I Slay Gods and Demons in the Deceit Night
Chapter 76 - 74: Twin Rice

Chapter 76: Chapter 74: Twin Rice

Meng Lu led the way, and Lin Yan followed.

Upon arriving, they saw nine city guards, all severely drained of vigor, with some nearly depleted at their core.

Even after recuperation, they would inevitably be weak and prone to sickness, and as for the path of martial arts, it was completely cut off.

When they heard the Linjiang Station Flag Commander wanted to collect money to save their lives, in order to shield them from disaster, an unusual silence fell over the scene.

Lin Yan suddenly realized the significance of this piece of gold; it was substantial enough that ordinary people would risk their lives for it.

Converted into Silver Taels, it could provide for their families and possibly secure a worry-free life for the latter half of their years.

Moreover, after experiencing such strange occurrences and severe illnesses, they would likely become half-disabled in the future.

This piece of gold, then, might represent their reliance for the latter part of their lives.

"What for? If you’re dead, what use is gold?"

Meng Lu exclaimed, "Besides, this gold isn’t even real! Once the oddity is dispelled, it will turn into a clump of mud!"

"..."

Everyone looked down at the piece of gold in their hands, remaining silent.

After a while, people gradually began placing the gold beside their beds.

But still, two or three remained silent.

Under Meng Lu’s angry gaze,

One person bit his teeth and said in a low voice, "I’ve touched the gold, and it’s not fake."

"If someone had offered me this much Silver Tael beforehand..."

Another middle-aged man said somberly, "I would likely have been willing to sell my life for him and kill on his behalf."

"Big Brother Meng, I’m afraid my body won’t recover well; I won’t be able to serve as a city guard or do any labor in the future. I’ll only be a useless person."

A young man lying on the bed said with a dazed look, "I still remember the most delicious meal I had at home before joining the city guard... My mother said it was twin-born rice."

"Do you know what twin-born rice is?"

"It’s the rice cooked with fine rice by the magistrate’s family, which they couldn’t finish and carelessly threw into the ditch."

"My mother scooped it up from the ditch, brought it home, washed it, dried it, and then cooked it into rice."

His eyes slightly red, he raised his head and said hoarsely, "This piece of gold was exchanged with my life."

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Meng Lu opened his mouth, but for a moment, he could not speak.

"So be it."

It was then that Lin Yan slowly spoke up, "In this life, everyone has their choices; I shall not compel you, but you may want to consider carefully and give Colonel Meng an answer before nightfall."

"Although you may not trust me and value gold and silver more, regardless, in my eyes, you have all exerted yourselves in defending the city."

"If you can move to the inner city before noon and stay at Liu Venerate Temple, there will most certainly be no trouble tonight."

"But given your current condition, it’s doubtful you can withstand the jolting."

As Lin Yan spoke, everyone remained silent, the atmosphere heavy.

High Willow City covered a vast area; from here to the inner city, one would have to pass directly through twelve squares.

After entering the inner city, they would need to pass through several of the inner city’s markets before reaching Liu Venerate Temple.

"We also gave it some thought..."

Meng Lu sighed, hesitated to speak, and ultimately did not say anything.

Liu Venerate Temple was in charge of defending the entire city, and the Twelve Temple Priests each had their responsibilities, managing endless tasks, and currently unable to leave.

During the previous attack by the Evil, many corpses of demons as well as bodies of city guards and civilians remained, all of which required three temple priests to jointly cast spells to eliminate the resentment, purge the evil, and prevent further issues.

There were also unresolved matters related to Mister Jing, which the priests took very seriously, preparing to hold a ceremonial ritual and, thus, mobilized many people.

Apart from the temple priests, ordinary incense burners, including the temple’s high disciples, had no qualifications to be involved in this matter.

Although they could not summon more people, if they were to go to Liu Venerate Temple, they could still be protected.

Unfortunately, today, these people couldn’t withstand the shaking anymore.

And yesterday, it was thought that the Spirit Talismans could suppress it, but unexpectedly, although their lives were saved, they still ended up in this predicament.

"Forget it."

Lin Yan suddenly reached into his robe, pulled out a brocade pouch, and threw it to Meng Lu, "You all gather together, with this item in hand tonight, you can temporarily be safe. Return it to me tomorrow morning when daylight breaks."

After pausing, Lin Yan added, "If I manage to escape safely, I will come to rescue you as soon as possible."

He said this because, firstly, he felt that these people had once contributed to defending the city; although at the moment it seemed they were choosing money over life, they had experienced the hardships of the lower classes, which he could understand.

Secondly, these ten men could draw ten eerie lanterns, which amounted to a hundred strands of Evil Qi.

Exchanged for medicinal bath materials, they were worth eight hundred Silver Taels!

"I am also a worldly man, after all."

Lin Yan thought to himself.

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to turn and leave, Meng Lu fell to his knees with a thump, bowing his head and said, "Master, I will never forget your great kindness in this life!"

"Survive this calamity first," Lin Yan said, and waved his hand as he walked out the door.

As Meng Lu held the brocade pouch in his hand and opened it, he saw a Spirit Talisman inside.

He was silent for a moment, then turned to look at the nine men and sighed, "Last night, some brothers went to support Linjiang Station when Master had already suppressed the strangeness."

"It is said to be all thanks to this Spirit Talisman that they were fully protected."

"This single Spirit Talisman, even surpassing those personally made by temple priests, is far more miraculous and therefore more precious."

"What do you think, if this Spirit Talisman were sold to those high-ranking officials, how much gold would it fetch?"

"Today, Master has given us his own Amulet, using his life to fend off this strangeness. How much gold is this life-risking loyalty worth?"

"The esteemed Flag Commander of Linjiang Station, if he hadn’t killed the Liu Family’s members that day, how much Silver would the Liu Family have paid for their ransom?"

Meng Lu sighed and said, "Master just wants to save our lives, not our gold and silver."

The room fell into silence, everyone looking at each other with shame and guilt.

"Let’s focus on surviving first."

Meng Lu took a deep breath and hung the brocade pouch on the door.

——

Lin Yan walked out, again feeling eyes on him near the city gates.

When he looked over, the old craftsman once again hurriedly averted his gaze.

"Hm?"

Lin Yan’s expression remained unchanged.

Yet he was somewhat surprised in his heart.

If his current appearance were his original one, being a native youth of Linjiang Square, it would have been understandable if someone recognized him.

But now he was walking the streets in the guise of Wu Chang.

Moreover, the elder’s glance seemed to carry a hint of "scrutiny"?

Lin Yan did not want to startle anyone, so upon returning to Linjiang Station, he called for Chief Clerk Yang.

"Bring me all the information on the Lirong Trading Company."

"Especially information about the shopkeeper of Lirong Trading Company, and that Lu-surnamed old craftsman in charge of today’s city gate repairs."

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