Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 489 God of Chujiang
The people on the ship were shocked to see the young noblemen and ladies who had fallen into the water. They wanted to help, but were powerless to do so.

Under Lu Zheng's suppression, the people who fell into the water could only struggle in the river and drink the river water.

Seeing this from a distance, Chu Yu couldn't help but say, "This...this won't cause someone to die, will it?"

He never expected that the small boat he had casually boarded would belong to such a powerful figure, someone who dared to throw even those nobles into the water.

It's like gods are fighting now; a mortal like him can't prevent things from developing.

Qingyi, on the small boat, looked at the people struggling in the river, then at the small fishing rod in her hand.

She thought for a moment, then raised her hand, lifted the rod, and cast it out.

The fishing line taut instantly, heading straight for a young man.

Unfortunately, the fishing line wasn't long enough to reach the man.

But in the blink of an eye, spiritual energy transformed into threads that emerged from the end of the fishing line and quickly wrapped around the man's body.

The man was trying to escape the river when he suddenly felt a tremendous force come at him and bind him up.

Before he could react, and with no strength to resist, the man was carried by invisible threads straight toward the small boat.

Chu Yu, standing to the side, felt a chill run down her spine. It turned out that this little girl was also a master, and the man being dragged was the descendant of Chu Jiangshen, who had just shouted that he would knock them all off the boat.

Qingwan smiled and said, "Hmm, not bad, Xiao Qingyi has learned how to fish."

The young man was dragged forcefully to the side of the small boat, his expression a mixture of shock and anger. "Who are you? How dare you do this..."

Qing Wan said calmly, "You treat human lives like a game, merely using their own methods against them. So what if you're the descendant of Chu Jiang Shen?"

Qingwan tapped the man on the head with her fishing rod.

The man was knocked into the water and bubbled around.

Just then, a divine golden light appeared in the great river.

A middle-aged man suddenly appeared, surrounded by golden light, with a majestic face and an imposing aura.

The young man, bobbing up and down in the water, saw the middle-aged man appear and immediately cried out, "Grandpa, save me!"

Chu Jiangshen ignored him and looked at Lu Zheng instead.

There was an unusual fluctuation in the river just now, which included the release of some divine power, so I thought something was wrong and came to check it out.

Upon seeing Lu Zheng standing on the river surface, with some men and women in the river, Chu Jiangshen more or less guessed what was going on.

Chu Jiangshen remained calm and politely said, "So it is Young Master Lu who has arrived. May I ask how these juniors have offended you?"

Those still in the water were taken aback by Chu Jiangshen's attitude. Their expressions changed. Even Chu Jiangshen was being very polite. They thought to themselves that they had offended someone they shouldn't have.
Lu Zheng said calmly, "These people take pleasure in human lives and want to throw us into the river. Some even claim to be descendants of the River God. Is the River God lacking offerings?"

"Since that's the case, I'm thinking of having them perform a sacrifice to see if the river god here will accept it."

Upon hearing Lu Zheng's words, a hint of unease flashed in Chu Jiang's eyes. The way these scholars talk... it really is...

Chu Jiangshen couldn't help but say, "Young Master Lu is joking. Chu Jiang's sacrifices do not involve human sacrifices. The younger generation is just playing around and doesn't know any better. Why bother arguing with them? A little punishment will suffice."

Those young masters and ladies who fell into the water all came from prominent families. If they were to drown in the Chu River, he, as the God of the Chu River, would not be able to face those powerful clans. Therefore, he could only speak up to protect them.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Ignorant? Some of you are even older than me, yet you are so ignorant. Is this how you educate your juniors?"

Chu Jiangshen quickly replied, "The education of the younger generation is a matter for the clan. Moreover, with my descendants spreading and the clan growing so large, it's inevitable that one or two uncultured scoundrels will emerge, making Young Master Lu a laughingstock..."

Chu Jiangshen was shirking responsibility. He had so many juniors, but apart from a few he cared about, he didn't pay much attention to the others, and didn't even know them.

Chu Jiangshen turned to the man by the small boat and said indifferently, "You have my blood in your veins, so you must be the person Young Master Lu was talking about, right? You dare to do such a thing and invoking my name, disgracing your ancestors!"

Chu Jiangshen raised his hand and a beam of golden light shot into the man's body.

The man felt as if something was being pulled out of his body, his whole body convulsed, and his face turned deathly pale.

Chu Jiangshen said coldly, "Today, I will take away your bloodline and expel you from the clan. From now on, you will no longer be my descendant. If you cause trouble again in my name, you will be punished according to the laws of Chu!"

Upon hearing this, the young man turned deathly pale. Being expelled from the clan meant losing his status; he was nothing...

"No, Ancestor..."

The young man quickly spoke up, hoping that Chu Jiangshen would retract his decision.

But once Chu Jiangshen has spoken, how could he possibly retract his punishment and slap himself in the face?

The loss of a junior is no big deal to him.

Chu Jiangshen glared at him coldly and immediately used a divine spell to seal the man's mouth, rendering him unable to speak.

Then, Chu Jiangshen looked at the other young masters and ladies, "You are not of my clan, but you caused such a mess. You are not the mastermind, but you are accomplices. I punish you by banishing you from Chu Jiang for the rest of your lives. Apologize to Young Master Lu, and then go home to receive your punishment!"

When Lu Zheng heard what Chu Jiangshen said, he did not change the verdict.

He didn't really want to drown these people in the river; according to Chu law, there wasn't such a severe punishment. He just wanted to teach them a lesson.

Chu Jiangshen turned to Lu Zheng and said, "What does Young Master Lu think?"

Lu Zhengdao said, "Let's follow Jiang Shen's advice and settle this matter. Let's not involve anyone else afterward."

"Very well, very well, Young Master Lu is kind and benevolent..." Chu Jiangshen said with a smile. Seeing that Lu Zheng was so easy to talk to, he was relieved.

Otherwise, if so many noble children were to drown in the river in front of him, it would be a troublesome matter whether he intervened or not.

As Lu Zheng withdrew his oppressive aura, Chu Jiangshen waved his sleeve and pulled everyone from the water to the surface.

The noblemen and women were soaked to the bone, looking utterly disheveled.

"Apologize to Young Master Lu now!" Chu Jiangshen said coldly.

The group of men and women felt extremely ashamed, but under such circumstances, they had no choice but to apologize.

Some people had already figured out who this Young Master Lu was, and no longer dared to be arrogant.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng said calmly, "I'm not the only one..."

Lu Zheng only glanced at the small boat.

Everyone understood and apologized repeatedly.

Seeing that these people's attitude was acceptable, Lu Zheng nodded slightly, thus letting the matter drop.

He didn't care what kind of punishment these people would receive when they returned to their families.

Seeing this, Chu Jiangshen waved his sleeve and sent everyone to the riverbank.

The group, who had just come ashore, felt utterly humiliated and dared not linger by the riverbank to continue being ridiculed. They fled in twos and threes.

Chu Jiang glanced at those people and thought to himself that the young people of these great clans were truly getting worse with each generation.

He had previously worried that Lu Zheng would travel to Jiangzhou, and that someone might act recklessly, giving Lu Zheng leverage over them.

Unexpectedly, he actually encountered this today. Fortunately, the incident was minor and no one was killed.

Chu Jiangshen took a step and quickly arrived in front of Lu Zheng.

A mist rose from the surrounding river surface, blocking outsiders from observing.

Chu Jiangshen cupped his hands in greeting and said, "I never expected that Young Master Lu would travel all the way here. I have been poor in my hospitality. Why don't you come to my place for a drink to show me the hospitality of a host?"

Seeing that this Chujiang God was so polite, Lu Zheng couldn't refuse.

Lu Zhengdao said, "Jiang Shen, you're too kind. Then I'll trouble you for a moment."

"Not at all, not at all..." Chu Jiangshen said with a smile, "It is my good fortune to be able to meet Young Master Lu."

With a wave of his hand, Chu Jiangshen imbued the small boat with divine power, preparing to transport the people, boat and all, to the cave.

"Well, I..."

Seeing this scene, Chu Yu quickly said, "I am but a commoner..."

Chu Jiangshen glanced at Chu Yu, then looked at Lu Zheng, "This is not Young Master Lu's friend."

Lu Zheng said, "We just met, but speaking of which, what happened just now has something to do with him."

Lu Zheng recounted what had happened.

Chu Jiang thought to himself that forcing a Confucian scholar to jump into the river in front of Lu Zheng and even preparing to ram the ship, if it were him, he would have capsized the entire ship.

"I see..." Chu Jiangshen turned to look at Chu Yu, then asked curiously, "Who insulted you? What did they do to you?"

Faced with Chu Jiangshen's inquiry, Chu Yu could only recount what had happened on the ship.

Chu Jiangshen couldn't help but snort coldly, "What a bunch of spoiled brats, making scholars compete in martial arts? What kind of behavior is this! If I had known, I should have kept them soaking in the river to sober them up."

After hearing the reason for the incident, Chu Jiangshen could no longer protect those scions of powerful clans, and simply said that they deserved it.

Before Lu Zheng could get angry about this behavior, Chu Jiangshen said again, "I see that you are quite talented. Would you be interested in serving as a minor official under me? If you do well, you can be promoted based on your merits. What do you say?"

Upon hearing Chu Jiangshen's words, Chu Yu's mind went blank for a moment, feeling that happiness had come too suddenly.

He was excited and quickly bowed deeply, saying, "I dare not ask you, but it is my wish!"

He had always wanted to find an opportunity to use his talents and skills, but he couldn't find a way. Over the years, he recommended himself everywhere, but all he received were countless scornful looks and ridicule.

As a result, I experienced such humiliation today, and was even favored by the God of Chujiang.

With the protection of the God of Chujiang, no one will be able to cause him trouble at will in the future.

A blessing in disguise.

Chu Yu was filled with emotion, and glanced at Lu Zheng beside her out of the corner of her eye.

He knew that he was able to get what he wanted entirely because of this young master Lu.

Although Chu Yu did not know the details of this person's deeds, she remembered him deeply and thought that she would repay the kindness in the future when she had the opportunity.

Chu Jiangshen breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Chu Yu had agreed and that Lu Zheng did not show any anger.

(End of this chapter)