of territory. With the river god here, as long as it doesnt want to be on the Suspended Demon List, it wont dare to cause trouble easily, and at the same time, it can also intimidate passing demons.

  "If so, then it should have left too." Li Mu said with a smile: "Otherwise, we can still stay here?"

  According to records, the River God was a demon in the initial stage of Yu Ye three hundred years ago. Now that so much time has passed, even if the demons cultivation speed is far slower than that of a warrior, it should at least be in the later stage of Yu Ye by now.

  Moreover, its an aquatic demon, and the Yangchun River is so vast. If the opponent dives into the river, even if they have a higher cultivation level than it does, theres nothing they can do about it.

  "Gentlemen."

  The village head came to the door with a crutch: "Recently, we have been preparing for the grand festival and really cant spare an empty room. Why dont you each choose a house that suits your eyes and make do with resting?"

  Liu Xiu Jie rolled his eyes.

  Its precisely in a place like this that they dare to let people from the Demon Vanquishing Department sleep together with others.

  Fortunately, no one paid much attention to these trivial matters, and they all got up and walked out in pairs into the villagers houses.

  Li Xiaoer is Li Xinhans lifelong personal attendant since childhood, while Liu and Ma are brothers who have been working together for many years.

  Li Muzhen was also welcomed by a woman who beckoned him in, waving her hand: "When youre out and about, dont be particular, come on over."

  "Im just taking a stroll."

  Shen Yi deliberately fell behind and walked slowly through the village.

  He wasnt very tired, just a little mentally drained.

  No matter how angry he was, it wasnt worth it. After all, they were just a few casual words whispered in his ear, and he had heard enough disgusting stories from past lives.

  In the year of great chaos, there were rumors of people exchanging their children for food. In such a world of demons and monsters, it was difficult to survive, and the moral demands on ordinary people were too high, which only brought trouble to themselves.

  Just then, a faint sound of argument came over.

  "Where the hell are you touching? Dare to stretch out your claws again, and Ill kill you!"

  Shen Yi raised her eyes and looked over with some curiosity.