Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 219 - 212: The Disappearance of Her

Chapter 219: Chapter 212: The Disappearance of Her

Zhang Pu immediately had his wife take their daughter and niece into the cabin.

Seeing this scene, more people around began to accuse Zhang Pu.

"What’s wrong with you? Do you really think your daughter’s life is more important than all of ours on the boat?"

"Is this your idea of doing a good deed? Why won’t you be willing to act kindly and gather good karma?"

"How can someone be like this, with absolutely no compassion for others?"

Zhang San, standing to the side, noticed the cold sweat streaming down Zhang Pu’s face.

He had figured it out, this man’s ability to speak was truly lacking.

Meanwhile, the awakened Little Fox was so furious at the scene that she gnashed her teeth.

Zhang San gently patted Little Fox on the head to soothe her, whispering, "Don’t worry, I’m here."

With that, Zhang San stepped in front of Zhang Pu and faced the spit-flying crowd on the deck.

"It was just now that you said someone’s daughter’s life, and you don’t think your lives matter? So, can it be understood that you also know that sending someone’s daughter to the river god is, in fact, a certain death? If that’s the case, and you still insist on forcing others to send their daughter down, isn’t that murder?"

Hearing these words, many of the timid ones immediately shut their mouths.

But there were still some people who stubbornly argued back.

"How is this murder? Her sacrifice can save a whole boatload of people, this is a great kindness."

Although someone said this, others quickly nodded in agreement.

Zhang San snorted coldly and asked, "If someone is willing to sacrifice themselves, I’d call it a great kindness. But if they are forced into it by everyone else, whether that’s kindness, I’m not sure. But the ones doing the forcing are most definitely committing a great evil! Wonder what will happen to such people in hell? Will their tongues be ripped out, or will they be dropped into boiling oil?"

Hearing this, even more people dared not make a sound.

Yet there were still those who stubbornly continued to argue with Zhang San, "So we should all die here because of one person?"

Zhang San pointed towards the river and said sternly, "Ultimately, this affair is due to the bandit-like behavior of the river god. You don’t blame the one at fault but instead coerce an innocent person. People like you, should you not deserve death?"

The person was rendered speechless by Zhang San’s rebuke, mouth agape but unable to utter a word.

At that moment, someone suddenly shouted from within the crowd on the deck, "You have been chatting together since you got on the boat, you must be in cahoots!"

Others also joined in shouting, claiming Zhang San and Zhang Pu were working together.

The Little Fox on Zhang San’s shoulder was seething with anger, and if not for Zhang San holding her back, she would have really lunged forward and scratched at their faces.

But Zhang San didn’t seem angry at the moment.

"You talk about the importance of human life, I talk to you about human life, and you don’t listen, then you talk about good and evil."

"Fine, I talk to you about good and evil, then you start throwing logic at me. Alright, I talk logic with you, telling you who is really at fault, and what’s the result? You switch to questioning my position, right?"

Zhang San had realized, from ancient times to the present, the nature of nitpickers has never changed.

And so, Zhang San slowly drew his Horizontal Blade.

"This blade is my position. Come on, who wants to clash with my position?"

Zhang Pu was touched by Zhang San’s actions.

And just then, Mrs. Zhang came out of the cabin with her daughter.

However, when she came out, the daughter’s head was covered with a red cloth that she had found somewhere.

"I appreciate this young hero’s efforts, but in the end, it’s my family’s issue, and we will resolve it ourselves. Mr. Boatman, please prepare a wooden board, and let my daughter be sent down," she said.

Zhang Pu knew that if his daughter was standing out, it must have been her willingness.

So he didn’t say anything further, only turning his head away with great unwillingness.

Soon, someone prepared the wooden board, and Zhang Pu’s red-veiled daughter was let down from the boat.

The wooden board and person did not sink in the water but just drifted farther away from the boat.

In fact, it was not the wooden board moving away from the boat, but the boat itself being pushed away by some force beneath the water.

Zhang San sensed a change in the Techniques under the water and frowned slightly.

At that moment, Little Fox whispered a few words into Zhang San’s ear.

Zhang San was surprised and turned to look at Mrs. Zhang, who had been bowing her head nearby, then he scanned the boat.

Even though the people on the deck were unwilling to admit it, the truth was that they had collectively forced the death of Zhang Pu’s daughter.

Now that they were safe, everyone dispersed quickly, fearing that later Zhang Pu or Zhang San might get angry and seek them out for trouble.

Then, the always silent Zhang Pu suddenly declared, "One day, I must put an end to the oppression of these wild gods and spirits on the people!"

The boat continued moving forward, but it didn’t get far before it started to spin in place.

After the previous incident, everyone was exceedingly sensitive.

Seeing the boat spinning in place again, many became panicked.

But this time, without the excuse of Zhang Pu’s daughter, people came out from the cabins to the deck, frantic and uncertain who to blame.

That’s when Zhang San noticed Mrs. Zhang’s eyes darting around, her head still lowered.

Meanwhile, Zhang Pu remained engulfed in the grief of losing his daughter, oblivious to the situation around him.

It was then that Zhang San spoke up, "The boat has stopped again. Could it be that the river god still hasn’t received the person he wants?"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhang couldn’t hold back her displeasure and retorted sharply, "My daughter has already been sent, what more do you want?"

Zhang Pu was also startled, not knowing what Zhang San meant.

Zhang San countered, "Mrs. Zhang, your beloved daughter, has she really been sent into the water?"

At that moment, panic was written all over the lady’s face.

Zhang Pu, though stern to the point of excess, noticed that something was amiss with his wife’s expression.

"What in the world is going on?"

Mrs. Zhang had originally intended to brush the matter aside, but to her complete disbelief, the boat had stopped again. She sat on the ground, crying and confessing as she did so.

It turned out that Mrs. Zhang couldn’t bear to part with her daughter, so she persuaded her niece to take her cousin’s place as the bride for the river god.

The niece, although reluctant, had lost her parents at an early age and been raised by her uncle’s family. Now that her cousin was in trouble, she agreed to take her cousin’s place for her sake.

Thus, in the cabin, she changed into her cousin’s clothes, covered her head with a red bridal veil, and pretending to be her cousin, entered the water as an offering to the river god.

But she had never expected that, in the end, the deception would be uncovered.

Upon hearing the course of events, Zhang Pu was so furious he almost struck his wife.

"In the past, my brother died for me, and today you... you... you actually sacrificed someone else’s daughter for the sake of your own! Is your daughter a daughter, while others’ daughters are not?"

At that moment, the silence of those who had just wanted to send someone else’s child to secure their own safety was deafening.

Quickly, Zhang Pu entered the cabin, and dragged out his daughter and maid.

Then, he asked the boatman to prepare another plank and sent his own daughter down.

"I don’t know if it’s still possible to bring my brother’s daughter back."

Zhang Pu mumbled to himself as he watched the turbulent river.

At this time, Zhang San pointed towards the maid and said, "Your maid was supposed to accompany your daughter in the marriage, wasn’t she? Why not send her down as well?"

Zhang Pu felt that it wasn’t right to take out his anger on others, but whether it was the earlier joke at the sight of the statue or the reference to past events when the boat stopped, the main issue had been the maid’s loose tongue.

"Then let it be so."

In an instant, the maid screamed in terror, but still, she was tied up by several boatmen, who found another plank and sent her down as well.

Indeed, as soon as the young lady and the maid were placed on the water, the boat resumed its forward motion.

This time, there was hardly anyone left on the deck; everyone had hidden themselves in the cabins, within their own small rooms.

On the deck remained only Zhang San and Zhang Pu and his wife.

Mrs. Zhang sat on the deck, crying non-stop. She cursed out loud, scolding Zhang San for not being anything decent and blaming Zhang Pu’s rigid nature for causing his demotion from the Capital, which in turn implicated their daughter, and so on.

For the first time, Zhang San felt that there was something even more terrifying than the Forty-Eight Layers Tower in terms of noise.

After a while, Zhang San moved to an unoccupied spot on the other side of the cabin, asking Little Fox to wait for him there before stealthily diving into the water.

Shortly after, the ship started to circle around in the same spot again.

The boatman was on the verge of tears, having run his business on this river for so many years and never encountering such an ordeal.

What sort of person had boarded this time to repeatedly provoke the mighty river god?

Soon after, both anxious people and those eager for a spectacle came up on deck.

For a time, the deck was crowded with people.

Suddenly, there was a loud splash as a huge wave shot up into the sky, revealing a figure standing atop the crest with arms folded.

"I am the Lu River river god. There had been talk of a maiden wishing to marry me as jest, which I took as a joke. However, to my surprise, you actually sent the girl to me, which is utterly preposterous!"

Upon hearing the river god’s accusation, everyone prostrated themselves.

On the entire boat, only Zhang Pu stood in place, raising his head to look at the river god.

But in Zhang Pu’s eyes, there was not only resolve but also a hint of puzzlement.

Why did the river god seem to be made of flesh and blood, and not of stone?

Also, why was there a palm print on the river god’s face?

It seemed like a palm print, but it was too far away to see clearly. Nevertheless, the river god’s left cheek was much redder compared to the right. Strange.

"Furthermore, Mr. Zhang Pu, when you knew your wife had sent the wrong person, you truly sent your own daughter here. Such sincerity touches me and causes me shame. Therefore, I have personally brought back your beloved daughter and your niece. I hope Mr. Zhang Pu can forgive me."

As he spoke, two waves crashed onto the deck, knocking many of the kneeling people flat onto the ground.

Then, the two girls were sitting on the deck unharmed, completely dry, as if not a single drop of water had touched them.

"Mr. Zhang Pu, the two maidens are returned to you. As for your maid, there is a tributary of the Lu River that is perpetually clogged with silt, in need of a mouth that cannot be kept shut to clear it. She has been invited to assist."[Note 68]

Zhang Pu, of course, understood that the maid had been taken away by the river god for her loose tongue and nodded his head resolutely.

Seeing Zhang Pu’s satisfied nod, the river god was reassured, but he still glanced over the ship, only daring to return to the Lu River once he saw the young man in white, holding a snowy white fox, nodding back at him.

Damn it, I’ll never covet another woman again.

It’s terrifying, just terrifying!

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[Note 68]Citation note

The storyline of Zhang Pu and his two daughters is adapted from Gan Bao’s "In Search of the Supernatural," modified according to the unique characteristics of this book.