Chapter 656: Isn't This Bullying?
Over the next two days, quite a few people came to collect Waist Tokens, but the official handing them out had to be replaced daily. The one on the second day returned home babbling nonsense. Word spread that he had gone mad, and the many doctors called to see him could only shake their heads.
By the third day, the new official arrived looking thoroughly reluctant. No one wanted the wretched assignment, but a stroke of terrible luck had seen him drafted for it.
Unsurprisingly, he too returned half-mad. He fared slightly better than his predecessor, though he still muttered nonsense under his breath.
After that, no one took the assignment.
Officials were ready to resign rather than accept it.
Rumors had spread that the people coming to collect the Waist Tokens were not mortals at all. It was a lethal assignment; who would dare touch it?
This left the presiding official in a bind. If he couldn't find a replacement for tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to report back.
"What am I to do..."
He spent the entire afternoon searching in vain. His subordinates preferred resignation over the assignment. He considered enlisting some constables or servants, but word had already gotten out. Everyone was saying that demons and evil spirits were driving men mad, so not a single person stepped forward.