Chapter 31: First Hearing of the City God

The water of Feng River was swift, and naturally the wind by the riverbank was strong. When Li Si reached the riverbank, the wind made his long robe flap noisily.

After opening the jar, he grabbed a handful of white powder from it, then slowly opened his fingers in the air, letting the powder scatter with the wind and fall onto the great river.

The white powder that fell on the great river was soon beaten down by the waves and disappeared.

This powder was made from the bones of small animals from under his bed. Last night, he had the Beheaded Ghost use its tongue to grind these bones into powder.

After grinding, there was about 80 jin of bone powder. About 40 jin had been scattered into the manure pit by the roadside. Now only these two jars were left. As for the feathers and fur, he had burned them in the stove.

As for why he didn’t throw all the bone powder into the manure pit, he was afraid that if there was too much bone powder in the manure pit, it would cause trouble if the night soil collectors discovered it.

That’s why he brought Cao Meng to the riverbank to scatter the remaining bone ash.

Li Si didn’t plan to pour it all directly into the river. He wanted to scatter it handful by handful, mainly because if he poured it, the wind might blow it all over him. Moreover, scattering the bone ash handful by handful made him feel at ease. He only hoped that all troublesome matters would disappear like this scattering bone ash.

“Teacher, what is this?” Cao Meng curiously reached for the other jar, wanting to open it and look inside.

“Cao Meng, do you trust your teacher?” Li Si didn’t answer Cao Meng’s question, continuing to scatter the white powder. While watching the scattered powder float away, he turned his head to ask Cao Meng.

A hint of hesitation flashed in Cao Meng’s eyes, but his expression quickly became firm, and he said seriously, “Of course I trust you, teacher.”

Li Si laughed, then said casually, “This powder is all bone ash.”

Hearing him say this, Cao Meng’s hand suddenly retracted as if bitten by a snake, and he stepped back a few paces in terror.

Seeing Cao Meng’s reaction, Li Si revealed a mischievous smile, laughing heartily, “Don’t be afraid, it’s just bone powder from chickens and ducks and such, not human.”

Hearing Li Si say this, Cao Meng immediately relaxed, saying with lingering panic, “Why does teacher have so much chicken and duck bone powder?”

“That’s a long story, you’ll know in the future,” Li Si quietly scattered the bone powder, then seeming to think of something, he turned his head to ask Cao Meng, “By the way, how long will your father be gone this time?”

Hearing Li Si ask about his father, Cao Meng hesitated, then said, “My father usually returns from hunting the same day, but occasionally it takes ten days to half a month. I think it will take at most half a month for him to return this time.”

“I’ll have to trouble the teacher during this time,” Cao Meng’s face revealed an embarrassed expression.

Li Si shook his head and laughed, then his face showed a gentle expression as he said, “Actually, it’s not much trouble. With you here, I feel much more comfortable. It’s good to have someone for company at home.”

“Like these jars, I couldn’t carry them alone,” Li Si pointed at the two jars, his face showing a helpless expression.

Seeing Li Si respond like this, Cao Meng scratched his head, his face revealing a silly smile.

Before long, Li Si had scattered all the bone powder here. Then he washed the two empty jars clean in the river and brought them back. He didn’t plan to throw these jars away, as they could be used for pickling vegetables.

Then the two walked back to the county town. After reaching Fengmen County, Li Si first went to a ready-made clothing shop to order several sets of clothes, buying a few sets of short work clothes and a few sets of tight-fitting clothes.

He didn’t like his long robe very much, as it wasn’t good for running. The short work clothes and tight-fitting clothes were much more convenient. So he planned to buy some short work clothes and tight-fitting clothes as spares.

While buying clothes, he naturally also bought a few sets for Cao Meng, which made Cao Meng feel overwhelmed with favor, constantly saying he didn’t want them. But he couldn’t resist Li Si’s insistence on buying them for him.

Receiving the clothes, Cao Meng felt a bit embarrassed, but his eyes revealed a joyful expression, and his gaze towards Li Si showed gratitude.

After getting the clothes, Li Si went to the blacksmith shop where he had previously ordered the dagger to pick it up, paying three taels of silver, and also telling the blacksmith that he didn’t want the strange knife anymore.

Having the Black Sword, he naturally didn’t care for other weapons. As for this dagger, it was because he had already ordered it, and he also had the intention of keeping a dagger on his person.

Because the Black Sword was about one meter long, it wasn’t very concealable, while this dagger could perfectly make up for this shortcoming, serving as a precaution.

After getting the dagger, Li Si took Cao Meng home. By this time, a middle-aged man was already waiting for him at his door.

Li Si recognized this man. It was Liu Qin, the advisor of Fengmen County.

“Young Master Li,” When Liu Qin saw Li Si, he immediately smiled and came forward to greet him.

“Oh, it’s Advisor Liu. Do you have some business with me?” Li Si wasn’t very enthusiastic about seeing Liu Qin. Although Liu Qin looked proper and seemed very upright, he wasn’t a good person.

Li Si’s predecessor had been tricked by Liu Qin before. Once, Liu Qin told the predecessor that he had a rare book, bought from a peddler, priced at 50 taels.

At that time, the predecessor thought that since Liu Qin was the advisor of Fengmen County, he wouldn’t deceive him. He also read a few pages and felt delighted by the key points of the classic interpretations inside, thinking it was indeed a good book, so he bought it.

However, after buying the book, the original owner found that the classic interpretations inside were fragmented and incomplete, not like a handwritten copy at all, but more like a draft.

At that time, the original owner went to argue with Advisor Liu, but he refused to admit any wrongdoing.

Seeing that Advisor Liu was powerful, the original owner felt helpless and could only accept his bad luck.

This was why Li Si wasn’t very enthusiastic about Liu Qin. This person’s character was questionable.

“Haha, can’t I find you if there’s nothing?” Liu Qin laughed, but then smiled and said, “But this time I do have something to tell Young Master Li.”

“The county magistrate has instructed that if anyone asks you about the Zhang family’s affairs, you should say that robbers broke in and killed the entire Zhang family.”

“By no means should you say it was the work of ghost creatures,” Liu Qin looked around and lowered his voice.

“Mm, I understand,” Li Si nodded, indicating he understood. He naturally knew that in such matters, it was best to minimize big issues and eliminate small ones.

Otherwise, causing panic among the county’s people would create even more trouble.

“Mm, it’s best that you understand,” Liu Qin grinned, clearly appreciating Li Si’s discretion.

“By the way,” Li Si thought of the original owner’s situation and showed a worried expression, saying, “Recently, there have been frequent ghost and monster disturbances in the county town. We should warn the people to be more careful.”

Hearing Li Si say this, Liu Qin laughed and then lowered his voice to whisper, “Young Master Li, don’t worry. The City God will return tonight.”