The Hidden Immortal

Chapter 20 The Dike Breaks

Imperial guards swarmed out, carrying the emperor's edict, and stormed into the Ministry of Works.

The dark-faced man at the head of the group had eyes as sharp as blades. As he ordered his men to move all the files from the Ministry of Works in recent years, he then stood in front of the huge map of the world.

He drew the knife from his waist and pointed the tip at a certain spot.

"Who in the Ministry of Works is responsible for supervising the construction of the Honghe County dike?"

The officials of the Ministry of Works were all frightened and looked at each other in dismay. After a while, one of the officials in charge was pushed over.

The man in charge, who was over fifty years old and had gray hair, was trembling.

Faced with the dark-faced man's questioning, he trembled as he replied, "This embankment... is under the supervision of Chief Yang of the Ministry of Works."

Upon hearing this, the dark-faced man waved his hand, and immediately guards found the pale-faced and trembling Yang, the head steward, from the crowd and tied him up.

The dark-faced man pointed his knife at the next spot: "Who's responsible for the two dikes in Tanyu County?"

"Yes, it's me..."

Without a doubt, the old manager was also tied up.

Then came the third place, the fourth place...

One by one, the Ministry of Works officials were bound up like twisted rice dumplings and escorted to the Ministry of Justice.

They will be subjected to severe torture.

The Emperor of Jing Kingdom detests corruption and bribery the most. Now, thirteen river dams have breached, and countless fertile fields have been destroyed by the flood.

Countless people will lose their heads over these things.

Two days later, late at night.

In the residence of the Vice Minister of Works, several figures slipped out through the back door in the dark, moving cautiously along the corner of the wall like mice in the night.

The figures were of varying heights, men and women, and young and old.

However, after walking a few steps, torches suddenly appeared ahead.

A dark-faced man, carrying a steel knife, emerged from the shadows with dozens of men.

He looked at the cloaked figure before him, obscuring his face, and sneered, "Lord Lin, going out for a stroll so late? Have you done too many bad things that have attracted ghosts?"

The steel knife lifted the cloak, revealing Lin Xianzong's extremely pale face.

This Vice Minister of Works, known for his integrity, diligence, and frugality, knew that the presence of the imperial guards here meant they must have discovered something.

Even as a high-ranking official of the third rank, he couldn't help but feel his legs go weak at this moment, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

With his last ounce of strength, he kowtowed hoarsely to the dark-faced man, pleading, "Please, Your Honor, show mercy and let my son and daughter leave! All the Lin family's assets are at your disposal!"

"Trying to take someone down with you when you're about to die? Unrepentant, you deserve to die!" The dark-faced man showed no politeness and waved for someone to bring him a rope.

Regardless of age or gender, everyone was tied up and stuffed into the prepared carriage.

Inside the carriage, the faint sounds of a woman and a child crying could be heard.

In the dead of night, it sounded like a ghostly voice.

The drizzle started falling, then suddenly intensified.

The impact made the roof tiles on the street crackle and pop, and when they fell to the ground, they made a resounding thud.

But the sound was like a head rolling down.

In the blink of an eye, it was like a thunderclap!

------

Songguo Village.

When Li Shoutian returned from the village, he passed by Chu Xun's house and went into the yard to ask for a bowl of water.

Everyone in the village knows that Chu Xun values ​​food and drink the most.

Good wine and tea are always readily available at home.

While others were still drinking cold water from gourd ladles and getting stomach aches, he was already leisurely boiling water and making tea.

Chu Xun held the village chief in high regard.

When they fought for water, the Li family never backed down.

"Anxiu, pour the village chief a bowl of tea," Chu Xun called out.

Wealthy families use exquisite teacups.

There are no such customs in the village. If you actually bring two ounces of wine, people will just think you're stingy.

Li Shoutian sat down on the stool, casually putting the hoe aside, and said, "You're really lucky, kid. A bunch of field mice suddenly appeared in the field and pushed several holes in the ridges. It's the Ma family who suffered, though, as all the water flooded their field."

"The whole family is so angry, but they can't catch them."

A cawing sound came from the eaves.

Li Shoutian looked up and saw dozens of crows perched on the eaves, tilting their heads and staring at him.

The village chief, who was over fifty years old, suddenly felt a jolt in his heart, remembering that his elder brother Li Tianjian's two sons had been pecked by crows.

"Why are there so many crows coming to your yard every day?" Li Shoutian asked, puzzled. He then whispered, "They say crows are unlucky; wherever they go, disaster follows. You have to be careful."

His words were not a curse, but an expression of concern.

Chu Xun didn't mind and just laughed, "In my opinion, it's more accurate to say that crows are lucky birds. They see danger and try to warn people, but they are misunderstood and bring disaster upon themselves."

Li Shoutian was stunned for a moment, pondering it carefully, before he could speak.

A dozen or so crows suddenly flapped their wings and swooped down, grabbed his hoe, and threw it out of the yard.

Li Shoutian was startled and hurriedly went to pick it up.

When Zhang Anxiu returned with a large bowl of tea and saw the scene, she shouted to Li Shoutian, "These crows don't like to hear people talk bad about them. If you say anything more, you'll get pecked on the head too."

Li Shoutian returned with a hoe in hand and a sheepish grin.

He glanced at the crows back on the roof, pecking at their feathers as if nothing had happened, and wanted to curse them.

But remembering the miserable state of Li Tianjian's two sons when he saw them before, he swallowed it back.

He took the teacup from Zhang Anxiu and drank it all in one go.

Wiping his mouth, Li Shoutian didn't care about the embarrassing incident of the crow snatching his hoe earlier, and asked with a smile, "Anxiu, your brother already has a child, what about you? Don't you want to continue the Zhang family line?"

This was said about An Xiu, and also about Chu Xun.

An Xiu remained silent, only secretly glancing at Chu Xun.

Chu Xun then got up, picked up the teapot, and poured Li Shoutian another cup of tea.

He didn't say anything, yet it was as if he had already said something.

Li Shoutian picked up the teacup, blew on the rim, and began to sip it slowly.

After a short while, the bowl of tea was finished.

He stood up, picked up his hoe, and shook his head, saying, "That's enough, I won't get involved in your family's affairs. I'm too old, talking too much will only annoy people."

After walking a few steps, Li Shoutian turned back and said, "By the way, recently someone said they saw two giant pythons, each about ten feet long, in the river. They're terrifying. If you really run into them, run fast and don't be stubborn."

"The feng shui has been so good these past few years that even such a big python has come out. It seems like there are more weasels too. We'd better keep an eye on those chicks."

Watching Li Shoutian mutter to himself as he walked away, his back to him carrying his hoe, Zhang Anxiu couldn't help but say, "Brother Xun, why does the village chief seem to have aged so much?"

Is it possible to stay young?

Ten years have passed since the dispute over the water.

Ordinary people usually live to be fifty or sixty years old, but Li Shoutian is already over fifty.

Although he looked relatively healthy, his face showed obvious signs of aging.

At night.

Chu Xun was lying on the bed when two weasels, each about a foot long, suddenly appeared out of nowhere and jumped onto his bed, making rapid "click-click" sounds.

Its sharpness caused Chu Xun to turn over involuntarily.

Although he is still at the first level of Qi Refining, his eyesight is much better than that of ordinary people.

Upon recognizing the two little creatures, Chu Xun reached out and patted their heads, not at all annoyed by the interruption, and simply asked, "What happened?"