"Husband, this uncle asked us to go register."
Rong Zhi explained briefly.
"You two are married? Then go together!"
Yu Rong was briefly surprised when he saw Xia Yunting.
This young man looks quite imposing, I wonder if he can protect his wife...
Along the way, Rong Zhi learned from their conversation that the registration originally didn't require so many people. It was just that they heard someone had moved into this haunted house again, so they came to see out of curiosity, and also to bolster the village chief's courage.
The group arrived at the village chief's house.
The house was near the village entrance, and the courtyard was noticeably larger than other houses, so more than a dozen people didn't seem crowded.
Yu Rong found someone to set up a table in the courtyard and called over a lean, fair-skinned scholar dressed in a long gown.
"Yuan Xiu, whatever this young lady says later, you record it."
"Don't worry, Village Chief, I've recorded before and I know what to do."
Lu Yuan Xiu spread a piece of paper on the table, dipped his brush in ink, rolled up his sleeves, and then looked at Rong Zhi, saying indifferently.
"Name?"
"Lin Mo."
"And him?"
Lu Yuan Xiu gestured to Xia Yunting with his eyes.
"Xia Lei."
"Where are you from?"
"Changle County."
"What do you do for a living?"
"My husband practices martial arts, and I am a doctor."
...
And so it went, question and answer, the process was smooth, and the questions were all about trivial matters.
Rong Zhi made up a whole story without a single stutter.
Xia Yunting looked at this woman who could lie without batting an eye, his heart filled with admiration for her skill.
If she had intended to deceive him, he probably wouldn't have been able to tell...
"Miss Lin, you're a doctor?"
Yu Rong was somewhat surprised to see such a young woman with medical skills.
"Yes, Village Chief. My husband and I will be living in the village from now on. We hope everyone will take care of us. If anyone needs anything, feel free to come to me, and it won't cost anything."
"Oh, this is truly a good deed that accumulates virtue and kindness!"
The last sentence caused an exclamation from the crowd, and several people gathered to whisper among themselves.
Yu Rong nodded approvingly, then suddenly remembered something, and his face became solemn. He turned to Xia Yunting.
"Young man, your wife is rare, skilled in medicine and kind-hearted. You must protect such a good wife well, and don't let the human traffickers abduct her!"
"Yes."
Xia Yunting agreed, and then asked:
"Village Chief, have there always been human traffickers abducting people in the village?"
"Alas, isn't it..." When this topic was brought up, Yu Rong looked helpless and sighed.
"It's been several years now, and the human traffickers are becoming more and more rampant. At first, they were stealthy, but in the last two years, some people have disappeared while walking on the road and could never be found. Their families could only worry!"
As Yu Rong spoke, several people in the crowd showed mournful expressions, indicating that they had also experienced family or friends being abducted.
"If human traffickers are so rampant, why not report it to the authorities?" Rong Zhi asked strangely.
Were the local officials incompetent?
"Who says we haven't reported it? In the end, there was no news. Those officers are useless. Not only can't they catch the human traffickers, but they don't even have a clue where those who were taken away went."
Yu Rong was both angry and helpless.
"Perhaps the officials and the bandits are in cahoots. I've been saying for a long time that the current county magistrate is unreliable."
A middle-aged man said this and was immediately glared at by a woman beside him.
"Don't spout nonsense, be careful you don't get arrested and beaten."
"So be it if I get beaten. If I die and it leads to a change in county magistrate for our village, I'll be happy!"
Listening to their words, Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting exchanged glances, and a look of melancholy appeared in their eyes.
It seemed the situation here was more serious than they had imagined.
Xia Yunting remembered the wild man and asked the village chief.
"Village Chief, yesterday I saw a wild man enter the courtyard. He was about this tall, dressed in straw and leaves. Judging by his build, he was a child. Are there still wild men in our village?"
"Wild man?"
As soon as he spoke, everyone was surprised.
Many people's gazes fell on the same person.
He was a hunter, tall, with well-developed muscles in his thick arms, a tanned neck, a broad face, and a high nose bridge. His eyes were sharp and bright.
"Liu Hong, have you seen any wild men while hunting in the mountains?"
"No."
Liu Hong shook his head and turned to Xia Yunting.
"Brother Xia, has the wild man harmed anyone?"
"He didn't harm anyone, he just stole our clothes. I was just curious about its origin, so I asked casually."
"It's a menace if it steals things. Since you say so, I'll keep an eye out next time I go hunting and catch it."
"It's best to capture it alive, without harming its life. I saw it could speak human language, so perhaps it was a normal person before, maybe it's even a lost relative of those who were abducted."
At these words, everyone's eyes lit up, and they all looked expectantly at Liu Hong.
Liu Hong was the only hunter in the village, and only he could enter the deep mountains where wild beasts roamed and emerge safely. To catch a wild man, they could only rely on him.
"Don't worry, everyone. If I see it, I'll definitely bring it back."
Yu Rong also nodded.
"It would be best if you could bring it back. Our village has lost many people in the past two years. Every one counts. Those human traffickers are too hateful. If we catch them, a thousand cuts wouldn't be enough to vent our anger!"
While everyone was discussing enthusiastically, Rong Zhi tugged at Xia Yunting's clothes.
Xia Yunting bent down and put his ear close.
"You want to help?"
In a very soft voice, though it was a question, Rong Zhi had already made up her mind.
Xia Yunting didn't answer, but asked her back.
"What about you?"
"Since we've encountered it, we can't just stand by and do nothing."
"Good."
Xia Yunting curled his lips and leaned close to Rong Zhi's ear.
"As expected of the divine doctor."
The sudden burst of heat tickled Rong Zhi's ears.
She pushed Xia Yunting away, pretending nothing had happened, her face slightly flushed.
Fortunately, people were discussing human traffickers, and no one noticed their actions.
Suddenly, a scream cut through the midst of the discussions.
"Oh, you blind fool, you stepped on my foot!"
Lu Yuan Xiu stumbled and fell sideways, but someone caught him before he hit the ground.
Everyone looked closely and saw a thin, gaunt woman. She was dusting her shoe with her sleeve while glaring fiercely at Lu Yuan Xiu, muttering curses.
"A scholar, and so careless. Reading has made you stupid."
Lu Yuan Xiu's face turned red with anger.
It was clearly her who had bumped into him just now, and she was blaming him for it?
However, no matter how angry he was, his words came out meekly.
"Aunt Wu, you were outside the crowd just now, how could I have bumped into you? Everyone, please judge. Did I bump into you?"
"I saw it, Scholar Lu did not..."
"Oh, I can't go on living!"
Before she could finish speaking, Wu Gui Xiang suddenly sat down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and began to wail.
"My life is so bitter! I lost my daughter two years ago, and my prospective son-in-law turned his back on me. Even an old woman like me is bullied! Where can I find justice? I don't care, you have to apologize to me today! Otherwise, I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving!"
She said this while slapping her thighs, wailing for a long time without shedding a single tear.
Lu Yuan Xiu's face turned pale and then red. But as a scholar, who usually spoke eloquently about 'yes' and 'no', he was helpless when faced with someone who threw a tantrum.
"Village Chief, please look..."
Lu Yuan Xiu began to seek help from the village chief.
Yu Rong was used to this. He waved his hand, trying to pacify the situation.
"You know her, she's always like this. She also lost her daughter. You've studied the words of the sages, so why stoop to her level? Just apologize and be done with it."
Apologize! He had to apologize every time!
Lu Yuan Xiu snorted and grudgingly said.
"Aunt Wu, I'm sorry."
Wu Gui Xiang's crying stopped abruptly. She snorted, stood up neatly, and left, still muttering curses.
Yu Rong looked apologetically at Rong Zhi.
"Young lady, young man, you've seen a joke."
"It's alright, Village Chief. Everyone has their trivial matters at home. If there's nothing else, my husband and I will take our leave."
Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting had no interest in such domestic dramas.
"Ah."
The village chief agreed and was about to see them off when he suddenly saw a figure coming from the entrance and was somewhat surprised.
"Cheng Zi, why are you here?"
Yu Cheng didn't speak. The first thing he did upon entering was to come to Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting, and asked nervously, "Why are you two here?"
"Uncle Yu, we're here to register."
Yu Cheng's gaze fell on Xia Yunting's distinctly different appearance. His eyes flickered, but he said nothing.
"Hey, Cheng Zi, what are you here for? Don't scare everyone."
Yu Rong came over and pulled Yu Cheng.
"I just asked these two young people to register. It's nothing, you should go back quickly!"
Yu Rong could tell that Yu Cheng was meddling again.
"It's really nothing?"
"No, Uncle Yu." Rong Zhi glanced at the village chief's expression and noticed that the village chief seemed very concerned about Yu Cheng's presence. The other villagers also looked fearful, and two young wives even hid in the crowd.
"Uncle Yu, come to my place for dinner later!"
She hadn't formally thanked Uncle Yu yet.
Yu Cheng was first surprised, then his face lit up with joy, and he nodded vigorously.
"Okay."
Seeing Rong Zhi and Yu Cheng being so friendly, Yu Rong was also a little surprised. He didn't expect these two young people to not be afraid of his appearance.
Two years ago, a strange illness spread through the village. The villagers' faces began to look peculiar, their skin seemed to lose moisture, and their features became distorted. Healthy people turned into monsters like this. Yu Cheng had the most severe symptoms, so he moved to a more secluded house and usually didn't dare to show himself in front of others.
"Then we're leaving, Village Chief."
Rong Zhi bid farewell to the village chief. As she was about to leave, she heard the village chief muttering in a low voice from behind.
"This Cheng Zi, he's thinking of his son again, isn't he?"
The Yu Cheng beside him stiffened, as if his thoughts had been revealed, but his face, which was already difficult to read, showed no particular expression.