Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 218 - 211: The River God Seeks Offerings

Chapter 218: Chapter 211: The River God Seeks Offerings

Zhang San and Zhang Pu heard the scream, both somewhat curious.

Especially Zhang Pu, because he heard that among the screams, it seemed that mainly his own daughter and niece’s voices were involved.

It turned out a stone head had suddenly appeared in the water.

But the stone head was not floating on the water, after all, it was a stone head.

At that moment, a boatman nearby explained, "This river is called the Lu River, and legend has it that there used to be a statue beside the river, that appeared from nowhere. Later, when the Lu River flooded, the statue was washed into the river."

"Strangely enough, as soon as this statue sank into the river, there were no more floods near the Lu River. Everyone believed there must be something divine about the statue, and from then on, during festivals, people would come to worship and offer food and wine into the river."

"Over time, this statue became the river god of the Lu River. Sometimes, as the water level drops, the head of the Lu River’s river god can be seen, and we say the river god is coming out to visit us. These girls have never seen it before, and thought it was a real head, hahaha..."

Only then did Zhang San and Zhang Pu understand why so many girls were screaming earlier.

After all, anyone who just got on the boat and saw what looked like a head floating in the water would scream.

Now knowing that it was just a statue, the women who had screamed just now all calmed down.

Many of the women on the boat immediately teased each other about who had been scared to the point of almost crying, and recounted the embarrassing incident.

Meanwhile, a young maid of the Zhang Pu family, gave a gentle nudge to the young lady beside her and said, "Miss, look at the statue, it’s quite handsome. What if you make this river god your husband, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, the young lady’s face instantly turned red and she lightly slapped the maid, "Stop it."

Although she said this, she still turned to look twice at the statue in the water and couldn’t help saying, "Indeed, it’s handsome."

After speaking, the young lady herself felt somewhat embarrassed and her face turned even redder.

At this moment, her cousin beside her also laughed at her, and then the two young ladies along with a maid suddenly noticed Zhang Pu beside them and immediately stopped laughing.

Then, the three ladies noticed Zhang San standing next to Zhang Pu.

Although this young man had a little fox that seemed to be fast asleep on his shoulder, which made him look somewhat strange.

But the young man was incomparably handsome, much more so than the stone head in the water.

For a moment, the three women were all entranced.

Zhang Pu, realizing that the women of his family were being somewhat disrespectful, gave a slight cough.

The three women then came to their senses and promptly turned away.

But as soon as they left, the young maid gently nudged her miss and said, "Miss, who was that just now? Is he a young talent that master knows? Did you take a fancy to him? I can be your chambermaid, really."

...

Zhang Pu immediately apologized to Zhang San.

"I am truly sorry, I rarely take them out, and the moment we step out, they lose their composure, I hope for your understanding."

Zhang San, seeing Zhang Pu bowing in apology to him, also returned the gesture.

"Mr. Zhang Pu, don’t worry about it, I am a martial artist, and I never mind such things."

Hearing that Zhang San was a martial artist, Zhang Pu also became curious.

In the Capital, although there were quite a few martial artists, more often than not, what people paid more attention to in conversations and business were your official rank and family background.

So Zhang Pu knew very little about martial artists.

But on this journey, Zhang Pu had seen quite a few martial artists fighting and some powerful martial artists battling in the sky with their techniques.

Hearing that Zhang San was a martial artist, Zhang Pu couldn’t help becoming curious.

Thus, Zhang San and Zhang Pu continued their conversation on the deck.

However, just after a few sentences, Zhang San steered Zhang Pu back into the subject.

"Mr. Zhang Pu, since you’re an official from the capital, it stands to reason that you should be a Governor, so how did you end up as this minor County Magistrate?"

Zhang Pu sighed and said, "Young brother Zhang San, you are a Martial Artist, you don’t know how cruel the factional strife amongst the parties on the court can be. I didn’t want to get mixed up in their dirty business, so naturally, I was sidelined."

Zhang San nodded. It wasn’t that he found Zhang Pu’s words entirely correct, but he felt that a person like Zhang Pu wouldn’t get close to any faction.

You occupy a spot and yet don’t get close to any faction. Naturally, others would want to deal with you!

You have no idea how Lu Qingquan was handled by me!

Of course, on the surface, Zhang San still wore a look full of sorrow, giving Zhang Pu a gaze that was desperate yet not without encouragement, prompting Zhang Pu to stay true to himself.

"Mr. Zhang Pu, rest assured, this world has its turbid currents, but there are also clear streams. While most people are part of the turbid flow, there is still a need for the clear stream, just like this river water..."

Zhang San said, pointing towards the water, trying to find an analogy, but he noticed that the boat seemed to be circling in the middle of the river.

Zhang San was momentarily stunned and looked at the other passengers on the deck.

By now, many people had noticed that the boat wasn’t heading to the opposite bank but was spinning in the same spot.

Zhang Pu walked to the railing, glanced outside, frowned slightly, and said in a cold voice, "This seems rather abnormal."

But Zhang San sensed that, beneath the hull, some sort of Technique was stirring the water current, keeping the boat trapped in this position and unable to leave.

"Indeed, it’s not quite normal."

At this moment, one of the passengers said, "This must be because the river god requires an Offering. If anyone has some money, toss a bit of it, or throw some food. Once the river god receives the Offering, he will let us leave."

Upon hearing this, Zhang San furrowed his brow.

This wasn’t an Offering; this was highway robbery.

Thus, he did not contribute any money, and Zhang Pu beside him also looked serious and didn’t show any intent to pay.

But many others on the boat were shouting for everyone to take out money and objects, yet if one looked closely, those who shouted the loudest hadn’t contributed anything themselves.

Meanwhile, the female members of Zhang Pu’s family, alarmed by the commotion, came out.

Only after coming out did they realize that the boat was stalled in the middle of the river, and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhang Pu’s daughter, even more curious, walked over to the railing, looked outside, and saw that the boat was indeed spinning constantly, and many passengers were already feeling nauseated.

The maid, however, found the scene overly novel and interesting, and even looked quite happy.

"Miss, do you think the river god might have heard our jokes and really taken a liking to you?"

Many people on the boat were already feeling uncomfortable, and despite many having thrown their Copper Coins and even jade bracelets into the water, the boat still couldn’t leave.

Hearing this comment, many now turned their gaze towards Zhang Pu’s daughter.

"No wonder the boat can’t leave; it’s because of you, isn’t it?"

"Young lady, if you could marry the river god, that would be great fortune for you!"

"Whose family’s female relative is this? Surely we can’t all be trapped in the middle of this river waiting to die because of her alone?"

The frightened girl immediately hid behind Zhang Pu’s back.

And as everyone’s gaze turned to Zhang Pu’s face, the large beads of sweat on Zhang Pu’s forehead dripped down with a plip.