Fairy, don't try to mess with my filial piety

I will put on red clothes later, and when I am killed by that old ghost, I will try to become a ghost and kill your whole family!"

The female official who stood in a high and mighty position, with a cold face, clenched her fists and raised her eyebrows in anger, told her attendants to send him to the cat-faced ghost to avenge his vengeance, and did not forget to instruct:

"Take off his clothes first, don't leave even his red underwear!"

Li Zhishui was also a man of steel. Even though he was being held captive and surrounded by a group of Taoist practitioners, he remained calm and composed.

"Don't be impatient, a foolish woman trying to become an official. If you don't have the ability, you shouldn't be in this position. First, you cut off the funding for the dredging team, preventing people from repairing the dam, and then you don't worship at the Erwang Temple, which shows disrespect for the ancestors.

We've had floods for two years straight, and famine is expected in two years. I wonder if the people will eat you alive then!"

Author's Note: (65/134)

Chapter 284 Becoming a Spirit

As soon as the dispute broke out, several men and women came out and started spitting and cursing at Li Zhishui. They seemed to be the old lady's family.

There was nothing worth paying attention to in this part, so Chu Wuji withdrew his attention, but found that the Sky Fox Goddess on his neck and the Xuanyin Star Lord next to him were watching with great interest.

...No, can big monsters also look like this?

This isn't a battle between gods or masters; it's all about the vocabulary of both sides.

Chu Wuji wanted to pinch Aunt Green Snake, but found that she was not in his sleeve.

He was startled and thought to himself, "Where is my aunt?"

Chu Wuji's eyes searched around and caught sight of a beautiful green snake on the snow-white legs of the Heavenly Fox Goddess. A small section of the snake's body was wrapped around the fox girl's round thighs, and the upper part of the snake's body climbed up to her shoulders.

Climb to a higher place and have a clearer view of the melons.

Chu Wuji laughed unhappily and said, "What's so interesting about this? When I return to the capital, I'll find myself arguing with this kind of thing every now and then when I sit near the government office."

However, most of the cases in the capital's government offices are family matters and rarely involve monsters.

There were so many difficult cases back then, and at best there was only one cat spirit.

Aunt Green Snake withdrew her curiosity a little, crawled back to her own territory, and said:

"We just arrived at Cancong Country. Isn't this a way to show some sympathy for the people and take a look at the local customs?"

"It sounds like the flooding of the Yulun River is related to local officials. It seems like they brought this upon themselves." Xuanyin Xingjun retracted his gaze at this time, pretending that he had never cared about the gossip just now. He stood with his arms folded, exuding a cold, arrogant and aloof temperament.

"Xuanyin Xingjun, are you also paying attention to this matter?" Chu Wuji pretended not to know and asked in surprise.

"Even if I don't pay attention, I'll still hear them because of all the noise they make. Do I have to poke my ears out?"

"That's right. The noise was so loud just now that even those hiding in the house could hear it clearly."

Chu Wuzhi did not expose it. He returned his gaze to the group of practicing alchemists and watched them go away. They must be going back to the scene where the old lady was hanged. He hoped that the sunset would lure out the cat-faced ghost.

He reviewed the dispute he had just heard and said a few words to the passers-by:

"From what they just said, it seems there's something hidden. May I ask if it's true or false? Are they just making up stories?"

The streets became lively, with many passers-by and high popularity, unlike the previous desertedness, and naturally more people dared to chat in detail.

"It's not entirely nonsense. The female official Wang, who is adorned with gold and jade, was promoted by a powerful background. She loves to judge family affairs. The key is that she makes arbitrary judgments and advises people to be magnanimous and understanding and to calm their resentment..."

Others cited many examples in succession, and the standard for persuading people to be magnanimous was very arbitrary, depending entirely on their mood. Sometimes they would favor unreasonable old people, and sometimes they would indulge women.

It seems that the style of this female official is deeply rooted in people's hearts and has long been a source of dissatisfaction.

Chu Wuji was more concerned about the dam mentioned earlier. He asked:

"What about the dam and the shovel team?"

The local people are not fully aware of the situation in this regard, but an old farmer who is tanned all year round knows a thing or two.

"That dam was built by our ancestors many generations ago. It irrigates vast tracts of farmland and prevents flooding, but every year we have to spend money to send people to clear the accumulated sand."

Xuanyin Star Lord was slightly interested in the transformation of water transportation and listened attentively.

Chu Wuji listened and thought, a little confused: "This dam is so important, why did the female official stop repairs? Was it intentional?"

The old farmer sat down on the steps, waved his hands and sneered:

"The female official mentioned earlier that there were two considerations. The first was that it was useless. There hadn't been any flooding in all these years, so why spend money on repairs? It would simply be to keep idle people around, and that Li Zhishui was just a sand dredger."

This logic was a bit strange, and Chu Wuji was stunned for a moment before he figured it out.

It's roughly similar to preventing disease. A doctor always helps his master to pay attention to his complexion and nip any signs of illness in the bud. As a result, after many years, the master sees that he never gets sick, so he feels that it is unnecessary to spend money to hire a doctor.

A passerby added:

"That's not all. The female official even said, 'What's the point of panning sand? The more sand there is, the stronger the dam will be! Hahahaha!"

The old farmer nodded and smiled, not even bothering to curse. He was about to bring up the matter, but when someone else mentioned it, he said something else:

"Regarding the second aspect, the female official feels that the money for arranging sand panning is all paid by the government, but the farmers are the ones who benefit. The farmers should pay for it. God have mercy on us, how much money can we farmers earn?"

Chu Wuji was silent for a moment, it was really hard to comment.

It's hard to imagine officials thinking this way. Do they think that if a flood comes, it will only flood farmland and avoid towns?

He observed that there were no scholars walking on the streets here, which meant that there were too few scholars in the Sericulture Country to support the official selection model such as the imperial examination.

Then most of the officials are appointed through recommendation and internal referral, which is understandable.

It cannot be said that those who pass the imperial examination are necessarily virtuous, but it is better than this kind of recommendation.

"By the way, what does it mean not to worship at the Erwang Temple?" Chu Wuji was quite curious about this. He was now paying special attention to various temples, as his family had encountered such things.

"It's just the normal worship of chickens and ducks, burning incense and praying for blessings. It used to be a ritual before panning. The ancestors in the temple are the two generations who built the dam. After the female official took office, they abolished it all. It seems that they want to build a new temple."

"Build a new temple? Who do you want to build?"

"The elders who pushed her to become an official, but I also heard that they wanted to move her family's ancestral hall here so that the people of Shoujiang City could worship her ancestors together and accumulate merit."

Passersby have not yet reached a conclusion because the matter has not been confirmed, but there are rumors like this.

It is still unclear who will be enshrined in the new temple, but building a new temple is basically a certainty.

"Oh, the police are coming, run away!" Someone gave this reminder, and the chattering passers-by dispersed and ran back home to hide.

It's still about an hour until evening.

The cat-faced ghost probably wouldn't dare to come out, but Chu Wuji didn't want to take Xuanyin Star Lord and stand on the street for an hour.

"Let's go and take a look at the Yulun River outside."

After Chu Wuzhi made the proposal, he took his companions to the riverside for a leisurely stroll.

The flow of the Yulun River is also very large during the non-flood season. You can hear the "rushing" sound as soon as you leave the city gate. There is no need to ask for directions, you can just follow the sound to the riverside.

But finding the Erwang Temple was a bit difficult - Chu Wuji flew into the air on his sword, took advantage of the wide field of vision to take a look, and then he confirmed the location.

He led the graceful and elegant Dragon Princess up the river bank, walking slowly towards the Erwang Temple to kill time.

"Wu Ji, why can't the dam be built with sand? I remember when the dam was built, didn't the craftsmen and laborers have to work very hard to transport soil?" Aunt Qingshe asked subtly.

She had been accumulating this confusion for a while, and only dared to ask now that no one was around, so as to avoid pretending to know and causing a big joke.

Chu Wuji did not laugh at his aunt. It was true that he could not expect the demons to understand such things, otherwise they would be troubled by the flood.

The Fox Goddess had been absent-minded since the previous topic of sand panning, and wasn't paying much attention, because she didn't know what a dam was.

Chu Wuji explained:

"A dam is used to store water. Piling up more gravel may make it stronger, but its storage capacity is reduced. When a flood comes, it fills up immediately and rushes over the dam, rendering the dam useless."

As for information such as releasing water during the dry season and storing water during the flood season, Chu Wuji did not elaborate. He also said that it was not very detailed and he could only give his aunt a general idea.

Aunt Green Snake seemed to understand, but she asked curiously:

"Just now, when you flew up to look for the temple, why didn't we see any dams blocking the water? The river seemed to be quite open."

Even if Aunt Green Snake doesn't understand much about dams, she still knows what a dam looks like. It's just a big wall blocking the river. It should be clear at a glance and very conspicuous.

But I didn't see any similar buildings just now, so it's impossible that I was mistaken.

Xuanyin Star Lord sniffed with his nose, catching the veins of water movement. His expression first showed surprise and doubt, and then his beautiful eyes showed deep thought as he looked at a section of the river.

She was amazed: "That dam here doesn't block the water, it diverts it to separate the river. It's a brilliant idea, amazing!"

Aunt Green Snake was completely confused and bewildered. She had no idea what was going on, and the Dragon Girl was praising her without hesitation.

Bai Sujin's focus was different. She saw from afar a man standing on the cliff next to the Erwang Temple, looking at the bend in the river.

Bai Sujin looked over and asked suspiciously:

"Is the rock at the bend of the river about to become a spirit?"

Chapter 285: Overlord Dragon Turtle

Chu Wuzhi and Longnu walked over together, came to the man's side, and greeted him with a simple bow.

The man was dressed in a simple official uniform, which was different from the style of the officials guarding Jiangcheng. With his own cultivation, he exuded the demeanor of a general.

Its appearance is 80% similar to the sacrificial statue in the temple next to it, which is basically the appearance of an ancestor.

"Old senior, what's your name?" Chu Wuji was very polite.

"A wisp of consciousness, preserved by the burning of incense, is worse than a wandering ghost. I don't need any name. Since this temple is named 'Er Wang Temple', you can just call me 'Er Wang'."

The man in the official robe accepted his current situation calmly.

Over the centuries, the common people had long forgotten the original deities within the temple, their concepts blurred. Now he felt more like an independent consciousness within the temple, unconnected to the two ancestral statues within.

Aunt Green Snake muttered:

"It seems the owner of this temple was truly a man of great merit during his lifetime. Some temples that have given birth to 'spirits' only make people feel uncomfortable and cramped, without this peaceful and calming feeling."

The Dragon Girl took a step forward. She didn't like small talk. She raised her pointed chin slightly, pointed at the water diversion dam below, and asked:

"You were the one who came up with such an ingenious water diversion dam? Such rare wisdom!"

Chu Wuji looked at Xuanyin Xingjun with a bit of surprise. He thought that as the dragon water god, she would be very disgusted with the human race's transformation of rivers. Even the bridges built on them were regarded as thorns in the eyes of the water tribes. They would be destroyed by the dragons at the first opportunity. The same was true for the river dams. This was tantamount to cutting flesh on the spiritual essence of the territory!

Now, the Dragon Girl sister is arrogant and stern, running over to praise the builder, which is inexplicably a bit funny~

"On behalf of the two ancestors in the temple, I would like to thank Lord Jiaolong for his praise. However, in the past, this place was prone to floods, and the accumulation of our ancestors was surprisingly large."

The man who called himself "Second King" bowed and saluted. He had dealt with rivers many times and was very clear about the status of creatures like dragons, especially the aura of this dragon girl was more extraordinary than that of ordinary dragons.

If one gets angry and destroys the diversion dam, then it will be the end of it.

Xuanyin Xingjun glanced at the river dam, then at the old temple, and asked calmly:

"The merit of repairing the dam will benefit future generations for thousands of years, but this Erwang Temple can't compare to the prosperity of Taoist temples and Buddhist temples. Even the two ancestors inside have not been able to transform into meritorious bodies. Do you have any complaints?"

The Second King listened carefully, smiled, shook his head and said:

"When our ancestors painstakingly dug and built this diversion dam, their sole concern was controlling the floodwaters. They didn't think of seeking any reward for their merit, as they didn't know of such spiritual practices at the time. My presence on their behalf, watching the dam endure, is a source of great comfort.

But from Xiaoshen’s personal perspective, I still feel a bit regretful…”

The man in official uniform looked at the part of the river where the silt was accumulated. If no one cleaned it up, in a few years, the function of this dam would be completely useless, the drainage capacity would be reduced, and the flood would be blocked here. With a sudden rush, the river flood would pour into the wilderness.

Seeing that Sister Long Nu had no intention of continuing the conversation, Chu Wuji said:

"We plan to use the Yulun River to carry away the silt when the floodwaters arrive. The Second King can advise which part of the silt needs to be taken away."

A ball of mud condensed in the Second King's hand. The mud ball grew larger and smashed towards a bend in the river, creating a circle of water splashes.

"That's the spot. There's a piece of cast iron sunken in the water. It's only right to dig there."

His magic power is not that strong, otherwise he would have gone to dig sand himself.

The Second King thanked Chu Wuji and his party in advance, but the worry on his face did not diminish. He sighed and said:

"This year we have the help of a noble person, except for one year's sand, but who will dig the sand in a few years?"

Bai Sujin crawled onto the back of her son's hand and said:

"Perhaps it would be better if we didn't take so much sediment with us? Leaving a little behind would cause a minor flood, but the damage wouldn't be so catastrophic, and perhaps it would serve as a warning to the officials here."

Aunt Green Snake couldn't help but mutter:

"For the first time, I felt that helping someone to the end was actually a bad thing..."