Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 20: Prodigal Sons Are Justice

The people in the southern part of the village looked up at the sky which had finally returned to peace, and could hardly believe that the locust swarm had just disappeared.

After a while, they burst into thunderous cheers and rushed towards Ren Yuan like a tide, lifting him up and throwing him into the sky again and again.

But there was only one Ren Yuan, and the people who could not reach him surrounded him with torches, cheering as Ren Yuan's body rose and fell, venting their joy!
When Ren Yuan was finally put down, he felt like his intestines were about to be broken.

"We are deeply grateful for the Second Young Master's kindness!" Led by the village heads, the people kowtowed to him and expressed their gratitude.

"Everyone, get up quickly." Ren Yuan hurriedly helped a white-haired old man up and said loudly to everyone, "The one you should thank the most is yourselves! It is because of all of you who have shown courage and worked together that we can defeat the locust plague!"

After hearing what Ren Yuan said, more vivid expressions appeared on the faces of the common people.

After a pause, Ren Yuan continued, "Of course we also have to thank the Mountain Goddess for her help. Without the army of birds she brought, we wouldn't be able to eliminate the locusts in the sky."

The common people were in an uproar when they heard this, and they all said, "It really is the mountain goddess. No wonder that wooden cart looks so familiar."

"It's great that the queen is still alive!"

"Wow, where has she been all these years? We have had such a hard life."

"Three years ago, the goddess of the mountain was unfortunately plotted against by the evil god Wang Xiang." Ren Yuan said in a deep voice: "Last night, the goddess just escaped and killed Wang Xiang - the community god who oppressed everyone!"

Everyone suddenly realized and thought to themselves, no wonder the second young master dared to smash the statue of the community god directly, it turned out that the real owner was already dead.

Ren Yuan waved his hand again, and the farmhand brought ten children out of the community temple and asked their parents to take them home.

The people were naturally overjoyed. They came over to kowtow to Ren Yuan, holding their recovered children. No one could stop them.

Ren Yuan recognized the mother of the boy with red spots at a glance. She was hugging a little girl of six or seven years old tightly, kowtowing and crying. Her expression, a mixture of joy and sorrow, made him unable to control himself.

His nose felt sore, and he quickly turned his head away to look at the red clouds in the sky. It was like seeing that poor lamb, and he wanted to save the boy as well...

The civet cat that had been squatting on his shoulder stretched out its paw and patted his head, whispering comfortingly: "Nothing in the world can go as planned. You have done your best."

"..." Ren Yuan also touched the cat's head gratefully, but he didn't tell the cat that "I've tried my best" was one of the words he disliked the most.

"Why didn't I see my sister?" He also didn't like sentimentality, so he changed the subject and asked.

"How can a god show up in public?" The cat replied, "Besides, I don't want to steal your limelight. When you return to the manor, I will come to find you."

"Okay." Ren Yuan nodded.

At this time, a commoner came up to him with a bag of burnt locusts and asked bravely, "Second Young Master, does that still count?"

"Of course it counts!" Ren Yuan said loudly, "I will keep my word and I will definitely fulfill it!"

So he asked the farmhands to bring copper coins from the farm and exchange them for the people.

A village head reminded him quietly: "In fact, the community temple has been collecting money in these years and has quite a bit of savings. There is no need for the village to spend money."

"That's all the money they extorted from the people. How can I let the sheep pay for the wool?" Ren Yuan shook his head decisively and ordered: "After counting the property in the community temple, take out a portion to compensate the families who lost their children, and divide the rest equally among everyone!"

The people were even more overjoyed upon hearing the news, and they kept cheering. "Second Young Master, Second Young Master!"

If Ren Yuan hadn't dodged quickly, he would have been thrown into the sky again.

The village heads secretly shook their heads, thinking, isn't this the landlord's stupid son?
But it’s not over yet, Ren Yuan then gave out a third gift!
He stood back on the stone lion and raised his hand. The crowd that had been cheering enthusiastically immediately fell silent, all staring intently at the second young master who was like a savior sent from heaven.

"Everyone, although we have successfully defeated the locust plague, I think everyone's losses are still not small. Half of the crops have been destroyed. This year's autumn harvest will definitely be greatly affected. I'm afraid everyone will have no food after paying taxes, right?"

"Yes." Everyone was brought back to reality and their smiles gradually disappeared.

However, Ren Yuan changed the subject and raised his voice, "So this year's tax grain for everyone will be borne by Xiejiazhuang alone! The same goes for the tenants of our village. All the grain you harvest belongs to you!"

"Ah? Is this true?!" The people could hardly believe their ears. Is there such a good thing in the world?
"Of course it's true!" Ren Yuan patted his chest and said, "This young master is a man of his words!" "Wow, wow, wow, that's great! The second young master is a living Bodhisattva who saves people from suffering!" Now, not only the common people, but also the village heads were all ecstatic and rushed towards Ren Yuan together.

Fortunately, Ren Yuan was prepared. He jumped onto the leopard's back and escaped from the crowd.

~~
On the tree-lined road.

The leopard carried Ren Yuan on its back, and Ren Yuan carried the civet cat on his back.

"Should I call you A Yuan or Master Xie from now on?" The civet cat looked down at him.

"Of course it's A Yuan." Ren Yuan said without hesitation: "I don't want to be the owner of a manor, and I have no interest in pretending to be a member of the Xie family!"

"Then why did you come back?" asked the civet cat curiously.

"This manor, from inside to outside, is all the blood and sweat of the people plundered by the Xie family. If I don't return all of it to its original owner, how can I repay their kindness?!"

Ren Yuan looked coldly at the imposing and sturdy Xie Family Village in front of him, and rode a leopard into this disgusting devil's den.

~~
As soon as he entered the village, Zhang, the manager who was in charge of the livestock, invited him to take a look at the barn.

"What's the matter? Is the damage serious?" Ren Yuan turned over and got off the leopard.

"The buildings were not affected, but the animals inside... Well, the owner of the manor will know when he sees it." Manager Zhang hesitated and led him to the animal shed.

Ren Yuan didn't see any animals, only hundreds of strangers.

They were men and women, aged between 20 and 40, all naked and huddled in the barn.

"What's going on?" In fact, he already had a guess in his mind.

Manager Zhang said in an awkward voice, "Master, these are transformed from animals."

"What do you mean?" Ren Yuan frowned.

"I was leading people to feed the animals this morning, and all the cows, horses, mules and donkeys in the barn turned into humans. It was really scary." Manager Zhang reported with lingering fear.

"How can an animal become a human?" Ren Yuan asked knowingly.

"I don't..." Manager Zhang wanted to play dumb, but when he saw the fierce light in the killer's eyes, he was so scared that he quickly told the truth. "They must have offended the community god, oh no, it was the evil god, and they were turned into cattle and horses."

"Then why did it come to our village?" Ren Yuan asked.

"The community temple doesn't do any production, so why would it need so many cows and horses?" Manager Zhang replied, "The old witch sold them to the farm at a low price to use for plowing and pulling carts. After three years, all the cows and horses on the farm are of this type."

"Scumbag..." Ren Yuan spat and ordered his men to open the gate and give those poor people freedom.

But what he didn't expect was that only half of the people left the cowshed and stable with profuse gratitude as if they had been pardoned, while the other half still huddled inside and refused to leave no matter what.

Ren Yuan thought they were afraid of the evil spirit and Xiejiazhuang's tyranny and dared not come out, so he said to them: "The community god who persecuted you is dead, and the community temple has been eradicated. I have the final say in Xiejiazhuang now, so feel free to come out!"

"Ah?" Everyone in the circle was shocked when they heard this. An older man asked timidly, "So, we can't turn back into cattle and horses?"

"Of course." Ren Yuan gave an affirmative answer. But the crowd was not happy but sad, with many women bursting into tears.

"What's wrong with you?" Ren Yuan was confused by the scene in front of him and asked puzzledly: "Do you want to turn into cattle and horses again?"

"Yes, Master, we do." The man cried, "We don't want to be human anymore."

"Why?" Ren Yuan was stunned.

"Because it's too difficult to live as a human being, it's easier to live as an animal." The man answered.

(End of this chapter)