Chapter 113
Chapter 113
His savior had arrived.
Senior Lord Liu was the father of the Magistrate Liu whose role Liu Ye had assumed. He was also the former magistrate of Nine Worlds County-and the man who had personally established the county’s custom of drowning girls.
Years ago, a Daoist from the Yellow Heaven Sect told him that a secret rite of sacrifice to the River God could ensure the birth of a son.
Senior Lord Liu found the claim extraordinary. He ordered a servant to test it, and the servant’s wife really did give birth to a boy.
Delighted, he conducted one experiment after another. He discovered that the rite could not only produce boys, but also control the precise time of their birth!
So he selected an auspicious date and arranged for ninety-nine boys to be born on the same day at the same hour. Strange signs descended from the heavens, and fish leaped over the dragon gate in the river. The enormous omen delighted the reigning emperor, who promoted Senior Lord Liu directly to Assistant Minister of Revenue.
The custom remained in place from then on. It even grew into a grand public event.
For three years, three girls were selected every day and sacrificed to the River God.
Any girl between birth and ten years old was eligible. Later, when girls began to run short, the solution was simple.
Have the women in the family bear more children. If they gave birth to a girl, sacrifice her to the River God in exchange for a boy.
If that still was not enough, buy slaves. Not enough girls? Buy them! Not enough women? Buy those too!
There was always a way.
And so the practice continued for three full years.
The number of private sacrifices made by outsiders was beyond counting. Meanwhile, the county’s population exploded, earning it recognition as an upper-tier county.
Senior Lord Liu rode high on his success. He considered this achievement his greatest source of pride and spoke of it constantly.
He had never imagined that his own son would try to abolish the custom. The thought filled him with fury.
“You unfilial wretch! Kneel at once!”
Liu Ye blinked and pointed at himself.
“Are you talking to me?”
“Nonsense! Who else would I be talking to?” Senior Lord Liu demanded.
Liu Ye grew angry too. Who did this man think he was talking to?
“Who are you? Why should I kneel just because you tell me to?”
“What fit has come over you? I’m your father!”
“And I’m yours!”
Liu Ye slapped him across the face and sent Senior Lord Liu flying.
Eunuch Wu fell silent.
So did every citizen present.
“If you want to talk, then talk. Why insult me?” Liu Ye snorted, then turned to Eunuch Wu. “Eunuch, don’t you think I should beat him?”
Eunuch Wu stared at him.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t you? In fact… if you’re willing to do this to him, then he deserves it, and so do the rest of us!”
You beat your own father half to death, yet we keep stepping forward to flap our mouths at you. How could we not deserve it? No wonder this man wanted to rebel. With his willingness to disown every relative he had, he might actually succeed!
Qiqi cautiously approached and tugged Liu Ye’s trouser leg.
He bent down, and she whispered in his ear.
“Boss, he might… actually be your father.”
Liu Ye fell silent.
“How did I suddenly end up with an extra father?”
“He’s the father of the person you’re playing.”
Liu Ye stared blankly.
“Oh my goodness, I forgot about that! Father!”
He hurried over and hauled Senior Lord Liu out of the rubble.
“Father, what happened to you? Father, don’t scare me!”
Senior Lord Liu had nothing to say.
Don’t call me Father. I’m not worthy. You’re my father!
As Senior Lord Liu lay in the rubble, he abruptly reflected on his past. Perhaps something truly had gone wrong with the way he raised his son.
He had seen all manner of unfilial children, but never one who beat his own father half to death!
The worst part was that the man beating him half to death was his son.
The citizens silently reached a decision as well. They truly did not dare make any more sacrifices to the River God.
This man was a beast. If he treated his own father this way, wouldn’t he kill them outright?
Liu Ye hurriedly carried Senior Lord Liu into the rear hall and sent for a physician.
Eunuch Wu seized the opportunity to have Wuxinzi taken to a local Daoist temple. Then he made his way to the garrison, intending to borrow the city’s soldiers and eliminate Liu Ye.
When he reached the camp, however, he found it completely silent.
Eunuch Wu was puzzled. This was supposed to be drill time. Why was everything so quiet?
He entered one of the command tents and found an officer asleep across his desk.
“Honestly, who sleeps in broad daylight?”
Eunuch Wu stepped forward and gave him a push.
The officer toppled straight to the floor.
“Aaaah!”
Eunuch Wu fell backward and scrambled away.
His chest heaved violently. After a moment, he climbed shakily to his feet and forced himself to look.
A huge cavity gaped in the officer’s chest. Every organ inside was gone. The wound looked as though some animal had torn into him with its teeth.
“Aaaah!”
The sight made Eunuch Wu scream and flee the tent on all fours.
He tried to find help, only to discover that every tent was filled with corpses.
All had died in exactly the same manner as the officer.
Eunuch Wu wet himself in terror. Something terrible had happened!
He ran back toward the city. The palace experts he had brought were still recovering at the inn.
The moment he collected them, he would set out for Jingcheng. He refused to spend another second in this wretched place.
Not long after he left, a child-sized figure appeared inside the tent. Its entire body was pitch-black, save for two bloodred eyes.
It glanced in the direction Eunuch Wu had fled but did not pursue him. Instead, it turned and walked away.
Back at the magistrate’s residence, Liu Ye stared anxiously at the physician.
“Grandpa, how is my father?”
“Er, my lord, you may simply call me Physician Zhou.” He could hardly accept a county magistrate addressing him so respectfully.
Physician Zhou stroked his beard, uncertainty flickering across his face.
“My lord, forgive my bluntness. Your honored father’s injuries are extraordinarily severe-worse than anything I have encountered in decades of practicing medicine. That he remains alive and conscious is nothing short of a miracle. How did he suffer such wounds?”
Senior Lord Liu raised a hand and pointed at Liu Ye.
Liu Ye seized his father’s hand. A sharp crack sounded, and Senior Lord Liu’s eyes rolled back from the pain.
“Father, don’t worry. I promise I’ll make you better!”
“Mmmph… mmmph…”
Senior Lord Liu let out a stream of miserable whimpers.
Physician Zhou watched this touching display of devotion between father and son and sighed admiringly.
“My lord truly is a filial son!”
Liu Ye shook his head modestly.
“This is nothing. It’s what every child should do.”
Senior Lord Liu stared at him.
You shameless bastard!