Chapter 91: The earth soul is touched, and there is a premonition that something is wrong!
The officials in charge of agriculture have the duty to encourage farmers to ensure a good harvest. During the Harvest Festival, the weather not only in Gucheng but also in the entire Nanyang County will be adjusted accordingly.

The county-level Si Nong Jian controls the weather over a large area. Occasionally, when some details are not in place, the Si Nong below will have to perform their duties.

These two days, Zhao Xing and Shen Zhui will have to inspect and patrol in Anping Town.

After a tour around Anping Town, I finally arrived at the home of the town head.

Zhao Xing and Shen Zhui did not need to be in charge of counting the harvest and paying taxes; they mainly just asked about the situation casually.

The village head was already over fifty years old. When he saw the two of them, he was not at all reserved and started chatting with them like a young man:

"This year, Gucheng is just like previous years, with good weather and bumper harvests."

"As long as you are willing to work hard to farm, anyone can support a family and have enough food to eat."

"But there are always those who are lazy and like to eat. Take Huang Silang from Group 6 for example. He is lazy and likes to eat and like to live off his parents. He doesn't even go to help with the housework during the Harvest Festival."

"Last year, his mother and father were in their seventies and eighties and could no longer work. They had to watch the first rice rot in the fields, and the villagers helped to harvest it. This kid didn't know how to thank them. Instead, he said that everyone was worrying about nothing... Hey, this year no one was willing to help, but he actually lay at home again, refusing to work, saying that the court would give them relief food..."

"That relief is for his parents! He is a man in his thirties with hands and feet, but he actually said such a thing. He is so shameless! Oh, it is a sin for Old Man Huang to have such a son!"

Shen Zhui was furious after hearing what the village head said, and he immediately asked, "Excuse me, where is Huang Silang's home?"

"he is not at home."

"Where is that?"

"Look, we're playing dice in the Niu family compound in front."

Shen Zhui stood up immediately: "How dare someone gather to gamble? This is outrageous! Brother Zhao, let's go!"

"Here I come." Before leaving, Zhao Xing looked at the head of the village using the Five Elements. Although he had been staring into the other's eyes with his bright eyes while the other was talking, he still took another look.

He looked down at the almanac again but found nothing unusual. Then he touched the little mountain cat and followed with the guardian straw man.

"Are you Huang Shiro?"

When Shen Zhui and Zhao Xing just arrived at the place, they saw a man with disheveled hair and scattered eyes coming out of Niu's house.

They looked at the list and portrait from the village head and recognized the man as Huang Silang at a glance.

"No, you've got the wrong person." Huang Silang lowered his head and was about to walk forward.

"Stop!" Shen Zhui shouted, "Why are you running?!"

Huang Silang stopped and saw that the two officers were thinking about all the sneaky things he had done before, wondering which one had been discovered.

"Come with us." After Zhao Xing confirmed that it was the real boss, he got back into the car.

Huang Silang also wanted to climb onto the carriage, but was kicked down.

"Ouch~" Huang Silang fell to the ground.

The one who kicked it was not Zhao Xing and Shen Zhui, but the mountain cat.

It breathed out towards the outside with a very dissatisfied expression.

This guy stinks, and it doesn't want Huang Silang to come into the carriage.

"Just walk." Shen Zhui said.

Huang Silang was unhappy: "Sir, it will take at least an hour to get to the county town. Won't I be exhausted to death?"

"Not to the county town, but to your home!"

Huang Silang's eyes rolled: "My Lord, you are not arresting me? I have done nothing wrong?"

Shen Zhui was so angry that he laughed: "Don't you know whether you have done anything wrong?"

Huang Silang chuckled and said, "No, no, that little one is gone."

"Stop! Did I let you go?!"

"Your parents are both working in the fields. As a son, you should take on these heavy tasks..." Shen Zhui preached earnestly.

Huang Silang showed impatience on his face, and it was obvious that he didn't listen at all.

He has heard these things so many times that his ears are callused.

Shen Zhui talked for a quarter of an hour, but Huang Silang remained silent.

Zhao Xing pulled Shen Zhui and said, "Brother Shen, please get into the carriage first. I will tell him that I am the Minister of Agriculture and it is my duty to encourage agriculture."

Shen Zhui nodded and got into the carriage.

Zhao Xing stared at Huang Silang and asked, "Why don't you help your parents harvest the Yuan rice?"

"I'm lazy."

"..."

You are quite confident.

Huang Silang was more confident when he saw that the two men were not arresting him: "If you have pity on my parents, why don't you give them some money? Or help my family harvest the first rice..."

A shameless person is invincible. There is nothing much to say to such a person.

Zhao Xing whipped him with a whip and said, "Go, get back to your farm!"

"Hey, why are you hitting people? Stop it, stop it, I'll go..." Huang Silang saw that Zhao Xing was not joking, so he immediately shrank his head and led the way in front.

Arrived in the field.

Sure enough, there were two old men working in the fields.

Huang Silang stood on the ridge of the field, unmoved.

Zhao Xing didn't waste time talking to him. He casually made a straw man next to him, then asked Shen Zhui for a whip and handed it to the straw man: "Watch him harvest the Yuan rice. If he doesn't do it, I'll whip him."

"What?" Huang Silang was fed up and said anxiously, "You are meddling too much. What does it have to do with you whether I farm or not... Ouch, they are beating me! The police are beating me!!"

Huang Silang lay on the ground, crying heart-wrenchingly.

A neighbor nearby heard the noise and came to see what was happening, and was immediately delighted.

"Good fight!"

"Bah, shameless!"

"It's Huang Silang. The official must have a reason for beating him."

When Huang Silang's parents saw their son being beaten, they rushed over, but before they could plead for mercy, they were stopped by their neighbors.

The neighbors couldn't stand it anymore, so you can imagine how bad Huang Silang's character is.

"Are you going to do it?" Zhao Xing squatted down and asked, "If you do it, you will only be tired for a day or two. If you don't do it, I have plenty of ways to torture you."

"We are the two most powerful officials in this area. It's useless for you to sue us. Do you understand?"

"Do it. I'll do it." Huang Silang got up. He couldn't bear the pain any more. No one spoke for him, so he immediately faced the reality.

Huang Silang quickly rolled up his trousers and went down to the fields.

He was forced into "labor reform" by Zhao Xing.

After a while, Huang Silang started groaning and complaining about being tired.

Zhao Xing didn't indulge him either.

Tired and sleepy? The sleepyhead arrangement will help Huang Silang regain his energy.

Want to be lazy? Fu Xingcaoren will whip you.

Zhao Xing also made seven or eight straw men to guard the four corners of the field.

If Huang Silang tried to escape, he would be caught immediately.

This time, Zhao Xing's strategy was definitely to persuade farmers through physical means.

However, no one from the surrounding neighbors objected and they all applauded.

Many people even put down their work and came to watch the rare scene of Huang Silang harvesting Yuan rice.

"Shiro, your posture is wrong. You will get tired easily if you don't bend your waist."

"Silang, are you tired? Your parents have been doing this for more than ten years."

"Huang Silang, there are blood-sucking worms crawling on your legs..."

Huang Silang's feet trembled, and he hurriedly touched it with his hand, but found that it was nothing. He immediately realized that he was cheated, so he glared at the child angrily.

"Snap~" the whip hit Huang Silang on the back.

"Damn!" Huang Silang cursed in his heart, but had to continue working.

He wanted to escape, but found that there were straw men all around him.

Moreover, the more he worked, the more energetic he became, and he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. In order to avoid this torture, he had to work honestly.

By dusk, Huang Silang had become much more obedient. He even knew how to act in front of the two adults and helped his father and mother go home.

"Brother Zhao, your method is really effective." Shen Zhui couldn't help but smile as he watched this scene.

"It's useless. We'll leave in two days, and he'll be the same as before." Zhao Xing was lying in the car petting the cat. "Unless we keep urging him on, and make him work for a year or two, and then have someone as patient as Brother Shen to explain things to him from time to time, maybe we can change him."

"Is that so?" Shen Zhui seemed to be thinking about something. "If I have the opportunity to govern a region in the future, I will definitely try the method you mentioned, Brother Zhao."

After dark, the two did not return but stayed at the home of the village headman in Anping Town.

The next morning, the two continued their patrol in Anping Town.

During lunch, I asked the old village chief about Huang Silang.

"Huang Silang? He took advantage of the lunch break to go to the Niu Family Compound."

"Went to the Niu family again?" Shen Zhui raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." The old headman said angrily, "Sir, you were kind enough to let him take a rest at noon, but he used even this rest time to have fun. He doesn't have much money, but he still wants to gamble... It's a sin." "Where does he get the money?" Zhao Xing asked.

"I gave his mother a few coins to buy herbal medicine." Shen Zhui's eyes were filled with anger. "This Huang Silang is really abominable! Niu Gui is also abominable. I warned them yesterday not to play around anymore, but he didn't listen?!"

Niu Family Courtyard.

"big big big!"

"Open! Two, three, four, small!"

"Oh, I lost again! What a damn bad luck!"

Huang Silang was disheveled. He took off his shoes, rubbed his feet, and sniffed them.

Then he took out a silver coin from his boot and slammed it on the table: "Niu Gui, keep going! I'm going to beat you to death today!"

Niu Gui said, "Silang, this is the only one you have left. I think you should keep it. Besides, don't you have to work in the fields this afternoon?"

"I want you to pity me? Go on, go on, faster!"

Niu Gui smiled slightly when he saw this: "Okay, then come!"

The dice were shaking inside, making a heart-stirring sound.

Huang Silang's eyes moved up and down with the dice cup.

"Ding!" As the dice cup fell to the ground, Niu Gui pressed his hand on it: "Big or small?"

"big!"

"Open, one, one, two, Xiao, Shiro, you lose again!"

Niu Gui smiled and took the silver coin.

"Bad luck!" Huang Silang slapped his thigh, stood up and left the gambling table. The other gamblers continued.

He lost all his money, but did not leave. Instead, he found a place outside the courtyard to sit down and rest.

According to the rules, as long as you come in to play, you can have a meal at Niu's house.

Huang Silang closed his eyes and fell asleep soon.

The door of the Niu family was knocked open.

Someone hurriedly reported that officials had arrived.

"Officials? What officials? They are just a few petty officials. I'll go take a look, you guys continue."

Niu Gui ran to the door calmly.

At the door stood a young man with two iron rulers on his waist, a brown hat on his head and cloud boots on his feet.

A young man in linen clothes followed him, and there was another person who was wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat even though it was not raining.

"Shen Wusi, Zhao Sinong, what can I do for you?" Niu Gui recognized the two men immediately after opening the door.

"Didn't I tell you yesterday not to gamble together?" Shen asked. "Did you take my words for granted?"

Niu Gui's expression remained unchanged, but he did not deny it: "It's just a small fight, just a few tricks between fellow villagers... You can't be so lenient."

"That's fine, please invite me in to play a few hands too."

"You must be joking. We are just peasants. How dare we play with you?"

"Niu Gui, will you please let us in?" Zhao Xing asked, "We are coming in now, just to take a look. If we come in again after asking for permission, it won't be so easy."

Zhao Xing and Shen Zhui both have cultivation, and have never been to the Niu family before. Now they need Niu Gui, the master, to invite them in before they can enter.

Of course, if Shen Zhui was carrying a beheading warrant issued by the county government and it was different from an arrest warrant, he would not need permission.

"Okay, please come in, my lords." Seeing the two men's tough attitude, Niu Gui could only say "please come in".

The invisible shackles disappeared, and Zhao Xing and Shen Zhui stepped over the threshold and entered the Niu family compound.

The Niu family was a wealthy family with many fields. Outside the hall, many rice farmers were taking a rest. Some of them came in to play after receiving their wages.

When they saw the officers coming in, no one was afraid. Some even complained in low voices, saying that it affected their luck.

"Sir, it's just a few rounds of fun...there's not much money on the table."

But before Niu Gui could finish his words, Shen Zhui suddenly pulled out a ruler-shaped knife, and a flash of light appeared, splitting the gambling table in two.

"Crash~" the copper coins inside suddenly fell to the ground.

Niu Gui's face changed and he was so frightened that he dared not say a word.

His table was made of hardwood and had a mechanism, but he didn't expect it to be split in half just from mid-air.

Niu Gui still thought that Zhao Xing and Shen Zhui were just ordinary clerks, and he ignored yesterday's notice.

Now it seems that these two people are not easy to deal with.

"Take the stolen money with you and go to the town's military officer to receive your punishment." Shen Zhui said coldly.

"Yes, I accept the punishment." Niu Gui's attitude suddenly changed.

Shen Zhui did not make it difficult for him. The money was indeed not much, just enough to pay Niu Gui minus the fine, and he did not have to be arrested and sent to jail.

As for the rest of the gamblers, it is enough to just ask them a few routine questions and let them go.

"Where's Huang Silang?"

"There it is."

Hearing the familiar voice, Huang Silang, who was sleeping, shuddered, opened his eyes, and immediately saw the evil star.

He immediately tried to escape from behind, but it was too late.

"Hmph! You're really unworthy of being a son!" Shen Zhui got angry when he looked at this man. His parents are in poor health and are working in the fields at their old age, but he is here gambling?
Are you still a human being if you even use the money for my mother’s medicine to gamble?
"Shen Wusi lost this money." Niu Gui carefully returned the money.

Zhao Xing was asking questions to the strangers outside the hall.

"Who are they? They don't look like they are from this village."

Anping Town is not big, and the accounts of Group 6 are even smaller. Zhao Xing has a rough impression of who are the people in the group. After all, he often came to Anping Town before, but he came less often after the Lesser Heat.

"Zhao Sinong, this is the rice farmer I invited from Sanwan Town. It's autumn harvest time, isn't it?" Niu Gui said with a smile. He also recognized Zhao Xing, a minor official from Sinong who was more diligent in going to the countryside than the military officials.

Rice farmers are farmers who move around to help large families with large plots of land harvest the raw rice.

"Oh, what are their names?" Zhao Xing pointed at two people casually.

"I am Chen Deshun." The middle-aged man bowed. He had a plain appearance, prominent cheekbones, thick hands and feet, and dirt on his legs. He pointed to the woman with a yellow skin and a turban on her head and said, "This is the lowly Chen."

"Greetings, sir." The woman also bowed.

Both of them fit the symbol of a rice farmer. Zhao Xing nodded and turned to Niu Gui:

"Niu Gui, please stop doing this kind of deceptive things in the future."

"Yes, yes, I won't dare to do it again." Niu Gui nodded and bowed, "I will go and accept the punishment now."

After Zhao Xing, Shen Zhui and Niu Gui left, the middle-aged man and woman inside the courtyard wall stared outside with flickering eyes.

"He is Zhao Xing?"

"Yeah." Chen Deshun nodded, and his simple eyes became cold.

"He's quite handsome." The woman licked her lips. "He is indeed handsome and has an extraordinary temperament."

"You have to be forty-two points smart, and you're like this too." Chen Deshun snorted.

"I really hope to catch him and bring him back soon." A hint of lust flashed in the woman's eyes. "It would be better to catch a few more handsome guys like him. I have been holding back for more than ten years. I must have a good time on the way."

"Go back..." Chen Deshun's eyes also showed a trace of desire, "If I can go back smoothly, I will also make up for the past ten years."

Shen took Niu Gui to the village entrance, handed him over to the military officer who was on routine inspection during the Harvest Festival to pay the fine, and then returned quickly.

Huang Silang was taken to the fields by the first-level straw man, while Zhao Xing sat in the carriage, feeling somewhat uneasy.

"Brother Zhao, what's wrong with you?" Shen Zhui asked when he saw Zhao Xing frowning.

"I feel a little uneasy." Zhao Xing said.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know." Zhao Xing shook his head.

There is no basis for this, and there is no movement on the almanac for warding off evil.

"Is there something wrong with Niu Gui?" Shen Zhui asked in a deep voice. "Is there a demon nearby?"

Zhao Xing shook his head again. After he entered the Niu family's gate, he used the Five Elements to observe things and found that Niu Gui was normal, including everyone in the Niu family compound.

Mingmou didn't find anything special. Since leaving the city, he had been using his observation skills whenever he saw people.

But there was nothing unusual, it was just a vague feeling.

"Have I done too much deduction with Old Chen and gone crazy? Everyone looks like a member of Xuantian Sect to me." Zhao Xing also had some self-doubt in his heart.

Even if he really encountered a demon from the Xuantian Sect, he would not be able to see it, because the Xuantian Sect's hiding method was very sophisticated. That was a concealment method passed down from the ancient Xuantian Sect, and there was a method to block the evil almanac, otherwise it would not have been lurking for more than ten years and it would be so difficult to find it.

In theory, even if he stood in front of the real Xuantian Sect demon, he shouldn't have discovered anything.

But where does this feeling come from?

"The 'Earth Soul' among the three souls is the causal soul. This feeling is likely to come from the touch of the Earth Soul."

Since neither the almanac nor magic could figure out where this feeling came from, Zhao Xing decided to look for the cause from another angle.

"Brother Shen, you drive, I'll take a nap first."

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Xing closed his eyes and began to fall asleep.

(End of this chapter)