“Who could possibly live to a hundred? Wouldn't that make them a monster?
Besides, our Eldest Son is such a capable young man; what respectable family's fine daughter wouldn't be lucky to have him?”
Nan Dazhuang chuckled twice, then let out a deep sigh.
He knew Nan Yi wasn't just making excuses.
There were three kinds of yamen runners in Dingyuan County. The first were the court bailiffs, who stood in the hall holding water-and-fire staves and shouted “Mighty and stern!” whenever the county magistrate tried a case.
The second kind were the constables, specialized in arresting criminals, with a crew of assistant runners under them, as well as local scoundrels and idle ruffians employed as unregistered runners.
Lastly were the militia guards, responsible on ordinary days for guarding the city gates, granaries, the prison, and the entrance to the county yamen.
Aside from the militia guards, the other two types of runners were classified under base status. The household registry explicitly marked them as such, forbidding three generations of their descendants from studying or taking the imperial examinations.
Unless one performed some monumental service, allowing them one day to shed their base status.
Otherwise, Nan Yi could only marry the daughter of a barber, a butcher, a midwife, a night-soil collector, or a tofu vendor.
The wrinkles on Nan Dazhuang's face deepened.
It was truly a pity for his eldest son. With such fine character and looks, he would have been worthy even of the county magistrate's highborn daughter.
Nan Yi hadn't become a yamen runner for his own sake, either.
Back in those years when Nan Dazhuang ran the butcher shop, he had suffered endless grief.
Purchasing agents and servants of wealthy households, idle drifters in town, local ruffians—anyone who took a dislike to their family could trample all over them.
What was worse, seeing that their family had no roots in the area and had two daughters, many thought they were an easy target.
Whenever Nan Dazhuang went out of town to buy pigs, people would knock on their door in the middle of the night.
It was only because Chen Jingui sat in the courtyard clutching a pair of shears that they endured one sleepless night after another.
Nan Dazhuang wasn't one to swallow his anger and originally wanted to risk his life fighting them.
But the moment he thought of his wife and daughters at home, this tower of a man could only bow and scrape, responding with servile smiles.
Later, Nan Yi, then only fourteen, somehow made a connection with Constable Zhang.
In the end, he actually managed to land a post as an unregistered runner, and only then did the hoodlums on the street stop bullying the Nan family.
The young man wasn't exceptionally tall, but he was lean and muscular. After working for half the day, a sheen of sweat coated his wheat-toned abdominal muscles.
Nan Yi scooped a ladle of cold water with a dried gourd and gulped it down before wiping his mouth:
“Dad, there's no need to worry about me. Constable Zhang tipped me off in private yesterday that people from the Demon Suppression Division will arrive in half a month.
Once the demon corpse resting at the county yamen is verified, our family is bound to receive a reward.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Nan Zhi—who seemed to be spacing out but was actually eavesdropping—and added:
“A while ago, several heinous incidents occurred in neighboring counties where a demon killed people and ate their hearts. All the victims were young, able-bodied men.
If I'm guessing right, this Greater Ghost was likely that very heart-eating demon.
Once this matter is settled, on account of Eldest Sister's contribution, even if we can't ask the Registrar to remove me from base status, switching to a clerk post should certainly be within reach.
Only...”
He paused, turning to Nan Zhi with a smile:
“Eldest Sister might not know this, but ever since the Holy Court of the Great Zhou, there have also been female demon suppressors roaming the world within the Demon Suppression Division. Once the rewards come down, if Eldest Sister joins the Demon Suppression Division—”
Wouldn't that be an ancient version of a demon-suppressing civil servant?
“If there is silver, we'll take it. If we can use the opportunity to free you from the runner status, spending some silver is well worth it.”
Nan Zhi made her stance clear, and gave her family a heads-up so they would be mentally prepared, knowing that such incidents would certainly not be rare in the future:
“We're all one family; what's the point of drawing lines between what's yours and what's mine? Besides, I'm afraid there will only be more of these supernatural occurrences in the future.”
At most, the yamen's rewards would only be some silver.
The Demon Suppression Division was an entirely different story.
If she could also manage to remove this body's younger brother from base status along the way, that would be ideal.
This game was truly marvelous; the NPCs were all living, breathing people.
Each had their own thoughts and personality, as if they truly existed in some parallel universe.
Seeing Nan Yi looking at her, Nan Zhi did not shy away, merely looking back calmly:
“We are flesh and blood of the same family. What's there to be polite about?”
After a long moment, Chen Jingui broke their gaze.
“That's exactly right! That's the way it should be! For parents, nothing brings more joy than seeing you siblings of one mind!
Our Eldest Daughter is capable, and now an immortal visited her dreams, teaching her the skills to subdue demons and slay evil spirits.
In the future, I don't ask that you achieve great renown; I only ask that out of your affection from the past, you look after the two of them.
As long as the three of you support one another, live good lives, and find a fine husband for Second Daughter, your father and I will wake up laughing even in our dreams!”
“Mother! You're talking nonsense again!”
Thoroughly embarrassed, Nan Ye stamped her foot, covered her face, and fled, sending the rest of them into laughter.
The family was harmonious and cheerful, showing not the slightest sign that an evil ghost had just visited their home.
...
A few days later, the county yamen posted an official notice at the city gate.
“In prior years, Chenzhou suffered three years of great drought, and evils descended from the heavens to wreak havoc upon the mortal realm.
A Painted Skin Ghost assumed the guise of a beautiful woman, luring men rich in vital yang energy to gouge out and devour their hearts.
The demon dwelled in Changqing County, slaying six people, before being wounded by the Demon Suppression Division. It fled to Dingyuan County, where the Wang family took it in as a concubine.
It was subsequently slain by Nan the Butcher. This notice is hereby issued to proclaim to all surrounding neighborhoods.”
Nan Zhi naturally went along to see the commotion.
The corpse of the Painted Skin Ghost had already melted away almost entirely, leaving only the head and ghost hands.
The yamen workers tied the two parts with red cord soaked in chicken blood and hung them from the city gate for public display.
Hearing that someone in Dingyuan County had killed a ghost, many people traveled from far and wide to see it.
Some initially refused to believe it, but confronted with the ghost hands severed cleanly at the base and the hideous, fanged blue-green ghost head, even the most obstinate could not deny it.
Outside the crowd, Nan Zhi and Nan Yi sat drinking tea beneath Mute Old Lady's canopy.
—This tea canopy was originally built by a wealthy local family, and later a deaf-mute old woman started selling tea there.
Over time, the tea stall gradually grew well known among travelers.
This was the second time Nan Zhi had heard the name “Demon Suppression Division.”
Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked Nan Yi beside her: “What kind of place is the Demon Suppression Division?”
“When a human kills a human, the yamen constables come to make the arrest. When demons and monsters harm humans, someone naturally handles it as well.
The Demon Suppression Division is an ancient institution, originally established as our Great Song's dedicated agency to apprehend demons and slay evil ghosts.”
Dressed in fresh clothes, Nan Yi smiled upon hearing her question:
“Years ago, during the reign of the Late Emperor, an imperial consort committed sinister acts and cast spells, swapping Consort Li's unborn Crown Prince with a skinned civet cat spirit.
When the plot was exposed, the Late Emperor was furious, bestowing death upon the treacherous consort, and revived the 'Demon Suppression Division' outside the Nine Courts to hold all demons and monsters in check and suppress the evil ghosts across the Nine Provinces.
When the current Emperor ascended the throne, the Demon Suppression Division followed the example of Kaifeng Prefecture's Prefect Bao Zheng and cast three Yellow Dragon guillotines.
The first guillotines human immortals who cause harm; the second guillotines evil great demons; the third guillotines wicked fiends and demons.
Had this Painted Skin Ghost been sent alive to Dongjing City, it likely would have had to take a turn under those Yellow Dragon guillotines.”
Speaking to this point, Nan Yi raised his brows:
“Ah, I almost forgot. Eldest Sister, you've never left Dingyuan County, so naturally you wouldn't know what kind of figure Lord Bao, the Prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture, is.
Legend has it that he has a crescent moon mark on his forehead, understands both Yin and Yang, and can judge the living by day and the dead by night; ordinary evil spirits cannot even approach him.”
Nan Zhi's expression turned exceedingly bizarre.
Don't fool me just because I haven't read much!
Wasn't the “Civet Cat for Crown Prince mystery” adapted from unofficial history?
And Bao Zheng, Justice Bao—shouldn't his whole persona of judging Yin and Yang by night and having a crescent moon on his forehead exist only in TV shows and movies?
What kind of Northern Song dynasty even is this??
Nan Zhi slowly inhaled and composed herself before looking at the animated Nan Yi:
“Right, the things I asked you to look into these past few days—have you found any leads?”
After discovering that in-game items could be brought into reality, Nan Zhi felt full of drive.
Thus, she had asked Nan Yi to gather more rural ghost stories and local legends to see if she could trigger new quests.
“Of course. We yamen folk run around all over the place during the day and patrol the streets and alleys at night; nothing in Dingyuan City escapes our notice.”
Nan Yi didn't play hard to get, laying out everything he had uncovered over the past few days in detail:
“Tea-Seller Xu did indeed come into a huge sum of silver last month, but there were no signs of demonic activity around his house, nor were there any deaths or injuries.
Some said his ancestors had ties with a white snake, so the white snake turned into silver to repay a favor to his family.
I scared him a bit, and only then did he tell the truth—he had stolen that silver from his neighbor.
He originally wanted to bury the silver in the ground, but when someone spotted him digging, he made up the excuse of a 'white snake appearing in a dream.'”
“As for Old Man Niu with the limp outside the city, his leg wasn't cursed by a weasel spirit either. His unfilial son broke Old Man Niu's leg,
and fearing someone would report him to the authorities, the son lied and claimed a weasel was behind it.”
“What about the Qiao family? Did you find anything about their movements these past few days? Did they get a cat?”
Nan Zhi pressed.
—Ever since the Painted Skin Ghost died, Qiao Dalang had been bedridden and utterly demoralized for days.
Nan Yi glanced at her and smiled:
“How did Eldest Sister know that Qiao Niangzi went outside the city to welcome a litter of kittens home?
Qiao Dalang seems to have been scared sick, so the family business has fallen entirely onto Qiao Niangzi's shoulders. From the looks of it, I doubt Qiao Dalang will be of much use in the future.”
Having said that, he paused thoughtfully: “As for other spirits harming people, there was no trace to be found. I'm afraid we'll have to investigate gradually over time.”
Nan Zhi was somewhat disappointed.
She had hoped to leverage Nan Yi's position to find more quests, but who would have thought that not a single one of the town's many rumors was real?
How about... asking that rat spirit?
It had lived in Dingyuan County for so long, so surely it knew where to find evil demons that harmed people?
Nan Zhi became utterly lost in thought.
(Beneath a rat hole in front of the City God Temple, a chubby grey rat shuddered violently.)
Rate on N.U.
