The Faith and Salt

Buzzing with low whispers, the crowd in the hall quickly reached a consensus.

They all agreed there was no need for a second draw; they should skip the process and pick Zheng Laosi directly.

The clan leader turned back from the water basin, and he then slumped helplessly into his chair. He shot a quick side glance at Xiao Yan, then muttered to a village elder sitting beside him, "I’m too old for this. "

The village elder replied at a slow pace, "If you ask me, sending his daughter is indeed the right choice. We have enough outsiders in this village, too many."

"What exactly is this draw for?" Xiao Yan asked abruptly.

The clan leader offered no response.

"The River Lord," the slow-speaking elder answered instead. "It is like this every single year. How shameful."

"What is it, exactly?" Xiao Yan pressed further. "Has anyone actually seen it?"

"None of us gets to see the River Lord," the clan leader finally spoke up. "The bridal escort must turn back the exact second they reach the water's edge."

The bridal escort……

disgusting.

"And if they refuse to leave?"

"A woman named San Niang refused to leave once," the clan leader said coldly. "If you are so curious, go look at their house and see for yourself."

"Where is their house?"

"Not far outside this hall. Just look for the place with its doors left wide open."

Another old man chimed in. "They are all dead now. Some hung themselves; others swallowed poison."

Shooting a dark look at Xiao Yan, the clan leader patted the heavy wooden armrests of his chair and pushed himself up to his feet. He looked down at the villagers. "Are we done discussing?"

The crowd below shared the same opinion:

There was absolutely no need to draw lots among the three names. They would just force Zheng Laosi to take the fall.

This meant direct conflict and violence.

A deep frown cut across Xiao Yan's forehead.

"Even if we draw his name fairly, we will still have to use force, right?" a rough-looking man shouted from the back of the crowd. “So why bother?”

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"But didn't someone see a guy staying at his place yesterday?" another voice called out.

"He hired muscle?"

"I do not think he did," the clan leader said.

Looking over at Xiao Yan, he continued, "It is better to let the man himself explain this."

"I did stay at his place last night," Xiao Yan replied as he got to his feet.

“But I'm not any kind of muscle.”

"And who exactly are you?" a voice demanded from the crowd.

The clan leader answered for him. "He is a young official from the royal court. Show him your respect."

Upon hearing this title, the villagers' expressions immediately turned ugly.

Some seemed increasingly hostile.

Xiao Yan knew that among them, there were many dangerous fugitives.

"Hey, why did this great official decide to come here?" someone shouted nervously from the back.

"What if he's a mole?"

Every single pair of eyes in the hall locked directly onto Xiao Yan's face.

Stepping in once more, the clan leader waved his hand. "Nonsense. This esteemed young man would never do such things."

He looked directly at Xiao Yan. "Is that not right?"

Xiao Yan gave no response. He stood in absolute silence, staring down at the hostile crowd gathered in the shadows.

A black crow stood on the edge of the roof tiles above the open courtyard, cawing loudly.

Xiao Yan looked up. That black bird looked right back at him.

Something was wrong.

He walked straight through the crowd and pushed the heavy hall doors open to leave. A sea of guarded and hostile eyes watched his back.

The crow followed close behind him, flying at a steady height. Back at the hall, those wooden doors remained slightly open, as if someone was spying on him through the narrow gap.

He kept walking until the hall was far enough away, completely hidden by the dirt mounds.

Landing gently on Xiao Yan's shoulder, the crow instantly dissolved into a puff of black smoke the moment it touched his clothes.

Inside the dark smoke, a clear vision appeared. A small wooden passenger boat was being violently swept away from the main canal. It drifted completely out of control, rushing straight toward his exact location.

The massive city walls of Huai'an faded into the distant background.

A sudden wave dragged the boatman into the rushing water. He thrashed wildly, screaming for help.

His passenger was a foreigner. Even though the white man could barely stand steady on the rocking deck, he actually risked his own life and reached out to save the drowning guide.

Unfortunately, crashing whitecaps quickly swallowed the poor boatman whole. Circles of dark red soon rose to the surface of the river.

This absolute idiot, Xiao Yan cursed in his mind.

His worst fear had just come true. That foreigner had managed to drag himself right into a deadly trap.

Judging from the smoke's vision, the older, more experienced foreigner was not on that boat.

The black cloud faded away. That crow had already flown off, cawing loudly in mid-air.

Xiao Yan threw his hands down in pure frustration. Walking straight ahead would lead him right back to Zheng Laosi's house. If he turned around and moved fast enough, he might be able to pull that foreigner out of the death-trap halfway down the route.

He had promised Wei Yuan to keep this man safe, but they were complete outsiders after all.

Furthermore, things here were at the final step.

Those villagers were clearly on guard now. They planned to force the issue immediately, offering Zheng Laosi's daughter as a sacrifice without hesitation.

Xiao Yan guessed this crowd would make their move today, even this morning. They would never give him or Zheng Laosi any time to react.

This was his absolute best chance to hunt down the so-called River Lord. It was exactly what he had been waiting for, and it would also protect that poor girl.

He would not let such a perfect opportunity go to waste.

NO!

Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fists tight. His entire body felt packed with a violent energy that desperately needed a release.

A cold sense of sorrow quickly followed. He had no time to vent his anger at all.

He had to make a hard choice——

NOW.

Stay to help Zheng Laosi,

Or leave to rescue that stupid foreigner.